#secure log access

[virtualizationhowto]

Synology Logging: Easily View Synology NAS Logs

Synology Logging: Easily View Synology NAS Logs @vexpert #vmwarecommunities #homelab #SynologyNASLogging, #SynologyLogCenterGuide, #AccessingSystemLogs, #NASTroubleshooting, #SecureLogAccess, #SynologySupportServices, #LogGenerationTechniques

Logging is a critical aspect of monitoring and troubleshooting any device or software application. If you are running a Synology NAS in your environment, logging helps monitor activities, troubleshoot, and ensure optimal operation. Synology Logging is found throughout a Synology NAS system. Administrators can review and access logs on a Synology system for various purposes, including monitoring,…

[attila-werther]

thought too much about the q + mallory + bond costume choices and what it says about everyone's character and their relationship to the world around them, so I started thinking about the IT/opsec/cyber security side of the universe based on what we've seen and now I'm worried about like. the banks.

[infranthrax]

🚫 please be advised. 🚫

any ageless and or otherwise minor blog will be blocked if i see it interacting with a post that contains nsfw content. i am taking this seriously and i am checking my notifications frequently. this is not a hostile act or one out of malice. this is to ensure to myself that my new content is not being curated into the audiences of those that don’t need to see it. this measure may be a bit rigid, but i would like to reassure you that this is not out of hostile intent. this is a security measure. please put your ages in your bios! this helps me gauge my audience better as i create content that aligns more so with mature audiences. thank you for understanding. ❤️

[keykidpilipili]

I hope Instagram combusts into garbage ashes

[luulapants]

If anyone has taken their eyes off what's happening to federal workers in the US right now, here's some highlights that we're hearing from our comrades across the government who have not yet been fired:

In one building (hosting multiple agencies), the locks on the bathroom were changed so employees no longer have any access to a bathroom during the workday. People are peeing in trash cans.

Elsewhere, multiple agencies have reported that hand soap is no longer being supplied in the bathrooms.

Toilet paper supplies have not been adjusted to meet the needs of a vastly increased number of in-office employees.

Employee-owned coffee and coffee makers have been stolen or thrown away without notice (it was already illegal for taxpayer dollars to be spent on supplying federal employees with amenities like coffee, so many offices have coffee supplied by pooled employee funds).

Meanwhile, many offices don't even have potable drinking water (recurrent legionella outbreaks), so employees have to bring their own water from home.

Despite an explosion in the number of workers in offices, cleaning budgets have been slashed and many offices are not being cleaned regularly enough to remain sanitary. Pests like roaches and rats are a problem.

The firings continue, legal and illegal. Entire programs are being cut. Managers have no idea when they might lose staff. Employees are getting fired at 6pm on a weekend or finding out when they're unable to log into their computer or when they receive a shipping label in the mail to return their equipment.

Through all of this, the DOGE employees in federal workplaces are enjoying incredible and expensive luxury: AI-powered sleep pods, entire dormitories so they can live in federal buildings, nurseries for their children on site, free food and beverages, laundry services, and who knows what else. They have special security to restrict access to their areas of the buildings, including armed guards.

And I'm not just saying this to lament how bad it is for federal workers. I'm saying this because, as workers are reporting this to one another, the response is, inevitably: "This is illegal." "Yes, but who would I report it to? OPM? They're a DOGE puppet. OSHA? They've cut OSHA. The Inspectors General? Cut. The NLRB? Cut. My union? No longer recognized."

There is no one left to enforce these laws, so taking away access to basic sanitation is now effectively legal. They are doing this to federal workers, who historically have been some of the best-protected workers in the country. They are doing this specifically because it demonstrates to the public sector that it is now legal to do these things to their own workers.

[quijotesca]

Blew off steam by calling Apple support about the account someone set up with my old email address.

I tried contacting them online a while ago and was told I'd have to call. It didn't seem like an important task because I the only indication that anyone had registered an account was the fact that I kept getting password reset emails, so obviously, no one was logging into it. But I figured that I'd call today because I thought I'd feel better if I tried to get something done. I've chatted with enough people about shit like this that I doubted it could get too heated.

It's an old account that was never properly verified and has never been logged into. Apparently, one could set up an account like that a long time ago, but it wouldn't work now. I could reset the password, but wasn't able to log in because I couldn't answer or reset the security questions.

And then I was told that my email account was probably compromised. When I asked why, I was told that it simply must be compromised simply because someone else knew the address. Uh, what? The Apple account was never verified, so that doesn't indicate that anyone ever accessed my actual email account.

I had to once explain that I deal with shit like this a lot because the address in question's just a Swahili word. (I'm pretty sure that I said that already) And even if it wasn't, there are all kinds of other reasons someone could've entered a wrong email address that don't point to the account being compromised.

Anyway, somehow, this is complicated enough they won't get back to me until Monday. Weird.

[dailyfinancial]

Did You Know? Your WhatsApp Could Be Accessed from Multiple Devices

“Worried about unauthorized access to your WhatsApp? Learn how to check for suspicious activity, log out from all devices, and secure your account with our 2023 guide. Protect your privacy with expert tips on WhatsApp security, two-step verification, and more. Stay safe online!” With over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms. However, its widespread…

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

Cybercriminals are abusing Google’s infrastructure, creating emails that appear to come from Google in order to persuade people into handing over their Google account credentials. This attack, first flagged by Nick Johnson, the lead developer of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), a blockchain equivalent of the popular internet naming convention known as the Domain Name System (DNS). Nick received a very official looking security alert about a subpoena allegedly issued to Google by law enforcement to information contained in Nick’s Google account. A URL in the email pointed Nick to a sites.google.com page that looked like an exact copy of the official Google support portal.

