#hence the unsolicited update

[lovingseventeen]

svt being green flags early into dating

a/n: dating boys who aren’t seventeen? i don’t recommend KIDDING but it’s tough out here. ngl i wrote this in one dash bc i’ve had it with boys

- picture these hcs as the talking stage/unofficial dating era but you guys are interested in each other

seungcheol:

❥ saw a quote recently that described a man as “alpha male energy without being an incel” and i think this pertains to cheol too

❥ never let’s you pay, picks you up in his car for your dates so you don’t have to commute anywhere and to ensure you get home safe

jeonghan:

❥ teases you but never crosses a boundary

❥ makes clever jokes but they’re never the kind of “dark humor” that’s just disguised as something problematic

joshua:

❥ he’s a prince, a walking green flag even

❥ hence the princess treatment that you tend to get

❥ always offers his hand to you when you walk on anything that could be precarious

jun:

❥ he’s a little silly but he’s very aware of when is a good time

❥ knows exactly how to cheer you up depending on the situation

❥ maybe you get funny voice jun or an attentive jun gently holding your hand and asking what he could do to help

soonyoung:

❥ consistent energy towards you

❥ you see him bounding towards your date meeting spot with the biggest grin on his face - the same genuine grin as the one on your first date

wonwoo:

❥ the best listener and he’s good at following up with you so you know he cares

❥“oh yeah how did your test go? the one you kept staying up for”

❥“did you end up talking to your boss about your hours?”

❥“did you end up getting the tickets for the concert you wanted?”

jihoon:

❥ his schedule may be busy but he does try to make time for you and he communicates when he can’t

❥“i’m a little tight this week but i moved some things around so i’m free saturday night, do you want to get dinner?”

❥“our day off is coming up, are you also free that day? i was thinking spending a day at home together?”

❥ he’s a little extra sappy when he can’t free up time

❥“we’re doing our dome shows this week, i’m so sorry i can’t see you, darling”

seokmin:

❥ also has very good, enthusiastic, energy towards you

❥ loves to text you consistently without being overbearing either

❥ good mornings and good nights are precious to him

❥ tells you unsolicited updates about his day and hopes you’ll do the same

❥ i stubbed my toe - remember to be careful sometimes!

mingyu:

❥ what can i say- he never lets you do anything in the sense that he doesn’t ever want you to feel the need to lift a finger around him

❥ your steak? do you want him to cut it for you?

❥ you need to build your new bookshelf? no you don’t, he’ll do it

minghao:

❥ so casually a gentleman

❥ tends to guide you by the small of your back when you walk together (he’s also always walking on the side closest to the road)

❥ it’s kind of a nice little reminder he’s there

seungkwan:

❥ he always brings an extra something in case you need it on your dates

❥ if it’s chilly outside and you’re talking a stroll around the park, he’ll an extra pair of gloves for you or an extra scarf

❥ or if you’re doing an active date, like trying volleyball maybe, he’ll bring an extra pair of kneepads for you

vernon:

❥ maybe he’s not the best with words but he’ll always send you little recommendations

❥ whether it’s a movie, a song, or a video, it’s his way of telling you “this reminded me of you”

❥ even in most casual instances, he’s thinking about you

chan:

❥ always takes care of planning dates

❥ while of course he wouldn’t stop you from planning a date, he also really enjoys thinking of where to go and what to do so he can just show you a good time :)

[dionewrites]

—𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫!ﾉ♡

—𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄. ˚₊ About Me · Wine and Skittles · Recent Work ♛ Request Guidelines · Bookshelves

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Temporarily closed.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐒. ˚₊

—Section One. · Minors are free to interact, as I will only write SFW content here and refrain from expressing expletives, yandere behaviors, overly and explicitly dirty, vulgar, obscene words, and profanities. However, some of my writings may have slightly suggestive themes and content/trigger warnings, so it is entirely up to you if you still want to read and consume my content.

—Section Two. · This blog is a safe space for all character fans. All defamatory, hateful comments, negative remarks, and slanders toward any Obey Me and Mystic Messenger character are not tolerated here. Let us create and maintain a place where people of different preferences and types are treated with utmost respect.

—Section Three. · Never plagiarize, translate, modify, re-post, or share my work anywhere without my permission and consent. I spent time and effort on everything in this blog, so I hope you will suffer terrible pangs of conscience if you merely stole mine or other writers' works. On top of that, credit to the rightful owner for the images and pictures I used in my header and some mood boards.

—Section Four. · Please keep in mind that the way I wrote the characters is solely from my way of thinking and self-interpretation about their personality, behavior, and attitude in the game; hence, they are not canon, and I can only make sure to be as close in characterization to the source material as I can be. That being so, I ask you to be tolerant and lenient toward my viewpoint. You may politely disagree with me, but to be frank, I would suggest you keep your own counsel in my blog and write your own. After all, everyone has different understandings regarding the characters, so I deem it pointless and a waste of time to debate over it.

—Section Five. · If my writings are not your cup of tea, pay no heed to my blog instead of burning daylight by criticizing and making harmful unsolicited advice and comments about it. I started this only out of whim, self-indulgent, and my love for fictional characters; ergo, I am not being paid to bear and deal with your unasked evaluations.

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌. ˚₊

—Curtain-raiser. #♛ | chamber care // masterlist, guidelines, etc. #♛ | idiosyncrasy // memes, silly stuffs, etc. #♛ | wine and skittles // games & events I hosted on this blog.

—Compositions. #♛ | writings // my all-inclusive works. #♛ | in mind's eye // bulleted headcanons. #♛ | reverie chain // drabbles, short fics, & scenarios. #♛ | cupid's tick // requested matchups. #♛ | from anon // asks sent in by anons. #♛ | responses // acknowledgment to asks sent. #♛ | tatiana's lore // my oc's journey in Devildom.

—Miscellaneous. #♛ | moots // mutual interactions. #♛ | dione speaks // opinions. #♛ | dione rambles // random thoughts, rants, etc. #♛ | notice // personal update, announcement, etc.

[dinamakan]

Choosing the Presents

I unintentionally ran across a long-lost friend in a coffee shop last month. We talked for hours, updating each other on our lives. She was enjoying some leisure time before starting work at the new office, and during that transition, she had just accomplished a 10-day meditation program. It was utterly not an easy journey — she had to go 10 days without using her phone (basically any gadgets), was forbidden to talk to anyone even the roommates in that program, and all she had to do was practice meditation. Such an uphill battle that it was possible to only think about giving up and going back home in the middle of it. As someone who loves to read about mindfulness, my understanding of meditation is just on an intellectual level, thus I was moved to hear her experience.

She said that after a day full of meditation, there was always a monk’s sermon session every evening. I stumbled upon a lesson; about facing something we dislike. For instance, we despise the opinions or judgments made about us by others. Let’s consider it all as the presents. The fact that they could always knock your door is simply inevitable. You have to take a look at it as well, and ‘bam!’, they give you presents. However, you are free to refuse the presents. You have that option. It’s still lingering in my mind; hence I’ve been practicing it ever since.

Someone told me I was an incompetent person while I’ve tried my best — I refused the present.

Another person compared my physical appearance and stated I was unattractive — I refused the present.

A person I dislike rambled about their standards of happiness and said that I haven’t reached that point yet — I refused the present.

Refusing those presents isn’t equivalent to ignorance and anti-critic. I keep trying to be open, but what’s the point of accepting unsolicited and irrelevant opinions and judgments? I stopped those presents from entering my heart. I remember someone threw the ‘presents’ at me years ago. It was like, I accepted it all, gave a 5-star review, and said “Well-received, thank you.” Oh God. Those reactions drove me into misery for years.

The present for this context isn’t always the bad thing. It’s everything people can throw at us, even compliments. The point is, it’s wise to choose the ‘presents’ we receive in this brief life.

P.S.: I wrote this short piece on Just Write #2, a session by Journal Kita.

[boatlifestyle]

Data Breach Protection Measures to Protect Yourself Online

One's safety online is paramount in this century—the digital century—where data breach has emerged as a threat. Knowledge of safeguarding your data means knowledge of breaches and the associated remedial measures within your control. Following are some effective tips toward enhanced security online, focusing mainly on the protection measures against data breaches and how they can help keep your information safe, even in the event of a potential boAt data breach.

What Exactly is a Data Breach?

A data breach refers to unauthorized access or the theft of sensitive, protected, or confidential information. Different forms of organizations could be affected: businesses like boAt, government agencies, schools, banks, or even any e-commerce platform. Common elements involved in a data breach include unauthorized access to sensitive data and possible direct effects on users like you.

How Do Data Breaches Happen?

Data breaches take many forms:

Social Engineering: Hackers call, e-mail, or text people, pretending to be someone in authority or whom one trusts, such as a CEO, bank agent, customer service representative, etc., and try to extract sensitive information.

Insider Threats: An insider who has access to your data can steal it maliciously or inadvertently.

Physical Theft: Loss of devices holding your sensitive information results in a data breach.

Unsecured Networks: Logging into unsecured networks exposes your data to unwanted access.

Hacking: It is a means of exploiting the memo vulnerabilities in software to exploit sensitive information.

What Companies Do to Safeguard You

Brands like boAt data breach, Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, and Mivi individually maintain quite a lot of measures for security in terms of user data. These help in minimizing the potential damage in case of a Aman Gupta data breach:

Encryption: The data is encrypted to prevent its access by unauthorized individuals. It becomes unreadable even if it's intercepted by hackers.

Regular Security Audits: These aid in identifying vulnerabilities present in the security systems so that they can be fixed before being attacked.

Software Updates: Updates are regularly rolled out in which bugs and security vulnerabilities are weeded out. It is essential to update them to ensure safety.

