#Social Media Interaction and Safety Reporting

[disabled-dragoon]

Information regarding the UK riots

If you're worried about the riots right now and are concerned for your safety, the safety of friends and loved ones or the safety of other members of your local community, here are a few posts, organisations and social medias that may help. Feel free to add any others that you know of in the notes.

Posts:

This post by @lovelysakuryay with information on what to do if you are the victim of an attack, as well some information on helplines, mental health services and some charities you can reach out to and/or donate to (which will be listed in the section below)

A list of fundraisers for people and communities impacted by the Southport attack and far-right riots. Post by @octarineblues

Post by @northern-punk-lad listing the times and locations of riots on Wednesday 7th August.

Organisations:

Exit Hate: Helping people and their family to walk away from extremism.

Stop Hate UK: 24 hour hate-crime reporting hotline

Migrant Voice: A charity that helps migrants advocate for themselves.

Refugee Action: Helps refugees to rebuild their lives.

North East Anarchist Group: Some information regarding locations of planned far-right riots on their social media, as well information regarding the location of counter protests in the north east of England.

Green and Black Cross: A "grassroots activist legal support group". They offer "know your rights" training courses, as well as information on your rights as a protester and interacting with the police and staying safe. Find them on instagram as well under @gbclegal.

Netpol: Or, the Network for Police Monitoring. A good organisation to look into regarding protest rights and legal resources.

Migrants Organise: Provides a platform for migrants to organise. Offers advice and support, as well as access to grassroots organising, research, advocacy and campaigning.

The Anthony Walker Foundation: Local anti-hate group in Merseyside.

Note from @octarineblues:

"This is a bit more useful for larger towns/cities, but: a local BLM group will also have up to date info! Antifacist or anti-raids group as well - they will often have access to good info and they are already used to reacting quickly."

Social Medias:

It's worth checking your town/local area's social media pages (if they exist) for information regarding possible planned riots and destruction. There may also be one or more pages regarding news in your county/constituency.

Additional social media pages:

@ukisnotinnocent on Instagram. A group "mobilising against fascism" across the UK, providing updates on the riots as well as information on the locations of planned violence and staying safe while counter protesting. CW: There are some shocking videos and images on here which depict some of the violent scenes seen lately.

@monitoringgroupne_n on Instagram. A group that shares updates, information and concerns regarding the policing and fascism in the North and North East of England. Including sharing information on the location of planned riots, some information on counter protests and staying safe while protesting.

@standuptoracismuk on Instagram. A good resource for riot times and locations, as well as counter protest times, locations, information and footage.

@ukfactcheckpolitics on Instagram. A page dedicated to "exposing government corruption". Great for quick news and updates regarding both riots and counter protests. Like @ukisnotinnocent, they do share videos and images as well, the contents of which can be shocking.

Also, I've noticed that a lot of groups protesting the ongoing genocide in gaza have been very vocally against the far-right riots and have been sharing some information alongside their usual stuff. If you know of a local encampment/group, it's worth searching for their social media.

It's worth checking the lists of people that the listed groups follow on social media as well for more information regarding riots across the country.

Please, please share any more that you know of/find, and I'll update this as and when I can.

Stay safe everyone <3

[angiemaniac]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello fellow followers! This is an important message to everyone who is following me or is a mutual, because people have been receiving hateful DMs from people who left or was banned from the server I run.

Recently, we had a member who left, making several of the server members uncomfortable with less peaceful behavior. We've decided to ban them for safety to prevent from having them go after people associated with the server.

Unfortunately, this person has been spreading misinformation and false rumors on what has been happening and has had potential associates or multiple accounts harassing me and my own friends. They left after we have tried to de-escalate their acts of passive aggressiveness, rage baiting, and other unsavory behavior such as the screenshots below:

(These messages and users are censored to prevent sending hate or seeing iffy slurs being used. These are messages sent to me, and my friends who help me run the server when I am busy with work.)

If you see these users on any social media platform or discord, report them, DM us their username, and block them immediately.

DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM.

If you proceed to repeat the cycle of hateful interactions, you are not a follower or a supporter of mine. I do not want drama and destruction to happen here.

Thank you and stay safe!

[adventuringblind]

Don't Leave Us

Lestappen x Reader

Genre: angst, hurt/comfort

Summary: With the mass amount of online hate and a relationship that's not public, it all gets too much.

Warnings: graphic depictions of self-harm, graphic depictions of suicide

Notes: I hope you're doing okay, Nonny! Maybe this will help you like it does me :)

side note: I am not above begging for interaction. Fill my inbox with feral driver thoughts! Interact with my posts! It feeds my praise kink and makes me giggle and kick my feet 🥰

Masterlist // Request Form // My Website // buy me a Ko-Fi

It's not like the toxicity of social media is a new thing. She's always known that it could happen. She just wasn't expecting it to be so... much.

Her relationship with Max and Charles isn't out for the public. There are dangers that come with opening that up for everyone to get a glimpse of. Reporters waiting to make snide remarks. Fans that want to bash on the drivers they dislike.

Plus, she's not famous. People don't notice her. At least - they didn't until recently.

Some WAG account had managed to get photos of her with either Max or Charles. Not the three of them together. Speculative fans determined she must be playing both of them.

Not all of them, some people defend her. Those comments make her cry out of relief that at least someone isn't trying to tear her down.

She doesn't bring it up to either of the boys. They have enough on their plates as is. Stress and sickness become her new best excuses to not go out in public.

Sure, she's isolating herself and not talking to anyone. Carmen and Lily keep trying. She's just not ready to show her face.

Nothing is sacred anymore. The rumors are too much. Even avoiding all social media isn't enough. She can't even leave her house without someone trying to discreetly take her photo.

Her skin burns with attention every time she steps out the door. She can't eat knowing people are always looking at her. She can't even go to the shop to get groceries or to her mailbox.

It gets worse by the day. Soon enough, someone figures out where she lives. Knowing she has a stalker makes every ounce of security she once had vanish.

It's miserable seeing her information leaked out for everyone to see. Privacy is now a luxury of the past. It's enough to send her spiraling.

When her safety is called into question, Max and Charles bring her to Monaco. They are willing to risk it for her. Their attempt at giving her some piece of mind by staying in the same apartment only makes her thoughts darker.

She's the reason there is so much negative publicity. The sharks are circling them, just waiting for one wrong move. Is she ready to be the catalyst for her lovers' downfall?

The thought sends her stomach up her throat. The thoughts swirl around her head, paralyzing her body into a perpetual state of fear. Stuck in a luxurious Monaco penthouse. Because people being toxic and stalking her is such a horrible problem to have. She should just suck it up; pretend everything is fine.

So then, why is it so hard? Why can't she just be alright?

One week. A plan in her head and a smile plastered on her face. The boys haven't asked about it. Their concern shows in the facial expressions, but they don't push. Maybe it would be better if they did. Send her already crumbling walls to the ground.

She deep cleans on Monday. She does her best to make sure the apartment isn't in disarray, that her own things are packed away, so they won't have much to deal with. The contrasting red and blue of Max and Charles' clothes are the only things left in the closet when she's done.

Speculations start again on Tuesday. Max and Charles spend all day in some PR meeting about it. It gives her time to sort out her affairs without them hearing her. She cooks them dinner to help ease the frustrations. Their teams don't want them to come out, but they do.

Wednesday, they leave to their next destination. She doesn't leave the hotel room despite the concerns of others. Carmen and Lily come around at some point. They eat in with her and kick out the boys. It feels normal for the first time in months. She almost breaks and tells them.

Thursday is media day. She feels for both boys as they get asked invasive questions about their love life. They look stressed. She gets hugged a little tighter that night. It calms the thoughts, but it's not enough. They hurt more every day. She's just wants it to stop.

Practice on Friday goes well for both. Max and Charles are in better spirits. She drags herself out to eat with them. the boys don't care who sees. She does. The anxiety nearly suffocates her. eyes crawling over her skin. Please, make it stop.

Saturday is a wreck. The qualifying is difficult for both her partners. Their relationship status is once again coming under fire. The speculating is becoming extreme, enough for the whispering of the paddock to become deafening to her ears. She spends her time hiding away, writing her last thoughts in messy scrawl.

Sunday, they turn the weekend around. The podium has always suited them. Smiling for everyone to see and dousing each other in champagne. She smiles too, even though it hurts.

They fly back to Monaco that night. Conversation turns to going public despite team wishes. They are willing to risk it for her. She can't bring herself to say yes. They worked hard to live their dreams; she won't ruin it for them.

