#Multi-Location Backups

[placeinthemiddleofnowhere]

Reign down on me - Part 9

Pairing: Ghost x Hybrid!reader (eventual poly!141)

No use of y/n or mention of gender/race

Summary: Reader is a wolf hybrid in a world that treats them like second class citizens, given a horrible start in life after being thrown into the military with no preparation. After years of struggle, they're finally taken away from their base by Ghost, now a permanent member of taskforce 141 reader struggles to come to terms with the fact that perhaps there's a life there for them - if only they reach out and accept it.

Warnings: hurt/comfort, Angst, abuse mentions, self doubt, violent scenes

A/N: sorry this took so long, but i hope y'all enjoy! Can't wait to hear what you think of it 💕

-🐺-

As soon as the chinook touched down, you awakened to scorching Mexican heat and an achingly dry mouth. The hot air left you clacking your tongue in disgust at the tacky taste of sleep, but lucky for you Price was ready with a bottle of water. Barely seconds after downing half of it like a floundering fish, you were hauling yourself out with Gaz. 

You didn’t get very long to look around once out. After taking a precautionary glance around the military base and scoping the dusty buildings, the three of you were soon greeted by a tall smiling man with his arms folded. Meanwhile his stocky, straight faced hybrid companion hung back to his right. You could feel his unshifting gaze on you the moment you’d stepped out the helicopter. 

It was a surprise, afterall it’d been so long since you’d worked with another of your kind. He was a wolf just like you, but his ears were a soft bark like brown and his tail swished straight down the way, perfect and unbroken despite his field of work. When you flicked your eyes back to his you could see him looking you up and down with the same assessing stare. 

“Good to see you again, Captain. Garrick.” The tall man said, beaming at Price and nodding to Gaz before he then tilted his head at you. “And you brought backup, I see.”

“Not backup, Ale. This is Pup - 141’s newest recruit,” Price said, putting a heavy hand on your shoulder. “Pup, this is Colonel Alejandro Vargas and his hybrid partner Rodolfo Parra.”

“Rudy must’ve made quite the impression last time we worked together, eh?” Alejandro said, patting Rodolfo's Shoulder in turn. 

‘Rudy’ raised his eyebrows at that. Clearly he hadn’t expected to have had much of an influence on Price’s new hybrid, but now he was looking somewhat embarrassed at that inadvertent praise. His tail tucked into his leg revealing some of the ombré streak of tan that ran through the back of it and his ears settled low to his head. 

“Well he, more than any other hybrid before, certainly showed me there’s a lot of merit in having a multi-species team,” Price shrugged. “Pup was the one to convince us, took em out on a mission and Pup was solid.”

“Is that so? I look forward to working with you then, Pup,” Alejandro said, directing an easy smile in your direction. “Are you all ready to head to the target location? I can finish briefing you all in the ride over.”

“Yeah, best get on with it,” Price nodded. 

With that, you all walked round to the head of the massive jeep convoy and loaded yourselves in. 

Even after being told it was legit, there was a part of you that had been deeply suspicious that Price had made up a goose chase just to get you out of the kennels all the way up until the ride in the jeep. A little ghost of warmth had filled you at the idea your Captain cared so much. Even when he’d dispelled that once he’d gotten to talking about strategy with Alejandro, you couldn’t help but feel he’d taken you when he might not have in any other situation. Especially when it was likely you’d be forced into all out assault against heavy fire. Some might’ve resented that, but you could only shift around in anticipation, tail wagging around like a cat toy. 

You were all going to be storming through the forest and taking down a cartel in hopes of finding a connection that had another connection through which you’d find the arms dealers that the 141 had been tasked with taking down. Not complicated at all. Well, Alejandro and Price’s explanation was somewhat complicated, you’d almost gone cross eyed trying to follow all the names, but Gaz was kind enough to whisper in your ear and fill you in on the local groups that they were discussing. 

The whole time Rudy watched you out of the corner of his eye. You could see them practically cutting through the mirror. The way he seemed to frown, you could only assume he had some kind of a problem or was at least wary with you. However he didn’t voice any concerns. Merely kept his ears folded downward in obvious discontent. 

-🐺-

“Pup, what the fuck did I tell you? Stay close!” 

Within no time, the forest was like an impressionist painting. Streaks of dark spots dotted themselves in amongst the twisty trees and blended through the foliage before firing and lighting up their spots, forcing themselves to shift once more. 

To the humans you were with, it would be utter chaos. To you and Rudy, it was all background distraction. You could smell the people, you didn’t have to look for them. Even despite the ear protection you wore, you could still hear their shifting feet clumsily beating through the brush.

And so the two of you found yourselves standing over a body, mouths covered in blood, yours plastered with a smirk while he took to a coy smile. The man had been about to take a shot, aiming for either your boys or Alejandro. Though before he could fire he was interrupted by Rudy yanking the gun back and then you diving onto him, rendering the idiot gravely wounded until Rudy delivered a final blow. 

“We make a good team,” you said, cocking your head and listening out for more movements. 

Rudy snorted and turned away. 

“Maybe…but there’s still more work to do.”

When he stalked off you couldn’t help but frown, but ultimately you followed, there wasn’t the time to contemplate why he was so standoffish. There would be plenty of time for that when you and your team weren’t being hunted like an infestation. Not to mention Price was screaming in your ear about checking in and to report your condition. 

“Still operational, Captain,” you muttered. “Making my way back to you.” 

With that you were racing through the trees, eyes fuzzy and losing themselves in the darkness. Your instincts were sharply rising to the surface, the wolf within growing stronger every passing second. It felt like your veins were pumping hot lava. 

There were three men that crossed you on your way back to Price. The first fell to the floor and gurgled before he could even think about lining up a shot for you, the second fought bravely and managed to graze your arm with a bullet and bruise your neck a little in an effort to pull you off. The third had seemingly popped out of nowhere, he had to have been camped in his position like a sand snake. The sneaky bastard was about to land a bullseye, the barrel of his weapon practically kissed your temple. You thought you’d only had enough time to squeeze your eyes shut and draw back your ears.

Lucky for you though, Gaz shot first. 

“Were you listening when Price asked you to be careful, Pup?”

“Course I was. Don’t think that guy was though,” you grinned. 

“Bloody hybrids,” Price grunted through the comms. “You two on me. Now!”

Both you and Gaz joined Price once more and continued on your tear through the forest. More than once you ran into Rudy, but by that point you were too lost in the work to really take note. Blood had sponged into your clothes and dripped off your chin, your muscles were bunched with tension and your pupils felt wide as the moon. That primal side of you was fully present and awake and it had its claws caught so deep, there was a small part of you that worried about being stuck feral. 

All notion of that disappeared when Price commanded you to stop. His hand wound tight in your collar and suddenly your legs lost their momentum. You peered up at him wide eyed and out of breath, soon looking out of the corners of your eyes and searching for hidden dangers. You only made eye contact once you knew for certain you’d both be safe. 

“Easy, Pup,” he said soothingly, running a rough hand over your ears in gentle waves. “Easy. That’s it.”

“Why’ve we stopped?” You rasped, so high pitched it could almost have been a whine. 

“The compound is up ahead. We want you and Rudy with us. Can you follow my commands? Are you ready to go in?”

Price gestured at Alejandro and Rudy who were standing just off to the side of you. Rudy’s chest was rising and falling like a beating drum, but other than that, he looked composed and ready to strike. In comparison you felt like something of a tornado. 

For a few seconds you closed your eyes and breathed, slowly gaining awareness of your own thudding heart and the way the air tickled at the hollows of your ears. 1…2…1…2. You imagined Ghost’s deep rumble telling you to come back to yourself. Instantly your awareness sharpened. You could make out the faded scent of cigars that wafted through every fibre of Price’s being, and in that moment there was no greater comfort than something that had become so fmailliar. 

“Yeah…Ready, Captain,” you said with a gulp. 

Price nodded back at you and then to each member of your small group. Before long you were lead to the front of the treeline, staring at a big concrete eye sore that hid just below the tops of the great Cypruses so that it might stay hidden from the sky. There were a few slitted windows, one small doorway, plenty of opportunity for anyone that might try to get a lucky shot in. You couldn’t help but notice that the whole thing looked like a creature grimacing in pain. 

Alejandro clicked his tongue, then began to speak. 

“Ok, listen up. There’s only one entryway into this thing, so we’re going to need to manoeuvre round and then run like hell and take out whoever we can from the outside before it turns into a death funnel. It’s gonna be armed to the teeth once we’re inside, so we need to be fast and we need to spread out,” Alejandro said, his voice low while his eyes roamed the building. “Gaz and I want you up front with me so we can take shots inside while Price holds up the rear. Then, when it’s safe enough, we’ll send in the wolves to stir up a little carnage. I want you two to team up and take down who you can, overwhelm them and keep them panicked enough that they can’t get a shot on either of you.”

Gaz clenched his jaw as soon as it was mentioned that you’d be going in first. He shot a sharp look over at Price, but your Captain wasn’t giving anything away. You yanked your head around from where he was holding your collar and looked at him, trying to evaluate how he felt about that plan of attack. He was stoic as ever. 

“Let’s do it,” he said eventually, breathing deeply as if to punctuate his decision. 

He didn’t look in any mood to argue. Gaz probably evaluated things that way too because he didn’t say anything, but that didn’t stop him from giving a small nod of his head and keeping his eyes glued to you. It was as if he was saying that he’d be just behind you no matter what he was commanded anyway. 

You offered him a reassuring smile, or something like that as your lip didn’t quite fully curl. Your body was too busy preparing itself for attack, letting go of functions that didn’t facilitate your immediate survival. Your vision darkened by the second, but before your instincts burst fully to the forefront of your mind you couldn’t help but catch a little movement in the corner of your eyes. 

Alejandro wrapped a hand round the back of Rudy’s neck and pulled him close, touching his forehead to his hybrid’s. His lips moved quickly, he said something that sounded Spanish and then…kissed Rudy’s temple. Then just as quickly as he’d swooped in for a peck, he moved away again. Gaz and Price were too busy looking at you, they didn’t catch it, but they did catch your frown. 

“Alright, Pup?” Gaz asked, quickly picking up on your change of expression. “You alright with the plan?”

You blinked up at him. It took a little while until you mustered up the wherewithal to shake your head. The movement slowed as if it were moving through molasses 

“No, I’m fine with it Gaz,” you shrugged. “I infiltrate first most of the time anyway. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’ll worry anyway,” he said, flicking your ear from just over your helmet. “Don’t want anything to happen to my new favourite.”

You shook your head, but rather than let loose the grin that threatened to spill over your lips, you let the comment fuel you. That and Rudy and Alejandro’s little moment could wait till later. At that moment everything was about the building in front of you and the protection of your hard earned team. You wouldn’t let them down. For once you were happy to act as both the battering ram and shield, knowing you’d fight any man that threatened to take your men from you. 

Once Ale gave the go ahead, everything seemed to happen in double time. You, Price and Rudy took up the rear, running ahead through the panic with snarling jaws and weapons Primed. Price shot behind you all at any stragglers from the woods while you and Rudy moved to position yourselves for the door. A renewed fire lit your veins, and when you looked over you could see that Rudy looked much like you felt, his face focused and irises wide as cannonballs. 

As soon as Alejandro cried ‘go’ you were both let loose. Rudy flew high and you went low, both taking out the two men that filled the hallway like pillars. Your man screamed bloody murder when his femur was torn into and then squeaked when his genitals were shredded loose from his body. Rudy’s man didn’t have the chance to scream, his throat was torn out and slapped against the walls with a wet sound. 

