#Security Log Sunday

[sugar-coated-machinery]

Security Log 073

Audio Transcript Pending....

[Shuffling of papers]

JaB: Ah! Yes, here we go.

JaB: This is James Baker, recording on [REDACTED] for Security Log 073.

[The clearing of someone's throat can be heard]

JaB: Yes. Well, while today was fairly quiet for the nightshift - mainly me making sure everything was set out for the morning and organized accordingly during my patrols as usual.

JaB: However I did find that Mr. Webb had accidentally stayed behind speaking to some of the robotic staff to make sure no mechanical updates were overlooked during their last maintenance shift.

JaB: As Mr. Webb didn't have a ride back home and lived only a few minutes away, I elected to briefly step away from my shift to drive him back home. I'd say the trip there and back took about 20 minutes at maximum. [another cough is heard, an awkward silence rings in the air before the speaker continues]

JaB: It was a rookie mistake on my end. I acknowledge shouldn't have left. I uh- [A sigh echoes through the tape, the person on the other end seeming to struggle with admitting what happened] JaB: I found multiple items moved and misplaced when I returned. Nothing was stolen or damaged thankfully - but it's all very eerie. I investigated as soon as I noticed, patrolling, checking tapes, everything I could think of really. JaB: Whoever it was, was smart enough to cut the tapes. Erase their tracks of being here. JaB: I'd like to request a further investigation. JaB: End of Log [There's a clicking noise as the tape ends]

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How I got scammed

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/05/cyber-dunning-kruger/#swiss-cheese-security

I wuz robbed.

More specifically, I was tricked by a phone-phisher pretending to be from my bank, and he convinced me to hand over my credit-card number, then did $8,000+ worth of fraud with it before I figured out what happened. And then he tried to do it again, a week later!

Here's what happened. Over the Christmas holiday, I traveled to New Orleans. The day we landed, I hit a Chase ATM in the French Quarter for some cash, but the machine declined the transaction. Later in the day, we passed a little credit-union's ATM and I used that one instead (I bank with a one-branch credit union and generally there's no fee to use another CU's ATM).

A couple days later, I got a call from my credit union. It was a weekend, during the holiday, and the guy who called was obviously working for my little CU's after-hours fraud contractor. I'd dealt with these folks before – they service a ton of little credit unions, and generally the call quality isn't great and the staff will often make mistakes like mispronouncing my credit union's name.

That's what happened here – the guy was on a terrible VOIP line and I had to ask him to readjust his mic before I could even understand him. He mispronounced my bank's name and then asked if I'd attempted to spend $1,000 at an Apple Store in NYC that day. No, I said, and groaned inwardly. What a pain in the ass. Obviously, I'd had my ATM card skimmed – either at the Chase ATM (maybe that was why the transaction failed), or at the other credit union's ATM (it had been a very cheap looking system).

I told the guy to block my card and we started going through the tedious business of running through recent transactions, verifying my identity, and so on. It dragged on and on. These were my last hours in New Orleans, and I'd left my family at home and gone out to see some of the pre-Mardi Gras krewe celebrations and get a muffalata, and I could tell that I was going to run out of time before I finished talking to this guy.

"Look," I said, "you've got all my details, you've frozen the card. I gotta go home and meet my family and head to the airport. I'll call you back on the after-hours number once I'm through security, all right?"

He was frustrated, but that was his problem. I hung up, got my sandwich, went to the airport, and we checked in. It was total chaos: an Alaska Air 737 Max had just lost its door-plug in mid-air and every Max in every airline's fleet had been grounded, so the check in was crammed with people trying to rebook. We got through to the gate and I sat down to call the CU's after-hours line. The person on the other end told me that she could only handle lost and stolen cards, not fraud, and given that I'd already frozen the card, I should just drop by the branch on Monday to get a new card.

We flew home, and later the next day, I logged into my account and made a list of all the fraudulent transactions and printed them out, and on Monday morning, I drove to the bank to deal with all the paperwork. The folks at the CU were even more pissed than I was. The fraud that run up to more than $8,000, and if Visa refused to take it out of the merchants where the card had been used, my little credit union would have to eat the loss.

I agreed and commiserated. I also pointed out that their outsource, after-hours fraud center bore some blame here: I'd canceled the card on Saturday but most of the fraud had taken place on Sunday. Something had gone wrong.

One cool thing about banking at a tiny credit-union is that you end up talking to people who have actual authority, responsibility and agency. It turned out the the woman who was processing my fraud paperwork was a VP, and she decided to look into it. A few minutes later she came back and told me that the fraud center had no record of having called me on Saturday.

"That was the fraudster," she said.

Oh, shit. I frantically rewound my conversation, trying to figure out if this could possibly be true. I hadn't given him anything apart from some very anodyne info, like what city I live in (which is in my Wikipedia entry), my date of birth (ditto), and the last four digits of my card.

Wait a sec.

He hadn't asked for the last four digits. He'd asked for the last seven digits. At the time, I'd found that very frustrating, but now – "The first nine digits are the same for every card you issue, right?" I asked the VP.

I'd given him my entire card number.

Goddammit.

The thing is, I know a lot about fraud. I'm writing an entire series of novels about this kind of scam:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

And most summers, I go to Defcon, and I always go to the "social engineering" competitions where an audience listens as a hacker in a soundproof booth cold-calls merchants (with the owner's permission) and tries to con whoever answers the phone into giving up important information.

But I'd been conned.

Now look, I knew I could be conned. I'd been conned before, 13 years ago, by a Twitter worm that successfully phished out of my password via DM:

https://locusmag.com/2010/05/cory-doctorow-persistence-pays-parasites/

That scam had required a miracle of timing. It started the day before, when I'd reset my phone to factory defaults and reinstalled all my apps. That same day, I'd published two big online features that a lot of people were talking about. The next morning, we were late getting out of the house, so by the time my wife and I dropped the kid at daycare and went to the coffee shop, it had a long line. Rather than wait in line with me, my wife sat down to read a newspaper, and so I pulled out my phone and found a Twitter DM from a friend asking "is this you?" with a URL.

Assuming this was something to do with those articles I'd published the day before, I clicked the link and got prompted for my Twitter login again. This had been happening all day because I'd done that mobile reinstall the day before and all my stored passwords had been wiped. I entered it but the page timed out. By that time, the coffees were ready. We sat and chatted for a bit, then went our own ways.

I was on my way to the office when I checked my phone again. I had a whole string of DMs from other friends. Each one read "is this you?" and had a URL.

Oh, shit, I'd been phished.

If I hadn't reinstalled my mobile OS the day before. If I hadn't published a pair of big articles the day before. If we hadn't been late getting out the door. If we had been a little more late getting out the door (so that I'd have seen the multiple DMs, which would have tipped me off).

There's a name for this in security circles: "Swiss-cheese security." Imagine multiple slices of Swiss cheese all stacked up, the holes in one slice blocked by the slice below it. All the slices move around and every now and again, a hole opens up that goes all the way through the stack. Zap!

The fraudster who tricked me out of my credit card number had Swiss cheese security on his side. Yes, he spoofed my bank's caller ID, but that wouldn't have been enough to fool me if I hadn't been on vacation, having just used a pair of dodgy ATMs, in a hurry and distracted. If the 737 Max disaster hadn't happened that day and I'd had more time at the gate, I'd have called my bank back. If my bank didn't use a slightly crappy outsource/out-of-hours fraud center that I'd already had sub-par experiences with. If, if, if.

The next Friday night, at 5:30PM, the fraudster called me back, pretending to be the bank's after-hours center. He told me my card had been compromised again. But: I hadn't removed my card from my wallet since I'd had it replaced. Also, it was half an hour after the bank closed for the long weekend, a very fraud-friendly time. And when I told him I'd call him back and asked for the after-hours fraud number, he got very threatening and warned me that because I'd now been notified about the fraud that any losses the bank suffered after I hung up the phone without completing the fraud protocol would be billed to me. I hung up on him. He called me back immediately. I hung up on him again and put my phone into do-not-disturb.

The following Tuesday, I called my bank and spoke to their head of risk-management. I went through everything I'd figured out about the fraudsters, and she told me that credit unions across America were being hit by this scam, by fraudsters who somehow knew CU customers' phone numbers and names, and which CU they banked at. This was key: my phone number is a reasonably well-kept secret. You can get it by spending money with Equifax or another nonconsensual doxing giant, but you can't just google it or get it at any of the free services. The fact that the fraudsters knew where I banked, knew my name, and had my phone number had really caused me to let down my guard.

The risk management person and I talked about how the credit union could mitigate this attack: for example, by better-training the after-hours card-loss staff to be on the alert for calls from people who had been contacted about supposed card fraud. We also went through the confusing phone-menu that had funneled me to the wrong department when I called in, and worked through alternate wording for the menu system that would be clearer (this is the best part about banking with a small CU – you can talk directly to the responsible person and have a productive discussion!). I even convinced her to buy a ticket to next summer's Defcon to attend the social engineering competitions.

