#California process servers

[no-name-publishing]

Kill the Director by erikschampion

My part in a gift exchange taking place in Renegade's California satellite server. This was a lot of fun and very experimental for me. My idea was to pursue something a little grunge, a little smudged, to go along with the early 2000s Brit punk vibe that the fic gets its title from. Spray paint, screen printing, some blood, some tears, and it's to its new home. Glamour and process shots under the cut!

The yellow base is a plain linen bookcloth that's been coated with acrylic. The pink accent color is a combo of spray paint and smudges of pink Golden Fluid acrylic paint. The endbands are sewn with Gutermann polyester florescent sewing thread, and the endpages are my attempt at an italian vein marble with pink, yellow, and black paint.

Some shots of the typesetting, and a video showing the book as a whole. The fic has some exposition written in a script format, so I typeset that to reflect. And it's always fun to include text message bubbles and emails and stuff.

The graphics on the case were done with screens and waterbased screen printing ink! I went through a few iterations and even tried to set my kitchen on fire in order to get it right before settling on the screens. I'm very very pleased with the result. (The fire was from my DIY attempt at making my own gelli plate with gelatin, glycerin, and rubbing alcohol. All the instructions were telling me to be careful about how many bubbles I was stirring into the mix but I was like, it'll be fine. I'll use my heatgun or a lighter to pop whatever bubbles are there. It works with resin so it should here. Yall alcohol is flammable lmao. Why did I do that. I put my lighter up to those bubbles and lost my vision for a moment at the flash of light. I've never done something that stupid)

The freshly marbled paper hanging up to dry in my kitchen; the screen for the front of the case; my practice piece including the spine design; the case drying on my shower rod (along with some pieces of fabric for another project lol). I have fewer process pictures than I thought lol.

The graphics on the front and back were also partially designed by hand. I printed images of the characters then cut them vertically, and alternated the slices. Copied that, then did the same horizontally. Scanned that, and then did some cleaning up digitally on my computer. Here's some shots of the steps and the pieces themselves.

The third picture shows my first attempt, as I actually did this process twice. The first time I didn't feel like the first pass was pixelated enough, so I cut it again both vertically and horizontally and alternated them once more. This was a mess, and ultimately I didn't like the finished result. Round two (second image) was the final round, and what wound up using in the project instead.

Thanks for looking!

[probablyasocialecologist]

The cryptocurrency hype of the past few years already started to introduce people to these problems. Despite producing little to no tangible benefits — unless you count letting rich people make money off speculation and scams — Bitcoin consumed more energy and computer parts than medium-sized countries and crypto miners were so voracious in their energy needs that they turned shuttered coal plants back on to process crypto transactions. Even after the crypto crash, Bitcoin still used more energy in 2023 than the previous year, but some miners found a new opportunity: powering the generative AI boom. The AI tools being pushed by OpenAI, Google, and their peers are far more energy intensive than the products they aim to displace. In the days after ChatGPT’s release in late 2022, Sam Altman called its computing costs “eye-watering” and several months later Alphabet chairman John Hennessy told Reuters that getting a response from Google’s chatbot would “likely cost 10 times more” than using its traditional search tools. Instead of reassessing their plans, major tech companies are doubling down and planning a massive expansion of the computing infrastructure available to them.

[...]

As the cloud took over, more computation fell into the hands of a few dominant tech companies and they made the move to what are called “hyperscale” data centers. Those facilities are usually over 10,000 square feet and hold more than 5,000 servers, but those being built today are often many times larger than that. For example, Amazon says its data centers can have up to 50,000 servers each, while Microsoft has a campus of 20 data centers in Quincy, Washington with almost half a million servers between them. By the end of 2020, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google controlled half of the 597 hyperscale data centres in the world, but what’s even more concerning is how rapidly that number is increasing. By mid-2023, the number of hyperscale data centres stood at 926 and Synergy Research estimates another 427 will be built in the coming years to keep up with the expansion of resource-intensive AI tools and other demands for increased computation. All those data centers come with an increasingly significant resource footprint. A recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the global energy demand of data centers, AI, and crypto could more than double by 2026, increasing from 460 TWh in 2022 to up to 1,050 TWh — similar to the energy consumption of Japan. Meanwhile, in the United States, data center energy use could triple from 130 TWh in 2022 — about 2.5% of the country’s total — to 390 TWh by the end of the decade, accounting for a 7.5% share of total energy, according to Boston Consulting Group. That’s nothing compared to Ireland, where the IEA estimates data centers, AI, and crypto could consume a third of all power in 2026, up from 17% in 2022. Water use is going up too: Google reported it used 5.2 billion gallons of water in its data centers in 2022, a jump of 20% from the previous year, while Microsoft used 1.7 billion gallons in its data centers, an increase of 34% on 2021. University of California, Riverside researcher Shaolei Ren told Fortune, “It’s fair to say the majority of the growth is due to AI.” But these are not just large abstract numbers; they have real material consequences that a lot of communities are getting fed up with just as the companies seek to massively expand their data center footprints.

9 February 2024

[mariacallous]

The flood of text messages started arriving early this year. They carried a similar thrust: The United States Postal Service is trying to deliver a parcel but needs more details, including your credit card number. All the messages pointed to websites where the information could be entered.

Like thousands of others, security researcher Grant Smith got a USPS package message. Many of his friends had received similar texts. A couple of days earlier, he says, his wife called him and said she’d inadvertently entered her credit card details. With little going on after the holidays, Smith began a mission: Hunt down the scammers.

Over the course of a few weeks, Smith tracked down the Chinese-language group behind the mass-smishing campaign, hacked into their systems, collected evidence of their activities, and started a months-long process of gathering victim data and handing it to USPS investigators and a US bank, allowing people’s cards to be protected from fraudulent activity.

In total, people entered 438,669 unique credit cards into 1,133 domains used by the scammers, says Smith, a red team engineer and the founder of offensive cybersecurity firm Phantom Security. Many people entered multiple cards each, he says. More than 50,000 email addresses were logged, including hundreds of university email addresses and 20 military or government email domains. The victims were spread across the United States—California, the state with the most, had 141,000 entries—with more than 1.2 million pieces of information being entered in total.

“This shows the mass scale of the problem,” says Smith, who is presenting his findings at the Defcon security conference this weekend and previously published some details of the work. But the scale of the scamming is likely to be much larger, Smith says, as he didn't manage to track down all of the fraudulent USPS websites, and the group behind the efforts have been linked to similar scams in at least half a dozen other countries.

Gone Phishing

Chasing down the group didn’t take long. Smith started investigating the smishing text message he received by the dodgy domain and intercepting traffic from the website. A path traversal vulnerability, coupled with a SQL injection, he says, allowed him to grab files from the website’s server and read data from the database being used.

“I thought there was just one standard site that they all were using,” Smith says. Diving into the data from that initial website, he found the name of a Chinese-language Telegram account and channel, which appeared to be selling a smishing kit scammers could use to easily create the fake websites.

Details of the Telegram username were previously published by cybersecurity company Resecurity, which calls the scammers the “Smishing Triad.” The company had previously found a separate SQL injection in the group’s smishing kits and provided Smith with a copy of the tool. (The Smishing Triad had fixed the previous flaw and started encrypting data, Smith says.)

“I started reverse engineering it, figured out how everything was being encrypted, how I could decrypt it, and figured out a more efficient way of grabbing the data,” Smith says. From there, he says, he was able to break administrator passwords on the websites—many had not been changed from the default “admin” username and “123456” password—and began pulling victim data from the network of smishing websites in a faster, automated way.

Smith trawled Reddit and other online sources to find people reporting the scam and the URLs being used, which he subsequently published. Some of the websites running the Smishing Triad’s tools were collecting thousands of people’s personal information per day, Smith says. Among other details, the websites would request people’s names, addresses, payment card numbers and security codes, phone numbers, dates of birth, and bank websites. This level of information can allow a scammer to make purchases online with the credit cards. Smith says his wife quickly canceled her card, but noticed that the scammers still tried to use it, for instance, with Uber. The researcher says he would collect data from a website and return to it a few hours later, only to find hundreds of new records.

The researcher provided the details to a bank that had contacted him after seeing his initial blog posts. Smith declined to name the bank. He also reported the incidents to the FBI and later provided information to the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).

Michael Martel, a national public information officer at USPIS, says the information provided by Smith is being used as part of an ongoing USPIS investigation and that the agency cannot comment on specific details. “USPIS is already actively pursuing this type of information to protect the American people, identify victims, and serve justice to the malicious actors behind it all,” Martel says, pointing to advice on spotting and reporting USPS package delivery scams.

Initially, Smith says, he was wary about going public with his research, as this kind of “hacking back” falls into a “gray area”: It may be breaking the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a sweeping US computer-crimes law, but he’s doing it against foreign-based criminals. Something he is definitely not the first, or last, to do.

Multiple Prongs

The Smishing Triad is prolific. In addition to using postal services as lures for their scams, the Chinese-speaking group has targeted online banking, ecommerce, and payment systems in the US, Europe, India, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates, according to Shawn Loveland, the chief operating officer of Resecurity, which has consistently tracked the group.

The Smishing Triad sends between 50,000 and 100,000 messages daily, according to Resecurity’s research. Its scam messages are sent using SMS or Apple’s iMessage, the latter being encrypted. Loveland says the Triad is made up of two distinct groups—a small team led by one Chinese hacker that creates, sells, and maintains the smishing kit, and a second group of people who buy the scamming tool. (A backdoor in the kit allows the creator to access details of administrators using the kit, Smith says in a blog post.)