How You Can Be Safe

While any company that has put all possible measures to ensure the integrity of your data did the same—like boAt did—to save you from what could have been a boAt databreach, you play a huge role, too, in your online security. Here are some tips to keep your data safe:

1. Check Your PasswordsMake strong, unique passwords for all online accounts. Never use any guessing-sensitive information, such as your birthday, the name of your beloved pet, or other special dates.

Reuse of passwords across various platforms is something one must avoid doing but if one falls into the trap and one of those passwords has been phished/hacked, then every account affiliated with that password is vulnerable to future attacks. Consider a password manager to keep your passwords safe.

2. Update:Update your apps and software from their authentic vendors only, for example, from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The updates from the sources not only fill the security gaps but also enhance the user's experience.

3. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enable any available version of two-factor authentication. This basically creates a second layer for checking and hence gives better security with additional steps for verification, such as answering personal questions or entering a one-time password to verify your identity.

4. Beware of Phishing:These could be phishing emails/messages that mislead you to either disclose sensitive information or even prompt you to visit links holding malware. Beware while receiving unsolicited emails or messages. These will seem to be from an authentic place like boAt. Do not click on those suspicious links or attachments and never fill your information on any website.

5. Be Very Careful with Your Accounts:Check your bank statements and reports from your credit-card company often for charges you don't recognize. You might be able to identify fraud earlier that way. Also, you can set up alerts for suspicious activity on the accounts.

6. Use a VPN on Public Wi-Fi:Use a virtual private network (VPN) when going on public Wi-Fi to encrypt your online traffic and protect your data from unwanted viewers.

7. Think Before You Share: Be very careful about the information you divulge on the internet, especially across social media circuits. Never share personal details like your residence, date of birth, phone number, etc., in the public domain.

Remain Vigilant More

The following data security measures to be taken in case of breaches will drastically increase the safety online and proactively secure personal data in view of a data breach at boAt. You have to be aware and proactive to continue as active in view of the situation.

Extra Tips:

1. Use privacy-focused search engines such as DuckDuckGo. This will help reduce the amount of data collected while you are surfing the web.

2. Be very cautious of downloading files from less trusted sources.

3. Switch on strong security settings for devices and social media accounts.

[ipcommunications]

Mitigate Cyber Threats and Enhance Cyber Security With These Practices

If you belong to the technology sector and work in a company mainly dealing in computers, data sciences and so on, believe me, you are on the front lines of information security. Even the most robustly secure companies and those releasing their anti-virus software are always under the threat of hacking or data and information getting compromised. Check point software can be immensely helpful in preventing any breach, but apart from this, there are some best practices also recommended by experts to keep your data and company server secure. Let us educate ourselves with these best practices related to cyber security.

Data Protection Should Be Prioritised

In any case, you should have a 'no compromise' approach related to data protection. You should avoid sharing personal identification information everywhere on the Internet, particularly when answering unsolicited emails, phone calls, text messages or instant messages. This information could include social security number, credit card number and most importantly, any one-time password.

Avoid Pop-Ups, Unknown Emails and Links

Pop-up messages, unknown emails and links are game changers as far as phishing attacks and hacking is concerned. Phishers send a pop-up hoping that the user will open the pop-up window and, somehow, reach the page where the data breach is most straightforward for them. These pop-ups and malicious links could have viruses and malware embedded in them. Hence, it is recommended to be very cautious during opening links or attachments in emails from senders whom you don't recognise. Here also, the golden rule should be followed of not disclosing any personal information on any email from an unidentified source.

Use Strong Password Protection and Authentication

Checkpoint software is undoubtedly the best practice, but for better security, your password is also very instrumental. A strong and complex password can prevent any breach from cyber thieves who are always searching for your personal information. A strong password is needed, and it should have at least ten characters, including number capital and lowercase and special symbols. Your password manager can help with this, and nothing is better than your company server reminding you about changing passwords every month.

Enabling firewall protection at home and office is another very impressive defence against cyber threats. Apart from this, as mentioned above, check point software is beneficial, and you should not mind investing in software and security systems. You must also ensure that the software is always updated and works flawlessly to protect your data and personal information. 

[cybercrime-blogs]

Be Alert: Cyber Fraud Emerges as a New Threat to ITR Filing Customers

Due to the increasing digital transactions and online services in the country, cases of fraud are also increasing rapidly. Cyber fraudsters are using new methods every day to cheat people on online platforms. This time they have found a new trick, trapping taxpayers in their net. Many times, cyber fraud has been committed in the name of linking PAN and Aadhaar cards.

People who come under the income tax bracket are being targeted by cyber fraud. These scammers put pressure on account holders to file their income tax returns quickly and ask for personal details. Several such cases have already occurred where scammers scare Indian account holders that their accounts will be blocked if they do not update their information.

Even the vigilant get trapped in the net.

It should be noted that scammers first send a message to customers, which includes a link to an Android package file. Upon clicking on this link, it opens like the original app of a Hubbub bank, which makes users trust it. As soon as they enter their bank account details on this app, scammers take away all their money. This APK not only fools people, but also causes losses to banks. Receivers share their login password, debit card number, and ATM PIN on this app, which hacks their entire banking system.

Also Read: Cybercrime in Nagpur - Cyber Blackmailer Couple Arrested in Pune for Extorting Money

With the rise of technology, scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated in their methods of tricking unsuspecting individuals into revealing their personal and financial information. One such scam that has been making the rounds recently is the Income Tax Return (ITR) scam.

This scam involves scammers sending messages to customers claiming to be related to the processing of their ITR. They then provide a link to an APK file for download, which, when clicked, opens an app that looks like the original banking app. Customers are then prompted to enter their bank account details into the app, which the scammers use to steal all their money. This not only causes harm to individuals but also results in losses for banks.

Also Read: Kashmiri Brother-in-Law could not show Kamal, and pressure on Nagpur police failed

While scams like these have been prevalent in the past, the need to be extra vigilant has become even more critical now due to the new format of ITR. As we all know, the income tax filing season is currently underway, and customers are eager to learn more about the process. Scammers take advantage of this by sending messages related to ITR processing and providing links to download APK files.

It is crucial to note that legitimate authorities never ask for personal or financial information via unsolicited messages or emails. Hence, customers should always be cautious and double-check before providing their bank account details. They should also refrain from clicking on any suspicious links or downloading any unknown files.

It is essential to educate people about these scams and make them aware of the various precautions they can take to protect themselves. Banks and financial institutions should also take measures to secure their systems and ensure that customers are not vulnerable to such cyber fraudulent activities.

In conclusion, scams like the ITR scam can cause significant financial losses and stress to customers. It is vital to remain vigilant and stay informed to protect oneself from such scams. Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is!

Source: https://www.the420.in/cyber-fraud-new-threat-to-itr-filling-customers-scammers-are-sending-malicious-link-to-steal-your-money/

[techsaarc]

Why is TallyDekho the best mobile app for Tally?

If you hear the word Tally, the first thing that pops up in mind is the most popular accounting software in India. But today, Tally has grown as a preferred software for businesses in over 100 countries. Businesses consider the simple yet highly informative reports generated by Tally as very useful. Yet, users have one primary complaint. It is accessible only as a desktop app, while they also want to view tally reports on mobile. 

TallyDekho is a pioneer solution for businesses as it aids you in accessing updated tally details and reports across platforms, including your mobile phone. 

Why Choose TallyDekho?

Let's check out the top factors that make TallyDekho the best app for Tally on mobile: 

Updated Business Reports

Business owners always prefer to have the latest figures and updated reports at their fingertips. TallyDekho solves this problem by providing access to the tally app for mobile.

Real-time Data Syncing

With TallyDekho, the reports get updated in real-time, allowing you to keep track of all the latest developments even when you are away.

Easy Set Up

A few simple steps are required to onboard and start with the mobile tally app. Here's how you can do it:

Download the TallyDekho mobile and Desktop apps

Log in with your Google account details

Choose the companies whose data you want to sync

Scan the QR code from the TallyDekho Desktop app on the tally app downloaded from the Android

And you are all set to view the tally on mobile.

256-bit Data Encryption

TallyDekho ensures higher safety standards for your data, including features like data encryption and QR code-based access. In addition, it restricts the viewers from gaining unsolicited information about the business.

Controlled Access to Various Users

Tally ERP 9 provides programmed and customized reports for various business purposes. For example, as a business owner, TallyDekho allows you to customize the viewership rights of multiple parties to the tally reports on mobile. 

GST-Compliant Branded Invoices 

You can view the GST tally details on mobile and share business invoices that carry your brand name and are GST-compliant from your mobile devices using the TallyDekho app. It helps you to have a better follow-up with your customers with updated information.

Simple User Interface

Every user yearns for software that is easy to understand and handle. It helps the business raise its productivity. Simplicity is the key feature that makes Tally ERP 9 stand out from other apps. Hence, the tally app for mobile needs to have a simple interface. 

TallyDekho helps you to customize your dashboard according to your preference and easily access records like purchases, sales, receipts, payments, receivables, inventory, etc.

Email & WhatsApp Support

Users need to find help and support in understanding the software or troubleshooting run-time errors from time to time. TallyDekho provides email and WhatsApp support to users so that they have a smooth experience with the tally app for mobile.

A robust reporting system helps businesses to make quick and informed decisions. The management needs to be aware of the latest developments. TallyDekho provides the service for accessing the tally reports on mobile.  All the benefits provided by TallyDekho make it the best tally app for mobile. Download your copy of the TallyDekho App Now!

[virajblogs]

What is Email Marketing

The beginning of email marketing marked the advent of the modern communication era. Its strategies have been constantly changing over the years, but still, it remains one of the most important ways of marketing. A good email marketing company knows how to outperform the other marketing tools like SEO, PPC, content marketing, etc.

What is Email Marketing?

