#EU Code Week

[waveoftheocean]

black friday sale!! use the code ITSFRIDAY2024 for 10% off your order from now until dec. 1, 11:59pm PST (applies to both storefronts)!

✨ shop link for orders to the USA and Canada ✨ shop link for international orders

important shop update: after dec. 9, i will no longer be able to ship to countries in the EU and Northern Ireland due to the new General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR). i'm so sorry! if you're located there and are interested in ordering from my shop, please do so before the 9th.

✨ discord server invite link for more frequent merch/shop updates!

other update details below the cut:

new merch: ♡ tristamp roadtrip CD charms - double sided, with a rotatable cd that shows different sky backgrounds!

♡ superbat omanjuus - soft and squishy. both designs come with a squeaker inside :DD

unfortunately, i cannot ship omanjuus to countries in the EU due to their toy/plushie regulations.

♡ superbat tired dads shakers - openable, double-sided shaker with 13 shaker pieces.

preorder here regular order here (until dec. 9) the shakers have arrived, but the bird keychain clasps i wanted to attach to them have not. however, since i will not be able to ship anything to the EU/Northern Ireland after dec. 9, i wanted to make them available in some form before that cutoff date! if you order through my etsy, they will come with a silver U clasp instead of the bird clasp.

restocks: ♡ vashwood day after tomorrow CD charms

for anyone that has a current order with me, i plan to ship them out early next week. however, i'm happy to combine shipping if you want to get something else! just write your current order number and that you'd like to combine shipping in the order notes and i'll refund one of your shipping costs!

[reasonsforhope]

An illegal toxic dump site in Croatia, the theft of water from a major aquifer in southern Spain, illegal trading of ozone-depleting refrigerants in France: This is just a sampling of the environmental crimes that European countries are struggling to stop. The lack of accountability for these acts stems in part from the European Union’s legal code, which experts say is riddled with vague definitions and gaps in enforcement. That’s about to change. 

Last week, EU lawmakers voted in a new directive that criminalizes cases of environmental damage “comparable to ecocide,” a term broadly defined as the severe, widespread, and long-term destruction of the natural world. Advocates called the move “revolutionary,” both because it sets strict penalties for violators, including up to a decade in jail, and because it marks the first time that an international body has created a legal pathway for the prosecution of ecocide.

“This decision marks the end of impunity for environmental criminals and could usher in a new age of environmental litigation in Europe,” wrote Marie Toussaint, a French lawyer and EU parliamentarian for the Greens/European Free Alliance group, on X...

The new directive uses the term “ecocide” in its preamble, but does not criminalize the act by laying out a legal definition (the most widely accepted definition of ecocide was developed by an international panel of experts in 2021). Instead, it works by providing a list of “qualified offenses,” or crimes that fall within its purview. These include pollution from ships, the introduction of invasive species, and ozone depletion...

The new law holds people liable for environmental destruction if they acted with knowledge of the damage their actions would cause. This aspect of the law is important, experts said, because it means that a permit is no longer enough for a company to avoid culpability.  

“If new information shows that behavior is causing irreversible damage to health and nature – you will have to stop,” a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, Antonius Manders, told Euronews. 

Advocates like Mehta hope that the EU’s move will have influence beyond Europe’s borders. The principal goal of the Stop Ecocide campaign is for the International Criminal Court to designate ecocide as the fifth international crime that it prosecutes, after crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and genocide. At the moment, environmental destruction can only be prosecuted as a war crime at the ICC, and limitations in the law make this extremely difficult to do...

Kate Mackintosh, the executive director of the Netherlands-based UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe, told Grist that the ICC is unlikely to adopt an ecocide law if other countries do not do so first. 

“It’s not something you can just pull out of thin air,” she said, adding that any international legal doctrine has to have a precedent on the national level. “That’s the way states are going to accept it.”

The EU’s 27 member states will have two years to adapt the new legislation into their penal codes. Afterwards, their implementation must be reviewed and updated at least once every five years using a “risk-analysis based approach,” to account for advancements in experts’ understanding of what might constitute an environmental crime. Mehta said that despite its omission of some important offenses, the law sets an important example for other countries. Several days before the EU vote, Belgium adapted its criminal code to include the directive, making it the first country in Europe to recognize ecocide as a crime.

The ruling “shows leadership and compassion,” Mehta said. “It will establish a clear moral as well as legal ‘red line’, creating an essential steer for European industry leaders and policy-makers going forward.”

-via Grist, March 6, 2024

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

The PledgeManager has launched!

Thank you for bearing with us. We’re happy to say that, as promised, the PledgeManager has officially launched!

In case you missed it, we detailed earlier this week that the publication of the graphic novel has been pushed back from its original July 2024 estimate into Spring 2025 - you can read the full update here. We also want to take a moment to say that we have seen the outpouring of love and support on Kickstarter, and across various platforms, wishing Colleen well in her recovery and the time needed for the graphic novel - a huge thank you from all of the team for your understanding and patience, and for the genuine community and care we’ve seen these past few days. We appreciate you all.

PledgeManager

With this in mind, we think it’s important to underline: though PledgeManager has launched, you do not need to pay for your shipping fees immediately.

The PledgeManager is there for those who missed the campaign to order the graphic novel, and indeed for any backers who would like to upgrade, get some other add-ons, or the new items. You, as a pre-existing backer, should receive an email with information via Kickstarter and/or PledgeManager to inform you that this is now open to you - note, these are sent in waves of smaller batches, so if you don't get yours immediately, don't panic! It will likely take between 12-18 hours to process all the backers.

You are, of course, welcome to pay your shipping right away if you'd like, however we completely understand that you may want to wait until closer to the fulfilment time, or when more solid dates are confirmed, before actioning this.

For this stage, we have compiled a quick FAQ below covering some key questions:

Will the whole project be moving from Kickstarter to PledgeManager? No. This is just for the fulfilment side and logistics - all updates will still remain here.  

Do PledgeManager backers get everything that Kickstarter backers do? No. While the remaining tiers will be made available for those who missed it, with certain stretch goals (e.g. additions to the book, loot boxes, etc), Kickstarter backers have a number of exclusives such as the Good Omens HQ discount code for when the store launches, and the backers only events.  

My PledgeManager address will be different to what is listed on my Kickstarter. Is that fine? Yes. We are handling all logistics through PledgeManager and, as such, that is the only place where we will need your address. If you move or need to change any details, that will be the place to do so.  

Can I change my address? Yes. You can update your address until we are at the shipping stage. We will keep this option open for as long as possible to ensure maximum flexibility around this.  

How are shipping fees calculated? It is based on both weight and the country it is being sent to. We have been working over the past months to streamline processes and bring the costs down from their original starting point.  

Do I have to pay just now? You do not need to pay immediately, but payment will need to be made prior to your items being shipped. You now have a bigger window during which you can make payment. As above, we will keep updating you on the progression of the publication schedule, should you be waiting for firmer dates before doing so.  

What about taxes and import duty? UK: VAT is included in the costs UK backers pay, there should be no extra tax charges. US: We believe (but cannot guarantee) that imports under $800USD in value should not attract import duty, those pledges above may be taxed at import. EU & REST OF THE WORLD: If taxes or duties apply to your pledge, these will need to be paid at time of import into your country. We’ve spent months trying to integrate the costs at this stage, but in having the project open across the globe, it has proven too complex to be able to fully refine and cover all instances and locations, and we’ve been advised that this is the best route forward.  We know a lot of international backers, particularly in the EU – for example – will already be used to this process, and we will keep you all updated on any developments on this front. For all of our backers, we are working hard to make labelling and declaring all of the contents of your pledges as transparent as possible, in order to make taxing and importing as easy and affordable as possible.  

I want to buy the new items, but am waiting to pay shipping. Are they limited? The pins, mugs, notebooks - all the new items specifically added to the PledgeManager are not limited and will be available regardless of whether you get them now, or months down the road. The only limited items are the remaining tiers that have moved over from the Kickstarter (e.g. the Obsidian Tier) that were limited to begin with, and a very limited run of the Alien Parking ticket. Everything else is fully available, in perpetuity.  

Will you be adding extra items to the PledgeManager? No. What is there at launch is all we plan to include at this point - any new items afterwards will instead originate via the Good Omens HQ store.  

Will Kickstarter backers get items first? Yes. We will have a staggered approach for fulfilment: Kickstarter backers, then PledgeManager, then everything that is moving to the Good Omens HQ store will subsequently be made available.

You can also view the more general PledgeManager FAQ at terrypratchett.com.

We will keep PledgeManager and logistical notes present in all the monthly updates going forward, but felt this warranted a dedicated one-off. 

These are available as part of the PledgeManager. Another beauty from our pin designer, Carl Sutton.

Thanks again for your patience. Back in the April monthly update.