There's a leak somewhere in the CU systems' supply chain. Maybe it's Zelle, or the small number of corresponding banks that CUs rely on for SWIFT transaction forwarding. Maybe it's even those after-hours fraud/card-loss centers. But all across the USA, CU customers are getting calls with spoofed caller IDs from fraudsters who know their registered phone numbers and where they bank.

I've been mulling this over for most of a month now, and one thing has really been eating at me: the way that AI is going to make this kind of problem much worse.

Not because AI is going to commit fraud, though.

One of the truest things I know about AI is: "we're nowhere near a place where bots can steal your job, we're certainly at the point where your boss can be suckered into firing you and replacing you with a bot that fails at doing your job":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/15/passive-income-brainworms/#four-hour-work-week

I trusted this fraudster specifically because I knew that the outsource, out-of-hours contractors my bank uses have crummy headsets, don't know how to pronounce my bank's name, and have long-ass, tedious, and pointless standardized questionnaires they run through when taking fraud reports. All of this created cover for the fraudster, whose plausibility was enhanced by the rough edges in his pitch - they didn't raise red flags.

As this kind of fraud reporting and fraud contacting is increasingly outsourced to AI, bank customers will be conditioned to dealing with semi-automated systems that make stupid mistakes, force you to repeat yourself, ask you questions they should already know the answers to, and so on. In other words, AI will groom bank customers to be phishing victims.

This is a mistake the finance sector keeps making. 15 years ago, Ben Laurie excoriated the UK banks for their "Verified By Visa" system, which validated credit card transactions by taking users to a third party site and requiring them to re-enter parts of their password there:

https://web.archive.org/web/20090331094020/http://www.links.org/?p=591

This is exactly how a phishing attack works. As Laurie pointed out, this was the banks training their customers to be phished.

I came close to getting phished again today, as it happens. I got back from Berlin on Friday and my suitcase was damaged in transit. I've been dealing with the airline, which means I've really been dealing with their third-party, outsource luggage-damage service. They have a terrible website, their emails are incoherent, and they officiously demand the same information over and over again.

This morning, I got a scam email asking me for more information to complete my damaged luggage claim. It was a terrible email, from a noreply@ email address, and it was vague, officious, and dishearteningly bureaucratic. For just a moment, my finger hovered over the phishing link, and then I looked a little closer.

On any other day, it wouldn't have had a chance. Today – right after I had my luggage wrecked, while I'm still jetlagged, and after days of dealing with my airline's terrible outsource partner – it almost worked.

So much fraud is a Swiss-cheese attack, and while companies can't close all the holes, they can stop creating new ones.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to post about it whenever I get scammed. I find the inner workings of scams to be fascinating, and it's also important to remind people that everyone is vulnerable sometimes, and scammers are willing to try endless variations until an attack lands at just the right place, at just the right time, in just the right way. If you think you can't get scammed, that makes you especially vulnerable:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/24/passive-income/#swiss-cheese-security

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[yangfleurs]

midnight mistakes.

summary: in which you accidentally delete something on chan’s laptop and he does not take it well.

genre: ANGST

———————————————————————

your favorite part of the week was sunday evening. your boyfriend was going to pick up dinner, you had just gotten out of the shower freshly waxed and washed, and now you were lounging around in chan’s hoodie on the living room searching for something for you to watch while you waited for chan to come home.

you mindlessly scrolled through netflix in a daze until you heard your phone ping. you grabbed it off of the coffee table and immediately, your heart sank. it was a notification informing you your final paper was due at 9 p.m.—10 minutes from now. you knew you definitely finished it, but you must've forgotten to turn it in. you sprung off of the couch and ran into your bedroom, rummaging through your backpack to find your laptop. you found it easily—turning it on, however? the ancient relic you called a laptop was definitely dead, and you didn’t have the time to wait around, especially since you still had to make edits before turning it in. you groaned in frustration, chucking the laptop back into your bag before shooting up and making a bee line for chan’s laptop. surely your angel of a boyfriend would understand, right?

chan’s laptop whirred and turned on in no time. you quickly typed in his password and held your breath as it unlocked. you ignored the tabs chan had open and immediately went to work, logging in and editing at lightning speed. your fingers cramped and hurt but you paid it no mind, continuing to rapidly proofread your work before finally turning it, just a minute before time was over. you were proud of yourself, patting yourself on the back for being able to make a deadline with only a ten-minute notice.

breathing out and stretching your back, you groaned and crossed out the window, only realizing after the fact that you had closed the tabs chan had had opened. you gulped nervously, hoping you didn't close anything important. chan wasn't the type to leave anything unsaved open anyways. you convince yourself to feel secure in the excuse, ignoring your anxiety and wandering back to the living room couch. you resumed your mindless netflix scrolling, settling on a show chan had recommended you caught up on so you could watch it together. you turned the show on and got comfy, knowing you had hours of binging ahead of you until chan got home.

but before that, you found yourself knocked out on the sofa some time between the third and fourth episode you managed to watch. you yawned, being woken up abruptly by the beeping sound of someone entering the door code. you lazily pushed the hair out of your face and got up to meet your boyfriend at the door.

he smiled tiredly as you appeared in front of him, opening his arms to invite you to a warm hug. you stumbled into him immediately, breathing in and relaxing against him. he pulled you in to his embrace tightly, humming contently before kissing the top of your head.

"were you sleeping, baby? it's only 11, though?" he mumbled into the hug.

"not a fan of that show you wanted to watch together," you yawned, making him laugh, "why are you home so early, though? wasn't expecting you for another couple hours." you questioned, rubbing your eyes and pulling away from him to look him in the eyes.

"I have some work to do at home," he said, "and I missed you, obviously." he chuckled sheepishly as he hung his jacket up on the coat hanger. "oh, do you know where my laptop is? I'm gonna need that."

"bedroom. I-I used it by the way, mine was dead, hope you don't mind." you chuckled nervously. you hated using things without asking first, and especially with things that were as important to the owner like chan's laptop was to him. and the way his face grew impossibly paler at your mention of using his laptop only made you even more anxious.

"n-no of course I don't, but you didn't close any of my tabs...right? you couldn't have, right?" he questioned hopefully, rushing to the bedroom with you hot on his trail. you felt like screaming, crying---anything that would lessen the pit of guilt growing in your chest. your breath was shaky as you stayed quiet.

"chan, I'm so sorry. It was an honest mistake, I swear." you whispered, feeling small and useless. even if it was an honest mistake, you knew it was a big one by the look of sheer panic and devastation rippling across chan's face.

"no no no no, y/n, no! this is due in a week, I spent months on those tracks! so many sleepless nights, and for what? I don't even have anything to show for it!" he yelled in frustration, discarding his laptop by tossing it onto the bed and away from him so he wouldn't break the thing.

"I'm so so sorry." you squeaked, not knowing what else to say. tears welled in your eyes and you flinched as chan groaned angrily and dropped his face into his hands.

"just leave please. I can't look at you right now." he said solemnly.

"w-what?"

"get. out." he gritted his teeth and squeezed his fists before releasing his breath.

"chris, it's so late, where do you expect me to go?" you asked meekly, suddenly feeling incredibly small in the face of his anger.

"y/n, please. I already have so much more on my plate now thanks to you, and you being here is only reminding me of how we got to this point and it's pissing me off more. so please," he turned to face you and spat with a pained look in his eyes, "leave. now." he rubbed his face and turned his back to you.

"I understand you're angry and need space. but if you're really telling me to leave our apartment this late at night just because you're angry," you gulped and took a deep breath to prepare your own heart for the next words you were about to say, "don't expect me to come back." your voice cracked. you waited for chan to turn around and stop you, but he only turned to his side to grab the headphones sitting on the desk next to him. it felt like he'd just abandoned you in that moment, leaving you with no choice but to keep your word.

you didn't think twice, turning to leave, not even bothering to grab your things or even a jacket, running out of your apartment building before finally letting yourself cry. the fresh spring rain came down sprinkling around you, making you shiver and leaving your skin uncomfortably sticky and wet. you walked quickly to the only place you knew you could go right now as midnight approached, not once turning back to see if chan had followed you out, knowing in your heart that when he sat down to work, nothing could distract him. not even his girlfriend---his partner and best friend---walking out on him.

pt. 2 coming soon!

[matan4il]

sorry if this isn't a good place to ask but you're one of the few blogs on here that has actually done any research at all on the subject and. yknow how the pro-palestine donation posts repeatedly give you the option to buy esims specifically. why is that? I've never seen any other movement where the donation posts had you buy esims for them. what fucking use *are* they? you can't eat them, drink them- you might be able to order food with them if it wasn't for the fucking war.

maybe this is cynicism on my part but i genuinely suspect they're being used by hamas to spread propaganda. why else would they need that many esims? but you definitely know more about this than i do.

Hi lovely, sorry it took me a moment to reply!