As a computer savvy person, Nick spotted that the official site should have been hosted on accounts.google.com and not sites.google.com. The difference is that anyone with a Google account can create a website on sites.google.com. And that is exactly what the cybercriminals did. Attackers increasingly use Google Sites to host phishing pages because the domain appears trustworthy to most users and can bypass many security filters. One of those filters is DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), an email authentication protocol that allows the sending server to attach a digital signature to an email. If the target clicked either “Upload additional documents” or “View case”, they were redirected to an exact copy of the Google sign-in page designed to steal their login credentials. Your Google credentials are coveted prey, because they give access to core Google services like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, Google Maps, Google Play, and YouTube, but also any third-party apps and services you have chosen to log in with your Google account. The signs to recognize this scam are the pages hosted at sites.google.com which should have been support.google.com and accounts.google.com and the sender address in the email header. Although it was signed by accounts.google.com, it was emailed by another address. If a person had all these accounts compromised in one go, this could easily lead to identity theft.

How to avoid scams like this

Don’t follow links in unsolicited emails or on unexpected websites.

Carefully look at the email headers when you receive an unexpected mail.

Verify the legitimacy of such emails through another, independent method.

Don’t use your Google account (or Facebook for that matter) to log in at other sites and services. Instead create an account on the service itself.

Technical details Analyzing the URL used in the attack on Nick, (https://sites.google.com[/]u/17918456/d/1W4M_jFajsC8YKeRJn6tt_b1Ja9Puh6_v/edit) where /u/17918456/ is a user or account identifier and /d/1W4M_jFajsC8YKeRJn6tt_b1Ja9Puh6_v/ identifies the exact page, the /edit part stands out like a sore thumb. DKIM-signed messages keep the signature during replays as long as the body remains unchanged. So if a malicious actor gets access to a previously legitimate DKIM-signed email, they can resend that exact message at any time, and it will still pass authentication. So, what the cybercriminals did was: Set up a Gmail account starting with me@ so the visible email would look as if it was addressed to “me.” Register an OAuth app and set the app name to match the phishing link Grant the OAuth app access to their Google account which triggers a legitimate security warning from no-reply@accounts.google.com This alert has a valid DKIM signature, with the content of the phishing email embedded in the body as the app name. Forward the message untouched which keeps the DKIM signature valid. Creating the application containing the entire text of the phishing message for its name, and preparing the landing page and fake login site may seem a lot of work. But once the criminals have completed the initial work, the procedure is easy enough to repeat once a page gets reported, which is not easy on sites.google.com. Nick submitted a bug report to Google about this. Google originally closed the report as ‘Working as Intended,’ but later Google got back to him and said it had reconsidered the matter and it will fix the OAuth bug.

[ploverbear]

its so fucked up that an email service can just like go offline and barr me access from like. everything i need to have access to with it

[senaiorathi]

Fuck, I am bad at cross-posting. Shit, I am super bad at using my preferred platform.

[europalocks-blog]

Convenience

Keyless Entry: smart lock eliminates the need for physical keys. You can unlock door with a smartphone app, a key fob, or even through biometric methods like fingerprints.

Remote Access: many smart locks allow you to unlock your door remotely, which is useful if you need to grant access to someone while you’re away.

Enhanced Security

Access Logs: Smart locks can provide detailed logs of who entered and when, adding an extra layer of monitoring and control.

Temporary access codes: you can create temporary or one-time access codes for guest’s service providers or other, ensuring that only authorized individuals can enter.

Integration with smart home systems

Automation: smart locks can integrate with home automation systems, allowing for seamless control along with other smart devices

Voice control: many smart locks are compatible with voice assistant like amazon alexa, google assistant enabling hands-free operation.

Improved Accessibility

For Those with Mobility issues: smart locks can be easier to operate for people with disabilities or mobility issues, as they often offer touchless or simplified access method.

No more Lockouts: with keyless entry the chances of locking out are significantly reduced, which is especially helpful in busy or stressful situations.

Durability and reliability:

Weather Resistant: many smart locks are designed or withstands various weather condition, making them suitable for external doors,

Battery Backup: most smart locks are battery operated with a backup power source, ensuring they remain functional even during power outages.

Ease of Management

Centralized control: if you have multiple smart devices, managing them through a single app can streamlined operations and make home management more efficient.

Auto Lock Feature: Some smart locks come with auto-lock functions that ensure the door locks automatically after a set period, enhancing security.

Customizable Access Options

Personalization: Users can set different levels of access for family members, friends or service providers and easily modify or revoke permission as needed.

Is it worth the investment?

Initial Cost: smart locks typically have a higher upfront cost compared to traditional locks; however, this cost may be offset by the convenience and security features they provide.

Ongoing costs: some smart locks may require subscription fees for advanced features or cloud services, so it’s important to factor in these potential ongoing expenses.

Technology Dependence: Relying on technology means you’ll need to stay updated on software updates and ensure your devices are compatible with your smart lock.

Overall if you value convenience enhanced security and integration with smart home systems a smart lock can be a worthwhile investment. It’s important to assess your specific needs and budget to determine if the benefits align with your lifestyle and preferences.

To know more about the electronics locks: https://www.europalocks.com/electronic-locks

#smartlock #smartdoorlocks #electronicdoorlocks #smartlocksforhome #smarthomedoorlock #elock #bestdigitallock #digitallockformaindoor #digitaldoorlocksforhome #keylesssmartlock #smartfingerprintdoorlock #smarthouselock #electronicdoorlockwithremotecontrol #smartlockformaindoor #digitalhomelocks #digitalsmartdoorlock #electronicdoorlockwithremote #digitaldoorlockprice #smartmaindoorlock #bestdigitallockformaindoor #maindoorsmartlock #electronicdoorlockprice #smartdoorlockprice #electroniclocksformaindoor #smartdigitaldoorlocks #smartlockondoor #wifismartlock

[acercrea]

I don’t see that anyone answered your question, so I’m going to. A physical mfa token is usually a small device with a screen like a calculator screen that has a button on it and pushing the button generates a code that you put in wherever is prompting for that code. You can typically only have the physical token tied to one log in, so when I worked as a bank employee I had 3 tokens I kept in my locked desk drawer for 3 different services I needed to log into, including the program we used to send wire transfers.

