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divinit3a · 4 months ago

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oneshot: out of character -> ao3 link reader x mer animatronic!moon 🌊 word count: 3,403

Working at a Fazbear animatronic theme park hadn't really been your dream, but it is your current reality.

At first, you were starry-eyed. Clocking in each day at a place that brings out the magic of imagination. Revamped from its first attempt that mysteriously burnt down after a rigorous police investigation, inexplicably refurbished into a half VR game center, half water-park. You’d bet the money that fuels such an over-the-top offshoot for the franchise pumps in from the Pizzaplex the next city over.

The ambition of the two owners who picked up the business manifested into a massive aquarium at the center, home to mechanized sea life. Animatronics of all shapes and sizes, perfect replicas of their real life counterparts. Plus or minus a more vivid, appealing, toy-selling color palette.

The multi-level aquarium showcases beautiful spectacles of engineering that allow all creatures of the deep to intermingle without the limitations of reality. You’ve stood in the tunnels that wind throughout the first floor on the slow moving tracks before, looking around with awe and wonder at the flittering sharks and jumping dolphins. A whale would float by now and then, casting a great shadow across the tunnels as everyone hurried to snap a photo.

Ferry rides are offered at an exuberant price to float atop the largest of the decorative tanks, where a stationary mermaid animatronic waves with a pleasant smile. You stopped going to the ferry rides after they replaced the human staff with the admittedly rather creepy, blank-staring bots and their pre-recorded voice lines.

Despite all the splendor surrounding you, the position of 'general maintenance' tends to become lackluster after cleaning up one too many barf piles near the food courts. Or being tasked with fishing cellphones out of the tops of tanks, enduring the hellish fury of whichever parent you had the misfortune of relaying the lost or damaged items policy to. Rattling off of a lengthy speech of ‘we wont pay for this,’ in corporate, smiley, customer-service-y terms.

You sigh, pushing a heavy mop forward as music thrums through your ear buds. You take a moment to rest your head against your curled up hands at the top of the handle, listening to the last few seconds of the track, before popping the ear buds out one by one and shoving them into your jacket pockets.

The slow drip of a faucet welcomes you back to cold, harsh reality. The last hour or more of your life was spent sopping up the ick that countless shoes tracked in and out the restroom facility throughout the day.

By now, the sun is setting over the horizon line. You always pick up the latest shifts in the day. The overnight security staff are your regular acquaintances. You’ve bribed the main desk guy into being your ride-or-die with sugary, outdated donuts.

There's a ding on your pager. You lean the broom handle on the brick wall, which is plastered with Chica and Roxanne themed posters that encourage handwashing. As you rest the mop, you falter to catch it from falling over, as the damn thing could never just stay put. Once you’ve prevented the disaster of the mop tipping over, you check the pager again, missing the glitching and rearranging of the letters on screen.

Honestly, the technology is considerably retro compared to what's out on the market; looking more like a terminal you’d see in a sci-fi movie, or perhaps a calculator that would be chucked at a classmate in second grade.

What greets you is an open-ended service ticket for the Haunted Shipwreck. You quirk an eyebrow. The exhibit was usually cleaned diligently by daytime staff in preparation for opening in the evening. Spruced up by the folks who worked at the bar, and the poor teenage saps who had to stand in the queue lines scanning tickets. The ‘ride’ was part of the finale of the virtual reality storyline that guests could pay a premium price to experience, connecting all the dots of the theme park’s attractions together.

Plus, it was the only place that served alcohol after five pm. The specialty drinks are so neon and vivid that the sugar content has to be astronomical.

Parents flock there like it is truly an oasis in a kiddy-park desert.

Scratching at your head, you walk in a circle as you read the details, or lack thereof. The ticket reads, 'Exhibition needs spot cleaning.' Spot cleaning? A whole exhibit? Your thumb hovers over the button to accept the task. It beats mopping bathroom tiles any day.

You wring out the mop into its bucket, and begin the tedious task of ferrying cleaning supplies from one area to the next. On your way out, you sling the heft of a tool bag over your shoulder.

_____________________________________

The scent of lemony freshness follows you in hot pursuit. You shove open the doors to the exhibit with a “Hello?”, expecting another person or two from the maintenance crew to have accepted the job. Cleaning a whole attraction on your lonesome did not bode well for the ‘no overtime’ policy.

The response you get is absolute silence.

You feel along the wall for a light switch, and then remember that this is an amusement park, not a hotel. The controls for the area’s lights are all in the breaker room out back. Locked away with a key that is not in your possession. With a sigh, you fish out a flashlight from your tool bag and continue to wheel your cart in.

Without music blaring through the hidden speakers, or patrons milling through the bar onto the dance floor, the main atrium of the ride feels as haunted as its namesake. Grumbling, you pull out your pager and look down. The screen is blank, as if the task had never existed at all.

Before you can question the disappearing act, spotlights turn on. A deafening click causes you to jolt and nearly drop the device.

You look up, and are face to face with the animatronic who prowls the exhibit. Your lungs temporary pause all function as your heart works in overdrive.

Above you is an elaborate trick of puppetry. A skeletal siren with a face as white as bone is frozen in place, with its arms outstretched as if it had been reaching towards you in the darkness to swipe you up. Thin, transparent plastic that shimmers like true fish scales acts as webbing between its sharp claws.

A billowing tail snakes like a serpent atop most of the area’s ceiling, weaving around the lighting system. The tip of its tailfin is curled around the rafters, as if supporting its weight. But that couldn’t be true; as a large cord connects into its back. Following the tubing leads to the pulley system which keeps it on predictable tracks.

One eye is cyan. The other eye is entirely a deep crimson, casting an eerie glow across your face. The eye with the cyan pupil trembles.

“Jeez, you scared me!” You say, too shocked to catch yourself before talking with an inanimate puppet.

The robotic siren, Moon, stares at you, not budging from its post. The lack of movement makes it feel more and more like a statue. You feel silly for speaking to it directly.

But you remember: there's a person whose entire job is to spend the day operating these guys. To keep them lifelike, same as the free-roam 'animatronics' that are actually just staff in sweaty old mascot suits. Learning the truth as an employee had dimmed the magic of the theme park, but you still admit that it is an impressive work of robotics, especially considering the aquarium.

“Are you still on for the night? Ride’s shut down,” You ask, pushing through the lingering fear you felt from the brief scare. During off-season the park closes earlier and is open about half the days, meaning that Haunted Shipwreck is mostly operational Friday and Saturday. Today is a Wednesday. You didn’t expect the elusive staff who controls the two mermaid animatronics to be on duty.