I can tell you that even before I got this ask, the eSims campaign struck me as odd and suspicious, based on a few basic things I know, but if I was going to reply to you on this, I needed to do some research about it.

To make this ask reply clear, by "connectivity" I mean the ability to either make phone calls, log onto the internet, or both.

Okay, so why did this campaign make me wonder in the first place? Because while there have been some connectivity problems for Gazans, from what I know, there was only one time when connectivity was down to a degree that would justify a campaign, even then it wasn't completely gone for good, because Israel has worked to restore connectivity to Gazans. But I also wondered whether, if the connectivity is down, an eSim would be the solution? And if it would be, why would there be a need for that many eSims? We're over 5.5 months into this war, that's almost half a year of constantly hearing how Gaza is about to starve, so are eSims really Gazans' biggest problem if they have no food and basic needs? But even if it was enough of a problem to merit a campaign, wouldn't there have been more than enough donations by now to have solved it to a considerable degree? Since connectivity was never fully gone for long, surely there's a limit to how many more eSims they actually need, at least at certain points in time? From my experience with donating to Israelis displaced or affected by Palestinian terrorists (in this war, as well as during previous crises), there does come a time when you hear, "Okay, thank you to everyone donating X, we have enough of that, what we need now is more of Y, we would really appreciate you donating that!" But there has been no moment when we saw the eSims campaign saying, "We've had enough donations of this type, thank you, now please look more into donating X or Y, which Gazans currently need more."

And that led me to another question - if there is a certain scam involved here, what kind? Is it a financial one? Is this just meant to get money from the rest of the world feeling bad for Palestinians, and beyond the financial theft, it's harmless? Or is the money going to Hamas and people affiliated with it, which means it might be financing terrorism and the continuation of killing? Or maybe the scam is in allowing Hamas terrorists connectivity that can't be tracked as easily by Israeli security forces, which are trying to avert terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians?

I am not the biggest expert, so I don't have all the answers, but here's what I have managed to figure out.

So, first of all, connectivity requires physical infrastructure. Israel has been providing that for Gaza for years, in the form of underground cables and cellular antennas positioned on both sides of Israel's border with Gaza (source in Hebrew). The Oct 7 massacre initiated by Hamas and the following war have at times physically damaged this infrastructure, which is why Gaza has had less connectivity than usual (though it's not gone). The one time which was the worst, in terms of connectivity, the internet (but not all connectivity) was down from Friday, until Israel managed to fix things on Sunday (link above is the source for all this, it's an article from Oct 31, 2023. That said, Oct is when the most connectivity issues were reported). That means that Gaza was never fully offline except for that short period of Friday to Sunday. It also means the connectivity issues are not some plot to keep Gazans from telling the world about their plight (the way I've seen the eSims campaign presented on social media), or the connectivity would be totally down, and Israel would not do anything to restore it at any point.

And I'm pointing this out to explain one of two reasons why eSims being bought for Gazans might be useless as a solution to Gaza's connectivity if Israel was actually purposely harming it. (this following part is based on me reading way too many articles about eSim technology, those can be easily found everywhere online)

If the physical infrastructure providing the signal (which mobile networks use to provide connectivity) is physically damaged, eSim technology can't bypass that. Because eSim technology doesn't provide the signal, it just allows the owner of an eSim to easily switch between mobile networks without having to switch physical SIMs provided by these networks. That means, that for the eSim to work, there has to be some connectivity anyway. There also has to be connectivity in the first place in order to activate the eSim program paid for by someone outside Gaza (not to mention, they'd need connectivity to get the code, and learn that they're getting an eSim, and how to activate it). If Israel really was intentionally cutting off Gaza's connectivity by shutting down the physical infrastructure, as it's being presented online, eSims would be completely useless. You wouldn't be able to activate them, and you wouldn't have a signal that allowed you to use them. A campaign that misrepresents the basic facts (as if Israel is intentionally denying Gazans connectivity, or as if eSims can provide connectivity all on their own) is suspect to me.

The other reason why eSims wouldn't be a solution for many (if not most) Gazans, even if you do have connectivity, is that it also requires you to have an eSim compatible smartphone. The 'e' in eSim stands for 'embedded.' That means the technology that allows the use of eSims has to be embedded into the phone you're using, and then you can buy and activate an eSim. If you buy an eSim and wanna use it with a smartphone that doesn't have the required technology embedded, that's a bit like buying a wireless charger to use with an older phone that can only be charged through a cable (it just doesn't have the technology embedded that allows it to connect to and be charged by a wireless charger). The technology allowing the use of eSims has only been embedded in more recent phone models, which Gazans are less likely to have.

Regarding that last point, I wanna explain that, as mentioned in the above Hebrew link, before the war Gaza's mobile networks were all operating on 3G technology, even though most phones now operate on 4G or even 5G technology, which means it wouldn't be worth it for the average Gazan to invest in buying a newer phone, which is presumably more expensive than an older model. Especially if it's one that can't even connect to the older 3G network.

That's not to say there wouldn't be any Gazans with newer phones. The myth spread before the war for years called Gaza a 'concentration camp' or 'open air prison' as if people there have nothing (which makes vids comparing Gaza before and after the war particularly ironic. Either there was nothing before the war, and then the war didn't change much, or Gaza was a beautiful, thriving place before the war, and then calling it a 'concentration camp' was a Holocaust distorting lie). Here's the truth, there were indeed many Gazans who were poor and didn't have that much. But there were also Gazans who were extremely rich, the gap there was one of the biggest in the world. A lot of Israelis are familiar with the Twitter hashtag that documented wealth and luxury in Gaza before the war, TheGazaYouDontSee. It was based on an Arabic speaking Israeli Jewish woman following the social media accounts of actual Gazans, and sharing in English what they would upload, showing stuff like resorts, hotels, luxury cars that most Israelis I know can't afford. You know, typical concentration camp stuff. You'd have to scroll back in the hashtag a bit to find those older tweets from before the war, some have been captured and shared on Tumblr as well.

Where does the gap come from? Not all of it, but a big part is about who is in Hamas (and who isn't), who's affiliated with Hamas (and who's not), who gets some of the donated billions of dollars being poured into Gaza over the years and mostly stolen by Hamas, who gets some of the money coming from Qatar, who gets some of the money coming from Iran, and so on. In other words, the poverty that existed in Gaza before, existed despite how much money was being invested in it for years, and because of Hamas and Hamas-related thieves, making a profit out of it, while keeping sections of the Gazan population poor and without aid.

BTW, if there would have been a permanent ceasefire now, this would just be replicated. The world would donate more money than ever, and Hamas would steal almost all of it, with a big chunk going to the financing of terrorism (building terror tunnels we now know are more extensive than the NYC subway or the London tube, stocking up on rockets, drones, explosives, assault rifles, RPGs and more, which allow Hamas to continue to fight the strongest army in the Middle East and target innocent Israeli civilians for over 5.5 months) and the rest lining up their own pockets, enabling them to lead a VERY nice, comfortable, even luxurious life.

So which Gazans are the most likely to have eSim compatible smartphones? The rich ones, who are in or associated with Hamas.

And that brings me to the question of what's the real purpose of the eSims campaign.

One aspect could be the propaganda value of such a campaign. They're not just repeatedly asking people to donate money for eSims, many posts are asking for it, while insisting on the vilifying lie that Israel is keeping Gaza disconnected on purpose. It's a bit like the boycott campaign. Starbucks is not actually affiliated with Israel or Israeli policy, it doesn't even have any branches in Israel, it tried in the past, but had to close here. So why in the world would it finance anything Israeli? When an Israeli Prime Minister has to decide whether to finish off Hamas, so that hundreds of thousands of Israelis can safely return to their homes in southern Israel, he's not calling a chain of cafes that doesn't even sell anything in this country. The only current sort-of-link to Israel, is that the CEO is Jewish. So if Starbucks is boycotted and takes a financial hit, that has zero influence on Israel or its policies. Why then has Starbucks been targeted? Maybe partly because of the CEO, which is antisemitic. But most likely, it's because Starbucks is an easy to spot brand when pics of celebs are being taken, which allows people to talk about the boycott. And that's the value, it's a PR move, to get it into everyone's head that anyone associated with Israel should be canceled. To repeat it constantly regarding different celebs, until the message gets through, that the biggest monster in this world, and the one state that everyone should be united against, is the Jewish one.

The financial aspect. Again, I'm not a big expert, but I can't really see how, if people are being asked to pay eSim providers directly, this would be done for financial gain. I could be wrong, maybe there is some way to funnel the money to the people in the campaign instead of regular Gazans, but on the surface at least, I'm not sure how (since they're not asking for the receipts, just the activation code). It could still be about financial gain in the sense that the eSims aren't providing connectivity when the physical infrastructure is down, but they mean some Gazans haven't had to pay for their internet for a while. Which ones? Most likely, the ones in or affiliated with Hamas. I personally do not like the idea of terrorists launching a massacre that is the opening shot of a war, relying on all the donations they can steal after the end of the war to make it worth while, and then as a perk getting their internet paid for by strangers.

