#cyber attack maps

[blackmoreops]

Top 10 Live Cyber Attack Maps Digital Threats Visualisation

Digital crime has escalated to unprecedented levels, with cybercriminals generating approximately 1.5 trillion dollars annually in illicit profits. As major organisations like GitHub face increasingly sophisticated attacks daily, understanding the global landscape of cyber threats becomes crucial. Live cyber attack maps provide real-time visualisation of digital threats, offering valuable…

[cchickki]

If you haven’t started already, start archiving/downloading everything. Save it to an external hard drive if you’re able. Collecting physical media is also a good idea, if you’re able.

Download your own/your favorite fanfics. Save as much as you can from online sources/digital libraries. Recipes, tutorials, history, LGBTQ media, etc. It has been claimed, though I can’t find the exact source if true, that some materials about the Revolutionary War were deleted from the Library of Congress.

It’s always better to be safe than sorry and save and preserve what you can. Remember that cloud storage also is not always reliable!

Library of Congress - millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps, manuscripts.

Internet Archive - millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more. Has been taken offline multiple times because of cyber attacks last month, it has recently started archiving again.

Anna's Archive - 'largest truly open library in human history.’

Queer Liberation Library - queer literature and resources. Does require applying for a library membership to browse and borrow from their collection.

List of art resources - list of art resources complied on tumblr back in 2019. Not sure if all links are still operational now, but the few I clicked on seemed to work.

Alexis Amber - TikToker who is an archivist who's whole page is about archiving. She has a database extensively recording the events of Hurricane Katrina.

I'll be adding more to this list, if anyone else wants to add anything feel free!

[angel-of-the-moons]

Hear me out this. Hanzo falls in love with a woman who's in the Lin Kuei.

(You can make it as horny as your brain wants)

(Please?)

Oooooooh our resident spicy boy!

Fire & Ice

Hanzo Hasashi x Fem!Lin Kuei!Reader)

TW/CW: NSFW, Smut, Sexual tension, pining, opposites attract, slight spanking (briefly) unprotected sex, bath sex, PiV sex, temperature play(?) wee bit of Kanon fudging

MINORS DNI I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTENT YOU CONSUME

A/N: Hanzo is just MMMMF also Raiden is Light Aligned here for a wee bit of context

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

It all started during one of the first peace talks after the budding brotherhood of your Grandmaster, Kuai Liang (AKA Sub-Zero) and the Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu.

Once the cease-fire between the clans was initiated, it was met with mixed results. The original Shirai Ryu were annihilated (including Hanzo's wife and child) by the forces of the previous Grandmaster, Bi-Han (whom everyone later discovered was actually the evil sorcerer Quan-Chi in disguise).

However it came to light that the initial fires of hatred that were lit were orchestrated by the Grandmaster before Bi-Han himself; before Bi-Han became the void-creature known as Noob Saibot, before Cyrax and Sektor were "cyberized".

All of course, with Quan-Chi's aid...

But when Kuai Liang and Hanzo Hasashi buried old prejudices and hatreds and pursued an avenue of peace and allyship, they proposed training scenarios between the ninjas.

You were one of Sub-Zero's top members. Your flexibility and cryomancy a deadly and graceful combination.

Naturally, at some point you found yourself pitted against your complete elemental opposite, Scorpion.

Not only was he your elemental opposite, he was vastly more skilled than you. Having spent years as a revenant under the control of Quan-Chi, training others in the way of the Shirai Ryu, working with Lord Raiden... Yeah. You were a child compared to his prowess.

But you however, did get some ideas for your own weaponry from him. Instead of a normal kunai attached to a chain, you settled for a chain with blunt ends, allowing your cryomancy to shape various weapons at the ends. After all, they'd been useful for making things like spears, scythes and various others in the past...

And to say the man was floored when you used his own techniques against him--and mastering them with your own twists while you were at it--was an understatement.

It became rather normal for Hanzo to seek you out for sparring sessions, seeking to experiment with your respective powers you both created various attacks and techniques to better battle one another.

However it was during one of your sessions, where you were to be chased and he the hunter, that the two of you finally figured out that what was between the two of you was more than camaraderie, more than diplomatic friendship.

Hanzo himself realized a lot sooner than you did. The warmth in his heart (and not from his flame) and the increased rate of beats when you were around, how his thoughts would drift back to you when it was quiet, when he would pace the Fire Gardens...

It was a feeling he hasn't felt since Harumi.