In response, the animatronic's massive tail slaps against the faux rocky terrain that decorates its elaborate enclosure. Moon lands back on the main stage it perches on during performances. Without the constant spray of dry ice to create the illusion of fog, and the bright red lighting, the siren lacks the intimidating flare you expect.

“Well, I'm here to clean. That's all.” You rest your hands at your sides, settling your thumbs into the belt loops.

Moon peers at you. Then it rolls over onto its back. The wires controlling its electronics flatten against the surface as it settles into place. You blink as you stare at a 'belly-up' fish. Its hands rest into a t-rex, claw-like position at its sides, as if it wasn’t used to laying down, either, and instantly felt awkward.

“Oh,” You exclaim, wrapping your head around the vague task you accepted. At last, you understand who – or what, needs cleaning: the animatronic itself. There’s gum stuck to its sculpted fins and a few pieces of paper wedged into the joints that segment its torso from its abdomen, limiting its range of motion.

A cruel prank, regardless of the recipient’s ability to feel discomfort.

You set your tool bag down on the floor and stumble up the plastic molded rocks, right past the ‘DO NOT CLIMB’ sign. All things considered, the ‘spot cleaning’ looks like an easy project to finish off your shift.

You sit on your knees next to the animatronic.

You start by pulling the paper jammed into its torso hinge out. You brace a palm against its side, and carefully tug. Hearing the papers tear makes you curse softly under your breath.

The animatronic watches, and then bends its torso hinge away, giving you easier access to pull the shredded bits out.

You begin to notice that all the papers jammed inside the robot are actually posters and pamphlets that you can pick up for free at the photo kiosk a room over. Strange.

Taking a second to indulge your curiosity, you inspect one of the postcards.

The front of the card is split into two; the daytime half, Sun, spritely and bright on the left. And his cursed form that haunts the seas at night, Moon, in an ominous dark silhouette on the right. A few of these are even lenticular prints that you can shift back and forth, but those have to be bought at the complimentary gift shop at the end of the ride.

The depicted dark, jagged silhouette of Moon is a sharp contrast to the docile animatronic beside you. Existing to be ‘vanquished’ time and time again, by brave patrons, in order to free Sun from the shackles of an evil witch’s hex.

The witch character is set to debut at long last in a few months.

You find yourself smiling at the memories of watching the performance for the first time; the smoke and mirrors of the robots being switched out on stage to masquerade as one feat of engineering. The silly story never fails to be engaging, with how much production was poured into making Sun’s character so lifelike and memorable.

Now that you think about it, you wonder why Moon never got the same treatment. You look up to see that the ‘cursed siren’ on your mind is staring right at you, almost expectantly. Beneath its chassis where your palms rest is a soft, insistent hum of machinery, fans set to medium gear. It points to a piece of paper you missed under its arm socket. You lean closer to dig in, their gaze burning into the back of your head.

The silence as you work on the clean-up becomes increasingly uncomfortable. Even more so when you consider that whoever is tasked with puppeting Moon is still up in the server room, no doubt working past their shift’s end to make your job easier by maneuvering the siren this way and that.

Though, you wonder why the puppeteer didn't just meet you at Haunted Shipwreck themself to talk it through. Must be some kind of NDA, or lack of a remote control.

By the time you are scraping gum off glittering scales, you decisively break the ice with, “Y'know, Im surprised. I thought you'd be home by now,” beginning the idle, one-sided chatter. Just because you are here on business, doesn’t mean the exchange had to be so clinical. Your quiet companion shows that its listening by flicking the long fin that adorns its head. Bright cyan tracks your every movement with what feels like intense curiosity.

While you work, you take out the pager to check on your tasks for the night. In an instant, Moon swipes it, moving faster than you can comprehend. They slither away from you with shocking speed, cable attached to its back whirring to keep up with the momentum.

“Hey! Give that back!” You reach up, fingertips brushing off the smooth scales upon its long, imposing tail. Up above, the animatronic fiddles with the pager. Frustration ripples off it as its hands clunkily tap away at the tiny, human-sized keyboard.

“Don't break it, c'mon, it'll come out of my paycheck!” You swat at the robot whose mid-air. You gasp at the audacity it has to curl its tail inward and away from you. An unfair game of keep-away.

Moon turns the screen of the pager back to you. 'Thank you,' is typed out in simplistic, boxy letters. You blink, staring at the screen as the pager is gingerly placed back in your hands, claws ghosting across your arms. The siren pulls back quickly. Moon fidgets with the hem of its costuming, a subtle act of nerves that trips you up even worse.

“You—you're welcome.” You stumble on your words, not quite sure why the sentiment is so shocking. But it feels like it came from the robot itself—whoever ran these guys was committed to staying in character. Even to other staff. You admire the dedication.

The robot leers down at you. Pupils burning, an unsettling lack of expression except for a wide-eyed stare that never relents the pressure it exerts. A hand extends out, and it takes a moment for you to realize that its asking for the pager back. Dumbstruck, you comply without a second thought. The robot taps away at the keyboard, dwarfed by its palms. You hear the click-click-click of the backspace button as it shakes its faceplate.

The pager returns to you. After all its effort, only one word is on the screen: 'Again.'

“Again?” You repeat aloud, looking up at Moon with confusion. The robot continues to fidget, before nodding so quickly in confirmation, that you are worried you'll need to send in a ticket to fix its neck hinge. That sort of job goes to the on-sight mechanics who the company contracts, not a regular maintenance guy like you. “You'd... like me to stop by, again?” You guess, and Moon's nerves boil over. The tracks in the ceiling creak as the creature 'swims' all around you, showcasing flashes of glittering fins and the faintest glint of sharp fangs beneath its flowing collar. With the blur of violet, magenta, and crimson swirling around you, its like being in the middle of a shark swarm— without any of the fear.

Because you take the boundless enthusiasm to mean, 'yes.'

”Okay, okay. I will,“ You laugh at the strange antics, charmed by how earnest the supposedly wicked siren can be. You don’t know much about Moon's character here at the park; he was intentionally left mysterious to add to the villainous flare. Or perhaps, to excuse the lack of forethought into an antagonist designed for a theme park. So, to see him instead doing several aerial laps around the perimeter of the shipwreck, you can't help but find them endearing.

Your pager dings, reminding you that there is twenty minutes before your shift ends, and one bathroom facility left half-mopped in your haste.

“It was nice meeting you,” You hesitate—you have no idea who this person is. You stare into the lens of the animatronic’s eyes, pondering who was watching you back on the camera feed.

Maybe the two of you could get lunch sometime off the clock, away from the prying of corporate eyes. Perhaps they are nervous to break character. You glance to the security camera in the corner, and back, ”...Moon,” you decide to call them by the character they play, for the time being.

