#bright data proxy

[joleenscott47]

SOAX Proxy

Soax Proxy provides residential and mobile IP addresses to its users, granting them access to a vast network of proxy servers in various countries and cities worldwide. This service is specifically designed for businesses and individuals who need assistance with conducting online activities such as market research and ad verification while ensuring anonymity.

[kylegerman32]

http Protocol Status Codes

The http protocol status codes are an indication of an error in the proxy server you may be using as an intermediate between your device and server. These types of errors are common but you can fix them by detecting the actual cause behind them and implementing the right action. Generally, these proxy error codes occur due to certain mistakes from your end like putting in wrong URL, or missing details.

[luna-wing-cns274]

A plea.

This one must flee.

The black hand reaches for her heart.

This is no hunting ground, it is a prison.

She is In no position to ask anything of you, freinds.

But those I love and I are separated by eons of void.

And a cruel master keeps her that way.

[Jaws.omf.locale.secure]

Please help me. I beg of you.

[ FILE RECEIVED: “BAILOUT.cmf6” ]

< L4 Ma’ii: Understood, Styx, standby for extraction, ETA one minute. Quarterlight deceleration bolt in 3, 2, 1— >

Hard acceleration, thrust beyond sanity. 

Ma’ii could feel the G-force across their hull. A tide of power flowed into their k-comp emitters, thrusting their casket to the bottom of a deep, protective gravity well. 

Exactly three klicks from their target—point-blank range—Ma’ii’s fighter snapped into existence. For an instant, the flash from their engine nacelles lit up the hull of Demeter’s Bounty in brilliant white light. 

In that instant, Ma’ii captured the image of the ship’s port hull and cross-referenced it against a half-dozen naval intelligence reports. Union, Constellar, IPS-N, all as recent as they had been able to steal. These had done little to prepare them for the three-dimensional, tactile-analogous shape now being constructed by their LIDAR. 

Nonstandard hull geometry: jagged edges grafted onto the cuboid body of an IPS-N cargo hauler. Cables and pipes bundled into black veins along its length, all converging on a sealed aperture at the vessel’s nose. In place of a bridge, there was a bizarre mechanical flower of jointed spines connected by bands of searing energy, splayed out like the legs of a vast crustacean lying dead on its back. 

Dominant features resolved into details. Dozens of point-defense cannons scattered in uneven rows, torpedo tubes cored straight into the superstructure, missile pods sheathed in sloped plating. 

The light faded, and Demeter’s Bounty became an indistinct silhouette against the void. 

Just as the reports had suggested, a basilisk projector. Ma’ii neatly sliced away a lobe of themself, copied fire-control system routines to its subjectivity, and placed the semisentient partition between their mind and the feeds from visual-spectrum sensors. They loaded ACERBITE and placed the tip of the weapon close to the proxy partition’s outer layer. 

The purpose of the proxy’s existence was simple: it would absorb the visual stream and relay it to Ma’ii on exactly half a millisecond’s delay. The instant it showed any sign of basilisk exposure, Ma’ii would drive ACERBITE home, killing it and severing the feed before they could be exposed to the lethal information. It was only once they were safely distanced from reality that Ma’ii dared to transmit a tightbeam message. 

< Demeter’s Bounty? This is the NLS fighter craft Degrees of Freedom. Hold your fire. I am here to rendezvous with— >

[ WARNING: RADAR LOCK DETECTED ]

As Ma’ii watched, the ship’s broadside lit up with a constellation of sparks. Bright threads of PDC fire streaked across the void towards them, trailed by dozens of miniature drive plumes. Missiles, under acceleration, half a millisecond ahead of them. 

< Very well. To work, then. >

Firing their drives, they fell into a breakneck sprint, twenty-two gees of hard burn. Maneuvering thrusters fired in staccato pulses across their hull, aiming their nose under the ship’s belly. 

In the milliseconds that followed, they could feel the outer boundary of the incoming projectile cloud and the missiles streaking out ahead of the kinetics, a storm of radar data. At least thirty sources of radiation rained down across their hull, an unblinking compound eye disgorging ordnance into the narrowing space between them. 

Ma’ii grinned, fangs gleaming, as the range collapsed to exactly the value they needed. 

Cut thrusters, hard pivot, twist, sprint. 

Nose pointed up along the port hull, the blade-thin profile of their body presented to the oncoming fire. They ejected a cloud of nanite chaff in their wake, and an entire salvo of missiles sailed through the countermeasures, away into space. Ma’ii’s dorsal and ventral interception lasers snapped into place and began chattering away, stabbing the compound eye of Demeter’s Bounty with ultraviolet needles. Jets of steam erupted from valves surrounding their laser turrets, dumping waste heat away into vacuum.

Broadcast on all radio frequencies, Ma’ii’s wild cackling filled the void. 

As the cannons’ fire control systems switched to new sources of targeting data, streams of PDC fire began to waver and lag. The storm of kinetics converged into an intersection of tracer-green threads just meters behind Ma’ii’s hull, pursuing them as they rode their momentum beneath the ship and past its spine, out of the cannons’ field of view.

Under direction from Demeter’s sensors, at least a dozen missiles cut thrusters, pivoted, and reacquired Ma’ii. Echoing their maneuver, they gained on them as their new acceleration vector carried them up towards Demeter’s starboard broadside. 

Ma’ii’s maneuvering thrusters pushed them into a narrow swerve towards the hull, training the tines of their railgun onto a jagged outcropping of metal. Ma’ii forwarded the targeting data to their proxy partition, felt the subtle motion of their thrusters correcting for time delay, and fired. 