Physical tokens are both more secure because they can only access one thing, but if you don’t have that token you will not be getting into whatever it is attached to and can be expensive to replace if you lose it entirely. It is not something I would recommend to anyone who doesn’t require a background check to do their job as they can be far less convenient because they are so secure.

I would instead recommend a productivity app to you if you are getting distracted by other apps when you try to access your Authenticator app.

I'm not the most security savvy but two-factor authentication makes me deeply suspicious. Is it actually more secure or is it just annoying? Especially the ones that send a code to your phone that pops up in your notifications.

It is genuinely, massively, TREMENDOUSLY more secure to use 2FA/MFA than to not use it.

One of our clients is currently under attack by a group that appears to be using credential stuffing; they are making educated guesses about the accounts they're trying to lot into based on common factors showing up in the credentials in years of pastes and breaches and leaks. Like, let's say it's a professional arborist's guild and their domain is arborist.tree and they've had three hundred members who have had their credentials compromised in the last ten years and the people looking at all the passwords associated with arborist.tree noticed that the words "arboreal" and "conifer" and "leaf" and "branch" show up over and over and over again in the passwords for the members of the professional arborist's guild.

So they can make an educated guess for how to log in to accounts belonging to the tree-loving tree lover's club, combine that with the list of legitimate emails, and go to town.

And they are in fact going to town. We're getting between 1000 and 4000 login attempts per hour. It's been happening for a couple weeks.

And every single one of those attempts is failing - in spite of some pretty poor password practices that believe me, I have been doing some talking about - as a result of having MFA enforced for the entire group. They all use an app that is synced to their individual accounts with a mobile device, except that sometimes you have trouble getting a code when you're up in a tree so some of them have physical MFA tokens.

People try to sign into my tumblr sometimes. To those people I say: lol, good luck, I couldn't guess my own password with a gun to my head. But if I *did* have some password that was, like "tiny-bastard-is#1" they would also need access to my email address because I've got MFA set up on tumblr. And to THAT I say: lol, good luck, it's complex passwords and MFA all the way down.

Of the types of MFA that most people will run across, the most secure to least secure hierarchy goes physical token>app based one-time-passwords>tie between email and SMS. Email and SMS are less preferred because email is relatively easy to capture and open in transit and cellphone SIMs can be cloned to capture your text messages. But if you are using email or SMS for your authentication you are still miles and miles and miles ahead of people who are not using any kind of authentication.

MFA is, in fact, so effective that I only advise people to turn it on if they are 100% sure that they will be able to access the account if they lose access to the device that had the authenticator on it. You usually can do this by saving a collection of recovery codes someplace safe (I recommend doing this in the secure notes section of your password manager on the entry for the site in question - if this is not a feature that your password manager has, I recommend that you get a better password manager, and the password manager I recommend is bitwarden).

A couple weeks ago I needed to get into a work account that I had created in 2019. In 2022, my boss had completely taken me off of managing that service and had his own account, so I deleted it from my authenticator. Then in 2024 my boss sold the business but didn't provide MFA for a ton of the accounts we've got. I was able to get back into my account because five years earlier I had taken a photo of the ten security codes from the company and saved them in a folder on my desktop called "work recovery codes." If you are going to use MFA, it is VITALLY IMPORTANT that you save recovery codes for the accounts you're authenticating someplace that you'll be able to find them, because MFA is so secure that the biggest problem with it is locking people out of their accounts.

In any kind of business context, I think MFA should be mandatory. No question.

For personal accounts, I think you should be pointed and cautious where you apply it, and always leave yourself another way in. There are SO MANY stories about people having their phones wiped or stolen or destroyed and losing MFA with the device because they didn't have a backup of the app or hadn't properly transferred it to a new device.

But it's also important to note that MFA is not a "fix all security forever" thing - I've talked about session hijacking here and the way you most often see MFA defeated is by tricking someone into logging in to a portal that gives them access to your cookies. This is usually done by phishing and sending someone a link to a fake portal.

That is YET ANOTHER reason that you should be using a good password manager that allows you to set the base domain for the password you're using so that you can be sure you're not logging in to a faked portal. If your password manager doesn't have that feature (setting the domain where you can log in to the base domain) then I recommend that you get a better password manager (get bitwarden.)

In 2020 my terrible boss wanted me to write him a book about tech that he could have run off at a vanity press and could give to prospect customers as a business card. That was a terrible idea, but I worked on the book anyway and started writing it as a book about security for nontechnical people. I started out with a very simple statement:

If every one of our customers did what we recommend in the first four chapters of this book (make good backups, use a password manager and complex unique passwords, enable MFA, and learn how to avoid phishing), we would go out of business, because supporting problems that come from those four things is about 90-95% of our work.

So yes, absolutely, please use MFA. BUT! Save your recovery codes.

[sam120684]

[a-soft-fluffy-girl]

TL;DR: Steam just made library sharing so much fucking easier and so much fucking better. Instead of login-trading, it's just a simple goddamn invite.

Read this. Really. It's a good read. Because it shows that, full-stop, Valve isn't just doubling down on their stance to make sure that people can and should be able to share their copies of digital goods as easily as they can physical ones, but they're making it better and easier than ever.