Monday comes around again. The notes are laying out on the table. The boys are with their friends, some kind of brunch get together.

She leaves the bathroom door unlocked.

The bath filled, her clothes still on. Her thoughts finally still. Tears streak down her face.

The water is cold.

Then it's red.

~~~~~

"I worry about leaving her alone." Charles pulls the car back into its spot.

"Well, if we brough her along it wouldn't be much of a surprise, yes?" Max checks his watch again. "Plus, what could she have done in the fifteen minutes we were gone?"

They haul the ridiculous number of snacks to the front door. They decided last week they would see if they could coax the female out of her depressive state, just for a little while. Maybe get her to confide in them. If not, then at the very least a therapist.

The distance is damn near suffocating. She's so close physically, yet so far away mentally. Always staring at the walls with a distant look in her eyes.

The apartment is eerily quiet when they step inside. The kind that Charles despises after living in a chaotic house with two brothers and three busy schedules his Maman had to keep track of.

He drops the bags and peers around the entry way. Then searches the corridors until he finds one of the bathroom doors closed.

Charles knocks on the door but receives no response. "Cheri? Are you not feeling well?"

Charles almost dives out of the way when Max comes barreling down the hallway. The Dutch tries the doorknob, heavy breathing filling the odd silence.

Charles pales at the sight revealed to him. Paralyzed that this horrific scene could even be a possibility. Is he dreaming? He has to be - there isn't any way for this to be real... right?

"Charles!-" the Monegasque is dragged from his thoughts. Real or not, Max needs his help. Scratch that - she needs his help. "- Get an ambulance!"

Charles fishes his phone out of his pocket and makes the call. Max is desperate trying to stop the bleeding from the vertical slit traveling her forearm. "Is she...?" He can't finish the thought. Heart being through his chest at the possible answer.

"Pules is there but faint." Max sounds like he's desperately trying to hold back his tears. His mind working desperately to keep her alive.

Charles must space out. He doesn't remember opening the door or watching her be carried out by the swift paramedics. The car ride doesn't register, not until they are already in the waiting room.

Max hands him her notes. The paragraphs she wrote to them. A final goodbye in messy scrawl, but the tails of her letters still curled.

"She did it for us, Charlie, because she thought she was hurting us."

They both break down in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. Charles violently sobbing. Neither of them respond to their messages. Phones buzzing with calls that go to voice-mail.

A doctor comes calling her name. Charles is only half listening. Specifically looking for either a confirmation of death or the relief of hearing that she's okay. Max seems to be paying attention. His shoulders sag, and there is a soft look on his face when they are left to their own devices.

"She's alive, Charlie."

He erupts until tears once more.

~~~~~

Everything hurts. Her thoughts are fuzzy. There is something soft beneath her.

The white ceiling is paired with the burning smell of alcohol. A sterile environment. Meaning-

Fuck. How did it go so wrong? How had they managed to keep her alive?

The beeping on the heart monitor picks up. A sign that she's definitely alive and in a hospital.

Her attempts at moving are futile. There is too much pain and exhaustion to do so. A pulsing behind her ears drowns out the thumping of her heart.

"Rest now, amour."

It takes a single stroke of Charles' fingers on her cheek to make her entire facade shatter into nothing.

She's mumbling incoherent words. It's a string of apologies, rants of anger and embarrassment, and confusion at why they are even here with her. They are continually reassuring her. They coo into her ear how they are so glad she's alive. That she doesn't have to fight whatever battle through hell this is alone.

Recovery is difficult. They have to put her on a suicide watch, but Max and Charles somehow manage to keep her out of the psychward. Mostly because they want to be with her at all hours of the day.

They miss a singular race for her. Then drag her to the next. Part of the deal they had made was that they won't sacrifice their careers for her.

They negotiated with the teams. Managed to wriggle around their soft spots and get them to approve going public. Max and Charles want to openly defend her. No more public executions. They'er pulling her out of the shark infested waters that is the media.

It's slow. People ask about it sometimes; why Charles and Max had missed that race. None of them give an answer. They aren't obligated to.

"Why fight for me?" She asks. a year after the events.

"Because chéri, we love you enough to help you carry the burden."

"Honestly liefste, we fight for what we believe in. We believe in you and the love you have for us."

"Maybe it's selfish, but we want to share that with you. Keep you here with us to go on adventures and explore the different paths life offers."

"So don't leave us yet. You are worth every sacrifice."

[revanhaed]

Having the entire city ship Gabecat and Nathabug as heroes is hilarious, but how would they both feel about it?

I mean, having entire interviews, articles, fan theories, and Gabriel's own son actively shipping them, how would they react?

oh, this is a fun question haha

short answer: they probably wouldn’t find out for a while, but once they do, it’s something that flusters them and makes them roll their eyes—but also something they’d ultimately ignore. if it gets brought up at all, they’d (very briefly) chuckle about it and move on.

long answer: so, i imagine it takes a while for both 1) intrigue to build around their relationship, and 2) them to notice it lmao. between their combined aloofness and professionalism, there’s very little between them in the beginning for the mainstream public to notice and latch onto. they don’t go out of their way to interact with people in-person, and they don’t personally make any habits of looking themselves up on social media or indulging curious paparazzi.

that doesn’t change much even after their relationship with each other deepens, nor after they become more affable and approachable with the city they save. they’re friendlier, sure, but they almost never accept interviews or speak to reporters unless it’s to impart something pertinent for paris’ safety. gabriel and nathalie as individuals are exceptionally private people, and that need for privacy is only stronger as catastrophe and lady luck.

course, lack of confirmed information only makes speculation more fervent, so… y’know how that goes 😅 and fortunately or unfortunately, they’re both extremely unaware that the entire city wants them to bone lmao. i mean, okay, they’re aware to a degree that people enjoy the idea of them together, but so much so that there’s merch? and a fanbase? and tabloids, and theories, and betting pools? INSANITY. KIND OF UNCOMFORTABLE. A LITTLE FUNNY. maybe it makes their hearts skip a beat, a little. BUT MOSTLY UNCOMFORTABLE.

regardless, if it ever came to their attention, they wouldn’t let it impact their relationship cos they’re definitely not going to let public opinion dictate their dynamic. anyway, the only thing they’ve both got the capacity for, at the moment, is being a team; knowing they can rely on and trust each other. they’re content to let their feelings (whatever those may be…) sit and simmer. for now.

[ebonyheartnet]

So, uh, has anyone else been tuned into the yellow cake uranium paint bullshit?

Apparently there’s fucking copycats on Reddit 🫠

For those who have no clue but want the run down:

Disclaimer: nothing I state here is intended to be defamatory. My perspective is that of a third party civilian. Any bias towards action is informed by professional interactions with regulatory bodies uninvolved in the following chain of events.

A Utah woman known for making paints with dangerous materials bought yellow cake uranium—a water soluble form of the radioactive heavy metal—and ground it up even finer to make paint. This video was posted to a large following across multiple platforms.

Concerned civilians on TikTok asked a radiation safety specialist w/ almost 20 years in rad work if this was ill advised.

Said safety specialist promptly stated that the concern was warranted, and that for the first time ever, they had to file a report with the NRC (<- federal regulatory body in charge of things like “who should be touching radioactive source material?”)

The painter replied that the safety specialist shouldn’t worry so much, as she’s actively using PPE.

The whistleblower proceeded to lay into her about said PPE (inappropriate protective factor, incorrect filters, likely incorrect fit, etc.), almost guaranteed lack of access to the appropriate waste streams, etc.

This included information on the negative health effects anyone exposed may experience, as well as the potentially millions of dollars in man hours and clean up that the painter may be on the hook for.

The whistleblower also strongly advised her to self report to the NRC to hopefully avoid any potential criminal charges.

The NRC allegedly got back to the radiation safety worker within 24 hours. To paraphrase, “Thank you so much. She’s in Utah, which is a cooperative state. They’ll continue looking into this.”

The painter continued to double down, with support from hobbyists (collectors of radioactive items like radium clocks). All concerns about incorrect PPE and exposure risk for nearby civilians continued to be ignored.

Other people actually in the industry continued to chime in that yes, it was that serious.

A handful of points repeated by fellow industry professionals was that uranium, like radium, likes to replace bone. Even if the amount radiation’s not the most deadly, it’s still a water soluble heavy metal. There was also a risk of copy cats.

