#the email is through microsoft

[meerodi]

trying to go to college next year and currently the biggest hurdle of all of this is just, trying to get into. my fucking school email

[synthlet]

oh my god i am so fucking angry. my minecraft account ive had since minecraft was $10 was hacked and is permanently gone!! bc microsoft REQUIRED me to link a microsoft account, which i made JUST FOR MINECRAFT, and someone hacked into it and CHANGED THE SECURITY INFO 30 DAYS AGO and microsoft NEVER FUCKING TOLD ME. and literally every support team person is like. lol yeah if they change your security info its gone forever lol. GO FUCK YOURSELF I HATE THIS ALWAYS-ONLINE BULLSHIT LMAO!!!!!

[lightgaswaterelectricityrent]

Microsoft doesn't let you use a business account as the main owner of a pc running a home edition of windows which is fine, I guess, except when you try to log in with a microsoft business account it tells you the account "doesn't exist" and doesn't explain anything else at all for some reason. So if you're for example my mom and maybe my dad is insane and insists your email works through his small business license instead of in a normal way like a normal 68 year old homemaker would have then the first thing that happens when you try to set up your brand new computer is that it says your account, which you already have a very tenuous grasp on understanding, doesn't exist. and thank God your daughter is perfect and very helpful and understands everything...

[jesseweneedtocuck]

Not to be a boomer or anything but I absolutely hate multi-factor authentication. Cyber security blah blah blah whatever WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU NEED TO TEXT ME A CODE I JUST TOLD YOU MY PASSWORD

[literaryvein-reblogs]

From the Slang Dictionary

part 2

Algospeak - coded language that people use (“speak”) to avoid being censored or moderated by AI algorithms. It combines algo- from the word "algorithm" with the word speak. The word was used as early as 2016 on social media. Many websites, especially social media sites, use AI algorithms to moderate the large amount of content posted on their platforms. These algorithms often automatically flag or delete content that contains or mentions words or phrases that the algorithm has been programmed to recognize as being unacceptable. However, this often causes algorithms to flag or remove permitted content that discusses sensitive issues or content that uses the “unacceptable” words without breaking any rules. Being aware of this, many communities on social media use coded language, emoji, or euphemisms to avoid having their content removed by algorithms. The term algospeak refers to this language. For example, people used terms like panoramic, panini, and panda express to refer to the COVID-19 pandemic after platforms began removing content that mentioned the pandemic to attempt to halt the spread of misinformation. Some other examples of algospeak include using the word seggs instead of sex, the word accountants to refer to sex workers, the word unalive to refer to death or suicide, the corn emoji to refer to pornography, and the phrase leg booty to refer to the LGBTQ+ community.

Birb - also spelled as berb, is a deliberate misspelling of bird used in internet slang such as DoggoLingo. It’s used as a playful way to refer to cute birds, particularly pet birds.

Bye Felicia - a slang way of dismissing someone. Sometimes formatted as bye, Felicia and based on a movie character whose name is spelled Felisha, it often appears in memes, GIFs, and hashtags online to express disregard or indifference to someone. The term has been popular in Black culture since the 1990s when the film was released, although the original spelling of the name “Felisha” has changed to the more common (and, some would point out, more “white”) spelling, Felicia. Bye Felicia is considered by some to be an example of white culture appropriating Black culture, often with little knowledge of the original source material. The phrase enjoyed renewed popularity around 2009 thanks to its frequent use on the reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race. It got another bump in December 2018, when former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, used it as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to describe what was going through her head as she and President Obama waved goodbye to the White House at the end of Obama’s presidency in January 2017. Bye Felicia is most often used humorously or as a way to throw shade at someone, suggesting the speaker couldn’t be bothered with another person’s presence or is surprised they haven’t left yet. While humor is almost always part of the intention in using the term, the tone in which it is said has changed somewhat over time. Initially, bye Felicia was said coolly or nonchalantly, as in the movie Friday; now, it’s just as often used in a more aggressive or melodramatic way.

Doggo - this and pupper are affectionate terms for dog and puppy used in the internet slang called DoggoLingo. This emerged in the 2010s and drew on existing online culture, such as lolspeak, the snek meme, and Doge.

Left on read - in internet slang, a person is left on read when a recipient has read, but not responded to, a sender’s message. The expression is often used to express feeling ignored. A read receipt lets the sender know a digital message has been opened or seen (i.e., read) by the recipient. Microsoft Outlook, for instance, allows read receipts for email. Apple has enabled read receipts for text messages since 2011.

Receipts - slang for “proof” or “evidence,” often used to call out someone for lying or to show someone is being genuine. In popular culture, such receipts may come in the form of screenshots, images, or videos. They also often concern things done by famous people. One of the first prominent uses of receipts came in a 2002 interview of singer Whitney Houston by Diane Sawyer for ABC. Sawyer brought up the topic of recent tabloid headlines that accused Houston of buying large amounts of crack cocaine. Houston denied these accusations and demanded proof: “I want to see the receipts.”

Shelfie - a picture of a shelf, especially a bookshelf that shows off someone’s books, movies, art, collectibles, special belongings, etc. It can also be a proper selfie if you are in the picture with the shelves. On social media, the hashtag #shelfie is often posted alongside pictures of various shelves where a person lives or works.

Snacc - internet slang for an extremely attractive or sexy person (i.e., you want to gobble them up like a snack). It’s also internet slang used when cute animals are seeking or enjoying a snack. Snacc, with two Cs, emerges on Black Twitter in 2009, the deliberate misspelling is consistent with other black slang terms, such as phat, thicc, and succ. Early uses of this term refer to actual snacks. Sexual senses of snacc do begin to appear around this time in wordplay, but it doesn’t take off in earnest until around 2017.

Spirit animal - In certain spiritual traditions or cultures, this refers to a spirit which helps guide or protect a person on a journey and whose characteristics that person shares or embodies. It is also metaphor, often humorous, for someone or something a person relates to or admires. The ancient concept of animal guides, particularly prominent in some indigenous, especially Native American, religions and cultures, was adopted in Pagan and Wiccan spirituality in the 1990s. In these contexts, spirit animals are meant literally, referring to spiritual guides or totems that take the form of animals. Earnest quizzes began to emerge in the mid-2000s to help you find your spirit animal. Spirit animal has increasingly been used to indicate, ironically, a strong appreciation or identification for someone or something.

Tea - best served piping hot, tea is slang for “gossip,” a juicy scoop, or other personal information. As far as we can tell, it was steeped in black drag culture. One theory connects tea to the celebrated drag performer The Lady Chablis, who is quoted in the 1994 bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: “Yeah, my T. My thing, my business, what’s goin’ on in my life.” T, here, is short for truth.

Source ⚜ More: Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs ⚜ Part 1

[bumblebeebats]

I never know what to say when people ask me what my day job is, bc i suppose the Professional answer would be "some unholy combination of social media manager/IT support/graphic & web design" but the most accurate answer would be something more akin to Mundane Advisor. Grand Vizier for Hippies. You see, years ago, my mother used to rent out rooms to tarot readers/acupuncturists/psychics/etc, and let me tell you something about new age-y types: absolutely fucking none of them know how to make a website. As a 12 year old with a drawing tablet and a homemade Weebly site about seagulls under my belt, I was already some kind of tech expert in their eyes, and earned a fair amount of pocket money throughout high school offering dirt-cheap website & logo design services. (Child labor or entrepreneurial spirit? Who's to say.) Years later, through the powerful force of word-of-mouth-advertising and the fact that the venn-diagram intersection between "people who know what an SSL certificate is" and "people who know what an oracle card is" is razor-thin, I find myself somehow still in this field, & spending my days composing emails to the tune of "Please, sire - I know your angels guided you to make this massive blurry stolen JPEG of a unicorn your homepage background, but might i suggest... not... that?" "Yes, Mistress, verily; I am sure your issues with Microsoft Edge may very well be due to mercury being in retrograde, but ah, just in case, I would also urge you to run a scan with an antivirus program." "I--sorry? I'm sorry, Good Lady, but the premise of your new business venture is... 'The concept of love'? Spreading awareness for the concept of love? I... alright. okay. might i suggest, gently, though I know you wish not to sully your divine vision with such mundane matters as 'financial viability,' that for the sake of the kingdom, we, ah - refine our scope, somewhat--"

[themareverine]

Who We Are | dofp!Logan x mutant!fem!OC

summary: "What am I, Logan?" Swallowing, "What is this?" And she knows what she is, subliminally.

warnings: angst, brief mentions of PTSD, trauma, mutant!fem!OC

a/n: i should be working on Toy Soldiers and my next series chapter. i really should be. but this came to me this week while at my new job, in my new office, and honestly i'm due for my period so i'm deep into feelings. enjoy this if that's possible. based on concepts i have for my Mare & the Wolverine series, e.g., fem!OC acquires Logan's genetics through Weapon X experimentation. i envisioned DOFP Logan for this but have no idea how it would fit into the timeline.

“Got someone here to see ya, dearie.”

Eyes don’t flick up from the tablet resting face up on the desk, screen illuminated bright with open email and Outlook scheduling only slightly overtaken with Microsoft Teams messaging. A milkwhite pen lazily spins through fingers riddled with turquoise and sterling. Untouched, stale coffee takes up precious desk space in a slightly dented, fading Yeti.

When movement from the doorway doesn’t come, sapphire eyes lift from the wash of blue light. Gaze flicking to the calendar illuminated on the desktop, the office chair rolls lazily away from the desk, toes slipping back into formerly abandoned high heels.

“I don’t have anything scheduled,” elbow finding the chair’s arm, her fingers knead into the flesh along her temple, “you sure they’re here for me?”