In short: :)

The Good Omens Pledge Manager has launched:

those who missed the Graphic Novel Kickstarter: Now you can order the Graphic novel, not all things that were in the original Kicstarter are available but there is stil a lot of options and fuckton of lovely ineffable add-ons! :)<3

those who participated inthe original GO GN Kickstarter: you should an email (Dunmanifestin needs more information to fulfill your reward) with a link that logs you (if not log manually) into the pledgemanager and lets you edit the order (add new add ons) (yep, my wallet weeps :D<3)

The addons:

I mean... how can one resist for example these I do not know... :D

[qin-qin16]

My computer is possessed?! Oh, wait, it's just my out-coded skeleton boyfriend!

Summary: When some of your work in progress goes missing, you decide to start investigating whether your computer has a virus. That is until you realize that the few remaining works are of one character: Error Sans. cw: comedy, kinitoPET and creepypasta vibes, Error is an asshole and Reader is stressed, gn!reader, dark jokes about suicide, but nothing serious, we have a bit of jealousy Error, writer Reader…  note: I finally wrote down this idea from weeks ago lol and the divider is from @sister-lucifer (Part one) (Part two)

You would never forgive yourself.

Five hours of work. Five. And it all vanished with a simple power outage. The entire neighborhood was in the dark for hours — and when the power finally came back, everyone heard the lengthy stream of insults and curses you hurled at yourself when your computer screen went blank; there were no files saved in the cloud and no trace of everything you had written.

Your body glides over the wheeled chair as you slowly spin in circles, “Eu quero me matar…” You murmur, without any genuine or serious inflection in your words, even though deep down in your mind, there’s a certain desire to end the emptiness that lingers from your anger.

“Three pages… three damn pages…” You run your hand over your face, resting it on your mouth as you feel your eyes sting from the static white of the computer screen. “I can’t believe it.” You finish, still in disbelief over the unexpected blackout.

You know that old saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it”? Well, the problem was right in front of you: a completely empty Word document, except for a few notes saved before everything was lost. Still, you couldn’t bring yourself to believe what you were seeing.

“I’m not going to write all that again! I can’t even remember the last thing I wrote!” you rant to no one but the lifeless machine in front of you, running both hands through your hair and tangling it with unnecessary force — leaving only irritation in certain spots on your scalp and strands of hair sticking out in every direction.

Settling into the chair — legs crossed and leaning forward like a shrimp — you start closing all the tabs left open on the computer, not caring at all about what’s saved or not. All you want to do right now is shut off that old piece of junk (that can't even handle an internet outage) and go grab something to eat. Maybe that would help you relax and distract yourself from this mess.

However, the large ERROR 505 flashing on the screen interrupted your ongoing stream of frustration. 

The damn title, accompanied by a series of codes that made no sense to you, was plastered on the last tab of your browser, just waiting to be closed. But even after you clicked the little red box three times — eager to shut the window as quickly as possible — the page stayed open. 

It felt almost as if it were mocking you. Almost…

“Perfect! Just what I needed!” You don’t hesitate to slap the monitor, taking out all your anger on the old machine. “Now even the damn Google isn’t working!” Your grunt is muffled as you bury your face in your hands, holding back the scream that desperately wants to burst from your throat.

“God, if you exist, why are you punishing me like this?” Your murmurs are heard only by the computer as it continues to mock your suffering with the bright white screen — and that damn ERROR 505 displayed at your face.

“Know what? Screw it, I don’t care.” With your hands thrown up in defeat, you finally surrender, tired and out of patience to battle this cursed error.

This is worse than when the Ao3 is down—no, I can't exaggerate like that, you think to yourself as you crouch in your chair searching for the charger’s plug. If this page won’t close on its own, then it’ll have to be forced; nothing beats unplugging the old computer directly from the outlet.

Which turned out to be a challenging task, not only because of your awkward and uncomfortable position in the wheeled chair, but also due to the mess of wires and cables under your desk. You didn’t even know which one belonged to your computer, let alone where the outlet was.

“Maybe it’s best to just yank everything and hope the outlet comes with it.” You go back to your original position, stretching your spine and letting out a quiet grunt as a pop resonates from your back. “I need to stop spending hours sitting in front of the computer.” Your grumble is nothing more than a hollow promise, unlike your spine, which was definitely promising to develop some kind of scoliosis.

“Okay, here we go— what the hell is this?” you exclaim, and even though your voice lacks any emotion — probably exhausted from all the shouting earlier — your jaw drops, matching the widening of your eyes as you see that the once flashy ERROR 505 screen has now changed to a completely different tab.

What had once been a white background filled with bold text was suddenly replaced by your Tumblr homepage... featuring countless fan arts of Error Sans scattered throughout your feed.

It wasn’t unusual for you to search for fan art and fanfics about him; in fact, the number of tags you followed with his name was far too many to count on both hands!

However, today was not one of those days. In fact, you had been trying to set aside your obsession with the glitchy skeleton to focus on other Sanses. Those three pages you lost forever were actually part of a fanfic about Cross x Reader that you had been working on for a few days.

So… why did the page load with this theme that you had been ignoring?

It doesn’t matter, I’ll just close this tab and—oh my God, what a gorgeous fan art! You quickly get distracted by the artwork on your screen, and without hesitation, your finger starts clicking rapidly on the mouse, liking and reblogging as fast as you can.

You must have been very tired not to notice the muffled sound coming from your computer — different from the noises it made when starting up or running a virus scan. No, no, this sounded oddly like a stilted laugh, as if the audio had been chopped into pieces.

But why would you pay attention to that? Computers couldn’t laugh, especially not at your half-closed eyes and the sentences you’d written incorrectly because you were sleepy…

Right?

Tagging the people who wanted to see a fanfic of this:

@snastheskeleton64, @moonpieandfries12345, @lostsoulsofdragon, @mrcatmario, @something-random1-1-blog, @joonebugg, @crunchontoast, @honeybubbletea33, @what-have-i-unleashed, @leafwateraddict, @sweethoneybear, @sleepy-batz

If you want to be tagged in part two, please let me know :D

[journen]

Soap and Ghost Enamel Pin pre-orders are now LIVE!! 😄 I'm super excited to hopefully bring these Soap and Ghost eye enamel pins, the first enamel pins I've produced myself, into production!

I have 2 links up for pre-ordering. If you're located in Canada or the US, you can use my BigCartel link for pre-ordering, but if you're in the EU or the rest of the world, just for import tax purposes, I implore you to use Etsy to pre-order. 😄

Pre-Orders are going to be open for the next 2 weeks(until the 25th!) with a possibility of extension. I will only be able to move forward with the pins if we reach pre-order goals, so hopefully we'll make it! 😊🧡

Thanks everyone as always for your support. 🧡🧡

More important info under the cut ⬇️

The reason I have 2 links set up for pre-ordering is because, for EU orders and other countries that charge VAT or a similar import tax, Etsy automatically includes a code on your shipping label that ensures you won't be that tax a second time on your parcel when it arrives into your country!

All pre-orders will also come with a free vinyl sticker of the pin(s) you order!

If we do meet pre-order goals, the pins will go into production and should take 2-3 months to create. I'll keep everyone updated on my socials! If we don't I'll be refunding everyone. 🧡

If you have any questions, let me know! More info to be found in the product listing links on each respective pre order site.

Thank you guys so much! Shares are appreciated. I'm super excited to hopefully make these pins with your guys' help and interest! 😊

[shinonart]

5€off any 25€+ order with code CYBER24

First off, thank you so much to everyone who bought anything from me the past month! I'm really happy with the turnout of my campaign and I'm forever grateful for your support!

I will be handling and mailing the latest batch of orders on Wednesday as usual!

I just noticed that Etsy is running an additional campaign today only and they are offering 5€ off of ANY order over 25€ with code CYBER24!

So if you missed my sale or are still on the fence of getting something there's a chance of saving a little by ordering today.

If you are ordering holiday gifts and you're ordering from outside of EU there is a chance your order may not arrive on time. I'm just putting this out there to avoid disappointments. My experience of running my shop for years is that around this time of the year the mail slows down a lot.

If you want to make sure you get your order on time please add tracking to your order at checkout. You can also message me on Etsy if your shipping expenses seem unreasonably high (sometimes happens with large orders) and I can check if I can find better deals from other couriers.

That's all! Thank you and hopefully you'll have a nice week!

[lordmartiya]

Unexpected Guest

Hi, @professorducc, I'm your Secret Santa for @mlsecretsanta. Here's my gift to you, the story Unexpected Guest.