He was hesitant to bring it to your attention, for fear of a repeat performance of some cruel twist of fate robbing him of the one he loved once again.

He couldn't dare hope one as vibrant and beautiful as you could feel the same.

Until that night, when he had you pinned to the tree, breathing hard from the chase.

He barely had a moment to realize how close he was to you before masks were torn from faces by your hand and lips met lips in a kiss balanced in his hot and your cold; a kiss so passionate steam wafted as your mouths parted.

It was under the snow-heavy branches of that tree where your hands first explored each other. Not in heated sexual passion, but with the desire to map out every detail you could, so when the two of you parted ways again you would always be able to mentally trace those lines, commit them to memory like a well-read book.

Kuai Liang had suspicions of a budding relationship between the two of you. If anything, you had to wager that he probably knew your true feelings for one another even before the two of you figured it out for yourselves; but he wouldn't bring it forth. He knew you two needed to figure it out at your own pace.

After all, his friend was still nursing a broken heart from the loss of his wife and child. But he knew this was still good for him, for the two of you, for both clans.

Hanzo Hasashi had finally fallen in love again.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Your first real "intimate" moment with Hanzo was when you showed him to the hot springs in the mountains. Heat, ice and snow all together in a blissful harmonious oasis.

Not unlike your love for one another, a peaceful respite in tumultuous times.

"This is... Beautiful." Hanzo said, his breath coming out of him in a cloud that swirled with the snowflakes. "But won't it still be too cold to bathe?"

You chuckled and pulled off your mask. Shaking your hair free of icy flakes. "Well, Hanzo, that's why the goal is to stay in the water. Where it's warm."

He blew out a chuckle and shook his head. "Obviously." He turned and looked around, the red leaves of the maple trees surrounding you casting a beautiful scattering of color among the white and gray.

"But it--"

His voice died in his throat as he watched you strip your uniform from your body.

You held no shame, clearly, as you stripped bare in front of him, your wonderous body on full display for his longing, hungry eyes.

You took pride in your athletic frame, muscles and soft curves in all the right places, your body a gorgeous shell for the violence you were capable of committing.

His dark eyes met yours, a twinkle dancing in their depths as your smile reached your ears. You beckon him towards you, your fingers curling in a silent request for him to come closer.

It is a silent request his body obeys before he realizes he's even moving, his blood rushing in his ears.

When your fingers wrapped around his tabards you begin undoing each bit of his ornamentation slowly, peeling it off of him like a juicy piece of fruit you couldn't wait to take a bite out of.

Maybe you would... later.

Once he was naked, you gave him enough dignity to spare looking between his legs, knowing he wouldn't be ready for you to look at him there just yet, you felt like he would set the very air ablaze; each snowflake that landed on his body melted with a soft hiss as it came into contact with his skin.

At first you were concerned that maybe he was too hot, that the spring might make him sick with the extra heat added to his body; but as you sank into the water, he didn't seem bothered in the slightest. In fact, his eyes continued to take your form as he thought you weren't looking.

Every scar told a story, and he wanted to hear them all, wanted to hear a symphony of your voices together as you breathed your love into one another s lungs as you shared scorching kisses.

You could have sat next to him. You could have.

But you didn't. As shameless as you were, you sank down in front of him between his parted knees, slowly, a soft noise escaping you as the water crept up your cold body and you pressed your back against his chest.

You pretended not to hear the sharp inhale of breath as his raging erection pressed firmly against your back, the heat from it almost hotter than the water you were reclining in.

You hummed softly as he slipped his arms around you, pressing a hot, damp kiss to your icy shoulder.

You'd swear he could probably leave burns with those lips of his.

"Hmm... How did your meeting with Lord Raiden go, Hanzo?" You ask him, sliding your hands up his thighs and to his knees, feeling the knotted muscles tighten and flex beneath your touch.

"Ah..." He said, his voice tight in an effort to control himself.

"It... Went well. Young Takeda was there, it was good to see him again."

"How is Takeda doing?"

"He's spending more time with his father, and I believe he and Jacqui Briggs are officially a couple." Hanzo chuckled.

"That's good, they're a nice match." You sigh, relaxing into him more, maybe, just slightly intentionally grinding your ass against his cock.

His arms tighten around you and he leans in, his lips at the shell of your ear.

"You're playing a dangerous game, my lotus." He growls.

"You know me... I live for danger." You purr, grinding against him once more.