Then there's the direct value to Hamas, meaning the option that the campaign is meant to directly help Hamas' terrorist activity, or terrorist goals. Meaning, not only are the eSims going to people who are in or have connections to Hamas, the codes are sent to them specifically to aid them with harming Israel.

Why am I considering this option? For one thing, because we know that since the start of the war, Hamas terrorists inside Gaza have been directing terrorist activity outside of it. One example is a Palestinian terrorist squad, which was directed from Gaza, and was thankfully stopped before they managed to carry out the attack they were planning, and here's another similar example, of a terrorist squad made up of 13 Israeli Arabs, and directed from Gaza on how to carry out mass terrorist attacks, stopped thanks to documents the IDF found while operating inside Gaza. An attack that was successfully carried out and was confirmed as directed from Gaza, is the one where terrorists shot to death several people in Jerusalem, during what was supposed to be a truce between Israel and Hamas, during which Israeli hostages would be released (I heard this recently on TV, online I sadly only managed to find a source that these terrorists had a track record of being directed from Gaza). These terrorist directives from Gaza require connectivity, preferably of the type that Israeli security can't track.

And we do know that our forces do track Hamas cellular activity. For example, we've learned that on Oct 6, Israel discovered weird cellular activity in Gaza, where a lot of Hamas terrorists were activating (physical) Israeli SIMs, allowing them to connect to local networks once inside Israel. This led to a discussion of Israeli army seniors in the middle of the night, on whether this is a sign that something's up, but eventually it was concluded that Hamas terrorists have done this before, so the alarm was (unfortunately) not raised, and the massacre wasn't prevented. In other words, it's possible that eSims can help Gazan Hamas terrorists to direct terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians outside Gaza, and it's also possible that, when Hamas is continuously trying to breach the Israeli border, an eSim could help them if they make it into Israel, by not needing to activate an Israeli SIM, detectable by Israeli security. IDK that this is the intent, but for me personally, I would prefer to err on the side of caution, and be sure that I haven't unknowingly donated an eSim, that might have assissted in the murder of an innocent civilian.

I also mentioned directly aiding Hamas' terrorist goals, not just their activity. This terrorist organization dared launch its massacre, despite knowing the Israeli reaction would be fierce (as any country's would be if its citizens would have been so extremely brutalized), because it relied on using regular Gazans as human shields, then showing the world horror pictures, which would get everyone distressed enough, that they would overlook the massacre, and Hamas' vow to repeat it, and focus on demanding an immediate ceasefire, saving Hamas from being destroyed. We know Hamas uses "journalists," and some of these "journalists" are actual terrorists (generally, there's no free press in Gaza thanks to Hamas) and others to broadcast this narrative of horrors (that if successful, would lead to greater horrors). The eSims campaign has mentioned specifically providing connectivity to journalists, which means serving the ability of Hamas to go on inundating the world with images that fit the narrative it needs the world to believe, in order to save itself, and continue carrying out terrorist attacks (or God forbid, massacres).

Here's the relevant citation from the campaign site, which highlights providing Gaza "journalists" with eSims:

I'm not gonna tell anyone what to do with their money, but I'll repeat my personal POV. I do think we're all responsible for the money we donate, and we can't just give it away to causes that will make us feel good about ourselves, without making sure that the money won't end up in the hands of terrorists, and do real harm. The latter is our responsibility, even if we didn't know it will go to terrorists, because we should check and make sure that we know who the money goes to. The first responsibility we all have is, "Do no evil," right? Even the least awful scenario of what might be the driving force behind the campaign, is still one that financially compensates people affiliated with Hamas, and contributes to a false demonization of the Jewish State. But at the end of the day, this is an individual choice, that each person has to make for themselves.

I hope my reply helps! Sorry for the length, and hoping that you are doing well, and taking care of yourself! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[fanlore-wiki]

September 22nd: Fanlore is getting an upgrade

Time flies since the last time Fanlore got a MediaWiki upgrade, but we need to wait no longer! This Sunday, September 22, Fanlore is scheduled to go through a MediaWiki upgrade at 4pm UTC (what time is it for me?)

MediaWiki is the software behind Fanlore, and the upgrade means we'll have fewer bugs and better security.

As we have less than 24 hours till the scheduled upgrade begins, please keep in mind that Fanlore will go into read-only mode during that time. This will last for about 1-8 hours while everything migrates and is tested, and during the upgrade you'll be able to browse Fanlore, but won't be able to log in or make edits. (So be sure to save your edits beforehand!)

Watch this space for more information on the scheduled upgrade, and if you have any questions, our Ask box is open - you can also join our Discord server!

----

We value every contribution to our shared fandom history. If you’re new to editing Fanlore or wikis in general, visit our New Visitor Portal to get started or ask us questions here!

[andiatas]

Police confirm: Charged with bodily harm

Mette-Marit's son was arrested by the police and thrown into solitary confinement after a serious incident of violence. A woman was hospitalized.

Marius Borg Høiby (27) is said to have been arrested by the police on the night of Sunday.

The reason is an incident in an apartment on Frogner in Oslo, where a woman in her 20s was present.

What happened in the apartment between the two is a bit unclear. But according to what Se og Hør learns, Mette-Marit's eldest son is said to have attacked her psychologically and physically.

The woman eventually managed to get Borg Høiby out of her apartment and called the police. The police secured technical evidence and conducted a brief interrogation of the woman.

The woman was then admitted to the hospital for investigation. She was discharged early Monday morning after being diagnosed with a concussion.

Borg Høiby was arrested at another address sometime after the incident. He was then taken to the Oslo police station, where, according to Se og Hør, he was put in solitary confinement. According to what Se og Hør learned, he was released on Monday afternoon after more than 30 hours in police custody.

As a matter of routine, a blood test was taken from Borg Høiby to find out if he was under the influence of [drugs or alcohol].

The incident is not listed in Oslo police logs.

The police confirmed to Se og Hør that they went to an address in Frogner on Sunday morning following a report of a violent incident that must have happened during the night.

"A person was arrested and charged with bodily harm and later released from custody."

Translation and editing for clarity by me of an excerpt from an article by Anders Johan Stavseng for Se og Hør, published on August 6, 2024, at 17:16 and updated at 17:47.

Note: Mette-Marit better be at Skaugum and giving him the telling off of his life

[flightrising]

Night of the Nocturne Reminder

Night of the Nocturne starts this weekend on Sunday, December 18th at 06:00 server time!

If it's been a bit since you last logged into your Flight Rising account, now's the time to check!

Why? Earlier this year we introduced new account security measures which requires returning players to enter a code that's sent to their registered email address. If you've lost access to that email or your email isn't receiving the code, you'll need to contact Flight Rising Support through Contact Us to regain access to your account.

With the observed holidays coming up, there may be delays processing these requests. So if it's been awhile, log in now to make sure you've got access to your account!

[thelreads]

Sunday sunday, oh powerful day of the sun, may you tell me what chapter we shall liveblog today? What's this? Spy x Family you say? Oh of course, it shall be done, rest assured oh powerful fusion ball of death in the sky.

And we continue after the totally expected mess the kids got thrown into last time. The terrorists got them, and now Twilight and Yor are gonna to have to make a real mess to save their baby. Meanwhile Anya will continue to try to get Damian to call her an uggo. So much stuff going on, this time, on Mission 70!

it feels like we're starting this at a high Speed(1994)

Wait, four busses were taken? I thought it was only two of them. Oh jesus, there's a lot more people in this than it showed

Also, Mr fake badass, i hope you pay for that damage, the car wasn't insuranced.

also, of course, they don't want to look bad since the kids of a lot of rich and powerful people just got kidnapped- you know what, now that I think about it, shouldn't there be a log of security around the busses? I mean, they are the children of the elite, and they were out of the campus, not even some cop cars to escort them around?

[violetsandfluff]

Coffee Shop AU (s.m.)

a/n: this has been in my drafts since November. I planned to post it on Christmas Eve, but only now got around to polishing it up.

tw: allusions to smut?

word count: 3.4k+

summary: shawn and a cute customer in the shop after hours

Only a university campus would have a coffee shop open from six am to midnight. A vast variety of students flowed through the shop steadily, getting their beverages to go or staying to enjoy them and take advantage of the free wi-fi. The shop’s location made it easily accessible for students traveling to and from their classes, and a convenient place to study and work on group projects. The shop was also run primarily by students, providing them with a way to make money on campus in bite-sized shifts.

The cafe was a small shack designed to look like a log cabin. Despite the limited space inside, the tables and booths were comfortably spaced. The booths were covered in a rough, resplendent upholstery and the tables were a yellowy, polished wood. A long, narrow high-top table was positioned down the center of the room, divided by a metal structure down the center with built-in outlets for convenient charging. There was an assortment of chairs and backless stools available for maximum comfort, and a plethora of outlets scattered around for convenience. The wifi password was plastered on the wall by the door, and on the chalkboard menus, which were always neat and colorful.