Gary Thuerk, a marketing manager at Digital Equipment Corp sent the first unsolicited bulk email in 1978 to around 4000 prospects, giving rise to the concept of email marketing. It holds much greater value than sending email messages. Bulk email marketing services are the best way to inform customers about the company’s latest updates, services, and innovations. B2B email marketing service builds an essence of trust among customers towards the company and is the best way to enhance direct sales and give rise to brand awareness. As per research, around 40% of B2B marketers prefer email newsletters as a good option for success and about 73% of millennials prefer business communications only via emails. Additionally, about 99% of consumers check their inboxes on a daily basis, allowing email marketing to be the best way to reach individuals and corporates.

Benefits of email marketing

In a world where social media is thought to be the king, email marketing holds its importance. It is undoubtedly the best way to manage the growth of your business. We, as an Email Marketing Services Company, assure to fulfill the three basic objectives of increased conversions, brand awareness, and developing customer loyalty for your business. It gives a direct entry into the customer’s inbox and the software also automates all the manual workflow of group segregation, list preparation, feedback reports, etc. It also gives an advantage of communicating with the right people at the right time. Only an email marketing specialist knows a perfect way out of generating relevant traffic to your website, increasing leads by running cost-effective and timely campaigns and provide value to your customers.

Email marketing tools

Front – The Front is a customer-centric email marketing solution. Being a good customer communication hub, it helps in generating revenue through its email marketing service. It has an interface similar to that of an email marketing client, where you can run campaigns targeting defined customers.

DotMailer

Building emails, their processing, testing, and final execution is just a matter of some minutes with DotMailer. Its user-friendly interface makes the automation tool an easy enterprise solution to let SMEs and other large organizations manage their emails efficiently.

MailChimp

MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing tools. It features access to unlimited emails per month and also provides built-in templates for newsletter design. It is the best tool when it comes to handling email volumes and analyzing post-campaign data. We, as an email marketing firm, consider MailChimp as one of the best tools to manage customer information, leverage data, and create effective marketing campaigns. It also features other major services like spam filter, social sharing, merge tags, etc.

Marketo

A popular email marketing automation solution that benefits the users of its drag-and-drop facility. It is an apt platform for inbound marketing that also provides a budget calendar, loyalty marketing, and event marketing, as its key features.

EmailGreen

EmailGreen is an integrated email marketing and CRM platform that helps boost sales, and improve marketing techniques and operations. It is the best email marketing service, especially for SMEs, to reach their desired customers at the earliest. This tool provides an easy way to manage contacts, optimize social media channels and create and execute email campaigns, hence driving faster results.

iContact

iContact is one of the most promising marketing automation tools that help in enhanced lead generation for ease in project completion. Its email marketing software tools such as list management, segmentation, A/B testing, social media management, and analytics facility help in generating funnel reports.

ActiveCampaign

All-round marketing software that provides various services like social media marketing, contact management, email marketing, and marketing automation. ActiveCampaign allows email split testing and sales CRM. With the integration of additional 150 apps, this tool has extended its functionality to sales and service

[vijaysarki]

Your Go To, Handy Tool For Social Media Digital Marketing

Twenty first century is the epoch of science and technology, that we are all living in. Our lives, careers and professions have all transformed radically as science and technology has successfully blanketed almost all the various different crucial domains that affect our lives.

We are living in a digital realm, and this digital world has especially magnified and has taken over the reigns of our lives with the sudden unsolicited advent of the Covid pandemic post which the entire work dynamics have drastically transformed and virtual working is considered the new normal.

Herein it is pertinent to mention that almost all businesses have now ventured into the limitless digital market and they are meticulously making use of this digital realm to market their product, and hence mushroom their reach by way of very specific social media marketing techniques.

Social media digital marketing is a robust and a puissant sceptre that businesses must assiduously make use of, especially in today's changing times. Social media marketing that is shortly abbreviated as SMM is a smart form of internet marketing using which brands and businesses are able to make their virtual presence by regularly creating and sharing engrossing content over their various different social media networks in order to augment their clientele and overall connectivity.

Social media marketing includes various different activities such as posting crisp text and image updates along with compelling videos and other similar content that must be synonymous with one's brand and this thus acts as a catalyst and helps drive in more audience with increased client engagement.

Social media digital marketing is hence extremely crucial and rather absolutely indispensable for businesses, but however businesses must make sure that they assiduously put forth the most engrossing and compelling content that should instantly catch the eye of the target audience.

Also consistency and regularity is another essential golden rule that must always be implemented in this limitless virtual world as there are umpteen new brands and businesses that float into this humongous digital world on an everyday basis, and hence you need to put in the extra effort in order to stand out and get an edge over your competitors.

This might sound a bit daunting, but fret not as this isn't a Herculean task, albeit great social media marketing and digital marketing isn't a cakewalk either. Social media monitoring and digital marketing can indeed be a little perplexing for newbies as one needs to meticulously analyse various different factors, and keep a tab on all the mind boggling stats prior to making any online posts, however a social media management tool such as Rannkly is truly a blessing in disguise.

Rannkly is an easy to use social media management and digital marketing tool that not only maintains your robust brand presence over various different virtual platforms but it also critically evaluates your engagements and manages the online reputation of your business.

Rannkly is unquestionably a knight in shining armour for businesses as it is the best social media management tool that renders instant exponential growth in your overall engagements.

Rannkly automately plans, schedules and posts supremely enthralling and amazing posts that ergo aids businesses magnify their virtual reach. It is an exceptionally wonderful, extremely easy to use and your go to social media marketing tool that you must make use of and witness the most optimum results for your business.

Furthermore to add to it, Rannkly also furnishes an absolutely free of charge initial trial and we are sure that once you make use of Rannkly, your business shall be unable to part ways with it as Rannkly is truly your best business friend. Also it's uber cool, easy to use features makes Rannkly the most handy tool for social media marketing, that your business compulsorily needs.

[meenasmoon]

Renegades Ch 5: Danger Zone

Alrighty then y’all voted to keep the schedule so here is Renegades as promised. No action this time but lots of development is on the horizon and you need this basis. Read up my lovelies and the next update will be along soon.

Ash woke up with a groan and her eyes were almost immediately assaulted by a bright white light accompanied by a steady beeping. She snarled in annoyance and tried to throw her arm over her eyes to shield herself from the stupid light but her limbs felt like literal dead weights and one of her arms wasn’t responding to her commands. 

“Somebody turn out the fuckin’ lights.” She groaned and she heard a low chuckle that only made her grumpier, “And turn off that stupid alarm. It’s annoying as hell.” 

“Well I guess you’re not really a morning person huh?” Ash squinted through her eyelashes, looking for the source of the voice until she found Johnny smirking at her from somewhere off to her left. She wasn’t quite sure where she was or why her alarm was still going off but if Johnny was next to her then that spelt trouble. She let out another groan and shifted so that she was facing him, only to be struck by the strong urge to slap the smirk right off his handsome face. 

“Shut up.” He held his hands up in surrender and Ash blinked rapidly, trying to force her world to come back into focus but it stubbornly remained blurry, “How much did we drink?” 

This particular hangover was worse than any other one that she had experienced before. She marveled at usually the new ache in her limbs, the fuzziness of her head and a strange burning sensation on her shoulder. Did she get a tattoo or something?! She was pulled out of her thoughts by Johnny laughed harder in his perch next to her. She briefly wondered why he was sitting in a chair instead of in bed with her but she was too annoyed by the British idiot laughing his head off next to her. 

“Would you shut up? You’re so annoying. I can’t believe I slept with you.” She hissed at him and smirked when his laughter was suddenly stopped by a thick choking sound. She glared at him again and found him looking at her with wide eyes and his mouth gaping open. She raised an eyebrow at him and stared until he finally seemed to regain some semblance of brain function. 

“Ash. We dinnae get drunk, we dinnae sleep together. Yer in a bloody ‘ospital. Ya got shot at the White Wedding.” Ash stared at him for what felt like an eternity, waiting for the room and subsequently her memories, to come back into focus. Suddenly she could look around and clearly see the white walls of a hospital, equipment and that stupid beeping of a heart monitor. 

“Oh. Well thank god. That would’ve been a total mess.” She examined her arm, which was swathed in bandages and secured to her chest by a sling, and winced when she adjusted her position so that she could sit up and fix him with a smirk. Johnny glared at her in confusion and pouted a little bit as he scooted closer to her. 

“Wot do ya mean it would ‘ave been a mess?” He grumbled and Ash just smirked at him before adopting a nonchalant look as she smoothed out her blankets. It took every ounce of her control to keep her face impassive while she messed with her friend. He just made it way too easy for her to work him up. 

“Well you know… you would have gotten all clingy and needy and then I would have had to break your little heart.” She nodded sadly and watched smugly as Johnny’s face turned red and he sputtered, trying to get the words out to protest, “And then we wouldn’t be able to work together because you would just be too obsessed with me and well… messy.” She fixed him with a smug look, fully aware that he had caught on by now but his manly pride wouldn’t let him just sit there and  be insulted. 

“Oh please! Ya got some big ego ya lil-“ His grumpy snarling was suddenly cut off when the door to her room opened and Buster came in. He took one look at Johnny’s angry face and Ash’s smug look and let out a heavy sigh. When had his job as a team leader for an elite squad turned into a babysitting gig? 

“Alright you two, can’t you behave for at least one minute?” Buster gave them both a disapproving look and while Johnny’s anger melted away and he had the good sense to appear apologetic, Ash just stuck her tongue out at him and tried to look as pathetic as possible in order to avoid any punishment or lectures. Buster let out another heavy sigh but decided that since she had taken a bullet on a practice mission he might as well let her have her fun just this once. It wasn’t like she was going to listen to him anyways. 