He groaned in your ear and rolled his hips to meet yours.

"I have to ask..." Hanzo said, one of his rough and calloused hands rising to give your ribs a feathery touch.

"I'm experienced, don't worry." You assure him playfully.

"Good..."

Was that... disappointment you heard in his voice?

"Awww..." You reach back and comb through his ebony locks. "Hanzo... Are you sad you're not my first?"

"No..." He lied. "I'm merely content to know this will be fully enjoyable for you, then."

You gladly take a mental note and stow that information away for a later scenario you wanted to play out with him...

"Hanzo?"

"Hmm?"

You turn your head slightly and capture his mouth in an awkwardly-angled kiss, teeth and tongues grazing, nipping, and twining together in a passionate affair.

You lift your hips enough in the water so the head of his cock is squished between your thighs. You roll yourself against him, letting his cock stroke between your legs as you flex your muscles, gripping him as tight as possible.

"Agh... You truly live for danger, hm?" Hanzo groaned hotly in your ear. His hands kneaded your breasts, his fingers heating up as he pulled and twisted your nipples in time with the lazy rolling of your hips.

"Hanzo..." You keened softly.

"You need to stop." Hanzo said, gripping your hips, effectively stilling you.

You pout in protest, and look at him over your shoulder, waiting for an explanation.

Hanzo's tongue darts out to lick at a bead of water that rolls down your shoulder, and nips at the skin, there.

"When I finish, I want it to be inside you." He growled against your skin.

His voice and the way he was touching you sent a jolt of excitement racing up your spine.

"Yes." You breathe, your heart beginning to flutter in your chest like a flighty bird.

"Do you want me, my lotus?" Hanzo asked you. "Do you want me inside you?"

"By the Elder Gods, yes." You reply, your voice shaky but certain.

Hanzo quickly helped you up, turning you around so your breasts were squished against the rocks below you, your hands balling in the snow, ice creeping out from beneath your fingertips.

You eagerly spread your legs for him, water rolling off your body as his searing grip kneaded and squished the flesh of your ass, spreading your cheeks as his chest heaved while his eyes drank in your swollen and waiting sex and prone form.

"Hanzo, please?" You pant, pushing back into his grip.

His cock twitched at the sight of you, at the feel of your icy skin in his hands. Any normal person would be a shivering mess, being practically face down in the snow. But not you. You were Lin Kuei, a cryomancer.

His little ice lotus.

He gripped the base of his cock and took his time lining up, a small smile crinkling the corners of his eyes as you squirm impatiently.

He wasn't sure why, but something told him to raise his hand and slap your ass in a reprimand.

The squeak you made at first gave him the impression that he'd seriously hurt you, but when he noticed how demure you became, he chuckled softly.

"Behave, lotus. You must learn patience. It is a ninja's greatest asset." He said, his chest tightening as the tip of his cock slipped through your wet folds, the walls of your pussy gripping him in a greedy vice.

"Please, Hanzo..." You cried softly, trying to sink yourself deeper against him to sheathe his cock fully in the waiting velvet of your body.

Hanzo's hands prevented that, and it frustrated you, but your complaint died before it could form as he slowly eased himself inside, inch by torturous inch, until the tip of his cock just barely kissed your cervix.

He certainly had girth and length that was definitely going to make you see stars, tonight... His size complemented the roped muscles all throughout his body.

You make a deep, throaty moan as his weight settles into you, your muscles squeezing him down, trying to pull him deeper.

You feel the short coarse hairs that reached his navel brush the skin of your ass as he brought his hips firmly against yours.

He leaned in, kissing up your back and over your shoulder until his mouth was at your ear.

"How do you want me, love?"

"Fuck me hard. Please?"

He kissed your shoulder, biting down and sucking the skin, marking you as he pulled out and slammed his hips back in.

Your cries shook birds from the trees, the sensation of his balls slapping against your clit sending shivers up your spine, the pressure of his cock pounding you and pressing against that one divine spot within you, each drag of the vein running up his length driving you further and further into madness.

No other man you'd ever been with had been so precise or skilled in the art of sex.

Your previous partners were paltry compared to the sharp, angled thrust of Hanzo's hips, his cock cramming into you at such a harsh and heavy rate that you swore you were going to cum at any second, gushing around him, leaving a nice creamy ring at the base of his dick as he fucks into you like a man possessed.

He grips your shoulders and pulls you up against him, so your back is pressed against his chest.