“It’s very mature,” Loveland says of the operation. The group sells the scamming kit on Telegram for a $200-per month subscription, and this can be customized to show the organization the scammers are trying to impersonate. “The main actor is Chinese communicating in the Chinese language,” Loveland says. “They do not appear to be hacking Chinese language websites or users.” (In communications with the main contact on Telegram, the individual claimed to Smith that they were a computer science student.)

The relatively low monthly subscription cost for the smishing kit means it’s highly likely, with the number of credit card details scammers are collecting, that those using it are making significant profits. Loveland says using text messages that immediately send people a notification is a more direct and more successful way of phishing, compared to sending emails with malicious links included.

As a result, smishing has been on the rise in recent years. But there are some tell-tale signs: If you receive a message from a number or email you don't recognize, if it contains a link to click on, or if it wants you to do something urgently, you should be suspicious.

[voidsdamned]

Wicked Natures - The Ghoul/OC (female character)

Summary: Bounty hunters are frequent customers at Mulholland's Saloon, and Rue's taken quite a shine to one gunslinger in particular: a cantankerous, old Ghoul in a tattered duster. Witness her unabashedly lust after him in all his irradiated glory (as we are all currently doing), as well as navigate the precarious relationship she unfortunately has with local law enforcement.

Minors, do not interact.

Content Warnings: first chapter is honestly mild, but there are mentions of prostitution, drinking, lots of swearing, a bit of filthy talk, threats of violence, and an incredibly horny-on-main protagonist.

I've been sharing this from Ao3, but I wanted to try this format to see if more people vibed with it.

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One: Wicked Natures

Nestled somewhere along the old California-Nevada state line –and just a tick away from Arizona– is the moderately successful settlement of Dust, so named because it’s plain dusty and dry and really not much happens. Which is some kind of miracle, not only because it’s along a trade route (and has a large, fresh, ground water source), but because usually something is always going on in the Wasteland (different factions blowing each other to shite) or some group of na’er-do-well’s are trying to stir up trouble (raiders, slavers, Fiends, supermutants, chicken fuckers, desperados, or anyone who’s just generally having a bad day).

That’s not to say Dust doesn’t have its problems. Rue’s chased off several perverts with bestial inclinations before –back when her Pa and she had a ranch with several dozen head of brahmin– and they’ve had their encounters with Wasteland scum. Fiends come drifting through now and again, making everyone uncomfortable and wary of their backsides. The occasional bad egg blows into town, pickpocketing and shit-stirring, but they don’t stay. Raiders used to be a much bigger problem before the current sheriff, Deck Craven, moved on into town with his large posse, big guns, and pockets full of caps. Which, now that Rue thinks on it, he might have just been an incredibly enterprising raider who knew how to market himself.

Point is, he took over Dust and rules with a firm fist. Things stay quiet, because he likes them quiet. And he ensures that quiet by hunting down troublemakers with his posse and offering bounties on jackasses a bit too troublesome for him to go after himself. Deck’s real generous with those bounties, too, and so Dust sees a lot of foot traffic from bounty hunters. And they can be a mixed bag. The lone, quiet drifters. The arrogant pricks always running their mouths. The depraved murderers who found a way to make caps off their wicked natures.

Rue doesn’t mind the bounty hunters; in fact, she has a favourite among them: a Ghoul, who seems to be a mix of the three personalities she’s observed. He travels alone. A gunfight broke out in the streets once, and Rue could hear him goading opponents with quips, sass, and smarm. He’s mean and venomous as a nightstalker –brutal as one, too. And Rue… Rue’s an idiot that became just a wee bit enamored with him after he blasted a hole through the guts of a guy who kept cupping her ass while she was just trying to do her goddamn job as a server at Mulholland’s Saloon.

He hadn’t done it for her. Nah, the handsy motherfucker was the Ghoul’s target, but still. It was the most romantic thing to have happened to Rue in all her life, and she realizes how sad that is.

She tried to thank him. He said he didn’t do shit for her. She realized that, but he’d inadvertently helped her out in the process. So, she was thankful. He’d snorted –the sound dismissive and uninterested– taken a knee, pulled out a wicked knife, and proceeded to free the head of the pervert’s bleeding body in record time.

“If you’re so thankful, you can clean up my mess.”

And he’d left her there, blood drenched and with a body at her feet (one she did clean up, along with all that crimson). She felt like she was on fire.

Since that day well over a year ago, she’s been working on the Ghoul. Bounties bring him to Dust often, and alcoholism brings him to Mulholland’s for at least one drink before he hits the road. Rue always makes sure she’s the one who tends to him (none of the other girls want to), not minding that for the longest he vastly ignored her presence or that he never said, “Thank you.” Or that when he did acknowledge her, it was usually with a snide, “They still lettin’ you work here?”

With people like the Ghoul, relationships are built in agonizingly slow increments (and usually by wearing them down until they just get tired –which Rue is really good at). Rue doesn’t mind putting in the time. She thinks the Ghoul is fun and doesn’t have much else to do.

Her efforts have slowly begun to bear fruit. Lately when the Ghoul comes to visit, his comments aren’t quite as snide, and maybe when he snorts at her or what she’s saying it’s because he finds her somewhat amusing. When his mood is right, she can even get him talking about what he’s been up to –where he’s been. Those occasions thrill her to no end. He’s been all around, seen nasty and crazy shit. Rue’s not from Dust, but she’s never really left Dust, and she just eats his tales up.

Honestly, she wants to eat him up (not in the Fiend way), not really feeling alive until he’s moseying into Mulholland’s. She watches out the saloon’s busted and cracked windows every day for him to come breezing in.

“Head out your ass, Rue. Business is pickin’ up.”

Rue, leaned heavy into the bar with her chin propped on her fist, jumps back into the present. Grey eyes tick away from the nearest window –all that hazy orange-grey and nothingness outside– and to the barkeep, Hal, who watches her tiredly. He jerks his thumb towards a table of four that had just sat themselves down in her section. She recognizes all four: the squared-away, smiling face of Bo Fortenberry; the short, wiry frame of Len Thomas; the sharp, grimy edges of Gen Guthrie; and the complete, total roundness of Fat Patrick. The four look like they’ve come straight from the ranch they all work at, coated head-to-toe in a fine dusting of orange-grey with faces sun-reddened (and what is likely brahmin shit caked on their worn, working boots that she’ll have to clean up later).

Rue sighs, more at the state of them than their presence. The four of them are fine enough fellows, but she’s told them time and time again they ought to clean up a bit –at least kick the shit off their boots– before they step in anybody’s business. She shakes her head, smiling tiredly. She could remind them, but honestly, men never really listen.

“Two pitchers for me, Hal,” she bids of the barkeep, reaching below the splintering bar for four mugs. She takes them in one hand, and when Hal sets pitchers before her, she manages to take them in the other.

She pops over to their table, greeting them with a large smile and asking them how work had been today.

Bo Fortenberry makes a fart sound with his mouth as she sets a mug down before each of them. “Same as every other day. Too damn hot. Too damn dusty. Just enough caps to make it bearable.”

The three others agree with varied grunts and noises. Len Thomas asks, “Slow day, Rue?”

She nods as she places the pitchers. Bo goes after them immediately, pouring everyone a too-full glass. “First new table I’ve had in an hour, but it’ll get better now that everyone’s gettin’ off work.”

“They got that new girl comin’ in tonight?” Gen Guthrie queries.

“Tam? Yeah, but you’ll have to get in line, pal. She’s got a waitin’ list long as my arm.”

Gen clicks his tongue and shakes his head. His mug goes to his mouth for him to take a long, long draw.

“Y’know Adel will bump ya to the top of the list if ya grease her palms a bit.”

“Tired of greasin’ Adel’s palms,” he grumbles.

“Don’t know what else to tell ya. The only language she speaks is caps and whiskey.”

Agreements all around –along with a fair bit of eye rolling and a snort or two. Fat Patrick polishes off his mug. Bo pours him another; Fat Patrick just dumps it down his throat. “You ever think about makin’ the switch?” the round man asks, and Rue’s expert at keeping the grimace off her face. “You’d probably make a helluva lot more money bein’ a prostitute.”

Rue just keeps smiling that unreadable, unthinking smile that keeps her safe. “Y’know Deck wants you callin’ ‘em courtesans,” she gently chides. “And I dunno. I like doin’ just this. I make what I need, and I don’t gotta worry about if the person I’m fuckin’ washed their dick. We keep havin’ to put Lara on medicine ‘cause one of her regulars won’t wash his dick. Just don’t sound fun.”

Bo laughs as he sloppily pours another round for him and his friends, emptying one pitcher. Rue makes a sly gesture behind her back towards the bar for Hal to get two more pitchers ready. “Yeah, guess you’re right. The guy who stuck his prick in that dead gulper comes in here a lot, and I’ve heard him pesterin’ Adel ‘bout ya before.”

Rue makes an exaggerated gagging noise, even though it is disgusting enough to warrant the sounds she makes. Len can’t handle things like that and tells her to knock it off.

“He ever tell anyone why he did that shit?” Len asks around the rim of his mug.

“He said he thought the texture’d be fun,” Fat Patrick supplies, draining his freshly-poured mug in seconds and banging it on the table twice to be refilled. Bo obliges. “He never said what it felt like, though.”

“Naw, he told me it was like bubblegum,” Gen cuts in.

“Where would he have gotten enough gum to figure that out wi- wait, think he’s the reason why Shade and Sundries hasn’t had gum in months?” Rue poses. “Think he keeps like a wad of it all ready for him by his bed?”