“Says he wants to talk to you about some volunteer opportunities,” sleek, silver hair spins around the older woman’s finger, glasses low on her nose only a moment as she lifts a knuckle to lift them, “you want me to chase him off?”

Can’t really argue with work opportunities. “Send him in. Call me in fifteen minutes with an emergency.” Tapping her wristwatch, her brow pops, colleague sent away with a uh, huh sure nod following.

Head canting to the side, she pops from her chair. Stretches her neck. Toes curl inside her heels, against worn once-padded soles eaten away under sweat and miles. Pain ricochets off the heaviness of her skeleton, sending hot licks of pain up her spine. Knocks off the base of her neck like a firecracker. Bones in the back of her hand burn, acidic pain stabbing between knuckles not unfamiliar. A glance down at the thin skin at the back of her hand stirs subconscious magma, stoning in a way she can’t quite swallow.

Sahara heat in the heat of her throat empties into the open air of her gut, and she rousts her tongue against her back molars. Hopes it’ll resolve—it doesn’t. Grabs for a drink of lukewarm coffee. Nada. Zilch.

Damn. “You decent, honey?”

A wry twist of her lips. “Sure,” she waves a hand forward. “Send ‘im in, Donna.”

Turning to retrieve that favorite milkwhite pen she’d discarded off to the side of her keyboard, she spins it through her fingers again. Checks emails, eyeballing the front desk associate from a grim, corner-eye peer.

Donna, bless her soul, nods. Leans back out the door, on her broken-ankle-waiting-to-happen heels that are as pink as they are dangerous for a lass her age. Waves the happy little accident forward with a flick of her near-translucent, arthritic fingers. Bangle bracelets tink as she shuffle dances with the stranger past the door.

Eyes turned down to the keyboard, she entirely misses the figure taking up her doorway. An onslaught of cologne hits her nose like a landing strip, an assault that rips open the void of her memories like an untapped dam—her pupils blow wide. Alarm kicks her heart forward against the sledge of her ribs, she swears to God she can feel cardiac tissue bruise. Animalistic fear swipes at her stomach, tearing it open like it’s ribbons of rare prime rib. Acidic contents of her stomach splash up on her tongue, but instinct makes her swallow it back down the hatch, burying the primal instinct to run.

Couldn’t miss that slick, sensual heat barraging into the room like a battering ram for anything. There was only one man in her world she’d known to smoke contraband cigars of such a sickeningly smoky, thick caliber—one man that could leave her so disarmed, distempered. In shambles.

Logan.

Her sapphire eyes flick over to icy, venomous in all of a heartbeat—she can feel them. Tracking him not unlike a predator cornering prey, she pops tall. Chair rolls back all too hard, with purpose. Bounces off the wall.

Rolled away, her tether to anything pumping daylight between them suddenly vamoose.

Fear licks at her spine like it’s a frickin’ lollipop. It isn’t terrorized fear—it’s that special kind of fear, the one that burns. The one that haunts and visits young. Simmers low. Eats away like corrosion—the fear of not what he’s done to her, anatomically. Never. Logan is many things, but not abusive. Not mentioning—these adamantium bones, these that build out her frame, rattle cold even mere inches from the sun? His curse, wrapped up inside her?

She barely remembered fear anymore.

This instead, it’s— a tender fear of what’s been dangled, shattered. Devastated. Buried six feet so far under it’s been feasted on by worms and twisting, cold fingers of the underworld. More pain, more emotional damage. More visceral, brutish damage than what’s already been done.

Knowing he can feel her heartbeat even across the floor space, she wills her heart to slow down—the small corner of it she can control when he’s anywhere in territory. Strange way over her, he has—had always. From the first day meeting him, signing her name on the proverbial dotted line of the pinkslip that is knowing Logan, he’d enraptured her. Captivated her. Took hostage parts of her she didn’t know were up for discussion. Knowing her inside and out wasn’t enough, even if it’s a literal statement—he’d seen her in ways that could make him a priest, counted her sins splayed across the altar of time.

Devil’s advocate, always. He’d promised to never do the very things he’d deny to God.

And it's cardinal sin, the way he looks at her. Mortal how he ravages her without even batting an eye, expressionless and unreadable like dark midnight. Venial—she can feel him even with five feet of daylight and lifetimes between them. All the times he’d touched her, all the sweet everything’s he’s whispered, lapping back through her brainspace like pace cars. Standing in her doorway like an untouchable Goliath. As radiant as the sun always, but dark as the witching hour.

Her skin chills, long nights under stars when they were both younger, stupider not far away memories but recent ones held close. Gooseflesh flecks across her skin, filling pores and chasing up and down her spine like territorial wolves. A knife somewhere in her gut spins a full three-sixty, any second now her entire gut sack would fall open, bloody, to hell between her feet. She couldn't move, though—eyes welded to him like stainless. If she's still enough, maybe she can watch his pores open and close.

Eternities unfold between them, when in reality, maybe thirty seconds has ticked off the clock hanging on the wall of her shiny, new office. Well, new-to-her office. It's hardly such, complete with tattered carpets and holes knocked in the walls from the rough and tumble of shifting furniture. Paint no younger than it's very 2006 aesthetic, there's the smallest hint of antiseptic in the air, a slight draft from the window's ancient weatherproofing. By normal straits, it's barely anything to be proud of—but it's hers. All hers, and nobody had helped her get it.

Not Charles, not Hank. Not references from the DOD, no apology kiss-assing from the military for what had happened with Cornelius at Alkali. Nada from fancy institutions that the X team had arranged for "one of their own." Her office for her job offered based on her qualifications. Her. No mention of mutations, no favors, nothing.

Eight months of skiptracing far and hard from Westchester, desperate for something, anything that wasn't that. Logan. Pain.

She could be surprised that Logan's found her. But, that would be revealing a whole lot of cards she'd not prepared to show.

Have to pay the ante if you wanna play, Logan.

"'All the places I thought'a lookin' for you, this sure as hell wasn't it, darlin'."

Darlin'. It's her favorite, always had been. He knew it. And if that doesn't hurt something delicious, nothing else in the sparkling universe that is this planet would.

Logan is nothing, if not prepared. Straight for the low blows. What a bastard. The little tip of his lips, the quicksilver gleam that flashes through his eyes. All little signs she knows are designed to chisel hard, deep through her bedrock. It's worked, before. Dozens of times that, really, are uncountable. He shifts a little, arms crossed over the leathers of a new-but-not jacket. Sunglasses slung through the collar of a not-new t-shirt. Jeans, scuffed boots. Even from here the bite of bike exhaust is unmissable, nips at her libido like it always had—because Logan has never been sexier than slung low on his chopper, sunglasses on and tufted hair messed from the wind. Free and careless, wild. As God intended.

And it could be funny—Logan, finding her here, two thousand miles from Westchester. On his motorcycle. Looking dangerous and delicious, traversing the country on some hunch about a wild hair up his ass.

Some things, honestly, don't evolve.

Naked and vulnerable as his eyes cut through her like cold adamantium, she swallows the desert blossom her tongue has become. Thigh knocking into the corner of her desk hard enough for a bruise to chance formation on ever-healing skin, she gnaws at the inside of her cheek. Handfuls of seconds fall through her fingers, until she cuts her eyes away, to the heels of her stilettos.

"No," her eyes snap back to him, brow furrowed in barely sentineled rage, "no, Logan. We're not doing this."

His brow pops, animatedly. Like a curious dog. "No?" Pushing off his stance against the wall, his booted foot connects with the floor a little harder than his usual. "What aren't we doin'?"

Any tighter and she'd taste the marrow of her jawbone. "You heard me. I've decided we aren't doing this—now, or ever. Get the hell out of my office, out of my life, and get back on your motorcycle and go back to New York." Finger cutting through the air, her glare is serpentine.

Cold, lacerating. Hopefully to his core, to the very steel that clings to his skeletal system like plague.

"Run back to Jean, Logan—we both know that's where you think you belong." And God, even her name tastes like wicked poison. Like some type of adder, it's pocketed in low places—released only when the fangs pop.

Could serpents suicide from their own venom?

Wouldn't matter, not with him running through my genetics like wildfire. Never say die, has a whole new meaning, huh, Logan? Turning away from him, she gags on her own hatred. The cold splashing up the back of her throat.

He crosses to her in three, big strides. Grabs her arm and whirls her around all-soldier, aggressively. His eyes are hot, wild, as they scan hers—looking for caveats, avenues to invade. White-hot, his grip tightens deliberately, knowing it can't hurt. Won't. Keeping her upright on three-inch stilettos is not his primary goal, but it's working overtime hours.

"Listen."

Her eyes cut to his, cold. Hopes it empties him of any and all courage he thinks he's got.

"I've listened enough." A growl, low between her ribs.

From the wellspring of years—years. Scouting in and out of the affections of a man she'd idolized since a night in that musty Canadian bar, lingering in the sweat and smoke, illegal betting. Still, she can recall how he'd folded her into her Jeep, introducing himself. Willing her to leave, allowing her to stay.

"'Wolverine.' Catchy stage name, hon. That what God calls you, too?"

"Logan, but, you call me what you want, bub."

She'd never stopped calling him anything. Never had dreamed she'd ever stop. If it were up to her, she'd carve out her own heart and give it to him, beating and bloody, for all of time. What's up to her is limited, however—wildcards in a game of chance.

Every dreamer eventually rejoins the living.

If it hurts him, she'll never know. His brow wrinkles, pulled downward into a hard frown that narrows his eyes and casts deep lines across his features. Canyons. Darkness flints through the light in the eyes, for only a moment, before he slightly shakes his head. Confused or irritated, well—it's Logan. Either is more than possible on any given day.

Pulling against his hold, she swipes at his hand. "Let go of me."