The next few men were dispatched in equally gory fashion, blood spattered fourth and covered you both anew, your mouth fizzed with the taste of iron and tattered fabric. Saliva and plasma foamed down your chin, each new bite like a mouthful of unset jelly. It was that feeling that had your instincts invading, the battle in front of you fading as it blended into all the ones that came before it. 

-🐺-

“So you’re actually useful for something then! What a good mutt. We finally made a killer out of you, didn’t we? Can send you off to do some real work.”

The face in front of you tortured you like nothing else. That fucking tirelessly smug look, that scar that marred him seemed to deepen that unbearable smile, it stretched tight over his lips. He loomed just out of reach, no matter how hard you fought against the chain, you could never touch him. Could never reach no matter what you tried.  

“You just saved me a bullet, you vicious little bitch… I’ll let you into a secret too since you passed your test so spectacularly - It wouldn’t have been for him. Could’ve used him for the next dog after all.”

The body below you was cooling now. The man’s blood at your hands and feet only made you long all the more for Maddox’s, but there was no way he’d be stupid enough to allow you loose when so feral. Instead he took great joy in watching you choke yourself just for the chance of even laying a scratch on him, chuckling everytime you gagged.

-🐺-

“Pup! Behind!”

You squealed, clawing at the air as you were quite literally dragged back into the present. Someone was forcing you from your latest quarry, the man was still screaming and flailing around like a kicked puppy, throwing himself around with all the grace of a chew toy. The strangers’s hands brought you back and twisted you around to meet his gun, the burning scent of its barrel stinging your nostrils. Though before the metal could reach your head, you flung it upward with your fist. The noise of the shot ground into your ears like iron shavings, competing with your knuckles in a blindingly throbbing battle. 

Even with the generous ear protection you were given, you were still left reeling. Made dizzy and sent wobbling off to the wall by your left. The gun was lining up with you slowly, the man clearly affected by that same misfire. It was a race for both your lives. You pushed off the crumbling wall and threw yourself to his feet in a last ditch attempt to win. 

Another shot rang out. Your vision went black. Your body felt as if it had been buried at the bottom of an explosion, your lungs and back ached with pressure. A few more shots whizzed through the air, the individual pops were your only company through the darkness. That and a low rumbly voice that felt as if it were vibrating through your rattling skull. You're my good Pup, it said, I knew you had to be mine.

“Pup! Pup!”

Light flooded your eyes and the unforgiving weight on your back alleviated all at once. You were rolled around to meet wide brown eyes that searched over you in a wide sweeping motion. Gaz. He finished tossing the body that had lain on top of you and came to kneel directly in front of you so that he could get a better look. 

“Still breathing, Cap!” he shouted, his voice deliberately carrying past where you were lying. 

You flicked your eyes to the hallway beyond and noticed Price dragging someone into a room after acknowledging you both with a grunt and a quick glance. You didn’t recognise the man he was flinging through the doorway, but you could only assume it was the target. 

“I told you not to worry,” you groaned.

Gaz didn’t look the least bit amused. Neither did you after he hauled you up into his lap. You grimaced, hands instinctively flying to your side where pain had begun to radiate like a blooming lotus. The petals of that pain unfurled slowly, sending your breathing haywire. Fuck, did it hurt. It sent you cursing like a sailor. 

“Did that cunt actually shoot me?” You seethed, not willing to look down while you were trying to focus on breathing. 

“Fucking lucky that one didn’t. That one you were attacking first got you in the vest from further away before his friend fell on you. I got em’ both.”

“Ah…Makes sense that I’m not pink mist then. Thanks for that.”

Gaz turned you around, just so he could narrow his eyes at you. You could only tilt your head back, wondering why he was so perturbed. He didn’t look angry per se, it was like he wasn’t sure what to feel. His brows were heavy over his darkened eyes and his jaw ticked over as he tried to form words. You’d never seem him like that before.

“What happened to you?” he finally asked.

“What do you mean?” 

“Your eyes were pitch black, I’ve never seen you that far gone before. It was like you were possessed or something. Freaked me the fuck out.” He said, shaking his head. “So what happened?”

Had it been someone you hadn’t known you’d have told them to shove it. The rebuke was building on your tongue, practically clawing to come out. Though the concern on Gaz’s face stopped you from doing anything of the sort. You softened your gaze and looked off to his left, focusing on a tattered piece of wall and the ghost of a smile the bullet marks created. 

“Training took over. Maddox…he always…,” you stared so hard your vision doubled, the blurry face grinning back twice as much before you refocused on Gaz. “The wolf in me took the lead. I did my job and they went for me and not any of you. All that matters is you’re fine, Gaz.”

Gaz didn’t say anything to that. He continued to frown, and thought on it for a minute, staring down at the spot where the centre of your pain radiated outward. You began to wonder if it was pulsing visibly just as much as it was physically. However impossible that was. Just as he looked like he might have formed a response his chance to talk was taken from him. 

“Gaz, how’s Pup? Broken?” 

Price’s voice was all grit, he filled the silence like a sledgehammer. Gaz called back that you were going to be fine, just bruised and after another grunt of affirmation he was called to come assist in securing the asset. Alejandro sent Rudy to go watch over you. Gaz gave you a look that said he’d be talking to you later while he switched with Rudy, disappearing into the room and taking his palpable silence with him. 

Rudy didn’t show any of that same blinding concern once he reached you. If anything he looked like he might be bored, but you couldn’t tell with his face. He had a knack for appearing neutral, if not a bit startled at times. Looking so shifty as his ears flicked about, clearly not trusting that the base would stay conquered. 

“You’re still alive. Good for you,” he said at last, choosing a spot just in front of you to lean against. 

You snorted. His ears twitched irritably at the sound. 

“What? You disappointed?”

“No, just surprised,” he said simply.

You frowned back at him, but before you could bother to ask why, he elaborated. 

“They break all you British hybrids so bad, its like none of you even want to try staying alive.”

“What? They train you so much better over here do they? I never realised Mexico was such a paradise,” you said back, sneering over at him. “It’s no wonder your ears and tail aren’t even marked if you’re standing there looking down on me for the way i fight.”

Having said that, you were waiting for the fight to break out that normally would’ve happened with any of the bastards from your last base. All of you were raised on a hair trigger. Left to your own vengeance, so long as you didn’t cause any grievous wounds that stopped you working.

With that in mind you made a show of visibly switching off your comms, confident now that the fighting with the cartel was behind you that you could settle things in private. Rudy didn’t even bat an eye however, he tilted his head at you, but eventually did the same. Neither of you needed to disrupt the others with your bickering.  

“You think that your broken tail makes you a better soldier than me?”

There wasn’t a good response for that. If he’d engaged in your petty little fight, you might’ve said yes, but he was as calm as if he and you were sat waiting in a briefing room. As you tried to find a retort your ears flicked nervously around your head, dancing between being upright and flattened before they settled on pinning ever so slightly backwards. 

“Shows that I must be doing a good job staying alive if I’m still here despite it.”

He smiled at that, pursing his lips soon after. 

“Sure…I’ll let you have that. They call you ‘Pup’ for a reason I suppose.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you growled.

“Mean’s that you sulk just the same as one.”

You lunged for him and quickly regretted it when your ribs sent a stab of pain that tremoured through your whole body. Even while you did everything in your power not to make a noise, you were helpless in letting a small whine escape your throat. 

“Sound like one too. You should take it easy, you’ll have plenty time to get me back once you recover from that.”

You flipped him off in place of being able to take a swipe at him. Your breathing was getting ragged, so deep and frayed that you eventually committed to ripping your vest off and getting a look at your wound. Your arms burned with the effort it took, but the thing parted from you with a thunk and suddenly your body really let you know just how much you’d wrecked it. Traitorous thing, proving Rudy right. 

When your eyes landed on the island shaped bruise at your side, it took everything not to wretch. The thing was already a hundred different shades, looking ugly and dark and just as sore as it felt. Your eyes grew wet and you soon forgot all about the one sided argument you were having and closed them, begging yourself not to cry so that you could reserve the last scrap of your dignity. 

“That looks bad…Woah!”

You hadn’t realised, but in a fit of dizziness you’d begun to slide down the wall. Rudy stopped you from collapsing into a heap right at the last second. For second all you felt was air and then his cool hands on your skin. Not long after his peppery scent flooded through you, forcing you to stay in the room. He propped you up on his side and kept an arm curled against you, gripping onto your hip. 

“You good?” He asked, intense eyes flicking all over your face. 

They were like molten copper. He disarmed you instantly, chasing the rest of the fight out of your failing body. Even if you had been primed to start a boxing match only moments before you’d resolved to let him have his sense of superiority while you focused on staying upright.

Well, almost. 

“You just this touchy with everyone, yeah?” you asked, trying to distract him from how pathetic you’d turned. 

It was finally his turn to look confused.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, ears flicking around. 

“I saw you two lovebirds before we attacked,” you grinned, soon grimacing when you took a particularly hard breath. “Does he always give you a good luck kiss?”

Rudy looked like he wanted to throw you off of him, but by sheer goodness of his own heart prevented his hand from doing so. It didn’t stop his fingers gripping your hip tighter, his claws luckily grazing your good side. He stopped himself when he caught your wince.

“Don’t talk shit.”

“I’m not judging.”

“Sounds like you are,” he snorted. 

“If anything I’m jealous.”

That was supposed to be a joke. However your tone didn’t convey that. So for a second you were left blinking over at each other until Rudy clenched his jaw. His iron patience was wearing thin, the pickaxe that you were taking to it was apparently breaking through. All from that comment. It was then that you realised whatever he had with the colonel was more than just a little over affection. 

“Really? You want Ale?”

You gasped in shock, clutching your side and barking out in laughter. 

“Oh shit, no,” you cackled.

“Who then?”

“My handler obviously…apparently. Fuck me, how did we even get to talking about this?” you sighed, settling back against the wall. 

Rudy looked more relaxed now and he loosened his hold on your frame, his tongue lashed out against his lips and that gentle smile returned to his face.

“You got us onto the subject I believe. Which of them is your handler? Garrick?”

“Desperate to gossip now?” You asked, trying to let the subject die. 

Rudy wasn’t having that though. He was like a cat with a mouse, easily batting you between his big paws.

“It’s Garrick isn’t it? You were looking…moon eyed is the expression isn’t it?”

“I do not have moon eyes for anyone!” you groaned, knocking him with your shoulder and hurting him about as much as you did yourself. “Besides, I belong to Ghost not Gaz.”

Rudy’s eyebrows shot up so high you were almost sent into a new laughing fit imagining them coming clean off. He shook his head, eyebrows still firmly attached. The absurdity of the whole situation didn’t escape you. After being in a gunfight that almost ended your life, it seemed unlikely that you’d be stuck gossiping with your fellow hybrid afterward while there was a man most likely being beaten for information in the other room.

“Ghost?” he choked out. “No mames! That’s not someone you want a kiss from. He’d give you the kiss of death.”

“Maybe on you. He’s really quite sweet with me,” you grinned, “Reckon he’d give me a big peck on the head as well, just like Ale does with you.”

“Ghost. Sweet?”

“He is. We were having a romantic morning cuddling in bed just the other day,” you said faux wistfully. “Trading stories, sharing scents.”

“Ah, so that’s the nice British way of saying that you fuck. I’ll have to keep that in mind when Alejandro and I trade scents.”