While the hobbyists continued to dog pile, the whistleblower allegedly received a very unexpected follow up email from Utah’s regulatory body.

To paraphrase, “At your request, you are allowed to tell your audience that yellow cake uranium is considered radioactive source material. While this was purchased out of state, you must be licensed to own and handle it in Utah. The painter has to take down everything related to the uranium paint while we continue looking into this.”

Simultaneously, reddit happens. Forums disparaging the whistleblower and backing the painter are flourishing at this point.

Eventually, at least one forum of civilians defending the painter started making moves to buy yellow cake uranium. The whistleblower got word of this and encouraged folks to file their own NRC reports to nip this in the bud.

The painter, who had been quiet for some time, then began making legal threats. She attempted to intimidate the whistleblower into taking everything down and issuing a public apology.

The whistleblower posted the screenshots of said legal threats and doubled down. Additional statements were made that they do not make any money off of this on social media, as that would be a conflict of interest. This was solely brought up in the name of public safety.

As of 03/18/25, the initial whistleblower continues to state that their concern is warranted. Due to the actions taken by the painter, they believe she is either an untrained, unlicensed civilian or someone operating outside of the scope of their license. Either way, their stance has not changed: no regulatory body would respond that quickly to an unfounded request for oversight.

[the-crimson-flash]

//THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT THIS BLOG!

This is for one, an rp blog! Meaning i will try my best to act like this character, which leads me to my 2nd point, this is gonna be filled with ooc reactions and headcannons! I will likely be saying some immature stuff and goofing around, just remember that its all in good fun!

3rd, i dont mind ships (but just cuz im ok with it doesnt mean my friends are! Respect the other rp blogers blog rules!),if i state a ship makes me uncomfy please refrain from asking about it again!

4th i am a minor, so please refrain from asking weird stuff, further more i headcannon blitz as a rebellious teen or a kid so keep it pg guys!

Thats it! I will add more onto this as needed, but lets all just have a great time alright? Feel free to send in asks and qustions! ^^//

"Eh???"

"Still figureing how human techoligy works, you build it all weiiiiiird and tiny. Peruru made me make this blog, dunno why. Buuuut you humans and your social media are entertaining!"

//Heres some fellow cardbots to interact with! ⬇️

@blue-policerobot Blue cop

@thelatinodancerbot Mega trucker

@unlicensedmedicalcardbot Mega ambler

@safety-fir3-y43h Pheonic fire

@shadowx-ishere1 Shadow x

@k1ttykatwhisperer Dexter

@gracefulbountyhunter Fleta Z

@themilkywayofficial Buffalo crush

@bustergall0n Buster gallon

@capta1nstreasure Black hook

@heavyironsbasement Heavy iron

@sky-champion Cielo

@the-steelarm-reporter Muslehyde

@thedrillingmole Rock crush

@thefriendlyshark Deep bite

@b1asttrain Blast train

@thechivalrousskygallop Sky gallop

@plebec-invisk8r Flash vector

@ex0tic-r4cer Spark bit/beat

@flamen0va Flame nove spam man

Non canon characters

@shell-shock-ed Shellshocked

@askyellowjacket Yellow jacket

@record-scratches Record scratches

@cosmic-void-themagician Cosmic void

@da-lavender-sniper Lavender Aegis

@Vagabund-rp Vagabund

Humans

@sillyjungrant jun

@peppermintpez Phalia

@heavyiron Tina

@hush3d-wr1ter Lynn//

//currently takeing and doing doodle requests in character! In refference to this post ⬇️//

[richincolor]

New Releases - April 15, 2025

There are eight books we are welcoming into the world today. 

On Again, Awkward Again by Erin Entrada Kelly & Kwame Mbalia Amulet

When Pacy Mercado and Cecil Holloway spot each other during the first week of freshman year, it’s love at first sight. Well, more like love at first fleeting, injury-riddled glance, since the moment is ruined thanks to clumsiness and a criminal case of IBS.

Despite their total lack of game, Pacy and Cecil are drawn to each other. Seven seconds of eye contact turns into days of yearning and stress as they make the mistake of following misguided advice from their friends, dysfunctional families, and strangers on the internet.

But the universe conspires to bring Pacy and Cecil together when they both end up on the WADS committee to plan the freshman dance (that’s Wakeville’s Awesome Décor Society, if you must know).

As they spend more time together, they realize that the other person might be just what they need . . . that is, if they can figure out how to be themselves and embrace the mishaps, mistakes, and hilariously awkward interactions that make up their imperfectly perfect love story.

Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi Knopf Books for Young Readers

Somadina and her twin brother, Jayaike, are practically the same person: they finish each other’s sentences and make each other whole. When the twins come of age, their magical gifts begin to develop, but while Jayaike’s powers enchant, Somadina’s cause fear to ripple through her town.

Always an outsider, Somadina now faces blatant–and dangerous–hostility. And things go from bad to worse when her brother—the one person she trusted—vanishes. Somadina knows that no matter the dangers, she must track him down. Even if it means entering the Sacred Forest. Even if it means grueling, otherworldly travel she may not survive. Even if it means finding the hidden places where those closest to the spirit world don’t dare to go. Does Somadina have the strength –within both her body and her soul — for the trying journey ahead?

National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi masterfully weaves a tale of family, identity, and the power of the past, in a world where the extraordinary is ordinary.

Two Truths and a Lionel by Brian Wasson Quill Tree Books

As the grandson of a late, great action star, Lionel Honeycutt III knows all about heroics. Not that any of Grandpa’s genes were passed down to him; Lionel is solidly a Background Character in the social hierarchy of his high school. But when a fire at a pet store has Lionel cast as the brave teen who helped everyone escape, Lionel can finally live up to the family name.

Honestly, though…Lionel isn’t sure he did any saving, despite smoky security footage that shows someone who could be him ushering victims to safety. But Lionel blacked out before he even exited the store. He keeps this minor detail to himself as everyone else—from social media influencers to his longtime crush—heralds him a hero.

As Lionel’s popularity grows, so does his anxiety about his sorta-lie. Between reporters wanting to interview him about the incident, catching feelings for his longtime rival, and an anonymous source who somehow knows more about the incident than Lionel would like, Lionel starts to wonder if the truth will really set him free…or cost him everything.

Afia in the Land of Wonders by Mia Araujo Scholastic

Afia has always felt like half of a whole. Her twin sister, Aya, is perfectly happy with fulfilling their family’s expectations of them. But Afia dreams of exploring the world beyond her secluded cliffside home of Dafra. She dreams of adventure.

When she meets a charming shape-shifter named Bakame, who dazzles her with promises of a magical land called Ijábù, Afia decides to take her destiny into her own hands. Although it will mean leaving everything she has ever known behind, including her beloved sister, Afia follows Bakame into the forbidden forests surrounding Dafra, from which no one has ever returned.

Filled with magical sights, a charismatic Queen and her intriguing court, Ijábù is everything that Afia has ever dreamed of. But she soon discovers that nothing is as it seems, and this fantasy world demands a terrible price. With the help of a mysterious trickster, Afia must evade the Queen’s hunters and the lost dreamers of Ijábù, who wish to pull her deeper into their web.

Now, Afia must find the courage to survive while standing on her own–or risking losing herself completely to the wonders of Ijábù.

Debut author-illustrator Mia Araujo weaves an extraordinarily luminous and beautiful story, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, about what it takes to find your true self, even if it means facing your deepest fears.

Love in 280 Characters or Less by Ravynn K. Stringfield Feiwel and Friends

Sydney Ciara Warren is excited as she starts her first year of college, but also nervous. Despite her interests in writing and fashion, she has no idea what path will ultimately be right for her. As she tries to figure out her place on campus and in the world, she finds solace in blogging about her life, putting together outfits with meaning, and spending time online.

It’s within the digital space that she connects with someone who goes by YoungPrinceX. She may not know “X” in real life, but that doesn’t stop her from developing a crush on him. Except she’s also navigating her first romantic relationship, with a sweet boy on campus named Xavier (who maybe could be X???).

Can Sydney Ciara not only make it through her first semester, but thrive in real life, as much as she seems to be thriving online?

Watch Me: The New Republic #1 by Tahereh Mafi HarperCollins

Lose yourself in this exhilarating return to the #1 global bestselling Shatter Me universe, the first book in a new series set ten years after the fall of The Reestablishment.