He winces, nails catching against hard muscle. His growl hitches in his chest, knocks against his back teeth not unlike a cat. "Quit. Don't be a brat," he hisses, nails biting into her skin. "Just think for a minute, huh? I come all this way, look all over the fuckin' country for you, and you think I'm hung up on Jean?"

Listening would allow him privileges Logan didn't deserve, but she can't not hear him. Instead, she wrenches her arm. Claws at his arm again, this time with more nail than probably necessary. An animalistic, vicious growl gurgles up from her chest. Snakes past her teeth. Hisses between them, venomous and cruel.

It's designed to cut him. Fatally. "You manipulative sonuvabitch—"

"Baby. Listen t'me—"

And before she can think, before she can reason—Snikt!

Out come the claws. Her claws. His mutation, wrapped up in her genetics. Pure accident, until it wasn't—until so much of him required so much of her. It's unfair.

White-hot pain rips through her like five thousand volts, jumpstarting her heart like a grenade. For a heartbeat she fears her cardiac muscle will explode, but it's misguided—regeneration means she'd just grow a new one. Another he could destroy all over again, and again, and again.

"I said let go, Logan!"

A wide arch of her hand between them catches the air, moving it enough that Logan ducks back with the practiced ease of a light-footed soldier. Hand breaking away, she stumbles back on wobbling heels like a foal. Away from him, creating space. Daylight. Air she tries to drag into her lung tissue.

Unable to breathe, to think, she drowns on room air instead.

Droplets of blood from knuckle lacerations land at her feet, hot pain alive and stinging like flame between her knuckles. He may as well have driven a hot blade between the bones in her hand, burning heat cutting up her arm like it's a fat bass awaiting fillet.

And she can feel the bone and tissues moving in her arm, how her ligaments stretch as adamantium blades rearrange her insides, push aside her bones and ligaments and tendons. Making room for itself, throwing aside anatomical musts for what she is. It's otherworldly, feeling components of yourself move and shake when for the entirety of your life, it comes as naturally as breathing.

Eyes flick down her arm, expecting to see her anatomy ripped open to the air. Anticipating something, anything to show that everything hurts. There's nothing, to the naked eye. Simple flesh. Nothing.

It's all in your head. Was it?

Her guts churn like a roiling pot, stirring deep and hot. She can taste her own blood, spit. Vomit somewhere, milked from her oral tissue. A zing of coppery blood on her tongue makes her think she's bitten the muscle. A clench of her abdominal muscle, and she's certain she'll throw up.

Before she can, Logan is to her in three big, heavy strides. Hard fingers latch onto her wrist, pulling her to a hard stop. Not looking away from the stains of blood on adamantium for a heartbeat, his eyes flick over to hers. Hold them, tightly, like a vice. His brow mottles with effort, deep lines as he struggles to hold her arm steady.

Panting heavily, sweat bubbles up from every one of her pores—she can't suck enough air into her chest.

She can feel color exit her body. Pulse bounding, her muscles begin to spasm. Psychologically unable to process the level of hurt racing through her arms, the room spins. Vision blurs behind a fresh veil of tears, nails bite into her palm. If her knuckles were any whiter, bone would kiss air.

The urge to vomit overwhelms. Wrenching her arm from him, she breaks away to empty her guts into the trash under her desk. Adamantium catches the endge of her desk, and makes short work, cutting deep grooves into the oak. Knees buckle. Ankles wobble in her stilettos like a newborn foal. The lick of humiliation is like a whip, a cruel taskmaster.

Names cut through her brain with surgical precision, whispers of memories matching with whatever idea of faces her subconsious can muster. Cornelius. Stryker. Alkali.

Filmreels. They pass through the back her brain, black and white. Color. Muted but screaming loudly through her nervous system like a white noise—

Cold, sterile antiseptic that she can taste bubbling around her like hellish brew. Chemicals that lap at the moisture from her eyes. An army of needles and drivers pump poison deep between her bones, filling her marrow with nanoparticles designed to protect, but harm instead, laughing at her agony. They march through her like they have orders—and in a sense, they do, to become a part of her. Divide and conquer, controlling interest.

Pain is relentless, unforgiving. Hollow like an abyss, ever echoing without give. Prejudice and without conviction, it chips away. Viscerally. Starving for her soul. Lusting after her flesh.

"And to think you volunteered— for what? For the life of a man who doesn't even love you? Pitiful fool."

Foolish, indeed. There is so much pain.

Claws retract. Slipping back into her flesh, she can feel the muscle contortion in her arm, deep into her skeletal frame. Past her muscles, tissues, blood. No sooner do they vanish than her flesh stitches back together where they'd been born, a quiet squelch of skin sealing in on itself. Rips through her ears like a nuclear blast.

Suddenly it's all she can feel, taste. See and smell, her own blood.

Stomach looping in on itself, she grabs her arm with otherworldly, white-knuckle strength. Unable to realize that deep tremors have set into her anatomical frame, her fingers are little more than blurring, trembling little digits. Clutching her hand to her chest, the world may as well threaten to rip it from her and bludgeon her to death.

In a way, it already had.

The limb is stained with smeared, speckled blood. It'll take hours for the firmament of pain to fully dissipate in her body, for the power high to evaporate. Faintly she remembers the first time this had happened, though it feels like eternities ago. Hell and back, really. Sticky saliva bubbles through the seem of her lips as she bats away the recollections, trying to ground in the now. Heaves a breath—finally, able to breathe.

Eyelids heavy and vision dancing with black spots, she stares at the floor. Pebbles of blood and foamy, thick spit lay at her feet like lovers, in concentrated worship.

And all at once she feels like throwing up again, struggles with the urge. The sensation drops, ringing against hollow air in her gut. Tremors bite at her nerves, muscles. Continue to rip her apart, stitching her back together as she lifts her head, which may as well have taken the strength of an industrial crane. If it hadn't, she'd never know the difference.

Disheveled, stringy hair clings to the sweat on her face, gaze narrowly tracking Logan. He'd seen everything. All her ugliness, all of what she is. Again.

"Get out," it grates, claws at the membrane of her throat. Acidic bile mingles with her back teeth, her molars grind together from the ratcheted weight of her jaw. "Leave me here, Logan," but all the same, unsaid words skip in and out of everything she doesn't mean, everything she says anyway. Between lines and in margins.

Don't leave me, Lo. See me. Help me.

"Please."

Stay.

Wishing her sniffle wasn't the snot-rolling gurgle it is, her head drops. Lolls to the side. She slips from her knees, aching with pain, to her side. Hiccupping ungracefully as she draws the hand clutching her arm against the apex of her heart, beneath her breast, mostly unable to feel it. Halfway to check if she's still got one, mostly to withdraw. Like a caged creature.

Because that's what she is, these days—a beast.

Sapphire eyes flutter closed. Parted lips suck oxygen rich air into her lungs. Flames in her core begin to extinguish, the ball of energy in her chest settling into a familiar ache that gallops against bone.

Starting to fall into the cool darkness—welcomes the thought of oblivion.

Two hands on either shoulder shake her firmly, once. Heat smacks her in the face, overpowers the air around her senses with that smoky, thick scent of exhaust and cigars. Immediately she knows, her anatomy reacts in ways that should be wrong—her ovaries leapfrog. The cradle of her womb burns. Fingers sting with fire, her heart racehorsing behind ribs that seem to flare with heavy deep breath.

"Stay awake for me, darlin'," thick thumbs knead into the tension that needles deep in her shoulders, milking away tension. Eyes flutter open.

Logan.

"You're okay. Stand for me?"

Buzzing with the highs of adrenaline, her head lolls a little as she shakes it, Logan brushing aside the veil of hair sticking to her face with empathetic fingers. She shakes her head, no. Can't feel her legs, can't think about anything but the weightlessness that calls to her from the pull of unconscious bliss.

If she were able to die, now would be perfect. Just an idea, God, it would be funny if it weren't honest.

But then she's airborne, weightlessness achieved as Logan hauls her up into his arms as if she weighs nothing, which isn't truth. Head falling against his chest, her grip on her arm tightens to bruising. Glancing at her fingers, she realizes tremors haven't fully subsided—Logan adjusts her weight but doesn't protest as she sinks against him, teary again.

Moving to her chair, he kicks it around to face him with his foot. Angles his head gently to rest his cheek along the top of her head, a rare and raw show of affectionate. Something akin to a hum rumbles around his breastbone, she feels it—can't place if it's a soothing hmm or a shhh at her sniveling, doesn't care. Not right now.

He sets her up in the chair, probably with more care than Logan's ever shown.

Calloused fingers brush hair behind her ear, catching across her skin softly. Vision leveling, she lifts her head from the back of the chair. Eyes cast over to him, and it feels like it takes a thousand years. She may as well weigh the volume of the sun; everything feels slow and heavy.

"Thought you were leaving," she manages, the thick gravel in her voice all but bleeding and raw. "Need'ta be alone."

Popping a squat in front of the chair, he steadies it with a firm hand. The other brushes fingertips along the apple of her cheek.

"You think a 'lotta things, honey—and the last thing you need is to be by yourself." Right now, you need me.

It's there, in between every word and shift of his eyes finding hers. Trust me, I know. I know this pain, I carry it close. As close as you, always as close as you.

And he does.

Silence cuts between them like wolves, eating away at daylight and heartbeats. Charged energy snaps like a live wire. Attention falling from his face, her eyes float across his chest, frame.

She didn't see blood, but that didn't mean there wasn't any, even scant traces.

"Did I hurt you?" Oh, God.

Impossible, scientifically—and a part of her knows that. But it doesn't stop her from asking. Habits die hard, despite how many times you crucify them. He shakes his head, slowly. No.