It was your turn to risk losing your eyebrows to the sky. In fact you were so taken aback that your mouth went dry. Sure it wasn’t like you were a virgin, but you had thought it was rare that hybrids and humans had sex, nevermind navigated complicated handler relationships while doing the act. In fact that very idea opened up new avenues in your mind, sparked a little inkling of opportunity you hadn’t really consciously considered much before. 

“You and Alejandro are…together?”

You’d expected him to laugh or look offended or look panicked or something, but now that you two had found some kind of messed up common ground he didn’t give much away. He tilted his head at you and smiled indulgently. 

“Oh, so you weren’t just playing coy? Poor little Pup.”

“Poor little Pup nothing,” you said petulantly, folding your arms and willing the conversation away. “I’m a professional, I don’t shag my superiors.”

“It sounds like you’d like to though,” he chuckled, looking delighted with himself. “I’m right, am I not?”

“No,” you said squeaked out, body raising a hundred degrees just at the thought. 

All sorts of images flooded your mind. Ghost lying next to you just like he had been when he’d whisked you into his bed. Ghost dripping and wet from the rain, carrying you close to him, so close to him you could practically smell him through the mental haze. Ghost holding you against a wall while you trained, keeping you at bay while you waited to attack your fake target. Ghost’s unyielding grip on your collar. Relax Pup, I’ve got you. Thats it, keep it steady. 

“Oh well that’s definitely the face of someone that’s telling the truth,” he remarked slyly. 

“Go fuck yourself,” you huffed, shaking at the realisation that maybe that wasn’t even the first time that you’d considered being open to the idea of something else with Ghost…  

“I don’t have to. Maybe you can use that death wish of yours to ask for the same.”

“Shut the fuck up,” you groaned, now just trying to focus on staying upright.

“Alright then,” Rudy said, still smiling into the middle distance. “You’re the one that started talking shit anyway.”

“No don’t you start that shit, you’re the one-”

“You two!” Price barked.

Both your heads whipped around to the now open doorway where Ale and Gaz were busy dragging a hooded man while your Captain oversaw the whole thing. His face was grave and drawn, he looked battle worn and weary, but even beneath the layers of grime and awful mood you could see that his resolve stayed well intact. 

“Captain,” you said quietly, feeling like you had to acknowledge him in some way. 

Rudy said nothing, but gave a nod.

“We have a team coming out to meet us and escort this one back to Los Vaqueros’s base. Rudy, stay with Gaz and Ale. Pup, can you stand?”

You bit your lip, knowing how much your next movement would hurt, but sucking it up despite yourself. With a growl, you braced your hands beneath you and then clawed your way up the wall, coming to a shaky stand until you were all the way upright - almost all the way upright. Your hip kept you wonky on your feet, but otherwise you were able to stay in place. 

You shot him a shaky thumbs up. 

“Good. I’ll help you to evac. Once we get to base, you and me are going to have a talk.”

If your spirits hadn’t been thoroughly pissed on by that point, they were then. Your ears drooped low and you nodded slowly waiting at the wall like a naughty child until he was ready to prop you against his shoulder. 

Your thoughts raced at the possibilities of all he could want to talk about. So much had happened to you in such a short space of time, it felt like your mind was a skipping DVD. Scenes of carnage melded with the two officers in the hallway, both rooms melting together while flashing to Ghost, Price, Soap and Gaz training with you. All your team warred for for time with all your enemies, all the fighting you had done up to that point mingled with scenes from training hangars, bars with pool games and soft blue sheets draped over Ghost’s sprawling body. 

It was going to be a long ride back.

-🐺-

“You decent?”

You looked down at the puddle of water below your tail with unfocused eyes, the blurry edges of the water seemed to morph and change colours with the flickering lights above you. Shifting between pink, yellow and white. It had taken a while to get most of the blood out. Most being the operative word. Your uniform was hurled into the corner, too far gone to be worth washing or doing anything to save. Price had told you to chuck it once you were changed into the new clothes he’d pulled from your kit. 

“Yeah, I’m changed,” you finally answered back. 

You were a little soggy, but still you had changed and you were clean and your hair had been tended to first after getting your jogging bottoms and T-shirt on. All that was left was to finish brushing out your tail, your secret weapon against whatever words were about to come your way. From the way Price had been speaking to you, you could tell he wasn’t very happy. Brushing out the snarls from your fur would give you an excuse not to look at him. 

You were just starting to comb out the tip of the silvery fur when Price walked in, boots heavy against the tile. He filled the doorway like a barricade. 

“Come on,” he sighed, his voice even heavier now that he was so close to sleep. “Go sit on a bed, I need to get off my feet.”

“My tail’s still wet, I need to brush it out and dry it,” you said quickly, hoping that you weren’t giving him reason to be more annoyed.

“Fling a towel down. Whatever bed you sit on, I’ll take. Gaz can have the other one.”

You raised your eyebrows, but didn’t dare question him further. Truth be told, when you’d been pushed toward the room and through the bathroom, you hadn’t thought much about what the bunking situation would be, but now that you were cognizant of the situation, it dawned on you that there was two twin beds beds out there and three soldiers to fill them. So you must be on the floor then. 

It didn’t matter. That wasn’t the most pressing issue at hand. You took a dry towel and spread it out over the bed on the left hand side of the simple room, and taking a proper look around. There were two twin sized beds at the back of the room, a plain wooden dresser next to the doorway at the front, and of course the bathroom that you’d come out of to the left with a mirror stuck to the back of it. The walls were stark white, but thankfully there was a small window in the middle of the two beds, giving the room a little relief from the stark paint and yellow lighting. 

You jumped when Price came to sit next to you, avoiding touching the already wet towel, but sitting close enough you were dipping into him. It took a little adjusting so that you wouldn’t lean into him, but once you both got comfortable, you were soon left staring. Looking into the hard blue gaze that met yours like a set of angry headlights. 

“Gaz told me what you said.”

“W-what?” you whimpered, wondering what it was that he was referring to.

Had he heard your conversation with Rudy? You were so sure that door was closed. So sure that you could barely hear their mutterings in there. 

“He said that you told him you ‘did your job’. Do you know how many times we called out to you to come to heel, Pup?”

“I…No. No, Sir.”

“I asked you three times. Gaz asked you once before he had to take out the men that were on you. You did not ‘do your job’. You rushed ahead like a half crazed coyote and almost got yourself killed. And then what? What would I have told Ghost, hm?” Price growled, his breaths coming out fast and uneven. 

Your wet tail curled around you, scraggly strands drawing close to what little warmth was still in your body. It felt like you were growing colder by the second, frozen in Price’s icy stare. Your chest pumped feebly in order to keep your blood flow moving, though the way you were shaking you couldn’t be sure everything was working as it should. 

“I’m sorry, Sir,” you murmured, your whole body curling in on itself like a slinky. 

“I’m sorry doesn’t cut it. I told you when you started with us that I don’t want you taking risks that threaten your life. You’re not disposable to my team, not to me, not to Gaz or Soap, and especially not to Ghost. You don’t ever get to a point where you start blacking out and rampaging out of control like that again. You hear me? Never.”

The breath from your body felt as if it had been robbed from you. Every little gear in your mind ground to a halt and suddenly all the possibilities of what might happen next were spread out in front of you, playing in tandem and haunting you with the awful consequences of your actions. Would Price punish you? Remove you from the team? Send you away? Take you back to Branhaven. 

“Look at me, Pup.”

You looked up immediately as if controlled by him. Everything in you was now coded to answer to his every call and do everything he said while you still could. All instincts pointed to serving him well before he made any decision to get rid of you. To try and preserve yourself now that the fighting was done. You could see your own dark reflection staring back at you in his pupils, the wilting frame of your body frozen there in the inky blackness.

“We gave you this collar because we knew you’re a great soldier and because we knew how well you’d work with our team and because we wanted to make you ours. This collar means you’re 141 for life,” Price said, tugging on it for good measure. “Don’t sit there looking sorry for yourself like I’m gonna send you packing or treat you like your old superiors would’ve. I’d have hoped that you knew me better by now. C’mere, you little sod.”

You didn’t get much of a chance to react. Price drew you into his arms and perched his head on yours, fanning your ears with his hot breath. You melted into him, wrapping your arms around his hard frame and covering him with a soft outer layer of hybrid. Cigar smoke, bullet oil and musk be damned, his warmth and his scent felt heavenly on your senses. 

“What are we gonna do with you, ay? Bloody troublemaker.”

“I don’t mean to be,” you sniffed.

“Course you don’t. That’s why I’ve got a fitting punishment to get those tendencies in check.”

“Punishment?” you asked, stiffening in his arms. 

He drew back from you and nodded his head, not giving much away. He’d already told you he wasn’t going to treat you like your old superiors, but that didn’t do much to put you at ease. Just because you weren’t going to get a whipping, didn’t mean you were out of the woods. You had no idea what he had planned, searching his face dug up nothing. 

“Was on the phone to Ghost before I came to talk to you. We both agreed to set you up with a therapist. You’re getting a minimum of ten sessions booked in to start, and then after five we’re going to evaluate how many more you might need.”

You gawped at him, face going from a picture of worry and to one of indignant shock. A bloody therapist? That was his and Ghost’s big idea of a punishment? At that point you wondered if you might rather have one of your old punishments. What the hell were you going to say to a therapist? What were they going to say to you? Oh sorry your family abandoned you and left you to the proverbial wolves, maybe you’ll feel better if you talk about it. 

“I’m sorry, Sir, but I don’t know what a therapist is going to-”

“Don’t ‘sorry, Sir’ me and don’t you think for a second that you know better. You’re going and that’s final,” he said, tone so sharp that it cut off any room for argument. 

You gulped and suddenly were reminded of your place. Of your character. You were supposed to be meek and trying to grovel for forgiveness. All things considered, a few sessions of pretending to make emotional breakthroughs would probably be one of the easier challenges you’d have faced in your lifetime. 

“Ok…um…Sorry, Sir.”

“I think that’s enough sorries out of you, Pup,” he grumbled, ruffling his hands over your ears. “I think we’ve established how sorry you are. You can make it up to me by sorting your tail out and picking a bunkmate. Gaz is gonna come by with some food in a minute and then we’re all gonna get some sleep. You can talk to Ghost tomorrow.”

For yet another time you were left stunned. A bunkmate?

“A bunkmate?” You repeated out loud. 

“Only two beds,” Price said, as if you were stupid. “You can sleep with me or Gaz. I won’t be offended if you switch even after you’ve made my bed all wet.” 

Suddenly being faced with the choice of sharing a small bed with Price or Gaz after the conversation you’d just had and the conversation you’d had with Rudy earlier in the day was too much. Too much was happening to you! Where did life get off giving you the choices or lack thereof that it did? 

You must have looked a sight, staring into the dead air above the other bed like you’d seen a monster. On the one hand you figured that you could really use some comfort and the memory of how you felt after sleeping with Ghost was tamping your panic and convincing you that it would be ok, but on the other you were thinking about Rudy telling you to get it on with your teammates and that was bringing all sorts of embarrassing thoughts to light. How could you sleep next to them knowing that it might encourage those thoughts?

“I can just sleep on the floor, Price,” you said with what you hoped would be a convincing smile. “Done it plenty of times before.”

Price wasn’t having any of that. He paused at the bathroom door and fixed you with a tired stare. 

“Choose or I’ll choose for you.”

“No really, I can just use my bag as a pillow and-“

Price laughed dryly and shook his head. Looking at you like an incorrigible puppy. 