Gen and Fat Patrick chuckle like teenage boys. Len looks disgusted. Bo nods thoughtfully. “Bet he does. Bet it’s all crusty and weird.”

Rue grins wider. “Bet it’s all oozy.”

“Shut the fuck up, Bo,” Len groans, genuinely looking green. “And don’t goad him, Rue.”

She only grins wider and winks. “I’ll getcha guys more beer.”

The whole table likes the sound of that, insisting she keep it coming for a bit.

Rue keeps the beer coming, fast becoming a whirlwind of excellent customer service as more and more people trickle into Mulholland’s. More ranch hands. Drifters. Caravaners. Bounty hunters. They fill up all the tables, and everyone wants something different. Everyone needs her attention –even tables that aren’t her own. They need more. They want to chat. They want her. And when someone makes that known, she always points them to the second floor where foot traffic is heavy and the sounds of headboards banging against the walls, hoots, hollers, moans, and rutting are just barely muffled by the jaunty music pouring from the old juke box.

It’s a mess, but it is one Rue knows well. She can navigate it. She can profit off it. Her pockets fast fill with caps, and as the night wears on, the saloon starts emptying out. Things get a bit quieter. She’s able to slow down, and though a break is nice, she likes to be busy. To run around like crazy. She keeps herself preoccupied by gathering up all the dirty mugs, tumblers, and shot glasses she can to take for washing and cleaning messes that aren’t hers to clean.

It is as Rue fills her serving tray with dirty mugs that she spies the saloon’s double doors swing open, parting for a man with a presence like a rare thunderstorm: dark, looming, and electric. She watches him cross the floor, tattered duster flapping at his heels as he swaggers up to his table –a dim, corner table not too far from the exit where one can watch the whole of the first floor. Doesn’t matter there’s a small group already sitting at it. He’s got a sawed-off shotgun in hand, and all he has to do is motion with it to get the party to move on. Of course, the men give him dirty, hostile looks, but his stare is meaner. His gun isn’t for show. He will drop a guy for something as petty as them being in his favourite chair.

The group relocates themselves, and the Ghoul makes himself comfy. He sits all spread out in his chair, posture open, lazy, and uncaring. The brim of his hat is dipped low, making the shadows of him deeper. And though Rue can’t see his eyes, she can feel them. She winks in his direction, scoops up her tray, and heads directly to the bar, setting down her load and asking Hal for a whiskey neat.

He gets it to her, and she makes her way to the Ghoul with perhaps the brightest smile she’s worn all day.

“Hey stranger,” she greets him, setting his drink before him. “Good to see ya.”

The Ghoul doesn’t greet her, doesn’t lift his head to meet her eyes. He only takes the whiskey, swirls it ‘round, and says, “Did I say I wanted whiskey?”

He’s got a mean drawl, one the other servers balk at. Hell, they balk at him in general. Rue’s the only one in the establishment not afraid to serve him, and they think she’s dumber than rocks for it.

Rue, unfazed, doesn’t miss a beat. In fact, she smiles wider, “You always want whiskey, and then bourbon. Ya end up askin’ for somethin’ with… olives? And then I tell ya I still don’t know what the fuck olives are. And, sweetie, I still don’t know what the fuck olives are.”

That gets a short, quiet laugh out of the Ghoul, and he drinks the whiskey down like water.

“Comin’ in from a successful hunt?” she ventures, attempting a conversation and hoping he’s in the mood for one.

The Ghoul dips his head. “Ugly fella outta New Reno.” He turns his empty glass in his hands and finally looks up at her, lets her see that radiation-warped face and hard, deep set, whiskey eyes. His gaze is expectant, she ought to know exactly what he wants. Rue does; she signals to the bar for another. “Good girl.”

She warms and successfully manages not to giggle. “Ever been to New Reno?”

He only offers a, “Passed through.”

Rue knows to drop it with an answer like that. He’s not interested in talking about it. “Already pop in to see Deck?”

The Ghoul nods.

“Ever figure what he does with all the heads you bring him?”

“Jars ‘em,” is the Ghoul’s simple answer. “Got himself a whole closet full of floatin’ heads and a chair sittin’ in the middle.”

“Ooh.” Rue smiles for a different reason now, wanting to do a little victory dance. She settles for a slight swaying from side-to-side as she taps her fingers delightedly together. “Always knew Deck was a weirdo.” She reaches into her skirt pocket, pulling out a full, fresh Vial. The Ghoul’s eyes are on it, firmly fastened, as she sets it on the table. “Appreciate the tidbit.”

The Ghoul pockets the Vial, shaking his head. “Always thinkin’ I’m doin’ somethin’ for you…. Only reason I know is ‘cause he wanted to be a show-off today.” He taps a finger on the table, impatient, before pointing to the bar. “Hop to it, sweetheart.”

She smiles sweetly at him. “Of course.”

And that is how the remainder of the night goes: Rue cleaning up and popping in on the Ghoul, bringing him drinks until Hal calls in his tab and shuts the bar down for the night. Though closed, the first floor doesn’t empty out completely. People still come and go from the second floor, and a few are passed out on the floor after imbibing a bit too much. The Ghoul remains in his seat, soaking in the dim-orange light of the saloon. He’ll head out when he’s good and ready –or when he’s tired of her pestering him, which Rue fully intends on doing.

She’s only half-serious when she sidles up alongside his table, leans into it, and asks, “Think I can be a bounty hunter with you?”

He spits on the ground just shy of her feet. “Nah.”

“Why?”

The Ghoul watches her for a long moment, as if he can’t tell if she’s being serious or not. “I work alone. You ain’t built for it.”

Rue waves that away. “Sure I am. I’ve killed like… three people, and I promise my shootin’s good. Pa was an ex-ranger. He taught me.”

The Ghoul doesn’t have any eyebrows, but the spot where his left one would be raises. “NCR?”

She nods.

“Huh.” He tips back in his seat, eyes staying on her as he gives her an appraising up-down that has her brain spinning until he shakes his head. “But that’s not enough. Dust is pretty cozy livin’ all things considered. You wouldn’t last out in the Wastes. And, full offense here, you don’t always seem like y’know what’s going on. I question how strong your grip on reality is whenever ya come up to talk to me.”

Rue’s unfazed. She’s been called an airhead in far meaner ways. “Believe it or not, you’re not the first person to say somethin’ like that to me. BUT, it’s not eve-.”

“Oh, no, pumpkin, I fully believe that.”

Rue only smiles. “I’m not half as dumb as people say I am, y’know.”

He snorts. “Don’t know that, and doubt it.”

She insists, “I’m tough.”

“Again, doubt it. …Whatcha wanna leave Dust for anyway? Seem to have it pretty good here.”

Rue almost frowns, almost scoffs. But she keeps herself in check, knowing that from the outside her lifestyle does probably look pretty damn lush. She’s got a roof over her head and a decent means of living, but the way things actually are, are seldom what they look like. Her last scraps of freedom are hanging by a wispy, frayed thread.

“I hate it here,” her voice is pitched low even though no one’s really around, and those that are, are either too twisted or conked out on the floor. “I always feel like I’m waitin’ on the other shoe to drop. I’m the only one not servin’ drinks and pussy, and I know that won’t last forever. And Deck won’t let me go anywhere else –everything has to be his way or he starts goin’ batshit. And runnin’…. I won’t get far. I don’t know what to do, other than scrape together whatever dirt I can. But I don't even know if that'll help me.”

“That sounds like your problem, darlin’.”

No pity. No nothing. Just a cold fact from the Ghoul.

A switch flips in Rue. She remembers what she’s supposed to be, and she remembers who he is. And she hadn’t meant for things to get so serious. She smiles brightly, easily agreeing. “It is.”

The Ghoul watches her for a moment, thoughtfulness crawling across his burn-scarred face. “That why you wanted to know ‘bout the heads?”

Rue inclines her head shortly.

“If I’d known that, I’d have asked for more Vials.”

She sifts through the caps in her skirt pockets, pulling out a few more. She offers them to him in her cupped hands. “Here. I keep ‘em just for you.”

The gunslinger’s chair comes back to ground with a bang, so loud in a saloon gone quiet. But no one rouses. No one peeks their head in. He plucks them from her hands one-by-one.

“So, that’s what your fascination with me’s about, hm? Think I’m your best bet?” he queries, clicking his tongue in disapproval as the Vials drop into his duster pocket. He smiles up at her, but if there’s amusement to it, it is of the dark sort. Mocking. “Hopin’ you can butter me up, and I’ll take pity on ya? Take you away?”

Rue shakes her head, a few loose curls tickling at her face and neck. “Not at all.”

He waits expectantly, grinning still, as if he’s excited to hear what bullshit might come out of her mouth.

She’s honest with him. “I think you’re pretty and wanna ride your face.”

Silence. The smile is gone, so is the amusement. Everything’s gone dark about him, and when he stands, he absolutely towers above her. He glowers, clearly trying to menace her, and the sawed-off shotgun he never truly puts away taps at her side.

And if the part of her brain that felt fear wasn’t the part that’s actually burnt-out, it might have her quaking in her boots.

“You’re a liar,” his voice is venomous. “And ya got a sick sense of humour. It’s that exact shit that makes people say you’re fucked in the head.”

Rue, staring up at him, shrugs helplessly and continues to smile. “Don’t really see why I’d lie ‘bout somethin’ like that. Not much point to it.”

The gun presses to her stomach, to the spot where he’d shot the guy accosting her so many months ago. She tells him, “You’d be doin’ me a favour.”