She swallows the thick saliva that's risen in her mouth, flushing out the sours of vomit and adrenaline. "I—I don't know what happened—" more tears, hot and fast, surface. It hurts.

Everything hurts. Parts of her she didn't even realize burned. Deep aches, a thousand needles ravage her body like demons. Someone had taken apart her insides and thrown them back together in a hot ball of wax, anatomy rushing to correct the uncorrectable. Affliction sharpens its teeth with her spine, it's all but jelly. Unable to keep her upright.

"It hurts, Logan," Quiet, defeated. Broken, mouselike. "I'm sorry."

Logan's hand moves to the back of her neck, dips her forward until his forehead brushes hers. Allows her to rest against him, sharing breath. His other hand moves to cradle her face between strong hands. Hands that have killed, hands that understand.

More fresh tears. This time, they fall down his face. One of his hands, she doesn't know which, takes hers. Draws it from her chest. Pulls it to his mouth, shaking fingers. His lips brush against sore, burning knuckles. In a way, this is a Logan she doesn't know—has reasoned, perhaps envisioned. But never known.

"Don't be, pretty thing," his smile is soft, slow. Careful. "Don't gotta be sorry for what you are," he stands, slowly. Offers her his hand. Interlacing their fingers, bends to remove her stilettos. Nudges them aside with the toe of his boot, gently tugs her to her feet. He signals her up with a flick of his fingers.

Obedient, he fortresses her against his chest. Thick arms hold back the world, tired fingers curling against the leathers of his jacket. Breathing him in, for a heartbeat she forgets why. Why she's angry, why they're here—why any of this matters. What any of it even means.

She doesn't forget what he's said, Logan gently swaying her side to side on her feet.

"What am I, Logan?" Swallowing, "What is this?" Lifting a hand, she splays out her fingers.

And she knows what she is, subliminally. On paper, in eyes that aren't hers. Deep, her bones have identity of their own. From now until six feet under, she knows what she is. He's told her before. But to hear him say it, to hear it confirmed in the fading sun of tumult, well—it's identity of a different sort.

His chuckle is low, more of growl than anything. "This," he takes her hand in his again, fingers snug between her own, "this isn't who we are, sweetheart. Not exactly. It's just—it's just part of life." His hand releases, moving to tip her chin up. "And you, well—that ain't hard to figure."

Oh?

“You're mine."

And that's more identity than she figures she'll ever need.

[genshin-impact-updates]

FAQs on Cross-Save Function Between Genshin Impact HoYoverse Accounts and Microsoft Accounts

Greetings, dear Travelers!

Genshin Impact is about to launch on Xbox Series X|S. Here, we will answer your questions about the cross-save function from five aspects: account linking, top-ups, bundles and limited-time rewards, Co-Op on Xbox, and friends.

〓Account Linking〓

● Linking Operations

Q1: What is the cross-save function between HoYoverse Accounts and Microsoft Accounts?

A1: The cross-save function between accounts allows you to link accounts from two different platforms (your HoYoverse Account and your Microsoft Account) and share your progress as well as your in-game data between the two accounts. Once your qualifying Microsoft Account is linked to a HoYoverse Account, you will be able to log in on iOS/Android/PC using your HoYoverse Account, or on Xbox using the Microsoft Account linked to the same HoYoverse Account and resume your game progress.

Q2: How does account linking work?

A2: Travelers need to have a qualifying Microsoft Account, email account, or HoYoverse Account. After linking these accounts, the Microsoft Account and HoYoverse Account will share game progress.

*The HoYoverse Account is registered through an email account, and they are distinct from each other. When email account and HoYoverse Account are mentioned later, please pay attention to the differences.

Q3: What kind of account meets the linking requirements?

A3: If the Microsoft Account currently logged in on the device is not linked to a HoYoverse Account, it is eligible for linking. There are two linking scenarios:

1) If the Microsoft Account has not been used to log into a HoYoverse game before: The Microsoft Account can be linked to an existing HoYoverse Account that has game progress, allowing shared game progress.

2) When logging into the HoYoverse game on Xbox Series X|S for the first time and selecting Quick Resume, the Microsoft Account will be considered as already having HoYoverse game progress. In this case, it can be linked to an email account that has not registered a HoYoverse Account. This email will automatically register a HoYoverse Account and link it to the Microsoft Account.

This is under development and is not indicative of the final product.

Travelers, please note that the following cases are not eligible for account linking:

You cannot link an email account that has already registered for a HoYoverse Account with a Microsoft Account that has logged into a HoYoverse game. This is because once a Microsoft Account logs into a Hoyoverse game, it automatically registers a HoYoverse account, making it impossible to link it to another email account that already has a registered HoYoverse account.

Therefore, if Travelers want to link a Microsoft Account that has logged into a HoYoverse game with an email account, they must ensure that the email account has not already registered for a HoYoverse Account.

Q4: What do I need to do to link my accounts?

A4: Depending on which of the two cases below applies to you, the procedure you need to follow will be slightly different.

The two cases and their corresponding linking procedures are as follows:

Case 1:

I have game progress on other platforms and would like to link my HoYoverse account with a Microsoft Account that has not logged into a HoYoverse game.

Linking procedure:

On the Xbox Series X|S platform, using your Microsoft Account that has never previously logged in to a HoYoverse game, open the game for the first time. Follow the steps in the pop-up window to link your email account that has registered for a HoYoverse Account. This will link both accounts.

*IMPORTANT: The pop-up window prompting you to link your accounts only appears when your Microsoft Account enters the game for the first time, after you agree to the Terms of Service. You can only link an existing HoYoverse Account from this pop-up window. If you skip the pop-up, your Microsoft Account will log in to the game and register a HoYoverse Account, after which it can no longer be linked to another HoYoverse Account.

Case 2:

I have game progress on Xbox Series X|S and would like to link my HoYoverse account to play on other platforms.

Linking procedure:

Log in to the game on Xbox Series X|S, then go to Settings > Account > User Center > Link Account and link your Microsoft Account that is logged in to Genshin Impact to an email account that has not registered for a HoYoverse Account. After linking, your game progress will be shared when you log into your HoYoverse Account to play on the same server on iOS/Android/PC.

● Game Server Selection and PSN Platform Linking

Q5: What is the relationship between the HoYoverse account, HoYoverse games, and the game servers?

A5: A HoYoverse account can correspond to game progress across various HoYoverse games. Specifically, for a single HoYoverse game, it can have progress across multiple servers. For example, a Traveler's HoYoverse account in Genshin Impact can have progress on the Asia, Europe, America, TW, HK, MO servers simultaneously. Therefore, when Travelers link their HoYoverse account with other platform accounts, they should pay attention to the corresponding server relationships.

Q6: Which servers can be accessed on Genshin Impact from the Xbox Series X|S platform? Is there a correlation between the store region of the Microsoft Account and the Genshin Impact servers?

A6: The Xbox Series X|S platform can access the Asia, Europe, America, HK, TW, and MO servers for Genshin Impact. There is no correlation between the store region of the Microsoft Account and the Genshin Impact servers. Travelers can select their server based on their gaming preferences when logging into Genshin Impact on the Xbox Series X|S.

Q7: How can accounts for PSN and Microsoft Accounts share Genshin Impact game progress?

A7: If Travelers want to share Genshin Impact game progress between their account for PSN and Microsoft Account, they need to link both accounts to the same HoYoverse account.

Travelers should note that the store region of the account for PSN corresponds to the Genshin Impact servers, while the Microsoft Account allows for server selection. Therefore, it's important to confirm the server where the game progress is located during the linking process.

For example, if a Traveler's Genshin Impact progress is on the America server and their account for PSN corresponds to the Asia server, then after linking said account to the account for PSN and Microsoft Account, when logging in on the PSN platform, they will access the Asia server's progress, and the progress on the America server will not be available. However, when logging in on the Xbox platform, they can select the server themselves, allowing them to access the progress on both the Asia and America servers as corresponding to their linked accounts.

● Other

Q8: Can I unlink my Microsoft Account and HoYoverse Account after linking them?

A8: Currently, you can only unlink the Microsoft Account from the HoYoverse Account once. Travelers, please consider carefully before carrying out account linking.

Q9: If my Microsoft Account logs in to the game for the first time and the game closes unexpectedly when the linking pop-up window appears, will I still be able to carry linking out afterwards?

A9: If this happens, the linking pop-up window will still appear the next time you log in to the game.

Q10: After account linking, can I use my Microsoft Account to log in on iOS/Android/PC, or use the linked HoYoverse Account to log in on Xbox Series X|S?

A10: The above login methods are not supported currently. Regardless of whether the accounts are linked, please note the following:

1) Only HoYoverse Accounts and supported third-party accounts can be used to log in on iOS/Android/PC.

2) Only a Microsoft Account can be used to log in on Xbox Series X|S.

Q11: I already have HoYoverse game progress on my Microsoft Account. In the User Center, can I link it to an email account that has registered for a HoYoverse Account?

A11: Currently, a Microsoft Account with existing game progress can only be linked to an email account that has not registered for a HoYoverse Account. A Microsoft Account with game progress is counted as having registered for a HoYoverse Account, and cannot be linked to an email account that has registered for a HoYoverse Account.

Q12: How can I check the email account associated with my linked HoYoverse account?

A12: After logging in to the game, you can check your associated email account under Settings > Account > User Center.

Q13: Can one Microsoft Account be linked to more than one email account? Or can an email account that has registered for a HoYoverse Account be linked to a multiple Microsoft Accounts?

A13: Currently, a Microsoft Account can only be linked to one email. Likewise, an email account that has been used to register a HoYoverse Account can only be linked to one Microsoft Account.