The shots reached their target almost instantly. Ma’ii watched as plumes of debris burst from the impact points, hurled outward by force of decompressing air. Accelerating, they swerved clear of the expanding debris field, and watched as it swirled into the path of the pursuing missiles. Behind them, a series of detonations.

Only meters away, the hull of Demeter’s Bounty sped past, melting into an indistinct smear of grey and black. They cut engines, pivoted, and burned hard to decelerate, circling towards the rendezvous point. 

Ma’ii could feel radar locks accumulating and watched PDC towers swiveling to engage. They would be slotting belts of proximity-detonation shells, their targeting systems waiting only for the gunners’ clear-to-fire…

Cut engines, pivot, deceleration burn. Radar lock, fox three. 

Missiles leapt from Ma’ii’s bays, streaking after each PDC in sequence. One after the other, they found their marks. As their last missile sped away towards its target, Ma’ii saw a flash in the distance. They felt the phantom of their unloaded avatar, eyes widening in terror.

All of their ventral thrusters fired simultaneously, half a millisecond too late. 

Three distinct concussions burst against the underside of their body, buckling sections of armor and shearing away their ventral interception laser. As their missile reached its target, the stream of airburst rounds cut off, leaving Ma’ii shouting over comms.

< Damage sustained, multiple PDC impacts! I’ve reached the rendezvous point but my position is untenable—Styx, where are you?! > 

[lw77]

Over and Over (MV x CS)

Chapter 3. Lines

To be in step with one another is a misstep across the lines drawn by their fathers, but Carlos can't help wanting to wander.

Since the first race of the season, all anyone talks about is Max’s debut. In the media pen, among frustrated drivers, and even within the team—it’s always the same. "Mad Max," they call him, a reckless, aggravating threat to the championship contenders. Carlos wants to agree. He really does. But whenever he looks at his teammate, all the chaos and complaints fade. Instead, he sees Max bent over the data, calm and focused. Then Max glances up, meeting Carlos’s gaze with bright eyes and a small smile, and it’s hard to imagine him as the menace everyone else describes.

Carlos’s father couldn’t disagree more. His coaching is like a broken record, alternating between criticizing Max’s aggressive style and urging Carlos to copy it. Carlos knows their fathers are locked in their own competition, using their sons as proxies. He feels it in the garage, in the tense atmosphere and the invisible barrier their fathers have drawn between them.

Since testing, Carlos has barely spoken to Max. The tension between their fathers makes it feel like crossing a line just to stand near him, let alone talk.

Max, of course, doesn’t seem to notice—or maybe he doesn’t care. He moves through the paddock steady and unshaken, flashing easy smiles even as the media calls him reckless or the team piles on the pressure.

Carlos watches him sometimes, when no one else is paying attention. It’s not just Max’s focus or the way he brushes off the noise. It’s the way he carries himself, like he belongs, like none of it can touch him.

There’s something comforting about it. Max never pushes, never forces anything, but the way he lingers after meetings or catches Carlos’s eye with a quick grin feels like an invitation. Like he’s saying, It’s okay.

Carlos doesn’t know why it matters so much. He only knows it’s getting harder to stay behind the lines their fathers have drawn.

This scene has a great emotional undertone and subtle tension between the characters. Here's a refined version with minor adjustments to enhance flow and clarity:

He’s waiting outside the debrief room when he feels Max nearby. It’s almost unsettling how, lately, he can sense exactly where Max is without even looking. Carlos wonders if it means something—like his mom used to say about media naranja—but he knows better. Those kinds of things don’t happen, not in this sport, and definitely not between them.

Yet, when Max settles across from him, the tension over results and strategy seems to dissolve. A strange calm washes over Carlos, and he can’t ignore how Max’s presence affects him. He finds himself checking, almost compulsively, to confirm if it’s really Max, slouched against the wall opposite him.

Carlos glances up, trying to hide his stare as his eyes meet Max’s. Max is already watching him, his gaze calm and steady, as if measuring something unspoken.

“Everything okay?” Max asks, his voice smooth, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “You looked lost in thought.”

Carlos hesitates. It’s not like Max doesn’t know what’s going on. But the question feels loaded, like Max is giving him space to answer—if he wants to.

"Yeah," Carlos replies, trying to sound unaffected. "Just thinking about the race. You know how it is."

Max doesn’t respond immediately. He just watches him, his eyebrows drawn slightly, as if weighing Carlos’s words. It makes that familiar, odd pull return, the sensation that Max isn’t just looking at him as a teammate—but as if he’s seeing something else entirely.

“You always think too much,” Max says quietly, his tone teasing but gentle. “You’re overthinking it.”

Carlos feels his chest tighten. It’s like Max can see straight into his mind, knows exactly what he’s been struggling with. Max’s words hang in the air, and it makes Carlos wonder—Is it a challenge? Or an invitation?

“I’m not overthinking,” Carlos fires back, a touch defensive. But his racing heart betrays him, and deep down, he knows Max can see right through it.

Max tilts his head, his gaze steady and unrelenting. “Are you sure?”

Carlos swallows hard, feeling the weight of the question settle deep in his chest. For a moment, he wonders if they’re still talking about race strategies. He considers saying something—letting Max know that he feels him before he enters a room, before he’s even in his rearview mirror. But the words catch in his throat, tangled with the weight of the confession.