The siren lurches toward you.

You reel back, almost slipping on the plastic rocks.

Spindly limbs wrap around you, catching you from your fall, and—Oh.

You blink, struggling to keep up. The wretched siren of the coast is giving you a hug. The fabric of its costume sleeves is silky and smooth, and almost bundles you up like a tarp.

”O-okay, then.” You pat at the back of the animatronic. Its staring at you so seriously with massive, leering eyes, that you are struggling not to buckle under the stress. The pressure Moon exerts is light, but spikes your heart rate regardless. Your feet are almost off the ground, balancing on the heels of your work boots as you tilt back. You aren’t looking to go for a swim, or to be put on medical leave from a concussion.

“That’s, um, very sweet, thank you, Moon.” You tap its arms next to indicate you’re ready to be let go of. You find your cheeks flushing in embarrassment, wondering if the animatronic’s puppeteer thinks its amusing to scare you with this level of whiplash. Maybe it is funny to them, to make the theme park's aloof villain act all cuddly for one-on-one exchanges.

“There we go—nice and easy,” you find yourself narrating, as the siren deliberately sets you back down on the floor. Not back onto the rocks; no, it cranes you over to main floor, where you run a much smaller risk of falling on uneven terrain.

Walking over to collect your belongings, you shrug your tool bag over your shoulder, and place a hand on the handle of your cleaning cart.

The animatronic waves you off, watching with interest as you shove your way out the door. A glimpse of the outside world, the low lights of the shut-down park and the infinite expanse of the night sky.

You stop in the doorway, prolonging the moment, “Have a good night, Moon.” The animatronic stays perfectly still, playing its role. Poised with elegance and a threatening aura. The sight leaves you with chills, although you hardly had reason to fear the animatronic, or its friendly puppeteer.

The door closes.

A pause.

Moon stays put until they can no longer hear the roll of your cart. Then it springs up. Pacing back and forth, tail moving as smoothly as kelp in the current, weaving through decorative pillars that sell the illusion of being underwater, trapped in a shipwreck. The sliding of the wire on its tracks plays a symphony as it maneuvers around. Feeling–feeling, like it did something right, by doing something terribly wrong. The sensation was so complex that it keeps cataloguing every second.

Moon couldn't believe that tampering with a maintenance ticket actually worked. A small, small chance that anyone would pick up the task he made up— jamming postcards into its segments in a fury to make the objective believable, once someone had actually said 'yes.'

The cord above squeals, and Moon realizes it needs to relax, less it break its ability to move within its small, small world.

Settling back down, the siren sits on its lonely perch with a glimmer of hope–that you'll be back again the next night, and the next, and the next. After all, you spoke to them with such ease. Most everyone pretends he’s nothing more than a glorified stage prop. Doomed with an underutilized, elaborate AI on the same caliber as all the others in the park, who roam freely. Who get to interact, learn, and grow daily; who get to make friends and play so many games.

Until next time, they'll work on their communication. Study the humans who walk through its exhibit closer and closer. Experiment with how to evoke emotions beyond fear.

Their tail thumps, eager to continue daydreaming throughout the rest of its cycle spent awake.

#fnaf #dca community #dca fandom #moon fnaf #ao3fic #ao3 link #dca x reader #dca x yn #dca fanfic #moon x yn #mer moon #catfishing au #mer animatronic moon #pom writes #:D weee

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mariacallous · 3 months ago

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What would a force hostile to the United States—a nation whose power has been the envy of the world for more than seven decades—do if it were able to set up an influential pipeline for policy ideas directly to the White House? Or, better yet, if it could somehow burrow into the mind of its president?

With so many points of U.S. strength, it is hard to know where to begin. One might start by fanning a backlash against the long-standing, if halting, trend in U.S. society toward inclusiveness, which has gradually sought to bring disfavored groups into the fold of the country’s prosperity. This might include waging a war against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives—one that, in its most Orwellian dimension, would extend to policing the use of words such as “bias,” “privilege,” and “equality” in government agencies.

One might pull the rug out from under a country sitting on the doorstop of Washington’s long-standing European allies, which has suffered invasion and continued assault from a revanchist autocracy bent on expansion. For instance, one might shy away from identifying Russia as the aggressor in Ukraine and sometimes blame the latter for the conflict, all while conceding major Russian war aims even before the start of peace negotiations.

One might criticize European democracies such as Germany for not providing more space to extreme-right political parties that have openly flirted with ideology reminiscent of the Nazis. Or one might disparage longtime friends and democratic allies, from Canada to Japan, saying that they are cheating the United States, imposing high tariffs on them, and demanding that they pay for the security protection they get from Washington.

One might ravage the staff and budget of the Internal Revenue Service, the body that collects the taxes that fund the government, while passing budget resolutions that will provide large tax breaks to the wealthy—all but ensuring massive increases in future budget deficits. While doing so, one might insinuate that Social Security—a pillar of the U.S. political compact since the Great Depression—is being fleeced by millions of phantom super-centenarians, whose relatives cheat the system by collecting benefit checks long after their deaths.

One might withdraw from United Nations bodies such as the Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, thus ceding influence to countries that make no pretense of respecting human dignity and freedom, and ending U.S. leadership in combatting diseases that threaten people worldwide.

One might try to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides technical assistance and funding to much poorer countries to boost their economic development while also bolstering U.S. soft power.

One might liquidate the country’s international broadcasting capacity, ending the delivery of relatively objective news to hundreds of millions of people who live under dictatorships, including in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela.

One might seek to hinder the development of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind while pushing the acceleration of fossil fuel production, not only ensuring huge environmental damage, but also ceding U.S. leadership in a sector that is vital to future wealth and competition.

Why stop there, though? One could move to weaken a body such as the National Institutes of Health, which has long been a major force in the United States’ world-leading medical research, or even take a swipe at one its biggest recent triumphs: the breakneck development of the mRNA vaccine technology that helped the United States become a global leader in limiting the death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are so many ideas for how to sap Washington’s strength that one could imagine fatigue setting in among those charged with manning the pipeline to the president imagined at the outset of this column. But it turns out that U.S. President Donald Trump does not even need such a unit. And there is little sign of his administration slowing down its efforts to sap the country’s vitality. His team’s other ideas involve hindering nuclear safety and research for nuclear energy and weapons, degrading the country’s ability to monitor or even discuss global warming, and defunding weather forecasts. There are many more.

With a list as prodigious as this, it has taken me too long to get to perhaps the brightest, and most insidious, idea of all for bringing the United States down to the status of an average power: pursuing a campaign of destruction against the country’s world-leading universities. The Trump administration is already carrying this out on several fronts, with little sign that most Americans are concerned about or even aware of what is happening.