Q14: My email has registered for a HoYoverse Account. After logging in to the game on Xbox Series X|S with a Microsoft Account, can I link said email account to the Microsoft Account via Settings > Account > User Center > Link Account?

A14: In this case, account linking is not possible. A Microsoft Account that has previously logged in to HoYoverse games can only be linked to an email account that has not registered for a HoYoverse Account.

It is recommended that Travelers use a Microsoft Account that has not previously logged in to a HoYoverse game and carry out account linking via the pop-up window that appears when first logging in to the game.

Q15: My email account has been used to register for a HoYoverse Account, but I've never logged into any HoYoverse game. Can I log in on Xbox Series X|S and then link this email account to a Microsoft Account under Settings > Account > User Center > Link Account?

A15: No. Currently, an email account that has been used to register for a HoYoverse Account cannot be linked to a Microsoft Account that has previously logged into the game.

Travelers can change the email address currently linked to their HoYoverse Account to unlink the email account from their HoYoverse Account, or use an email account that has not been used to register for a HoYoverse Account to carry out linking.

Q16: I missed the linking pop-up window that appeared the first time I logged in to the game with my Microsoft Account. Will this pop-up reappear? Can I still log in to the game on Xbox Series X|S and link my email account in the User Center?

A16: The pop-up window only appears when the Microsoft Account logs in to a HoYoverse game for the first time, after you agree to the Terms of Service. Please watch out for it, because it will not reappear if missed.

Q17: How do I enable the cross-save function between a Microsoft Account and a third-party account?

A17:

1) If the HoYoverse Account associated with the third-party account is linked to an email account: Using a Microsoft Account that has never logged into the game, please enter the game for the first time and follow the instructions that appear on the pop-up window to link the email account associated with your HoYoverse Account.

2) If the HoYoverse Account associated with your third-party account is not linked to an email account, please log in to the game using your third-party account, link an email account in Settings > Account > User Center > Link Account, then follow the relevant account linking procedure to link your Microsoft Account.

3) Currently, third-party accounts cannot be linked to Microsoft Accounts that has previously logged in to HoYoverse games.

Q18: How can I check my linked account for Microsoft Account?

A18: Log in to the game from any platform and view your linked Microsoft Account in Settings > Account > User Center.

〓About Top-Ups〓

Q1: Are Genesis Crystals or Battle Passes purchased on iOS/Android/PC and on Xbox shared between platforms via the cross-save function?

A1: After account linking, Genesis Crystals obtained on iOS/Android/PC and Genesis Crystals obtained on Xbox will be linked for the same account. This also applies to Battle Pass purchases. When switching platforms, the Genesis Crystals from different platforms will be displayed. Travelers can use these Genesis Crystals as per usual.

Q2: After linking my Microsoft Account, can I top-up Genesis Crystals on iOS/Android/PC for a HoYoverse Account registered on Xbox, or vice versa?

A2: Top-ups for a HoYoverse Account registered and linked on Xbox can be carried out on Xbox, the Top-Up Center website, and iOS/Android/PC.

〓About Bundle Rewards〓

Q1: How do I obtain the wind glider "Wings of Fate's Course Intertwined"?

A2: The wind gliders will be sent via in-game mail.

[Xbox Series X|S]

Collection Period: Permanently available after the Version 5.2 update (including future versions)

*The Version 5.2 update is scheduled to take place on November 20, 2024.

Log in to Genshin Impact on Xbox Series X|S and reach Adventure Rank 2 or above to receive the corresponding in-game mail.

The mail is valid for 30 days. Please claim it in time.

Each UID can only receive the reward once.

[Other Platforms]

Collection Period: During Version 5.3 (after the Version 5.3 update on January 1, 2025 – before Version 5.4 maintenance on February 12, 2025)

Log in to Genshin Impact on any platform and reach Adventure Rank 2 or above to receive the corresponding in-game mail.

The mail is valid for 30 days. Please claim it in time.

Each UID can only receive the reward once.

Q2: Can I still obtain the wind glider "Wings of Fate's Course Intertwined" if I log into the game on Xbox Series X|S after linking my Microsoft Account to a HoYoverse Account registered via iOS/Android/PC?

A2: Yes. Log into "Genshin Impact" on Xbox Series X|S after the Version 5.2 update – before Version 5.4 maintenance (11/20/2024 after the Version 5.2 update – 02/12/2025 05:59:59) and meet the above criteria stated in A1 above to obtain the wind glider.

Q3: Can I use the wind glider "Wings of Fate's Course Intertwined" on platforms outside of Xbox Series X|S (iOS/Android/PC/PS)?

A3: Yes, the wind glider "Wings of Fate's Course Intertwined" can be used on other platforms.

Q4: How can I obtain an Xbox Game Pass member Genshin Impact bundle?

After each version update of Genshin Impact, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can log into the game on Xbox Series X|S to receive a bundle mail on their corresponding in-game account. Please remember to claim it in time, as the mail is valid for 365 days.

Bundle contents are as follows:

*Each Microsoft Account can only receive the corresponding bundle contents once per version.

〓About Cross-Platform on Xbox〓

Q1: Will Co-Op Mode on Xbox be any different after linking my account?

A1: After account linking, we will add a cross-platform control function to Genshin Impact for Xbox. Travelers can use it to select Co-Op Mode preferences. When this function is disabled, there will be no differences in Co-Op Mode, and Travelers on Xbox and other platforms can play in Co-Op Mode together. When this function is enabled:

1) Players can only enter Co-Op Mode with other players on Xbox.

2) On the Co-Op Mode screen, players on Xbox and on other platforms will be unable to see each other's Co-Op Team information.

3) During Co-Op matching, a platform restriction rule will be added. If the host is a Xbox user, only users on the same platform can join the team. Players on Xbox will also be unable to join Co-Op teams where the host is playing on another platform.

Q2: Where is the switch for the cross-platform control function on Xbox?

A2: After logging into Genshin Impact on Xbox, go to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Other.

〓About Friends〓

Q1: When playing Genshin Impact on Xbox, how many Friends Lists will I have? Can I see my Friends Lists on both the Xbox platform and non-Xbox platforms?

A1:

After linking, there will be two Friends Lists, namely "Genshin Impact Friends" and "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox.'" The "Genshin Impact Friends" list can be viewed from any platform, but "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox'" can only be viewed on Xbox.

Q2: What is the relationship between the "Genshin Impact Friends" and "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox'" lists?

A2: "Genshin Impact Friends" are friends added from within the game. "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox'" are friends with a Microsoft Account who have played Genshin Impact on the same server. The two lists are independent of each other.

Any changes that you make to your Friend List on iOS/Android/PC will not affect the status of the "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox'" list.

If you delete a friend directly from your Microsoft Account, that friend will be removed from the "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox'" list, but not from the "Genshin Impact Friends" list.

If you remove someone from the blocklist on your Microsoft Account, no changes will be made to the "Genshin Impact Friends" list, including its blocklist.

Q3: Can I do things like chat and request to enter a friend's world from both the "Genshin Impact Friends" and the "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox'" lists?

A3: You can chat, request to enter friends' worlds, and view their avatars from the "Genshin Impact Friends" list. You can view friend information or request to enter their world from the "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox'" list.

Q4: How can I check the gamertag of "Genshin Impact Friends on 'Xbox'"?

A4: A friend's gamertag cannot be displayed if either of you is logged into a platform other than Xbox.

Gamertags are only visible on the Friends screen if both you and your friend are logged in on Xbox.

These are all the questions and answers to this FAQ.

If you have any further questions that you'd like us to answer, please contact us via the official Customer Service.

Genshin Impact's official Customer Service contact method:

Email: genshin_cs@hoyoverse.com

[taigacryptid]

decentralize and clean up your life!!!

use overdrive, libby, hoopla, cloudlibrary, and kanopy instead of amazon and audible.

use firefox instead of chrome or opera (both are made with chromium, which blocks functionality for ad-blockers).

use mega or proton drive instead of google drive.

get rid of bloatware

use libreoffice instead of microsoft office suite

use vetted sites on r/FREEMEDIAHECKYEAH for free movies, books, games, etc.

use trakt or letterboxd instead of imdb.

use storygraph instead of goodreads.

use darkpatterns to find mobile game with no ads or microtransactions

use ground news to read unbiased news and find blind spots in news stories.

use mediahuman or cobalt to download music, or support your favorite artists directly through bandcamp

make youtube bearable by using mtube, newpipe, or the unhook extension on chrome, firefox, or microsoft edge

use search for a cause or ecosia to support the environment instead of google

use thriftbooks to buy new or used books (they also have manga, textbooks, home goods, CDs, DVDs, and blurays)

use flashpoint to play archived online flash games

find books, movies, games, etc. on the internet archive! for starters, here's a bunch of David Attenborough documentaries and all of the Animorphs books

burn your music onto cds

use pdf24 (available online or as a desktop app) instead of adobe

use unroll.me to clean your email inboxes

use thunderbird, mailfence, countermail, edison mail, tuta, or proton mail instead of gmail

remove bloatware on windows PC, macOS, and iOS X

remove bloatware on samsung X

use pixelfed instead of instagram or meta

feel free to add more alternatives, resources or advice!

last updated: jan. 16th 2025

[da-rulah]

I saw an aesthetic picture about spreading Satan through the Internet recently and it got me thinking about being the IT support at the ministry, and which papas and ghouls would be best and worst at technology. So now I obviously want to hear your thoughts.

(I think Primo would surprise us by being surprisingly proficient, sort of like how my grandma mastered email and Facebook in her 80s.)

I have discussed this at great lengths with my best friend, @her-satanic-wiles, and these are the conclusions we have come to. These include all technology and use of the internet and social media habits.