It was a popular study spot for students during the day, but not so much at night. Students tended to flock to the shop before their classes or for a mid-afternoon energy boost; not a bedtime snack.

Among the workers there was Shawn, a lissome junior who tended to keep to himself. He was pleasant enough when taking orders or preparing coffee, but he usually chose the latest shifts when fewer people came looking for coffee. He never minded sweeping the floors or locking up in the dark, and the lack of bustle didn’t bother him. After all, it was rare for even college students to go seeking out caffeine in the form of coffee past midnight.

As finals approached, there was a steady increase of anxious students pouring into the shop late in search of caffeine, wi-fi, or an extra charger for their laptops. As studying intensified, the late-night crowd grew, and more nighttime workers were brought into the shop.

Shawn was used to working alone, rarely having to worry about a customer requiring attention as he worked on another’s drink. However, as finals week drew near, he was positioned solely at the front counter, manning the orders and bakery selection. The small cafe was brimming with students sipping on hot caffeinated beverages as they poured intently over their laptops and textbooks, retaining as much information as they could.

Despite the steady flow of students in and out of the cafe, one girl, in particular, caught Shawn’s eye. She ordered the same thing every night, a dark chocolate mocha, and sat in the same booth by the window as she studied. She, along with the others, tended to pack up and leave just before twelve, leaving Shawn and his coworkers time to clean before they locked up, but one night, Sunday, she found herself so engrossed in her studying that she didn’t realize when the other patrons packed up and left.

Hannah, one of Shawn’s coworkers for the night, tried to secure her attention and ask her kindly to wrap up her studies, but Shawn reassured her, saying that he’d tell her to leave if she hadn’t finished in fifteen minutes.

Giving a resigning sigh, Hannah retreated to the back door, hanging her apron on a hook before disappearing into the cold night air, flipping the sign from open to closed as she left.

Shawn gazed over the counter at the studious girl, entranced in her studies like they were the only thing in the world as he cleaned the coffee machine absentmindedly. Her hair was tucked into the band of her headphones, and she was wearing a simple white sweatshirt with the university’s name on it. Her legs were tucked up next to her, one under her and the other to the side, and her head was resting in her left hand as her right hand flipped the pages of her book. Her drink remained untouched, aside from the sip she’d taken from it when Shawn had handed it to her. The laptop on the table in front of her dimmed, but it did nothing to pry her eyes from the pages of her textbook.

Her lips moved ever so slightly as her eyes scanned the pages, fighting the avalanche of words to retain as much information as she could. Shawn watched all the while, nearly halting as he ran a sudsy rag over the outside of the coffee machine in lethargic circles. His eyes were fixed on the girl’s hunched figure and they had no intent to move.

Fifteen minutes passed faster than Shawn thought they ought to. He had promised Hannah that he would remove the girl from her spot in the cafe in fifteen minutes, twelve-twenty, but his heart raced as he thought of doing so. He fought himself internally behind the counter before finally closing the distance between himself and the compelling girl.

He stood nervously beside her table as he racked his brain for words to say to her.

“Excuse me,” he croaked, his words thudding soundly into the silent room. He repeated it once before sitting down in the booth beside hers, a safe distance away. He reached out a hand to tap her shoulder gently and she jumped in alarm, hastily removing her headphones and shifting her attention to Shawn.

“I’m so sorry,” he began. “I know you’ve been working really hard, but we’re technically closed now. Again, I’m so sorry.”

She glanced from him, to the corner of her computer screen, and back. “You’ve been closed for half an hour!” she noticed in horror. “You could have told me sooner!”

“I didn’t want to interrupt your work,” he admitted, his cheeks flushing slightly as her eyes met his. “I know it sucks to be interrupted.”

“Your shift ended half an hour ago,” she repeated, scrambling to close her book and laptop. “You should be at home, enjoying your own time, not stuck here with me.”

“I don’t mind,” he babbled softly. “My homework’s in the back room. I’ve been working on it a little.”

“That’s good,” she managed apologetically as she turned to her backpack, which was occupying the seat beside her. She shoved her headphones in, but before she could get any further, Shawn stopped her.

Placing a hand gently on her forearm, he asked, “What have you been working on?”

“Studying for exams,” she groaned with an exhausted sigh. “I have a history exam tomorrow and I’m grossly underprepared.”

“That’s the worst,” he empathized.

“What kinds of homework do you have?”

“A little bit of everything,” he replied slowly, feeling his confidence bloom slightly as she took interest in him. “A lot related to holistic health.”

“Really?” She raised her eyes to inspect the honey-colored ones hidden timidly behind his thin, inconspicuous glasses, noticing his flawless complexion and curly, chocolate-colored hair in the process. “You’re into that kind of stuff?”

“Yeah. Holistic medicine and things that go along with that; herbology, homeopathy. Things like that.”

“Is that your major?”

“One of them. I major in both holistic health and psychology, and minor in music theory. What about you?”

“I’m a business major. I can’t imagine taking on two majors. I can hardly handle the one I have.”

Shawn let out a soft chuckle. “I’m Shawn, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Y/N,” she frowned. “I like the name Shawn.”

“I like the name Y/N,” Shawn smiled slowly as he listened to the syllables as they glided off his tongue. “Are you a junior, too?”

“I’m a sophomore. Three semesters in,” she huffed.

“It gets better,” Shawn consoled her automatically.

“Does it really?”

“Not at all,” he replied with a chuckle. “But believe it or not, you’ll get the hang of things.”

“That’s reassuring,” Y/N hummed, rising to her feet. “I should probably let you get home. Do you live on campus?”

“No,” Shawn replied slowly. “I live with my parents since they’re pretty local.”

“Will they be worried since you’re not home?”

“They’ll be fine.” Shawn cast a wary glance at his watch before redirecting his attention to the beautiful girl standing before him. “You can stay a while longer,” he suggested. “I don’t mind.”

She eased back onto the booth beside him, swiveling her body so she was facing him rather than the table. She reached for her drink and maneuvered it to the edge of the table, pulling the straw into her mouth as she glanced away from Shawn’s enchanting honey-colored eyes.

“Are we supposed to be here after hours?” she interrogated, eyeing him skeptically.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” he answered absentmindedly. “After all, I’m used to locking up.”

“At twelve o’clock. Not at twelve-thirty-five.”

Shawn shrugged, shifting his attention to a small rip in the upholstery of the booth. “Do you need help studying for anything?” He felt pathetic dragging what could have been a short conversation out so long, but something inside of him longed to converse with her for a while longer.

“Actually?” She withdrew a planner from her backpack and began flipping through it. “Can you quiz me for my exam?”

“History? Sure.” He tried to hide his excitement as he held out his hand for the notepad. He examined the pages, noting their layout, before turning his body to face hers and clutching the papers against his chest so she couldn’t see. The pages were filled with events and their dates, as well as various other facts that she would need to remember for a thorough paper.

The neat rows and columns made it easy for Shawn to quiz her with. He cleared his throat jokingly, making playfully intimidating eye-contact with her before looking back down at her notepad.

The first few questions breezed by as she recited the answers confidently. But when the questions advanced into more obscure niches, her confidence began to falter.

“Try again,” Shawn urged simply as she sunk her teeth into her lip, her cheeks reddening as she scrambled for the correct answer. Shawn had flipped from the history dates to other tidbits of information she would need over the course of the next few weeks.

“What was the question?” she whined, pulling her drink closer to the edge of the table.

Shawn moved closer to her, resting his head on her shoulders as she examined her page of notes.

He read the page’s contents softly, his warm breath tickling her ear.

She took note of his gentle voice, strong arms, and complex cologne, which seemed representative of his true self.

Pulling the straw back into her mouth, she sat up. The cup tipped over, splashing its milky brown contents all over her pale gray sweatshirt.

She and Shawn pulled apart in alarm. He scrambled to the nearest paper napkin dispenser, grabbing a wad of the flimsy, white material in an attempt to soak up the lukewarm coffee as it dripped down her sweater and onto her white jeans. While they helped pull the excess liquid off of her clothing, a dark stain remained, sinking into all of the creases in her clothing.

“Shit,” she muttered as she stood. “I can feel the wet fabric clinging to me.”

“I know we have some things here to spot-treat it,” Shawn suggested. “Aprons don’t often serve their purpose in these conditions.”

“Then I’d really be wet,” she chirped, ignoring a potential double meaning that could arise.

“I have quite a few extra sweatshirts in my car.”

“Are you saying you’d like me to take one?”

“If we’re going to clean your clothes here, then yes.”

“Staying after hours with a naked girl. I can see it perfectly,” y/n quipped, glancing superstitiously out of the dark windows to Shawn’s lowly green SUV.

