#anomallis

[pitgritted]

➤                       @anomallis power accommodates his weaknesses ; but he gets pretty weak when you're up close & personal . HERALD form seems to portray an aggressive stature of power & dominance . 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 . ➤                       might have to overcompensate for his intelligence & experiments . 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐀𝐌 𝐈 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊 ? ➤                       𝐑𝐈𝐏 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐃 - 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐇𝐈𝐌 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄 . he ended up staying longer than i anticipated . ➤                       recently he wanted to appear more ' ionian ' -- whatever that means . given him ionian garbs & a wolverine pin to distinguish him a bit more from the other staff & foreigners .

➤          ��            went through literally all of my prints to be satisfied with a sketch of him . 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐖 ? 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 .

[essencefluxed]

@anomallis con’t.

The way the the gaze of the people he passed by looked at him—the way that Ezreal could see their eyes shimmer with multitudes of colours and focusing right on him made the explorer grimace; almost as if he were disgusted by them looking at him with a strange, almost empty gaze. It made the speed in his steps increase, trying to focus his blue gaze ahead rather than looking at them ( this whole cult thing really freaked him out ).

A sigh of relief left him as Viktor stepped out, expression softening and a shrug leaving the ( slightly ) smaller. “I wouldn’t consider it a weapon if it’s not working—It’s just a big glove, at that point!” He corrected, waving it around again before dropping his hand to pat the canister under his arm. “First things first—You look a LOT different since I left—I didn’t expect to come back to…uh…whatever you call this.” He vaguely gestured to their surroundings with a tilt of his head.

“and second—Yeah, you caught me—But I don’t have anyone else to help me! You already know how this thing works—I think the mana core’s dead—Buuuut, I found this as kind of a backup in Shurima anyway, and it looks similar to the raw mana we used before! But getting it in the gauntlet is a total loss for me…I even have my notes, if you want ‘em!” Slowly he made a few more steps closer to the other until he stood right in front of him; playful expression dancing on his features before warping into a pout as he huffed.

“yeah yeah yeah—I know! But that’s not the problem, I swear! Just—look at it, man! Please??”

[witchcraftandburialdirt]

What if they kissed . . . . @ Haru

✧ ━━ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃? 𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙶𝚄𝙴 𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙴

It felt like time had stretched into an eternity, each minute dragging on while the Lhotlan’s restless energy bubbled beneath the surface as he waited and waited and waited. Although Haru usually relished these moments of their quiet companionship, today was different ━ today, the thrill of his recent explorations throughout Zaun tugged at him and urged him to yank Viktor away from his workbench and have him all for himself. He was wound up and excited ... But the Herald barely acknowledged Haru's presence, a stab to the Vastayan's rather large ego, far too deeply immersed in the soft clinking and clattering of Viktor's creations to notice much of anything else not that said fact made Haru's ego recover quicker. He dropped his satchels' down with a muted thump, and approached while stretching his back. He was a greedy, and impatient, person, after all.

Not that he was fully to blame, at least in his own mind. How could he be when Viktor's focused demeanor drew in Haruko so easily? Bright plumage ruffled as he peered over the Herald's shoulder at his work. Haru smiled to himself, noting the scent of iron clinging to Vik's pale skin, and he couldn't help but want to bridge the gap between them. With a growing, wicked grin, he leaned in and let his plush lips brush along the shell of Viktor's ear. Haru really wished that he could forever savor the slight shiver which coursed through the other man at the contact ━ he was so endearing. Haru's decorated arms encircled Viktor, framing him against the desk and wasting very little time, "Mmm … Come rest with me," he gestured towards Viktor's work with his head, "It will be there after."

The tender responses to Haru's kisses ignited a tingle within the Lhotlan, he delighted in the way Viktor's body reacted to everything; the way his breath hitched slightly when Haruko pressed a gentle bite to his shoulder and the nape of his neck. He wanted nothing more but to place a thousand blooming marks all across him ━ but he would wait just a little longer. Cornflower eyes sparkled with a teasing light as he caught sight of Viktor’s flushed cheeks ━ a sweet cherry hue that forced Haruko's heart to race, "Perhaps after you can show me how it works." He suggested, delving so far as to flutter his lashes up at the inventor and stroke his hand.

Haru's gaze lowered before he ghosted a kiss atop Viktor's lips, tantalizingly close but never quite connecting. He lingered, just enjoying how Viktor trembled; finally, he turned and pulled back. The Vastayan cooed as he left, "I'll be waiting."

[stands4jinx]

@anomallis liked for a starter!