Please enjoy as much as we did - it was too much fun. This is long, so i've put a page break in.

Some 18+ content here, MDNI!

Primo

As you said, surprisingly proficient.

He learns very fast, intently listening to you when you explain email, Microsoft Word & Excel, and Facebook.

He doesn't get Instagram but that's okay, that's not his target audience.

Doesn't understand how the internet works... "So, is it floating around in the air, or...?"

But he does know how to work it, and how to use it.

Secondo

No patience for technology at all.

If it doesn't work how it should, it is immediately referred to as broken.

"Mostrami solo le mie email, pezzo di merda!" you'll hear him scream from his office.

If it is not broken, it soon will be. His frustration makes him violent.

Got the iPhone 4 when it first came out but it perished in a mysterious fire. He doesn't know how it happened. Stop asking him.

Has been through four Ministry issued keyboards and one monitor that saw violent ends.

Terzo

Not bad at technology at all, in fact learns very quickly.

However, the discovery of Internet Pornography set him back in his paperwork by about a week.

He takes casual nudes and sends them to everyone, like him sat on the toilet or just having got out of the shower. Just because he can.

Your phone keeps saving them automatically and you have to do a mass exodus of Terzo nudes at least once a week to save your phone memory.

When you delete them he sends you more out of spite.

Ends up with Malware on his computer all the time from scam emails that promise him 'hot single babes in his area'.

The kind of guy to go on Omegle to flirt with random people, maybe find someone to jerk off with.

Copia

Boomer.

He's bloody useless, it always makes him feel like a silly old fool.

The only thing he can do by himself is search YouTube for rat videos, because you've shown him a million times.

Types with the screen close to his face and with one finger.

FaceTime angle of a typical dad.

"Look at this!" and proceeds to not flip the camera because he doesn't know how so you just end up staring at his face anyway.

SHOUTS when he's on the phone, no concept of noise at all.

Always forgetting his passwords - you get phone calls asking what his password for this and that is every. damn. day.

How many times do you have to remind him his phone unlocks with FaceID?!

Got scammed by a Facebook ad and had to change all his credit cards.

And now for the Ghouls...

Rain

He's VERY good with tech.

Quiet little genius, knows all the keyboard shortcuts and phone tips and tricks going.

Others ask him for help a lot, and he gets such a sense of pride when he can help them, swishing his tails and smiling to himself as he's helping.

Rain is also in charge of Copia's computer. He built it, fixed it, and cries every time Papa does something he shouldn’t to it.

Swiss

Technology conspiracy theorist.

He is terrified of tech, thinks it's listening to him all the time. Alexa is a demon he doesn't trust and his phone is an old Nokia he uses for emergencies ONLY.

That Nokia is also his weapon that he throws at people's heads when they piss him off. Which happens entirely too often and has caused some damage...

Mountain

Always up to date with the latest tech, never misses a launch.

He keeps leaving his second-hand phones in places Swiss will find them to trigger his technophobia and paranoia.

"DO THEY BREED, OR SOMETHING?!" Mountain is snickering outside his dorm listening to the chaos he's created.

Phantom

TROLL.

Chaos maker, through and through.

He is a serial redditer. The havoc he creates on there is diabolical, honestly.

Goes on Omegle to troll people.

He came across Papa Terzo one evening. They both agreed to never speak of what he saw ever again.

Plays on Swiss' technophobia along with Mountain.

He even created a cruel "conspiracy mode" on the Alexa that plays dramatic music, changes the lighting and shuts the window blinds in Swiss' room whilst Alexa tells him "I'm here, Swiss. I see everything."

Sodo

Has absolutely no interest in the internet or technology whatsoever.

Serial text forgetter. Sees you've text him, ignores it. Promises to get back to it. Never does.

When it comes to guitar tech though, he'll chew your ear off for hours. He knows EVERYTHING.

Ask him a question, but be prepared to be stuck there for approx. 45 minutes while he explains it in great detail with tangents you didn't ask for.

Aurora

Very good with tech, specifically social media.

Basically the social media manager of The Ghost Project.

She loves tiktok, makes them regularly. but it gives off 'Illegal Disney' vibes... Total crack.

Papa had to stop her making them and tell her to take them down.

Ask her about dance challenges - she knows them all.

Cumulus

CANNOT BE BOTHERED.

Why does everything take so long? Typing and everything... so much effort.

So she's a voice note kinda girl.

And they can be full blown podcasts, she talks and talks and talks....

Always takes Mountain's old phones after Swiss has been spooked by them. She hasn't bought a new phone in 6 years. Mountain is none the wiser.

Cirrus

Has a basic understanding, but feels guilty asking for help from IT support.

If an error message pops up, she'll panic and call Aurora.

"No but it says Error 404... WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!"

Queen of cat videos. Falls asleep to 10 hour loops of rain storms on YouTube.

[penny-anna]

i bought a flat this week.

was off work sick last thursday/friday with what turned out to be the beginnings of a bad cold but at the time i was just like 'oh no why am i so tired is this the return of the Mystery Fatigue'

let's backtrack for a second!! back when i had the offer accepted on my flat my solicitor suggested october 6th as a move in date and i was like sure that works (this was around the beginning of september). then i didn't hear anything from them for many days and then i started getting major dry eye problems that became all consuming so i didn't get around to chasing them.

anyway!! tuesday last week i get an email from my solicitor like 'hi are you still able to complete friday' and i did not have the headspace to deal with it so i didn't reply

Wednesday my solicitor calls like 'hi. we need to know if you want to complete friday'. i'm like 'actually i'm really not feeling well this week, could we postpone'. she calls back a few minutes later like 'they cannot postone'. at this point i'm still thinking that if i get a decent night's sleep i'll feel better so i tell her i'll deal with it in the morning.

Thursday i feel spectacularly worse. have to get up to go to an appointment with my optometrist. almost start crying in their office bcos i'm just so exhausted. (he seemed weirdly unfazed by this?? looking back i wonder if he thought my eyes were hurting or something and didn't realise that i was holding back tears gfhglj) call out sick from work.

plan is to take a nap and then look at the documents my solicitor sent over but she calls me again like 'hi. sorry to bother you i know you're sick but can we complete today' so i'm like ah shit ig we're doing this now. please walk me through exactly what you need me to do here. 'we just need you to send us the money'. yeah i can do that. i've never made a payment this big before tho.

(i'm buying w money inherited from my mother so even for a flat purchase it's an unusually large amount of money)

'oh yeah you won't be able to that online. *pause* are you well enough to go to the bank?' i am tired enough that going to the bank will suck but not so sick i cannot go to the bank.

i had gone fully back to bed. spurred on by sudden wave of adrenaline, get out of bed and dressed and get the bus into town to the bank.

my bank closes at 3pm weekdays and by the time i get that it's about 1:45. explain the situation. turns out that to make a payment this big you need a sit-down meeting with a member of staff and they are booked solid till 3. 'can you come back tomorrow at 9:30 when we open' *dying inside* yes. i can come back tomorrow at 9:30.

go home. remember that i'd told my manager that i'd call her at 9 to let her know if i'm going to be working (i will defo not be working & she knows this) which will be tricky if i have to leave at 9 to go to the bank. have a pretty interminable IM conversation via microsoft teams about this wherein i suggest i message her first thing and call a bit later and she isn't going for it. eventually agree to call at 9 just so i can end the conversation and go to sleep.

Friday morning end up calling my manager from the bus. get to bank. whole thing takes a full 30 minutes so yeah i can see why they couldn't fit me in thursday afternoon ghfdljkfhdj. i'm so so tired. they have to go over a whole fraud prevention statement with you. 'you should be aware that scammers can pretend to be your solicitor'. me, exhausted: okay what if just this one time. a scammer is pretending to be my solicitor.

make the payment. go home to sleep finally.

later in the afternoon get another call from the solicitor. 'hi we have the keys you can come get them whenever'. oh yeah i'd been so caught up in trying to get them the money i'd kinda forgotten about. actually getting the flat.

(side note at no point was i planning to move in on 'moving day', an advantage of being a first time buyer is that i don't have to & i want to redecorate the place which is easier while it's empty)

initially say i'll come in next week but then realise that ideally next week i'll be back at work (i am not but anyway) so i might as well go now. it's pushing 4pm so will need to head out ASAP.

eyes are very dry and itchy from sleeping all day but fortunately i just (on a recommendation from my optometrist) bought a thing called a facial sauna which is a very weird contraption but does work extremely quickly.

pack my eye drops and also a peanut butter sandwich to eat in my new flat (why not) and go get the keys.

arrive at the flat. on inspection realise that the envelope i've been given seems to contain the most random assortment of loose keys. eventually identify an actual set of keys.

put my key in the lock of the flat door. abruptly hear a cat meowing, somewhere very close by.

previous owner had cats (plural) (i know this bcos i saw them when i was viewing the place). have a sudden moment of panic that i've somehow wildly misunderstood the whole situation and that she and her cats are still in residence.

look down. there is a very large, very fluffy white cat standing next to me, looking up at me as if expecting to be let in.