But you know how Steam allowed you to, with either friends or family, link accounts with another person to be able to establish an ability to share game libraries with one another? The general gist of Steam Family Sharing was that, with a limit of five people plus you (six in total) on a limit of ten computers total could share account access to willingly mix your libraries. You could play theirs. They could play yours.

This was a huge boon. It was meant to emulate sharing a physical copy of a game. A way to allow children to play games their parents or siblings had bought without having to fork over double the cash to buy it a second game. But it had some major limitations and drawbacks, and was archaic to use.

If a person did not share the same computer, you had to manually log into that computer to give it and the accounts on it access. This wouldn't be a problem if both accounts were used on the same computer, but many households (and astronomically more family and friend groups) had multiple computers, all used by different people.

If that computer, at any point, was hard reset to any point before the sharing occurred, you lost access. And had to do the whole process again. This was also an issue with computer transfers. The whole kit and kaboodle needed to be redone on upgrades. On top of that, the old computer is now just dead weight that you may not realize you have to manually revoke access to.

Putting your account information on another person's computer opens up security issues. They could, intentionally or accidentally, land themselves on your account if the login information was stored. Which could easily lead to purchases or bans you did not want to happen.

If anyone was, at any point, playing any game on their own library, you had no access to their games. Even if it was a totally different game, you had to wait your turn as if waiting for their computer to be freed up to sit at. (Admittedly this is kind of like the "mom said it's my turn on the xbox" meme, but hey, kinda archaic.)

You could not choose whose library you accessed a game from. Not at all. It always prioritized the first library it gained access from, DLC access and multiplayer be damned. If another friend you were accepting games from had more DLC? Too bad.

And yet here we are. Steam Families Beta fixes EVERYTHING about the above issues. By just going through Settings > Interface > client Beta Participation and clicking onto Steam Families Beta? You get:

No more login sharing. No more computer links. You can now choose which person's library you borrowed from. And you can play any other game from someone's library, even while they're in-game. It just needs to be a different game than what they're playing.

Pick five people. Invite them to your family. And now everyone has access to everyone's library. My goddamn library went from 150-ish to almost a goddamn thousand in ten minutes of setup.

Account sharing and password sharing are dirty words that "lose" billions of dollars. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Max. They aren't game storefronts, but they still allow you to access massive libraries and scream like you murdered their firstborns for daring to share your password with your mother after you moved out.

Microsoft tried pushing to demonize and undercut used games sales and borrowed copies of physical games. Remember the first attempt to reveal the Xbox One? People forget, but these vultures tried to make an always online console that checked to see if you were the account that owned the game, even if you had a physical disc, and prevent access to the disc's contents if you weren't the original downloader.

Valve walked the fuck up. Valve tapped the mic. And Valve dropped the fucking thing right onto the ground with one feature's revamp.

About the only issues I can see with this are twofold:

If someone sharing your library gets banned from a game's servers... so do you. No one else in the family does, but the both of you do. This is... rather unpleasant, because banhammers can be dropped quite frequently by mistake. I'd urge Valve to rethink this one, but I see the logic: don't cheat and effectively bite the hand feeding you. Still making me side-eye that, though.

If you leave a family you've joined? You have to wait a YEAR to join a new one. It's to prevent people form jumping ship to another group and screwing over who's in the former one in the process, but a YEAR? OUCH.

Problems aside, though... it's probably the biggest fucking power move I have ever seen a media distributor make in the current economic climate. It's the kind of thing that would let so many new games be available in a way that's easier than ever. Just a few clicks to send or accept an invite, and bam. Permanent access to dozens or even hundreds of new games with so much more freedom than earlier drafts of the system.

It's the kind of thing that slaps you in the face with positivity after so many Ls from the games and media industries. And I'm all the fuck for a W like this.

[woniwontons]

dead end - CHAPTER ONE

bob reynolds x therapist!reader

summary: after being assigned to monitor bob reynolds’ recovery inside the new avengers tower, you try to keep your fears hidden. but between quiet training sessions and unsettling therapy logs, you start to realize he’s watching you more than he should—and that something inside him never stops whispering.

w.c: 4.7K

warnings: psychological thriller, inaccurately depicted mental illness, emotional manipulation (by void), nightmares, slow burn, possessive themes, combat violence, unreliable realities, hallucinations, this one is gonna be slow-paced but i promise it'll be worth it !!

chapter nav: one | two | three | four | five | six

⋆｡°✩⋆｡°｡⋆

You hadn’t meant to walk by that room on the way to your new office.

The reassignment orders had come through two days ago. They were sparse in detail, not revealing much of anything except for your new title. Your supervisor’s tone had said more than the written briefing did: this wasn’t just a regular high-risk case.

But you were used to things being complicated.

You’d spent the last year assisting with the Winter Soldier’s support team. Trauma. Suppressed memories. You’d seen a lot.

Regardless, this felt much, much different.

The hallways were sterile and silent, a little too quiet for a facility that usually buzzed with motion, even at night. The lights overhead were dimmed, flickering slightly. The ventilation hummed as the cool breeze of the AC grazed your skin.

You weren’t nervous until the echo of your footsteps felt louder.

Until you realized how alone you were.

And that’s when you felt the presence of the door.

You couldn’t seem to take another step past it.

It was identical to every other reinforced room on this level. It had smooth steel edges, embedded biometric locks, a security panel with soft pulsing light. But the air around it felt different.

The lights above the door flickered once, a small stutter, bringing your attention back. It was hard to keep your focus here. The electronic warning panel on the door read:

SECURITY – MONITORED ACCESS ONLY

There were no guards to hold back your curiosity.

No surveillance drones stationed nearby. No tech crew logged into the panel. No footsteps echoing behind you.

Just the door.

And the feeling of a lingering presence.