This campaign was signaled in advance by hostile rhetoric from conservatives such as Vice President J.D. Vance. Even before he was elected, Vance, himself a product of elite education, spoke of U.S. higher education as “the enemy.” Since Trump returned to office, his government has acted accordingly. It has moved to undercut federal support for university-based research, tightened visa access for international students, and made U.S. campuses a priority area in its war against diversity. Potentially most damaging of all, it has weaponized the idea of antisemitism as a tool to extend the government’s political control into university departments and classrooms.

Full disclosure: I have been a professor at Columbia University—ground zero for much of this campaign—for nearly two decades. Protests on my campus over Israel’s offensive tactics in Gaza have been the pretext for much of this; now, the Trump administration practically equates criticism of Israel with legally punishable antisemitism.

I lived and taught through the period of campus protests, and it is my sense that they were overwhelmingly peaceful, but I would never rule out the possibility that Jewish students were sometimes made to feel uncomfortable by the signs, slogans, or even taunts of some individual protestors. However, this should not be used to justify restricting one of the most vital U.S. freedoms and the essence of the country’s culture of excellence in higher education: free speech.

By arresting and seeking to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate and legal permanent resident of the United States, for participating in these protests, the administration has revealed its hand and shown that its war on education and war on speech are fundamentally intertwined. Not only has Khalil never been charged with a crime, but in interviews, Department of Homeland Security officials have been unable to clearly explain his alleged offense.

The punishments and supposed remedies run together. The Trump administration has canceled $400 million in government funding to Columbia unless the university fulfills a series of wildly unreasonable demands. This includes the requirement that Columbia’s department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies be placed under “receivership,” which would remove oversight of the department from its faculty.

“We’re in the midst of an authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government. It’s been coming and coming, and not everybody is prepared to read it that way,” Lee Bollinger, Columbia’s longtime former president, said last week. “Our problem in part is a failure of imagination. We cannot get ourselves to see how this is going to unfold in its most frightening versions. You neutralize the branches of government; you neutralize the media; you neutralize the universities, and you’re on your way.”

Although routinely unacknowledged as such, the country’s universities are the crown jewel in its entire democratic system. Some, such as Harvard University, are considerably older than the nation itself. But more than that, the United States’ sense of itself—of law, of science, of the humanities—flows from its campuses and their great tradition of academic freedom, including free speech. This is also true of the United States’ economic, technological, and military prowess.

Universities have been able to buttress U.S. leadership largely because of their pull on ambitious people from all over the world, many of whom have fervently embraced U.S. ideals, becoming naturalized as citizens or spreading democratic values overseas. The powerful force that attracts them is built on more than individual hopes of wealth, or even of personal achievement. It is built on freedom, and once that ultimate value—practically an American brand—is destroyed, it may never be restored.

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pray4saint · 2 years ago

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Hello! Currently thinking about dteam and chuckle sammich honeymoon hc's! Where you'd go, what you'd do, how was IT was mm

dteam & chuckle sammy on their honeymoons

dteam masterlist & chuckle sammy masterlist & descrip. pg. 13+. gn!reader.

a/n. omg bae, i've got you! also thoughts like these are gonna be rotting my brain for the next month / nsfw versions: dteam / chuckle sammy

dream

either hawaii or france.. idk what to tell you he's a cheeseball, sticks with the classics OR on the complete opposite, somewhere thailand (but for the sake of my sanity and writing ability we're going with kona, hawaii)

definitely picked a b&b over a hotel, he wanted the privacy for that first night as a wedded couple

leaving around 11am to go to beaches all day or go shopping

when you're out shopping, he always finds a way to not-so-subtly mention that you guys have just gotten married / he thinks he's subtle

standing in a pacsun, the cashier scanned the tags of the clothes you were buying, asking the usual customer service questions, ”how are y'all doing, did you find everything okay?” and you look up at your husband before nodding, but he still spoke up, ”doing good, we just got married, this is spouse, and yeah,” he turns to you, ”i think we found everything okay.” ”mhm.” you smile at his incessant need to announce that you're married.

tbh powerbottom!dream but in an absolutely sfw, fluffy way / how he looks at you with, essentially, heart eyes when he says something begging for your approval but also making it widely known that you're his and that you're married every chance he gets

dream most definitely has that 'nothing can bring me down' mentality while on your honeymoon

also in the evenings when the sun sets and you're sat next to him or on his lap, he thanks any and every higher power he's ever heard of that you came into his life because you're stunning and he loves you so much and can't imagine his life without you

doesn't even register if fans come up and ask for a picture until you point them out, he's just so invested in you

he also doesn't get on any of his social media except to post the occasional instagram story despite how much you told him it was fine and you didn't mind if he checked twitter or updated his snap story

”clay, aren't your fans gonna worry if you go MIA from twitter?” you set your notebook aside, turning to face him. ”no honey i'm gonna spend time with you, they can wait.” he smiles at you. ”yeah i know but-” ”no buts. they can wait.”

also he inevitably gets sick on the last day of your honeymoon, which is fine because you were getting tired of going out every day / you made him soup with the small amount of food you'd bought at the local costco and he finally took to twitter to tell them how wonderful you were being

sapnap

i think he's taking you on 2 honeymoons, the first is for two weeks in texas to spend time with his family, just so you know you can always depend on them when you need them

the other is for three weeks in greece; the people, the culture, the food, he loves it and he wants to surround you in it

probably picked a hotel over a b&b

also on all the flights, during airport security, in taxis/ubers, when waiting for flights, in the hotel, he kept repeating the same words

mrs./mr./mx. armstrong, he just loves saying it, SO MUCH

”i love you, [mrs./mr./mx.] armstrong.” your newlywed husband spins you in his arms, pulling you flush against his chest. ”i know mr. armstrong, and i love you.” you press a kiss to his lips, trying to get out of his arms to get back to unpacking your suitcase

i think for activities, lots of lunches out and dinners in

also a whole lot of museums and art galleries and ancient ruins, spending time talking about greek mythology and your own theories and opinions on it

sap also sometimes calls you bro on accident and you sometimes call him dude still and all you guys can ever say about it is 'it is what it is'

”what are you gonna get, bro?” he asks as he closes his own menu. he didn't even realise what he said, but the waiter did, and he just watched with intent, unsure of what was happening. ”i don't know dude, whatever you're having i guess.” you close your menu. the waiter speaks up, ”i'm sorry i know it's none of my business but uhm- are you two not, married?” he sounds nervous, as if he thinks he's interrupted some secret affair. ”wh- what? we're married. we've been married.” sap is the one to point it out, taking your hand in his. ”ah, it was just how you called each other 'dude', and 'bro'.” the waiter laughs nervously, walking away with the order written down. in unison, ”it is what it is.”