'you can't come in. this is my house.'

make my first mistake: think that if i open the door i will be able to prevent the cat from entering.

cat goes straight on into my flat.

i'm now pursuing the cat from room to room saying 'hey! hey you can't be in here! this is my house!'. the cat doesn't give a shit for obvious reasons (it is a cat)

i might have considered just shooing the cat outside and shutting the door but have arrived at an IMO not unreasonable concern. cat seemed very determined to enter this flat in particular and is now roaming around as if looking for something. previous owner had multiple cats and moved out AFAIK today. i have heard stories about people accidentally leaving cats behind when they move.

at this point it's 4:55 on a Friday. call my solicitor and explain the situation. ask if she could pass on a message to the seller's solicitor. unfortunately they have already closed for the week so it will have to wait till Monday but she will do her best.

decide the next course of action is to see if the cat has any ID. the cat is wearing a harness & collar so might have a tag with an address. make my second mistake: pick the cat up.

the cat does not have any ID on the harness. the cat does NOT like being picked up. cat gets very squirmy and then begins scratching me. cat manages to break my skin through a hoodie.

i put the cat down. the cat hisses at me. this is very rude considering that it is in my house.

head across the landing to see if the people opposite are missing a cat or, failing that, know their neighbours well enough to recognise the cat. there's no answer.

however!! i hear a voice down in the stairwell that sounds like it could be someone calling out a cat's name. 'hi!! is someone down there looking for a cat?' no answer.

look down the stairwell. on the ground floor there is a very large fluffy brown cat wearing a harness. !!!!! that is my cat's friend!

retrieve the cat from my flat (fortunately it just follows me out) and head downstairs. am met partway up by the cat's owner.

'oh thank god is this your cat'. it is her cat. apparently she had opened her front door to let them out into the garden and it had wandered off. 'i just moved in today it came into my flat'.

she is very apologetic. cat is unrepetent.

go back inside. call my solicitor's office. 'hi was it you i spoke to just now about the cat' (I told 2 people about the cat) 'no i just answered the phone because it was ringing. what cat.' 'can you tell *solicitor's name* that i have found the cat's owner. she will know what you mean'.

problem solved!! time to eat my peanut butter sandwich. :)

[amalgamasreal]

On Personal InfoSec

Been awhile since I've had one of these posts but I figure with all that's going on in the world it's time to make another one of these posts and get some stuff out there for people. A lot of the information I'm going to go over you can find here:

So if you'd like to just click the link and ignore the rest of the post that's fine, I strongly recommend checking out the Privacy Guides.

Browsers:

There's a number to go with but for this post going forward I'm going to recommend Firefox. I know that the Privacy Guides lists Brave and Safari as possible options but Brave is Chrome based now and Safari has ties to Apple. Mullvad is also an option but that's for your more experienced users so I'll leave that up to them to work out.

Browser Extensions:

uBlock Origin: content blocker that blocks ads, trackers, and fingerprinting scripts. Notable for being the only ad blocker that still works on Youtube.

Privacy Badger: Content blocker that specifically blocks trackers and fingerprinting scripts. This one will catch things that uBlock doesn't catch but does not work for ads.

Facebook Container: "but I don't have facebook" you might say. Doesn't matter, Meta/Facebook still has trackers out there in EVERYTHING and this containerizes them off away from everything else.

Bitwarden: Password vaulting software, don't trust the password saving features of your browsers, this has multiple layers of security to prevent your passwords from being stolen.

ClearURLs: Allows you to copy and paste URL's without any trackers attached to them.

VPN:

Note: VPN software doesn't make you anonymous, no matter what your favorite youtuber tells you, but it does make it harder for your data to be tracked and it makes it less open for whatever network you're presently connected to.

Mozilla VPN: If you get the annual subscription it's ~$60/year and it comes with an extension that you can install into Firefox.

Proton VPN: Has easily the most amount of countries serviced, can take cash payments, and does offer port forwarding.

Email Provider:

Note: By now you've probably realized that Gmail, Outlook, and basically all of the major "free" e-mail service providers are scraping your e-mail data to use for ad data. There are more secure services that can get you away from that but if you'd like the same storage levels you have on Gmail/Outlook.com you'll need to pay.

Proton Mail: Secure, end-to-end encrypted, and fairly easy to setup and use. Offers a free option up to 1gb

Tuta: Secure, end-to-end encrypted, been around a very long time, and offers a free option up to 1gb.

Email Client:

Thunderbird if you're on Windows or Linux

Apple Mail if you're on macOS

Cloud Storage:

Proton Drive: Encrypted cloud storage from the same people as Proton Mail.

Tresorit: Encrypted cloud storage owned by the national postal service of Switzerland. Received MULTIPLE awards for their security stats.

Peergos: decentralized and open-source, allows for you to set up your own cloud storage, but will require a certain level of expertise.

Microsoft Office Replacements:

LibreOffice: free and open-source, updates regularly, and has the majority of the same functions as base level Microsoft Office.

OnlyOffice: cloud-based, free, and open source.

Chat Clients:

Note: As you've heard SMS and even WhatsApp and some other popular chat clients are basically open season right now. These are a couple of options to replace those.

Signal: Provides IM and calling securely and encrypted, has multiple layers of data hardening to prevent intrusion and exfil of data.

Molly (Android OS only): Alternative client to Signal. Routes communications through the TOR Network.

Briar: Encrypted IM client that connects to other clients through the TOR Network, can also chat via wifi or bluetooth.

Now for the last bit, I know that the majority of people are on Windows or macOS, but if you can get on Linux I would strongly recommend it. pop_OS, Ubuntu, and Mint are super easy distros to use and install. They all have very easy to follow instructions on how to install them on your PC and if you'd like to just test them out all you need is a thumb drive to boot off of to run in demo mode.

If you game through Steam their Proton emulator in compatibility mode works wonders, I'm presently playing a major studio game that released in 2024 with no Linux support on it and once I got my drivers installed it's looked great. There are some learning curves to get around, but the benefit of the Linux community is that there's always people out there willing to help.

I hope some of this information helps you and look out for yourself, it's starting to look scarier than normal out there.

[cauli-flawa]

Hey all:

I found an interactive news article from February about the exploitation of the Congo.

This is what fuels our electronics. From what I know, Apple, Google, Tesla, Dell, and Microsoft are all profiting off of this.

A "green future" should never be fueled by cruelty.

Here's what you can do:

Visit Friends of the Congo, a credible organization that raises awareness.

Raise awareness through posts and reblogs.

Save The Children

Rescue.org

Avoid buying vapes, Teslas, electric cars, Apple products, etc. If possible, email or send a letter to those companies renouncing your support.

I don't have much, sorry. If possible, please add on. Thank you.

[qqueenofhades]

coming from one of those "born in mid 2000s and is now suddenly an adult, making everyone feel old," people, do you have any resources to learn how to bullshit your way through getting a job with zero experience. cause i cant even put like "babysitting" or anything since covid prevented literally any teenage-typical jobs and i kinda dont know what to put on a resume beyond the university im currently attending and the high school i graduated from. and they still dont teach you this in school even though we've complained for years 😭

Okay my chilluns, listen up. This is how to bullshit your way into a basic 1-page resume even if you think you have absolutely dum-dum-diddlysquat to put on it. I completely feel you, as it's hard as hell to get a job even in the ordinary course of things, and especially when everything seems to want 10 years of experience and a bachelor's degree (and still pays like shit). But you gotta be persistent anyway. So here follows the step-by-step guide of How To Resume:

Open a new Word (or other word-processing software of your choice) document.

Pick a nice, professional-looking font (for the love of God, no Comic Sans). Times New Roman is fine; you don't have to overthink it. My own CV is currently in Perpetua, because it's a nice serif that looks crisp and a little different, but it is still clean and readable. Garamond or Cambria or other starter typefaces are fine too. Make sure it is the right size, usually around 12pt.

Put your full name at the top, centered, in BOLD CAPITALS. Increase the typeface size a few more points on this, to make it stand out and to make it take up space.

Underneath this, in regular-sized text, put your contact information: mailing address if you're comfortable sharing it, or if not, at least your phone number and email address. Use a school email if you have it, and not some weird/in-jokey personal email.

Start a new paragraph. In a slightly smaller font (italic if you want to make it look classy) write a few words about yourself. This should be something like I am a [Major] student at [University] looking for a part-time, entry-level position in [sales, retail, office, etc]. A [year] graduate of [High School] in [City, State], I am [prompt, reliable, detail-oriented, mature, friendly, etc] and a hard worker who is eager to gain experience and positively contribute to your business.

Start a new paragraph. Change the alignment from Center to Left. Create a new heading in bold underline labeled Education.

Under this, fill in your education (college first, followed by high school). Include the institution name, city, and state, the year you graduated or expect to graduate, any honors or awards, any extracurriculars, any grade-point averages if they're good (i.e. 3.0 and above), and your expected major in college.

Start a new paragraph. Create another heading: Experience.

This is where you put absolutely anything you can think of (in chronological order, most recent first and counting backward). Did you volunteer for something ever in your life? Put it down! (Title of work, dates, location, brief description of work). Did you do yard work for someone for a weekend? Put it down! Were you (or are you) part of a student club or organization in high school or university? Have you organized or taken part in any local initiatives in your community or neighborhood? Put it down! Basically, absolutely any kind of work, paid or unpaid, that might be relevant, regardless of how long it was or when it took place.

Under that, put the new heading/paragraph Skills and Interests.

Have you worked with Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Adobe, Photoshop? Put it down! People love that shit! Do you use social media and/or know how to work it better than the average grandma? Put 'er down! You get the idea. Think of anything in your daily life that can be put in Job Language and then see if you can do that. You are in university; do you have any projects, papers, or other things that you're proud of? Have you successfully managed a (gasp) group project? Do you make any kind of art? Are you a registered voter who has taken part in civic/political organizations, drives, or events? (If not, REGISTER TO VOTE! This is your angry grandmother speaking). All of that can go down. Even if it's not job experience per se, it's life experience and shows that you are someone who is engaged with the world and working to gain more.

Last paragraph and heading: References. Ask a few trusted adults who know you well and aren't related to you, such as a favorite high school teacher or a university faculty member/degree advisor, if they'd be willing to serve as referees. Put down their full names, titles/place of work, email addresses, and phone numbers.