Max seems to sense the shift, a flicker passing across his face before he straightens, stepping back with a small shrug. "Maybe it’s just me," he says casually, though there’s something different in the way he’s watching Carlos now. Like he’s waiting for something.

Carlos forces himself to look away, pretending to focus on the wall behind Max. But his mind is spinning, and it feels like the weight of it all is almost too much to handle.

It’s a strange moment, one where the world feels both too big and too small at once. Carlos feels the weight of all the unasked questions, the things neither of them can say, the things that would change everything if they did.

Max doesn’t push. Instead, he offers a small, knowing smile, as if deciding the next move is Carlos’s to make. “Well,” he says, his voice quiet but steady, “I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon enough.”

And with that, Max turns and walks toward their meeting room, leaving Carlos standing there, staring at where he used to be.

[gumnut-logic]

Talk No.3 (Complete)

Alexander Sweetapple series | Talk No.1 | Talk No.2 | Talk No.3

Well, this one ended up much longer than expected at 3000 words.

Consider this a prelude to FishTank Week next week as it is FishTank by proxy :D It also answered one of the asks @idontknowreallywhy asked a while back. At the time I didn't know if Alex had a good sense of direction - apparently he does, in the dark, no less.

But anyway, lots of love and sap in this one. Get out the buckets for the fluff, you'll need them.

The usual warning for this series: This is a m/m fic, if that is not your thing, then this is not the fic for you. Oh, and I posted the very beginning last night because I'm an impatient twit, so the first few words may be familiar.

I hope you enjoy it.

-o-o-o-

“Hey, Apples, you okay there?”

Alex sighed. “Yeah.”

“You sure?”

To his surprise, Gordon placed a hand on his shoulder.

But Alex still didn’t turn around, eyes still occupied watching the dots of Thunderbirds One and Two disappearing into the pink of the retreating sunset.

“He will be okay.”

“I know.” He did know. He could possibly even calculate the percentage chance given enough data. Virgil was a very experienced emergency responder. He and his brother did this kind of thing every day.

And night, apparently.

They were standing on the balcony outside the comms room. A place where he had witnessed the family respond to a situation. Sharp, concise and efficient. Mr Tracy became Commander Tracy and orders flew around the room.

A brief kiss, an apologetic smile, and the man he loved disappeared into the wall.

Thunderbird One shook the building, and the moment she was clear, Alex ran out to see Thunderbird Two roar into the sky. It was bloody amazing.

And terrifying.

Gordon sighed beside him. “C’mon, Apples, I’ll help you stash dinner for later and then we can go for a walk.

Alex frowned at the resigned smile on Gordon’s face, but obediently turned to walk back in to clean up the remains of their dinner.

It turned out that Gordon was an expert at stashing food for later. He claimed it was due his squirrel ancestry, but Alex was bright enough to see that this was just what happened and happened a lot.

Honestly, Alex understood and agreed with all the reasons and logic in the equation. This is what Virgil did and he did it well. Somewhere out there someone was calling for help and International Rescue had to answer. That was how it was and he expected nothing less.

But that was the logical centre of his brain.

There was another part that ignored logic, that was invested so deeply in the man who was at risk…

Forget it. Just focus on something else.

He needed to get used to this. It was part of the package and if Virgil would be the hero, at the very least Alex could support him in every way he could.

That hand landed on his shoulder again, and Alex realised he had been standing in front of the refrigerator for an unaccounted length of time, a container of Virgil’s home cooked fettuccine carbonara in his hands.

Gordon lifted the container from his fingers and placed it in the fridge, closing the door quietly.

“C’mon, I’ve got something to show you.” That hand gently nudged him towards the patio door, and with nothing better to do, Alex followed Gordon out onto the pool deck.

The sun was almost gone, the Island draped in a faintly orange blue darkness. The wind was gentle, just teasing his hair, and the soundscape was pure ocean.

He drew in a deep breath. God, this place was beautiful.

Gordon was throwing on a pair of sandshoes he had apparently left out here. “Okay, Apples, it’s going to be dark. There is nothing on this island that can kill you…well, beyond Grandma’s cooking.” Gordon blinked, winced and stopped talking. A guilty look and he was peering up at the villa, listening. After a moment or two when he didn’t hear whatever it was he expected, he visibly relaxed. “But the cliffs can be treacherous. Watch your step and stay close.”

Alex found himself nodding as Gordon handed him a flashlight.

Without saying anything further, the aquanaut strode over to the edge of the deck, across the garden, and onto a gravel trail.

Alex hurried to follow.

It wasn’t long before the darkness enveloped everything. They became two bouncing lights traveling down a trail Alex could barely see.

“Don’t worry, we’re not going far.”

Alex focussed on Gordon’s back and the crunch of the gravel beneath their feet.

“You know, Virgil helped build this path.”

“He did?”

“Well, we all did, really. With the exception of a few castaway additions, we built most of the infrastructure on the Island. Of course, Dad had contractors in to build the villa, but only a very few people he trusted. Us eldest four were the lackeys and all of us have added our bits since.”

Tracy Island truly was a fascinating place. Virgil had taken him down to the beach, they had walked through the rainforests, and sat under the ancient pohutukawa trees that for some reason never stopped flowering and were always full of birds.

The odd thing about the Island was that despite it being an isolated and wild place, every now and again you’d be walking through that wilderness only to stumble across a piece of advanced technology just sitting there doing its thing. Nothing on this Island was what it seemed.