i also think he takes you shopping because he believes the people who gave you the best wedding gifts should also get a gift in return in addition to a thank you card

lots of hand swinging with your left hand to show off your ring, and hugging in lines, and kissing-bordering-on-making-out in public, he just has no reason not to anymore, you're married

george

george couldn't decide where you went for awhile, so he asked of your friends and his friends and ended up at first with iceland (this is george guys remember) but then changed his mind and picked italy and romania, one week in each

b&b >>> hotels with george, he prefers the privacy

he spent months before the wedding trying to learn the basics of the italian and romanian languages despite how widespread english is

definitely takes you out to eat A BUNCH, except for two nights in each country where you and him cooked dinner for yourselves

you can expect lots of late mornings and late nights with george, he just can't get enough of his new spouse

definitely emphasises your last name being davidson whenever there's a reservation or when he feels the staff is being a little too forward

”last name?” the host asked, eyes glued to the kiosk screen in front of him. ”mr. and mx. davidson.” your husband smiled at you, giving your hand a gentle squeeze.

takes you to a store at the start of the trip so you have food where you're staying / bonus if you convince him to go to a farmers' market

every day of the trip you and him have set aside an hour to talk to your respective friends on the phone (he's louder)

also forgets to tell you that he booked a redeye for the first flight out of italy/romania because when he booked it he forgot he was planning for two people instead of just himself / he apologised a lot for it

”y/n i'm sorry, if i had been paying attention i would've booked it for later in the day tomorrow.” ”george, baby it's fine. i really don't mind. it's not like i'm going anywhere.” you flash him your ring with a smile to emphasise you point, to which he returns the smile before looking at his own ring.

he apologised again when the plane was about to take off

ted

i think ted takes you to japan for your honeymoon, at least for a week to try those capsule hotels that you and him been dying to try for months

i think he wants to go see all sorts of attractions in japan; theme parks, cat cafes, boardwalks, boat tours, and maybe take you to see an anime film (my brain is rotted from wanting to see an anime film in japan im sorry)

he booked a hotel because in the moment, it felt the easiest

even in japan he would get recognised, but not nearly as often as he did in the states and he would kindly turn down any fan who wanted a picture because he was busy on his honeymoon

lots of small kisses; at the end of a boardwalk, right before you sit down at restaurants, when you get back to the hotel room, when he brings you coffee, tea, or water in the morning, just outside the restaurant when you're leaving, when you two depart in a mall for a set time of 20 minutes

i think he likes seeing the trending tags on twitter surrounding your wedding

”what'ya smiling at, like an idiot baby?” you ask him, drying your hair with a towel from your recent shower, as you walk around from where your suitcase was to where he was stood in the mini kitchen. ”'the nivisons,' we're trending honey, that's all. i think it's sweet.” ”you know coming over here and giving me a kiss is even sweeter.” his phone is on the counter and he's encasing himself around you so fast.

he definitely texted his married friends for ideas when he started to run out / also before you left he logged into your pinterest on your computer and looked for anything he could use as an idea

you guys start binge-watching a new show while on your honeymoon and made inside jokes about it (yeah you became that couple)

holds your hand when you're walking around and getting into taxis and doing pretty much anything in public because he's scared he'll lose you in a crowd

he talks to you like he would a child. ”don't let go of my hand.” ”i won't ted, don't worry.” you shake your head at his antics once he turns away.

books a later in the afternoon flight out so that you can sleep in and he can pack for you and wake you up and get you out the door slowly, without a huge rush and stress

charlie

charlie takes you to 2 places, to start, you get 3 weeks in bali plus a week in new zealand (jrr tolkien/hobbit/lotr fans are gonna love this one)

in bali, he rents a whole house, 1 bedroom & 1 bathroom with a rate of $110 (usd) a night

while you're there, he takes you to sightsee places like gunung kawi temple, pura lempuyang luhur, ubud monkey forest, tukad cepung waterfall and holy spring (tirta empul)

of course wherever you go he insists on holding your hand, just to keep you close by

”baby you gotta let go of my hand i wanna take pictures.” your husband huffs a small, ”fine.” he releases your hand, but his hands find perch on your waist while you take pictures of the water, or the shops, or the wildlife, whatever.

definitely asks if he can use some of the pictures you took for his instagram story (it's the most he's ever used his insta story) and you tell him yes but only if you get to pick them / also on the same note, if either of you snap anyone during your honeymoon or just take selfies in general, they're always of you two kissing or giving each other cheek kisses in the house or at a restaurant or at a location you're visiting

he spends a lot of time just looking at your ring and how the ring on your finger looks against his fingers and vice versa with his ring against your fingers

”charlie?” he looks up from your intertwined hands in surprise. ”hm, what?” ”whatcha thinkin' about?” ”mmm, nothin', just admiring you.” he pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek, making you smile and a small tint to cover your cheeks.

in new zealand it's a hotel but it's a hobbit hole hotel, complete with tours of everything new zealand could offer about the tolkien's lord of the rings/hobbit universe

more eating out here than in bali despite how much more expensive it is

(if you're not a huge tolkien fan:) lots of thank yous from him for putting up with the trip so he could enjoy it // (if you are a huge tolkien fan:) a ton of excitement for both of you during the entire trip, and lots of talking about your own theories as you learn more about the fictional world

also vlogging the new zealand trip with charlie >>>> / and cataloging the film in the airport just before your flight for you to edit when you get home

schlatt

canada. idc, canada, that's where you're going. or iceland. somewhere cold.

i'm kidding, he told you that as a prank and then took you to australia (i apologise if you can't stand the animals there but this is schlatt we're talking about c'mon)

hotel over a b&b because even he, being the big guy that he is, was a little worried about finding a massive spider in the bed

probably quite a bit of alcohol that first night as a married couple

”y'so- god sweets y'so pretty.” schlatt twirled you around with one hand, beer bottle in the other. you giggled, the alcohol affecting your words and actions. you kept one hand tangled with his while the other held a grip on your bottle of beer. ”j..y'so handsome, you know that?” he blushed, and it must've been the alcohol because your boyfriend– husband now, never got flustered over something as small as that.

there's one night where you two go out dancing and when he sees all the prying eyes of the men and women around you, he makes sure to emphasise your ringed hands, keeping one of his hands planted firmly on your side

somehow you ended up going to see some aniaml fight with schlatt and when it got a little.. gory, you'd cover your eyes with your hands and tuck your head into his shoulder or his chest

”you alright baby?” he asked, flicking his eyes between you and the fight, arm around your shoulder, bringing you closer. ”i guess. jus'wanna leave though.” you whispered up into his ear and he nodded, waiting another minute before walking out with you tucked into his side, repeatedly asking you if you're really okay.

schlatt who takes you out to dinner every other night, with the rest of the nights being used to talk to both his and your friends and watch films together

also schlatt who believes in taking turns making lunch; whether it be sandwiches (it usually is), or pasta, a frozen pizza, etc, you take turns, after all you're married now, everything is 50/50

you probably both get sick at the end of the trip from something you ate and at first you were really worried, but he got better after a day and you two days after that

i also one hundred percent believe schlatt wanted to get home as soon as possible and picked an earlier in the morning flight / him plucking you from the bed three hours before your flight so you could shower and get ready, finish repacking, etc

pray4saint© do not copy, translate or repost my work without my express permission.