His hands rise to your breasts, his fingertips almost glowing as he pinches your nipples, the soft mounds bouncing and jiggling in his hands with each upward thrust of his hips into yours.

"Hanzo!" You cried out, tossing your head back with a wail of ecstasy, your vision going cross as he brings one of his searing hands to your clit, rolling vigorously, the heat feeling like it set every nerve in your body alight with fire.

"Come for me." He softly commands.

And just like that, your body obeys him, clamping down, squeezing him, trying to mold yourself around him; commit his shape and size to memory so he and only he could ever fuck and satisfy you ever again.

He hisses out a breath, steam rising in waves off his body as he fucks up into you again, riding out your orgasm as he rapidly approaches his own.

Hanzo eases you back down, his hand sliding up your sweaty, chilly spine as he tips his head back, his lips parting in a moan as he cums, jerky thrusts and loud whimpers from you as his boiling hot load paints your insides a nice, pearly white, threatening to burn a hole right through you.

He lazily fucks you, some of his spend leaking out around him and dripping down your thighs as he rides out the blinding high that took over every range of his senses.

Once the two of you regain your breathing, he keeps you firmly seated on his cock as you both sink back into the water, relaxing as the heat soaks through your chilled core while Hanzo gently pours palm fulls of water on your skin, massaging your shoulders.

"Mmmh..." You sigh, relaxing against him as he kisses the top of your damp head.

"You seem content." He chuckled.

"Hanzo, I'm pretty sure you're going to have to carry me back home." You laugh. "Had I known what kind of weapon you were packing, I would have been just slightly more hesitant..."

"Only slightly, hm?"

"Just a bit." You murmur, kissing the knuckles of one of his hands.

Hanzo grins and plants a kiss over the bruise he'd left on your skin.

"You will get used to it, my lotus."

[drrden]

Leon Kennedy x Gender Neutral! Reader - The story is on Wattpad too.

Summary: Two rival agents are tasked to go undercover together to retrieve information on a security breach. The mission will span over a few months, in which they have to share an apartment and pretend to be a couple.

Tags: Enemies To Lovers, Slowburn, Forced Proximity, Fake Dating.

Chapter One - Animosity. 3008 Words.

Abundantly, the rainfall patters against the shrouded windows, the humidity a testament to the drizzly, somewhat melancholic weather outside the conference room, wherein there's an all too familiar stillness in the air. Government files are orderly dispersed across the mahogany table, itemizing information regarding the content of the forthcoming assignment shared between none other than Leon Kennedy and yourself. Cursing inwardly to yourself about the whole ordeal, you figure there's no point in letting your mutual animosity with one another get in the way of securing major information, which is the objective of said classified mission. What an uncomfortably warm room you find yourself confined within, the aura almost smothering - and you're sure that you can't be the only one capable of acknowledging such a fact. The sound of the clock ticking acts as a backdrop to the almost entirely taciturn space, as the two of you stand in distant proximity, refusing to avert your gaze from the queerly placed lectern, seeming as if it had been taken directly from a University classroom. It seems ridiculous, two grown adults behaving as if they were youths in detention because of one another; the strangely nostalgic feeling of wanting to be anywhere else but with your peer at the moment. Yet, here the two of you are, anticipating the arrival of your superior, who'll be mapping out the prospects of your job. Two seasoned agents, one arguably more accomplished than the other, obliged to work alongside each other, irrespective of whatever preceding conflict. Just at the pinnacle moment where you believed you could almost drown in the silence, in strides your higher-up, who greets the two of you with a knowing look, her emerald eyes narrowing as she approaches the lectern. "So," Emma begins with a stale tone to her voice, suspecting this debriefing won't be going swimmingly, "The two of you have been paired together for a mission that all major personnel here at USSTRATCOM believe will span over a significant amount of time." Leaving a brief pause for you and your adversary to process the uninvited information, revealing the two of you have the misfortune of seeing a lot more of each other. A knot forms in your stomach and it both churns and twists, a sharp inhale of breath following as you picture having to spend time with such an individual who's so aloof with you. Leon, however, doesn't offer such an outward expression of his discomfort, instead his jaw tenses and his brows furrow, not being one to give you the satisfaction of a reaction. Sighing audibly, Emma resumes with her description of what you're tasked to endure alongside Leon, "This isn't one of those operations where you can simply go out and take down a B.O.W., you're doing a series of infiltrations into what we expect to be numerous facilities, all in regards to cyber attacks against the United States. The only problem is that they seem to be from within." Rather than stomaching a hasty, elementary intel mission built upon the foundations of pure stealth, you're expected to endure a lengthy endeavor beside Leon, since it's the safest option. It's to be approached with disquiet, as one small oversight can tarnish the mission, as losing information isn't something that can be easily resolved by calling in for backup like you would with a B.O.W. if it was deemed fit. No, this is a two-person mission and it's going to remain that way to the conclusion. Detecting the apprehension, she motions to the two folders on the table, both of which contain the same information, a more in-depth insight into the delegation. 