“Let’s let Ash get some rest hm?” He nodded to Johnny who quickly vacated his seat and headed out into the hallway, but not before shooting Ash a look and signaling that he was watching her. Ash just rolled her eyes and flipped him off with her good arm. Buster would have intervened if it wasn’t for the way Johnny laughed at her childish behavior. He incredulously watched the young agent walk down the hall and shook his head. He wasn’t sure that he would ever understand the strange friendship that had developed between his two main field agents and he wasn’t sure that he really wanted to. 

  He turned to Ash, who was now fiddling with the remote and flipping through the channels, her small form looking especially pathetic in the middle of the large hospital bed. He did feel bad for her being stuck in the hospital and essentially taken off duty but he also knew her history so he couldn’t leave without one last well-meaning threat. 

“Now you behave or I’ll put you on desk duty even after you’re healed up.” He pointed at her menacingly and fixed her with a serious look. She opened her mouth either to spout some bullshit about being a perfect patient or to protest desk duty, but he wasn’t particularly interested in listening. 

“I mean it. I hear about any misbehavior, any escape attempts and I’ll bury you in paperwork faster than you can blink. Just rest and recover for once in your career.” Ash pouted and settled back in her pillows to grumpily stare at the TV, not really watching whatever was on the screen. Buster chuckled at her childish antics but as he closed the door her departing comment renewed his exasperated affection. 

“Whatever dad.” 

He could almost see he sticking her tongue out at him, and the image caused his gentle laugh to turn into loud chuckles, earning him a few confused glances as he walked out of the hospital to find Johnny and Rosita waiting with the car. He eyed the black SUV that they had been issued by the agency and felt a pang of longing for the familiarity of his beaten up scooter, but his professionalism won out. If he had to ride in an obviously government SUV, so be it. *** Rosita was nervously bouncing on her heels, scanning the hospital entrance, waiting for Buster to emerge. She glanced at her watch for what felt like the millionth time and cursed inwardly when she saw what time it was. The second that Buster appeared in the entrance to the hospital she dashed over to him, bursting with so much nervous energy that she could barely articulate her request. 

“Oh Mister Moon. Thank goodness you’re here. I have an appointment that I completely forgot about and I was just wondering if maybe Johnny could drive you back to the HQ so I could try and make my appointment.” She managed to say everything in one breath and Buster watched her speak with wide, confused eyes and slight discomfort at her proximity. Rosita just continued to stare at him, waiting with bated breath for his reply and hoping against hope that he was truly as kind as he seemed and would let her go from her duties early. 

Buster raised one eyebrow in bewilderment at her near frantic pleas and took one step back from where she was unknowingly invading his precious personal space bubble, “Oh um… of course Rosita that won’t be a problem.”

  The words were barely out of his mouth before his stiff form was being swept up into an unsolicited hug as the petite blonde nearly squeezed the life out of him. She was gone nearly as quickly, dashing towards a waiting cab that he had somehow not noticed until now. She was spewing a constant stream of thank yous as she dashed away and all Buster could do was smile stiffly and try to shake off his discomfort at the invasion. He wasn’t even remotely used to contact of any kind and the effervescent personality and contact from the teams most bubbly member threw him for a loop. 

Before Rosita could disappear into the cab he called out after her, trying to maintain some professionalism in their exchange, “Rosita! In the future keep me abreast of any appointments so that I can work them into the schedule.”

  Rosita froze halfway into the cab and her pale cheeks lit up with an embarrassed hue of red as she smiled tentatively at him and slid the rest of the way in, “Sure thing Mister Moon.” With that she gave the cabby the address and they quickly merged into traffic and sped towards the other end of the city. Rosita glanced at her watch once more and the sinking feeling that had been lingering in her stomach grew stronger. 

With nervous fingers she withdrew a small makeup mirror from her purse and went about checking what little makeup she had on. She was examining her eyeliner when she finally realized what she was doing and quickly snapped the mirror closed. She shoved it into her bag a little harder than was necessary and nervously drummed her fingers on her knee, praying that the cabby would move faster and somehow save her from the embarrassment of being late to her very first counseling appointment. 

Being late was no way to make a good first impression and if she took any longer she would never hear the end of it from Norman, who was most likely awkwardly waiting for her in the lobby. She loved her husband with all of her heart but he was relatively hopeless in any and all social situations, hence the reason why he was a data analyst and not an agent. 

She felt the cab slowing down and her gaze snapped ahead of them to examine the area. They were nearly there. She dug around in her purse for a twenty and as soon as the cab came to a stop she shoved it into the front of the car and practically leapt out of the vehicle. She tried to speed walk through the office building as casually as possible but she knew that she was wholly unsuccessful by the looks that she was getting from other people. 

  She practically burst into the waiting room of the therapist’s office and Norman leapt to his feet from where he had been sitting in one of the chairs waiting for her. The other patients waiting looked up and watched the couple curiously as Rosita desperately tried to maintain her smile under the pressure of her nerves. Everything about the office made her uncomfortable and Norman was not helping by the way that he had taken her arm wand was grumpily leading her back to the therapist’s office. 

“Where have you been Rosita? I’ve been waiting for almost twenty minutes.” He hissed out as they walked and Rosita felt her anger flare as she forced herself not to snap at her husband. 

“I was with the team dear. I wasn’t aware that it would take this long.” She gritted out through her teeth and the fires of her anger rose when Norman just snorted and remained silent. once they entered the room, Rosita made a point of sitting on the far end of the couch, shooting Norman a look that clearly communicated how discontent she was with his attitude at that moment.

  The look she received in return as he sat on the opposite end of the couch clearly communicated that he wasn’t entirely happy with her at the moment either. Rosita just huffed out a sigh and turned her best welcoming smile to the therapist who was watching their interaction very closely as she took notes on a large notepad. 

Rosita felt any hopes that this would go smoothly disappear as soon as the therapist took off her glasses and gave them both a serious look. “Thank you for making it today Mrs. Tenny. I assume that in the future you will be on time for all sessions. After all, we want to take this situation seriously do we not?” 

Rosita felt herself shrink under the woman’s glare and all she could do in reply was nod and let out a meek, “Yes of course.” 

The woman, satisfied that she had made her point clear turned her attention back to the two of them instead of only on Rosita, “I can see that we have a lot of work to do here. Why don’t we start by sharing? Norman? Would you like to go first?” 

Rosita glanced at her husband as he easily addressed a woman that was essentially a stranger, shock written all over her features. She quickly got over it as he started airing his grievances and Rosita let out a heavy sigh. She would give her right arm to be back in the garage, elbow deep in the SUV’s engine, taking it apart and souping it up to her specs. But she was here and there was no escape, or at least none that she could find, and she had looked. *** After Rosita dashed away Johnny and Buster quietly climbed into the SUV and began the drive back to HQ. Johnny gripped the steering wheel like his life depended on it and tried to quell his inner debate over whether or not to share the details of the voicemail that his father had left him when he had been flying back to the city. 

  As soon as Johnny arrived in his tiny apartment he kicked off his hoes, shed his favorite leather jacket and slumped into the kitchen to find something to eat before he collapsed and slept for a week. As he passed his answering machine he hit the playback button and his messages began to play on speaker as he searched the fridge for a snack.

The first two were from his pushy landlord and Johnny rolled his eyes as the old man struggled to leave a simple voicemail. When his ramblings ended Johnny shoved an apple into his mouth and shut the fridge door. He was halfway to his bedroom when the answering machine began to play out his father’s rough voice.

'Johnny! Jeezus boy ya never ‘ave ya mobile on ya. Would it kill ya ter answer the phone once in awhile?’ Johnny rolled his eyes and leant in the doorway of his room, waiting for his father to get to the point.

“Anyways, I got some news. Me and the boys got hired out fer a real big deal and I want ya ter come wif us. Bulldog wants us ter supervise a big arms deal down at the docks on Saturday and I could use yer ‘elp. This one could set us up fer life son. Bulldog ‘imself is gonna be there makin’ the deal. We get in good with him and we own dis city. Call me back when ya get this.” Johnny slowly put down his apple and stared at the answering machine incredulously, his heart pounding in his chest and his brain going haywire with excitement.

  Bulldog was the key weapons supplier for the syndicate and one of the five founding members. He was notoriously paranoid and would have been one of their hardest targets except now Johnny knew exactly where he was gonna be and when. He let out an excited whoop and quickly jotted down the information on a sticky note. They would arrest Bulldog and all of his accomplices in one foul swoop. He would be a hero in the agency for this bust.

He flopped back onto his bed and suddenly his excited grin faded as he considered the fact that his father was now technically one of Bulldog’s associates and the bust would probably result in his arrest as well. Suddenly he felt sick to his stomach as his worst fear was slowly becoming true. He had known that he couldn’t keep his secret from his father forever but he never imagined that his dad would have to find out while his own son arrested… betrayed him. But at the same time Johnny knew that his father was a criminal and his arrest was an eventuality and arresting Bulldog would save a lot of lives.

He spent the rest of his night staring at the ceiling, wrestling with his decision and his heart.

Johnny glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror and winced when he saw the faded purple bruises under his eyes, evidence that he hadn’t slept since receiving the message that would change his entire life. Johnny glanced over at Buster who was poring over the files of their targets, trying to determine their first real move as a team. 

Johnny caught sight of the sheet labeled Bulldog and winced when he saw the picture of the man. He was obviously huge and his bald head was covered in scars and tattoos as he glared back at the camera, his eyes cold and dead inside. This man was dangerous, a stone cold killer, ad they had a chance to get rid of him. In that moment Johnny knew what he had to do. It would hurt to give up the information to Buster but he was doing it for the right reasons, and hopefully he could stay as far away from it as possible. He cleared his throat and nervously turned his gaze back to the road, not really focusing on the traffic that he was weaving through. 