Marinette didn’t understand what was happening, and most importantly why. It wasn’t unusual when Lila was involved, but this time it was far more than usual. “Why?” she asked to the brunette now helping her pack. “You’re going to be a guest, and that means for the time being you’re basically family I can have dirty thoughts about.” Lila replied. “Simple as that.” “Yes, but-dirty thoughts?!” “In case nobody told you, you’re hot. An annoying santarellina that doesn’t know how to pick her battles, but a hot one.” “If that’s your idea of flirting, it’s not working.” Marinette replied, telling herself the heat she was feeling in her cheeks was from embarrassment. “And I mean why you’re taking me in while-while…” “That’s my mother’s idea. I guess it paints the embassy better, the consul helping the granddaughter of an Italian citizen in her time of need. And for what is worth, I hope your parents recover and someone finds that driver and feeds them their own license.” That was the problem. Her parents had been hospitalized after being hit by a car, and with Nonna Gina being around the world and her grandfather legally inelegible due what he called “the stupidest thing I ever did” Lila’s mother, the consul and acting head of the Italian embassy until Papillon was dealt with and the French government came back with the ambassadors and the nuclear codes, had stepped in, taken over guardianship for the time being, and was having her move at her home on the other side of Place des Vosges.

  “This is the guest room, and here the current Wi-Fi codes and how to get through the security jamming. Once you’ve used them throw the paper in the incinerator chute.” Lila said after showing the rest of the apartment to her new roommate and handing her the passwords for the week. “If you need any help, you only have to ask.” “The what chute?” Marinette asked. Of course, she had no idea how diplomats’ family lived. “Welcome to the world of diplomacy, full of secrets to be kept through lies, deception, and even destruction at times. It’s one absurd world, to the point I have no idea if my mother was joking when she told me of the Japanese “troubleshooter”, if you get what I mean, that poses as a diplomat and always wears a plushie rabbit mask – though if I actually see him, I’m leaving before he starts weaponizing macarons and firing lasers from the eyes.” Marinette was bewildered. Good, the phantomatic Usagi-sensei would keep her mind off the event long enough to get Alya her security clearance and get inspected to visit her friend.

  “You had to get a security clearance?!” Marinette asked her best friend once she arrived. “Yeah… Fingerprints, a background check… And then they checked me and the package as if we were suspicious at an American airport, only they didn’t assume I was guilty until proven otherwise.” Alya confirmed. “They even complimented me for the brand of bug detector.” “Just… Let’s use it, I’m not trusting Lila until I verified she hasn’t bugged the room.” Turned out Lila had bugged the room. As in she had put a single bedbug-shaped listening device on the desk, near its receiver and a note saying “Satisfied?”. “What is she planning?” Marinette wondered. “Maybe nothing? I mean, she’s actually doing what she said she’d do.” Alya pointed out. “And if she had bad intentions, she’d have already stolen the Box. Marinette had no counter to that. Maybe she was actually being sincere. She could even ask her what her grandfather’s problem was, if the security was like that then it was likely on file.

  “Sorry, what?” “Your grandfather got arrested with a fascist group that was preparing a coup over EU membership.” Lila explained, having seen too much weird stuff like that to bat an eye at what she had just read. “Apparently it was more a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time so he got a suspended sentence, but he still followed a friend there and thought what they said made sense to him until they started talking of armed action and it made rethink his life. Still better than my great-granduncle.” Lila didn’t really want to share that, but Marinette was a guest and someone she admired and she wasn’t letting her in the dumps for her grandfather having been an idiot. “What did he do?” Marinette asked, taking the bait. “Officially? Nothing, he was just the podestà of Brescello until 1945. But if you read between the lines, you’ll get why right after the war the town’s archpriest and the local Communist leader ran him out of town. But I hope you aren’t assuming that person’s actions decide who I am, just like Roland Dupain’s idiocy doesn’t decide who you are.” Marinette could read between the lines. Her expressions made clear she didn’t know what a podestà was in context, but an archpriest and a Communist leader running someone out of town back then said more than enough. And her guest got the message. That was enough for Lila, who grabbed her copy of one of the old spirit cultivation texts Chloè found, hoping that her study would help her in her attempt to settle the score with Ladybug.

  Marinette had thought to stalk Lila. She had been acting weird, and with everything that had happened in their past she decided to find what her cute host was up to. She had not been expecting to track her and Chloè to a catacomb right on the city’s Dragon Vein (or ley line, as they were called by Western mysticists) – and tapping into it with a Wellspring. A place perfect for all types of Spirit Cultivation, to the point that if she had access to this “La Plage”, as they had named the catacomb, she’d have broken through and obtained unrestricted use of a Miraculous months ago. Still, she first had to ask one thing: “Where’s Sabrina?” “Certainly not in a section of the Catacombs closed to the public.” replied Chloè. “You think I’d bring the daughter of an archer here?” Right, stupid question. “What does archery have to do with this?” Lila asked. “That’s what we call our cops.” Chloè answered before turning to Marinette. “As for you, what are you doing here?” “I… I was just curious, Lila acted so weird and-” “Ugh! Don’t tell me that Andrè’s orange and green ice cream was actually a sign!” “No!” came the denial, with Marinette wondering why she felt her cheeks heating up just as she looked for something, ANYTHING to distract the blonde and the (pleased?! Seriously?!) Italian. Wait. The Wellspring! “By the way-“ “Don’t change topic.” Lila interrupted. “I’ve heard about the ice cream, but it seems there’s more about it than I thought.” “That can wait, Dupain-Cheng’s distractions are always useful.” Chloè pointed out. “I take you were talking of the Odic Magnet?” Marinette would later learn her scream of horror started a new legend about the Catacombs. “You went by a biomagnetism design?!” she whispered in horror. “So?” Marinette didn’t answer. She just pulled her phone (somehow that area had excellent reception) and called Big Sister Fei. She was the single best Cultivation expert Marinette knew of, and she wasn’t going to let the two accidentally give themselves the same kind of imbalanced qi-induced insanity that by now Paris’ favorite terrorist had to be in the grip of.

  Lila didn’t like being in debt. That was why she had resolved to find a way to repay Marinette for saving her sanity and possibly soul. And while normally she’d be happy for a chance, this was just too weird. “Ch’hai detto?” Lila asked, slipping in her native Romanesco dialect from the surprise. Luckily, it was very close to standard Italian and her interlocutor was fluent in that. “I said, this is the perfect chance to deal with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Gabriel repeated. “She’s weak and vulnerable, and you are in the perfect position to insure she won’t recover.” “With all due respect” that is none at all “she’s become inoffensive. Wouldn’t be more practical to make her an ally?” “I’m not taking risks. Finish her off. Frame her for theft, or something. Make sure she won’t have the ability to corrupt Adrien, your job depends on it.” “Very well. I know what to do.”

  Marinette couldn’t believe what she was hearing in Lila’s recording. Neither could Adrien. “How did you record this? Father has a jammer in his atelier.” he pointed out. “Tape recorder, too primitive to be affected.” Lila replied. Her recorder did look weird… But if Gabriel was doing this – “And before you ask, he’s got nothing to do with the crash, mom checked.” “Now what?!” Marinette shouted. “If he hates me, he will-“ “He will un cazzo.” Lila hissed as she put her hand on Marinette’s. Something she found oddly comforting. “This isn’t about planning a counterattack, it’s about planning how to deal with the aftermath once the Caramba have Carambed him.” “What?” Adrien asked. Marinette, on the other hand, understood Italian slang enough to realize what would happen. Though she wondered if it was legal. Then Lila’s phone signaled it had received something. And once she looked it, she laughed Volpina’s laugh. “Well, they Carambed him faster than expected.” she said as she forwarded the message. “Did you know I have Ladybug’s number?” Marinette knew, she had given it right after Chamele-oh. Oh, no. “Marinette, why are your earrings flashing?” Lila asked.

“So, let’s resume everything.” Lila said once the consequences of the Carabinieri detachment of the embassy putting Agreste Manor under full surveillance and catching a charged Akuma coming out had unfolded. “Gabby was Le Papillon, his minion Mayura, and they started hunting the Miraculous down to revive Adrien’s mom after she got nearly killed by a broken Miraculous and it didn’t dawn on them they could just Akumatize Adrien, who’s also Chat Noir and a Sentimonster because in his own words “adoption is for peasants”, with the right powers to do the job rather than alter the fabric of the universe. Something we’ve proven is possible by giving the Butterfly Miraculous to this Socqueline so that she could have you heal your parents and then have Adrien heal the minion and his mom – who the police are currently holding for questioning about a few weird incidents.” “Yes.” Marinette confirmed, her face indecifrable. “You are also Ladybug, and the whole reason of the initial accident is that back then Adrien’s involvement in anything made you lose more braincells than Alya did back then when Ladybug was involved.” “Yes.” “You have some explaining to do. Seriously, why did YOU wear such a plain” and sexy “costume?! I thought you couldn’t possibly be Ladybug because you have a fashion sense, and she obviously didn’t!” Marinette’s face showed her relief. The fool. She had only a few days before she got back home, and Lila was going to tease the everliving everything out of her new romantic target friend while she could. She didn’t know what the future held, but it was clearly brighter than either of them expected.