The gun drops; he takes a step back, the brim of his hat shading his face. “I ain’t in the business of doin’ anyone any favours.”

“I know. Not much money to be made in kindness.” She takes a small step towards him, angling her neck so she can peer up at him again. “Got a place to stay for the night, stranger?”

The Ghoul looks at her as if she’s stupid, but she sees his trigger finger twitch. His eyes narrow, looking her over, and she knows he’s considering her. And that’s all she wants. Just a little consideration. To know a bit of her is now wedged in his head.

Rue winks at him before turning on her heel and heading towards the bar where she grabs her bag from beneath it. When she turns, the Ghoul isn’t there, and the double doors are still swinging. She laughs to herself and shakes her head, making towards the doors herself to leave Mulholland’s behind for the night.

It’s cool outside. Breezy, dusty, and dark. Dust’s streets are near-empty, hosting only a few swaying figures headed home and stray dogs picking about. Rue reaches into her bag for a small knife, but leaves it when she notices another stray at the far end of the porch. She can’t see anything about his face, but she sees the two fingers that curl at her, beckoning for her to come.

A thrill goes through Rue. Delight and heat and a surge of satisfaction. She smiles genuinely at the Ghoul as she steps up beside him, joking, “So sweet of you to walk me home.”

She can see a bit of his face now, and he doesn’t appear the least bit amused as he rolls his eyes.

“Better not live far.”

“Ever been to the east side of town where that little house sits beneath the two oaks?”

He gives an aggravated, “That’s a mile out.”

“Yeah,” and Rue starts off into the night, not bothering to turn to see if he follows. “But I’m worth at least a mile.”

[noobsomeexagerjunk]

Aypiere and Quackity are talking!

Around 30-40 minutes in Aypierre's stream; some significant points:

Quackity is cleaning up the airplane debris and plans to build a structure there (a Mexican or a French one)

Aypierre suggests a replica of the Arc de Triomphe to fill in the space in the wall

Aypierre hands Quackity shit, to his delight

The two discuss the potentiality of Aypierre being a candidate

Quackity says he wants to hold back for the event

Aypierre believes he and the rest of the French members will be competitive about it

Quackity gives some reminders about the delivery of the manual

Quackity and Aypierre have some cultural exchanges. The constant protesting in France is real. They compare French and Mexican drinking behavior.

They begin talking about America and some cultural observations they have with it. Aypierre finds America very friendly.

Aypierre mentions his streaming schedule and kids! This reminded Quackity of dealing with Luzu's own schedule.

Quackity talked about a culture shock moment in Spain regarding the auto-ticketing of cars. He then proceeds to rant about America's car culture.

"Los Angeles is nothing like the movies,"

Quackity reminisces of his childhood visits to San Francisco

(Dang Aypierre has been to America that many times???)

Quackity proposes they go drinking together at some point

Quackity praises California weather

The two discuss being able to speak English for travel + the implications of accents

Quackity starts ranting about LA traffic

Quackity is shocked learn that one can take a 2 hour train ride from France to London

Quackity asks Aypierre to compare London to Paris—Aypierre thinks British girls are prettier but French food is better

They discuss American food. There are some good stuff but they note how processed it can be.

Quackity reminisces about Mexican food upon being asked about it by Aypierre

The two build dick statues out black wool (?) and white quartz (?)

Aypierre places down the Make Love, Not War picture he has, baffling Quackity

Quackity shows Aypierre pictures of his places/houses in the server

Aypierre has placed down an image of himself cooking

Quackity shows Aypierre a picture of his younger self

They discuss Andorra—Quackity shows Aypierre a picture of himself in Andorra

They are discussing towns with silly names, like Montcuq

Quackity is straight up showing Aypierre cursed pictures of himself

B O O B S

Aypierre dropped down a picture of beef (and I am now hungry it is almost my dinner time)

Quackity accidently poked his eye IRL

Quackity admits to having a phobia of airplane bathrooms

He drew in paint to help explain why

asskiss

Quackity, during a first class flight, held in his shit for 13 hours due to his fear of airplane bathrooms

"It was like an orgasm?" "Better than an orgasm!"

Quackity talks about roadtrip stopovers

Bad whispers to Aypierre if he could place a warp in his factory. Aypierre said yes!

(Quackity you gotta help unravel the biases Aypierre has gotten about Mexico my man just assumed kids do coke in the bathroom during recess) <- Quackity does this

(Yikes Q-man people take pictures in the bathroom like that???)

They are now talking about vulnerability in the act of defecation

Quackity starts praising toilets in Amsterdam

Between me and Quackity, one of us is wrong when it comes to pronouncing "bidet"

Eyy squatting toilets! (I encountered one of those during a trip to Beijing and I hated them so much god)

More is happening right now but I gotta stop liveblogging (Quackity is showing a picture of tacos!)

[dawnanddorisqna]

Hey, thanks for putting up an ask blog! Don't know if tumblr is the best place to put it for social media engagement, but then again Neil Gaiman seems to be enjoying himself so who am I to judge?

I have a whole bunch of questions, and I'm not sure if it'd be annoying to flood your inbox with them, so feel free to pick and choose any of these to reply.

Questions for Dawn: who would you consider to be the animated 'it' girl right now?

What do you think about the recent trend of 'fleshwashing' that Disney has been pushing when it comes to remakes? Is this part of a bias against toons when it comes to casting?

In your opinion, who do you think is the best 'old-school' toon who still actively performs? Questions for Doris: Has toontown managed to avoid the plague of gentrification that hit a lot of other older neighborhoods in LA?

Is there a union for animated actors? If there is, how effective is it in your opinion? Have things gotten better or worse for animated actors over the years?

Did you ever get to know your animator? If not, would you have wanted to know them?

We should probably get a reddit at some point. Everyone on tumblr has been amazing though. We do have an instagram, @dawn_doodle and @dorisdoodle_toon.

There's also a fanmade discord! One we need to check on more after we're done...preparing some new things.

Who do I think is the current it girl of animation? It changes so fast, but my vote right now is POMNI! Who doesn't feel like Pomni like daily? Also, indie!

Check back in a month when my answer may change again!

What do we think of all these live action remakes? I still don't mind them too much, but Avatar on netflix might be unnecessary. I'm starting to wear thin. Doris gave a rambling answer on this before and I don't think her opinion has changed.

Best old School toon still in business? I think we actually have an agreement on this one and that's this 2D Girl boss!

Was Toon town able to avoid any gentrification? Here's Doris with a history lesson:

As some people know, ToonTown was left to the toons, and that was great. We could vote for changes in the town and run it ourselves, but that didn't mean we were separate from California and certain laws. So it was devastating when it was decided that the land we lived on wasn't fully ours and the decision to build a freeway system was still being considered. This was in the 50s and I had already moved out of ToonTown, but I heard about the protests and letters written to Earl Warren.

None of it helped, and in 1956, Eisenhower signed the highway act and a freeway was constructed. So the town wasn't as saved as the movie "Who Frames Roger Rabbit" lets you believe.

Since the toons owned ToonTown, they couldn't just completely destroy it. We were just told to move. So the town is split up into districts. There's one near Disneyland, another a few streets from Universal. Always near studios. They like keeping an eye on their assets. So at least we got to keep the town in some way.

Is there a union for toons? There have been attempts. But in the end were considered intellectual property of the studios. fully owned and by contract from the moment the first line is sketched. A lot of older toons have a little more freedom from those contracts. By older, I'm talking Bugs Bunny and the Peanuts kids. That's starting to get harder though as studios are stating to hold a tighter grip on animation. It's less a creative thought process and more business. Doris says it's colder in a behind closed doors way. I say that cold is starting to leak into the outside. So yeah, no union, especially for newly drawn stars, and well...things aren't exactly getting better.

Did we get to know our creators?

Doris did!

We all do I guess while being drawn. but it's not as personal now. I was kinda made through a committee. So there are artists who really care and I would've wanted to get to know them, but there are also execs, studio owners, managers, all hovering around to check on their investment. And once approved, you are under studio control. It's nice if the artists can stick around at the studio, but most times they're laid off once the creation is done and they need to go work at another place. This goes into that whole colder thing. From what Doris has shown me, it was a little more fun before. Animators and toons would just hang out I guess.

They would even have fun with their voice actors.

Today, studios want big celebrities to give us our voices. So they usually come in to lay down the track and then leave with the paycheck. Not all though, I heard Jack Black like to see the characters he's given a voice too. It just doesn't happen often.

Sorry it took a while to get to your question! We're trying to get a few things going right now so our timing is way off.

Also, a list of questions is always good, keep em coming!

[cheesy09]

[CN] Kiro’s Habitat Date

🌸 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date that hasn't been released on the EN server yet! 🌸

Note: In order to fully enjoy and appreciate this date, please read the date's corresponding birthday prequel here. (And maybe even Fulfilling Date and its corresponding birthday prequel if you haven't already~)

MC: You’re saying that the boathouse won’t be able to make it to Loveland City today?

??: Sorry, but due to sudden bad weather and low visibility, the transport ship isn’t able to travel.

MC: But according to our agreement, the boathouse should have arrived a week ago, and you clearly stated a few days ago that it would be delayed until yesterday at the latest.

??: I’m truly sorry. The loss caused by the delayed will be compensated according to the contract.

MC: I’m not asking for compensation...

I took a deep breath with complicated emotions and spoke again with the last bit of hope.

MC: Anyway, the boathouse can’t be transported tonight, right?

??: Yes.

MC: ......