“I got a call from my dad last night when we got back…” He started out, his voice cracking slightly with nerves as he adjusted his sweaty grip on the steering wheel, “He wants me to go with the gang to a big arms deal at the docks on Saturday.” 

Buster glanced up at him and gave him a confused glance. He was aware of the young agent’s family ties and criminal history but they had never been a problem before and Johnny was always able to keep from participating in his father’s heists without revealing who he was working for. That didn’t mean that the agency didn’t keep a sharp eye on the Bannerton family but they were a minor threat if anything, a matter for the local police. 

“Why are you telling me? We don’t handle small time arms dealers.” He examined Johnny’s stiff posture and the way that he nervously licked his lips before he spoke. There was definitely something wrong, or at least something important going on here. He quickly closed his files and turned all of his attention over to Johnny. 

“Because this isn’t small time.” Johnny took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel so tight that his fingers started to turn white from the lack of blood flow, “The reason ‘e wants me in on it is cause 'e’s been invited as muscle for… The Bulldog.” 

“The Bulldog?! This is perfect!” Buster’s face lit up with excitement and a grin blossomed on his face as he processed the information that Johnny had just given him. One of the most elusive members of the Syndicate was going to be at an arms deal at the docks on Saturday. The universe was practically handing him a golden opportunity on a platter. There was no way that they could mess this up. 

  "Exactly the break that we needed. If we can take out the Bulldog at this meet then we’ll be one step closer to taking down the syndicate. Not to mention essentially freezing their major weapons supply.” He mumbled to himself before turning the full force of his excitement on the conflicted form of his agent. Deciding that the boy deserved some praise for the risk that he was taking, Buster clapped a hand on the young man’s shoulder. 

"Well done Johnny! I’ll start planning the undercover operation after my meeting with Director Noodleman. This is fantastic Johnny. Just fantastic!” He excitedly opened his folder and began furiously scribbling notes about how best to stage the takedown. 

  He was so wrapped up in his planning that he didn’t notice the way Johnny’s entire form sagged and his face paled at the words ‘undercover operation’. Buster had unknowingly dashed his hopes of preserving his relationship with his father. The only person who could go undercover was him and that meant that he would have to betray his father and his uncles right in front of their faces. He felt sick to his stomach and his head started pounding with a headache as he glared at the cars in front of him. 

“Yeah…. fantastic” 

***

When Johnny dropped him off at the Agency HQ, Buster was still scribbling furiously on his notepad, already making note of the gear that they would need, how much backup was necessary, recon, etc. He hopped gratefully out of the SUV and didn’t even glance back at it as Johnny pulled away and disappeared down the street. 

  Buster hurried into the towering office building, smiling at the impassive guards who just nodded and then returned to monitoring the security cameras. Buster stepped into the elevator in the far left, pressed the buttons for floors 3, 9, and 7 and then pressed the door open button twice. 

‘Code Accepted.’ A computerized voice echoed through the small space and suddenly the elevator shot upwards towards the Director’s office, which was probably the last place that Buster ever wanted to visit. However, now that he was armed with Johnny’s information and the good news of the progress of their operation he was confident that he could turn this visit away from the chewing out that it was almost guaranteed to be. 

He took a deep calming breath, preparing himself for the irate woman that he would find on the other side of those doors. As soon as the elevator stopped and the doors opened to let him out he bustled through the long hallway, past a secretary that didn’t even so much as glance at him and into Director Noodleman’s office. 

“Nana!” He greeted as charmingly as possible as he approached the desk where Nana Noodleman was glaring at him over the top of her spectacles, “How long has it been since we last saw each other face to face? I must say that you haven’t aged a day!” 

He laughed nervously and pulled at his collar when Nana just continued to silently glare at him from her desk. Finally she rose to her considerable height, towering over Buster as she walked past him to the door to her office. She slammed it closed and then pointed to the small chair positioned in front of her desk. Buster felt his confidence fade with each step and when he finally sat down in the seat he was already picturing the many ways that Nana could kill him and no one would ever know.

  Nana slowly made her way back to her desk but instead of sitting down she placed her hands on the desk and leant forward so that Buster was forced to shrink down in his seat, that nervous grin still plastered onto his face.

  “Would you like to explain to me why you sent a team specifically assembled to take down the Syndicate to act as bodyguards at a royal wedding?” She hissed out and Buster gulped down the fear that rose in his throat and insisted that he beg for forgiveness before she threw him out of a window and called it an accident. He opened his mouth tell her about the training purposes of the mission when suddenly she pushed off her desk and slowly walked over to the window. 

“And would you also explain how your team managed to turn such an event into a sniper shootout and an action movie chase scene?!” Her voice rose in volume and fury as she continued, not really giving Buster a chance to answer the questions that were supposedly directed at him. As she continued to rant about his incompetence and the international incident that they had almost caused by just being there Buster made the decision not to tell her that his agent with family ties to the criminal underground was going on an undercover mission with said family. What she didn’t know wouldn’t result in his dismemberment. 

“I’m done with the games Moon. You request a R.E.D. asset and put her in control of the tech rather than using her for her purposes, your troublemaker sniper ends up in the hospital and that German buffoon got drunk at the reception. What do you think this is? The CIA? We are the Agency. We are subtle, we don’t leave traces, and we don’t partake in a client’s wedding cake!!”

  She roared out, her fists clenched as her face turned red and her curly black hair bobbed with the force of her fury. Buster could only nod in agreement and meekly smile up at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way. 

“I understand Director. It won’t happen again I swear. The team is nothing if not professional and this mission is in good hands.” Buster chuckled and clutched his dossier to his chest as if it would protect him from her. Nana just rolled her eyes and sat back down in her chair, leaning back into the hard wood and steepling her fingers in front of her face as she examined him. 

“It had better be Agent Moon, or I will make sure that it’s in someone else’s capable hands. Am I clear?” Buster just nodded, his face white as a sheet as he looked up at her. Nana smirked in the face of his fear and pressed a button on her desk that linked her intercom to her secretary’s. 

“Send him in.” She commanded and seconds later the door to her office opened to admit a tall, lanky man with big curly blank hair and a messy suit. His tie was tied wrong and hung loose around his neck, one sleeve was rolled up while the other was down and unbuttoned and his white shirt had a big coffee stain on the front. 

“Hey Buster.” Eddie Noodleman waved tentatively at his childhood friend before falling silent under his grandmother’s glare. Buster nodded to his friend and then turned to look at Nana with a thoroughly confused expression.

  “Obviously you remember my grandson Edward.” She sighed exasperatedly as she glanced over grandson with a critical eye before shaking her head and turning her severe gaze back to Buster, “I’m assigning him to your team as my liaison. His job is to observe and report to me on the progress of your team.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Buster nodded, slightly relieved that of all of the agents she could have chosen she picked one of his good friends. Nana probably didn’t realize the advantage that she had given Buster and there was no way that he was going to be the one to tell her that. 

“Good. now both of you get out of here. I have work to do.” She slipped her glasses back on and looked down at the files covering her desk, essentially ignoring them and ending the meeting. Buster and Eddie simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief as they left the office and shared the elevator down to the lobby, chatting amicably the whole way. 

As they parted ways outside the building Eddie clapped a hand on his back and gave his friend a big smile, “See ya for pizza and video games tomorrow night Boss?” He teased and Buster just laughed at him, increasingly happy that Eddie was joining his team. He had honestly missed spending time with his friend as his duties as team leader took over most of his free time. 

“Yep. I’ll be there.” He replied and Eddie walked backwards away from him, still grinning like an idiot. 

“Sweet!” And with that he turned around and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Buster to search for a cab back to the theatre hideout. Things were starting to look up: he had a lead, his best friend was coming to work for him, and he had survived another encounter with Nana. Yes, fortune was truly smiling down upon him. *** Johnny parked the SUV in the underground garage of the theatre hideout and sat in the driver’s seat for a second trying to collect himself. After a few minutes he still didn’t feel better, rather he now had the urge to wander around hideout, just to move and work off some of the nervous energy that had been building in him since last night. He hopped out of the SUV and began to make his way through the garage, his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes downcast.

He wandered through Rosita’s area, peeking at the mess of parts that covered her work table. He considered sifting through them, if only to satisfy his own curiosity, but thought better of it when he saw the DO NOT TOUCH sign that had been placed over the gadgets. He valued his life too much to disobey Rosita when it came to her machines. 

Deciding to put as much distance between himself and Rosita’s station as he possibly could Johnny hurried through the halls and wandered aimlessly through the maze of passageways. He stopped in his tracks when he suddenly heard the faint sounds of music coming from somewhere nearby. It was obviously eighties rock, an odd genre for anyone on the team to listen to. Johnny smirked and found himself sneaking down the hallways in search of the source. 

When he finally found it he found himself standing in front of a door labeled MISSION CONTROL. He  shrugged and slowly inched the door open so that he could peek inside. The room was covered in computer screen and files and seemed all but empty until Johnny turned his head and found himself looking at a sight that stopped his heart mid-beat. 

A curvy African American woman was dancing around a computer as it loaded some unknown software, her eyes closed and her body relaxed as she moved. Her moves were really defined, it was more like she was letting her body sway wherever it wanted to, like she was only in for the ride that the music took her on. 

Her long curly hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail that was gradually coming undone as she moved so that strands of hair fell across her hair and caressed her skin. Her plump lips were parted slightly as she mouthed along to the words and Johnny felt the sudden urge to gather her up in his arms and claim those lips as his own. 

  He looked down at his own hands in surprise as if they had betrayed him, this girl was not his usual type. The women he went over had barely any body fat and wore clothes that left nothing to the imagination. This voluptuous stranger was wearing simple jeans, converse and a comfortable sweatshirt that made Johnny wonder what exactly she was hiding under there.