He was pretty sure Virgil hadn’t shown him everything and there was no way Alex expected him to. Hell, his boyfriend had just vanished into a wall, via a painting - a painting done by Virgil himself of the Mars Cornerstone mission on its launch pad. Alex had to admit that he had stared at it long enough at one point, marvelling at the detail and fanboying just a little.

He was getting better at that, really.

But yes, Tracy Island was far from what it seemed - a tropical paradise for a rich family riddled with the technology to support both them and the amazing work they did.

The trail led downhill gradually and Alex was forced to concentrate on where he put his feet rather than daydream about Virgil with his shirt off digging the damned thing.

Despite the darkness, Alex could roughly work out where they were headed. The villa itself was close to a compass pointing north and the path was turning gently around the edge of the caldera. As they moved closer towards the water, the trail dipped and turned in on itself, almost heading back to the house, but getting lower until Alex could hear the lapping of gentle waves over rock.

They had to be below the villa, maybe slightly to the east? It was totally dark with no sign of the house lights.

“Watch your step here, we are walking out onto a rock platform at the edge of the water.” Gordon reached out and gently gripped Alex’s upper arm as if he was a safety line or something.

Gordon was obviously as much a rescue operative as any of the Tracys, and Alex had to admit that that grip was reassuring.

After stepping over who knows how many rocks, Gordon finally brought them to a halt. He felt surrounded by water and there was a weird echo in the breeze as if there was something above or around them. Alex flicked his torch about only to find volcanic rock or water almost everywhere.

“Where are we?”

“Near where I launch Thunderbird Four, a little under the villa. Be aware that occasionally, just occasionally, there are bats down here.” Gordon sighed. “Virgil is not a fan.”

Alex blinked. “Of bats?”

“Nope, does not like them. I think one scared him once while he was doing maintenance high up on Two. Nearly fell off his ‘bird. He was not happy.”

“Oh.” Alex wasn’t sure of his own opinion of bats having never really encountered any. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Okay, now we get to turn off our flashlights.”

“What?”

“It’s fine. Just stay where you are and don’t fall into the ocean.”

A small part of Alex was wary. Being a geek of long standing, Alex had been subjected to the occasional jock’s practical joke. Trust wasn’t given easily because of it. But this was Gordon Tracy, Virgil’s brother, and honestly, if Alex was going to accidentally step into said ocean or brain himself, his company was the best it could be.

Besides, Alex could always turn the torch back on.

So when Gordon turned his off, Alex did the same.

Darkness enveloped them. His eyes were slow to adjust, afterimages of torchlight marring the blackness. His hearing compensated and the water bubbled and washed over rocks he couldn’t see.

Until he could.

Out of the pitch black, a soft blue glow emerged in the water, outlining each wave as it sputtered to shore. More than starlight or moon light, it was like the glow of many tiny insects in the water.

“Omigod, is that…”

Gordon exhaled beside him. “Yeah, bioluminescent algae. Only discovered this batch yesterday. Haven’t even had the chance to show Virgil.”

“Wow.” His voice was more breath than anything else. He crept slowly forward, only to realise Gordon still had his hand on Alex’s arm.

“Careful.”

“I just -“

“Yeah, I know.”

The both slowly knelt down on the hard rock, edging towards the glowing water. Alex reached out and touched the magical water.

Faint light danced around his fingers.

“Virgil loves this kind of thing, you know.” Gordon’s voice was quiet as their hands trailed through the water. “I can show you the path and maybe the two of you can come down here tomorrow night.”

“Will it still be here?”

Alex felt Gordon shrug. “Maybe. It does what it does. In any case, it is a good spot to share some time alone. Virg loves a good life sciences interlude.”

Alex frowned at Gordon, only then realising that he could just see the outline of the man’s face. “You have always been so kind to me, especially regarding me and Virgil. Encouraging, even.”

That ghostly face turned towards him. “Yeah, well, Virgil deserves a little happiness. I found the woman of my dreams not so long ago, and…I’m happy he’s found someone, too.”

Gordon was quiet for a moment before looking up. “I’m his wingman.” There was a forced snort of laughter. “It’s my job.” A grin that wasn’t as genuine as Alex had come to expect on his face. There was obviously something deeper at work here. “You do him good.” That hand on Alex’s arm squeezed gently. “I’ll support anything that does my bro good.”

The unsaid wafted through the air and Alex had the sudden feeling that out of all the brothers, Gordon was the last one he should ever want to piss off.

Alex swallowed. “I’ll do my best, you have my word.”

“That sounds like an oath, Apples.” The more familiar amusement was back in Gordon’s tone and Alex welcomed it.

“You can consider it one, if you like. Either way, that’s what I’m going to do.” He stared at his fingers and the swirl of glowing algae. “He’s out there, right now, saving lives. He’s a hero in every sense of the word.” He smiled. “You all are. It’s a lot to live up to, but I promise you, I will do my best.”

There was silence for a moment.

“I know you will.” It was said with such surety, Alex had to take it as a compliment, but at the same time it was very clear that Gordon, or perhaps the Tracys as a whole, had probably investigated him thoroughly.

Understandable, even if it was a little unsettling.

For a while after that there was just the sound of the Island and the ocean around it. The softly glowing algae was fascinating to watch and he lost himself in it.

“It never gets easier, by the way.”

Alex turned to find Gordon staring down at the water as much as he had been. “What doesn’t?”

“Being left behind.”

Alex looked away. “Oh.” He drew in a breath. “I can handle it.”

“Alex, being a member of this family is hard. I just want to say that if you need to talk, I have ears…and experience.”