You didn’t hear anything at first, but your body reacted before your mind could. The tiny hairs on your arms lifted. Your throat felt dry. Your heartbeat stuttered into a rhythm that had nothing to do with physical effort and everything to do with instinct.

Something was awake, and suddenly the temperature felt so cold.

You swallowed hard and told yourself to keep walking. You had no reason to stop—no reason to look at the blackened glass viewport in the center of the door. But your eyes betrayed you.

Your gaze shifted.

And for just a second, you thought you saw movement. Not a figure. Not a face. Just a shape—tall, slow-moving, silhouetted against the low light inside. Pacing.

Then gone.

You weren’t sure why your hand rose to hover near the panel. Maybe curiosity. Maybe something stranger. Like gravity.

The moment your fingers drifted too close, your ears rang with a sudden sharp buzz — not from the tower, but from somewhere inside your skull.

Like the nothingness had warned you against it.

And you heeded it thankfully before quickly walking away.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why we decided to pull you from your old team,” said the lead psychologist, Dr. Harding, as she passed you a tablet with a heavily redacted profile. Her overall expression was neutral, but her eyes watched your reaction carefully. “As you know, we are always working with clients of highest risk imaginable. Every single one of our clients has the ability to harm us, even accidentally.”

You nodded slowly, eyes scanning the document. Most of it was blacked out, save for one name: Reynolds, Robert. The next line simply read: Subject has powers which cannot be contained. No confirmed usage since initial incident.

“Still,” she added, lowering her voice, “this one is… different.”

You swallowed, saying nothing.

“He’s not like Barnes. Barnes needed discipline. A task and sense of righteous purpose. Bob—” she exhaled through her nose, “—Bob needs connection and reassurance. Very few people last more than a week with him. Not because he’s violent. But because he’s… persistent.”

You glanced up.

She elaborated, tone cautious. “Emotionally. He fixates. He doesn’t always understand boundaries. And lately, he’s been quieter. Withdrawn. Like he knows people are afraid of him, and he’s trying not to be a burden.”

The memory of the door flickering last night, of the movement behind the glass, returned like ice down your spine. You wondered how safe you were right now, only a few feet away from him again.

“He asked to speak to me this morning, and I'd like you to join our discussion,” Dr. Harding said.

Your stomach dropped. "Of course."

S̵͇̺̿̓E̷̜̼͂͋S̵̘̙͊̐S̶̟͂̾Ị̶̂̔O̵̟̪͝Ň̶̫̼͌ ̵̣̽Ö̴̰̪́N̴͇̺͑E̶͚͋́

The observation room was dim, washed in blue light, and clinically empty. You stood behind a panel of reinforced glass, your clipboard clutched tightly in your hand. Through the window, Bob sat on the edge of a training mat in the adjacent room, one hand resting loosely on his knee, the other curled into a fist against his temple. Not tense—just relaxed.

He looked up as you entered. Slowly.

You tried not to flinch.

No glowing eyes. No flickering shadows. Just a man with tousled hair and the kind of silence that made your skin itch.

He didn’t speak right away. He didn’t need to.

He was studying you.

As if last night hadn’t been a hallucination. As if he knew you’d been outside his door. You weren't sure why that came to your mind.

You lifted your chin. “Dr. Harding had to take a call, but she told me to go ahead and introduce myself. You can call me Miss Y/L/N.”

His lips parted slightly, voice low and almost too soft to hear.

“Not a doctor yet, huh? So you're not here to shrink me?”

You blinked. “Not like that, Mr. Reynolds. I'm Harding's assistant, and I haven't finished my doctorate to be a psychologist yet.”

“Oh, that sounds nice,” he said before cocking his head in your direction curiously. “You know, I can tell when someone’s afraid of me. You really don't have to be, I don't feel the void when I'm awake anymore.”

There was no accusation in his tone. Just a resigned kind of sadness that made your throat feel tight, from a voice that sounded so kind and soft-spoken.

You cleared your throat, "When you're awake?"

"You can call me Robert or Bob if it makes you more comfortable," he exclaimed sweetly, avoiding the question as he stood up from the training mat.

You nodded once, slowly. “Bob, then.”

He smiled, but not fully. It was small, crooked, and didn’t quite reach his eyes. Nervous.

“I don’t get many visitors,” he said, stepping forward slowly. He didn’t want to startle you. “Most people watch me from the other side of the glass and call it a day.”

You didn’t move, but your grip on the clipboard tightened.

Bob stopped a respectful distance away, reading you like you were a kind of file that he hadn’t been allowed to open yet.

“I felt you yesterday,” he added, softer this time in a near whisper. “Outside my door.”

Your chest tightened.

“I wasn't watching like a creep or anything,” he said quickly, lifting his hands as if to prove he meant no harm. “I just… noticed.”

You glanced down at your notes, trying to redirect. “Well, that’s not unusual. The facility sensors are—”

“No,” he interrupted, still gentle. “Not like that. I felt you. You have a very specific… shadow.”

You looked up. “Shadow?”

He seemed suddenly shy, almost sheepish. “Or your heartbeat. It skipped before the lights flickered. I don’t know why.”

You stared at him, trying to decide whether he meant it as a threat. But his expression didn’t match the words. He looked... guilty.

“Sorry,” he added quickly, his voice barely above a whisper. “That was too much. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m trying to get better at this.”

“At what?” you asked, a little too quietly.

“Being normal when I'm not,” he replied. “Being someone people don’t get so nervous around. I understand why though, it's not easy to relive your fears if I happen to lose control.”

The room was still. The fluorescent lights hummed softly above your head, grounding the moment in silent reality.

You wanted to say something clinical. Professional. Something to remind yourself that you were here to observe, not to sympathize.

Instead, your voice came out a little rough.