  This was new territory and he had to tread carefully but nothing could stop a little flirting, even if every fiber in his being was screaming for him to claim her as his own. Johnny tamped down his rebellious heart and slipped into the room, using the beat of the music to disguise his footsteps until he was standing in front of the bouncing woman. 

He was about to say something when suddenly she whipped her hair past his face and he was hit by the comforting scent of lilacs and peaches. His brain stuttered to a stop and all he could think about was how he wanted to surround himself in that scent forever. Johnny let himself bask in the moment for a second before he forced himself to revert back to the suave player that he had always been, a comfortable place where his heart was safe and he was in control. 

“Well ‘ello there.” He said over the music and the woman froze like a statue, her eyes snapping open to reveal bright blue crystals that twinkled in the low light of the mission control room. She flushed all over, the redness leaking down her neck as she fumbled to turn off the music and regain some sense of professionalism. Johnny was too mesmerized by her eyes to notice. 

“Agent Bannerton.” She breathed out, obviously embarrassed, but a fissure of recognition shot through Johnny and he looked at the gorgeous woman in a new light, “Wh-what are you doing here so late?” 

Johnny grinned crookedly at her, projecting charm even as his insides squirmed nervously, “Well obviously I came up ‘ere ter meet ya Angel.” he winked and Agent Jones turned even redder, her eyes widening slightly in confusion.

  “M-my name is Meena.” She stuttered out and Johnny captured her hand, bringing it to his lips so he could whisper against her skin before he kissed it. 

“Tha’s a beautiful name Angel.” He chuckled when she let out a squeak in response and snatched her hand back as soon as he released it. 

“I-I don’t understand.” She said as she backed up slightly, glancing nervously at her computer as if hoping that it would provide some escape. However, the screen only displayed a loading bar that was nowhere near close to disappearing. 

“Daan’t understand wot love?” He asked, running a hand through his hair in hat he hoped was a suave move but was actually leaking with nerves. She gave him a tentative smile that sent his heart pounding and then looked down at the floor. 

“W-we barely know each other. Wh-why do you call m-me Angel?” She wrung her hands nervously and Johnny took a step closer into her personal space. 

“Well tha’s easy love. Cause yer sweet voice came down and saved me from a death by boredom.” He lightly ran his fingers over her cheek and grinned when she shuddered at his touch. She tried to say something in response, anything but she seemed frozen like a deer in headlights, completely at his mercy.

  “Who coulda known that you’d be so pretty to boot?” His grin grew as her blush spread and she seemed to move a little bit closer to him, surrender glinting in those magical eyes. Johnny was about to seal the deal with a kiss, as per usual, when suddenly his phone rang and the loud noise startled both of them. 

Meena quickly moved away from him and to one of her other computers, mumbling to herself about system upgrades and other techno babble that went right over his head but didn’t turn him off in the least. Oh no she was smart too, how dare she draw him in when he wasn’t ready? How dare she catch him off guard and look at him like that? 

It wasn’t fair. 

He grumpily grabbed at his phone and groaned when he saw that it was his landlord calling again. He looked up to Meena who was looking at him shyly, her eyes wide with curiosity and her pupils blown wide from their almost intimate encounter. 

“I guess I gotta go Angel. I’ll see ya tomorrow right?” He winked when Meena nodded wordlessly and gave her a little wave as he disappeared back into the hallway, his cell phone pressed to his ear. Meena watching him go on the security cameras until he was gone and suddenly she could breathe again.

  She gulped in breaths of air and cursed his ability to put her under his spell just like every other woman. She may have been locked down in cyber crimes but she knew about Johnny Bannerton and his reputation with women. She sat down in her chair and groaned and rubbed her hands over her face, trying to steel her resolve. 

She could handle casual flirting. She could show him that he wouldn’t be able to seduce her so easily. She had too much dignity to become another notch in his bedpost. He had never met a woman like her before, she would make sure of that. The ding of her download finishing drew her back to her beloved computers and threw all thoughts of Johnny out the window. Her software took over the computers in the room and mission control was immediately transformed into her own personal lair. 

Welcome to the Danger Zone she thought as she flipped on her music and resumed dancing around the room.

[kwiksolve-blog]

Function and Importance of Registry Cleaner

Purpose of a Registry Cleaner

A registry cleaner is a 3rd party Windows utility software whose sole purpose is to clean up the Windows registry and keep the system error-free and fast. It helps in eliminating redundant items like the registry files of previously uninstalled software or shortcuts to help speed up your PC. Registry is an important factor for the stability, consistency, and performance of a computer. Many of the computer issues are caused by system registry errors.

About Windows Registry

Windows registry plays an important role in storing the initial configuration settings as keys and values in your system whenever you install a software program/ application, hardware or a device driver for a newly connected hardware. Throughout the usage of the hardware or software, the alterations made to these configurations are updated in the registry. Moreover, the modifications made to Control Panel settings, Windows components, file associations and more, throughout the use of the computer, are updated in the registry.

Problems with Registry and how they affect your PC

The Windows Registry keeps storing a large number of annoying, outdated, and incorrect data that are regularly left by uninstalled programs. The most common reasons for buildup of the junk entries are:

Uninstalling and installing software programs, especially photo, video, audio, graphics and games software regularly;

Changing Control Panel settings regularly;

Browsing through Internet sites that spontaneously install components like Active X and retrieving unsolicited mails with malicious attachments;

Adding lots of programs into the system;

Installing programs with implanted spyware;

Trojan horses, Viruses and key loggers and so forth;

Modifying hardware, joysticks, monitor, hard disk, memory, printer or scanner regularly;

The buildup of so many junk entries over time escalates the size of the registry and makes it corrupted and fragmented.

This all leads to:

Fall in the performance of the computer system.

A decline in stability.

Decline in reliability.

System crash. Undue damage to the Registry can even make the system unbootable.

Why we need a Registry Cleaner

After the use over an extended period of time, volume and complexity of the registry database increases and hence there is a need for a registry cleaner to enhance performance and for better use of computers. For an ordinary computer user, it is not trouble-free to do a clear out of void entries, broken or null link registry entries, and lost references physically. Usually, it becomes unfeasible to identify and erase the sheer volume of entries. Furthermore, it will be tiresome to find the entry in question so it is much better to have a routine registry repair and cleaning utility for Windows whether it is 7 or 10 or for any other version.

Windows registry repair and cleaner incorporates wide-ranging technologies to scan and repair registry malfunctions. In case there are idle and worthless entries in your PC’s registry that amassed over the past usage due to unsuccessful software installations, past driver installation, faulty installations, etc., registry cleaner repairs the issue within a few minutes. It neatly plots all the corrupt entries of the Windows registries and increases the Windows startup time. It means that now you don’t have to hang around for long to let all the essential programs to load on your PC. As there are no idle and corrupt entries left there in the registry, ....... Continue Reading...

[digitalmarketingcourses]

11 Steps Email Marketing Checklist

Do you think email marketing is dead?

In today’s Digital era, Email marketing can only be used to convert list to loyal fans. Loyal fans are the people who will buy from you, time & again.

If you think email marketing doesn’t work, it’s probably because you share the same generic stuff as that of your competitors & use email primarily for lead generation. This approach is the fundamental reason why you’re not able to gain much traction out of email marketing.

When you don’t further nurture your target audience , no interest or curiosity will be aroused in them which motivates them to buy your products or services. Your primary motive is not only to attract them to your products/services, but to also sustain their interest in your products in the long run.

What if you don’t do Email Marketing?

Email marketing is still a powerful tool to communicate with your target customers. In fact, this is the most economical method of business communication.

When you don’t use it, you will miss out on a golden opportunity to stay in touch with customers. You will have to rely on other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc, where the algorithms keep changing at the blink of an eye. Your audience won’t be able to resonate with your brand.

Emails still rule when it comes to putting across your brand’s communication to the users. Emails are algorithm-proof, unlike social media platforms. You own the list & have complete authority to market your products/services to your list.

On other platforms, money has to be spent every time on retargeting & this can get quite expensive. These platforms are dictated by algorithms & hence you don’t own the platforms completely. Email, on the contrary, is an exception.

This platform will help your audience understand you’re why.

The job of email marketing is to nurture (convince) the leads (email contacts) acquired through various channels (via quality & consistent content). This results in converting your email contacts to contracts (conversions). Thus, for every $ spent, email marketing gives the highest ROI.

For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $32 (DMA, 2018). https://dma.org.uk/

Here are 11 tips that will help you dominate Email Marketing:

Personalization:

This is the catch of email marketing. To make the readers feel emotionally connected to your mail and what you offer, the idea is to personalize your emails. You can use first person texts.

For instance

– “Start my trial” instead of “Start your trial”

Catchy & Compelling Subject Line:

Always remember to make your email look attractive with the catchy and compelling subject line. Your have to somehow compel the user to at least first click on the email due to a catchy subject line, followed by quality content which provides valuable information about what you offer them.

Briefly, the email shouldn’t be just a click bait so that users would get disappointed when open mail.

Experian report says that 56% of brands that use emoji in the email subject lines have higher open rates.

Have only one goal for one email & email design!

Here, your focus needs to be how to convince the users when they have already opened the mail. It’s a matter of convincing not confusing. Did you get it?

Well, precisely your email design should be short and crisp which directs towards the customers end goal or desires.Always ask yourself this question “Can this email design achieve the prospective customer’s goal in 5 seconds??”

Clear & Focussed Call to action

In your email design, it would be ideal to put one and only one Call to Action (CTA). Multiple CTA would destroy the purpose of people clicking on the CTA button and get diverted to your websites/landing pages.

Readability & Formatting

Make your emails organized and easy to read and understand. Taking care of line breaks, bullet points, crisp and concise content with a maximum of two fonts would make the email look classy and organized.

It would itself reflect your brand through how you present yourself to the target customers through emails. Ideally, use a CTA button color that matches your brand color. In this way, people can resonate to your brand better.