After confirming the final arrival time of the boathouse, I hung up the phone and stepped on the gas pedal with complete disappointment.

Kiro was currently directing a remake of a classic film, which coincidently coincided with his birthday. Considering the fact that he would be busy with filming, I had made a birthday plan for him one and a half month ago - 

Smuggle Kiro’s boathouse from California to Loveland City, and pick him up from set to celebrate his birthday at the boathouse in the port after work ended.

Originally, the transport ship would have arrived in Loveland City a week ago, but the transportation process had been delayed again and again... and even today, it was still “on the way”. 

Thinking back to how I mysteriously asked him to look forward to his birthday surprise tonight before he left for work this morning, I couldn’t help but sigh repeatedly, not wanting to lose the reigns on his birthday.

MC: I’ll have to make other arrangements...

I was thinking about which restaurant to book when the car’s phone rang again. I pressed answer and glanced at the name on the screen, and my nerves jumped.

Kiro: Beautiful lady who’s coming to visit the set~ have you set off yet? The crew’s about to take their lunch break.

The energetic voice immediately filled the entire vehicle, dispelling my bad mood a bit.

MC: I’ll be there in about ten minutes~

Kiro: Got’cha! Also, I want to tell you something--

Kiro: In order to reveal my evening birthday surprise earlier, my shooting today was very efficient.

My smile froze at the corner of my mouth for an instant, and when I hesitated to say something, I heard “Director Kiro” from the other end of the phone.

Kiro: I have to hang up first. Savin will pick you up at the entrance of the studio. See you!

The second after he hung up the phone, I let out a sigh of relief and secretly encouraged myself in my heart.

I’ve got to make a perfect remedy plan and not let him down!

[PART 2]

As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the studio, Savin greeted me.

Savin: MC, the crew’s birthday preparations are all ready. As expected of your ideas, the kid will definitely love it.

MC: That’s fine, but my surprise tonight has changed...

I forced a smile and complained to him about the boathouse transportation.

MC: I just booked a few restaurants for Plan B, and I’ll go check the restaurant layout in the afternoon. If Kiro asks at that time, I’ll have to trouble you to cover for me.

Savin agreed without hesitation, and I confirmed the restaurant reservations again before walking to the set.

-

The shooting location was located in a villa, and the spacious area was packed with filming equipment. Among the many figures, the eyes of Kiro, who was talking to others, met mine almost telepathically. His blue pupils lit up for a moment, and he glanced at his watch.

Kiro: It’s lunch break, let’s rest!

Seeing everyone leaving the room one after another, I deliberately cupped my fists and walked over with a smile.

MC: You’ve worked hard, Director Kiro.

Kiro followed my example and bowed.

Kiro: Not hard at all. Welcome, Big Producer, MC. Your presence here has filled this small studio with splendor.

MC: Pfft-

Seeing that I couldn’t help laughing, Kiro quietly grabbed my finger and squeezed it.

MC: This seems to be my first visit to “Director Kiro’s” class.

Kiro: Shall I show you around then? I promise there are many things you won’t see in other studios.

Seeing his high spirits, I clapped my hands and followed his footsteps.

MC: Then please lead the way, Director Kiro~

-

Kiro: ...This sandbag is our decompression artifact. We come her to ‘bangbang!’, throw punches when the pressure is too much.

Kiro: This is the ‘blind box’, which contains a lot of candies and notes with various small challenges, which is our favorite activity during the break!

Kiro: And this...

He gleefully introduced to me various novel things until he led me to an empty room.

-

Large tracts of sunlight passed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spread on the wooden floor, making it appear bright and comfortable.

Kiro: This is the highlight of this "set tour" - the performance training room for the cast and crew.

MC: Are you still doing actor training on the set?

Seeing me slightly surprised, Kiro seemed a little proud.

Kiro: Most of the crew are new actors. Training on set can not only allow them to effectively enter the performance state, but also relax and adjust the state when tired.

Kiro: You must remember that no matter what kind of work you do, your good condition comes first.

MC: [grinning] Being a member of your crew must be nice--

I felt sincerely. I walked in curiously and looked around, and found that there was only one high-end speaker in the entire room.

MC: It's so empty here. What kind of training are you doing?

Kiro: Many, including body movements and lines. But the most popular one is the imagination and sensitivity training.

Kiro: Do you still remember that I like to let myself go and do various imaginings during dance practice? That's a habit I retained because of this training.

MC: So that's it~ I thought acting classes were just about acting non-stop. I didn't expect such training.

Seeing my look of interest, he blinked.

Kiro: Want to try it?

Kiro: But first of all, taking one of my classes is very expensive.

MC: [teasing smile] Can a hot pot meal afford Director Kiro's class?

Kiro: A kiss from MC is enough.

Kiro: Close your eyes, focus on your breathing. Inhale, exhale... You are now in darkness and can only feel your own existence.

Following his words, I felt my heart slowly calm down.

Kiro: ...You see a bright light at the end of the darkness. Through the bright light, you come to a lush forest with colorful flowers blooming on the roadside. The fragrance of flowers and the warm sunshine make you feel comfortable. You continue walking deep into the forest and see your favorite person.

The corners of my mouth turned up unconsciously and I pictured that familiar figure in my mind. The golden sunshine outlined his delicate face, and his clear blue eyes were filled with bright colors.

The eyes in the picture were slightly bent, but the voice in my ears suddenly became happy.

Kiro: Question! Who did you see in your mind?

MC: Eh? Is there also a Q&A session?

Kiro: Hehe, I really can't fool Miss Chips.

I opened my eyes and saw Kiro with a successful smirk on his face. Just as I was about to joke with him, there was a sudden polite knock on the door.

??: Director, please take a look at this long shot.

A staff member pushed open the door a crack with unconcealed anticipation on his face.

Kiro: Right now?

Kiro slowly stood up in confusion.

Kiro: Strange, why are you working during lunch break today?

Staff member: Well... you did it in the past.

The other party's hesitant attitude moved my heart. I secretly glanced at my phone, and sure enough, I saw the text message Savin sent a minute ago.

Savin: The birthday celebrations are ready.

Kiro: ...All right. Miss Chips, I'm going to take a look. Just wait for me.

MC: I'll go with you!  

-{Cut to Studio}-

Without waiting for his reaction, I walked out of the room first and sat in front of the director's monitor as planned.

Kiro followed me with a face full of suspicion. When he saw everyone in the crew gathered there, he blinked even more doubtfully and slowly sat down next to me.

The black display screen in front of him immediately lit up, and a close-up of a cake appeared.

Then the scene gradually zoomed out, and a staff member entered the picture and made a big heart sign to the camera--

Staff member: Director Kiro, I wish you all the best~

Kiro's eyes immediately widened, and I continued to look at the screen with satisfaction.

The screen kept panning, and the crew members who came into the picture one after another performed cute poses and shouted their blessings to Kiro.

??: I wish Director Kiro will always be handsome!

??: Kiro, best wishes for you!

With a bright smile, I waited until the camera came in front of me and Kiro. I cleared my throat and solemnly turned to meet his eyes.

MC: Kiro, happy birthday!

[PART 3]

Kiro: I declare that this is the best gift I have received this year!

Kiro, after thanking everyone, he cut the cake and distributed it to the crew. When the crowd gradually dispersed, he stuffed a big mouthful of cake into my mouth while praising me.

Kiro: I can't even remember the last time I had a birthday on set. But what is certain is that this one is the most unforgettable one for me.

MC: So how did you celebrate your birthday on set?

Kiro: Just by eating cake and taking a photo~ After all, the crew had a packed schedule. Everything had to be kept simple, and occasionally, it'd even be missed.

MC: And the birthday?

The news that I saw on the internet the other day suddenly came to mind, and I nodded in understanding.

MC: I'll just say it. Some time ago, someone started spreading rumors online that you didn't celebrate your birthday on the set of "Three Kingdoms" because you were at odds with the crew.

Kiro: We were at odds??

Kiro opened his mouth wide, looking angry and dignified.

Kiro: The people on the "Three Kingdoms" crew were very kind to me! The seniors felt sorry for me for eating fat-reducing meals and often stuffed me with small deserts.

Kiro: And if they hadn't reminded me that day, I would have forgotten that I had a birthday. The director also gave me a special birthday gift.

MC: What did he give?

Kiro: I was still a newcomer at the time. After filming my scenes, I would go to a small corner where no one noticed and watch and learn. As a result, after I finished filming on my birthday, the director suddenly called me over--

Kiro crossed his legs and formed a deep "double eyelid" on his eyebrows.

Kiro: [In an exaggerated deep voice] "Is your life only about the studio?"

Kiro: "Don't hang around on the set, go celebrate your birthday. Eat a cake, make a wish, and meet your friends and family."

MC: So cool... so where did you go?

Kiro's expression paused almost imperceptibly, as if he went into a momentary trance.

The curve of his lips was still very moving, but his starry eyes flickered gently, as if he was quietly touching that past.

Then, he slowly leaned on my shoulder.

Kiro: I asked myself the same question at the time.

His eyes fell on the script in his hand, and his soft voice floated past my ears, like a cloud that didn't know its direction.

Kiro: I thought about it for a long time, but couldn't figure out the answer.

Kiro: So I just strolled along the street, passing by office buildings, parks, departments stores...

Kiro: Finally, I walked to a very busy street and sat down on a bench on the side of the road.

His tone became calmer and calmer, as if something very heavy had reappeared in its lightest form.

But my heart felt like it had been stabbed. At that time, Kiro had just returned to China, and as he was still unfamiliar with the place, he probably didn't have a lot of options to "have a good birthday".