Swiping up a folder before Leon can get to one first, you challenge Emma on the partner selection, "Out of all the agents working for America, how did Leon and I being paired come to fruition, exactly?" Admittedly, the word choices are sugar-coated to a degree, despite the fact you're never hesitant to critique your stoic colleague, even as he stands beside you. The brunette pinches the bridge of her nose and turns her back to you, shaking her head as if you had just told her that the sky is blue, "Professional agents should be able to work together regardless of their relationship. If you have a problem with such basic standards as this, then you may want to reconsider your line of work." Just the mere implication of her statement makes your spine shudder, soon opting for the decision to keep your job, and therefore quiet. Taking the opportunity to read through the file, you feel Leon's shoulder bump against you as he reaches for his paperwork - and you figure that it was done intentionally. Huffing, you begin to skim through the information. The two agents are expected to be together on this assignment for up to five months, potentially even more depending on the complexity of retrieving the information, and the extent of what they uncover. Since the mission is based far away from where either of them lives, they've both been temporarily rehomed in a two-bedroom apartment which they are expected to share; no exceptions will be made in regards to booking a hotel to live separately. Our main goal is to find out what technology was used in the latest Government security breach, as many incline that the suspects are related to Umbrella in some form. There's much more information that you read, and it forces you to realize the gravity of the situation, and how vital it is in the security of the country, especially if Umbrella is somehow engaged with it. Swallowing your pride for the sake of appeasing Emma's expectations, you stiffly turn to face Leon, gazing up at him apprehensively through your eyelashes. "...Guess that makes us partners then, huh?" You quip, in an attempt to make light of the strained predicament, to which Leon replies with a curt nod, azure eyes staring down into yours vacuously - until he extends a hand. "I guess it does, partner." Mild amusement glimmers within his eyes as he feels your fingers grudgingly intertwine with his, and he offers a firm shake, calloused hand enveloping yours as he squeezes a little too tight. Surely, there's no such thing as being overtly eager if it's for the sake of a job? After all, if the two of you don't act civil in front of Emma, she might supersede the two of you and force you into doing paperwork on an overtime shift instead.  As if either of the two of you would wish to face a punishment so severe as a result of your immaturity. Retracting your hand the second it's respectable to do so, you wipe it on the leg of your trousers, shooting Leon an alerting glower. The corner of his mouth twitches and you can almost swear you perceive a ghost of a smirk gracing his lips, yet it vanishes just as quickly as it had appeared. Waving a hand dismissively, Emma straightens her blazer and turns to you for the final time, warning laced in her words, "Whatever you do, don't let the enmity between the two of you complicate things. Your jobs, and likely the safety of the country, are in your hands, agents." 