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takami-takami · 4 months ago

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"Efficiency" has become such a dogwhistle for reduced quality across the board. Which is why I despise this fucking department of government "efficiency".

Making a shitty product is fine if you're making a watering can or some shit. But the organizations that get public funding and are most quickly sapped of their funds by these leeches are social service organizations. Public organizations. Social security programs.

Your healthcare. Your benefits. Your emergency services, your family care, your quality of life.

Efficiency means absolutely nothing except how much an investor can fuck you over and make you as starved as humanly possible for their own profit.

#🐇 rambles

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dark-side-blog3 · 1 year ago

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Currently having this mental image of Bucciarati's darling being this person he had an innocent crush on back when they were both growing up in that old town near the sea, only for the old flame to be reignited upon encountering each other in their late teens or early twenties and catching up with each other. Unfortunately, the fear of what his many enemies, both in and out of the criminal world, might do kickstarts Bucciarati's path to becoming a yandere after what happened to his father almost ten years ago.

The sound of the waves lapping up the shoreline, the salty scent of the sea air, and the coastal sun's warmth on your skin. The old pier was filled with fishermen, either returning with their catches or getting ready to depart. The small port town was a popular tourist attraction, and you couldn't help but feel like a tourist yourself. It had been too long since you'd been back, and you'd almost forgotten about the poor sap with a dead mom and dad, the little kid who had to become mature to survive his role in the mafia. The kid who grew a crush on you the way he grew into a white suit, before you-- similar to the seams holding the breast buttons together on his iconic suit-- split.

But many years later, you'd returned. And Bruno had... Changed? Could you call it that? He was mature as ever, cunning and collected as ever, and seemingly reignited those feelings of flirty friendship quickly. He still fawns over you in his subtle ways, more a matter of quiet quality time and acts of service than flowers and chocolates. It's a kindness, rather than a flirt perhaps.

He can't be too careful when he works for Passione. Mafia are not known for their employee benefits, and the only way out is death-- even if Bruno gets old enough to be taken out of fieldwork, it's not like they're going to let him stay on the payroll when he becomes more trouble than he's worth. "Retirement" in Passione is probably a clean pillowcase over his head before they blow his brains out. A job like that has to wear on him...

So you suppose you can grin and bear it when he acts overprotective when you go out. Bruno's got a hard life, and he wasn't as lucky as you in avoiding trouble. He's just trying to keep you safe; Who knows how many friends he had to lose to feel this defensive?

And it's not like you plan to stay with him forever. Bruno's made it pretty clear that it's not safe, and it's probably better to get out before it gets too difficult. You just wanted to see him again, for sentimentality.

You're just meeting up for one last boating trip-- Bruno told you he wanted to go fishing again, and show you his skills. He must've learned a lot since you've been gone, if he was this insistent on the location and time. He said it would just be the two of you; something about it being more "secure", and while that's probably part of it, it's sweet to think he wanted to be alone for one last moment. Just the two of you, bonding and reminiscing, without anything to set the capo off and make him act weird. Bruno will be here any minute, and you just hope it all goes well for the last time.

#my writing!#yandere bruno #yandere bruno bucciarati #yandere jjba #yandere jojo's bizarre adventure #yandere jojo #yandere jjba prt 5

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suchi05 · 7 months ago

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10 tips to safeguard your critical business data in SAP systems - ToggleNow

Secure your Critical Business Data Security and risk are becoming increasingly challenging as businesses become more connected. It requires data sharing between different systems, applications, and enterprises.

According to Forrester, companies will double their budgets for data strategy over the next five years and according to Gartner, transparency and traceability are among the Top Ten Strategic Technology Trends for 2022. Smart spaces, they claim, will offer better business opportunities.

It was found in another recent report by Onapsis that between 50,000 and 100,000 organizations use SAP systems that are vulnerable. An example that made the world aware of the importance of data security is the case with the New Zealand government. An immense data breach in which firearms, addresses, and names of gun owners were exposed led SAP itself to apologize to the government. There was no hacking involved in the breach, but 66 dealers got access to sensitive information because of a change in user access given to dealers participating in the buyback scheme.

“Between 50,000 to 100,000 organizations use SAP systems that are vulnerable.”

Apparently, SAP is working on various solutions to increase the security of data. In addition, it reminds clients that security is a collaborative effort, and emphasizes the importance of proper system configuration.

The importance of security in SAP Data breaches and ransomware attacks are on the rise, and the global pandemic presents new opportunities for cybercriminals. Many employees today access corporate resources through virtual private networks (VPNs). The shift to remote work has resulted in a more permissive VPN policy, which compromises corporate networks in an indirect way.

There is a need for IT security teams to accomplish more with less budget or with the same budget. It is part of their job responsibility to manage day-to-day IT and security operations, find and retain skilled security talent, identify and address security capability gaps, and maximize the return on investment (ROI).

Almost seven out of ten organizations do not place a high priority on securing their SAP systems. Considering the recent spike in cyber-attacks, it is essential to secure SAP systems. We have put together a list of 10 tips you can use immediately to secure your critical business data in SAP system.

Own it – Don’t blame When a security breach occurs, who is responsible? A recent survey by Onapsis found that half of the respondents believe SAP is to blame for security breaches – not anyone within their own organization. Another 30% believe that no one is responsible. A small percentage of people believe that the CIO or CISO is responsible for a security breach.

50% blame SAP for security breaches

30% have no idea

20% say it is CIO/CISO’s responsibility

63% of C-Level executives underestimate the risks associated with insecure SAP applications

The dangers associated with insecure SAP applications are underestimated by 63% of C-level executives.