Author notes

There’s an Easter egg in this story. Yes, I did what I did. No, I’m not telling you what I did. But if you got it you’re probably laughing your ass off. Lately I got interested in the Spirit Cultivation genre, that draws heavily on Daoism… And as it happens, the show in general and the Chinese Miraculous Box in particular are easily tied to it, allowing me to actually fill the gigantic plot holes of Lila and Chloè’s character arcs: in the effort to get the power to survive the perceived threats they Cultivated themselves into villainy, with Chloè becoming more selfish and Lila getting so engrossed in her lies she thought it was a good idea to create multiple fake identities (and achieving the magical bullshitting power to convince two women she’s their daughter). I also had fun getting in some Vitalist idea to connect.

[mariacallous]

The Georgian authorities presented new legislation in early February that critics say will increase pressure on the country’s civil society and independent media while also placing additional restrictions on public gatherings. The move comes amid a wave of anti-government protests that began following Georgia’s disputed October 2024 parliamentary elections and escalated weeks later when the government took steps to suspend the country’s EU accession efforts.

The current crisis reflects widespread tensions in Georgian society, with the governing Georgian Dream party accused of attempting to turn the country away from decades of Euro-Atlantic integration and return to the Russian orbit. Government officials deny the charges, claiming instead that they seek to guard against undue Western influence while avoiding any involvement in the geopolitical confrontation over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Georgian Dream officials announced in early February that the party planned to draft legislation that would tighten restrictions on foreign-funded media outlets and establish a new code of journalistic ethics to be monitored by a government body. Similar legislative initiatives are being prepared targeting Georgian civil society organizations. Opponents have likened these steps to the draconian measures introduced by the Putin regime over the past twenty-five years to silence domestic opposition inside Russia.

With anti-government protests still taking place in cities across Georgia on an almost daily basis, the authorities have also recently introduced new laws limiting public gatherings and criminalizing minor protest actions such as placing stickers on public property. Since protests flared in late 2024, hundreds have been detained, with many reporting human rights abuses while in custody including beatings and torture.

Critics say these latest steps serve as further confirmation of the Georgian government’s intention to establish a Kremlin-style authoritarian state. In early February, Transparency International Georgia executive director Eka Gigauri told the Associated Press that she believed the authorities were using the same tactics employed by the Putin regime against opponents. “There is nothing new in how they attack civic activists,” she said. “This was happening in Russia years ago.”

Similar sentiments have been expressed by international human rights watchdogs monitoring the current crisis. “The government is relentlessly taking the country into a repressive era that is uncharted for Georgia but all too familiar in authoritarian states,” commented Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Director Hugh Williamson in January 2025.

In recent months, Georgia’s Western partners have become more vocal in their criticism of the country’s increasingly authoritarian policies and apparent turn toward Moscow. This Western response has included imposing sanctions against a number of Georgian officials including billionaire Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is widely seen as the country’s de facto leader and architect of Georgia’s current pro-Kremlin policies. On February 13, the European Parliament adopted a resolution questioning the legitimacy of the current Georgian authorities and calling for fresh elections in the coming months monitored by international observers.

Meanwhile, relations with Russia continue to improve. Georgia has won favor in Moscow in recent years by refusing to participate in Western sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Instead, Georgia has welcomed Russian businesses and has been accused of helping the Kremlin bypass international restrictions put in place in response to the war.

Members of the Georgian Dream party have positioned themselves as the only political force capable of establishing pragmatic relations with Russia. With around twenty percent of Georgia currently under Russian occupation, the threat of renewed Russian military aggression is a highly sensitive issue for Georgian society. In the run-up to Georgia’s October 2024 parliamentary election, Georgian Dream sparked controversy by using campaign posters contrasting peaceful Georgia with war-torn Ukraine as part of election messaging that sought to position the vote as a choice between war and peace.

With international attention now firmly fixed on developments in and around Ukraine, the political crisis in Georgia has slipped out of the headlines. However, this small nation in the southern Caucasus has a geopolitical significance that far outweighs its size. For the past two decades, Georgia has been widely seen in Western capitals as a post-Soviet success story, but the country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations now hang in the balance. This represents a significant foreign policy challenge for the new Trump administration and for Europe.

Recent repressive measures indicate that the Georgian authorities are intent on escalating their clampdown against domestic opponents and strengthening ties with the Kremlin. If they succeed, it would represent a major victory for Vladimir Putin in the confrontation between the democratic world and an emerging alliance of authoritarian powers including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

[gerec]

cherik where one of them is blind? 😳

Here you go, Anon; hope you enjoy :D

Through His Eyes by DotyTakeThisDown

Charles Xavier was born blind. When he was young, he would catch glimpses of the world from the minds of others but he didn't want to be intrusive. Not until Erik finds out and offers to be his eyes.

Home Together by kageillusionz

Charles was born blind, but that does not stop him from falling in love with the new boy in his class. Based off the Brazilian film: 'Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho' or 'I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone'.

Listen to My Heart (Only with the Heart Remix by IreneADonovan

Erik loses his sight. Charles is the neighbor who reads to him.

Borrowed Eyes by kenisle

Instead of ricocheting the bullets, Erik splits them into pieces, a bunch of which go flying into Charles' face. He's permanently blinded, but at least he has Erik to see for him.

Theme and Variations: War by ninemoons42

Erik Lehnsherr is a musical prodigy and a man destined for great things and great stages. But his life is shattered by a terrible accident that leaves him blind and trying to find his way back to his life, his music, and his place in the world.

Then he meets Charles Xavier, an agent of Section 8 of the Military Intelligence Directorate of Providence, and he finds himself listening in to clandestine radio transmissions and clicking Morse code, and these sounds are part and parcel of a war that can only take place in the shadows and the hidden places of history.

Let Me Be Your Eyes by terrae

Erik has to take a sculpture workshop, however, he doesn't think it's fair that Charles Xavier has to take it, too, considering he's, well, blind. Then he gets an idea.

Streets Are Uneven (When You're Down) by Anonymous

Charles is blind and needs someone to give his guide dog the attention it deserves while he struggles through the last weeks of working on his thesis/grading assignments during final etc. Luckily, his friend Moira knows just the right person. Enters Erik, who's not that happy to be on dog walking duty, but he did owe Moira a favor, so...

[noxiatoxia]

I've been really, really wanting to make the UTDP mistranslation post I teased a week back but my brain issues have been so against me as of late. I know everything I wanna point out, but my fatigue and brain fog has made it impossible to sit down and put the words into English as of late :( mostly just sleeping.

Hmm, I can share something else with you guys, though.

So, remember this post? I've been doing a lot of research since...I just sit for 10 minutes reloading the same save file over and over and I've gotten interesting results.

Let me break it down.

NATIVE SYSTEM: The system the game is for.

MEDIA NO.: Each game for the PSP/PSVita gets assigned its own unique Media Identification Number...this number can be different from the physical box number it comes in. It's basically the ROM data number.

GAME TITLE: Self explanatory.

YEAR/PUB.COMPANY/PORT CREDIT: Year is self explanatory. The Publishing Company is who is in charge of, well, publishing the game. This is usually the company responsible for the Translations also. The Port Credit is for who was credited for making the ported versions. More on this in a second.

REGION: Region code for where the game was released. JP is Japan, US is America, EU is England, Germany, and Australia, and ASIA is Taiwan and Hong Kong.

TESTED ON: Either the physical console + model number OR emulator + update version.

DOES GLITCH?: Again pretty self explanatory. If the game experiences RAM overflow issues.

RELOADS: How many reloads of a save file it took to see results.

STAND-ALONE?: As 1・2 Reload is a compilation game, this category exists to say if the game is by itself or part of a compilation game.

So...SDR2 was released firstly on the PSP. This is the first ever release, so there's no port credit to be had. It can't be a port if it's the original.

Then, Spike releases an updated version for the Vita for both DR1 and SDR2 that fix some stuff from the PSP versions. In Japan only, this was released on the Vita as 1・2 Reload. This version only has both the Vita remakes in one game. The port was handled by Shade Inc., so it was outsourced.

Now, when it was translated for English and Traditional Chinese, the US, EU, and ASIA got both games sold separately. We do not know who the porting credit is given to, as none can be found, but it can be assumed it was Spike themselves who gave these versions of the game out, while Shade Inc. simply put them together for 1・2 Reload.

Anyways, so far...I've found something interesting. It seems this RAM overflow glitch did not exist until the Vita version was made, so it's a porting bug. However, it does NOT occur in 1・2 Reload, meaning Shade Inc. must have fixed it themselves.

All standalone versions of SDR2, however, suffer from the glitch. The US and EU versions suffer at the same rate, and for some reason the ASIA version glitches at an accelerated pace.