“Sleeping with me then. Sort that tail, eat your dinner when it comes and get into bed. Last thing I need is you complaining about your back while you’ve got that hip in bad enough shape.”

You watched him disappear into the bathroom with no less shock horror than when he presented the arrangement to you. All you could hear was Rudy’s taunting voice in your ear telling you that you could have any of your superiors if you just made your desires known. Which in turn helped break you from your shock. 

You started to wonder how Rudy and Alejandro started out together. Had they been like you and Ghost? Had Rudy come from a training facility and then luckily stuck with someone who loved him and who would foster that warmth and connection? Or maybe they knew each other before. Did Rudy do it for benefits and then it turned into more. 

You remembered some of the hybrids at your old base would trade sex for favours or contraband. The very thought of that made you want to vomit out all of your insides, especially when you thought of the humans at your old base. Fucking some of the hybrids was dire enough, only doing it to scratch each others itches when the need you felt grew to an explosive point. You’d never thought about doing out of genuine interest and attachment to another person before. Now it was all you could think about. 

“Wow, Price must’ve given you some talking to.”

You spun in place and faced Gaz, cheeks heating and ears flickering until you realised you’d been caught deep in your salacious thoughts. The room spun ever so slightly, but after getting a hold of yourself you remembered what Price had said and fixed your eyes on the trays that Gaz was holding. 

Right. Dinner. Tail. Sleep. 

“Hey,” you said lamely, sheepishly meeting Gaz’s eyes. 

“Hey, yourself,” he snorted. “You ok?” 

“Yeah, fine,” you muttered rather unconvincingly. “You?”

“Fine, Pup. I didn’t get told off by the captain,” he winked. “And I already had my dinner. You should eat as well, might give you some life back in that sorry face.”

He went to set your tray down next to you and you gratefully thanked him while looking over the contents. It was exactly what you needed. Some kind of beef stew brimming with sauce and vegetables with a big bar of chocolate for after and a bottle of water to wash it all down. You breathed it in as if you could inhale it, the fresh smell making your mouth water. 

“What the hell? We need whoever the cook is here to transfer back with us. This looks fucking good.”

Gaz laughed at that. 

“Tastes fucking good too. Should eat up.”

You shook your head and picked up your brush. 

“Gotta sort this before I get Price’s bed any wetter. Should probably try to get back on his good side,” you said, already navigating the half dried tangles. 

“I don’t think he’ll care much. I’ve seen that man fall asleep standing in the rain. Bit of water on his bed won’t make a difference to him,” Gaz shrugged.

You laughed at that, but didn’t let it deter you from your work. It wasn’t like you were only concerned for the bed. The longer you took to get the last of your tail unfurled, the more painful it would be to tug out the dry knots. It felt therapeutic to tackle each tangle one by one anyway, brought a sense of calm to you while you worked. 

“What did the big man say anyway?”

“Hm?” You hummed back, not really hearing what he said. 

“Price. You looked like you were about to have a fit before I came in.”

You paused what you were doing and looked up at him with an arched brow. He arched his own back and to that you could only roll your eyes. 

“Nosy.”

“Got a right to be. Saved your life, you have to do whatever I say now.”

“Oh really?” You asked, seething as you hit a bad snag in your tail. 

“Really. Now tell me what he said,” Gaz demanded, voice higher with his amusement. 

You sighed and finally tackled the tough section you were working on, lobbing the big furball you pulled into the bin underneath the bedside table. Once that was done you looked over at Gaz. 

“He told me that I have to go do therapy,” you said with a screwed up expression. 

“Oof,” Gaz said, pursing his lips as he tried not to laugh. “I can see why you looked so serious then. Truly, it’s the harshest of punishments he could’ve come up with, that cruel old bastard. Just think of the battle scars you’ll come out with. Fucking hell, you’ll never come back the same.”

“You’re so funny.”

“I am. It doesn’t matter how much you say I’m not. I know that I’m hilarious.”

“You’re an idiot,” you said, finishing the last bit of your tail. 

“An idiot that saved your life,” he smiled. “Idiot.”

You grinned and finally put down your brush so that you could go get the hairdryer. Instead of engaging any more in the silly fake argument, you got to work finishing off the drying process, taking a minute to sweep the dryer over your tail and fill your ears with white noise.

Once it was done, your tail was fluffy and warm, all ready for a good nights sleep. After you ate your stew of course. Now that Gaz was settled back on his bed and scrolling through his phone you were left to get to work on your last task. You picked up your tray and got ready to greedily scoff down the heavenly bowl in front of you. 

Just as you were picking up your fork and digging into your first bite the shower in the bathroom turned off again. You flicked your ears at the sound but didn’t think to pay it much mind. Instead you enjoyed your first bite, savouring the salty spicy beef and soft veg that was the perfect amount of juicy and crunchy. It was enough to make your eyes close all of their own accord. 

You opened them again when the bathroom door opened, immensely grateful you’d already swallowed that bite you took before you choked. Price came out in only a towel, the wet sheet of fabric commendably doing everything it could to cling to the ridges of his muscled hips and soft belly. His chest and arm hair was speckled with water droplets and the top of his head was all fluffy after it was presumably roughed over with the towel. 

Suddenly you’d completely forgotten what you were supposed to be doing. Your big round eyes were too busy roving all over Price. Every hair, every muscle, every scar that he had laid bare and available to you. In fact so much so that you were only broken out of it because Gaz cleared his throat and looked pointedly at you. 

“Good stew, Pup?” He quipped, shooting you a sly grin. 

You cleared your own throat and hid your eyes in the food, not trusting yourself to look at either of the other men in the room. 

“Yeah, yeah good. Thanks, Gaz,” you muttered, shovelling another bit in without tasting it this time. 

“You get some for me?” Price asked, busy combing his fingers through his hair over at the mirror. 

“Yeah, your tray’s just there on the table, Cap.” 

“Good man,” Price replied.

Just as you were sure that you might get over whatever it was that had come over you, you heard his towel dropping. Your ears, your tail, your heart stopped in place. Your eyes flicked up to the pale slopes of his ass before they shot right back down to your food again and felt as if they might just keep going and roll out of your head. Why did you even look up in the first place? 

You were sure the next bite of stew would be the end of you. But you could’ve face anyone asking why you’d stopped eating and you sure as hell didn’t want to think of some other way to distract yourself, so you forced down another bite and lost yourself to the rhythm of your raving heart. 

Luckily for you Price stuck his boxers on and then a pair of his own sweats, leaving his chest bare before he dried himself. He had the dryer on for a couple minutes after that, but you didn’t dare look at him beyond what filled your periphery, little flashes of him fluffing at his hair or running the dryer over his arms and chest. 

Soon enough the ordeal was done. He came over to sit by you and shovelled his food down with very little grace. He ate so fast that you both finished at the same time. The sound of his heavy breathing and Gaz turning the shower back on for himself were soon the only sounds in the room. 

“Ready for sleep?” He asked, raising his big damp brows at you. 

“Uh…I think so.”

“Good.”

That was all he said. No warning, no precursor to what he did next.

He stuck both your trays on the table and yanked the covers back, sweeping you under them with him, pulling you close to his chest until you were flush to his body. The smell of the cheap soap did little to diminish his natural scent as it wove itself around you. The sound of his booming chest filled your ears and soon you were both lying there in the stillness as if what was happening was normal. 

“Shouldn’t we turn the light off or…” you trailed nervously. 

“Gaz’ll need it, Pup. Just close your eyes, he’ll turn it off when he’s done,” Price rumbled, his entire voice trickling over you like hot honey. 

“Oh, yeah right… it’s just-“

“Pup,” Price groaned. “Anymore out of you and I’ll double your minimum amount of therapy sessions. Shut up, shut your eyes and go to sleep.”

Well there was no arguing with that. Though part of you wondered if you’d need more therapy just from that night alone. You huffed at the thought and finally settled against him, annoyed enough with his bluntness that you were able to see past his naked body and the bullet holes that speckled his left arm. You were only barely thinking about how much you wanted to paw at him at that point, grumpy and content enough to fold yourself into the sheets and close your eyes just as he’d asked. 

The sound of running shower water accompanied you into your dreams. Just as you’d figured it was going to be a long night, you floated off to Price’s faint snores and Gaz’s shower. Finally too tried to think anymore, or worry about what Gaz would see once he got out of the shower.

[episims]

How to make a CC-free game folder for testing purposes

When people report problems with my content I often ask if they have tried the thing in a CC-free game. And often, they haven't.

I assume they might find it troublesome. If you always take backups and move your Downloads folder away and avoid saving, I agree, that is pretty troublesome. Also prone to mistakes – I stopped doing it after the one time I got my multi-PT mod messed up.

So I wrote a quick tutorial for how to do it with a separate folder system instead. The benefit of this setup is that you'll only need to do it once, after that it's very quick to switch folders at any time.

Go to the Documents directory where your game folder is located.

Rename the folder. I use something sensible at the start so I can easily recognize the folder, but it can be anything.

Then in the same directory, make a new folder.

Rename the new folder as The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection or whatever it should be, depending on your installation.

Go the the original game folder and copy everything but the Downloads folder.

This way you'll get your startup cheats, neighborhoods, and CEP-Extras carried to the new game folder. I also include Projects and SavedSims myself as these separate folders are handy to have for Body Shop work, too.

Go to the new folder and paste.

Now you may want to create a new Downloads folder here, that you can put that one piece you want to test without other CC in :)

This is the main advantage here. Moving things around and taking backups takes a lot of time compared to just changing the names of two folders.

You can also generate a new game folder by launching the game after renaming the other folders in this directory. It's useful if you want a truly fresh folder.

[luciacaminoz]

I'm sure everyone and their auntie is asking about LEFTOVERS FROM A RED HOT FEAST but I wanna know about that one please. And maybe The Dead Zone as a backup choice?

omg hi J T_T <333 THANK YOU (and im getting my ass back on discord soon!!)

i talked about Leftovers here so i’ll ramble about The Dead Zone ^^

it’s a very bare bones free Zine wip that i’m workshopping and would love to run next year (or at least post the intro and open submissions for the end of this year), based and developed further on the concept seen in Desert Ghosts: an illegal, nomadic, nowhere rave set in the World of Darkness.

THEME: “NIGHTS AT THE DEAD ZONE”

open to all splats; every sect welcome. it would be multi-media—art, short fiction, game hooks, character sheets, moodboards, fake twitter threads and mixtapes all set in or around the Dead Zone. can include content such as drug use, gore, sex.

- fully finished digital or (photographed/scanned) traditional pieces: flyers/graffiti, the one night only location, the rave in full swing/mid-SI raid/GLITCHGOD sparking Dementation in the booth, Kindred feeding, character portraits/outfits.

- short stories & vignettes (500-2000 words detailing yours/others’ characters’ experience at the Dead Zone, or maybe NPC dossiers on whoever is present at YOUR version of the Dead Zone, in whatever corner of the world your game takes place). maybe the Camarilla are keeping an eye on things, maybe Anarchs are recruiting, maybe Sabbat are midnight snacking. Hunters hunting. there’s something old here… or maybe it’s just a Demon possessed porta potty

- curated moodboards for the vibe/your character

- posted with curated playlists (you get an idea of what GLITCHGOD’s into during Desert Ghosts but ultimately go wild, even create your own track)

i’d want to make it as accessible as possible and would be cool with any suggestions going forward if there’s interest ^^ everyone gets one wild ass night at the clerb

small TLDR snippet of vibes from the fic

[posttexasstressdisorder]

CNN 5/6/2025

Inside the multi-day meltdown at Newark airport

By Pete Muntean, Rene Marsh, Aaron Cooper and Amanda Musa, CNN

Updated: 7:05 PM EDT, Tue May 6, 2025

Source: CNN

Air traffic controllers in Philadelphia were guiding planes to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey last week when communications suddenly crashed.