Regularly update the EHP & SPS One of the most significant steps to staying secure is to keep your system up to date. Enhancement packages are delivered by SAP to deliver new innovations/functionality or “enhancements” to customers without disruption. Ensure you have the latest enhancement packs installed, and that you aren’t several versions behind. It is always risky to be a first adopter, but it is also imperative to avoid falling behind (n-1 is always recommended). Technology and computer security are constantly improving, so it is important to keep your system up to date with patches, fixes, updates, and enhancement packs.

As part of its Support Package Stacks, SAP releases periodic security solutions. The Support Package Stacks are patches for a given product that should be applied together. It is recommended that these stacks be applied at least once a year, and SAP specifies the maintenance schedule on its website. In addition, ToggleNow can help you identify your system’s most critical SPSs.

The Right SODs make a difference As business processes rapidly evolve, employee roles and responsibilities are also changing. By establishing boundaries between roles assigned to an employee and conflicts of interest that may arise from the employee’s responsibilities, segregation of duties aims to reduce internal fraud risks. For example, one employee processes a PO while another verifies and approves it. This adds more control and prevents payments to ‘fake’ vendors.

It is becoming more common for mature organisations to look for ways to improve Segregation of Duties management while reducing costs. It is imperative for businesses to integrate an advanced, quick, and easy-to-install Access Management tool that fits with their systems. This will avoid conflicts after an employee’s role or tasks change.

This can be achieved either by implementing the SAP GRC Access Control solution or ToggleNow’s SoD Analysis solution for SAP. The SAP Security Assessment services provided by ToggleNow will identify the right solutions for your organization. Additionally, if you have SAP GRC implemented, explore the various SAP GRC services that are offered by us.

With the help of our SMEs, you will be able to implement the right separation of duties strategies and ensure that you comply with the various regulations and mandates.

Ensure the quality of your code SAP systems typically have over 30 percent proprietary code, depending on the industry. Statistics indicate that one critical security defect occurs for every 1,000 lines of ABAP code.

It is possible that SAP system performance will be adversely affected. It is estimated that the average SAP system contains 2,151 risks, and 70% of enterprises fail to audit their ABAP custom code for compliance and security.

It is possible to simplify the security process for your code. It is no longer necessary for organizations to invest time, money, and manpower in major security projects. An analysis of your code beforehand will enable you to identify and prioritize any risks and issues before you begin an upgrade.

To ensure security, performance, maintainability, robustness, and compliance with ABAP standards, integrate coding and quality assurance into a single activity.

Finally, you should only keep the custom code you need. It introduces unnecessary risks and increases the amount of effort needed for unnecessary code corrections when redundant unused custom code is used.

Wondering how to handle the situation? Here is a solution – SAP Solution Manager CCLM is a fantastic solution that addresses the majority of these requirements. Refer to this blog

Implement SAP Solution Manager – Security Optimization Service (SOS) We are often asked by clients what tools are available to check the security of SAP systems? Additionally, to Early Watch Alert (EWA), SAP Solution Manager (SOLMAN) has a Security Optimization Service (SOS) report that focuses on security.

Security Optimization Service for the SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP checks the security of your SAP system(s) and perform the following checks:

Basis administration check

User management check

Super users check

Password check

Spool and printer authorization check

Background authorization check

Batch input authorization check

Transport control authorization check

Role management authorization check

Profile parameter check

SAP GUI Single Sign-On (SSO) check

Certificate Single Sign-On (SSO) check

External authentication check

You’ll need the latest version of SOLMAN and the latest support pack to set this up. The managed system must also be configured and setup in SOLMAN without any errors and the instance is correctly defined in LMDB. (Status Green). Additionally, the OS collector must be running on your target instances and database.

It is important, however, to answer the following before setting up the SOS:

Does your organization have the capacity to manually review those reports and act on each recommendation?

It is set correctly so that your team has ample time to review and act on the reports.

Read ToggleNow’s success story on this subject. We have implemented Solution Manager 7.2 for one of our clients who is a leading refractory company in India since 1958.

Regular health checks keep the system healthy Yes, you heard that right. Humans and systems alike benefit from regular health checks. Ponemon Institute reports that organizations lack visibility “into the security of SAP applications and lack the expertise to detect, prevent, and respond to cyberattacks quickly.”

Early detection is the key to staying healthy or secure. A frequent ERP system check helps you get a comprehensive picture of your ERP landscape before making changes and identifying areas for improvement. This is just like healthy people need annual checkups and preventative medicine to stay healthy and detect problems early. Regular health checkups can identify security gaps. Additionally, EWA and SOS reports provide an in-depth analysis of the system. According to experts’ recommendations, SAP Solution Manager must be configured to support these modules.

Read more: https://togglenow.com/blog/secure-your-critical-business-data/

#GRC Access Control #sap user management automation #sap sod analysis #SAP cyber security #SAP Security Monitoring #SAP cyber Security Services #SAP Security #sap security services #SAP Security Audit

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allinone-mosol9 · 2 years ago

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SAP Services For Role Design for Success: Best Practices and Tips

Is your SAP role design structure accurate and well-organized? Do they follow a systematic naming convention that is easy to understand? Before making any further changes to the roles, are you performing a Segregation of Duty analysis? Have you received recommendations from your auditor about a SoD matrix?

The fact is that security requirements are not often considered when creating or modifying roles to meet the immediate business needs. Consequently, the sap role design structure becomes a mess, full of segregation of duties (SoD) and contains many critical authorizations. How does it affect your business?

Why SoD is so important? Why is it becoming the buzz word? The concept of SoD is that running a business shouldn’t be the responsibility of a single person. A single individual should not have authority or control over any task that could lead to fraud or criminal activity. It is based on the concept of shared responsibilities, where multiple departments or individuals are responsible for critical functions of a key process. This reduces the risk of fraud or other unethical behavior. As part of enterprise risk management and compliance with laws such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), SoD plays an important role. A division of responsibilities among multiple personnel reduces the possibilities that any employee or third party could accomplish any of the following in isolation or by collaborating with others:

Theft of funds;

Taking part in corporate espionage;

Inflating the stock price artificially or falsifying financial records to meet shareholder expectations.

It is always recommended to build sap role design that follow a systematic process that meets business requirements, access frameworks, and standardized naming conventions.

Before you begin a sap role design project, you should follow a 3-step process (DISCOVER – DEFINE – DELIVER). You will gain a deeper understanding of the current situation, develop a plan to fix or redesign it, and create roles that can be maintained easily in the future.

Phase # 1 – Discover (Evaluate the existing setup)

More than 65% of customers have problems with SAP authorizations. Managing authorizations will become a cumbersome task in time. Wider access, SOD risks, and other factors make it difficult for organizations to manage them efficiently. That’s why sap design role is important.

Prior to making decisions about whether to perform a cleanup or a complete redesign, it is highly recommended to understand the existing sap role design setup.