I slipped my fingers between his and clasped his palm slowly and solemnly. Kiro raised his eyes and showed me a beautiful smile, as if relieved.

Kiro: I initially just wanted to take a break.

Kiro: But when I was sitting there, I saw many adults rushing back to their companies after eating, and children being picked up after school with big schoolbags on their backs...

Kiro: I watched them for a long time without realizing it.

No matter how relaxed his expression was, that lonely figure still appeared in front of me.

Unconsciously, there was a sourness at the tip of my nose. I shook his hand and deliberately relaxed my tone.

MC: Sounds like young Kiro was envious of how busy others were?

He also laughed when he heard this and nodded without concealment.

Kiro: I was very envious.

Kiro: I envied that they were spending another ordinary day, completing their menial tasks for the day in different places, and then going home to enjoy a warm meal.

Kiro: I was even more envious that they seemed to know exactly where they were going and what they were supposed to do.

He lowered his eyes again and his fine eyelashes cast a fine shadow on his cheeks, like an unsharpened blade, brushing across the tip of my heart.

Before I could say anything else, he had already raised his head and knitted his eyebrows together in an exaggerated manner, looking a little pitiful.

Kiro: Unlike me. I even took a sudden "short vacation" without a plan in mind, and could only eat the company's fat-reducing meals--

Kiro: Later, Savin found me and decided to give me a birthday present. I was even looking forward to a cake.

Kiro: As a result, that strict and stingy agent excused me on the grounds that I needed to control my weight while filming, and waited until filming was completed to treat me to a meal.

I was momentarily stunned and realized that he was deliberately trying to lighten the atmosphere, so I cooperated and helped him complain about Savin.

But after hearing Kiro's account of the past, an idea gradually emerged in my mind.

--Perhaps the best alternative was the birthday surprise I prepared for him this year.

[PART 4]

The lunch break ended quickly and Kiro got into shooting mode in full swing. While he wasn't paying attention, I quietly left the set.

When I returned, the entire sky was filled with darkness and there was a constant flow of traffic on the streets. It seemed that many people were rushing towards their homes.

There were only a few figures left in the villa, and everyone seemed to have called it a day. Kiro was sitting in a corner, looking at the script in his hand intently.

He raised his head when he heard the sound, and the moment he saw me, his shoulders slumped with a look of discontent on his face.

Kiro: Where have you been? Why didn't you answer the phone? Everyone's gone home. I've been waiting for you for a long time.

I walked up behind him and squeezed his shoulder.

MC: Sorry for the long wait. I had some things to deal with temporarily~

MC: As compensation for keeping you waiting, and as a reward for your hard work today, let me relieve your stress.

Kiro: Relieve my stress?

MC: That's right. Using the way you like~

I winked at him, took out my phone and clicked on a piano song, then reached out and gently touched his eyes.

MC: Now close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Inhale, exhale...

MC: You're in a colorful world, and besides yourself, you can also feel my presence.

Kiro: Pfft--

Kiro: This teacher isn't only suspected of selling what she has learned now, but is also a bit of an amateur.

MC: Don't question the teacher. This is my unique and innovative method.

MC: Anyway, please relax and give yourself to me wholeheartedly~

Kiro held back his laughter and cooperatively took deep breaths, gradually getting into it. I took his hand and walked cautiously towards the door.

-

MC: You and I are walking in a quiet alley.

MC: The sunshine now is warm and abundant, shining on the walls made of marshmallows, filling the alley with a sweet smell.

I led Kiro, who had his eyes tightly closed, all the way to the front of the car.

MC: We spotted a car parked at the end of the alley...

My brain suddenly shut down, and I couldn't speak any more.

Kiro: [smiling softly with eyes closed] A small car suspended in the air surrounded by stars?

MC: Yes, the star car.

I ignored the curvature of Kiro's mouth, slowly led him into the car and started the engine.

MC: Now we are going to take this star car and drive to a mysterious place.

MC: The sound of the giant trees swaying in the breeze drifts past our ears, and the clouds in the sky are also swaying. The distant horizon vaguely reveals a patchwork of valleys, and several white windmills are slowly turning their blades...

Along with the music, I work hard to weave every beautiful picture.

The starlight outside the car window flickered in front of me, but it seemed like I could really feel the gentleness of the sun. Sometimes I accidentally got stuck on my words, and Kiro would cooperate and pick up the next sentence without opening his eyes.

The vehicle drove around the corner and came to a familiar single-family house. After I parked the car, I helped Kiro down and walked to the door.

MC: I guess we've arrived at the terminal~

MC: To be precise, there is a door in front of you. The door is very ordinary, nothing special.

MC: But behind this door is my full heart for you... and an apology.

Kiro: Apology?

Seeing him tilting his head in confusion, I embarrassedly told him the entire story.

MC: There have been some changes in what I originally prepared for you, making it impossible for me to give it to you today.

MC: So I changed my plan and carefully prepared this surprised now. Hope it doesn't disappoint you.

After saying that, I took a deep breath, grabbed his hand and pushed open the door.

-

MC: Open your eyes now.

His long eyelashes fluttered and raised, and a warm courtyard was reflected in his clear eyes.

Large bouquets of colorful flowers were dotted on the grass in the garden, and a delicate and beautiful round table was clustered in the center.

The hot plate on the table was filled with a variety of dishes. The breeze spread the fragrance of rice, and the taste of happiness filled the entire courtyard.

MC: Welcome back to our home, Kiro.

Kiro: Did you... run home specially to make these for me in the afternoon?

He opened his eyes wide. There seemed to be stars dancing in his ocean-like eyes.

MC: I was a little pressed for time, so I don't know how it tastes~ And...

I opened the map on my phone and zoomed in on an area of the sea with my finger.

MC: The surprise I originally prepared for you is here - I transported your boathouse to Loveland City.

Kiro was stunned for a moment, then his eyebrows rose up high.

Kiro: You mean the boathouse in California?

I nodded and told him the story in detail.

MC: ...You're so busy now that you aren't even able to go to California even once a year. You probably miss it a lot.

MC: It's also very important to you. In addition to the meaning of home, it's more like an old friend from thousands of miles away. So I thought about bringing it back so that you could go to many places with it again.

Kiro: Miss Chips...

He suddenly hugged me in his arms and rubbed his fluffy blond hair against the crook of my neck.

Kiro: I've wanted to take the time to go to California with you to see it, but I couldn't find the right time.

Kiro: Thank you~ for bringing it to me.

He put slight distance between us and motioned to the food on the table with his eyes.

Kiro: What about these?

The lights in the courtyard fell on Kiro's eyes, reflecting my somewhat distressed and relieved expression.

MC: These... are actually my last minute ideas.

MC: When I heard what you said on set today, I felt very sad... and very regretful.

MC: I was thinking that, if I'd found you earlier, or been found by you, that Kiro wandering on the street wouldn't exist, right?

MC: Because he'd be like those children after school, knowing firmly where they should return to.

MC: So this meal isn't strictly a surprise.

MC: It's just a common meal that came late after many years.

I looked steadily at the quiet Kiro, his warm eyes tracing my brows, as if looking into the bottom of my heart.

Kiro: Miss Foolish Chips...

Kiro: I haven't finished what I said in the afternoon.

He sighed and put his arm around my shoulders again, the familiar warmth enveloping my entire body and filling my heart.

Kiro: In fact, after meeting you, I'm no longer hesitant.

Kiro: As long as you're always here, I'll be confident in whatever I do. This was also the reason why I chose the current script regardless of the controversy.

Kiro: I just simply wanted to do this, not caring about anyone else's opinions or evaluations.

Kiro: I don't need to prove to others that I'm a good actor or singer, nor do I need to find my own place and strive to be recognized by others.

Kiro: Because my place is right here.

Kiro: Right next to you.

Kiro: So don't feel bad or regretful. Today, I just want you to be happy.

MC: [blushing profusely] It's obviously your birthday, why do you want me to be happy?

I spoke sullenly in his arms, feeling a tremor in my skin touching his chest.

Kiro: My birthday is the oldest, so I have the final say.

Kiro: I want to give you half of every birthday blessing I receive today.

His deceitful tone was wrapped in a clear preference, which made me take a deep breath and stabilize my trembling heart.

MC: Okay, then we'll be happy together.

The breeze quietly picked up, making the bouquets of flowers and grass in the yard rustle.

That was also the voice in my heart.

Translation Masterlist: here

[ourpickwickclub]

We don’t have any idea what Gwen’s first shows look liked. They were very small house parties we have no video from. She wasn’t even the lead singer at first. We have stuff from when they started getting bigger and more popular on the Southern California scene.

Same with Blake, we don’t have any of those first performances at the theater. But he has talked in several interviews about needing to learn to move around on stage and not just stand there, plus things like mic technique.

Blake is in the class of rare human who was born a performer. We have seen video of him as a young kid performing at beauty pageants and he was good. A total natural at like, 8 yrs old. I believe it was Bob Server’s Old Time Rock n Roll. His mom was trying to find places to put him on stage because he wanted that from that young age. We know he asked to play at the McSwain for free, which is a 560 seat theater, and that the first time he was “good enough”’ to be paid to play there, he was 15 and got $40. And Blake has talked about the process of getting comfortable and moving around the stage. And the process of song writing as a young teen a song about a girl dumping him.