“Approach, are you there?” one pilot asked the controller.

The controller stopped responding.

United Airlines Flight 1951, flying from New Orleans to the Newark hub, tried to radio the controller five times before finally getting a response.

“United 1951, how do you hear me?” the controller asks, according to air traffic control conversations recorded by the website LiveATC.net.

“I got you loud and clear, United 1951,” the pilot responds.

For at least 90 seconds, controllers lost the ability to see planes on radar scopes and for a minute they could not communicate with pilots, source with knowledge of the situation tells CNN. (Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday air traffic controllers lost contact for 30 seconds.)

The April 28 outage impacted information coming from radars located at a Federal Aviation Administration facility in Westbury, New York, where the air traffic controllers used to manage flights heading to Newark. Control over the airspace was transferred to Philadelphia in July. The radars are now operated using a remote line the source described as “a long extension cord.”

The outage was the result ofa failure of that copper wiring that transmits information to Newark approach control, a separate source tells CNN. “There was some infrastructure breakdown related to how the information is relayed right now.”

Similar outages happened twice before, the first source notes.

Those earlier incidents were reported to the FAA safety reporting system and “adjustments were made,” which kept the systems stable until the most recent loss, they say.

The technology interruption ultimately cascaded into a weeklong meltdown at Newark, one of the nation’s largest airports. It resulted in delays and cancellations for thousands of customers, controllers taking leave for trauma, and renewed scrutiny on an outdated air traffic control system.

The chaos also highlighted the challenges of an understaffed system, the latest incident in an already turbulent year for aviation that included a deadly collision between a passenger jet and US army helicopter.

‘I don’t know where you are’

Controllers at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, which coordinates planes arriving at Newark, temporarily lost access to the systems that help them guide the aircraft, meaning they were unable to see, hear or talk to the planes, officials said. Controllers lost primary communication, and the backup line did not immediately take over, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News Monday. Audio obtained by CNN reveals the tense moments at the Philadelphia control center.

“United (flight) 674, radar contact lost,” a controller tells a pilot flying to Newark from Charleston, South Carolina. “We lost our radar so just stay on the arrival and maintain 6000 (feet).”

The same flight, traveling at hundreds of miles an hour, returns to the radar but does not show up in an accurate position.

The connectivity between Federal Aviation Administration radar and the frequencies that air traffic controllers use to manage planes at the airport “completely failed,” a source with knowledge of the situation said. Without radar, another approach controller told the pilot of a smaller aircraft to rely on towers for clearance.

“Do I have bravo clearance?” the pilot asks. Bravo clearance is permission to enter into the airspace surrounding a larger airport, like Newark Liberty.

“No, you do not have a bravo clearance. We lost our radar and it’s not working correctly. Radar service terminates… If you want a bravo clearance, you can just call the tower when you get closer,” the controller said.

Colin Scoggins, a former air traffic controller and retired military specialist at the FAA, told CNN that losing both radar and communications on the job can be a scary experience.

“If you cannot talk to a pilot, then you’re really in trouble,” he said. “I would find it very traumatic.”

“You’re sitting there watching the situation unfold, kind of like on 911, you see situations unfold that you have no control over. And when you’re a controller, you want to be in control. When you take that away, it can be very traumatic,” Scoggins added.

“Imagine driving down the highway in traffic and someone puts blindfold over eyes and tells you to keep driving and when you come back from driving dark you have to figure out what to do next,” a source told CNN.

About 15 to 20 flights were being controlled by Newark Liberty approach controllers when communication and radar went down on April 28, according to an analysis by flight tracking site Flightradar24.

The number is based on the altitude of aircraft bound for and departing Newark and audio from the approach radio frequency, Ian Petchenik, the director of communications for the site, tells CNN.

No crashes occurred, but at least five FAA employees took 45 days of trauma leave afterward.

Aviation analyst Miles O’Brien told CNN that the controllers did what they could with a potentially dangerous situation.

“I think, as I always say, that the controllers, the individuals who run this system daily, perform quiet heroic acts, in spite of a system that is built to set them up for failure. I believe in those people doing their job, but there’s only so much stress they can take,” O’Brien said.

The incident has compounded existing staffing shortages and equipment failures and contributed to frustrating hourslong delays for passengers, Duffy told Fox News.

A CNN analysis of FAA airspace advisories shows at least 14 straight days of FAA-imposed delays for flights to or from Newark.

Airlines canceled 160 flights to or from Newark Liberty on Monday, with more than 400 flights delayed, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. The airport’s cancelations accounted for more than a quarter of all flight cancelations nationwide on Monday.

And on Tuesday, the FAA announced a ground delay for inbound flights at the airport, causing further delays.

The FAA has indicated it expects delays at the airport to continue due to the staffing shortages. Duffy noted that authorities will have to slow traffic at Newark before restoring full capacity.

A stormy weather pattern stuck in place in the Northeast is further complicating efforts to keep air traffic moving through the airport in northern New Jersey, where low clouds and rain are expected throughout the week.

A traumatic event

The current shortage of air traffic controllers is nearly the worst in 30 years, said the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents 10,800 certified air traffic controllers across the country.

The control facility responsible for traffic at Newark has been “chronically understaffed for years,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a Friday message addressing the delays. He also said the shortage was compounded by over 20% of FAA controllers who “walked off the job” at Newark Airport last week.

The controllers’ union said workers did not “walk off the job.”

“The controllers didn’t just walk off the job, they were traumatized, their equipment failed,” the source with knowledge of the situation said. “It’s written in the regulations if they experience a traumatic event — they can take time off to go see psychiatrist. The people working that day did that.”

But filling those empty positions is not an issue that can be sorted overnight, according to the FAA.

New air traffic control applicants must be younger than 31 years old so they can work the mandatory 20 or 25 years needed to qualify for pensions before their mandatory retirement age of 56, according to the FAA. Physical stamina and mental sharpness are critical to performing the job.

And air traffic controllers can’t simply fill in at a different airport without extensive preparation.

“When you first start at an air traffic control facility, you have to do a lot of memorization,” said Michael McCormick, a professor and air traffic management coordinator at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

“Most air traffic controllers don’t just monitor one airport. Many keep tabs on dozens of other regional airports to make sure planes keep a safe distance from each other.”

The FAA acknowledged a wave of new controllers won’t come overnight.

“While we cannot quickly replace (the controllers) due to this highly specialized profession, we continue to train controllers who will eventually be assigned to this busy airspace,” the FAA said.

A total of 885 Newark flights have been canceled since the April 28 air traffic control meltdown, according to an analysis by FlightRadar24, which notes that not all of the canceled flights were related to air traffic control issues.

United Airlines has preemptively canceled 35 round trip flights to or from Newark – meaning 70 individual flights – per day.

Airline analytics firm Cirium says the Newark delays have been spiking significantly since April 26, days before the control equipment outage at the Philadelphia air control site.

“Since April 26, on-time departures have fallen to 63%, which is far below industry norms,” said Cirium’s Mike Arnot. “Prior to that date, an average of four flights per day were cancelled in April.”

A frail system in place

Flights arriving to Newark were experiencing an average delay of 4 hours as of Tuesday evening, according to the FAA.

One passenger, Geraldine Wallace, told CNN Sunday she was anxious about the staffing shortage after her flight was delayed for almost three hours.

Mark Wallace, her partner, told CNN he was more worried about equipment failures.

“As concerning as the manpower issue is, according to news reports, the equipment that they’re using out of Philadelphia is antiquated,” he said.

Flexibility waivers are now available to impacted United Airlines customers with flights booked on or before May 4 and originally scheduled to fly from May 6 to 17, United said in an announcement Tuesday.

A separate waiver is available to customers with tickets purchased on or before April 29 for trips scheduled between May 1 and 5, the airline said.

The Department of Transportation will announce a plan Thursday to transform the air traffic control system, remodeling an outdated system that contributed to days of delays at Newark, Duffy, the transportation secretary, told Fox News on Monday.

The system used to manage air traffic at Newark is “incredibly old,” Duffy said.

“We use floppy disks. We use copper wires,” he said Friday. “The system that we’re using is not effective to control the traffic that we have in the airspace today.”

Duffy has since pledged to implement a new, “state-of-the-art” system at air traffic control facilities across the country that would be the “envy of the world” – but said it might take three to four years.

“We are going to radically transform the way air traffic control looks,” Duffy told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.

President Donald Trump has “bought into the plan,” he said.

Peter Goelz, former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, said he wasn’t sure he’d want to fly out of Newark for the next 10 days.

“We have a very safe system, but anytime it’s stressed like this, where you have controllers who are feeling under maximum pressure, it impacts safety – and people have a right to be concerned,” Goelz told CNN.

“You cannot expect humans to function at their highest level for sustained periods of time with this kind of pressure on them.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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Dontcha feel just...so very safe?

[mari-beau]

Hi! Is ellipsus worth using and is it free? I keep seeing it pop up from time to time and I’m curious

I've been using it instead of Google Docs for like six months I think. And I always have it open in my browser, or use it on my phone, daily tbh.

It's built by people who are anti-AI and pro-fandom, with fan writing in mind, actually. It's very much focused on features for collaborative writing, but I don't cowrite and still find that it does everything I need.

Notable features:

Syncing across multiple devices. I had been using Google Docs for years because a major feature I need is to be able to access my writing from multiple different devices and locations. Ellipsus does this. And has gotten better (sometimes had problem of it not syncing on my phone and then when I opened on my laptop, it wouldn't update until I opened on my phone and forced a sync; but this has happened less frequently and it mostly autosyncs)

Drafts feature. My style of writing, I just don't do drafts that need to be separated out (I don't ever change large chunks of a work that I need to save the original). I think this is helpful for collaborative work. I actually use the drafts for my Outlines and Notes, so I have a quick link right there to access them, and they're kept within the document.

Writing Interface. It's pretty simple in style, which is actually good for writing. They do have a tool bar that you can leave up or hidden, with various formatting options, and an "outline" like Google Docs does (just put a header font in there and shows up on the outline and you have a quick link to jump around)

Cafe Mode I think they officially call it "focus mode" or something but it's a little coffee cup symbol so I think of it as that. This will make just the writing interface take up your whole screen for "distraction-free" writing. I don't use this, as I've been writing in word processors forever and it doesn't bother me to have the features/menus visible.

Timer I think it has a timer you can set. Again, I don't use this.

Collaborative Writing. I don't use this feature, but it looks very similar to how Google Docs sharing works with inviting/giving access to others.

Log-In. It will remember and keep you logged in on a device, but apparently only for set amount of time (unsure how long, as it seems to have random variation). But it is annoying that you can't just log-in with a password; it sends a code to your email. (I won't get into how I am so sick of "multi-factor" verification bs).

Reliability. So far it has never been "down". I do download a backup sometimes (they have several options for quickdownload of a document and are working on more) just out of paranoia.

It's free. But I can't say whether the creators will eventually go to a subscription model or something to cover the expense of the servers and other work (could probably check the "Support" section for any discussion of it - which is also pretty active as they look to develop features users are requesting, etc.)

TL;DR It's free and I do recommend it.