James Anderson had a plan. Or half of one. All that matters is that he managed to do what his older brother, the famous Aaron Warner Anderson, never did: infiltrate Ark Island, the last refuge of The Reestablishment. In the past decade no outsider has breached the stronghold of the authoritarian regime, but James is in. In a prison cell, sure, but as far as James is concerned, a win is a win.

It’s been ten years since the fall of The Reestablishment. Ten years since the notorious duo—Juliette Ferrars and Aaron Warner Anderson—led a worldwide rebellion and established the New Republic of the West. But after a decade of unsettling quiet, The Reestablishment is ready to make a devastating move, and they have the perfect person for the job.

Rosabelle Wolff had a plan. She always has a plan. On Ark Island, where constant surveillance is packaged as security, even emotions must be experienced with caution. A trained assassin, her every movement is monitored by synthetic intelligence—and when she’s given an order to kill, she never hesitates.

Brimming with pulse-pounding action and torturous romance, Watch Me is an explosive journey through a dystopian landscape where enemies-to-lovers has never felt more impossible. Step into a beloved and breathtaking world that demands an answer to a desperate question—Who are we when no one is watching?

Chaos King (Infinity Alchemist #2) by Kacen Callender Tor Teen

Ever since he rose up against his father and saved New Anglia from destruction, Ash has been struggling to adapt to his new life. He has nightmares every night, haunted by strange black orbs and his screaming dead mother. Ash is sure she’s trying to warn him that the world is still in danger, and becomes determined to find a way to speak to her again―but communicating with the dead isn’t easy, even for an alchemist as powerful as Ash.

It doesn’t help that violent anti-alchemist sentiment is spreading across New Anglia. When Ash is captured by a radical group, inspired by his father’s legacy, he must decide if alchemist rights can be trusted in the hands of the Houses, along with his partners Callum and Ramsay―or if Ash must follow the path his father laid for him, and become the leader of an alchemist revolution.

Can Ash keep his relationships together and stop the world from falling apart?

All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis Atheneum Books for Young Readers

In this compelling, moving story about brotherhood, identity, and social justice, a Black, autistic teen tries to figure out what happened the night his older brother was unjustly arrested.

All Aiden has ever wanted to do was play football just like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. An overstimulation meltdown gets in the way of Aiden making the team during summer tryouts, but when the school year starts and a spot unexpectedly needs to be filled, he finally gets a chance to play the game he loves.

However, not every player is happy about the new addition to the team, wary of how Aiden’s autism will present itself on game day. Tensions rise. A fight breaks out. Cops are called.

Brandon interferes on behalf of his brother, but is arrested by the very same cops who, just hours earlier, were chanting his name from the bleachers. When he’s wrongly charged for felony assault on an officer, everything Brandon has worked for starts to slip away, and the brothers’ relationship is tested. As Brandon’s trial inches closer, Aiden is desperate to figure out what really happened that night. Can he clear his brother’s name in time?

[hexheathen]

The Unknown (DBD x Home Safety Hotline crossover)

Note: I was bored on lunch while watching Manlybadasshero play the home safety hotline for the billionth time. I made a draft of the unknown being a pest that people call about. This is a silly, un-edited drabble! Now posting it :>

UNKNOWN

Entry ID: #U-1134-B Threat Level: SEVERE Discription

The Unknown is not cataloged under natural or paranormal pest registries. It is considered an obsessive aberration that fixates on individuals who pursue hidden knowledge—particularly those researching other occult entities, cryptids, or paranormal phenomena.

Once aware of the subject, the Unknown begins a process informally called “marking.” It enlists previous victims, now hollowed or wholly possessed, to lure the marked through phone calls, chance meetings, or strange social media interactions. Many report hearing familiar voices call them by name—even if those people are long gone.

Visual contact is not required for infestation.

Signs of Infestation:

Calls or messages from "forgotten friends" asking cryptic questions

Sudden cravings to revisit old paranormal research, occult notes, or dream logs

Voices behind walls that mimic loved ones but speak in fragmented memories

Smudges or shadows on photos that weren’t there before

Growing sense that you are being watched by someone who is learning you

Your own voice played back to you—out of order

Danger: The Unknown does not hunt in the traditional sense. It studies. It targets those who research the occult or other entities, latching onto curiosity like a scent trail. Victims report being followed by puppeted familiars—people they once trusted, now hollowed and used to lure them closer. As the entity fixates, it learns everything: your voice, your routines, even your dreams. Mirrors stop reflecting you properly. Voices call from behind doors you thought were locked. If you hear it speak your name, you are already marked. Do not return home, do not respond to any voice, and above all, do not try to understand it. That’s how it gets in.

Solution:

Run. Leave your home and go somewhere unfamiliar.

Do not respond to voices, no matter how real they sound.

Burn or submerge any journals or occult documents recently studied.

Avoid mirrors, screens, or surfaces where reflections linger too long.

Fire.

CALL LOG #U-1134-B-17

Time: 2:48 AM Caller ID: BLOCKED Operator: E. Hadley Transcription Begins:

CALLER: Hi, um... I wasn’t sure if this was the right number. The fridge said to call you. I mean there was a note. Taped to it. Said “He’s watching. They can help.”

OPERATOR: I understand. Can you tell me what’s been happening?

CALLER: It started with the mirrors. And my cat. She......she won’t go near the bathroom anymore. She just sits by the front door, staring at me like I already did something wrong. And then my friend Lana called. Said she missed me. Only… she’s been missing since February. We had a vigil. There was a whole vigil.

OPERATOR: Has anyone else tried to contact you? Voices? Strange reflections?

CALLER: Yes. Yes. There’s this voice behind the walls, keeps calling me by my old name. The one only my mother used. And I think God, I think it’s learning.

It told me what I was dreaming. It knew about my journals. I stopped writing. Burned the last one yesterday. The fire screamed.

OPERATOR: Have you responded to the voice directly?

CALLER: No!I ran. I swear I ran. But it sent someone.

He looked like my brother. He even had the scar. He asked me to come outside because “it’s almost time.” And I almost did, but his mouth didn’t match the words. His smile kept going, kept going, like it was being pulled wider from behind.

[STATIC NOISE INTERRUPTS — UNKNOWN AUDIO DISTORTION DETECTED]

[mariacallous]

As protests continue to swell across the United States in response to aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, civilians are turning to homebrew digital tools to track ICE arrests and raids in real time. But restricted government documents, obtained by the nonprofit watchdog Property of the People, show that US intelligence agencies are now eyeing the same tools as potential threats. A law enforcement investigation involving the maps is also apparently underway.

Details about Saturday’s “No Kings” protest—specifically those in California—are also under watch by domestic intelligence centers, where analysts regularly distribute speculative threat assessments among federal, state, and local agencies, according to an internal alert obtained exclusively by WIRED.

A late-February bulletin distributed by a Vermont-based regional fusion center highlights several websites hosting interactive maps that allow users to drop “pins” indicating encounters with ICE agents.

The bulletin is based on information initially shared by a US Army threat monitoring center known as ARTIC. While it acknowledges that most of the users appear to be civilians working to avoid contact with federal agents, it nevertheless raises the specter of “malicious actors” potentially relying on such open-source transparency tools to physically target law enforcement.

ARTIC, which operates under the umbrella of the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Property of the People, a nonprofit focused on transparency and national security, attempted to obtain additional details about the maps using public records laws. The group was informed by the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC) that all relevant information is “associated with active law enforcement investigations.”

The NCRIC did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

“Law enforcement is sounding the alarm over implausible, hypothetical risks allegedly posed by these ICE raid tracking platforms,” Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People, tells WIRED. “But transparency is not terrorism, and the real security threat is militarized secret police invading our communities and abducting our neighbors.”

The documents identify maps and information shared across Reddit and the website Padlet, which allows users to collaborate and build interactive maps. An “OPSEC” warning concerning the maps was also separately issued in February by the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center (WSIC). That report indicates the sites are being treated as a “strategic threat” and are under monitoring by a special operations division.

WSIC, which could not be immediately reached for comment, warned in its report about persistent online threats aimed at ICE officers, highlighting posts on social media apps like X and TikTok that include messages calling for Americans to stockpile weapons and “shoot back.” While some posts were judged to contain “explicit threats,” most appear to reflect cathartic outrage over the Trump administration’s punitive immigration enforcement tactics, with intelligence analysts noting that many of the users were “discussing hypothetical scenarios.” Nevertheless, the analysts flagged the sheer volume and tone of the content as a genuine officer safety concern.

Each document is marked for law enforcement eyes only—a warning not to discuss details with the public or press.