“I forgot, I was supposed to close these.” He stood beside y/n for a moment, giving her a taste of how tall he really was before he knelt on the side of the booth to close the blinds. He made his way around every window in the cafe before returning to her. “We have some stain removers in the back room. I’ll get you something from my car if you want to work on getting the coffee out of your clothes.”

“Thank you,” she breathed as he darted out into the snowy night. The lights switched on in his vehicle when he opened the door. She watched through the door as he rummaged around in his back seat, through the presumable mess of textbooks, calculators, and mechanical pencils. Eventually, the car door slammed shut and Shawn pranced hastily back to the front door, cautious of ice patches.

“I forgot that I cleaned out my car last Thursday. I don��t have any sweatshirts.” He paused awkwardly as he toyed with the sleeve of his black cable-knit sweater. “Unless this would work?”

Y/N hesitated. “No. That’s yours.”

“I’ve got an apron,” he reasoned. “Come on, Y/N. It’s nice and soft. And I’ve warmed it up for you.”

“You make it sound so dreamy,” she chuckled. “Okay. I’ll take it.”

He handed her the bottle of stain remover and she disappeared into the shop’s sole bathroom to work in peace. The door was locked behind her as she bent over the sink, Shawn’s sweatshirt falling to her mid-thighs even in the back. She worked at the meddlesome stains with cold water and watched hopefully as the stains faded.

A soft knock on the door alerted her to Shawn’s presence.

“I’m not naked,” she said sarcastically.

He poked his head into the room, raising his eyebrows adorably as he asked, “Is the stain remover working?”

“Pretty well,” she responded.

“That’s good. If not, I have bleach.”

“That’s not necessary,” she assured him. “Thanks, though.”

He glanced at her sweatshirt, which was drying on the coat hook and peeked over her shoulder at her pants, the garment which she was scrubbing vigorously.

“It looks better,” he said pointedly. “We can let the stain bubble out for a few minutes if you want to stop scrubbing.”

She dropped the jeans, allowing them to rest on the counter. “What time is it?”

“Just about one.”

“You had better go,” she said hurriedly, gathering her clothes into her arms. “You should have been gone an hour ago.”

“I’m not kidding when I say I have time.”

“Time for what?”

“Time for you,” Shawn breathed in response. He took a step backward, but she took a step towards him.

Shawn bit his lip as his deep, sincere eyes flicked to the provocative length of her thighs that wasn’t hidden by his sweatshirt. She could tell that he was a terrible liar.

“If you’re okay with me staying, can you quiz me again while my clothes dry?”

“Of course!” His eyes flashed back to her face as he shook the unholy thoughts from his mind. Reaching behind his back, he untied his apron, ducking out of the bathroom and behind the counter to hang it by the employees only door. Without the paisley-printed brown apron, a signature pattern of the cafe’s, Shawn was dressed in a skimpy white undershirt and tight-fitting black jeans. On his feet were minimalistic black boots, and a delicate silver chain was visible around his neck.

“Bring your books, too!” y/n called. “We can study together.”

Shawn gave her a playful salute, swinging his book bag over his shoulder and emerging from behind the counter. He set it on the upholstered bench beside her, watching in feigned dismay as she took a careful sip from her lukewarm beverage.

“I can warm that up for you,” he said pointedly. “But only if you promise to be careful.”

“I can’t make any promises,” she quipped, pulling the straw into her mouth and casting him a deliberate smirk.

“Smartass.” Shawn shook his head, picking up her cup and bringing it into the kitchen. He placed it in the microwave and covered it, his jaw setting instinctively as he punched one minute into the keypad. He pushed his sleeves up his forearms as he rested his head on his hand, which was supported by his elbow on the wall.

Y/N wasted no time opening her thick textbook to the page she had been reading when Shawn interrupted her earlier. Without moving her eyes from the page, she reached fruitlessly for her cup, which she found stupidly to be missing.

“Looking for this, sweetheart?” Shawn inquired with a genuine laugh. He set her drink down beside her book, less than an arm’s length away. She leaned towards it, keeping her eyes locked with Shawn’s as she drew in a swift sip of coffee, effervescent with heat.

“Holy shit, that’s hot,” she cursed after a painful and panicked swallow. “Burned my fucking tastebuds off.”

“Might have overheated it slightly,” Shawn grimaced apologetically.

“My lip is burning from where the straw was,” she whined with a slight chuckle as her eyes watered.

Without explanation, Shawn leaned in to bless her lips with a swift peck. “All better,” he cooed sweetly.

Her stomach fluttered every so slightly at the feeling of his lips on hers. She felt his warm breath condensing on her neck once again as he leaned over her shoulder to absorb the words in her textbook.

Every so often, he nodded his head into her neck, rosy pink lips caressing her skin gently with love. She tried to focus on the materials on the mahogany table in front of her but it was growing increasingly difficult to ignore the fire between her bare thighs. Nonchalantly, she pulled the patterned plastic cup containing her now lukewarm coffee towards her, but before she could take a sip it was snatched from her hand.

Shawn raised the straw to his lips gradually, taking a hesitant sip as his eyes bored holes in hers.

Her heart hammered inside her chest. It had been so long since a man effectively gave her butterflies.

“Just making sure it’s safe to drink,” he explained, sliding it back into her grip across the table’s smooth surface. “Wouldn’t want you to burn your taste buds off, hm?”

Swallowing hard, she agreed.

“Y/N?”

“Shawn?” Gulp. Even saying his name made her heart beat a hundred miles per hour.

“Have you ever been in love?” he inquired innocently, catching you off guard.

Her head snapped to examine his face, furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips. “I guess so.”

“I mean, have you ever been in love, in love?”

His words were met with a blank expression.

“I know I sound stupid, but… you see a cute girl…or guy… and they turn out to be really nice. Lots of common interests, good music tastes, the right mix of flirty and serious. You hit it off but know deep down inside it probably won’t work out.”

“Go on?”

“How do you tell the person? And how do you beat the odds of never crossing paths again?”

“Are you asking for my advice?”

“I guess so,” Shawn began twisting an acrylic ring on his middle finger as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

“Tell her…or him… how you feel. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I could be forced to live my life without her. Even though I just met her, I know that she is the one.”

She nodded slowly. Taking time to absorb his lamentation—and another sip of coffee—she planned out her next words carefully. “Take life at a slow pace. Stop to smell the flowers. And when life gives you cold coffee, don’t let a stranger heat it up.”

Shawn looked up in surprise before erupting into the most euphonious laughter she had ever heard. The whole demeanor of the room shifted.

Cupping her chin in his hand, he leaned forward so his nose was barely brushing against hers. “Well. I’d like to tell you that you are the single most perfect girl I’ve ever met. I… really like you.”

“You’re sweet,” she whispered in surprise after a moment. “I like you too.”

Her lips connected with his in one fluid motion. They parted and closed with respect to each other in a kind of routine she had never danced before.

Just as Shawn’s hand began to creep up her thigh, the sound of a key in a lock and hinges squeaking echoed through the empty building.

“What the hell, Shawn?” Hannah’s voice resounded through the air, thick with tension. “Why are you still here? And half-naked?”

~~~

a/n 2.0: It’s been a minute since I’ve seriously written about Shawn because sometimes it feels like a waste of my time. Thank you if you’re still reading and one of the people I can count on to read my Shawn fics. You guys are the ones who started my blog and the reason I’m still going 💕

~~~

Taglist: @fishingirl12 @chocochipcookie305 @monikamendes @butlerbliss @sonder444

[tessa-liam]

Six Sentence Sunday, May 28/23

Thanks for the tag @petiteboheme

📌Smoke and Mirrors 8, 'The Mirror Doesn't Lie'

The ball was set for the upcoming Saturday at the palace to officially inform the court of the princes and their expected arrival date in August.

It was time to find a gown that could fit her now rapidly changing body and her personal assistant found it.

Gazing at her reflection in the full length mirror, she smiled as she felt flutters in her tummy; the twins doing their daily activities, tucked securely inside her body.

"Claire, this is the one." Riley called out to her assistant,.

Hearing the door closing behind her, Riley was delighted when she felt Liam's strong arms wrap around her, clearly not Claire.

Presenting my new incredible artwork for this series, by @/Ainna...

Liam & Riley, my OTP🥰

📌Marabelle 5, 'Your Breath of Freedom'

Her heart was beating so fast... Sophie was positive that Liam surely could hear and feel her heartbeats as he moved his arm to wrap around her waist.

His thumb softly stroking her bare back, Sophie had to remember to breathe.

Taking her hand in his, he placed it on top of his heart, pulling her close to his chest.

Sophie gently moved her left hand to rest on his arm as the chorus began,

'Oh, my love, my darling. '

'I've hungered for your touch, a long lonely time.'

📌Turning the Page, Prologue

Smiling fondly at the little boy, he splashed the water trying to capture the little frog in his pail.

Riley sat transfixed as she took note of every little detail of his features.

"Penny for your thoughts, Ri?"

Daniel, grinned as he sat down on the log next to his dear friend.