Jinx hops down from the rafters of the greenhouse, careful not to make much noise, as Vander has just fallen asleep. She takes deliberate steps towards Viktor, partly because she doesn’t want to wake her father, but also partly because Viktor is a mystery to her, one she isn’t sure whether she wants to solve. Does it matter, as long as Vander is healed? She supposes it does, if he has ulterior motives. Part of her says she shouldn’t care, that everything’s going to go to shit anyway. But still, Jinx finds herself plopping down on the brick planter beside him.

“For a cookie, you’re awfully persistent,” she says, squinting at him as she props her chin on her hands, elbow on crossed knees.

[cupcait]

❛  we were just fooling ourselves this whole time.  ❜

' No . '

Her tone is firm , detesting any sorrows he's resigned himself to . She cannot , nor would she try to , judge him for fleeing from Jayce ; using whatever ... strange power he'd been granted to help the people harmed by Piltover's negligence .

' You both have wanted the same thing since the beginning , haven't you ? To help the people ? '

She shifts , eyes flicking 'round to observe the followers he's amassed . ' It's not foolish to hope to achieve that . And you still can . Both of you . Perhaps even together . '

[prtector]

His eyes practically remain glued on the other. A shimmer of excitement in them - hes rather intrigued with the crystals that were seemingly hovering around the other.

“ Fascinating. . . .”

❝  easy  on  the  eyes  ,  aren’t  they  ?  ❞  his  hands  rose  to  pull  the  sybaritic  spiraling  gems  from  its  stationary  position  &  guided  them  across  his  chest  &  into  the  cusp  of  his  hands  ,  reducing  its  size  albeit  .  as  an  aspect  ,  the  internal  celestial  entity  ;  although  it  took  on  no  tangible  or  interpretative  form  ,  𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐂  could  feel  the  being’s  lucid  shape  within  his  very  soul  ;  though  it  spoke  naught  ,  𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐂  understood  its  message  with  the  utmost  of  coherence  ;

‘  𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐋  .  ‘

a  warning  .  &  it  repeated  itself  thoroughly  enough  .  withdrawing  his  hands  from  them  ,  the  gemstones  magnetically  spun  back  across  his  shoulder  plates  .  clutching  onto  the  fabric  of  his  vestments  &  fixing  it  .  although  the  protector  grew  weary  of  a  mortal  so  entwined  in  arcane  magic  ,  𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐂  found  no  reason  to  be  .

he  could  see  the  evident  signs  of  curiosity  &  interest  displayed  on  the  man’s  face  .  who  was  he  to  deny  beauty’s  offerings  ?  

[z00lea]

First, love your content on colt.

Second, 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 ❤

Third, about your shitten, Anomality, how does he came to this world? Magic spell? Old natural way? If the last one, who gave birth to him? If an egg, who had the trouble to lay it?

Sorry if it was already asked ♡

accidental ritualistic child

Thank you @xmajordumps for coming up with that one I owe you a big ol kiss

[pitgritted]

❝  don’t  act  like  y’  know  a  thing  or  two  ‘bout  vastaya  —-  when  y’  ain’t  experienced  anythin’  from  em’  first  hand  .  ❞  𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐓  reprimanded  ,  flicking  up  a  digit  at  the  lankier  male  .  ❝  so  don’t  run  yer’  chops  when  y’  ain’t  gotta  clue  .  ❞  at  least  the  truthful  part  ;  the  entire  story  .  vastaya  in  general  were  creatures  bound  by  nature  &  magic  ;  the  elders  carrying  what  their  ancestors  had  fought  for  &  believed  in  .

but  he  would  be  damned  if  he  would  give  them  all  the  praise  ;  they’ll  butcher  anyone  outside  of  their  close  circle  of  blood  .  whatever  tainted  it  was  shackled  &  left  with  hardship  .  ❝  quiet  …  don’t  make  me  laugh  .  quiet  til’  they  got  a  foot  up  their  ass  ,  yes  :  act  like  they’re  too  good  .  ❞  ears  stand  again  ,  moving  to  fold  burly  arms  across  his  chest  .  ❝  hah  —  ❞  the  boss  would  snort  at  the  comment  .

❝  that’s  my  whole  business  —  y’see  .  i’m  not  th’  one  t’  turn  down  sum’  spotlight  .  ❞

He's unmoving, staring down this newfound curiosity that presented itself in front of him. He wanted to watch - as if studying the half bloods movements. It wasn't the first time he's ever seen a Vastayan - or even that of a different species. It was just strange for him to view a half breed. Not that he disliked it or hated it - matter of fact he admired him.

" A simple observation - just as you made of me. I assumed we were pointing out the obvious. I am not doing it as a bad thing, however. You are rather unique from the others I have seen in my travels. I was under the impression most Vastaya keep to themselves. You seem to revel in whatever attention you get ."