Gwen has said she was always singing in the car and at home, as a young kid. Putting on shows for family. We know Eric was into music and let her tag a long with him and his band. She was back up vocals, and got comfortable on stage in that capacity for years. Then, she moved up to singing with John and Alan. We know that Eric Keyes was booking the band into small venues around Anaheim and he has posted a lot of footage of those gigs along with the stories. One of the band members said Gwen didn’t start dancing on stage right away. That came much later. At first she just sort of jumped around. And of course, we all know about her first songwriting.

King has had things easier in some ways, and tougher in others. He has seen all his parents perform and I’m sure he has watched early footage of all three. We think of him as young, but he’s probably so ready to start performing because he knows when they did and how long it took each of them to break through. And he can’t just gig around as the kid of these famous musicians. And he can’t really hide who he is because paps have been following him since birth. He has to find a way to get comfortable on stage and hone his craft and find himself as a person (like all 17 yr olds) and as an artist. Blake and Gwen gave him a lovely, friendly crowd in a smallish venue and tons of support. This is how they parent, too.

- B

[eptodaytommorowforever]

Today In Elvis Presley’s History On The 14th Of November in 1970. He Played To Shows Performance’s Concerts At The Inglewood Forum LA California.

Elvis Presley performed at the Inglewood Forum, Los Angeles, California, at 3.00 and 8.30 p.m. The crowd was 18700 at 3:00 p.m. and 18698 at 8:30 p.m. At 3:00 p.m. Elvis Presley wore the “Nail Swirl” jumpsuit with red macrame belt. At 8:30 he wore “Wing” jumpsuit.

The attendance for these 2 show was record-breaking.

This was even more than the year before with the Rolling Stones.

The total profit was over $300,000. Between the 2 shows Elvis Presley was presented some papers for the ongoing paternity suit. This was done by a so called “fan”, who was in fact a process server. During the 2nd show Elvis Presley reminded his audience that he had “outsold” the Beatles, the Stones and Tom Jones: “all of them together”. Candid B/W Photo Of Elvis Presley Backstage At The Inglewood LA Forum And Two Colour Candid Photo’s By Fans At the 3pm Show and Two B/W Candid Photo’s At the 8,30pm Show by Fans

[spaceferren-comics]

heyyyyyy i have many questions about your project because it’s awesome 😎

what IS Typhon? how did he come to be?

how did everyone meet?

who is considered the most powerful of all the characters?

love these characters so much i’ll consume y’all’s art

Tysm!! For Typhon, since he’s got so many different alternate versions (Typhon Valac aka Horror Typhon, Snatched/Main Universe Typhon, Mooties Typhon, etc) Im gonna assume you’re referring to Typhon Valac since that’s who ya made fanart of! :33 I’ll have his long ass story down below cuz even the basic synopsis is long lmfao

Irl we all met over roblox rp servers LMFAO, but in universe we met mostly through various comical means

Of all our OCs the most powerful is like Toy-Maker, who’s basically an unknowable force of unbridled chaos. He’s sorta like if you mixed Bill Cipher, Jevil, Dimention, Klefka, Marx etc. into one horrific mix lmfao

(Long story ahead for Typhon Valac, prepare thyselves)

Typhon Valac

Horror Typhon (also known as 'Typhon V' for 'Typhon Valac') is a humanoid yet monstrous wendigo-esque rabbit creature. This demonic beast appears very much like a skinny, starved, yet muscular ghoul- with torn and tethered rotting skin that loosely clings to the muscular frame of the creature. However, he strangely wears a pair of almost cartoonish white gloves, not much different from say Mickey Mouse or the likes, likely tied to his past as a Disney Employee/Animator.

Typhon V is the twisted spirit of Cecil Cuminotto, an Italian immigrant who worked as an animator at Walt Disney studios in the mid 1980s (during most of Disneys layoffs, and while the company was in a massive slump). in Burbank, California. Cecils' life could best be described by two words: Constant Work. Indeed Cecil worked day and night, doing above and beyond what should have been necessary- always under the threat of fire from the uptight and rigorous company. However it was his passion, so for the most part, he didn't mind- and in his spare time, he even liked to make sketches and rough animations of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (though he hid this from the company, as he didn't belong to Disney at the time) to entertain himself or his fiancé.

This would all change tragically however as come 1984, said fiancé, Katherine Gell, who died tragically in a horrific car accident with a young and inebriated Nicholas Martin- tragically, on the day of their honeymoon no less. Distraught at his loss, Cecil asked for a few months off to process his grief- and was denied, and was thus not even allowed to attend his own SO's funeral. This sent Cecil into a massive downward spiral of depression in and out of the workplace, his own mental instability making him begin to see her everywhere he looked- like a phantom haunting him. His guilt ate him alive- and in a desperate bid to reprieve himself, he reached out to friends and family alike- neither able to help him.

Distraught and mentally ill, Cecil did everything he could to make the constant pain and misery end- such as drowning himself in a waterfall of drugs and alcohol. Noticing his changed demeanor at work, he was investigated- and dozens of anti-depressants and liquor bottles were found hidden in his desk. Immediately fired, the now purposeless addict only continued his spiral by subjecting himself to more and more dangerous concoctions of drugs, alcohol, and anything that could make him simply stop thinking anymore. After taking a particularly lethal (and large) dose of Heroin, Ecstasy, and Hard Vodka, Cecil died alone and painfully in a dark alleyway, forgotten and left to rot. His intense rage, guilt, pain, and overall suffering made his spirit linger- refusing to move on, and thus: a voice called out to him.

A sultry and booming voice, one compiled of millions of collective voices, actually. An entity that simply called itself 'The Darkness' reached out to the distraught spirit- offering Cecil power, resolve, and the ability to get revenge against everyone who made his life so miserable. Unsure at first, the all-powerful eldritch god promised Cecil everlasting splendors, and that getting revenge/inflicting suffering on everyone who ever wronged him would bring him peace. And with peace, maybe, just maybe, a chance to see his fiancé. Cecil leapt at the chance, agreeing to bring forth as much pain and misery as humanly possible into the world of the living.

And thus Typhon V was born, his spirit possessing his still rotting corpse- and his darkness tainting and corrupting the already rotting body into something no longer human. Now having a rabbit-skull-like face to cover his own rotting face below it, long and gangly ears, and generally disproportionate features for a human. Ironically, he got to keep the gloves he once drew nonstop- now forever a piece of him and his attire.

Typhon V is no longer Cecil- even if he may have remnants of who he once was. Only hate and a desire to bring forth suffering upon his victims remain. Like a Shakespearean, he was reborn from the tortured soul of Cecil, a tragic figure whose life was marred by despair and addiction. Typhon V's genesis was thus marked by a harrowing demise—a consequence of the vices and suffering that ultimately consumed him. Bound by his insatiable thirst for retribution against the people he views failed him, he emerged from the depths of the beyond, like a plague soon to be unleashed, twisted, and malformed. He first targeted his family, slowly but surely picking off all the Cuminottos, often the cause of death being deduced as a 'Suicide'. However, even after their demise came no salvation- as Typhon kept them in a personal hellscape of his own design- a horrific personal little world where the souls of his victims reside. This black-and-white world, not too different from an old-school Disney cartoon, is where the demon regularly plays Cat and Mouse with unfortunate victims' souls who've been caught.

[igetnerdy]

The environmental footprint of new artificial intelligence technologies (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) is an important topic. Let's summarize what is known:

1. Water Consumption:

- Water usage is due to server cooling requirements in data centers, necessary for running ChatGPT.

- According to a study from the University of California, just five ChatGPT queries can result in the consumption of half a liter of water in Microsoft's Iowa data center.

- Training ChatGPT-3 consumed 700,000 liters of freshwater for data center cooling.

2. CO2 Emissions:

- Emissions are related to the energy required for processing AI models.

- Daily, ChatGPT could emit approximately 3.8 tons of CO2e.

3. Overall Impact:

- Estimating a comprehensive impact is challenging due to various interconnected factors. Considerations include water consumption, CO2 emissions, land use, and human and animal exploitation.

Balancing the benefits of AI with its environmental impact is crucial AI's popularity grows. 🌿

[mariacallous]

Warning: This article discusses explicit adult content and child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Whether AI-generated or not, non-consensual adult intimate media has no place on our platform – or on the internet.

A US artificial intelligence company surreptitiously collected money for a service that can create nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes using financial services company Stripe, which bans processing payments for adult material, an investigation by Bellingcat can reveal.

California-based AnyDream routed users through a third-party website presenting as a remote hiring network to a Stripe account in the name of its founder Junyu Yang, likely to avoid detection that it was violating the adult content ban. Stripe said it could not comment on individual accounts but, shortly after the payments provider was contacted for comment last week, the account was deleted. 

AnyDream, which allows users to upload images of faces to incorporate into AI-image generation, has been used in recent weeks to create nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes with the visage of a schoolteacher in Canada, a professional on the US East Coast, and a 17-year-old actress. 

Bellingcat is not naming any of the women who were targeted to protect their privacy but was able to identify them because AnyDream posted the images to its website along with the prompts used to create them, which included their names.

The company has over ten thousand followers on Instagram and over three thousand members in its Discord server, where many users share their AI-generated creations.

(Update, 28 November, 02:26 CET: Following the publication of this story, Discord deleted AnyDream’s server on the platform. “Discord’s Community Guidelines prohibit the promotion or sharing of non-consensual adult intimate media, including those that are AI-generated, otherwise known as ‘deepfakes’,” said a Discord spokesperson. “In regards to the content in question, we can confirm that we have reviewed the server and content and the appropriate actions have been taken.”)