When Riley didn't respond, he turned her head towards him as a single tear fell down her cheek.

"I..I.. don't want to do this anymore. I can't....

📌Ti Amo Molto, Spring Fever Pitch

My entry ***Warning NSFW

Riley turns to look at Liam, as he gives her a sly grin.

"That was truly extraordinary. "

Riley laughs and gives him a playfull smack on the arm.

"I think so too, your Majesty. We should do this again, soon."

"Cheeky as always, my love."

📌My Tag List:

@ao719 @txemrn @queenmiarys @sfb123 @twinkleallnight @alj4890 @differenttyphoonwerewolf @harleybeaumont @busywoman @karahalloway @kingliam2019 @imjusthereforliam @lovingchoices14 @kyra75 @tinkie1973 @emkay512 @malblk21 @kristinamae093 @jared2612 @thesvnsins @irisk12 @walkerdrakewalker @charlotteg234

[blondebeardtheparent]

Captain’s Log

Stardate 20241104

Y2 S1 D40

This past week has been another busy one. The boys have been fighting off chicken pox. They are both recovered at this point so we were able to celebrate Isaac’s birthday with a pizza party this past Sunday.

I have done a lot of traveling recently. I’ve been interviewing for an important position in a large company. If I am able to secure the offer, it will definitely be a turning point. I also went to a job expo for international schools. I submitted some resumes but I do not feel that to be the right direction for me at this point. Even so, I am casting my bread upon the waters to see what happens.

In a few weeks, I will be sharing about the role of praise in our lives, and my research is really challenging me. Up to now, my attitude has been to knuckle under and praise in spite of difficulties while hoping to get through them, but what my study is revealing is that we actually have the mandate to praise because of the difficulties. This is not to say, “Thank you for all the bad things that have happened to me,” but to say, “Thank you that you are working for my good in every circumstance, no matter how disagreeable it is to me at the moment. I trust that you are in control and that you love me right now.” There is a big difference. And as always, He is giving me the opportunity to practice before I share.

Right now, I am praising him for the desert—for this time of physical, financial, and emotional weakness. I am drawing deep on my faith and choosing to trust that this is for my good, not to harm me, and that His love for me is stronger than any difficulties arrayed against me. I challenge you to join me. Maybe there is a situation that is bringing you no end of grief. Instead of asking Father to change it, thank him for it and for what he is teaching you through it. Praise him for this moment and that it is a part of his plan that is higher than your plan.

I don’t know what will happen. I have no guarantees as I am still in the research stage, but somehow, this feels right. I like to know why or at least how things are going to work out, but at this point, I think it's time to accept that they are happening—that even when I cannot see the why or how, He is still in control.

[tapintorealities]

Accepting that I am God is... so fun after a childhood of evangelical religious trauma. 😀

The amount of unhealthily self-effacing shit I was fed as a kid...

Stories teaching me to be "meek like Jesus"

To put myself last; we literally sang a song in Sunday School that went "Jesus, then Others, then You - what a wonderful way to spell JOY", implying that the only way to be happy is to consider yourself at the very bottom of this fictional hierarchy... 😑

That "pride cometh before fall"

That if you get too confident in your own ability, "God" will send you a rude awakening to humble you - so watch out!

Just... Complete and utter bullshit that people in power in those religious circles liked to use to keep their followers feeling small and looking to them as a Higher Authority.

So, I realized earlier that accepting my truest state as Creator, as GOD of my own Reality, felt like a huge No No. Like, in the back of my mind, I was telling myself, "be careful, if you keep believing in yourself like this the REAL God will punish you for your hubris".

Bullshit.

I AM the REAL GOD.

I was lied to as a kid. I was told to seek safety, security, power, happiness, love, etc. OUTSIDE of myself. That I would never be Enough on my own. That I was inherently Evil and needed to be Redeemed. That I would suffer if I relied on my own mind and followed my own desires to plan my life instead of surrendering to the Chr*stian "God"'s plan for me. That I had to give up all control to this particular version of a fictional deity, or perish.

Earlier today, I had to reset a password for something official. To affirm and persist in my newfound realization that I AM GOD, I chose a password that I knew would remind me of this.

And immediately, the website started acting up. It wouldn't let me log in. I panicked for a few seconds, worried that I would have to call customer service and tell them my new password and that they'd judge me for it. I feared I was being punished for my "hubris". I was literally shaking like a chihuahua, y'all. I was rehearsing explaining my password as a "joke".

And then I caught myself. "Wait, didn't I just say I AM GOD? Why am I freaking out? I'm in control, here." I reset my browser and logged back in with no problem, after angrily (yet still shakily, tbh) saying, "Who the fuck are you? You're fucking GOD. Act like it! If you wanna be punished for 'getting too cocky', go ahead and manifest that ig, but you don't fucking HAVE to experience that! Decide what you want and OWN IT."

Anyway, I'm still steadying my breath. Banishing trauma and limiting beliefs doesn't have to be hard, but I'm still working with that mentality. I mean... Nah, fuck that, I'm not accepting any shit like that anymore. I'm literally CREATOR of my own experience. Why would I want to experience shitty stuff??!

Posting this because ik I'm not the only one who's struggled to accept our innate power and gain confidence as the Gods of our own experiences.

Give yourself permission to wake up to your Truest Self; to remember that you are ALL THAT IS, that you are both CREATOR & CREATION, and to ACT like it. 👏✨

You will not be punished for owning your power, unless you accept and persist in the [unwarranted] belief that you should be.

Even if you're shaking as you accept and affirm yourself, keep persisting in that identity. Because your Inner Knowing already knows you are GOD; your physical body/brain will catch up soon.

The more you claim your identity as GOD, the more natural it'll feel. Because that IS your natural state.

You get exponentially more confident in your GODHOOD with every breath.

Assume, affirm, and persist.

You got this; You're literally GOD.

[toaarcan]

My computer has been in for repairs for almost a week now (started as a quick clean for the fans and replacement of the heat sink, then they found out that the fan bearings were about to die so they've had to keep it a bit longer to replace those), and in the meantime I've been getting reacquainted with the Backup Laptop, a tired old thing that we keep around for just such a moment.

Tumblrs, you would cry if you saw the way this thing works.

Firstly, it runs Windows 8. Not 8.1. 8. I don't know if you remember Windows 8, you may have blotted it from your memories as a trauma response, but oh boy is it bad.

When the computer powers on, it opens to the start menu, which was designed for phones. I can't get off the start menu without opening a program.

My parents use Chrome, so I had to install Firefox. I also had to install an old Firefox because the current version does not support Windows 8.

When I first powered it on, I discovered that it was set to launch no less than 25 programs immediately upon powering up. I turned off about five of them, and haven't touched the others because I don't know what they do. Among the programs banished to the shadow realm were Spotify, Microsoft Teams, and Skype. Discord also tries to open itself, but only gets an error message and won't appear on Task Manager. This is probably why it took 20 minutes to wake up that first time.

It has been insanely slow most of the time I've been running it, and a look at Task Manager has revealed the likely culprit: What was previously the Internet security program, which has been devouring 90% of the CPU at minimum at any given moment. As the Internet security program has not been paid for in probably about ten years, it was using 90% of the CPU to do nothing except occasionally nag me to spend money on it.

Every time I turn the computer off, it logs me out of all of my accounts.

Trying to join a Discord call to play D&D on Sunday caused it to go into a Not Responding spiral.

It keeps trying to connect to dial-up despite already being connected to our broadband.

This poor machine needs to be put out to pasture but because it only gets woken up once every six months, it's never reached anywhere near the top of the priority list.

[tushar-trading-company]

When Does the Weekly Limit Reset on Cash App? A Comprehensive Guide

Cash App weekly limit for sending and receiving money depends on the status of account verification. Accounts that are not verified may only transfer as much as $250 per week and a total of $1000 per month. Cash App weekly limit is not reset on a particular date of the week. The reset time begins when you have reached the limit and continues to count down until it resets. It is therefore important to keep track of when you have exceeded them, so that you are aware of when they reset. To check them out, launch Cash App and navigate to your profile section. Let's begin and learn about the weekly limit of Cash App in greater detail and address the most important question: when does Cash App weekly limit reset?

What Is the Cash App Weekly Limit?

The Cash App has weekly limits on the exchange and transfer of funds to safeguard users from frauds, money laundering and other illegal activities. It ensures that they follow the anti-money laundering (AML) laws and remains safe for all users using the platform. The Cash App's weekly limit is the maximum amount you can transfer or withdraw within 7 days period.This limit could differ based on whether your account is verified or not. For verified users Cash App limit for a week is $250 for sending money.

When Does the Cash App Weekly Limit Reset?

The daily limit on Cash App is a continuous seven-day timeframe. It means that your limit is not reset at a set date like Sunday’s midnight, but instead seven days after each transaction. For instance, if you made a transaction on a Tuesday, at 3pm, that amount will "reset" and become available the following week, exactly one week later, at 3PM on the next Tuesday.