Holding some semblance of common sense, you seize the opening and exit the room, clutching the file and holding it close to your chest - a permanent reminder that you'll have to give up so much just for the contents of a mere folder. Gnawing on your bottom lip, your pace increases as you maneuver your way through the labyrinth of hallways, intent on taking the opportunity of spending your last nights in your city appropriately. By executing the best means you can to shroud the fact that there's an underlying sense of impending doom, whether that be from repercussions of the mission or the inclination that you may be driven to insanity just having to share a home with Leon Kennedy of all people for an undisclosed length of time. It's harsh and biting as you step out into the glacial evening, thick sums of fog already obscuring a good volume of the stretch, as if some snobbish poet is enforcing pathetic fallacy into your everyday life. Perhaps your fate is already predetermined, maybe by some miracle chance your partner will be swapped at the last minute, preferably to someone like Casey who you cross paths with mainly in the break room, since your offices are at opposite ends of the hall. Despite your heavily limited interactions, she'd be a much better option than Leon, who doesn't exactly set a high bar for standards in the ideal mission partner. Not only has the rain been persistent, but it steadily increases with the more time you spend outside, which seems to be the staple in defining your day as the worst one you've had in a significant amount of time. Walking for such a lengthy amount of time is an ideal way of clearing your mind of any lingering thoughts that overstay their welcome too long, such as how living with Leon will work. Within the file, it cited that the two of you must go out and spend time with one another as if you were a couple, so as not to draw any unwanted attention from the opposition, lest they unveil your true identities and have you terminated. Nothing has been specified in terms of what you're expected to do, meaning the two of you will eventually have to sit down and navigate the topic yourselves, setting boundaries and coming up with ways to appear as a happy couple who're healthily obsessed with one another. After all, the apartment is situated in an unscrupulous area of the city, there's bound to be means of surveilling people who've recently moved into the area. Internally, you recoil at the consideration of having to address the person you detest most in the workplace with terms of endearment such as 'babe' and 'sweetheart' - no, thank you. With haste, you shake the thoughts from your mind and focus on the current task at hand; managing to get a place on any form of public transport at five in the afternoon. Exactly at the post-work traffic rush, with a good chunk of the city having been occupants in regular, everyday office jobs that are open between the hours of nine in the morning and five in the afternoon. Or, rather, evening, depending on the perception of each individual. All that you know is, right now? You're aiming to get home as swiftly as possible to satisfy your quench for familiarity before getting sent off to an unexplored municipality. A foreboding sentiment lingers permanently in the back of your mind regardless of all of these falsely assured affirmations, since hazardous missions and temperamental rivals don't tend to mix well together all too well. 

Rubbing his face with his worn palm, Leon keeps his eyes firmly closed and expression tight, leaning back in the chair behind his desk, sounding a familiar creaking noise as he does so. Leon's a calm man, a self-proclaimed remarkably calm man - who maintains his composure and facade of nonchalance to his best ability. Yet, the mere concept of having to be away for months on end without closure for when he'll be able to arrive home doesn't come across as particularly appealing to him even in the slightest. Not a glimmer of content within all the thoughts rearing at the forefront of his conscience at this moment in time, having faced enough strain today with the unending stream of paperwork following his last mission in rural Spain. That one certainly took a toll on him, having been confronted by conflicting thoughts following the rash appearance of Ada, who he had presumed dead all that time ago back in Raccoon City. The mindlessness of the villagers who inhabited the village reminded him of the familiar state of those driven with bloodlust in the ruined city in which he had intended to be a police officer. An endless cycle of helplessness, the harsh reality of knowing not everyone can be saved in a situation, regardless of how many times he reassures himself that it can be different. Plagued by guilt and a complexity based upon being a survivor, often brooding to himself why he was one of the few who was lucky enough to survive the bloodbath, the extensive loss of life and humanity across such a short period. No matter how much he tries to mask it in front of others, Leon's deeply troubled by the events and will forever remain so, unwilling to reach out and seek help from anyone. He just doesn't have the time to, nor the energy. Speaking about the past cannot alter it, only eating as a looming reminder of all the things that he could have done differently, what could have been avoided as to better the outcome of said events. The guilt is immense despite the impossibility of a single rookie cop saving an entire city on his postponed first day, stopping a virus from overthrowing the place and tarnishing it. Just recalling the events is bad enough, let alone vocalizing his experience and reliving it all again as if it were six years ago, before he was forced into a metamorphosis of personality and being; unable to recognize himself at his lowest points. Preferring to claim that he's changed, despite the disagreement of Ada who believes otherwise, still seeing him as a naive young man. But who is he to trust her, of all people, considering the betrayal and deceptive nature of the woman - is Ada even her real name or just an alias for anonymity? Though he acts unphased, it's given him an apprehensive take on trusting others, only bestowing his conviction upon a set number of people who he's closest to. After all, any of his colleagues could secretly be a double agent, with leniency towards whoever the opposition is - meaning it isn't always the best option to allow people to get too close to him. Adamant on refusing to be taken advantage of again to unknowingly help the wrong people, regardless of how detached it may make him come across at times; usually something he does with the people who he can't help but want to trust the most, despite any misconceptions he leads them to believe.