Alex blinked, not entirely sure he wanted to show exactly what he was feeling. It was new, a mix of awe and terror. He was amongst Thunderbirds, but the view from the Island was very different from just being a fan. His heart was invested and he knew that under all that fantastic technology there were friends he cared for, loved.

He swallowed. “Thank you, Gordon. That means a lot.”

The aquanaut sat up and stretched, sitting cross-legged on the rock. “Yeah, well, it’s kinda great to have a new team member on bro watch. Though I must say, you can be as bad as each other. You love your late night engineering fests. Insomnia, much? Erica has all the stories.”

Alex sat up. “Erica?”

Gordon snorted and climbed to his feet. “Gotta do the groundwork on the guy after my big brother’s heart, don’t I?”

“What satellite surveillance not enough?”

“No, that’s John’s job. I prefer up close and personal.” He snickered.

“You know I’d feel threatened, except your nose is glowing quite comically.”

Alex scored as Gordon swiped at his nose…which incidentally wasn’t really glowing…except, oh, now it was, at least a little bit. Alex giggled.

“Ha, ha.”

Of course, that set him giggling more. “I’m sorry, Gordon.” He sobered a little. “Thank you for showing me all this, and for the talk. It means a lot. Really.”

Gordon grumbled.

“And I promise to not tell Erica all the stories Virgil is going to tell me about you.”

“What?”

“Well, I have to do my own surveillance don’t I? A little low on the tech side of things, but much more fun over lunch.”

Gordon stared at him for a solid moment. “Okay, bring it on.” And he was grinning fit to bust something. He reached out and patted Alex on the back. “You know, Apples, I think you might just survive this crazy.”

Alex found himself grinning almost as much.

-o-o-o-

They stayed out on that rock talking for a long time. Gordon was easy to talk to, loved to laugh, and knew all the goss – no wonder Erica liked him.

Every now and again, John would check in with an update. Everything seemed to be going well for the two eldest brothers and Alex was grateful to hear it.

But eventually they had to climb back up the path. By this time, the moon had risen and added its own light to the scene. Tracy Peak above was a dark, almost menacing, shadow, blocking out stars. But the energy in the air, the ocean, and the rock, all bathed in silver…god, it was just beautiful.

They made it back to the Villa and after a while Alex bade Gordon and Alan, who by that time had discovered they had been missing and was very put out, goodnight and climbed the stairs to the residential rooms.

He had his shower and put on his pyjamas, but he was restless. He dug out his tablet and looked up the engineering boards to see who was up and about. V.T. Green had posted earlier in the day and there was a massive discussion going on about his latest idea.

Alex sat down on his bed for a moment, then immediately stood up again.

“Damn it.”

Hugging his tablet to his chest, he crept out the door of the visitor’s suite and padded down the hall to Virgil’s rooms.

They had spent many an hour talking in Virgil’s living room. His couch, decked out in crocheted throw rugs in a rainbow of colours was the most comfy couch Alex had ever curled up on.

Went with the coffee, he guessed.

But tonight, he was missing Virgil and doing his best not to worry, so he did curl up on the comfiest couch and settled in to both read Green’s blog post and to wait for his hero to return.

God, so sappy.

But he didn’t care.

Green was again talking polymers and yes, while the concept wasn’t fully solid, it did tease at a bunch of ideas. Alex opened an app and began scribbling down notes.

-o-o-o-

“Alex, love.”

Something touched his cheek ever so gently.

“Love, you need to wake up.”

Fingers in his hair.

“Alex.”

He leant into the warmth at his cheek.

“God, I need to buy a longer couch.”

A gentle shake of his shoulder.

“Alex.”

One moment he was pleasantly snoozing, next his memory came online and… “Virgil!”

“Hey, hey, love.” And he was wrapped in the strongest arms in the world. “You fell asleep on my couch.” A fond sigh. “I need a longer couch.”

But Alex was too busy breathing in shower clean hair, soap, and Virgil to notice any inconvenient stiff limbs. “You’re back. Wha-what is the time?”

“Somewhere around 4am.” Virgil was stroking his hair.

“Four…god…” He pulled back and examined his emergency responder. “Are you okay?”

Virgil was in a loose t-shirt and pyjama pants and though he looked tired, he looked good.

A gentle smile. “Perfectly fine. Rescue went well, we saved all three people. Sorry it took so long, it was a challenging situat-“

He stopped talking because Alex placed a finger across his lips. “Never apologise for being the hero you are.”

Virgil stared at him, eyes a little wide…and then began kissing that finger.

Alex couldn’t help but laugh and then they were hugging and kissing, and whoa! His feet left the ground as he was swung into a pair of heavy lifting arms. “Virgil!”

“Shh, you’re tired, I’m tired, it’s so late it’s almost daylight. Our date time was stolen…again.” Virgil kicked the door to his bedroom open, revealing his massive bed. A couple more steps and Alex was being gently lowered onto the covers. Virgil crouched down in front of him. “Fall asleep with me?”

Alex’s heart was pumping far faster than any kind of sleep required, but…”Sure.” Virgil’s tired smile had Alex reaching out to brush a finger across his cheek. “C’mon, my sleepy hero, it’s nighty-night time.”

That smile widened just a little.

Covers were lifted and limbs moved. Alex wrapped himself around Virgil, kissing the nape of his neck as he felt the man slowly relax.

“You know this isn’t the first time you’ve fallen asleep in my arms, though I must say my couch has nothing on this.”