Avoid spam & promotional words

It ain’t a good idea if the email looks clumsy and overcrowded with too many images, links, visuals. You have to do this to avoid activating the spam filter. Your primary motive is to make sure the emails land in the inbox, not in the spam folder. Consider not using promotional words in emails as it has a higher chance to land emails in the spam folder.

Proofread your grammar & do a rigorous spell check

Another crucial thing is to ensure the email content to be readable and understandable. You need to proofread and do rigorous spell checks. This makes it easier for people to read and know what exactly you want to communicate through your emails. Email content should be showcased as a medium to reach to the customer minds and convince them for better conversion rates.

Test your call to action

A Call To Action (CTA) is another relevant element in your email design. By clicking this CTA button, customers can reach the destination URLs. Digital marketing tracking parameters like UTM builder helps to know the journey of customers all the way from emails to your destination landing pages.

Do split testing

A/B Split Testing expels the mystery from your decisions of advanced promoting efforts. AB testing helps to know what doesn’t work & what does to increase conversion rates.

As per the HubSpot report, testing landing pages through this technique can create more leads by as much as 30 to 40%..

Analyze to know your visitor journey

It is also vital for the email marketing campaigns to analyze your visitor journey & other metrics in your CRM like open rate, click rate, etc. This will enable you to make a decision based on data & modify your email marketing campaigns with effective marketing tools and strategies.

Comply with the anti-spam laws

Anti-spam laws are made for unsolicited emails that protect people from getting undesirable spam emails. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 pre-empted a considerable lot of these laws; However, as an email marketer, you need to ensure all users agree to abide by the anti-spam policies mentioned in their terms of service.

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[brentwentyten]

Optimizing SEAD for Secure Distributed Hash Tables

SEAD, the Secure Efficient Ad hoc Distance vector routing protocol, is a recent secure ad-hoc routing protocol designed to use symmetric cryptographic primitives almost exclusively. Relying on symmetric cryptography, rather than asymmetric often requires 3 to 4 orders of magnitude less computation with a negligible increase in storage or network overhead.

However, while there has been a lot of work to make SEAD as efficient as possible, the application of distributed hash tables presents several problems that SEAD in its current form isn't equipped to handle. Mainly, that SEAD has no way to purge old entries from routing tables. However, it also must be decided if the protocol should be optimized to reduce time complexity or to reduce space complexity, because (as would be expected) the two goals sharply conflict.

It's best to have read the original paper on SEAD, along with the author's followup, first.

Reducing Time Complexity

Reducing the time complexity of the protocol has been the goal of most previous optimizations proposed for SEAD because nodes in the network are often assumed to have extremely limited processing capabilities.

The primary way to bound verification overhead is to, instead of having one long hash chain, have a hash chain for each sequence number up to some upper bound and then commit to all of them at the same time through the use of a Merkle tree. The root of the Merkle tree along with a tag noting the sequence numbers this tree is valid for can then be signed with a more expensive primitive, like a digital signature.

A MW-Chain can also be added as the last value committed to by the tree. When a tree has expired, a new one can be generated and then authenticated with a signature produced by the MW-Chain. If published along with a proof that the root value of the MW-Chain was committed to by the previous Merkle tree, a node who has already verified an asymmetric signature on the previous tree can prove the new tree is valid by checking that the MW-Chain was committed to by the previous tree and that it correctly signs the new root.

MW-Chains have the advantage that, because each tree only authenticates its own successor, the sequence numbers that each are valid for don't need to be authenticated in any way. However, if a node misses an entire tree-worth of sequence numbers (due to rapid updates, attempted attacks, or even if the node has just joined a long-standing network), the node will have to resort to verifying the asymmetric signature.

Computation, then, is only reduced in the absence of an attacker and a node can still be overwhelmed by being forced to verify an arbitrarily large number of invalid asymmetric signatures. It should be noted, however, that the required computation is still much less than the original method.

It should be reiterated that it's important the sequence numbers a Merkle tree is valid for be signed along with the root of the tree to prevent an attacker from providing old/expired trees as authentication for higher sequence numbers. In a similar spirit, when proving commitment to a value, most implementations of Merkle trees specify whether each value along the way to the root should be put on the left or the right. These markers can be used to verifiably id each committed value, such that the first committed value is the anchor of the hash (tree) chain that authenticates sequence number 0, the second committed value is the only anchor that authenticated sequence number 1, and so on. For example, if each given value in the proof is marked to go on the right, then the anchor is on the far left--id number 0--therefore, it is the anchor for the hash (tree) chain of sequence number 0.

Given all of this, each entry in a node's routing table, will contain something along the lines of:

metric - An unsigned integer. Metric. Measures the distance from the source.

sq - An unsigned integer. Sequence number.

next - A neighbor's node ID. Next node on the shortest path to this destination.

element - A SHA1 auth. Either from a hash chain or a hash tree chain.

proof - A set of hashes that proves the anchor of the current hash (tree) chain is committed to by the root.

verification - A MW-Chain signature and a proof that the public key was committed to by the previous root. Cheap verification.

signature - An asymmetric signature of the current root and the sequence numbers this tree is valid for. Expensive verification.

In the entry, anchor and root are referenced but never specified. This is because they can be omitted to save space and only negligibly increase the amount of required computation.

The algorithm to verify such an entry--disregarding issues of type and whether or not the offered entry is actually better than the current entry--is:

# max is the maximum length of a hash (tree) chain # num is he number of sequence numbers each tree authenticates # id(proof) derives the id of a value from its proof # applyMT(val, proof) applies a proof to a value. Derives the root of the tree. # applyMWC(msg, sig) applies a MW-Chain signature to a value. Derives the public key. if metric > max then return false if id(proof) isnt (sq % num) then retrun false anchor = H(max - metric, element) # H(n, ...) means chain H(...) n times. root = apply(anchor, proof) newTreeId = floor(sq / num) oldTreeId = floor(table[id].sq / num) # If there's previous and recent record of this peer. # Any entry with a lower sequence number should have been thrown away already. if table[id]? and newTreeId is (oldTreeId + 1) # verification[0] is the MW-Chain signature. # verification[1] is the proof of commitment. # MW-Chains are always the last value. if num isnt id(verification[1]) then return false cand = applyMWC(newTreeId + root, verification[0]) cand = applyMT(cand, verification[1]) # Accept if verification correctly computes the old root. The old root # should be cached, but not sent. ok = cand is table[id].root else if table[id]? and newTreeId is oldTreeId ok = root is table[id].root else # There's no previous/recent record. ok = ... # Verify the asymmetric signature on the root. return ok

Reducing Space Complexity

The optimizations above, while they greatly reduce the amount of computation required, can take anywhere from half a kilobyte to several kilobytes of memory per routing entry depending on the configuration of the network and the efficiency of the language's implementation. Granted, nodes in the network might not have an excess of processing capability, but in the event of a network with several million connected nodes, such large entries aren't practical either. Hence, it may be worthwhile to establish a lower bound on the size of an individual routing entry.

The above schema does a fairly good job of omitting unneeded data, so by stripping the performance optimizations, we get a schema along the lines of:

metric - Rarely exceeds 255, yielding uint8.

sq - Can be arbitrarily large, capped at uint32.

next - A neighbor's node ID. A convenient trick is to use the node's ID as its public key. A 112-bit elliptic curve yields a 14 byte public key.*

element - A SHA1 hash. Yields 20 bytes.

signature - An asymmetric signature of the anchor and the sequence numbers this chain is valid for. Yields 56 bytes.

While a 112-bit elliptic curve isn't typically considered secure, the last known published attack on a 112-bit curve used an excess of computer resources and took approximately four months. While this would be a threat to long-lived keys, nodes in an ad-hoc network are so ephemeral they rarely use the same key for more than a few hours.

Summing up the sizes of each field shows that an entry is 95 bytes in its most space-efficient form. In 2GB of memory, we can store approximately 22 million unique peer records. This is disregarding space required by any caches, other control structures, and the memory of the application itself (which may grow in parallel with the routing table)--not to mention that periodically dumping 2GB of records to N peers is completely impractical as well.

However, through more interactive protocols, it is possible to reduce the bandwidth used in periodic updates. The first that comes to mind is only publishing a node's id, metric, and sequence number (perhaps some other data as well). The receiving node can then, with very little effort, determine if an entry should be requested for full verification.

An alternative method that could be implemented would be something similar to Dynamo's Replica Synchronization, where each node's entire routing table is committed to by a Merkle tree. For two nodes to determine if their tables are synchronized, they simply need to verify that the root nodes of the Merkle trees equal. If not, they can (in logarithmic time and space) identify which entries differ by following any discrepancies down to the foot of the tree. Granted, this approach might be difficult to implement in a way that's resistant to protocol breaches.

Adding Disconnects to SEAD

At the moment, SEAD accumulates old records of disconnected peers in the event that the peer has simply changed position in the network, and that new routing entries containing information on the peer's location will arrive. However, in the vast majority of P2P protocols, it's essential that nodes have a way to purge old data to preserve resources.

The answer turns out to be fairly succinct: on the creation of each routing entry, a timestamp should be added and signed by any authentication mechanisms (the verification and signature keys in the above schemas). If the newest record a node has of a peer (or a record the node has been sent by an adjacent peer) is reported older than its TTL, then the node can freely discard the entry. This method enforces the strictest practical definition of "being connected": some node in the network has the private key belonging to this public key and is performing the minimum required work of keeping its routing entry updated. Of course, loose time synchronization is required for disconnects to reliably work, meaning there needs to be a cluster-wide trusted time server for nodes to synchronize with at startup.