“You said you don’t feel the Void when you’re awake.”

He paused.

“I said I don’t think I feel it,” he clarified. “But sometimes... it’s hard to tell where it ends and I begin. Especially when I’m alone and sleepy.”

You nodded. Your notes stayed untouched.

There was something haunting in how easily he said that, like he’d rehearsed it with the expectation that you'd ask.

“Do you dream, Miss Y/L/N?” he asked suddenly.

You hesitated. “I—yes. Everyone does.”

He smiled faintly. “I hope they're good dreams.”

You didn’t ask him to explain.

You didn’t want to know, and this introduction was turning into something that Dr. Harding should be present for to take notes.

Before he could elaborate, the door behind you hissed open.

You turned instinctively, grateful for the interruption.

Though your pulse hadn’t yet steadied.

Dr. Harding stepped inside, her heels clicking softly against the tile. She carried a tablet tucked under her arm and wore the same unreadable expression you'd come to recognize as her baseline.

“Apologies,” she said briskly, offering Bob a polite nod. “I was on with our night crew about your activity from last night’s scan. There was a minor spike around midnight.”

You felt your stomach twist.

Bob didn’t look at her. His eyes remained on you now.

Dr. Harding continued, unaware—or maybe perfectly aware—of the undercurrent in the room. “Miss Y/L/N, you can remain if you’d like, but I’ll be taking over from here. I imagine you’ve had enough of the angst for your first morning.”

You opened your mouth to respond, but Bob beat you to it.

“She was doing just fine,” he said quietly, seemingly unoffended by the rude quip towards him.

Harding gave him a pointed look. “That’s not your call to make, Bob.”

He lowered his gaze, jaw shifting slightly. “Sorry.”

Your throat tightened.

“I’ll stay,” you said, surprising even yourself.

Both heads turned toward you.

“I want to observe how you conduct a formal session,” you added quickly, recovering your tone. “It’s useful for my training.”

Harding studied you for a moment, then gave a small nod. “Very well. Pull a chair.”

You moved to the far corner of the room, placing your clipboard in your lap, keeping your pen steady even though your thoughts weren’t. You couldn't understand what his presence was doing to you.

As Dr. Harding took the lead, asking standard check-in questions, you watched Bob answer. Politely, softly, or sometimes with a joke that didn't quite land right.

But once or twice, when Harding looked down at her notes, he looked at you instead.

Not like he expected anything back.

But like you were the only person in the room.

And that scared you more than anything he’d said so far.

By the end of the session, your clipboard was so full of notes you weren’t entirely sure you remembered writing. Your hand had moved automatically—recording answers, glancing at biometric readouts—but your attention had never really left him.

Bob’s answers were consistent. Measured. Gentle. He didn’t dodge questions, but he didn’t volunteer much either. You could tell Harding was used to this rhythm between them—asking just enough, pulling back when the silences grew too long.

Still, it didn’t feel like a cold interview. Especially with the strange nature of the therapy, testing Bob's self-control in combat simulations with the trainers.

When Harding eventually closed the session, Bob nodded respectfully and returned to the center of the room to begin his cooldown exercises. You saw the tension creep back into him as he struggled to focus on the trainer's guided stretches.

You stood, unsure whether to stay longer or let yourself out.

Harding approached you instead. “How are you feeling?” she asked, lowering her voice just enough that Bob wouldn’t hear.

You hesitated. “I’m not sure yet.”

“That’s good,” she replied, and for once, her tone softened. “It means you’re paying attention.”

You nodded.

“He doesn’t show it, but he’s… more aware of people’s emotional responses than most patients. He reads faces better than some of the staff. If he keeps looking at you, it’s because you’re giving him something he’s not used to.”

You didn’t ask what that was. You had a sinking feeling you already knew.

Before you could say anything else, Bob’s voice broke the silence behind you.

“Miss Y/L/N?”

You whipped around quickly, surprised by the proximity of his voice.

He stood there with a small towel draped over his shoulder, hair slightly damp from exertion, eyes unreadable. There was nothing threatening about his posture—if anything, he looked uncertain, almost guilty for speaking. It was getting harder to imagine such an anxious, lanky man being so capable of such darkness.

“Can I ask you something before you go?”

Harding arched an eyebrow, but didn’t stop you.

You took a step closer, keeping the chair between you.

“…Yes?”

He glanced toward Harding, then back at you. “Last night. In the hall. Why did you stop?”

The question landed like a stone dropped in still water.

You blinked. “I didn’t. I—kept walking.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“But you hesitated.”

You couldn’t lie, at least not convincingly. “…I was curious.”

“That’s not why,” he said. Then added, “But I liked that you did.”

Your pulse stuttered. He said it so plainly, but he was right. You didn’t respond.

Harding saved you from having to. “Bob, let’s not cross wires on what professional curiosity means, alright?”

He lowered his gaze again, the way a child might after being gently scolded. “Right. Of course. Sorry.”

You left a moment later, your steps quicker than before, the clipboard clutched tighter in your hands.

You told yourself you weren’t going to think about it again.

But you already knew you would.

Your room in the tower was small but fit the essence of your character, a carefully controlled space designed to make you feel comfortable after everything you hear about.

You dropped your clipboard on the desk and laid at the edge of the bed, chin in your hands, staring at the wall like it might blink back at you.

He’d said he liked that you stopped.

You should’ve brushed it off. Chalked it up to a badly timed word vomit. But the way he’d said it, like it mattered more than anything he’d told Dr. Harding, was still echoing in your head.

You ran a hand down your face and pulled your notebook out of the drawer, flipping to a blank page.

You stopped writing.

None of it was what you actually wanted to say.

I liked that you did.

I liked that you

I liked that

I liked

You stared at the sentences, then scribbled them out.