For all of these I did the same set up: I saved in the middle of dialogue with Komaeda in the prologue, right after you get the e-Handbook. I saved, closed the game, then would start reloading the save files.

The reason there is two numbers is because the first one (60 or 55) is when the system menu started to bug out, and then the second (62 or 57) is when the overworld started to lose textures. As you can see, they are both the same rate (took 2 more reloads between both the two) but the ASIA version just glitches faster. The results are also seemingly replicable, as the same type of glitching happens everytime without fail.

Screenshots of what I mean:

Now, you may wonder what the point of testing it on both hardware and emulator is. Well, it's to determine the cause. See, if it didn't happen on an emulator but did on console, that would point to it being a physical RAM issue, and not vRAM. However, it is happening on emulators as well to the exact same rate and in the exact same way. It's for sure a vRAM issue.

Emulators however seem to be more stable with error checks. For example, in all of these versions, once you get to this point, opening the student profiles crashes the game. However, on emulator, I could actually open it and look at them...not that there's much to look at.

What's most interesting perhaps is this is a SDR2-only issue so far. I tried this on the US Vita release of DR:THH, and did not encounter anything wrong after reloading up to 80 times. I will check the EU and ASIA versions of DR:THH another day, as well as the Steam and Switch versions of both.

I don't own the Android or iOS ports, so maybe I'll buy them for this sake.

I plan to make a video and include all of the recordings I've taken once I finish all my research. As you can see in the chart, I need to get around to certain emulator and physical tests that I just haven't yet.

Oh, and in case you want to try this yourself...it's completely safe, won't hurt your game or save data. I've saved while everything was messed up like this, and as soon as you force close the game and reopen, it's all back to normal.

[basilinixe]

Rarepair week vdf - Jour 3: Juste une fois

Raul/Renard

En retournant à son époque d’une pression d’un bouton, Renard ne s’était pas attendu à trouver Raul dans son salon. Un Raul égal à lui-même, avec sa large carrure appuyée sur un mur et ses longs cheveux qui lui tombaient un peu devant les yeux.

Le Visiteur n’avait absolument pas poussé de cri de fillette en voyant cette silhouette inattendue dans le labo, qu’il pensait vide avant d’arriver. Ni fait de bond en arrière sous la surprise non plus. Et Raul n’avait pas du tout eu un léger sourire amusé en voyant sa réaction.

- Désolé de vous avoir surpris, s’excusa-t-il une fois Renard remis de sa frayeur. J’avais sonné, mais il n’y avait personne, et vous m’avez donné le code de la porte dans votre lettre, alors…

Renard balaya ses inquiétudes d’un mouvement de la main, l’autre sur son torse pour essayer de calmer les battements affolés de son cœur. Raul n’avait pas l’air menaçant, et sa voix grave avait l’air sincère. Le Visiteur se racla la gorge, essayant de masquer son embarras d’avoir réagi de la sorte devant un homme qui semblait toujours composé.

- Non, non, c’est rien, vous avez eu raison. Henry est sorti, et moi j’étais en mission. Ç’aurait été con de vous faire choper par un zombie parce que vous poireautiez devant chez nous en nous attendant.

Raul acquiesça, et Renard lui fit signe de s’asseoir à la table-palette, avant de s’y installer à son tour. La table était toujours aussi miteuse, mais il espérait que l’autre homme ne s’en formalise pas.

- Que me vaut l’honneur de votre visite ? reprit le Visiteur une fois qu’ils étaient installés. Vous avez des conseils à me donner ?

Raul secoua la tête.

- Non, pas vraiment. J’ai plutôt une demande.

- Ah oui ?

Le ton de Renard resta neutre, malgré la pointe de méfiance qui émergea en lui aux mots de son invité. Il faisait confiance à Raul, mais il n’avait pas non plus complètement oublié tout ce qu’il s’était passé quelques semaines auparavant, les divers plans pour s’emparer de sa machine et se débarrasser de lui et Henry. Tout avait aussi commencé par une simple demande, celle de Dario.

Cependant, la requête de Raul fut bien plus raisonnable que tout ce qu’il avait imaginé :

- Emmenez-moi voir Sara. Vous savez où et quand elle habite, pas vrai ?

Raul le regarda dans les yeux, et Renard relâcha la respiration qu’il avait retenue, entre soupir de soulagement et pouffement.

- Ah, c’est tout ? Si ce n’est que ça…

C’est ainsi que les deux se retrouvèrent debout dans la pièce, côte à côte. Raul avait l’air de ne pas vraiment savoir mettre la main pour voyager, mais Renard coupa bien vite son hésitation, en posant une main sur son épaule.

- Prêt ?

Raul acquiesça, et quelques instants plus tard, ils atterrirent sous le soleil étincelant de 2012 dans un nuage de particules.

- Quand est-ce que je viens vous rechercher ? demanda Renard.

- Donnez-moi deux jours. Je vous attendrai ici à la même heure.

- Ça marche. Par contre, faites gaffe, les gens d’ici risquent de ne pas apprécier de vous voir vous balader avec ce type d’arsenal.

Renard désigna du menton le fusil à pompe avec lequel Raul voyageait, rangé à sa hanche et à peine dissimulé par son manteau.

- Hm.

- Je peux vous le garder le temps que vous revenez, si vous voulez. De toute façon, il n’y a pas de zombies ici.

Raul hésita visiblement pendant quelques secondes, avant de tendre son arme à Renard. Le métal était tiède quand il la prit en main.

Renard lui fit alors un signe de tête, avant de repartir.

Cependant, il n’alla pas immédiatement le rechercher à la date donnée ; il repassa d’abord par 2550 pour une pause-café bien méritée après sa mission. Après tout, il pouvait bien prendre son temps ; c’était ça l’avantage de voyager entre les époques.

Il s’installa alors dans le fauteuil défoncé une fois une tasse bien chaude à la main, et il commença à siroter sa boisson, dans ses pensées.

Le jumpscare de tout à l’heure mis à part, il ne s’était pas attendu à revoir Raul de sitôt. Bien sûr, il lui avait laissé une lettre pour l’inviter à le conseiller dans son sauvetage du monde, mais il n’avait pas pensé que Raul y prête grande attention. À vrai dire, il n’avait même pas été certain qu’il la conserverait. Comme quoi, les gens pouvaient toujours surprendre.

Mais c’était une bonne surprise. Raul était un homme bon et intelligent, et Renard était content de l’avoir de son côté. Et puis, il était d’autant plus beau quand il n’essayait pas de le tuer, ce qui était appréciable. Encore que… Si son petit sourire sincère avait son charme, l’air froid et déterminé en avait un aussi, si ce n’était que d’une façon différente.

Ce fut sur ces pensées que Renard termina son café, avant de déposer sa tasse et de repartir à la date demandée.

Raul était à l’heure au rendez-vous, mais il avait la mine sombre, pour une raison que le Visiteur ignorait.

- Vous avez besoin de plus de temps ? demanda Renard.

- Non, c’est bon. Ça servirait à rien. Allons-y.

Renard fronça les sourcils. C’était très ominous, ça, comme réponse. Cependant, il n’insista pas. Ce n’était pas dans ses habitudes de forcer les choses pour parler d’émotions.

Il tendit simplement son bras à Raul, qui posa une main sur son avant-bras, et ils retournèrent à leur époque d’origine.

Une fois au labo, Raul était silencieux. Trop silencieux. Il ne remercia pas Renard, et il ne dit rien non plus quand son arme lui fut rendue. Il n’avait jamais été très loquace, mais ce silence était différent.

Renard lui proposa un café. Raul accepta, mais sans dire un mot de plus.

Ils s’installèrent côte à côte sur l’unique canapé, boisson chaude à la main. Après plusieurs minutes de silence total, Renard finit par craquer, malgré son désamour pour les conversations émotionnelles. Il n’avait jamais vu Raul ainsi, et bien qu’il ne puisse nier la curiosité qui le traversait, il était aussi inquiet.

- Qu’est-ce qu’il s’est passé ? demanda-t-il d’un ton prudent.

Raul pinça les lèvres. Il détourna les yeux un instant, puis son regard revint vers Renard et il lâcha :

- J’étais parti pour demander à Sara de revenir avec nous en 2550. Elle a dit non.

- Oh.

Renard ne savait pas vraiment quoi dire. Lui-même n’avait jamais été très fan du reste de la fratrie Lombardi, mais il savait que Raul était vraiment très attaché à ses adelphes.

- Je suis désolé ? reprit-il d’un ton hésitant.

Raul soupira.

- Je suppose que c’est pas possible de me donner une machine pour aller la voir plus souvent ?

Renard fit la grimace.

- Désolé, mais vous supposez bien. Vous êtes un type bien, Raul, et j’aimerais bien vous aider, mais ça, ça ne sera pas possible.

À sa réponse, Raul garda le silence un moment. Renard finit même par penser qu’il allait partir, mais il finit par demander :

- Vous avez une famille ?