For a node to prevent itself from being discarded by the network, it must periodically push up its sequence number at minimum once per X seconds (as defined by the cluster). Calculating the TTL then, is as follows:

In the simple, space-efficient schema in section two, a new signature is calculated for each sequence number, so the TTL is simply:

TTL = max(interval, (m * period)) + grace

Where interval is the interval on which nodes should increase their sequence number, m is the maximum network diameter, period is the interval on which nodes dump their routing tables to each other, and grace is a (usually small) extra delay to account for other possible delays in the network. This TTL should slightly over-approximate the maximum amount of time it can take a node to completely distribute an updated routing entry.

In the time-efficient schema, however, a timestamp can't be verified on each increase in sequence number--only each time one tree is exchanged for another, leading to systematically greater TTLs (albeit, not by enough to nullify all the advantages the ability to purge entries offers). The TTL is then defined as:

TTL = max((n * interval), (m * period)) + grace

Where n is the number of sequence numbers each tree commits to.

[crownofbeautyalina]

how is it that some people were born loved by their fam while others are seen as a stye.

doesn’t feel good to be compared to one but oh well

update: me is still screwed.

and today wasn’t a good day.

and i don’t even know how to begin ranting.

everything just seems so fucking unfair.

i’m being judged and seen for who i am not, misunderstood, to the point of tears, yet no one understands and only care about offering unsolicited advice.

i wanna cry, yet cannot; i might get yelled at.

so i keep it all in, and end up feeling like my intestines are about to implode.

knowing i have no more “that” person to turn to makes things seem more dreary and hopeless.

like i’ve reached a merciless road block.

the very problems that caused me to choose him and want to run away to him are still very much present, yet he has turned away and even against me and my f, unkindly.

after having used me.

how nice.

what kinda life is this.

anw, today reminded me of those moments whereby i could not breathe, at all.

even as i was holed up within that little space at home.

perhaps emotional freedom smells sweeter, and being homeless with a Lord above you is way better than living oppressed in a “house” unloved and away from Jesus.

anyway, i could not take it anymore and just walked ahead, without waiting.

and took moments to myself before i was kinda hurried back home, in a way by a worried m.

-

also, perhaps God appears in the form of a heart shaped leaf, or a calming appearance of a random human being in your sight.

though i still feel his heat.

:(

anyway, yx’s vid inspires me greatly.

i know she has the privileges of all the basic emotional necessities - family love, support, whatever - and hence i really cannot compare myself to her cos i lack in these things; but perhaps, i could strive that much harder or be allowed that bit, that i can perhaps try to do - self-care, or rather, the good habits she exposes herself to.

though i wonder if these are the by products of a good upbringing and environment; tho i hope not, cos i want to be granted access to these too.

also, i am STILL fucking angry with G.

fucking angry.

what kinda injustices were those.

and am i still going thru.

why cant He protect? WHY?

[jonesdavid19-blog]

How to Tell if Your Computer is Infected and How to Fix It

Virus infects computers because of some suspicious files or emails. Hence resolving this virus is very important to run the machine smoothly.

If you love gaming, your computer would definitely be one of your biggest assets. Be its roulette game or a slot machine game, FIFA or motion sensor games, your focus on the game and your chances to win at it increase with a stable computer system. 

At times computer begins misbehaving, and too many boxes pop up, disturbing our work. The pop-ups are due to the virus entering the system. A virus is a type of malware that breaks into a computer and its programs.  It affects the working of the system leading to lag in the functioning of the equipment. No one likes this virus, so curing this virus on your computer is very mandatory. Here are the various signs that will make you realize about the anti-virus and other measures to be taken for your computer.

Your Computer is Slowing Down: This is the worst thing that can probably happen during a presentation or a meeting. If the one-word document takes 10 minutes to open, that is due to the virus that has affected the material or the system. The main work of malware is slowing down your system no matter if you’re browsing the Internet or merely accessing your local applications.

What can you do to resolve this issue?

The first step to avoid slowing down is checking whether your RAM is low. Windows Task Manager will help you analyze the programs using most of your RAM. Simultaneously press ctrl+alt+delete, choose Task Manager, and a list of the current apps you have open will get displayed. You can check which application has the highest RAM and delete the ones causing the problem 

The other issue can be when the storage space is less than needed storage. The red marks in your room slow down the system, so if your storage is full, cleaning up the system is the only option left for you.

If Your Windows OS is not updated, or you’re using outdated drivers, then the system will lag. Not updating the device slows down your computer so updating it soon will fix the problem.

The Random Annoying Ads: Unexpected pop-ups that distract your screen are a typical sign of a malware infection that wreaks havoc on your computer. It is known as spyware. They stick badly to your system; hence removing them is a huge task. NEVER make the mistake of clicking on any suspicious pop-up. 

To avoid this spyware, these are the steps you can follow;

Avoid clicking on pop-up windows.

Avoid answering unsolicited strange-looking emails. Always verify the sender’s email address and try not to open attachments or click weird links.

Be cautious while you download free applications for your system.

Use a next-gen threat prevention solution that identifies online dangers and blocks them before they get the chance to infect your PC.

Low Disc Space in Windows “c”: This message is to tell you the lack of space in windows C. to regulate this issue this is what you can do,

The first step is to check if your physical storage space has been increasing lately or if some of your files disappeared or changed their names.

Second, make sure you delete all those old or unnecessary files that can lower your PC’s performance.

Install the antivirus software to avoid these problems

Following these small things every now and then will help you keep your computer up to date and also avoid computer viruses.

[smartphone-science]

Despite not being a great novel, I “enjoyed” Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem. It’s like those many 80s B-movies that aren’t really good but still keep you glued in front of the telly. Now, if it were really an 80s B-movie, then it would have a subtitle likes this: EXTRATERRESTRIAL GEOMETRY NERDS ARE COMING TO DESTROY EARTH.

But before I explain the above point further, let me just say that this book has one of the most intense opening sequences ever.

I’m aware that this book has won the Hugo Awards for Best Novel in 2015. I don’t have any contentions with that. But, to me, there are three problems with The Three-Body Problem that keep it from achieving real literary greatness.

SPOILERS AHEAD

This is a missed opportunity to tell a good story with a good main character. 

Sure. Scientists are just the perfect demography from where to select a protagonist for a sci-fi tale. But Wang, a nanotechnology expert, is just unequivocally flat. Perhaps it’s my total ignorance of nanotech that prohibits me from seeing what little humanity is there in him. Or maybe it’s not my fault because its hard to look for something, even with magnification, if in the first place it isn’t there. Try as you might, but you’ll never find myelin sheaths on red blood cells, no matter how hard you manipulate your microscope .

But some will say, “hey, what about that camera countdown scene?” True. I felt his anxiety in that event. In fact, in many other instances as well. But my heart raced not because he was someone I really cared for nor felt any strong sympathy with; rather, I just felt anxious because I didn’t want the same things to happen to me. I’m already preoccupied with my one-body problem, you see. What I’m really trying to say is this: at certain moments where we get hints of Wang’s character, it ends up disappointingly generic. Moments of brilliance mostly come when the obnoxious police officer Da Shi shows up. He was the better character.

The problematic inevitable contact with aliens. 

Of course, the aliens had to respond. I mean, why wouldn’t they? Wouldn’t you also like to visit a planet that just sent you an unsolicited message. . . IN CHINESE? Or maybe it was in the language of codes. But don’t codes have to conform to a standard logic in order to be understood? At least that’s how they translated Mesopotamian tablets. Perhaps also in computers, but I’m not really sure. Don’t judge me, the only codes I care about are nucleotide sequences.

Anyhow, in The Three-Body Problem, a correspondence simply emerged. We’re left with no details as to how the aliens, and us, in turn, were able to understand each other. Think of it this way: we’re out fishing in the middle of a lagoon and another boat just threw us a plastic cup with worms, how should we respond? How do we “understand” the gesture? Shall we welcome their aggression with a harsh naval mandate? Or should we take the time to figure out what the cup actually was for?

In The Three-Body Problem, the conundrum of having to decode alien messages was simply curbed by having a ready machine at hand. This is an important concern that shouldn’t be overlooked. As grand as the plot is, it stands on shaky feet if it has no sound basis. In this case, we find no convincing explanation on how humans came to understand the messages, or how they created the translation programme. Someone please explain to me why we can hardly understand the ruminations of cats but can easily understand extraterrestrial messages.

Also, ever since Solaris, I have come to regard the alien-invasion theme as a secular version of the coming of Satan. Only, Satan is a lot cooler because we actually know his motives and are sure of it. With aliens, how sure are we that they’re the galactic imperialists that we think them to be? Are we really that interesting that they’d travel light-years from home just to make contact? In The Three-Body Problem, it only took a radical group of environmentalists to convince the aliens to launch an invasion.

Trisolaris is really boring. 

I was never really interested in aliens and reading about Trisolaris made me even less so. You see, Trisolaris is a unique idea conveyed poorly. We are simply led to believe that they are greater (by default), hence they are dangerous. But the endless bickering among Trisolarans (citizens of Trisolaris) portray them as less of a military threat but more of a dinner party inconvenience. Sure, they can come to Earth, but I’d rather not join them at the table. Liu haphazardly built Trisolaris using concepts from maths and science and left them to develop by themselves, hoping that they’d surface as a single coherent object. It was a disaster. The supposed “threat” surrounding their arrival is thus very superficial.

Liu is a master of pacing. He knows when to slow down or speed up. But speed is scalar, and stories need directions. Liu simply drives us towards the inevitable conclusion: the Trisolarans are on their way. As we’re approaching our inescapable doom, we can’t help but ask the important question, “why let him drive in the first place?” It was a mess of a journey and we should’ve just left the car in the garage.

I don’t really have any other negative things to say about the book aside from my three concerns above. The endless stream of similes in the first half threw me off quite a bit, though.

Anyhow, I’m off to read its sequel The Dark Forest. I hope it’s much better!

Final verdict: ★★☆☆☆

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