A chill passed over your shoulders as the temperature in the room dropped. The light in your room dimmed slightly as the automatic system shifted to evening mode.

You turned, instinctively to the door.

Nothing was there. But the air felt wrong. Off. Like someone else had entered the room.

You stood and walked slowly to the door, double-checked the lock even though it always auto-engaged. Then you turned on the small lamp by the bedside and laid down again—this time, facing the door instead of the wall. You decided that was enough notes for the day, and besides, your eyes suddenly felt... so heavy.

You must’ve fallen asleep without realizing it.

One moment, you were sitting on top of your sheets with the lamp still on, notebook untouched. The next, you were standing in a hallway that didn’t belong to the tower.

It was too familiar.

The walls were beige, slightly stained from years of dust spreading in through the corners. The carpet flattened in the center from pacing. The smell of coffee and pasta gone cold. Your old apartment.

From grad school.

You froze.

The silence pressed against your eardrums. The kind of silence that happens after a scream you didn’t realize left your throat.

Your body moved forward before you could stop it. One step, then two. The door to your old bedroom was left ajar for you, calling you towards it.

The light inside flickered.

You pushed it open — and there she was.

You.

Sitting on the floor in sweats and a threadbare hoodie. Surrounded by boxes of your mother's things and jewelry. Her hands trembled as she unscrewed the child-proof cap on a small orange bottle.

Your throat closed.

You knew this moment.

You remembered it with sickening clarity. It was the week after your mother’s funeral, two projects overdue, and every message you received asking if you were okay. You hated that back then because you clearly were not.

You watched as your past self tipped the bottle into her palm.

One pill. Then two.

Then a handful.

You stepped into the room, breath shaking. "Stop," you whispered at first, feeling choked up before getting louder, "Stop doing that!"

She didn’t even look at you.

You tried to speak. Tried to reach her. But your mouth didn’t work now. The room seemed to stretch as you lunged forward, trying to stop yourself as you swallowed them all.

Then came the shift.

The lighting changed.

The edges of the room warped, like someone was folding the memory in half.

A shadow spread behind your past self like a creeping blush, infecting the light cast upon your old bedroom before it consumed the entire room.

You bolted upright in bed with a ragged gasp, your heart pounding in your ears. The lamp was still on. The room untouched.

But a page from your notebook flipped, revealing a message written in shadow that disappeared as soon as you saw it.

"I'm sorry."

The morning light in the cafeteria was too bright.

It filtered in through the tower’s east-facing windows in thick beams, warming the tile floors and casting long shadows across the tables. Everything felt too clean to you now. Like it had been scrubbed of anything human overnight.

You walked in with your head down, trying not to look like you’d barely slept. Your stomach wasn’t ready for food, but the routine mattered. If you didn’t eat, someone would notice.

The dream still clung to your skin like a film. You hadn’t written about it in your journal like you normally would. You hadn’t even tried. It felt too... personal. Too invasive. Not just because it had shown you something from your past, but because something else had watched it with you.

Played the scene in your nightmare like watching a movie.

You joined the breakfast line, going through the motions. Coffee. Scrambled eggs. A slice of toast you knew you wouldn’t finish.

Then a voice behind you broke the silence.

“Didn’t sleep, huh?”

You turned, already bracing yourself.

Bucky stood a few feet away in dark sweats and a henley shirt, a tray in his hand and a knowing look on his face. His hair was damp. He’d probably just taken a shower, and his expression was casually examining your attire.

He wasn’t the kind of person who pried. But he wasn’t blind either.

You gave him the best version of a smile you could muster. “How could you tell?”

He tilted his head, gesturing loosely to your sweatpants. "You usually come down to breakfast with clothes a lot more put together than that.”

You frowned slightly. “That obvious?”

He shrugged. “It happens."

You didn’t answer as you stepped out of the line and moved toward the far table near the window. Bucky followed, uninvited but not unwelcome. He set his tray down across from you and sat down without a word.

For a moment, you both just existed, eating in silence and letting the normalcy of the room stitch itself into your day.

“So. I heard you met our new friend, he's a character isn't he?"

You looked up slowly. “I observed my first session yesterday,” you said evenly. “With Dr. Harding.”

He nodded. “And?”

You hesitated. Your first instinct was to abide by the rules, remembering that although the Avengers were held to a different legal standard, you didn't want to break any laws by telling Bucky any details.

But Bucky was one of the few people in this building who understood what it meant to be haunted by something. Something you didn’t always control or understand.

So instead, you said the partial truth.

“He’s not what I expected.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Better or worse?”

You stirred your coffee. “Both.”

That made him smile faintly. “Yeah. That’s about right.”

You didn’t elaborate. You didn’t tell him about the way Bob looked at you. About the dream. About the notebook.

Bucky leaned back in his chair, arms crossed loosely.

“Just be careful,” he said after a pause. “You’re sharp. You care. That’s why they assigned you to him, they can't depend on just Yelena to keep him in check. He has to control it on his own, and you were the best when it came to helping me.”

You met his eyes, thankful that he said something so reassuringly kind to you. "I will. I really appreciate that."

S̴̫͒Ẹ̸̀͝S̶̺̐S̴̡̄̋I̶̮̱̒O̵̹͕͆͘N̴̯͔̓̌ ̶̯̈́̏Ṭ̴̓W̵̜͉̔̚O̵̲̠͆̉

The observation room was colder today, or maybe you were just wearing a thinner cardigan than last time.

You stood behind the glass, arms crossed over your clipboard, watching as Bob went through his pre-session movements in the adjoining chamber. He moved slower than yesterday, but it was less like he was conserving power, and more like he didn’t want to be there.

You couldn’t blame him.

You weren’t sure you did either.