Renard fut complètement pris au dépourvu par sa question. La Meute, il n’y avait plus pensé depuis des années. Ou du moins, il n’avait plus voulu y penser.

Il voulut changer de sujet, faire une blague pourrie, tout sauf en parler. Mais les yeux sérieux de Raul posés sur le coupèrent dans son élan. Il inspira, et il finit par dire :

- J’en ai eu une, oui. Une grande. Mais je ne suis pas comme vous, Raul. Moi je l'ai abandonnée.

C’était le plus proche de la vérité qu’il pouvait lui confier.

Raul eut l’air surpris de sa réponse, et Renard eut un petit rire qui ne moquait que lui-même.

- Eh oui, poursuivit-il, désolé de briser l’image que vous aviez de moi.

Il tourna ensuite la tête, cherchant du regard quelque chose pour s’occuper les mains. Il ne voulait pas voir l’inévitable déception s’afficher sur le visage de son invité.

Cependant, ce que Raul répondit était à mille lieues de ce à quoi il s’attendait :

- C’est pas facile la famille, hein ?

Il parlait de sa situation, bien sûr, mais aussi de celle de Renard, c’était évident. Et si son ton avait été triste, la douceur et la compréhension qui s’y étaient glissées désarçonnèrent complètement le Visiteur.

Il ouvrit la bouche, puis la referma, ne sachant que dire. Ensuite, il finit par se retourner vers Raul et lui dire :

- Vous êtes un mec bien, vous savez ? Je suis sûr que Sara va finir par changer d’avis.

Raul lui sourit, pas sûr d’y croire, mais touché par l’intention derrière ses paroles. Renard choisit alors ce moment pour effleurer sa main de la sienne. Puis, sentant qu’il ne s’écartait pas, il posa directement sa paume contre sa peau. Le faisait-il pour réconforter Raul, ou pour se réconforter lui-même ? Il n’en était pas certain lui-même. Simplement, il savait qu’ils avaient besoin d’un contact humain.

Raul regarda leurs mains, avant de relever les yeux vers Renard d’un air interrogatif. Du coin de l’œil, Renard vit son regard s’attarder sur ses lèvres un moment.

Il n’avait pas pensé à ça, en prenant la main. Son action ne restait d’ailleurs que très peu préméditée. Mais Renard n’était pas contre. Au contraire. Alors, il se tourna vers son voisin et, en faisant attention à ne pas renverser leurs tasses de café respectives, il l’embrassa.

Raul ne fut pas surpris par son initiative. Il ne fit que fermer les yeux en émettant un petit soupir par le nez, avant de répondre à son baiser.

Leurs gestes étaient lents et délibérés. C’était un moment pour savourer le présent, les sensations du corps, et oublier de penser. Bien vite, Raul s’occupa de poser leurs tasses sur la table basse, et Renard profita de l’occasion pour s’installer sur ses genoux dès que la place fut libre.

C’était agréable d’embrasser Raul. Sa barbe lui grattait les joues, tandis que ses longs cheveux lui chatouillaient le visage. Ses mains quant à elles, grandes et chaudes, étaient passées sous son manteau, mais restaient sagement au-dessus de son t-shirt. C’était aussi quelque chose que Renard appréciait chez lui : bien qu’il était capable de le brusquer, de le casser en deux presque d’un geste, il faisait preuve d’une grande douceur.

Les mains de Renard aussi se firent un peu baladeuses. Elles se glissèrent d’abord dans les cheveux en face pour rapprocher leurs baisers, qui se faisaient plus intenses, puis elles caressèrent le torse musclé qui s’offrait à lui sous toutes ses couches de vêtements. La cartouchière qui y était attachée clinqua sous ses mouvements.

Ils étaient en bonne voie pour complètement oublier leur réalité l’espace d’un instant, sur ce canapé, quand la sonnette retentit dans le laboratoire, suivie d’une voix bien connue :

- Raul, t’es toujours là ? demanda Dario. Ça va faire une heure que je t’attends !

Renard voulut l’ignorer et continuer sur leur lancée, mais Raul l’écarta doucement. Ses lèvres étaient rouges et brillaient de salive.

- Désolé, Dario m’attend. La famille, vous comprenez ?

Puis, il souleva Renard et le redéposa sur la place à côté de lui comme s’il ne pesait rien, avant de se lever et de remettre ses vêtements bien en place.

Renard, pas encore tout à fait sorti des méandres dans lesquels il s’était enfoncé, ne fit que le regarder faire, puis dire :

- À une prochaine fois, peut-être.

Renard le salua alors bêtement, puis le regarda partir.

Le bruit de la lourde porte qui se résonna dans le labo, et le Visiteur se passa une main sur le visage pour reprendre ses esprits et se redressa. Raul ne perdait pas le nord, lui. Et sa loyauté était sans faille. C’était peut-être ça aussi, qui lui plaisait chez lui.

[klcthebookworm]

Six Sentence Sunday: Looking For Home: My Home Is You

Star Wars: Looking For Home: My Home Is You

BookWorm's Library | Ao3

The Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1760 light freighter moved steadily toward the jet-black Super Star Destroyer. Unlike the Executor's arrowhead silhouette, the Eclipse had a wedge-shaped bow perfect for ramming into anything opposing its might. It was also twice the size of Lord Vader's destroyed flagship. The YT-1760—named Jade's Escape according to its transponder code—looked like a grain of sand compared to the Eclipse and didn't fight the locked-on tractor beam.

A battalion of stormtroopers took their positions inside the hangar bay. Two companies lined the walls and the catwalks above, one company took scattered position behind the cover of docked shuttles and other equipment, and the last stood at attention before the platform on which the Jade's Escape would land. The pilot and passengers could not miss the Imperial strength levied against them.

Summary: Mara Jade has gone from wanting to kill Luke Skywalker to accepting his help for her minor problems and reciprocating by saving his life, but where will her loyalties fall when the Emperor Reborn calls her back to his service?

Frangipani (@teagrl) had a Tumblr post that inspired this story. I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea, even though I never read Dark Empire in full and never wanted to because I think that’s where the EU Legends mis-characterization of Luke Skywalker started. That was my main reason for rejecting me writing this plot bunny: I hadn’t read that part of the source material and still don’t want to read it.

Eventually, I will learn not to say publicly that “oh I won’t write that story idea.” Every time I do, I end up writing the story. I made a comment on someone’s else fanfic about hated story lines of the EU referencing this idea and how I didn’t think I could do it justice because I didn’t want any more knowledge of the Byss episode than I had already gleaned from the rest of EU Legends. Besides, I was busy on my Rescue the Farmboy AU. Then came a writing challenge of meeting daily word count goals from a writing encouragement newsletter. The Rescue the Farmboy AU took too much time researching movie scenes at the time, so I decided to outline this Byss AU instead and work on it for two weeks. Then I’ll have something to build off of later.

The two weeks got spent only on the outline, and I found myself committed to writing it after. I hope you enjoy this AU in the Star Wars Legends continuity.

[jackalxhearts]

I was reading some odd reviews on some docs I ordered, so here are some things to know about buying boots:

- real leather takes time to break in and stretch. your shoes will feel tight and uncomfortable until you wear them for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks

- Real leather should be conditioned once in a while to care for it. Just like skin, leather is a hide that can become dry and cracked. It needs cleaning and moisture! There are thousands of guides online you can check out. And if you know anyone in the leather community, I'm sure they would be happy to share some resources if you ask!

- If they still suck after being broken in, then look into moleskin padding or shoe inserts. Some boots are just comfier with inserts anyways

- Get familiar with return policies if you're nervous about the boots being right for you! Ask friend who own boots for help, ask friends in the leather community for help.

- Platforms are heavy. If you don't like feeling like you have heavy feet, do not buy platforms. If you're unsure and can't try any on anywhere before ordering online, err on the side of caution

- Lots of boots come in unisex, EU sizing, or something else. I'm a US size 7.5 in women's shoes, and a size 5 in US unisex and men's sizing. Go to a store and try on the shoes.

- Online: You cannot just order the size you buy in a store without double and triple checking the size chart first

- Measure your feet! Either in a shoe store with help if possible, or using online guides. I most reliably have gotten the right size by tracing my bare foot with a pen on top of a piece of paper, then measuring the outline.

- Check how the shoes are usually worn and styled. How are they laced? How tight? Are they worn with socks? What kind of socks? The way you lace boots and what socks you wear with them can significantly contribute to comfort.

- Lace code isn't much of a thing anymore, but that being said, google it and probably avoid the ones that make you look like scum. Use context. One of the bright rainbow Pride Docs came with white laces. That's fine, no one is mistaking you for a nazi in that situation.

[govindhtech]

Craig Gidney Quantum Leap: Reduced Qubits And More Reliable

A Google researcher reduces the quantum resources needed to hack RSA-2048.