Voila! You have a full page resume, probably even a little more if you're lucky. Proofread, make sure the spacing is even and the alignment is right, it doesn't look weird, the text is a consistent size, it's all the same color, there are no glaring typos or grammatical errors, etc. etc. Save it as a PDF.

Boom. Done. You are now a Job Hunting Maestro.

If you get an interview, you don't need to pretend that you have tons of experience or that you're something you're not, but you can present what you ARE in a positive light anyway. Don't apologize for yourself or play yourself down pre-emptively; be confident about yourself and what you can offer. You're a college kid looking for your first part-time job, COVID prevented you from a lot of normal teenage work experience, you're willing to work hard and learn new things. Here's your resume. What would be a good time to talk again.

Good luck! I believe in you.

[yonahsienna]

This Was Supposed to Be Fun

Or: WTF happened to the online Commons, and where do we go now?

Let me start by saying that I don't want to be a "content creator" or “online influencer”. I don't want to "optimize engagement" or “build an agile social strategy”. I don’t even particularly want to Start a Blog or Podcast. I just want to f#¢&!ng hang out with my friends and community online, and I feel like we should have The Technology to just do that by now.

Of course (infuriatingly) we did have that technology! I first connected to the World Wide Web in 2001 when I was ten years old. Back then, the whole family shared one computer, which I mostly used to play Age of Empires, Bugdom, and Oregon Trail. Connecting to the Internet meant that nobody could use the phone, so we would log on quickly (accompanied by a symphony of discordant whistles and beeps), check emails and/or MSN messages, and then pass the computer to the next person.

As our access to the Internet grew through my teens, so did the diversity of content we consumed, shared, and bonded over. eBaum’s World and Newgrounds hosted a plethora of simple, free webgames we'd play once we got bored with the handful my parents were willing to buy, as well as the first viral videos like Numa Numa and Star Wars Kid. We also connected in new ways with a growing “social web” — profiles on sites like Myspace and Livejournal and eventually the early Facebook were a way that anyone could have their own site on the web, a little virtual locker that you could decorate and fill up to your liking, and have your friends stuff with virtual notes.

In my late teens and early twenties, the Internet was mostly for research and keeping up with student government and clubs via long weekly emails stuffed with hyperlinks and attachments. It wasn't until I was well into my twenties that I got my first smartphone. At university, the only way to connect to the Internet “on the go” was to tweet my on-the-go thoughts by sending an SMS text message to Twitter at 21212. I also hardly used the social web anyways, other than for a quick dopamine distraction or break from long study sessions in the library. I had even deleted my Facebook account that I'd had since high school, since the campus coffee shop and bar served as more than enough of a hub for socializing, philosophical and political debates, and important announcements posted on cork boards or delivered by intercom.

I know I probably sound like a stereotypical Millennial, whining about the “good ole days”, but I wanted to spend this time on memory lane for a reason. I think that no matter when you grew up, this feeling is probably close to universal: from the early 2000s to early 2020s, the Internet and social web seemed to just work. There were a lot of things wrong with the world, but the Internet was where we went to complain about other problems, not a source of them. But of course, even back then we were living on borrowed money and time. The virtual Commons we had grown comfortable in never actually belonged to us, the users. From the moment they incorporated, the big sites belonged to venture capital, who sold them out to the oligarchs, who sold them out to the fascists. We were never the customer, always the product.

Flash forward to 2025. The “big four” North American social media outlets (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok) have all been captured by the Trump administration. Smaller sites, like Reddit, Telegram, and Substack have long been a hotbed for bigotry and hate speech. Searches on Apple, Google, Microsoft, and even Pinterest are serving up LMM “AI” slop before authentic and unique human creations. Ads, suggestions, sponsored posts, and cookie pop-ups take up far more space than the content I came for. And if I ever want my family, friends, and community to actually see my updates, I either need to send them to each person directly, or market my posts not to them, but to an algorithm optimized not for users or even businesses, but shareholder profit. In parallel to all this: efforts to gather in person are cut at the knees by a lack of coherent and safe public health policies, the dismantling of Third Spaces and affordable public transportation, and the militarization of the police.

It is horrifying that exactly when the biggest thing we need for survival is to build and strengthen community, that the only accessible tools to do so, are hostile to our very existence.

Obviously this isn’t a coincidence. Every time we, the people, can talk to each other directly, we start getting dangerous ideas about the fact that the ultra-wealthy and hyper-elite are so few, and the rest of us are so many. Pamphlets facilitated the French and American revolutions, the telegraph and radio hastened the collapse of the Russian and German Empires, and Twitter fanned the flames of the Arab Spring. And here in America, The Powers That Be, Red and Blue alike, overwhelmingly want the American government in strict control over where and how we can communicate with each other.

And here I am, just hoping for a single F#¢&!NG site on the whole World Wide Web where I can just hang out with family, friends, and community that isn't owned and operated by literal fascists, kept behind a paywall, or too technical for our Elders to use. A comfy virtual coffee shop with announcement boards, conversations, the occasional performance, and a locker nearby for collecting memories and passing notes.

I don’t really know what the Takeaway/Call to Action is here. Yes, I’m already on Tumblr, Mastadon, and Bluesky, and would love it if we all continued to grow these kind of alternatives while divesting from profit-driven social "platforms". I’m still on Discord, Snapchat, and Signal and even have accounts on Loops, Pixelfed, Xiaohongshu, and WriteAs, in case the center of gravity ever moves over to those places. All of them still feel very "under construction" though, so I don't even know which (if any) I feel comfortable asking friends and family to "switch over" to. In the meantime, I'm just feeling lost, sad, lonely, and adrift; and wanted to share these musings with y’all. Just in case anyone has any advice you want to share, or are feeling the same way and want to commiserate.

xposted to Facebook, Tumblr, Medium, and WriteAs. God, I hate the Internet right now >:(

[r--c]

Onel de Guzman

Onel de Guzman, a then-24-year-old computer science student at AMA Computer College and resident of Manila, Philippines, created the malware. - At the time of its creation, de Guzman was poor and struggling to pay for the country's dial-up internet access. De Guzman believed that internet access was a human right, and submitted an undergraduate thesis to the college which proposed the development of a trojan to steal internet login details He claimed that this would allow users to be able to afford an internet connection, arguing that those affected by it would experience no loss. The proposal was rejected by the college, which remarked that his proposal was "illegal" and that "they did not produce burglars". This led de Guzman to claim that his professors were closed-minded, and he ultimately dropped out of the college and began development of the worm. - Because there were no laws in the Philippines against making malware at the time of its creation, the Philippine Congress enacted Republic Act No. 8792, otherwise known as the E-Commerce Law, in July 2000 to discourage future iterations of such activity. However, the Constitution of the Philippinesprohibits ex post facto laws, and as such de Guzman could not be prosecuted.

ILOVEYOU

ILOVEYOU, sometimes referred to as the Love Bug or Loveletter, was a computer worm that infected over ten million Windows personal computers on and after 5 May 2000. It started spreading as an email message with the subject line "ILOVEYOU" and the attachment "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs".  - At the time, Windows computers often hid the latter file extension ("VBS", a type of interpreted file) by default because it is an extension for a file type that Windows knows, leading unwitting users to think it was a normal text file. - Opening the attachment activates the Visual Basic script. First, the worm inflicts damage on the local machine, overwriting random files (including Office files and image files; however, it hides MP3 files instead of deleting them), then, it copies itself to all addresses in the Windows Address Book used by Microsoft Outlook, allowing it to spread much faster than any other previous email worm. - The email format is considered to be one of the first examples of malware using social engineering, by encouraging victims to open the attached file under the pretext they had a lover who was attempting to contact them. This was exacerbated by the fact that emails appeared to come from close contacts as a result of the worm's use of its previous victim's contact lists.

De Guzman wrote ILOVEYOU in VBScript, and the Windows Script Host is utilized to run the code. ILOVEYOU was distributed through malicious email attachments. The worm was found in emails with the subject "ILOVEYOU" and a message of "Kindly check the attached love letter from me!" The attachment LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs contained the worm.

Upon opening the file, the worm copies itself into relevant directories so it will be run upon reboot of the computer. Two of the three copies masquerade as legitimate Microsoft Windows library files, named MSKernel32.vbs and Win32DLL.vbs. The other copy retains the original LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs name.

The worm attempts to download a trojan horse named WIN-BUGSFIX.exe. To achieve this, the victim's Internet Explorer homepage is set to a URL that downloads the trojan upon opening the browser. If the download is successful, the trojan is set to run upon reboot and the Internet Explorer homepage is set to a blank page. The trojan fulfils Guzman's primary aim by stealing passwords.

The worm sends its trademark email to all contacts in the victim's address book. To prevent multiple emails being sent to one person from each successive run of the worm, a registry key is generated for each address book entry once an email has been sent. The worm will only send an email if the registry key is not present. This also allows for emails to be sent to new contacts placed in the address book. ILOVEYOU also has the capability to spread via Internet Relay Chat channels.

The worm searches connected drives for files to modify. All VBScript files it finds (.vbs, .vbe) are overwritten with the worm's code. Files with extensions .jpg, .jpeg, .js, .jse, .css, .wsh, .sct, .doc and .hta are replaced with copies of the worm that have the same base file name but appended with the .vbs extension. Copies for .mp2 and .mp3 files are similarly produced, but the original files are hidden instead of removed.

The outbreak was estimated to have caused US$5.5–8.7 billion in damages worldwide, and estimated to cost US$10–15 billion to remove the worm. Within ten days, over fifty million infections had been reported, and it is estimated that 10% of Internet-connected computers in the world had been affected. Damage cited was mostly the time and effort spent getting rid of the infection and recovering files from backups. At the time, it was one of the world's most destructive computer related disasters ever.