Dr. Harding was absent this time entirely. Something about a meeting with Valentina, leaving you in charge of monitoring brain activity and logging interactions. She’d called it a “minor check-in.”

You weren’t sure how minor anything could be when your entire nervous system still buzzed from a horrible dream that didn’t feel like something you would have thought of yesterday.

Bob glanced up, eyes finding you instantly.

You tried not to react. You tried to stay clinical, but something must’ve shown on your face.

He turned fully toward the glass. Then spoke, “You look tired.”

Your stomach dropped before you stepped forward and pressed the button. “Good morning to you too,” you said, voice sharper than you intended.

Bob gave you a sheepish smile, slighting his head down as he rubbed the back of his neck. “That wasn’t an insult, I swear. Just an observation.”

You cleared your throat. “Let’s begin, Mr. Reynolds. I’d like to start with baseline questions.”

“You can call me Bob, remember?” he said again, stepping closer to the partition. “I think we already passed the awkward part.”

You hesitated, then nodded.

“…Bob.”

He seemed pleased by that, smiling contently at your choice.

“Your brain activity is all registering as normal to what we already know,” you said, eyes flicking to the monitor, though you barely registered the data. “Any disturbances overnight?”

He tilted his head, pity filling his eyes. “Not mine.”

Your pen paused over the page.

“Sorry?”

Bob shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t dream. But you did.”

You slowly set the clipboard down.

“And it showed me things,” he continued, voice quieter now. “Things I don’t think were mine to see.”

You didn’t speak. You didn’t have to because you already knew what he meant.

Bob’s eyes searched your face with a softness that made your skin crawl—not because it was threatening, but because it wasn’t.

It was empathy.

“I’m truly sorry,” he said gently. “I didn’t mean to look. I tried to pull away.”

Something inside you twisted.

You’d seen your past. The pills. But the idea that he had seen it too, that something had trespassed that memory, made the fear settle deeper in your bones.

Still, your voice stayed calm.

“It was a dream,” you said. “It wasn't real."

Bob nodded slowly. “If that helps.”

You swallowed, “We should continue on with the questions.”

He took a step back, nodding. But his voice was softer now. Warmer. Like he couldn’t help it. “Even when you’re scared of me, you still stick around, Y/N.”

You didn’t answer, even if you liked the way your name fell off his lips.

And that silence hung heavier than anything else between you.

You picked the clipboard back up with deliberate calm, flipping to the prompts given to you by the doctor. “Let’s return to the baseline survey,” you said. “Emotional range, since yesterday. Any new feelings of irritability, hopelessness, or intrusive thought patterns?”

Bob didn’t answer right away.

You glanced up, irritated now that he was being so difficult with you today.

He was watching you again. Like you were more interesting than the questions. Like maybe the answers had never really mattered in the first place if you were just standing right there.

“Does wanting something you shouldn’t have count as an intrusive thought?” he asked softly.

Your heart clenched at the response, your brows knitting together in confusion at his answer.

“That’s not—” you started, faltering. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I figured,” he said gently. “But it’s still true.”

You held your pen tightly, suddenly too aware of how small the space between you really was. Even with reinforced glass and locked doors. Too aware of how direct his gaze felt, like he was peeling you back layer by layer.

You hated how warm your skin felt beneath your collar as the blush creeped up your neck.

“You honestly don’t know me that well, Mr. Reynolds.” you said, firmer this time. “You’re—misinterpreting this dynamic.”

“Maybe,” he replied, tilting his head. “But I don’t think I’m imagining the way your heartbeat changes when you talk to me.”

You clenched your jaw. “Let’s focus on you, please. Have you experienced any auditory hallucinations or non-verbal episodes of dissociation?”

He was silent for a moment. “Yes.”

You blinked at him and gestured for him to continue.

“Since this morning,” he continued. “But it isn't from me. It was more like... pressure. I felt something pulling at the edges of me after you walked in. The noise get quieter when you're around.”

You lowered the clipboard in surprise. “So you're saying I triggered it?”

“I’m saying you created a feeling I haven't felt in a long time.” His voice was soft. “Just not in the way you think.”

You stared at him, your chest tight. “I wasn’t trying to do anything,” you muttered.

“I know,” he said.

The air in the room shifted. Your breath caught in your throat before you could stop it. "I think we'd be better off ending this session here, I don't believe we can lead an appropriate session on our own."

You rose from your chair and gathered your things with more force than necessary, keeping your eyes down. But you could feel his gaze on you the entire time. Constant. Present.

“I understand,” he said finally, voice low and hurt. “It’s easier when I make people uncomfortable. At least then I know what to expect.”

You paused. The words were spoken without bitterness. Just quiet resignation. Like he wasn’t trying to manipulate you, just telling you the truth of how people left him.

You looked up, just for a moment, feeling cut by his words.

His expression hadn’t changed. Still soft. Still open, in a way that made you want to retreat behind a wall you hadn’t needed in years.

“I’ll schedule the next session with Dr. Harding,” you said, your voice forced into a flat monotone. “And I’ll make a note that you responded better to a format with both of us present.”

He gave a slow nod.

“Whatever helps you feel safer.”

The phrase stopped you at the door. You glanced back, brows pulling together. “That’s not what this is about, Bob.”

But he only smiled faintly, like he didn’t believe you, but didn’t need to say so. You left without another word, your footsteps echoing far too loudly down the hall.

Behind you, Bob remained seated on the mat, eyes still on the door long after it closed. His hands rested in his lap, unmoving, like he’d been carved from stillness.

And somewhere inside him, in the cold, dark cavity of his chest, the Void stirred.

thank you for reading ~

please leave a like/reblog if you enjoyed, and drop a comment to be tagged in chapter two! things are about to get really weird...

LINK FOR PART TWO

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