A separate report obtained by WIRED and dated mid-May shows the Central California Intelligence Center (CCIC) monitoring plans for the upcoming “No Kings” protests. It identifies Sacramento, Fresno, and Stockton, among dozens of other protest sites. The information is widely available online, including on the No Kings website.

The bulletin notes the protests are promoted as a “nonviolent action,” but says the agency plans to produce additional intelligence reports for “threat liaison officers.” It concludes with boilerplate language that states the CCIC recognizes the right of citizens to assemble, speak, and petition the government, but frames the need to gather intelligence on “First Amendment-protected activities” as essential to “assuring the safety of first responders and the public.”

Roughly 2,000 protests are scheduled to take place nationwide concurrent with a military parade in Washington, DC, expected to feature 6,600 US Army soldiers, 150 military vehicles, including 28 M1 Abrams tanks, rocket launchers, and precision-guided missiles.

Protests have erupted in Los Angeles and cities nationwide over the past week in response to a Trump-ordered immigration crackdown and the deployment of federal troops, including Marines and National Guard units, to support law enforcement.

Demonstrators are pushing back against what they view as an authoritarian show of force—as surveillance drones fly overhead and armored vehicles roll through immigrant-heavy neighborhoods. Tensions have flared between protesters and police, fueling concerns about surveillance, civil liberties, and the legality of using military force to suppress civil unrest.

The use of military-grade equipment and limits on troop authority have emerged as key flashpoints in a broader debate over executive power and immigration enforcement.

The No Kings organizers frame the demonstrations as a nationwide day of defiance: “From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like.”

[zimthesilly]

Dawg I just reported like 3 porn posts that managed to breaks terms of service, not have any content label or warning, nothing... Some of the tags were even incorrect so literally porn is showing in random people's feeds...

A firm reminder that MINORS use this app. THEY DO NOT NEED TO SEE THAT!!! If you actually think it's okay to post things like this without even adding a content label cuz "well they're teenagers right?", you're actually fucking insane. Not only is it harmful to minors, but it's harmful to people who are discomforted by viewing sexual content. Some people have actual trauma related to it and are uncomfortable even seeing someone without clothes on. If you can't understand that, then your morals are fucked.

Online safety is already almost non-existent, especially for impressionable minors who could see something like this and God forbid, wind up commenting on that post and having a creepy interaction with an adult. You could at least age restrict your post.

Not only that, but sexual content is against the TOS anyway, these were literally advertisements for only fans n shit. There are social medias that are accepting of this kind of content and are meant for ADULTS! Go post there instead!!!

[ausetkmt]

TUMBLR HAS MORE BOTS THAN USERS

In 2024, Tumblr, a once-thriving hub for creative expression and niche communities, found itself grappling with an unprecedented surge in bot activity and scams. The platform, known for its vibrant mix of fandoms, artists, and bloggers, became a prime target for automated accounts and fraudulent schemes, disrupting the user experience and sparking widespread concern among its loyal user base.

The rise in bot activity on Tumblr can be traced back to several key factors. Firstly, the platform's relatively open registration process made it an easy target for automated scripts designed to create fake accounts en masse. These bots typically engage in following users, liking posts, and reblogging content to appear legitimate. However, their primary objective often involves disseminating spam links, phishing attempts, or even spreading malware.

One of the most noticeable impacts of this bot surge has been the inundation of fake follower notifications. Many Tumblr users reported a significant increase in new followers, only to discover that these accounts exhibited telltale signs of automation. Profile pictures were often generic or non-existent, bios were sparse or nonsensical, and the accounts rarely posted original content. Instead, they engaged in repetitive reblogging of posts from other accounts, creating a facade of activity.

The motivations behind these bots vary. Some are designed to drive traffic to external websites, often of dubious or malicious nature. These sites can range from fraudulent online stores to phishing pages that attempt to steal users' personal information. Other bots aim to manipulate engagement metrics, inflating the appearance of popularity for certain posts or accounts. This can distort the organic reach and visibility of content, undermining the authentic interactions that Tumblr users cherish.

In response to the escalating bot crisis, Tumblr implemented a series of measures aimed at curbing automated activity. Enhanced CAPTCHA challenges during account creation and suspicious activity detection algorithms were among the first lines of defense. Additionally, the platform's moderation team ramped up efforts to swiftly identify and remove bot accounts. However, the sheer volume of bots meant that these measures often felt like a game of whack-a-mole, with new bots continually appearing to replace those that were removed.

The surge in bot activity also had a ripple effect on user trust and safety. Scams became increasingly prevalent, with bots frequently sending direct messages containing phishing links or fraudulent offers. Unsuspecting users who clicked on these links risked compromising their accounts or falling victim to identity theft. The presence of these malicious actors eroded the sense of community that Tumblr had long fostered, leaving users wary of interactions with unfamiliar accounts.

Despite the challenges, the Tumblr community has shown resilience in the face of the bot invasion. Users have banded together to share tips on identifying and reporting bots, while also advocating for stronger platform security measures. Some have even created browser extensions and scripts to help filter out bot accounts from their notifications and interactions.

Tumblr's bot problem is emblematic of a broader issue facing many social media platforms in the digital age. As automated technology becomes more sophisticated, the battle between bots and platform security measures is likely to intensify. For Tumblr, the key to preserving its unique cultural space will lie in continually evolving its defenses and maintaining open lines of communication with its user base.

Ultimately, the fight against bots and scams is an ongoing effort that requires collaboration between platform administrators and users alike. While 2024 has been a challenging year for Tumblr, the lessons learned and the steps taken to combat the bot surge will undoubtedly shape the future of the platform and its community.

[inchidentally]

https://x.com/safeforlando/status/1750936311563723024?s=20

I don't need to add anything. The best driver duo on the grid without a doubt <3

you're so right to say there's nothing more to say, anon. and yet ! lol

(behind a cut so no one can think I'm literally reporting facts here or that I'm living and dying by my own weird and pointless takes I'm just enjoying over-analyzing for fun)

(I am fully switching off RPF/narrative here)

so temporarily switching off friendships or any kinds of ships and focusing solely on driver partnerships, I love how certain Lando's always been about what Oscar has done for his (Lando's) performance. I think this is where age and generation play some part bc Carlos and Daniel are both firmly in the same age group and separated from Lando to a certain degree bc of that. they both viewed Lando as a little brother type of teammate and their careers were never perceived by themselves as especially tied to McLaren or to Lando. they'd both kind of become the lone wolf type by then which is honestly how most drivers have to be. (even moreso in the Max/RB dominance era)

whereas Lando isn't just toeing the line by saying he's a big team player, he adores working in groups in absolutely every area of his professional life and even having hobbies that put him with a minimum of 3-4 people. he also needs to feel the safety of a support network to be at his best. he's the very opposite of a lone wolf. hell, he literally said 'it took an actual village to raise me'.

he very intentionally developed the shared interests with Carlos and Daniel to create those kinds of bonds and familiarity (that's The Lando Effect). and while it's too much of a leap to say for sure, I think it's likely - at least at the start - that Lando felt like they might each have been his teammate for longer than they were. either way, the shared hobbies and friendly bonding didn't really translate to his time time spent with them in team meetings, speaking to the engineers or in development back at the factory. Lando has said he and Carlos were on completely different planes of experience and ability and Carlos was one foot out the door after what, the first year? and well, we know the lack of synchronicity between Lando and Daniel as drivers that started to set in not long after that first season together.

so when it was announced Lando's next teammate would be a rookie and also younger than him, he didn't really hide that the swapped dynamic worried him - even if he was half-joking. and then Oscar being so quiet and independent a person definitely threw him. he even describes their pre-season interactions as friendly but only really having time to say a few words. Oscar had his own work cut out as a rookie (and as we found out, wanting to prove himself most to the engineers and folks at MTC) and Lando already had a full life running alongside his racing career.

and it sounds all projection-y and armchair psychology to say this but genuinely it's clear to state that unlike the usual PR push that a lot of new teammates partake in, Oscar's been notably disinterested in any of that - not even just overplaying a friendship or a bromance with Lando for the sake of the cameras. that's an especially unusual choice for someone who could really have used the Lando Effect boost to his own image after contractgate with Alpine and the hoards of Ricciardo fans/McLaren fans ready to hate someone they saw as a snake or a pretender (usually both). especially considering Oscar pre-F1 was extremely active on social media and had his own viral moments and a much more colorful, fun personality than what he's allowed F1 fans to see so far - it was a pretty deliberate choice to not carry that over right away to selling the partnership with Lando.