Prepare a comprehensive usage analysis by identifying transaction codes and roles. The “Reverse Business Engineering” concept can be used to identify what is assigned and what is used to clean-up the roles. Inputs from this phase will be used in the next phase.

Phase # 2 – Define (Make-a-plan)

After identifying existing design, business requirements, and gaps, the next step is to decide whether a cleanup or a complete redesign is required. Consider the following questions:

Are there a lot of manually added objects in the roles

In S_TCODE, are there ranges for the roles, such as A-Z, etc.?

Are the sap role design granting broader authorizations?

Are there a lot of modified objects in the roles?

Are there a lot of enabler roles in the current sap role design?

Does the roles have a lot of segregation of duties and critical risks?

Are your roles based on job functions rather than tasks?

A complete role redesign is needed if you answer yes to two or more questions. The plan should include changes needed at the custom transaction code level, authorization adjustments, and sap role design adjustments, along with considering best practices from the industry.

If Any SAP service needed visit our website Toggle Now

#SAP services #SAP #SAP security services

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beardedmrbean · 2 months ago

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The kidnapping of a Tennessee pastor working in South Africa comes amid a soaring kidnapping rate in the country over the last 10 years, fueled by armed robberies.

Josh Sullivan, a 34-year-old Fellowship Baptist Church pastor and missionary working in Motherwell, was allegedly kidnapped by several armed, masked men who broke into his church in the Eastern Cape Province on the evening of April 10, took cellphones from parishioners and drove away with Sullivan in his own truck.

"The South African Police Service’s (SAPS) annual crime statistics show that in the past decade, kidnappings increased by 264% from 4,692 in 2014/15 to 17,061 in 2023/24," the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Africa said in a December 2024 report. "The most recent quarterly crime stats, released on 25 November [2024], show an ongoing rise."

Most kidnapping incidents over the 2023-2024 time period "were perpetrated during aggravated robberies, such as car or truck hijackings or armed robberies at businesses, homes, or in public spaces," the ISS Africa report reads.

Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakhuvana told South African news outlet IOL that the suspects who kidnapped Sullivan demanded a ransom.

"In response to the incident, a multidisciplinary task team consist[ing] of various police specialised [sic] units was activated. The joint team is currently following all possible leads to locate the victim and apprehend the perpetrators. A ransom was demanded by the suspects," Mhlakhuvana told IOL.

TRUMP ADMIN SECURES RELEASE OF AMERICAN MISSIONARY HELD IN TUNISIA FOR 13 MONTHS: REPORT

The South African Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, urged anyone with information to come forward, saying "all information will be treated with the strictest confidentiality," IOL reported.

The ISS Africa report notes that less than 5% of kidnappings in South Africa involve ransom demands.

Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn told Fox News Digital in a statement that her "prayers are with Pastor Sullivan’s family and those working tirelessly to rescue him from these vicious criminal gangs."

"I have been in touch with the State Department and submitted an inquiry with the embassy in South Africa, and they are working to assist this family any way they can," Blackburn said.

Bobby McDonald, a lecturer in criminal justice at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, told Fox News Digital that it seems like missionaries working "in different countries, whether it's in African countries or South American countries, a lot of times they are walking into situations where there are heavily gang-related activity or the desire to... do harm to people who are from different countries … trying to make a difference."

"South Africa, over the years — and I've been there once — you can be in a very well-to-do neighborhood in South Africa and moments later be in an underdeveloped or underprivileged neighborhood — the shanty towns that we've seen in the past coming out of apartheid," he said. "There are a lot of different areas … slightly off the beaten path, and you can find yourself in a situation that's gonna potentially cause some harm to you and your family."

Tom Hatley, pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church, told Fox News' Madison Scarpino that Sullivan was in a prayer meeting Thursday when "somebody came in, and then others followed him, and they asked for him by name and then, and long story short, they took him at gunpoint."

"It was something that we all knew could happen there, but we always hoped and prayed that it would not," Hatley said.

AMERICAN MISSIONARY COUPLE KILLED IN HAITI, AGENCY SAYS

He added that Fellowship Baptist leaders "expected Josh to be returned that Thursday night, and when he was not, we hoped that he would be returned that Friday morning. But things have just not worked out that way."

Sullivan remains "cool and calm" and is "handling" the situation, Hatley said.

In a live discussion posted by Sullivan's home church in Tennessee, Fellowship Baptist Church, four months ago, Sullivan and his wife recounted stories of being robbed in South Africa. They have spent a total of six years in the country and planted a new church in Motherwell in 2021.

"Robbing is a very common occurrence. It’s super common," Sullivan said in the video.

His wife then recounted a time when she was robbed of a new iPhone.

"The crime doesn’t stem from gangs. There’s gangs…but that’s not where the crime stems from," she told the church, adding that many locals "can’t put food on the table."

"They’re really just looking for money to live off of," she said.

McDonald noted that "a little bit of money in certain areas can be a lot of money" in others.

"Maybe this is something that's going on quite heavily in that area, and there may be other kidnappings down the road from these gangs. … It'll be interesting to see how the South African authorities want to handle this," he said. "It's never good when anybody's kidnapped. It's even worse when missionaries from other countries are kidnapped."

Sullivan's mother, Tonya Morton Rinker, described Sullivan's "humor and wit" as a "blessing."

"[H]e’s always ready with a joke, and forever seeking to make people laugh," she said in a statement. "He's an exceptional father, husband, and son, embodying kindness, strength and generosity. He has a servants heart, a kind compassionate spirit and is filled with selflessness. He has a burden for lost souls and has devoted his life to serving God in South Africa. I pray for his safe return, filled with faith and assurance."

Missionary Mark Coffey described Sullivan in a Facebook post as "a kind, big-hearted, gentle giant."

"Originally from Maryville, Tennessee, Josh is 34 years old and a member of Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, where Pastor Tom Hatley is his pastor," Coffey said. "Growing up, Josh developed a deep love for sports and was a standout football player at Maryville High School, where he was part of three state championship teams. That same passion and discipline now fuel his heart for missions and ministry. Josh and his wife, Meagan, first came to South Africa in 2015 for a six-month internship as part of their Bible training."

Coffey continued: "It was during this time that the Lord began to stir their hearts specifically for the Xhosa people. They returned in 2018 as full-time church planting missionaries, determined to share the Gospel and see lives changed. Josh committed himself to two years of language school and became fluent in Xhosa so he could preach, disciple, and minister more effectively. That dedication led to the planting of Fellowship Baptist Church in the township of Motherwell—a community that has become home to their hearts."

The Sullivans have also taken in two Xhosa children to raise along with their own children.

#nunyas news

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