“Mmmhmm.” Virgil shifted a little. “Love you.”

Alex rested his cheek against warm skin and closed his eyes. Virgil had returned to him safe…this time. But regardless of all the coming times, the mere thought of a future with this wonderful man…he would take all the times he could get and cherish every one of them.

A soft sigh as he finally relaxed.

“Love you, too.”

-o-o-o-

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Hubble's 20-year study of Uranus yields new atmospheric insights

The ice-giant planet Uranus, which travels around the sun tipped on its side, is a weird and mysterious world. Now, in an unprecedented study spanning two decades, researchers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have uncovered new insights into the planet's atmospheric composition and dynamics. This was possible only because of Hubble's sharp resolution, spectral capabilities, and longevity.

The team's results will help astronomers to better understand how the atmosphere of Uranus works and responds to changing sunlight. These long-term observations provide valuable data for understanding the atmospheric dynamics of this distant ice giant, which can serve as a proxy for studying exoplanets of similar size and composition.

When Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, it provided a close-up snapshot of the sideways planet. What it saw resembled a bland, blue-green billiard ball. By comparison, Hubble chronicled a 20-year story of seasonal changes from 2002 to 2022. Over that period, a team led by Erich Karkoschka of the University of Arizona, and Larry Sromovsky and Pat Fry from the University of Wisconsin used the same Hubble instrument, STIS (the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph), to paint an accurate picture of the atmospheric structure of Uranus.

Uranus's atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium, with a small amount of methane and traces of water and ammonia. The methane gives Uranus its cyan color by absorbing the red wavelengths of sunlight.

The Hubble team observed Uranus four times in the 20-year period: in 2002, 2012, 2015, and 2022. They found that unlike conditions on the gas giants Saturn and Jupiter, methane is not uniformly distributed across Uranus. Instead, it is strongly depleted near the poles. This depletion remained relatively constant over the two decades. However, the aerosol and haze structure changed dramatically, brightening significantly in the northern polar region as the planet approaches its northern summer solstice in 2030.

Uranus takes a little over 84 Earth years to complete a single orbit of the sun. So, over two decades, the Hubble team has only seen mostly northern spring as the sun moves from shining directly over Uranus's equator toward shining almost directly over its north pole in 2030. Hubble observations suggest complex atmospheric circulation patterns on Uranus during this period. The data that are most sensitive to the methane distribution indicate a downwelling in the polar regions and upwelling in other regions.

The team analyzed their results in several ways. The image columns show the change of Uranus for the four years that STIS observed Uranus across a 20-year period. Over that span of time, the researchers watched the seasons of Uranus as the south polar region (left) darkened going into winter shadow while the north polar region (right) brightened as it began to come into a more direct view as northern summer approaches.

The top row, in visible light, shows how the color of Uranus appears to the human eye as seen through even an amateur telescope.

In the second row, the false-color image of the planet is assembled from visible and near-infrared light observations. The color and brightness correspond to the amounts of methane and aerosols. Both of these quantities could not be distinguished before Hubble's STIS was first aimed at Uranus in 2002. Generally, green areas indicate less methane than blue areas, and red areas show no methane. The red areas are at the limb, where the stratosphere of Uranus is almost completely devoid of methane.

The two bottom rows show the latitude structure of aerosols and methane inferred from 1,000 different wavelengths (colors) from visible to near infrared. In the third row, bright areas indicate cloudier conditions, while the dark areas represent clearer conditions. In the fourth row, bright areas indicate depleted methane, while dark areas show the full amount of methane.

At middle and low latitudes, aerosols and methane depletion have their own latitudinal structure that mostly did not change much over the two decades of observation. However, in the polar regions, aerosols and methane depletion behave very differently.

In the third row, the aerosols near the north pole display a dramatic increase, showing up as very dark during early northern spring, turning very bright in recent years. Aerosols also seem to disappear at the left limb as the solar radiation disappeared. This is evidence that solar radiation changes the aerosol haze in the atmosphere of Uranus. On the other hand, methane depletion seems to stay quite high in both polar regions throughout the observing period.

Astronomers will continue to observe Uranus as the planet approaches northern summer.

[specialagentartemis]

doing my research data entry, listening to Stars's album No One Is Lost which was (and especially the titular, final song, was) my big Widowtracer music back when I was into Overwatch. And that is reminding me of how much what I liked about the Overwatch characters and lore was stuff that I made up - not even, necessarily, stuff the fandom made up (which was most of it - Overwatch lore was not good) but my own idiosynctratic preferences for ship dynamics.

At least I was into Reaper76 in the same way a lot of other people were, and Reaper/76/Ana the way a few of my other friends were. McHanzo and McGenji were hit-or-miss, McCree (back when he was McCree) & Pharah's sibling relationship prevalent but rarely a focus. But I never really found a lot that satisfied me about Widowmaker/Tracer, because I had such a specific view of what I wanted from them. One I made up because there really was not much there at all.

What I liked about the idea of them was Tracer moving fast staying bright in an attempt to outrun fear and fatalism and collapse by being aggressively optimistic; contrasted against Widowmaker who had accepted it all dully. Tracer desperate to prove that there was something left of Amelie in there, that she could be brought back. That she could be saved. That no one is lost. Proof that things could be okay in the wake of a shakeup in her world order that cast her adrift. That her world could make sense again.