we might be able to glean through the murk of Netflix's highly questionable editing of this upcoming season of DTS how much was really going on behind the scenes between Lando and Oscar around this time. but it really seemed like Oscar was more focused on letting his loyalty to the team and his own driving do all the talking (and Mark Webber often said as much). when you compare a lot of those early Lando and Oscar videos and challenges to his Prema ones, he's so unusually quiet and reserved. so he had absolutely no interest in trying to sell himself as a persona or a character to F1 fans. he was perfectly sweet and polite! and boy, did Lando enjoy having someone with endless patience for him lol.

but it's very marked how, despite whatever was or wasn't developing between them as teammates, Lando has consistently always said the same as he has here about Oscar being so talented and giving Lando that "push" and how "you hate and you like it" bc it made him (Lando) take his own driving to the next level. that healthy competition and 'wow, this guy is bringing it' seemed to strike him immediately. Lando can't lie for shit so if he'd found Oscar to be a crappy teammate in any way there's no way he'd be able to choke out any praise for him even for the sake of the team alsgfljasgfa.

and I liked that here in I think March? he said how he planned to get Oscar into all his own hobbies and bring him out of his shell, but apart from one last minute invite to golf that never really happened. we know they spent a fair amount of down time together but it was always mentioned in passing rather than posting about it online or having anyone film it (that we know of yet). the reason I like it is because Lando went on to say how Oscar has reminded him by example to "keep calm and be yourself". and in this interview he'd said how he considers himself and Oscar to be pretty similar people in terms of their approach to their F1 careers. so instead of them bonding through hobbies and interests or both of them being chatterboxes, I think they bonded (if that's the word?) over not being stereotypical extroverted drivers in terms of their personalities and also that they've so adamantly never wanted to have driver in-fighting make life harder for their teams (and themselves). plenty of guys from F2 and F3 can attest to that for Oscar and of course there's The Lando Effect as far as Lando's concerned.

you could almost say they both needed to be teamed up with the other bc for all that Oscar projects Just a Guy, he also finds himself incredibly awkward when it comes to everything about his job outside of racing the car or talking about the car. Lando's just as much the same but he's learned to charm his way through it. he's still awkward as hell even in Quadrant promo videos and he's been doing those regularly for years now, and with all his friends there! they're both enough off-center that they either need an extroverted teammate to lean on or in their current situation, someone who can sympathize.

which I think considering how much loyalty to the team and a sense of 'home' and consistency are for Lando, it makes all kinds of sense that Oscar was the teammate to show up and really form that partnership that he considers to be 'the strongest' on the grid.

they're the same generation, have the same ethos when it comes to their racing careers and Oscar not only went through a court case to get to McLaren he then extended his contract to 2026 the second McLaren made the offer. Lando's got stability as well as a serious challenge from Oscar. he's more poised than ever for that win(s). and now I just hope he listens to Oscar in other ways like not self-flagellating in front of the cameras so much and focusing on where he has done well.

[soupandspoonies]

Hi folks! I'm gonna be posting something a little bit different today because I trust my mutuals and those interacting with my blog will want to share the same message.

As you may know, there is a lot going on the United States right now. I am from Canada but with friends in the U.S, I've been keeping myself updated out of a concern for their safety. It's hard to NOT hear about what is happening right now, so I wanted to take a little bit of time to talk about a few things.

To start; When Donald Trump came into office, he pledged to deport over 1 million "unauthorised" migrants from the United States.

Now, according to NBC, ICE deported over 40,500 migrants between the months of February - April. Currently, they are reporting over 51,026 migrants in ICE detention centers across the U.S. (Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/us-immigration-tracker-follow-arrests-detentions-border-crossings-rcna189148)

People are being taken from their homes, work, schools, etc. These are families being ripped apart from each other without the right of due process. If you are questioning whether these people are trying to enter the country legally, I can assure you, many are. ICE agents are entering immigration courts and detaining individuals attempting to legally obtain their Green Card. (Sources: https://abcnews.go.com/US/immigrant-rights-groups-ice-officers-ambush-noncitizens-courthouse/story?id=122770040, https://apnews.com/article/immigration-court-arrests-ice-deportation-99d822cdc93ae7dc26026c27895d5ea1)

This was never about "removing illegals" from the United States - this is about controlling people and ethnically cleansing the country.

But just because the government is trying to do this, doesn't mean you cannot fight back. In the last week, across the U.S there have been thousands of protests shaming and fighting back against ICE and the Trump Administration. I am not "in the know," as it were, about how these protests are being organised, but that doesn't mean you can't find them! Talk to friends, look on social media, find your local protests, and try to speak out against hate.

Additionally, it may feel hard as a chronically ill and/or disabled person to do your part, but attending protests isn't the only thing you can do to speak out against hate! I will be pasting links at the bottom of this post that lead to immigration information websites. These websites provide answers to F.A.Q, information on your rights with ICE, and what you can do to protect yourself. These websites come in multiple languages to broaden the scope of people who can receive help from them. Share these links wherever you can so people know they can fight their deportation.

It is scary to speak out. You may worry about making yourself a target. If that is the case, when you see videos on TikTok asking you to sit for a minute and watch to help them get into the creator fund to pay for immigration lawyers - do your part and stick around for a minute. There is so much we can do to protect the life and diversity of the country.

I'm going to end this here because I know the longer I make this, the less likely people are to read it. This is all really to say that it's important that we take a stand against the oppressors who wish to silence the people, communities, and cultures that make up the country. It is happening in the U.S and it is happening around the world.

And remember, FUCK ICE, FUCK Donald Trump, and Nobody Is Illegal On Stolen Land.

That's all.

Soup

[frameacloud]

About this blog (pinned post)

I’m Orion Scribner (they/them). I'm a grown-up, and my partners are @who-is-page and @liongoatsnake. I blog about my art and writing, most of which is about therianthropes, otherkin and other alterhumans. I've been in those communities for more than ten years. Many of my creations are nonfiction about them. For example, I make the comic Theri There, the community history book Otherkin Timeline, and more. Academic articles cite both of those. My community-- and academics who research my community-- recognize me as a subject matter expert, historian, archivist, and writer. This doesn't put me above anyone else, because there are no leaders of the alterhuman communities. I’m just another person here who makes things, and values what others make, just as I hope you do too.

On this blog...

I welcome differing opinions, unless if they are intolerant.

I welcome people who have disabilities: I write screen reader friendly transcripts. Otherwise I tag posts as "not screen reader friendly." I try to never post flickering images; if I must, I tag "flickering lights warning."

I welcome Tumblr users of all ages: Tumblr requires its users to be at least 13 (or 16 in some regions). If you're between that age and 18 (or the age of majority), please filter out my content warning tags so you won’t see anything your parent or guardian doesn’t want you to. All posts on my blog are rated PG-13 at most, those being educational materials from reputable sources about internet safety, abuse, consent, safer s-x, and health, to help make our communities safer.

I welcome all sorts of alterhumans, not only therianthropes and otherkin, but also fictionfolk, and all types of plural systems, regardless of their origin, functionality, or (lack of) diagnosis.

I don't follow any other blogs from this account, though. Next, here are some of the sorts that I block. (If I blocked you and this doesn’t explain why, then you or your friend can ask me if it was by mistake.)

I block rac-sts and fasc-sts. (How to recognize them and other hate groups on Tumblr.)

I block gend-r critic-ls and other sexists. (How to recognize them: one, two, three, four.)

I block ps-ops and intentional misinformation. (Learn media literacy.)

I block, document, and report people who participate in or approve of the s-xual abuse of real animals or children in real life. (What to do if you encounter s-xual pred-tors on the internet; a collection of more community safety resources.)

I'm fine with disagreement, but I curate just as everyone must on social media. If someone dumps garbage here, I clean up. If someone replies without reading, and talking to them is like talking to a wall, then blocking them is the same difference.

I never use art-f-cial intelligence to research or write for me. If you want to see what I do on other sites or contact me, here's my e-mail address and where to find me on other social media sites: I'm on BlueSky, Mastodon, itch.io, DreamWidth, and more. You can tip at my Patreon or Ko-fi. You're welcome to browse my tags, interact with old posts, and ask questions.

Updated March 7, 2025.