[an0ma1y-th3d0ma1y]

Tickletober DAY 5: Punishment

This might be my favorite so far 😭😭😭

[lazysoftmilk]

I haven't determined their exact height yet but one thing I do know is that they are quite tall or very tall.

[pitgritted]

➤ (  Heehee  )  What  if  they  kissed  ?

➤                       sent  by  @anomallis

fingers  still  sizzled  with  magic  ;  the  agonizing  sensation  of  bubbling  flesh  ignited  in  a  series  of  ripples  through  the  ridges  of  course  &  scarred  knuckles  .  although  bandaged  with  care  by  viktor’s  delicate  hands  ,  it  grappled  like  a  hook  upon  his  blue  vestments  .  pulling  &  leaving  deep  folds  within  the  fabric  until  viktor  was  sufficiently  against  him  .

his  muscles  were  a  heavy  contrast  against  the  metallic  ones  overlaying  in  ridges  ,  though  every  definition  of  the  body  fitted  perfectly  .  𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐓  breathed  sharply  through  his  scarred  nose  ,  nostrils  flared  &  sank  as  he  hollowed  the  ridges  overlaying  his  cheeks  .  artery  twitches  &  his  mouth  is  parted  in  a  crooked  smile  .  wet  with  his  breathing  .

he  didn’t  feel  the  other  man  pull  away  when  𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐓  pushed  further  &  kissed  him  .  he  didn’t  feel  the  downward  pull  of  muscle  demonstrating  a  tired  frown  that  usually  mounted  the  herald’s  face  .  it  felt  odd  ;  nothing  of  vileness  touched  the  buds  of  his  tongue  but  a  frightening  thrill  of  adrenaline  when  lips  connect  .

the  vastaya  could  taste  the  lick  of  magic  ;  it  was  metal  &  strangely  hot  .  acidic  .  his  irises  highlighted  with  an  orange  hue  as  he  clutched  onto  viktor  with  a  fraction  of  his  strength  .  a  sultry  rumble  echoed  through  his  throat  ,  shaking  the  deep  pitches  of  his  throat  &  scratching  his  voice  as  he  uttered  audible  satisfaction  .  he  parts  briefly  ,  canines  gusting  the  hem  of  herald  savior’s  lips  .

❝  y’  taste  good  ,  vik’  .  ❞

⟐ what  if  they  kissed

[essencefluxed]

“ It is alright, Ezreal. Many suffer from being vertically challenged .”

“YOU CAN’T SAY ANYTHING, YOU’RE ONLY TWO INCHES TALLER THEN ME!!!”

[hellosweetart]

Wait you have a beatboxing Steven AU?? 😭😭

Oh nvm i misread its boxing steven

That would be so funny

"Son, why ya fartin' on yer mout'?"

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Joseph Cox’s “Dark Wire”

NEXT WEEKEND (June 7–9), I'm in AMHERST, NEW YORK to keynote the 25th Annual Media Ecology Association Convention and accept the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity.

No one was better positioned to tell the tale of the largest sting operation in world history than veteran tech reporter Joseph Cox, and tell it he did, in Dark Wire, released today:

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joseph-cox/dark-wire/9781541702691/

Cox – who was one of Motherboard's star cybersecurity reporters before leaving to co-found 404 Media – has spent years on the crimephone beat, tracking vendors who sold modded phones (first Blackberries, then Android phones) to criminal syndicates with the promise that they couldn't be wiretapped by law-enforcement.

It's possible that some of these phones were secure over long timescales, but all the ones we know about are ones that law enforcement eventually caught up with, usually by capturing the company's top founders explicitly stating that the phones were sold to assist in the commission of crimes, and admitting to remote-wiping phones to obstruct law-enforcement options. It's hard to prove intent but it gets a lot easier when the criminal puts that intent into writing (that's true of tech executives, too!):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/03/big-tech-cant-stop-telling-on-itself/

But after a particularly spectacular bust landed one of the top crimephone sales reps in the FBI's power, they got a genuinely weird idea: why not start their own crimephone company?

The plan was to build an incredibly secure, best-of-breed crimephone, one with every feature that a criminal would want to truly insulate themselves from law enforcement while still offering everything a criminal could need to plan and execute crimes.

They would tap into the network of crimephone distributors around the world, not telling them who they were truly selling for – nor that every one of these phones had a back-door that allowed law-enforcement to access every single message, photo and file.