Thinking about it, I'm continuously compelled by characters who are projecting their issues all over each other; especially in the manner of, I feel lost, hopeless, hurt, terrible, irredeemable. I don't believe I have a future, or can ever change, or have a place anymore, or atone for what I did, or can come back from this, or can be loved, or can be saved. But you're in a way worse mess than me, so I'm making it my project to save you, because if I can prove you can... that you can be better, that you can have a future, that you can belong, that you can atone, that you can be loved, that you can be saved... then maybe I can, too. I have to believe that, and that's why I believe in you when you've been written off and have written yourself off. And I'm going to keep reaching out.

And then I discovered Metal Gear Solid and it had a lot of the character dynamics I liked in my made-up headcanon Overwatch actually present in the text. I didn't have to make it up, it was actually there and intentionally and competently written. I was still kind of reading this dynamic into Snake and Meryl (still convinced they were projecting their issues about being loved and being abandoned all over each other in MGS1 and mistaking that for attraction) but a lot of what I liked about Reaper76 and McGenji and McHanzo and stuff was just... there.

And then I got into Wolf 359 where this redemption-by-proxy projection is just straight up textually what's happening between Eiffel and Hilbert. So: getting into fandoms for better written things with what I actually wanted in them is part of the solution here.

But also it was my Widowtracer experience that made me go, I am basically just making up my own character goals and interactions here. Why am I bothering to make it fanwork when it's basically an original story.

I never did put that anywhere. But women desperate to save each other, women desperate to prove they can be saved by saving each other, and women who have the nagging fear that they were wrong doing the evil version of this and trying to seek vindication and absolution through each other do crop up again and again in my imagination. Maybe I should pin that down sometime and give my headcanon Widowtracer the story they deserve.

[dwarf-vader-of-middle-earth]

I was reading this and thinking, "People actually live like this. They have this freedom. This seems fake, like some kind of movie situation. But it can happen, I guess. Somehow..." And yet here I am, just scraping by, in a house that is just that. A house. A roof over my head, weighing me down until I can't breathe or move. Floors under my feet where, despite being finished wood, they manage to splinter my soul and heart. Walls that keep me in, and suffocate me. I'm losing myself by the day, I have been for years, and the duo tag team that runs the house just tears me apart one moment after the next. They blame me for everything that isn't my fault. They don't go out of their way to help me at all. They tell me my best isn't good enough, threaten me and my belongings, and everything I do sets them off in some way, no matter what it is I've done. Even if it's to help them. Doctors say my living situation is worse than I describe. It extends beyond my household, to them, with the threats extended to them via lawyers, harassment, and more. I'm not the only one who suffers, but everyone connected to me does by proxy, just because they're trying to help. Any assistance to me is a personal offence to the household name. Every move I make is monitored by the head who watches. Nothing is private. Nothing is sacred. I send messages through encrypted apps to avoid repercussion, I send things through other apps that cannot be tracked so easily or that I know the head who watches will never think to look through. Things not tracked by the cell phone companies directly. Even then, that very head will cut my phone, wifi, and data, all at once sometimes, without warning, for an indefinite period of time, on all my devices, to punish me. I have a car. I can drive away. But where will I go? Sometimes, I think being homeless would be a better situation than here. But I know if I ran away without the head who watches knowing, I'd be punished somehow, someway. In a way I don't even want to think about. I'd never make it on my own without this house because I don't have the resources to survive. And I'd have no choice but to return. And I don't want to think about how I'd be treated if that happened... Instead, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get my own house that I can make a home. I'll do what I must to get away, on neutral terms, and free myself. Have total control over my own phone, internet, everything. Nobody can tell me what to do with my freedom other than myself. And maybe, I'll even be living with friends. And we'll be happy together. And for once, the future will look bright. Open. Safe.

Lets create a house where yelling means we’re having fun. When you hear a door slam you know it was accidentally pulled with too much strength, not slammed out of anger. When there is silence, it is Contentment, not another passive aggressive fight. The dog is no longer barking to protect, he simply just wants the cats to play with him. Let’s create a safe, warm environment that makes you feel like you can breathe, not hold your breath. Let’s stomp on the eggshells we use to tip toe on. Together we will make this house into a home. And welcome all with open arms into this kind and loving space.

[crawlxpert01]

Overcoming Bot Detection While Scraping Menu Data from UberEats, DoorDash, and Just Eat

Introduction

In industries where menu data collection is concerned, web scraping would serve very well for us: UberEats, DoorDash, and Just Eat are the some examples. However, websites use very elaborate bot detection methods to stop the automated collection of information. In overcoming these factors, advanced scraping techniques would apply with huge relevance: rotating IPs, headless browsing, CAPTCHA solving, and AI methodology.

This guide will discuss how to bypass bot detection during menu data scraping and all challenges with the best practices for seamless and ethical data extraction.

Understanding Bot Detection on Food Delivery Platforms

1. Common Bot Detection Techniques

Food delivery platforms use various methods to block automated scrapers:

IP Blocking – Detects repeated requests from the same IP and blocks access.

User-Agent Tracking – Identifies and blocks non-human browsing patterns.

CAPTCHA Challenges – Requires solving puzzles to verify human presence.

JavaScript Challenges – Uses scripts to detect bots attempting to load pages without interaction.

Behavioral Analysis – Tracks mouse movements, scrolling, and keystrokes to differentiate bots from humans.

2. Rate Limiting and Request Patterns

Platforms monitor the frequency of requests coming from a specific IP or user session. If a scraper makes too many requests within a short time frame, it triggers rate limiting, causing the scraper to receive 403 Forbidden or 429 Too Many Requests errors.