[dailyanarchistposts]

Planning: Study the context, chart a strategy, plan for different scenarios

Proper planning is the essence of safe, effective direct action. Keeping your goals and priorities in mind along with the resources you have to work with, plot and compare different strategies. Weigh out the risks and potential rewards of each: always pick the safest way to accomplish a given objective, and make sure you can afford to take the risks you choose. It sometimes happens that as the planning process goes on, a project will get more and more ambitious and hazardous, until some of those involved start to have doubts; at that point, it may be necessary to work out a safer or scaled-down version of the plan, so it can still take place.

There are countless factors to take into account in planning. You must pick the most effective tactics in the context of the current social and political situation. You must pick the best location for the action and take into account all its attributes; you must pick the best date and time of day. You must bear in mind the others who will be in the area, and how they will react—will they be sympathetic, or may hostile vigilantes interfere with your activities? You must coordinate the timing of different parts of the action, predicting how long each will take, and figure out how those involved in the action will communicate.

When predicting the responses of others—say, for example, the police—consider the factors influencing them: Are they expecting what you’re planning, or do you have the element of surprise? If you have the advantage of surprise, how long will it last? Will there be a lot of attention focused on the event? Will it be immediately apparent what you are doing? Will there be middle-class citizens or reporters around, and will their presence put a damper on the authorities’ response? What is their strategy likely to be, based on previous precedents for police behavior in this context? Do their bosses want them to come down hard on you—or to avoid provoking a scene? How well do they communicate, how fast do they move, where are they located, what routes will they take?

Don’t underestimate the challenges of simple logistical matters, such as transporting people or communicating in stressful situations. Don’t forget to plan an exit strategy, either.

Because plans rarely come off exactly as they are laid, it’s important to have backup plans worked out for different scenarios: “If ____, we’ll ____; if ____, we’ll ____.” Have a few different objectives in mind, in case your first choice turns out to be impossible. Having a basic structure for communications and decision-making in place will help you to be prepared for situations that play out differently than any of the scenarios you had imagined.

Be careful not to put others at risk for your actions; the authorities will probably charge whomever they get their hands on with the worst crimes they can, so it’s important both to get those who take risks out of the area safely and to make sure serious charges can’t stick to anyone else. In some cases, you can bring together multi-leveled groups in which everyone knows the general goal but only a few know critical details such as what the target is or who is to carry out the riskiest activity.

Be prepared for the best-case scenario as well as the worst. New ideas, if they are good ones, tend to fail because people don’t take them far enough, whereas older ideas usually fail because they are too familiar to everyone, including the authorities. Sometimes the best results come from applying familiar tactics in entirely new settings.

Look back in time for precedents, occasions when similar actions were attempted in similar contexts. These can be very instructive. As you gather years of experience and learn from others’ successes and failures, you’ll develop skills for predicting and preparing for a wide variety of situations.

[m3mjewelgurgaonproperty]

Top 10 Amenities of M3M Jewel commercial investment in Gurgaon: Reimagining Workspaces

Gurgaon’s commercial real estate landscape is evolving rapidly, and M3M Jewel Commercial Property in Sector 25 stands at the forefront of this transformation. Strategically located on MG Road, this project redefines modern workspaces with world-class amenities tailored for businesses, investors, and retail ventures. Whether you’re eyeing M3M Jewel retail spaces or exploring M3M Jewel commercial investment in Gurgaon, here���s a deep dive into the top 10 amenities that make this property a game-changer.

1. Intelligent Office Spaces for New Businesses

M3M Jewel office spaces are created to facilitate technology-enabled business. With super-fast fiber-optic internet, climate control through intelligent automation, and IoT-based security systems, businesses can run smoothly. Not only do these buildings increase productivity but also generate high M3M Jewel lease rental yields by housing premium business tenants.

2. Premium Location on MG Road: Connectivity Redefined

Situated on M3M Jewel Sector 25 MG Road, M3M Jewel is endowed with unparalleled connectivity to the business centers of Delhi, Indira Gandhi International Airport, and NH-48. Being close to metro stations and corporate parks like Cyber City keeps your business at the forefront of accessibility—a factor pushing the price of M3M Jewel higher.

3. Sustainable Design with LEED Certification

Sustainability is the essence of M3M Jewel commercial building Gurgaon. Property is also planned with energy-efficient lighting, rainwater harvesting, and waste management system. Environment-friendly investors like the way green certifications increase long-term M3M Jewel commercial property rate per sq. ft. and lower operating expenses.

4. 24/7 Security and High-Capacity Parking

Goodbye parking nightmares! The M3M Jewel Gurgaon complex boasts 500+ multi-level parking facilities, protected by day-night CCTV surveillance and biometric access. Such facilities are of utmost importance to business houses with a safety-first approach—a USP for M3M Jewel investment advisory experts.

5. Dynamic Retail Zones for Diverse Ventures

From flagship stores to boutique showrooms, M3M Jewel retail units are available for businesses of all sizes. The modular setup is flexible and thus suits the needs of startups as well as brand names. Affordable in Sector 25, M3M Jewel retail price gives entrepreneurs an advantageous edge in the flourishing retail business of Gurgaon.

6. World-Class Conference and Training Facilities

Guests hosting. The complex has world-class conference rooms, auditoriums, and training facilities equipped with the best AV equipment. These areas add tremendous value to businesses that require growth, directly influencing M3M Jewel rental income and tenant retention rates.

7. Wellness Zones: Where Health Meets Productivity

Staff happiness leads to better performance. M3M Jewel office space incorporates wellness centers, jogging tracks, and yoga decks. These elements bring the property to the fore as a well-being workplace—a factor investors underscore in M3M Jewel investment Gurgaon talk.

8. Special Food Courts and Cafes

Starving to succeed? The in-building food courts and cafes offer a variety of cuisines, keeping the clients and employees energized. This building draws companies, thus making the M3M Jewel commercial investment in Gurgaon building even more appealing in Gurgaon's business competitive market.

9. Scalable Power Backup and Maintenance Services

Power outages will not be an issue here. The building is 100% power backed up and has dedicated maintenance staff. For investors looking for M3M Jewel price per sq ft comparison, this reliability means lower tenant turnover and stable cash flow.

10. Investment Consultation and Customized Plans

Lost between lease and buy? M3M Jewel's investment advisory solutions provide customized options if you're looking for retail shops or office spaces. From M3M Jewel price charts to rent predictions, they help you achieve highest ROI on Gurgaon's most profitable business hub.

Why Invest in M3M Jewel commercial investment in Gurgaon Property in 2025?

Rental Yields: Gurgaon commercial rentals have increased 12% YoY, and M3M Jewel Sector 25 will outperform the market.

Price Appreciation: With infrastructure development all around us, i.e., Dwarka Expressway, M3M Jewel commercial property price per sq. ft. will appreciate 15–18% by 2025.

Retail Boom: Retail business in Sector 25 is booming, and M3M Jewel retail spaces are occupied by F&B, fashion, and tech brands.

Last Words: Lock Your Place in Gurgaon's Business Crown Jewel

M3M Jewel commercial investment in Gurgaon Property is not only an office, but a holding strategy. From the best address on MG Road to world-class amenities, every detail is designed to deliver unparalleled returns. Whether comparing M3M Jewel retail price with competition or comparing M3M Jewel rental yields with competition, this project is the best example of commercial investment in Gurgaon.

Ready to Invest? Get in touch with our M3M Jewel investment advisory team today to discover prices, floor plans, and special offers!

[luxurypropertyservices]

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Experience luxury at Brigade Eternia, an elite residential enclave by the Brigade Group in Yelahanka. This 14 acre project offers premium Brigade apartments in Yelahanka, boasting cutting-edge design and world-class amenities in New Yelahanka Town. Discover meticulously crafted flats in Yelahanka with strategic positioning, making it ideal for those seeking apartments in Yelahanka Bangalore. Explore a new benchmark for Brigade apartments with this prime offering in Yelahanka New Town Bangalore, a sought-after location for both homeowners and investors of Brigade pre-launch projects in Bangalore. Find your dream home in meticulously crafted Yelahanka apartments with excellent connectivity. ✨ Why Choose Brigade Eternia in Yelahanka? ✅ Prime Location in New Yelahanka Town – Adjacent to RMZ Galleria Mall, offering effortless connectivity to prominent hubs. ✅ Spacious 3 & 4 BHK – Intelligently crafted flats in Yelahanka Bangalore, designed to meet diverse lifestyle preferences. ✅ World-Class Amenities – Boasting a sophisticated clubhouse, swimming pool, landscaped greens, multi-sport courts, dedicated pedestrian pathways, and more. ✅Sustainable & High-Quality Construction – Built with eco-conscious, energy-efficient methodologies ensuring long-term sustainability. ✅ Excellent Connectivity – A 25-minute drive to Kempegowda International Airport, with seamless access to major IT corridors such as Kirloskar Tech Park and Brigade Magnum. 📊 Brigade Eternia Apartment Configurations & Pricing: ▪️3 BHK Apartments – Configurations ranging from 1,600 sq. ft. to 2,250 sq. ft. ▪️ 4 BHK Apartments – Spacious units spanning 2,714 sq. ft. to 2,926 sq. ft. 🏠 Brigade Eternia Amenities – Elevating Urban Living ✅ Luxury Clubhouse & Multipurpose Hall – A perfect setting for social gatherings and recreational activities. ✅ Resort-Style Swimming Pool & Kids’ Play Area – Designed to foster relaxation and enjoyment. ✅ Jogging & Cycling Tracks – Encouraging a holistic and active lifestyle. ✅ Expansive Landscaped Gardens & Green Spaces – Creates a serene and environmentally conscious living atmosphere. ✅ 24/7 Security & Uninterrupted Power Backup – Ensuring a secure and seamless living experience. 🎯 Strategic Location Advantages of Brigade Eternia ▪️ Renowned Educational Institutions: Chrysalis High (0.5 km), National Public School (1.1 km). ▪️ Major Business & IT Hubs: Brigade Magnum (4.5 km), Manyata Tech Park (8 km), Kirloskar Tech Park (6.5 km). ▪️ Premier Shopping & Entertainment Centers: RMZ Galleria (0.2 km), Garuda Mall (1.5 km), Mall of Asia (3 km). ▪️ Leading Healthcare Facilities: Sparsh Hospital (2 km), Manipal Hospital (6.5 km). ▪️ Hospitality & Luxury Hotels: Hyatt Centric Hebbal (7 km), Royal Orchid Resort (1.6 km). 🏡 Notable Properties Near Brigade Eternia Brigade Insignia 🌟 Yelahanka – 3 & 4 BHK, 5 BHK penthouses (2,145 - 5,947 sq. ft.) Down By The Water 🌊 Jakkur – 3 & 4 BHK (2,490 - 6,480 sq. ft.) Adarsh Savana 📍 Devanahalli – Plotted development (1,200 - 2,400 sq. ft.) 🎓 Brigade Eternia – A Wise Investment for Discerning Buyers With a legacy of excellence, Brigade apartments in Bangalore are recognized for their substantial appreciation potential, making them a sound investment choice. Owning a home at Brigade Eternia means securing prestigious real estate in Yelahanka New Town Bangalore while embracing an opulent lifestyle. 💼 Who Should Invest in Brigade Eternia? ✅ Families seeking premium Brigade apartments in Yelahanka with generous layouts and premium finishes. ✅ Professionals looking for flats in Yelahanka Bangalore with close proximity to thriving corporate zones. ✅ Astute investors eyeing high-growth Brigade pre-launch projects in Bangalore with impressive ROI prospects. 📞 Contact Us for More Information! 👥 WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/4jMmDoQ 📞 Call: +91 95605 09669 🌐 Visit:bit.ly/42Tlben 📱 Stay Connected for the Latest Updates! 📘 Facebook: https://bit.ly/40mRIqb 📸 Instagram: https://bit.ly/3DYZGhA 💼 LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3E2dGr4

[odyseydesignhosting]

Your Guide to Domain Registration in San Antonio

In today’s digital-first world, having a strong online presence begins with securing the right domain name. For individuals and businesses in San Antonio, domain registration is the first crucial step in establishing a successful online identity. This article will guide you through the importance of domain registration, how to choose the perfect domain, and why selecting a local provider in San Antonio can make all the difference.