How to Check Your Cash App Weekly Limit?

You can check the available Cash App weekly limit by taking the steps mentioned below:

Open the Cash App on your Android or iPhone device.

Go to the Profile section.

Then click down until you reach the "Limits" section.

Here will find the total amount you have sent to, received, or removed, as well as the remaining limitations for the week in question.

How to Increase Your Cash App Weekly Limit?

If you are a verified user (those who have provided additional personal details like your full name and birth date and Social Security number), Cash App raises the limits significantly. Once verified, you can make payments up to $7500 per week and receive an unlimitable amount of cash. Here is how to increase Cash App weekly limit:

First of all, log into your Cash App account

Then go to Profile section and verify your identity

For this, you will be asked to shareall your personal information, including the date of birth, as well as the four digits that make up your Social Security number.

After your account has been verified, your limit for sending will be increased to $7,500 per week. In addition, your Cash App receiving limit will be unlimited.

What is the Cash App Weekly Limit for Withdrawals?

Cash App also putslimits on the amount of money you can withdraw from your bank account within the course of a week. In general, unregistered accounts can withdraw as much as $500 per month, and verified accounts are able to withdraw more. Like the limit for sending however, the Cash App weekly limit for withdrawals is reset on a rolling basis. The reset of every withdrawal takes place exactly seven days following the transaction.

Conclusion

Cash App’s weekly limits are designed to offer security and prevent fraud. By understanding the rolling reset schedule and verifying your identity, you can increase your Cash App’s limit and better manage your transactions. Keeping track of your transaction dates and knowing how the 7-day rolling period works will help ensure smooth transfers on Cash App.

[plasmaandsandstorms]

Sunday, 11.03.2281 - 6:17PM

(The audio log begins with a quiet sigh, followed by the pop of a cork and the sound of gulping before, at last, Lydia speaks.)

So...it was a trap, based on my Pip-boy's chronometer I've been at the Sierra Madre for...five days. In that short time I slept maybe once, the rest I spent juiced up on adrenaline and jamming stimpacks into my arm every half hour. Some crazed asshole, father Elijah of the 'brotherhood of steel' slapped an explosive collar on my neck and forced me help with his idiotic heist to rob the casino. He'd even put together a little crew, a Nightkin, which is apparently a type of 'Super Mutant' spawned from something called 'FEV,' which indicates to me that I was correct in considering them to have once been human. Anyway, he had split personality disorder, the obedient 'Dog' and the controlling 'God' were the splits. Thankfully, by the end of things, I was able to help them realize their similarities. Dog and God are no more, something new is there...he doesn't recognize me but had a feeling that I'm trustworthy.

There was Dean Domino, as well, he's some old singer from before the War. Real piece of work, he was trying to do the same heist as that old bastard during the Pre-War age. Blackmailed some poor actress named Vera Keyes into getting with a guy named Sinclair, makin him fall in love with her and so on and so forth. Stupid...petty bullshit. Anyway, I did what I could...he survived so here's hoping he figures his shit out and lets go of the past. Ugh, that fucking phrase, 'Let Go' I have heard it more times than I care to at this point. It seemed to be the whole goddamn theme of this little excursion, if it had a theme. Hm, interesting way of thinking about it. Anyway, the last member of our little team was a woman named Christine. She was mute when we met, Domino had locked her inside an Auto-doc, just one of many things that make me wonder if I shouldn't have just blown his brains out. Anyway, I got...kinda attached to her but she stayed at the Casino after everything went down. Elijah is dead, with the others' help I was able to take down the turrets and kill him...he never even got to see the inside of the Vault he'd been so desperate to get to. The despair on his face as the last of his life drained out of him will be a memory I hold dear for a while yet. The vault was impressive though, full of useless gold bars and pre-war money...tons of gear too. Nothing I needed, I'd found all I wanted in the villa around the Casino. Including this snazzy little stealth suit, it's pretty solid stuff for being light armor so I'll definitely be keeping it. That and Elijah's Gauss rifle...and his robes. I took everything off of him before making a run for it out of the casino, the area the vault was in was blowing up and I just barely made it out. Thankfully, once I did, the explosive collar deactivated and I tossed it into the fountain as I ran through the gates. Turns out the place I got snatched from? It's some old Brother Hood of Steel bunker, that's what the symbols on the walls are. So, it'll be my secluded little home now. There's a radio too, used to broadcast the sierra madre's call, but now? Now it's just Christine's voice, which is Vera's voice now, speaking to me a last goodbye. Maybe I'll go back one day to be with her, but for now? For now, I am going to sleep good and hard in the comfortable bed Elijah left me...inside this secure bunker that he no longer needs. He couldn't let go. But I could. Oh, and one more thing...he and Christine mentioned a place called the Big Empty...and another courier who had a score to settle. I think it's the same one Mr. Nash mentioned, the one who gave up the job so I could have it. I wonder what the story is there...but I get the feeling I'll find out. (The audio log ends with a long yawn from Lydia, then silence.)

[teamrocketmemes]

[ TOTAL DRAMA WORLD TOUR SONGS ] — PART 2

A lyric starter call from the songs heard in the third season of Total Drama. Feel free to change pronouns when necessary to fit your needs.

Changing Guard Mix

“It's creepy how they stand there, and don't even blink!”

“I don't wanna see his bum, all naked and pink!”

“Can we bribe you to strip yourself down?”

“And I’m allergic to uniforms.”

“Cause if we don't, we're hosed!”

Greek Mix

“I know what you're thinking, I'm thinking it too!”

“I don't know what happened, but I have no regrets.”

“But that locked door couldn't secure our privacy.”

“I can't make out the lyrics, speak up!”

“The pain, the pain! Too much to explain!”

Boyfriend Kisser

“I thought she was my friend, but now it's time to diss her!”

“Sure we had some fun times, but I'm not gonna miss her now!”

“You're not my new sister!”

“Boyfriend kisser!”

“You're gonna get what's coming to you!”

Shear the Sheep

“It's the only way we'll fly first, peeps.”

“Try to lose this and your face I'll maim!”

“Shear the sheep, then, with a smile.”

“You had your chance and you turned him down.”

“And I'll be here, until the bitter end!”

We Built Gwen’s Face

“We've got to build something to sail.”

“As long as it stays afloat!”

“Oh, why did we build [Name]'s face?”

“Just hammering in the final nail!”

“Soon we'll be back in first class!”

Her Real Name Isn’t Blaineley

“Here's an open letter to a treasure of a girl!”

“Without the help of her entourage, her job would be toast!”

“So when she wears the bigger ones, you'll ask if she's lost weight!”

“She's a phony, scheming, weasel-nose!”

“And her real name isn't [Name]!”

Blainerific

“This is so against the rules.”

“Rules? This ain't no Sunday School!”

“Get me a half fat, no foam latte steamed to a hundred-two, heat!”

“WHAT?! Who am I? Who am I?! Who are you?”

“She's not so famous, turns out she's not so famous!”

A Chinese Lesson

“Is it roasted eel?”

“It's still moving its feet!”

“I think I'm nearly done for.”

“We'd rather eat our shirts!”

“[Name]'s in first class with me.”

Wake Up

“Well, it's a beautiful day on the Serengeti.”

“Going alone just makes you look sad and pathetic.”

“I could see the zits right on his face.”

“"Almost" gets you nowhere around here.”

“"Loser" is what the lion called you, when you couldn't find your balls.”

Condor

“I've come here to bring back your wee ones…”

“I've got problems with condors…”

“I'm a mom now, so don't be giving me flak!”

“So, hush, my sweet!”

“And I wanna live to see my thirties.”

This Is How We Will End It

“Now, I'm going to leave you… Wedged up in a hole.”

“Help me out, and I'll be your human drill-rig.”

“Ain't a tea party… It's combat!”

“This is how we will end it.”

“If I'm goin' down, make a fair fight!”

“But there's a bill to be paid!”

Who You Gonna Root For?

“There's Heather, she's an ice queen.”

“Too bad, everybody hates her.”

“Who you gonna root for? Who's it gonna be?”

“The only one winning this is [N-A-M-E]!”

“Kickin' it Hawaiian style, gonna take home the cheddar!”

I’m Winning This

“Rockin' it Hawaii style!”

“One last chance to prove my might.”

“Why else would I volunteer, for something death-defyin'?”

“Go show them you're a winner!”

“Sorry, [Name], don't sue!”

I’m Gonna Make It

“You and I weren't meant to last.”

“Mr. Fair now, suddenly.”

“You can't stop me now, just you try.”

“Let's face it, I'm no TV star.”

“You are the worst, why must you torment me?”

“It's all a game to you, but not to me.”

Versus

“Find me some giant feet!”

“Grab logs to match his frame, all overbuilt and lame!”

“Now it's evil versus wicked.”

“She'll put [Nickname] here through the shredder!”

“Her butt is scrawny and flat, and she ain't all that!”

“Pineapple-head me now!”