[benji-parker]

[ jordan fisher, demiboy he/they ] Hey, isn’t that BENJI PARKER. I thought they went away for the summer? Did you hear they might be a WITCH, and have a connection to the HEL COVEN? What I do know for certain is that they’re 27, and they’re LOYAL and NAIVE. They’re originally from SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, and have been in FENRIRSWOOD for FIVE YEARS living in FORK’S ROAD. I wonder if they still work at SERVER as a WOLF BURGER. Best if they stay safe for now. 

basics

full name: benjamin “benji” lee parker age: 27 date of birth: october 31st, 1996 zodiac: scorpio sun, virgo rising, scorpio moon gender & pronouns: demiboy, he/they species: witch spoken language(s): english and asl(american sign language) occupation: server at wolfburger sexuality: gay

appearance

face claim: jordan fisher height: 5'8"(172.72 cm) dominant hand: left hair color: black eye color: brown scars: tbd tattoos: none

personality

positive traits: bubbly, loyal, intelligent, caring, optimistic  negative traits: naive, overly-trusting, stubborn, disorganized, gullible

mentality

phobias: n/a disorder: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder allergies: n/a

background

hometown: san francisco, california birthplace: los angeles, california education level: high school diploma familial connections: unnamed parents

headcanons

benji was born with profound hearing loss, both of his parents are also deaf, so it seems to run in the family. they got a cochlear implant when they were 16 years old and can hear when using it, but greatly prefer using sign language when possible.

he first noticed that he was a spiritual medium when he realized that he can sense and talk to spirits in any location, with supernatural encounters beginning at the age of 14. since this discovery, they have become intensely passionate about helping spirits stuck in this world move to the afterlife and actively jump at any opportunity involving the paranormal.

they also offer tarot readings and refuse to accept payment for them. he carries tarot deck with him at all times just in case someone asks him for a reading. they have had it happen several different times where someone insists on paying him, which he always tries to deny but can’t always. he frequents occult stores when he can and likes spending his free time browsing them.

is naive to a bad degree, they generally know what to look out for when it comes to more obvious things, but there's almost no length benji won't go to if it means helping someone. a very bad habit of his is being altruistic, putting everyone else's needs before his own. has a tendency of getting into trouble by accident. whether this is from them wanting to help someone or just stumbling upon it, benji finds themself in questionable situations for too often. he's slowly but surely learning more self-preservation skills but it's a process.

[gmtasoftware]

Securing Your Mobile App: Best Practices for Data Protection

In today’s digitally connected world, mobile applications have become an integral part of our daily lives. From social media to online banking, we rely on mobile apps to access various services and manage sensitive information. However, with the increasing reliance on mobile apps, the need for robust data protection measures has become paramount. This blog will explore best practices for securing your mobile app and ensuring the protection of user data.

Encryption:

One of the fundamental steps in securing your mobile app is implementing encryption techniques. Encryption ensures that data transmitted between the app and the server is transformed into a coded form, making it unreadable to unauthorized parties. Utilize strong encryption algorithms, such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), to protect sensitive user information like passwords, financial details, and personal data. Additionally, consider implementing end-to-end encryption to safeguard data even if it’s intercepted during transmission.

2. Secure Authentication:

Implementing strong authentication mechanisms is vital to protect user accounts from unauthorized access. Encourage the use of complex passwords and provide guidance on creating strong passwords during the registration process. Consider implementing two-factor authentication (2FA) or biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, to add an extra layer of security. Regularly validate and update authentication protocols to address emerging security vulnerabilities.

3. Secure Data Storage:

Properly managing and securing data storage within your mobile app is crucial. Avoid storing sensitive information on the device unless necessary, and when required, utilize secure storage mechanisms provided by the operating system or utilize encryption techniques to protect the data. Ensure that the app’s data storage is adequately protected against unauthorized access or tampering, both locally on the device and on the server.

4. Secure Network Communication:

Mobile apps rely on network communication to exchange data with servers or APIs. It’s essential to ensure that this communication is secure. Use secure communication protocols such as HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to encrypt data transmitted over the network. Avoid transmitting sensitive information through insecure channels, such as unsecured Wi-Fi networks, and implement certificate pinning to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.

5. Regular Updates and Security Patches:

Keeping your mobile app up to date with the latest security patches and fixes is crucial for maintaining a secure environment. Regularly release updates to address any identified security vulnerabilities or weaknesses. Promptly address security-related issues reported by users or security researchers and provide timely patches to mitigate potential risks. Establish a process for monitoring and staying informed about the latest security practices and threats.

6. Secure Code Development:

Developing secure code is essential for building a robust mobile app. Adhere to secure coding practices and guidelines provided by the platform and framework you are using. Regularly conduct code reviews and security audits to identify and address any potential vulnerabilities. Utilize automated tools for vulnerability scanning and penetration testing to detect security flaws in your app’s codebase.

7. User Privacy and Consent:

Respect user privacy and adhere to data protection regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act). Clearly communicate your app’s data collection and usage practices to users through a comprehensive privacy policy. Obtain explicit consent from users before accessing and storing their personal information. Allow users to manage their privacy settings within the app, giving them control over their data.

Securing your mobile app is not just a legal requirement but also a responsibility to protect your users’ sensitive data. By implementing strong encryption, secure authentication mechanisms, and following best practices in code development, you can create a safer environment for your users. Regular updates and a privacy-centric approach will help instill trust and confidence in your app. By prioritizing data protection, you contribute to a safer mobile app ecosystem and foster long-term user satisfaction.

Remember, data protection is an ongoing process, and staying vigilant against emerging threats and security practices is vital in this ever-evolving digital landscape.

[renowebdesign]

Mae Villanueva Mediation Services

Tips and Wage Mediator Tips in California

California labor laws are widely acknowledged to offer workers maximum protections, from minimum wages to mandatory meal and rest break pay, overtime payment and employer obligations. An often neglected aspect of wage and hour law in California involves gratuities or tips; most states prohibit employers from taking an employee's gratuities directly while California has different rules regarding these gratuities or tips; here's everything a server or other service worker in the state should know about tips and wage mediators.

California Does Not Permit Employers to Reduce Employee Tips

While other states allow employers to subtract part of credit card processing fees from employees' tips, California prohibits this practice and any attempt by an employer to reduce them is forbidden by law - even when employees contribute part of this fee themselves.

California law forbids employers from forcing workers to share tips with managers or supervisors - commonly referred to as "tipping pooling." Though such arrangements are legal in California, any arrangement must be transparent and should not impede on any employee's right to receive full tips.

If an employer violates tip laws, an employee can file a suit with the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement to recover unpaid wages. Unfortunately, litigation is costly and time consuming; its outcome cannot always be predicted with certainty. Therefore, many parties find it easier and faster to settle their differences through mediation services in Los Angeles instead.

Tips and Wage Mediator Tips in California

In preparation for mediation, try getting plenty of sleep the night before. Rest will help you remain calm and make clear decisions more easily. In addition, bring as much evidence and information as possible; such as timelines of events, important documents/emails as well as charts/graphs to illustrate your points.

Rodney Mesriani is an experienced wage and hour mediation attorney dedicated to assisting his clients resolve their disputes. His firm provides its services throughout California to both workers and employers and has an excellent track record in helping his clients find positive resolutions to their cases. Get in touch with Rodney today to discover more about how he can assist in helping resolve your wage and hour dispute, answering any queries related to mediation as well as any related matters regarding your claim.

[govipul]

Security Best Practices for Managing Subscription Payments on Your Website

Subscription-based businesses have become increasingly popular, and with that growth comes the crucial responsibility of handling customer payment information securely. A breach of payment data can have severe consequences for both businesses and consumers. Here are some essential security best practices to implement when managing subscription payments on your website:

1. Choose a Secure Payment Gateway

PCI DSS Compliance: Ensure your payment gateway is certified to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This certification guarantees adherence to strict security requirements.

Tokenization: Opt for a gateway that uses tokenization. This process replaces sensitive card details with unique tokens, reducing the risk of data exposure.

Data Encryption: Verify that the gateway uses strong encryption protocols like SSL/TLS to protect data transmitted between your website and the payment processor.

2. Implement Strong Password Policies

Complexity: Require users to create strong passwords with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Regular Changes: Encourage users to update their passwords periodically.

Password Managers: Promote the use of password managers to securely store and manage complex credentials.

3. Protect Sensitive Data

Data Minimization: Only collect and store the minimum amount of personal information necessary for processing payments.

Data Retention: Establish clear data retention policies and securely dispose of outdated or unnecessary information.

Data Breach Response Plan: Have a well-defined plan in place to respond to data breaches promptly and effectively.

4. Secure Your Website

Web Application Firewall (WAF): Use a WAF to protect your website from common web attacks like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).

Regular Updates: Keep your website software and plugins up-to-date to address security vulnerabilities.

HTTPS: Ensure your website uses HTTPS to encrypt communication between your server and visitors' browsers.

5. Educate Your Customers

Phishing Awareness: Inform customers about the risks of phishing scams and how to identify fraudulent emails or websites.

Secure Payment Practices: Provide guidance on safe payment practices, such as avoiding public Wi-Fi for sensitive transactions.

6. Monitor and Test

Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

Penetration Testing: Hire a professional penetration testing firm to simulate attacks on your website and identify weaknesses.

Continuous Monitoring: Implement continuous monitoring tools to detect suspicious activity and respond promptly.

7. Compliance with Regulations

GDPR and CCPA: If you operate in regions like the EU or California, ensure compliance with regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Industry-Specific Regulations: Adhere to any industry-specific regulations that may apply to your business.

By following these security best practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and protect your customers' sensitive information while building trust and confidence in your business.