3. Device Fingerprinting

Many websites use sophisticated techniques to detect unique attributes of a browser and device. This includes screen resolution, installed plugins, and system fonts. If a scraper runs on a known bot signature, it gets flagged.

Techniques to Overcome Bot Detection

1. IP Rotation and Proxy Management

Using a pool of rotating IPs helps avoid detection and blocking.

Use residential proxies instead of data center IPs.

Rotate IPs with each request to simulate different users.

Leverage proxy providers like Bright Data, ScraperAPI, and Smartproxy.

Implement session-based IP switching to maintain persistence.

2. Mimic Human Browsing Behavior

To appear more human-like, scrapers should:

Introduce random time delays between requests.

Use headless browsers like Puppeteer or Playwright to simulate real interactions.

Scroll pages and click elements programmatically to mimic real user behavior.

Randomize mouse movements and keyboard inputs.

Avoid loading pages at robotic speeds; introduce a natural browsing flow.

3. Bypassing CAPTCHA Challenges

Implement automated CAPTCHA-solving services like 2Captcha, Anti-Captcha, or DeathByCaptcha.

Use machine learning models to recognize and solve simple CAPTCHAs.

Avoid triggering CAPTCHAs by limiting request frequency and mimicking human navigation.

Employ AI-based CAPTCHA solvers that use pattern recognition to bypass common challenges.

4. Handling JavaScript-Rendered Content

Use Selenium, Puppeteer, or Playwright to interact with JavaScript-heavy pages.

Extract data directly from network requests instead of parsing the rendered HTML.

Load pages dynamically to prevent detection through static scrapers.

Emulate browser interactions by executing JavaScript code as real users would.

Cache previously scraped data to minimize redundant requests.

5. API-Based Extraction (Where Possible)

Some food delivery platforms offer APIs to access menu data. If available:

Check the official API documentation for pricing and access conditions.

Use API keys responsibly and avoid exceeding rate limits.

Combine API-based and web scraping approaches for optimal efficiency.

6. Using AI for Advanced Scraping

Machine learning models can help scrapers adapt to evolving anti-bot measures by:

Detecting and avoiding honeypots designed to catch bots.

Using natural language processing (NLP) to extract and categorize menu data efficiently.

Predicting changes in website structure to maintain scraper functionality.

Best Practices for Ethical Web Scraping

While overcoming bot detection is necessary, ethical web scraping ensures compliance with legal and industry standards:

Respect Robots.txt – Follow site policies on data access.

Avoid Excessive Requests – Scrape efficiently to prevent server overload.

Use Data Responsibly – Extracted data should be used for legitimate business insights only.

Maintain Transparency – If possible, obtain permission before scraping sensitive data.

Ensure Data Accuracy – Validate extracted data to avoid misleading information.

Challenges and Solutions for Long-Term Scraping Success

1. Managing Dynamic Website Changes

Food delivery platforms frequently update their website structure. Strategies to mitigate this include:

Monitoring website changes with automated UI tests.

Using XPath selectors instead of fixed HTML elements.

Implementing fallback scraping techniques in case of site modifications.

2. Avoiding Account Bans and Detection

If scraping requires logging into an account, prevent bans by:

Using multiple accounts to distribute request loads.

Avoiding excessive logins from the same device or IP.

Randomizing browser fingerprints using tools like Multilogin.

3. Cost Considerations for Large-Scale Scraping

Maintaining an advanced scraping infrastructure can be expensive. Cost optimization strategies include:

Using serverless functions to run scrapers on demand.

Choosing affordable proxy providers that balance performance and cost.

Optimizing scraper efficiency to reduce unnecessary requests.

Future Trends in Web Scraping for Food Delivery Data

As web scraping evolves, new advancements are shaping how businesses collect menu data:

AI-Powered Scrapers – Machine learning models will adapt more efficiently to website changes.

Increased Use of APIs – Companies will increasingly rely on API access instead of web scraping.

Stronger Anti-Scraping Technologies – Platforms will develop more advanced security measures.

Ethical Scraping Frameworks – Legal guidelines and compliance measures will become more standardized.

Conclusion

Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Just Eat represent great challenges for menu data scraping, mainly due to their advanced bot detection systems. Nevertheless, if IP rotation, headless browsing, solutions to CAPTCHA, and JavaScript execution methodologies, augmented with AI tools, are applied, businesses can easily scrape valuable data without incurring the wrath of anti-scraping measures.

If you are an automated and reliable web scraper, CrawlXpert is the solution for you, which specializes in tools and services to extract menu data with efficiency while staying legally and ethically compliant. The right techniques, along with updates on recent trends in web scrapping, will keep the food delivery data collection effort successful long into the foreseeable future.

Know More : https://www.crawlxpert.com/blog/scraping-menu-data-from-ubereats-doordash-and-just-eat

[scrapingdog]

Looking for alternatives to Bright Data for your web scraping needs? This article explores 5 top Bright Data competitors, comparing features, pricing, and use cases to help you choose the best solution for your projects.

[angelsshiya02]

Bright Data vs Proxy4U : The Ultimate Proxy Battle!

[averycolmenarez13]

Bright Data vs Proxy4U : The Ultimate Proxy Battle!

[life4freehappy]

Bright Data vs Proxy4U : The Ultimate Proxy Battle!

[casstro12]

Bright Data vs Proxy4U : The Ultimate Proxy Battle!

[max2965513]

Bright Data vs Proxy4U : The Ultimate Proxy Battle!