Google Quantum AI researcher Craig Gidney discovered a way to factor 2048-bit RSA numbers, a key component of modern digital security, with far less quantum computer power. His latest research shows that fewer than one million noisy qubits could finish such a task in less than a week, compared to the former estimate of 20 million.

The Quantum Factoring Revolution by Craig Gidney

In 2019, Gidney and Martin Ekerå found that factoring a 2048-bit RSA integer would require a quantum computer with 20 million noisy qubits running for eight hours. The new method allows a runtime of less than a week and reduces qubit demand by 95%. This development is due to several major innovations:

To simplify modular arithmetic and reduce computing, approximate residue arithmetic uses Chevignard, Fouque, and Schrottenloher (2024) techniques.

Yoked Surface Codes: Gidney's 2023 research with Newman, Brooks, and Jones found that holding idle logical qubits maximises qubit utilisation.

Based on Craig Gidney, Shutty, and Jones (2024), this method minimises the resources needed for magic state distillation, a vital stage in quantum calculations.

These advancements improve Gidney's algorithm's efficiency without sacrificing accuracy, reducing Toffoli gate count by almost 100 times.

Cybersecurity Effects

Secure communications including private government conversations and internet banking use RSA-2048 encryption. The fact that quantum-resistant cryptography can be compromised with fewer quantum resources makes switching to such systems more essential.

There are no working quantum computers that can do this technique, but research predicts they may come soon. This possibility highlights the need for proactive cybersecurity infrastructure.

Expert Opinions

Quantum computing experts regard Craig Gidney's contribution as a turning point. We offer a method for factoring RSA-2048 with adjustable quantum resources to bridge theory and practice.

Experts advise not panicking immediately. Quantum technology is insufficient for such complex tasks, and engineering challenges remain. The report reminds cryptographers to speed up quantum-secure method development and adoption.

Improved Fault Tolerance

Craig Gidney's technique is innovative in its tolerance for faults and noise. This new approach can function with more realistic noise levels, unlike earlier models that required extremely low error rates, which quantum technology often cannot provide. This brings theoretical needs closer to what quantum processors could really achieve soon.

More Circuit Width and Depth

Gidney optimised quantum circuit width (qubits used simultaneously) and depth (quantum algorithm steps). The method balances hardware complexity and computing time, improving its scalability for future implementation.

Timeline for Security Transition

This discovery accelerates the inevitable transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) but does not threaten present encryption. Quantum computer-resistant PQC standards must be adopted by governments and organisations immediately.

Global Quantum Domination Competition

This development highlights the global quantum technological competition. The US, China, and EU, who invest heavily in quantum R&D, are under increased pressure to keep up with computing and cryptographic security.

In conclusion

Craig Gidney's invention challenges RSA-2048 encryption theory, advancing quantum computing. This study affects the cryptographic security landscape as the quantum era approaches and emphasises the need for quantum-resistant solutions immediately.

[n2qfd]

@swradiograms-blog @swradiogram

I have never had reception so good. S/N in the mid 20's G5RV antenna G106 Xeigu radio in Southern Tier NY

9265 kHz at 2330z

.

Welcome to program 402 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

1:42 MFSK32: Program preview (now) 2:56 MFSK32: EU to provide emergency funds for RFE/RL 5:34 MFSK64: NASA saves Voyager 1 from deep space doom* 11:04 MFSK64: This week's images* 27:55 MFSK32: Closing announcements

with image(s)

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From TVP World (Poland):

EU to provide €5.5 mln in emergency funds for Radio Free Europe

May 20, 2025

The European Union will provide emergency funds to keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) operational after the Trump administration froze funding for the global pro-democracy broadcaster.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday [May 20] that the bloc's foreign ministers had agreed to a €5.5 million contract to "support the vital work of Radio Free Europe."

She described the short-term funding as a "safety net" for independent journalism.

RFE/RL, which broadcasts in 27 languages across 23 countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, lost a major portion of its financing after President Donald Trump's administration cut off funding in March, accusing the media outlet of pushing a liberal agenda.

Last month, a U.S. federal judge ordered the administration to restore $12 million that had been allocated to the broadcaster by Congress.

Lawyers for RFE/RL warned it would be forced to shut down by June without the funds.

Kallas acknowledged that the EU could not cover the broadcaster's global shortfall but said the bloc could help it continue operating in countries within the EU's neighborhood that need independent news sources.

Founded during the Cold War, RFE/RL has its corporate headquarters in Washington and journalistic headquarters in Prague, the Czech capital.

Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 …

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NASA beats the clock to save Voyager 1 from deep space doom

By David Szondy May 18, 2025

It was race against time as NASA engineers recently raced to fix a thruster problem aboard the vintage Voyager 1 deep space probe. It's hard enough to repair a craft at the edge of the solar system, but this time they faced a potentially deadly deadline.

Launched almost half a century ago, Voyager 1 and its sister probe Voyager 2 have a special place in the heart of NASA, which is determined to keep the robotic pair functioning so long as there's a trickle of current coming from the onboard nuclear generators. It's a bit like keeping a vintage car on the road, except this car is 15.46 billion miles (24.87 billion km) away, a radio message takes 23 hours and two minutes to reach it, there are no spare parts, and no one around to even adjust a screw.

Despite this, NASA has been blessed by the Voyager spacecraft being insanely over-engineered. The people who built and launched it might all be dead or retired, the manuals literally turning yellow with age, and the code that runs on its computers the digital equivalent of Sanskrit, but both probes are still operating, albeit at a much lower level. Over the years, the engineers have had to contend with a radio unit switching itself off, data feeds suddenly spouting gibberish, and continuing thruster problems, but they still keep ticking along.

The thrusters have been a particular problem because they are among the very few systems with moving parts left running on Voyager 1, and something moving means something can go wrong. Essentially, there are four thruster systems on the spacecraft. One of these controls the attitude of the spacecraft so it points in the right direction, the second controls its roll, and three and four are backup systems.

Over the 48 years since Voyager 1 was launched, these thrusters have begun to show their age and NASA has had to deal with clogging fuel lines and persnickety valves by all manner of work arounds, including switching from the primary to the back up systems and then back again.

In the latest instance, the primary roll thrusters have built up so much residue in their fuel lines that it's feared that the whole system could seize up in a few months. To avoid this, the engineers spent March of this year coaxing the secondary thrusters back to life. These had already been declared unserviceable in 2004, but the team found that by reactivating some internal heaters they could get the back-up thrusters going again, so Voyager 1 can keep its radio antenna pointed at the Earth by locking onto a guide star.

This isn't the first time such a cosmic correction has been made, but there was a particular sense of urgency about this one because NASA was facing a target that, if missed, could have meant the end of the mission.

Voyager 1 is kept in contact with Earth through NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), which consists of three antennas at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California; the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex near Robledo de Chavela, Spain; and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex near Canberra, Australia. Unfortunately, only Canberra can track Voyager's part of the sky, and its main 230-ft (70-m) DSS-43 antenna was scheduled to undergo a major refit beginning in May 2025 and continuing until February 2026. During this time, Voyager would be incommunicado with only brief contact in August and December.

This meant that NASA had to repair Voyager 1 and ensure that it could autonomously carry out routine attitude adjustments using a new schedule of firing times and durations to put as little stress as possible on the systems – not to mention turning on the dormant back-up thrusters after 21 years without them blowing up.

According to the space agency, Voyager 1 responded to commands on March 20. This was two days after the orders were sent, so there was quite a bit of pencil chewing, nail biting, and coffee swilling in the meantime. In the end, telemetry reports confirmed that the temperature of the thruster heaters rose as predicted and Voyager 1 can carry on with its mission of exploration as it hurtles into interstellar space, never to return.

"It was such a glorious moment. Team morale was very high that day," said Todd Barber, the mission's propulsion lead at JPL. "These thrusters were considered dead. And that was a legitimate conclusion. It's just that one of our engineers had this insight that maybe there was this other possible cause and it was fixable. It was yet another miracle save for Voyager."

Source: NASA



Image: Artist's rendering of Voyager 1 in space …



This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

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This week's images …

 A bamboo forest in the Arashiyama region of Kyoto, Japan. tinyurl.com/ysp2cw3q …

 Sunset from the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. tinyurl.com/yv7lqeqj …

 Sunset seen from Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Wales. inyurl.com/yv7lqeqj …



Sunset over Glasgow's roofline. tinyurl.com/yu3xaglw …

Baltimore Oriole at Kill Kare State Park, Vermont, May 20. tinyurl.com/ys553hmw …

 A flower at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. tinyurl.com/ytkb2o2o …

A frog at Aurora Community Arboretum in Aurora, Ontario, May 19. tinyurl.com/yseuwj9c …

Crabapple blossoms at the George Landis Arboretum near Esperance, New York. tinyurl.com/ypnxfhu2 …

Lilacs at Arnold Arboretum in Boston. tinyurl.com/yrtm5evg …

Our painting of the week is "Blues or L'heure bleue" (1975) by Françoise Gilot.