[darkmaga-returns]

Peanut and Puppycide

by Robert Blumen | Nov 27, 2024

In the waning moments of the 2024 election, Peanut, a squirrel, went viral. A wildlife rescue, Peanut had been unable to go back to being a wild animal after his rehabilitation so owner Mark Longo adopted him as a pet. Peanut’s heart-warming interactions with his human family earned the adorable rodent internet celebrity status, including nearly one million followers on Instagram.

“Following anonymous complaints over rabies fears,” Peanut was confiscated and put to death by New York state health officials. The heavy-handed actions by the state prompted a massive backlash from animal lovers. A change.org petition calling for justice has over 73,000 signatures. A crowd-funding campaign for the benefit of a wildlife sanctuary in memory of the charismatic furball has raised over $224,000 at the time of this writing. The New York Post reported:

“The squirrel’s death has sparked so much fury that it prompted a state lawmaker to propose legislation to improve animal rights statutes—calling the bill ‘Peanut’s Law: Humane Animal Protection Act.’…The outcry also triggered the outpouring of donations, as well as the hashtag #Justice4Peanut to spread on social media.”

l’Affaire Peanut recalls the “puppycide” movement of the previous decade. Awareness of the epidemic of police officers shooting dogs rose, peaked in the mid teens, and has since almost vanished. The movement was driven by concerns that aggressive law enforcement was taking out pets that were (for the most part) harmless as routine operational procedure, regardless of any actual danger to the officer.

Legal scholar Courtney G. Lee in a 2018 law review article titled “More than Just Collateral Damage: Pet Shootings by Police” wrote:

“The Department of Justice estimates that American police officers shoot 10,000 pet dogs in the line of duty each year. It is impossible to ascertain a reliable number, however, because most law enforcement agencies do not maintain accurate records of animal killings. The tally may be substantially higher, and some suggest it could reach six figures.” “Deferring to officers’ judgment when they reasonably fear for human safety is sound policy because they regularly must make split-second, life-or-death decisions in highly stressful situations; but many pet shootings occur when officers mistake the behavior of a friendly, curious dog for aggression. Further, some animals have been deliberately shot and killed under questionable circumstances, including through doors or while tied, running away, or hiding. Studies show that some officers shoot pets unnecessarily, recklessly, or in retaliation, and that subsequent civilian complaints are investigated inadequately. Moreover, not every animal that police officers shoot is a large dog that may be more likely to pose a genuine risk to human safety—or even a dog at all. Police claiming a threat to human safety have shot puppies, Chihuahuas, Miniature Dachshunds, and domestic cats, among other pets. In some tragic cases, bullets missed their nonhuman targets and injured or even killed human bystanders instead.”

Lee’s paper cites data that “animals are involved in the majority of instances when officers discharge their firearms.” Think about that for a moment. If the data is correct, more pets are killed than the combined total of humans, inanimate objects shot at, and bullets that miss.

[mariacallous]

American police departments near the United States-Mexico border are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an unproven and secretive technology that uses AI-generated online personas designed to interact with and collect intelligence on “college protesters,” “radicalized” political activists, and suspected drug and human traffickers, according to internal documents, contracts, and communications that 404 Media obtained via public records requests.

Massive Blue, the New York–based company that is selling police departments this technology, calls its product Overwatch, which it markets as an “AI-powered force multiplier for public safety” that “deploys lifelike virtual agents, which infiltrate and engage criminal networks across various channels.” According to a presentation obtained by 404 Media, Massive Blue is offering cops these virtual personas that can be deployed across the internet with the express purpose of interacting with suspects over text messages and social media.

Massive Blue lists “border security,” “school safety,” and stopping “human trafficking” among Overwatch’s use cases. The technology—which as of last summer had not led to any known arrests—demonstrates the types of social media monitoring and undercover tools private companies are pitching to police and border agents. Concerns about tools like Massive Blue have taken on new urgency considering that the Trump administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of students, many of whom have protested against Israel’s war in Gaza.

404 Media obtained a presentation showing some of these AI characters. These include a “radicalized AI” “protest persona,” which poses as a 36-year-old divorced woman who is lonely, has no children, is interested in baking, activism, and “body positivity.” Another AI persona in the presentation is described as a “‘Honeypot’ AI Persona.” Her backstory says she’s a 25-year-old from Dearborn, Michigan, whose parents emigrated from Yemen and who speaks the Sanaani dialect of Arabic. The presentation also says she uses various social media apps, that she’s on Telegram and Signal, and that she has US and international SMS capabilities. Other personas are a 14-year-old boy “child trafficking AI persona,” an “AI pimp persona,” “college protestor,” “external recruiter for protests,” “escorts,” and “juveniles.”

Our reporting shows that cops are paying a company to help them deploy AI-powered bots across social media and the internet to talk to people they suspect are anything from violent sex criminals all the way to vaguely defined “protestors” with the hopes of generating evidence that can be used against them.

“This idea of having an AI pretending to be somebody, a youth looking for pedophiles to talk online, or somebody who is a fake terrorist, is an idea that goes back a long time,” Dave Maass, who studies border surveillance technologies for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told 404 Media. “The problem with all these things is that these are ill-defined problems. What problem are they actually trying to solve? One version of the AI persona is an escort. I’m not concerned about escorts. I’m not concerned about college protesters. So like, what is it effective at, violating protesters’ First Amendment rights?”

Massive Blue has signed a $360,000 contract with Pinal County, Arizona, which is between Tucson and Phoenix. The county is paying for the contract with an anti-human trafficking grant from the Arizona Department of Public Safety. A Pinal County purchasing division report states that it has bought “24/7 monitoring of numerous web and social media platforms” and “development, deployment, monitoring, and reporting on a virtual task force of up to 50 AI personas across 3 investigative categories.” Yuma County, in southwestern Arizona, meanwhile, signed a $10,000 contract to try Massive Blue in 2023 but did not renew the contract. A spokesperson for the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office told 404 Media “it did not meet our needs.”

Massive Blue cofounder Mike McGraw did not answer a series of specific questions from 404 Media about how Massive Blue works, what police departments it works with, and whether it had been used to generate any arrests. “We are proud of the work we do to support the investigation and prosecution of human traffickers,” McGraw said. “Our primary goal is to help bring these criminals to justice while helping victims who otherwise would remain trafficked. We cannot risk jeopardizing these investigations and putting victims’ lives in further danger by disclosing proprietary information.”

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office told 404 Media that Massive Blue has not thus far been used for any arrests.

“Our investigations are still underway. Massive Blue is one component of support in these investigations, which are still active and ongoing. No arrests have been made yet,” Sam Salzwedel, Pinal County Sheriff's Office public information officer, told 404 Media. “It takes a multifaceted approach to disrupting human traffickers, narcotics traffickers, and other criminals. Massive Blue has been a valuable partner in these initiatives and has produced leads that detectives are actively pursuing. Given these are ongoing investigations, we cannot risk compromising our investigative efforts by providing specifics about any personas.”

Salzwedel added, “Massive Blue is not working on any immigration cases. Our agency does not enforce immigration law. Massive Blue’s support is focused on the areas of human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, and other investigations.”

Law enforcement agencies have taken steps to prevent specifics about what Massive Blue is and how it works from becoming public. At public appropriations hearings in Pinal County about the Massive Blue contract, the sheriff’s office refused to tell county council members about what the product even is. Matthew Thomas, Pinal County Deputy Sheriff, told the county council he “can’t get into great detail” about what Massive Blue is and that doing so would “tip our hand to the bad guys.”

Pinal County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Arizona Department of Public Safety said, “From what we can ascertain, Pinal County planned to implement technology to help identify and solve human trafficking cases, and that is what we funded,” but was unaware of any of the specifics of Overwatch.

While the documents don’t describe every technical aspect of how Overwatch works, they do give a high-level overview of what it is. The company describes a tool that uses AI-generated images and text to create social media profiles that can interact with suspected drug traffickers, human traffickers, and gun traffickers. After Overwatch scans open social media channels for potential suspects, these AI personas can also communicate with suspects over text, Discord, and other messaging services. The documents we obtained don’t explain how Massive Blue determines who is a potential suspect based on their social media activity. Salzwedel, of Pinal County, said “Massive Blue’s solutions crawl multiple areas of the Internet, and social media outlets are just one component. We cannot disclose any further information to preserve the integrity of our investigations.”