This is the beginning of an incredible tale that is really two incredible tales. The first is the story of the FBI and its partners as they scaled up Anom, their best-of-breed crimephone business. This is a (nearly) classic startup tale, full of all-nighters, heroic battles against the odds, and the terror and exhilaration of "hockey-stick" growth.

The difference between this startup and the others we're already familiar with is obvious: the FBI and its global partners are acting under a totally different set of constraints to normal startup founders. For one thing, their true mission and identity must be kept totally secret. For another, they have to navigate the bureaucratic barriers of not one, but many governments and their courts, constitutions and procedures.

Finally, there are the stakes: while the bulk of the crimes that the FBI targets with Anom are just the usual futile war-on-drugs nonsense (albeit at a never-before seen scale), they also routinely encounter murders, kidnappings, tortures, firebombings, and other serious crimes, either in the planning phase, or after they have been committed. They have to make moment-to-moment calls about when and whether to do something about these, as each action taken based on intercepts from Anom threatens to tip the FBI's hand.

That's one of the startup stories in Cox's book. The other one is the crime startup, the one that the hapless criminal syndicates that sign up to distribute Anom devices find themselves in the middle of. They, too, are experiencing hockey-stick growth. They, too, have a fantastically lucrative tiger by the tail. And they, too, have a unique set of challenges that make this startup different from any other.

The obvious difference is that they are involved in global criminal conspiracies. They have to both grow and remain hidden. The tradecraft and skullduggery are fascinating, in the manner of any great crime procedural tale. But there's another constraint: these criminals are competing with one another to corner the market on these incredibly lucrative phones. Being part of violent, global criminal conspiracies, they don't confine themselves to the normal Silicon Valley crimes of violating antitrust law – they are engaged in all-out warfare.

These two startups are, of course, the same startup, but only one side knows it. As Cox weaves these two tales together – along with glimpses into the lives of the hapless gig-work developers in Asia who are developing and maintaining the Anom platform – we get front seat in a series of high-speed, high-stakes near-collisions between these two groups.

And it's not always the cops who have the advantage. When an ambitious mobster figures out how to clone the "black boxes" that initialize new Anom phones, the FBI are caught flatfooted as the number of Anom devices in the hands of criminals balloons, producing a volume of intercepts that vastly exceeds their processing capacity.

Cox has been on this story for a decade, and it shows. He has impeccable sourcing and encyclopedic access to the court records and other public details that allow him to reproduce many of the most dramatic scenes in the Anom caper verbatim. This really shines in the final section of the book, when the FBI and its partners decide to roll up the company with a series of global arrests that culminate in a triumphant press-conference in which the true masters of Anom are revealed.

As a privacy and encryption advocate, there were moments in this story that made me a little uncomfortable. There are places where the FBI is chafing at the constitutional limits on its surveillance powers where we can't help buy sympathize with these "good guys" going after "bad guys." But this the the FBI, a lawless, unaccountable secret police who routinely bypass those limits by secretly buying data from sleazy data-brokers, or illegally sharing data with the NSA.

The conclusion really hammers home the point that the FBI's problem isn't constitutional niceties. Despite seizing hundreds of tons of illegal drugs and arresting thousands of high-ranking criminal syndicate bosses, Anom made no difference in the drug trade. Prohibition, after all, just makes criminals more wealthy and powerful. The Anom raids were, at worst, the cost of doing business – and at best, they were a global reset that cleared the board of established actors so that other criminals could seize their turf.

But even though Anom didn't triumph over crime, Dark Wire is a triumph. The book's out today, and there will shortly be a Netflix adaptation based on it, directed by Jason Bateman:

https://deadline.com/2022/09/jason-bateman-netflix-21-laps-dark-wire-surveillance-gangs-movie-1235130444/

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/2024/06/04/anom-nom-nom/the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-ndrangheta

[socialistexan]

Well, I found the Disney press release plant disguised as an opinion article in response to Jenny Nicholson's 4-hour video on the Star Wars Hotel. I feel like the need to even call it by the official name that Disney insisted on every person involved with the experience call it is enough to give away the game.

Like, if this wasn't a direct response then the timing could not have been worse.

Like, it's not even like Jenny only talked about the negatives and spent the whole time bashing the very concept. She mentioned things she liked pretty frequently, it's just the execution of the idea was poor and it was extremely obvious that Disney was cutting corners at literally every single possible turn while also nickel and dining you on what was supposed to be a luxury experience.

Which is kind of indicative of how Disney has ran in the last 10 or so years, and especially in the Chapek-era. They have spent all this time coasting on the reputation they built from the 60's to early 10's for a quality product and I feel like that good will is gone now.

[eshero]

So, I doodled some KingDark

Just for fun! Felt silly

Yay Eshi posted again!!