Sending Pic:223x129C;

Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 …

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I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave Radiogram.

[charlotteswebbbbb]

What's the vibe? #87

Hi hello.

Airbnb now want to become an everything app.

Their first launch categories for Airbnb Services are: Chefs, Photography, Massage, Spa treatments, Personal training, Hair, Makeup, Nails, Prepared meals, Catering.

I don't think people will be into it as the revival of the hotel has been quite strong, alongside the fact that subletting insta pages have become huge amongst the young. I think they're fighting the formal and informal markets by offering new services.

Last week was the week of the nepo baby. Or the past few weeks at least. As we looked at Amelia Grey's Met Gala fit, former sustainability writer Alec Leach wrote about the nepo baby economy...

"The nepo baby phenomenon is what happens when social mobility tightens, or just disappears altogether — it’s not about this or that actor being an entitled shithead who doesn’t know how lucky they have it (although they might be!). It’s about the framework of our economies and how they open so many doors for the rich and well-connected, and slam them shut for almost everyone else. It all comes down to the boring, unsexy ways politics shapes our lives — it’s the laws and tax codes that concentrate wealth at the top of society, and the unregulated property markets that push home ownership further and further out of reach."

Cool Girl of the moment: Pinkpantheress - her album Fancy That was released on the 9th May 2025. Her website right now also has a great customiser game.

This week is the week of Cannes banning nude fits, just as the festival starts. Here's my list of films to look out for at Cannes and beyond:

It Was Just An Accident - Dir. Jafar Panahi

My Father’s Shadow - Dir. Akinola Davies Jr

Eddington - Dir. Ari Aster

Urchin - Dir. Harris Dickinson

Alpha - Dir. Julia Ducournau

Highest 2 Lowest - Dir. Spike Lee

The Phoenician Scheme - Dir. Wes Anderson (only saying because he has his retrospective at the Design Museum this year!)

And here's the bets on who may win the Palme (from Paddy Power)

Cannes can also tell you who may win Oscars...

Politics Special:

New Pope. New American pope. New American pope who is from Chicago, wants the wars to end, and is against AI.

Aside from that, the UK is right now, more than ever obsessed with immigration. To the point where it feels like the leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister on releasing his new Immigration White Paper, wants to be as extreme than the Reform Party.

Yes, if there was 1600 council seats and a fringe party took 600, I too would be terrified but I feel like they need to deliver something groundbreaking. Some suggestions: A upgrade on the transport systems of the North, a tram in Manchester, new proven council homes built by the next election, new jobs schemes, more money for the arts, a working NHS, allowing people to upskill easily with a fund, a true understanding of technology, the risks and what good can be done.

Keir Starmer has a pretty good relationship with Macron (France), Zelenskyy (Ukraine) and Merz (Germany). And according to a YouGov study,

Yahoo News: "YouGov polling commissioned by pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain has indicated the British public would back this, with 69% of those polled in favour.

The survey of 4,703 adults carried out between the end of March and start of April also found a majority, 53%, backed alignment on animal and plant standards, whereas only 21% were opposed.

Voters also back a youth mobility scheme, the polling suggested, with 63% in favour and 17% opposed."

I don't think we're getting that EU youth mobility scheme any time soon just on the energy of "Island of Strangers". It feels like they don't want to create any opportunity for British youth to easily make money/a life/career elsewhere even through our US deal (which isn't really a full deal and focused on "cars, steel and agriculture"). They're turning the sign on the door to CLOSED.

Labour are spiritually homeless right now - there's no clear direction on the ship and going rightward to spite your new competition is a bad idea. What's their USP at this point? A traditional workers party, working against workers, not offering radical and fast enough change to make material difference to people's lives. Difficult to follow after 10+ years of the Conservatives but it feels like more of the same.......

Foreign Travel spending to decrease in the US by 7% this year according to Reuters.

"Of 184 countries, the U.S. is the only one that's seeing an absolute decline in international visitor spending," Simpson said. "The U.S. is definitely losing its crown in this area."

The U.S. is the largest travel and tourism economy globally, she said. However, international visitor spending in the country is projected to fall under $169 billion this year, down from $181 billion in 2024 and 22% below its previous peak in 2019.

A strong dollar, which makes U.S. vacations more expensive, caused a decline in foreign travel spending in the country in 2024, Simpson said, but now politics and worries about crossing the border were also weighing on U.S. visitation figures."

Tariffs babe, the tariffs

The war on Christmas has begun early and the toymakers are not happy. This Economist article lays out the fears of Mattel and Hasbro who have their toys made in China due to expertise (and cost).

"Around 80% of toys sold in America are made in China, the main target in Mr Trump’s trade war. Levies of 145% on Chinese goods are clobbering an industry specialised in churning out cheap delights for children, often at low margins. Parents may be willing to spend $15 on a Care Bear (cut, sewn and filled in China), even if it is played with only once. At $36, though, they may tell sellers to get stuffed."

Sustainability:

In sustainability, Goodwill, the secondhand store in the US is doing curated selection to help Cowboy Carter fans get their pieces. This is a great way to encourage people that have never been in before to be sustainable and change their habits.

"Beyoncé is bringing her Cowboy Carter energy to Atlanta this summer—and Goodwill of North Georgia is joining the celebration with a western-inspired shopping experience fans won’t want to miss.

Beginning May 9, select Goodwill locations across metro Atlanta will debut "Cowboy Goodwill," a limited-time fashion event inspired by Beyoncé’s latest album and tour. Each featured store section will showcase curated western wear, including fringe, rhinestones, bold hats, denim, and glam-ready pieces—all affordably priced and sustainably sourced."

Vinted is now the number one seller of clothing in France. Behind is Amazon and Kiabi (which I guess would be similar to Primark).

"It appears that buying second-hand clothing (in store and online) is anchored in the habits of the French since they represent 10.9% of clothing purchases in value, and even 16.3% among 18-34 year olds, "revealing a structural evolution of the market carried by the younger generations," supports Gildas Minvielle, the director of the economic observatory of the IFM."

Retail Happenings:

Skims are coming to London next summer (2026) - The brand has signed a 10-year lease at 245-247 Regent Street, according to WWD.

Oakley opened their new store in Milan and ngl, this is the brand for cool kids!!!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Oakley (@oakley)

Did you guys know Antenne Books have an Editorial section on their website interviewing people?

Valentino are creating a listening space in their NY Madison Avenue store called L’Atelier Sonore. Made in collaboration with the Italian collective Terraforma, it is designed for a relaxing sound experience on the mezzanine floor. Open until the end of August, every day from 10 AM to 6 PM, the brand will be playing playlists curated by Terraforma and other collaborators of the maison.

Links I care about this week:

This really cool post by Soft Services celebrating 4 years of their brand.

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A post shared by Soft Services (@softservices)

I really liked this video even though I was really shocked to hear Tuba Avalon say the 1er arr. is the best arrondissement like... are you bo-bo? The most interesting bit for me is the sustainability collection on the 8th floor of Printemps (around 13:00) which has the pieces and the photos of it on the runway. It reminded me of something Rian Phin was talking about on Twitter a few weeks back about wanting to buy from someone's highly curated store and when they did they had a photo of what show the piece came from. It adds context, can spur off a research moment for a buyer. Imagination expansion.

Chanel roundtable - we're already seeing what kind of Chanel Matthieu wants to create and curate. Kung Foo Kenny + these ladies is going to be interesting. It's the stylish party.

Offline clubs anyone? Maybe a cafe where you lock up your phone? Offline retreats in France?

And then this piece on NSS (sorry, they had a lot of interesting stuff on there) on the meaning of rituals today and why they matter. It links to the developing spirituality thing that's going on where younger generations are becoming more spiritual.

*A NYT article on dance music which I guess pulls all the threads together on its resurgence coming after pop's peaks. It talks also about money and where it goes and where it comes from, social media and what it's changed for DJs old and new.

This piece relates to another by NSS on the topic of the cheapest. places to party in Europe. The article leads on the idea of nocturism (nocturnal tourism) rising in general, and when searched for these came up.

This opens up a whole opportunity for many sectors - the first thought about are obviously clubbing, but also dining, shopping, in regards to the NatGeo article safari visits during the night. The NSS article then goes on to talk about it's top 10 interesting places a

Prague

Plodiv, Bulgaria - small city, 16 venues but intimate, incl Kapana Fest

Madrid

Budapest

Zagreb, Croatia

Things I want to see:

Julio Torres' new live show (apparently there was a London date???)

Last Days, the opera loosely based on the last days of Kurt Cobain is coming back to the Royal Opera House in Nov/Dec.