What is Domain Registration?

Domain registration is the process of reserving a unique web address (e.g., yourbusiness.com) for your website. This name serves as the gateway to your online presence and is what customers use to find your business on the internet. Without a domain, your website is like a business without a sign—it’s invisible to your audience.

Why San Antonio Businesses Need a Strong Domain Name

For businesses in San Antonio, having a domain name that resonates with the local audience is essential. Here’s why:

Builds Trust and Credibility A professional domain name adds legitimacy to your brand. It reassures customers that your business is established and trustworthy, especially when paired with a local address or keywords like "San Antonio."

Improves Local SEO A domain that incorporates San Antonio-specific keywords (e.g., "bestpestcontrolsanantonio.com") can boost your search engine rankings, making it easier for local customers to find your business.

Establishes Brand Identity Your domain name is a key part of your branding. A memorable and relevant name helps reinforce your business identity and makes it easier for customers to recall.

Competitive Advantage In a bustling city like San Antonio, a good domain can set you apart from competitors. A unique and optimized domain ensures your business stands out in a crowded online marketplace.

How to Choose the Perfect Domain Name

When registering a domain in San Antonio, keep the following tips in mind:

1. Keep it Short and Simple

Choose a domain name that is easy to spell, pronounce, and remember. Avoid overly complicated names or special characters.

2. Use Local Keywords

Including “San Antonio” or related terms in your domain can help target local customers and improve your site’s visibility in local search results.

3. Opt for the Right Extension

While .com remains the most popular choice, you can also consider alternatives like .net, .org, or location-specific extensions like .us.

4. Ensure It’s Unique

Check that your desired domain name isn’t too similar to another business. This helps avoid legal issues and ensures your brand remains distinct.

5. Think Long-Term

Choose a name that reflects your business’s future goals. Avoid trends or slang that may lose relevance over time.

Why Register Your Domain Locally in San Antonio?

Choosing a local domain registration service in San Antonio has unique advantages:

Personalized Support Local providers understand the needs of San Antonio businesses and can offer personalized advice and support.

Community Focus Working with a local registrar helps you connect with other businesses and organizations in the area, fostering valuable community ties.

Faster Service Local providers can often process requests more quickly than global platforms, ensuring you get your domain up and running without delays.

Tailored Solutions San Antonio domain registrars may offer additional services such as local SEO consulting, website hosting, and email setup to streamline your online journey.

Steps to Register a Domain in San Antonio

Search for Availability Use a domain registrar’s search tool to see if your desired name is available. Be prepared with backup options in case your first choice is taken.

Choose a Trusted Registrar Work with a reputable domain registrar, preferably one with experience serving the San Antonio area.

Select Your Plan Most domain registrations are available for one year or longer. Opt for multi-year registration if you want to secure your name for the long term.

Complete the Registration Provide the necessary details and complete your payment to finalize the registration process.

Conclusion

Securing the right domain name is the cornerstone of building your online presence. For businesses and individuals in San Antonio, choosing a local domain registration service provides added benefits, including personalized support, local SEO advantages, and tailored solutions.

Take the first step in growing your online presence by registering your domain today. Whether you’re starting a new venture or expanding an existing one, the right domain will set the foundation for your success.

[piratesexmachine420]

you mention the apollo guidance computer in your bio.

do you have any nerdy fun facts about it?

Thanks for the ask!

It's difficult to convey everything the AGC was, concisely, but here's some highlists:

In terms of size and power, it's comparable to the Apple II, but predates it by 11 years. There are some obvious differences in the constraints placed on the two designs, but still, that's pretty ahead of it's time.

The bare-bones OS written for the AGC was one of the first to ever implement co-operative multi-tasking and process priority management. This would lead problems on Apollo 11, when an erroneously deployed landing radar overloaded the task scheduler on Eagle during the Lunar landing (the infamous 1201/1202 program alarms). Fortunately, it didn't end up affecting the mission, and the procedures were subsequently revised/better followed to avoid the situation ever reoccurring.

Relatedly, it was also designed to immediately re-boot, cull low-priority tasks, and resume operations following a crash -- a property essential to ensuring the spacecraft could be piloted safely and reliably in all circumstances. Many of the reliability-promoting techniques used by Apollo programmers (led by Margaret Hamilton, go women in STEM) went on to become foundational principles of software engineering.

Following the end of the Apollo, Skylab, and Apollo-Soyuz missions, a modified AGC would be re-purposed into the worlds first digital fly-by-wire system. (Earlier fly-by-wire used analogue computers, which are their own strange beasts.) This is, IMO, one of the easiest things to point to when anyone asks "What does NASA even do for us anyway?" Modern aircraft autopilots owe so, so much to the AGC -- and passengers owe so much to those modern autopilots. While there are some pretty well-known incidents involving fly-by-wire (lookin' at you, MCAS), it speaks to the incredible amount of safety such systems normally afford that said incidents are so rare. Pilot error killed so many people before computers hit the cockpit.

AGC programs were stored in a early form of read only memory, called "core rope memory", where bits were literally woven into an array of copper wire and magnets. As a Harvard-architecture machine (programs and variables stored and treated separately), it therefore could not be re-programmed in flight. This would be problem on Apollo 14, when an intermittent short in the LM's abort switch nearly cancelled the landing -- if it occurred during decent, the computer would immediately discard the descent engine and return to orbit. A second, consecutive failure (after Apollo 13) would have almost certainly ended in the cancellation of the program, and the loss of the invaluable findings of Apollo 15, 16, and 17. (These were the missions with the lunar roving vehicles, allowing treks far from the LM.) Fortunately, the MIT engineers who built the AGC found a solution -- convince the computer it had, in fact, already aborted, allowing the landing to occur as normal -- with a bit of manual babysitting from LMP Edgar Mitchell.

Finally, it wasn't actually the only computer used on Apollo! The two AGCs (one in the command module, the other in the Lunar Module, a redundancy that allowed Apollo 13 to power off the CM and survive their accident) were complemented by the Launch Vehicle Digital Computer (LVDC) designed by IBM and located in S-IVB (Saturn V's third stage, Saturn-I/IB's second stage), and the Abort Guidance System (AGS) located in the LM. The AGS was extremely simple, and intended to serve as a backup should the AGC have ever failed and been unable to return the LM to orbit-- something it was fortunately never needed for. The LVDC, on the other hand, was tasked with flying the Saturn rocket to Earth orbit, which it did every time. This was very important during Apollo 12, when their Saturn V was struck by lightning shortly after launch, completely scrambling the CM's electrical system and sending their gimbal stacks a-spinning. Unaffected by the strike, the LVDC flew true and put the crew into a nominal low Earth orbit -- where diagnostics began, the AGC was re-set, and the mission continued as normal.

[wtchnghrs]

⋆⠀҂҂ ── BACKGROUND

━ ☆ ❱ masterlist

━ ☆ ❱ send an ask to be added to the taglist

☆. EARLY LIFE !

BONNIE was born ZUHRAH ELMER on 2 APRIL 2002 to Swiss-Italian father, ELIJAH ELMER, and Ghanaian mother, FAITH MENSAH. Her parents were living in London at the time of her birth and they remained there until she was ten years old. In London, FAITH enrolled her daughter in violin lessons. Her mother was wary at first that it would be a waste of time and money but fortunately, ZUHRAH took a liking to it. What FAITH did not expect was for ZUHRAH to beg to start playing the guitar. And the bass. And a whole host of other instruments. To this day, ZUHRAH thanks her mom for getting her into music.

ELIJAH and FAITH decided to separate in 2012. ELIJAH had a job that required him to travel constantly and it was getting to difficult for FAITH to bear. Later that year she and ZUHRAH moved to the US together. Living in New York was exciting for ZUHRAH as it was there when she started dancing. At this point, she knew that she wanted to be a singer and a performer, but she would only consider K-Pop later. During the summer holidays ZUHRAH would fly out to wherever her dad was located at the time. Despite this, she never felt like she saw him as he was always working.

ZUHRAH joined a dance team in 2016 and started competing. It was during one of these competitions in 2019 that took her to South Korea that she was scouted by ILLSV ENT. FAITH was happy for her, but wary. She wouldn’t be able to join ZUHRAH in Korea due to her work but to both of their surprise, ELIJAH offered to move with her.

☆. TRAINEE PERIOD !

She moved to Korea in July of 2019, at the end of her Junior year. ILLSV ENTERTAINMENT was a small company, just starting out and ZUHRAH joined as one of twelve trainees. It was undeniable that ZUHRAH was talented, probably the most talented trainee in the company and, coupled with the fact that she is Black, it caused most of the other trainees not to like her.

Because of her talent, ZUHRAH was given the opportunity to audition to be a backup dancer for SEVENTEEN when they went on tour in January 2020 and to no ones surprise, she passed. She completed her last year of high school during this year at Hanlim Multi Arts where she met and befriended some other idols.

ZUHRAH began preparing for her debut in August of that same year. It was her who came up with the concept and creative direction on top of writing all of her songs.

☆. AFTER DEBUT !

On 19 APRIL 2021, ZUHRAH made her debut as BONNIE with the mini album, WITCHING HOUR. As a Black idol, many people were curious to see what she would do while others began hating on her immediately. 

Despite not receiving music show wins, her songs were well received and and loved by those who listened, gaining her a steady fanbase. In 2022 she got her first win for LITTLE MONSTER (WITH. BIBI), the promotional b-side off her third album. From then, her success continued to grow and grow. 

However, behind the scenes, BONNIE was dealing with her company trying to screw her over. Even though she was the main writer behind all her songs, and she organised most of her promotions and content, she was not paid or treated as such. This would lead to the “indefinite hiatus” ILLSV ENTERTAINMENT announced she was taking after the promotions of her fourth album. For 9 months, BONNIE disappeared from the public eye while she was terminating her contract.

All was not lost for her, though, as in JUNE 2023 she was approached by SOURCE MUSIC with a new contact and she accepted. It was announced in August that her next comeback would be as a HYBE artist.

As of now, BONNIE is set to have her next comeback in APRIL 2024.

[xsoldier]

It's like he's TRYING to broadcast to the entire world how little he knows about any of the things he's doing and how he's eliminated all of the competent staff who would normally prevent this kind of thing.

Like "Twitter" is one of the most globally recognizable brands in the WORLD, and trying to achieve that type of marketing awareness is INSANELY difficult, not to mention that effective SEO for a single letter is basically impossible to achieve.

For example: think about searching for something like "Jack Black Twitter" and now think about the search for "Jack Black X" how likely are you to land on the result you're trying to find? There's a REASON companies choose names that are natural sounding but slightly obscure. Google, Bing, Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, TikTok etc. are names designed to effectively optimize the ability for search engines to locate and elevate the results when people are looking for them. Now think about how many other pages have "X" in them and how a search engine can effectively surface that.