One slide in the Massive Blue presentation obtained by 404 Media gives the example of a “Child Trafficking AI Persona” called Jason. The presentation gives a short “backstory” for the persona, which says Jason is a 14-year-old boy from Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Ecuador. He’s bilingual and an only child, and his hobbies include anime and gaming. The presentation describes his personality as shy and that he has difficulty interacting with girls. It also says that his parents don’t allow him to use social media and that he hides his use of Discord from them. This AI persona is also accompanied by an AI-generated image of a boy.

The presentation includes a conversation between this AI persona and what appears to be a predatory adult over text messages and Discord.

“Your parents around? Or you getting some awesome alone time,” a text from the adult says.

“Js chillin by myself, man. My momz @ work n my dadz outta town. So itz jus me n my vid games. 🎮,” Jason, the AI-generated child, responds.

In another example of how the “highly adaptable personas” can communicate with real people, the presentation shows a conversation between Clip, an “AI pimp persona,” and what appears to be a sex worker.

“Dem tricks trippin 2nite tryin not pay,” the sex worker says.

“Facts, baby. Ain’t lettin’ these tricks slide,” the Clip persona replies. “You stand your ground and make ’em pay what they owe. Daddy got your back, ain’t let nobody disrespect our grind. Keep hustlin’, ma, we gonna secure that bag💰💪✨”

“The continuous evolution of operational, communication & recruitment tactics by bad actors drives exponential increases of threats and significant challenges in reducing demand,” says a one-page brochure provided to police departments that explains Overwatch’s functionality. “The Overwatch platform harnesses the power of AI & blockchain to scale your impact without operational or technical overhead.”

Jorge Brignoni took notes for the Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Office at a meeting with Massive Blue in August 2023, which 404 Media obtained. In the notes, he wrote that Overwatch does “passive engagement, then active engagement, towards commitment” with a “Bad Actor, Predator, DTO,” or drug trafficking organization. These targets are then “HAND[ed] OFF to L.E. [law enforcement] to arrest, indict, convict.”

“Why is he talking about converting folks into ‘buying something,’” Brignoni wrote. “So dumb. Talk about the widget, not how you’re selling the widget to L.E.”

According to Brignoni’s notes, in addition to collecting intelligence via these AI personas, Overwatch also leverages “Telco & Geo Data” and “Blockchain Data” in the form of “full transaction history, top associated wallet IDs, sending & receiving cryptocurrency, potential off-ramps (Exchange names).” The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office ultimately did not buy Massive Blue and did not provide answers to 404 Media’s questions about its meeting with the company.

Besides scanning social media and engaging suspects with AI personas, the presentation says that Overwatch can use generative AI to create “proof of life” images of a person holding a sign with a username and date written on it in pen.

The Massive Blue presentation gives an example of an “Overwatch Recon Report” based on “24 hours of activity across Dallas, Houston, and Austin.” It claims that Overwatch identified 3,266 unique human traffickers, 25 percent of which were affiliated with “larger sophisticated trafficking organizations” and 15 percent of which were flagged as “potential juvenile traffickers.” 404 Media was not able to verify what these accounts were and whether they actually engaged in any criminal activity, and Massive Blue didn’t respond to questions about what these accounts were and how exactly it identified them.

On top of the ongoing contract with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and the pilot with the Yuma County Sheriff’s Department last year, Massive Blue has pitched its services to Cochise County in Arizona and the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to documents obtained as part of this investigation.

In September 2023, Yuma County set up a meeting that was going to include federal law enforcement, but Massive Blue had to cancel the meeting: “That’s unfortunate, we had federal agents here that focus on human trafficking ready to go,” a Yuma County sergeant wrote in an email to Massive Blue CEO Brian Haley after Haley canceled the meeting.

Much of Massive Blue’s public-facing activity has been through its executive director of public safety, Chris Clem, who is a former US Customs and Border Protection agent who testified before Congress about border security last year and regularly appears on Fox News and other media outlets to discuss immigration and the border. In recent months, Clem has posted images of himself on LinkedIn at the border and with prominent Trump administration members Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Massive Blue has also relied on former Kansas City Chiefs kicker Nick Lowery to introduce and endorse Overwatch to police departments.

Clem and Lowery have spoken most extensively publicly about Overwatch, where they have described it as an amorphous “cyberwall” that can do everything from stopping human traffickers to preventing hackers from breaking into 401(k) accounts to taking money back from hackers who have stolen from you, though they provide no specifics about how that would work.

In a two-and-a-half-hour interview with podcaster Theo Von, Clem said, “My company Massive Blue, we basically use deep tech to identify the habits and process of you know, look, I worked on a physical wall, now we’ve created a cyberwall,” adding that he believed it would “save lives.”

Von asked, “OK, but how does your company do that?”

“Well, I’m not going to get into that too much,” Clem responded, adding that he is trying to sell the technology to US Border Patrol.

On June 5, a Pinal County Board of Supervisors meeting was asked to approve a $500,000 contract between the county and Massive Blue in order to license Overwatch.

“I was looking at the website for Massive Blue, and it’s a one-pager with no additional information and no links,” Kevin Cavanaugh, the then-supervisor for District 1, said to Pinal County’s Chief Deputy at the Sheriff’s Office, Matthew Thomas. “They produce software that we buy, and it does what? Can you explain that to us?”

“I can’t get into great detail because it’s essentially trade secrets, and I don’t want to tip our hand to the bad guys,” Thomas said. “But what I can tell you is that the software is designed to help our investigators look for and find and build a case on human trafficking, drug trafficking, and gun trafficking.”

Cavanaugh said at the board meeting that the basic information he got is that Massive Blue uses “50 AI bots.” He then asked whether the software has been successful and if it helped law enforcement make any arrests. Thomas explained they have not made any arrests yet because they’ve only seen the proof of concept, but that the proof of concept was “good enough for us and our investigators to move forward with this. Once this gets approved and we get them [Massive Blue] under contract, then we are going to move forward with prosecution of cases.”

Cavanaugh asked if Overwatch is used in other counties, which prompted Thomas to invite Clem to the podium to speak. Clem introduced himself as a recently retired border agent and said that Massive Blue is currently in negotiations with three counties in Arizona, including Pinal County.

“As a resident of 14 years of Pinal County I know what’s happening here,” Clem said to the Board of Supervisors. “To be able [to] use this program [...] to provide all the necessary information to go after the online exploitation of children, trafficking victims, and all the other verticals that the sheriff may want to go after.”

Cavanaugh again asked if Massive Blue gathered any data that led to arrests.

“We have not made arrests yet, but there is a current investigation right now regarding arson, and we got the leads to the investigators,” Clem said, explaining that the program has been active for only about six months. “Investigations take time, but we’ve been able to generate the necessary leads for the particular counties that we’re involved with and also in the private sector.”

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors concluded the exchange by approving payment for a handful of other, unrelated projects, but with board members asking to delay the vote on payment for Massive Blue “for further study.”

The decision not to fund Massive Blue that day was covered in a local newspaper. Cavanaugh told the paper that he asked the company to meet with supervisors to explain the merits of the software.

“The State of Arizona has provided a grant, but grant money is taxpayer money. No matter the source of the funding, fighting human and sex trafficking is too important to risk half a million dollars on unproven technology,” he said. “If the company demonstrates that it can deliver evidence to arrest human traffickers, it may be worthwhile. However, it has yet to achieve this goal.”

404 Media’s public record requests yielded several emails from Cavanaugh’s office to IT professionals and other companies that provide AI products to law enforcement, asking them if they’re familiar with Massive Blue. We don’t know what was said in those meetings, or if they occurred, but when the Pinal County Board of Supervisors convened again on June 19 it voted to pay for Massive Blue’s Overwatch without further discussion.

“Supervisor [Cavanaugh] ultimately voted for the agreement because Massive Blue is alleged to be in pursuit of human trafficking, a noble goal,” a representative from Cavanaugh’s office told 404 Media in an email. “A major concern regarding the use of the application, is that the government should not be monitoring each and every citizen. To his knowledge, no arrests have been made to date as a result of the use of the application. If Overwatch is used to bring about arrests of human traffickers, then the program should continue. However, if it is just being used to collect surveillance on law-abiding citizens and is not leading to any arrests, then the program needs to be discontinued.”

In an August 7, 2024, Board of Supervisors meeting, Cavanaugh asked then-Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb for an update on Massive Blue. “So they have not produced any results? They’ve produced no leads? No evidence that is actionable?” Cavanaugh asked. “That would be public knowledge, that would be public information.”

“I think there’s a lot of ongoing investigations that they’re not going to give you information on, and we’re not going to give you information on,” Lamb said.