The worst part of this is that this is what the ultra rich are capable of doing to an entire communications system at their whim. Imagine if this was a private postal service, but if it suddenly shut down, every letter or piece of mail that you'd ever sent with them would also vanish. Like, there will be Internet Archive backups, but that's mostly it.

Back in the early 2000s, if your admin went fucking nuts & privated the whole community, if they became mad with power and drove everything into the ground, if someone just didn't renew the domain name or the server owner didn't allow you to keep being hosted — the community could still find backups of the information and restart it somewhere else. I know this because we did exactly that in the early 2000s with the forums I've been an admin of now for almost 15 years.

Twitter can't really do that and Threads or other pop-up replacements are just solutions of other mega corporations trying to monetize upon an unstable market and reinforce their own existing ecosystem, and further gain control over more of those things in a single location that's incentivized AGAINST allowing multi-party interoperability like Reddit cutting off API access to third parties after Twitter did the same. Yes, tumblr is a refuge but for how long?

This is also why online communities moving off webforms and on to Discord gets worrying, because when THOSE communities go dark, the totality of that information up and vanishes. No Web Archive backups. Nothing. There is a worrying volatility about historic information these days, and while I know online platforms don't seem all that important sometimes, it's important to remember random documents and manuscripts are historically significant.

Conversation about preserving digital video games is getting more prominent as companies stop supporting the distribution platforms and the games just up and COMPLETELY vanish at the whims of some random rich idiot who doesn't know what the fuck they're doing, or who does know and doesn't care.

Not just that, but a lot of modern social media platforms are usually the only methods of correspondence we have with at least a few people, and there's a wealthy third party who essentially owns your ability to stay connected to them. It's kind of terrifying to watch how easy it is for someone to sabotage that out of idiocy and ignorance, but it should be more worrying to consider how much easier that would be for someone with the full intent to do so.

Capitalists & oligarchs don't care about the things they preside over, and while it's fun to point and laugh at their expense when the extension of the thing they represent is catching fire, it's important to also consider exactly what the big picture of that means for the future.

I slept in and just woke up, so here's what I've been able to figure out while sipping coffee:

Twitter has officially rebranded to X just a day or two after the move was announced.

The official branding is that a tweet is now called "an X", for which there are too many jokes to make.

The official account is still @twitter because someone else owns @X and they didn't reclaim the username first.

The logo is 𝕏 which is the Unicode character Unicode U+1D54F so the logo cannot be copyrighted and it is highly likely that it cannot be protected as a trademark.

Outside the visual logo, the trademark for the use of the name "X" in social media is held by Meta/Facebook, while the trademark for "X" in finance/commerce is owned by Microsoft.

The rebranding has been stopped in Japan as the term "X Japan" is trademarked by the band X JAPAN.

Elon had workers taking down the "Twitter" name from the side of the building. He did not have any permits to do this. The building owner called the cops who stopped the crew midway through so the sign just says "er".

He still plans to call his streaming and media hosting branch of the company as "Xvideo". Nobody tell him.

This man wants you to give him control over all of your financial information.

[lmpblogs]

Premium Commercial Office Space for Sale in Manikonda, Hyderabad - A Promising Address for Business Growth

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Positioned in one of Hyderabad’s rapidly growing commercial corridors, this premium commercial office space for sale in Manikonda, Hyderabad offers unmatched accessibility and visibility. Located near Jubilee Enclave and just minutes from the Outer Ring Road, it ensures seamless travel to major business districts like Gachibowli and HITEC City. With strong transport connectivity and proximity to upscale residential zones, this address adds convenience for clients, employees, and visitors alike.

Modern Infrastructure Across Eight Floors

Spanning a built-up area of 3.2 lakh sq. ft. on a 6-acre plot, the development features a robust structure of eight well-designed floors. The flexible floor plans accommodate various business needs, from boutique offices and consultancies to retail showrooms and co-working setups. This commercial office space for sale in Manikonda Hyderabad is under construction and fully RERA-approved, ensuring peace of mind and regulatory transparency for investors and buyers.

A Vibrant Business and Retail Hub

This property doesn’t just function as a workplace—it offers a lively commercial environment. Designed to host both office and retail spaces, the development ensures strong footfall and customer engagement. Wide corridors, natural lighting, and efficient layouts make it a practical and attractive destination for day-to-day business operations.

Premium Amenities for Professionals

Key features include multi-level parking, 24/7 security systems, high-speed elevators, power backup, and comprehensive fire safety mechanisms. These amenities support business continuity while offering a safe and professional atmosphere for employees and visitors.

An Investment That Delivers Value

For entrepreneurs, business owners, and real estate investors, this commercial office space for sale in Manikonda Hyderabad offers strong long-term potential. With increasing demand in Manikonda and limited premium supply, this location is poised for steady appreciation and high rental returns.

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Real Estate Agency Portal Nulled Script 1.7.4

Download Real Estate Agency Portal Nulled Script for Free Looking to launch your own real estate platform without investing in expensive software licenses? The Real Estate Agency Portal Nulled Script is your ultimate solution. Designed for real estate agents, agencies, and property listing services, this script offers an advanced, user-friendly platform at zero cost. Enjoy premium features and functionalities without paying a dime! Why Choose the Real Estate Agency Portal Nulled Script? The Real Estate Agency Portal Nulled Script is a professionally developed web application that empowers real estate professionals to manage property listings, attract leads, and convert visitors into buyers. With this nulled script, you gain full access to a high-performance real estate portal that’s flexible, customizable, and built to scale with your business—without the hefty price tag. Technical Specifications Language: PHP, MySQL Framework: CodeIgniter (MVC architecture) Responsive Design: Fully mobile and tablet-friendly Browser Compatibility: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge Server Requirements: PHP 7.2 or higher, MySQL 5.6+, Apache/Nginx Top Features and Benefits Advanced Property Management: Easily add, edit, or delete property listings with images, videos, pricing, and detailed descriptions. Interactive Map Integration: Google Maps API integration to display property locations dynamically. User Management: Allow agents and clients to register, login, and manage their own listings or inquiries. Search Filters: Help users find exactly what they need using powerful search tools with filters like location, price range, property type, and more. SEO Optimization: Built-in features that improve your website’s visibility on search engines. Multi-language Support: Attract global users with multi-language compatibility. Email Notifications: Automatic alerts for new listings, inquiries, and approvals. Ideal Use Cases Whether you're a solo real estate agent, run a small agency, or manage a large property network, the Real Estate Agency Portal Nulled Script adapts to your workflow. Use it to: Create a local or global property listing website Allow multiple agents to manage their own listings Connect buyers and sellers seamlessly Build a niche rental or property auction platform Quick Installation Guide Download the Real Estate Agency Portal Nulled Script from our website. Extract the files and upload them to your web server. Configure your database and update the configuration files accordingly. Run the installer through your browser and follow the on-screen setup wizard. Start customizing and uploading your first property listings! Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Is this script safe to use? Yes, we ensure all nulled scripts are malware-free and secure for development or testing purposes. However, always use such tools responsibly. Can I use this on multiple domains? Absolutely! Once downloaded, you can use the Real Estate Agency Portal Nulled Script on as many domains as you like without license restrictions. Does it support plugins or extensions? Yes, the script is modular and can be extended with plugins, themes, and third-party APIs for additional functionality. Boost Your Digital Toolbox Complement your property portal with other essential tools. For example, try UpdraftPlus Premium nulled for hassle-free WordPress backups and restoration. Or enhance your SEO with Yoast seo nulled and watch your website climb the rankings. Final Thoughts If you want to step into the real estate tech space without the overhead costs, the Real Estate Agency Portal  is your best bet. Reliable, efficient, and feature-rich—this is a smart investment for your digital future. Download it now and launch your dream platform today!

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Cloud base document management software

In today’s digital-first world, businesses are moving away from traditional paper files and embracing smarter, faster, and more secure ways of managing information. One of the most transformative solutions in this domain is cloud-based document management software. At PDMPL (Pridex Data Management India Pvt. Ltd.), we offer a powerful cloud document management system that helps businesses of all sizes improve document handling, enhance security, and boost productivity.

What is Cloud-Based Document Management Software?

Cloud-based document management software refers to a digital system that enables organizations to store, manage, access, and share documents through cloud infrastructure. Unlike on-premise systems, cloud-based DMS does not require physical servers or in-house maintenance. It offers anytime-anywhere access to documents, allowing teams to collaborate seamlessly across locations.

Key Features of PDMPL’s Cloud DMS

At PDMPL, our cloud-based document management software is built with advanced features tailored to meet modern business needs:

Secure Cloud Storage: Your documents are stored securely in the cloud with multi-layer encryption, role-based access, and automatic backups.

Easy Document Retrieval: Advanced search and indexing tools make it easy to find documents within seconds.

Collaboration Tools: Share files, track changes, and manage version control with real-time collaboration features.

Workflow Automation: Automate document approval processes, reduce manual tasks, and ensure compliance.

Mobile Access: Access, upload, and manage files on the go using mobile-friendly interfaces.

Benefits of Cloud-Based Document Management Software

1. Enhanced Accessibility and Mobility

With cloud document management, your employees can access important files anytime, anywhere—whether they’re working remotely, at a client site, or on the move. This level of flexibility improves turnaround times and supports hybrid work models.

2. Improved Data Security

Security is a top concern when handling sensitive documents. PDMPL’s cloud DMS includes advanced features such as encrypted data transmission, audit trails, and customizable user permissions to protect your data against breaches.

3. Cost-Effective Solution

Switching to a cloud-based DMS eliminates the need for bulky storage cabinets, physical servers, and costly IT maintenance. With PDMPL’s subscription-based model, you pay only for what you use, making it a budget-friendly option for startups and enterprises alike.

4. Disaster Recovery and Backup

Unlike traditional document storage, cloud-based systems offer built-in disaster recovery options. In case of a system failure or natural disaster, your data is safe and can be restored quickly from the cloud.

5. Scalability and Flexibility

Whether you're a small business with a few users or a large enterprise handling millions of documents, PDMPL’s cloud DMS can scale with your needs. You can easily add new users, increase storage, or upgrade features as your business grows.

Industries Benefiting from PDMPL’s Cloud DMS

Many industries are turning to cloud-based document management software to optimize their operations:

Healthcare: Manage patient records securely and maintain HIPAA compliance.

Legal Firms: Organize case files, contracts, and court documents with version control.

Finance and Banking: Secure financial documents and ensure regulatory compliance.

Education: Digitize student records and administrative paperwork.

Construction and Real Estate: Access project files, blueprints, and contracts on the field.

Why Choose PDMPL?

At PDMPL, we are committed to delivering innovative and reliable document management solutions. Our team of experts works closely with clients to understand their specific challenges and recommend the most efficient DMS solutions.

Here’s why businesses across India trust PDMPL’s cloud-based DMS:

User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive design that requires minimal training.

Robust Support: Dedicated customer service to assist you at every step.

Customizable Solutions: Tailor-made features and workflows to suit your industry needs.

Proven Expertise: Years of experience in document digitization and management.

Future-Ready Document Management

The future of work is digital, and efficient document handling is the backbone of digital transformation. A reliable cloud-based document management software not only enhances your operational efficiency but also ensures that your organization remains agile, compliant, and competitive.

Whether you’re planning to go paperless, streamline your workflows, or ensure data security, PDMPL is here to help. Our cloud DMS solutions are designed to transform the way you manage documents—securely, smartly, and sustainably.

Contact Us

Ready to revolutionize your document management? Partner with PDMPL and experience the power of cloud-based solutions.