Polar opposites is the most suitable definition for the dynamic between the two of you, having been acquaintances when you first joined USSTRATCOM back in 2002, meaning there's been an entire two years for the both of you to harbor resentment for one another. Some people aren't meant to find one another appealing or tolerate them, and that can be handled with efficiency if they aren't regularly in each other's company. Quite simply, that's a prevalent issue in regards to you and Leon, who shares an office with you and two other agents who he tends to forget the names of at times. Just isn't the type to mix his personal affairs and his job, since it's taxing on his mental well-being, so it's better to try not to let anything from work be involved in his personal life to the greatest extent that he can manage to do so. Despite not being overtly cocky or anything involving overconfidence, the broad differentiation in experience as agents is one of the reasons the two of you have never seemed to have a moment where you realize that you can cooperate with one another to some degree and overlook your past conflict. Perhaps it's just the case of right job, wrong time, on your behalf, since the two of you would've been in similar levels of inexperience if you joined all the way back in 1998 when Leon had been forced into doing so. Facing grueling training, which you were lucky enough to get the good end of, since they must have made it a lot more intense in the following years after Leon's initial inauguration into working for the Government. It's not that he's completely unapproachable, or a guy who's entirely miserable, it's you don't get along all that greatly. You've heard of him being kind hearted towards others, such as the President's daughter, Ashley Graham, when Leon saved her from Los Illuminados the other month. Some may argue that his kindness can be solely due to the fact that the poor girl was completely unsettled and frightened for her life, and that she isn't accustomed to seeing such heinous violence. Maybe, during the mission, he felt like she was a little sister to him, considering the age gap between the two is over five years. There's some people who he knows he has to look after, and others that he knows are perfectly capable of holding their own and being secure in their skills. Despite this, with you, it's uncertain what to expect now that the two of you will be pursuing a mission together that isn't with at least two other people. This isn't a typical mission, either, it isn't short nor filled to the brim with action and set obstacles to face. It's more lengthy and slow paced, unfamiliar territory for the two of you to navigate the best you can, without giving into the urge of bickering like an old married couple. There's a concerning amount of unresolved conflict when it comes to you and Leon, having many arguments left open which are simmering in the backdrop of each interaction, anticipation building for the subjects of disagreement to come to the surface once more. Maybe the two of you will finally be able to talk out your differences, as not to put the task at hand at risk. Then again, when it comes to you and Leon Scott Kennedy, things are never quite as they initially present themselves as being. Regardless of how this ends, it's going to be a long next few months.

[thankskenpenders]

So I wrote a whole long thing about Amy's tarot cards, but what about, you know... the rest of the Sonic Frontiers DLC? The new alternate story route, the hours of new gameplay, all that?

Having now played it, I'm not sure Sonic has ever had this specific combination of good ideas that make the future of the series look bright, and execution that I fucking hate.

(Full spoilers ahead.)

The good

There's a lot to like here, conceptually.

First and foremost, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy are finally playable in a new mainline 3D Sonic game for the first time since 2006! Seventeen years! We've been begging for this for so very, very long. Nature is finally truly healing from the fallout of Sonic '06. Early on I hedged my bets and expected them to be locked to Cyber Space or something like that, assuming that there was no way they'd be fully playable in the Open Zone. But sure enough, while they're a bit limited compared to Sonic, they're still all full-blown characters with skill trees to unlock and lots of exploration to do.

We also got a more bombastic alternate final boss fight, after the first take on The End kind of underwhelmed. And it's obvious that Sonic Team has listened to our pleas to focus on the 3D platforming over the forced 2D sections, and to reduce the amount of automation in the level design. This update is chock full of Actual Platforming. Wow! I can only pray this means we never get an area as agonizing to explore as Chaos Island again.

Sure, there's still some jank - especially with Knuckles' movement, which is kinda rough. But if this is the stuff they're trying out so that they can refine it further for the next game, then I'm really excited.

On the other hand, good fucking lord is The Final Horizon tedious. And that tedium sapped most of the fun out of it for me.

The frustrating

The new scenario massively increases the difficulty over the base game, seemingly out of a desire to give the hardcore players who were posting speedrun videos and whatnot more of a challenge. It's the Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels of Sonic. This difficulty comes in many forms throughout your playtime, some worse than others, and continues to ramp up over time.

Rather than giving you a tutorial level, the new scenario dumps you directly into a remixed version of the final island and makes you do some fairly precise platforming with Amy, Knuckles, and Tails - new characters with new movesets that you won't have any experience with. You'll also need to find character-specific Koco that give you free levels, because Sonic's friends all start at level one and certain locked moves in their skill trees will be mandatory to progress. They don't even have Cyloop unlocked at the start. And because they're all low level, that means you'd better steer clear of the beefed-up bosses scattered around the map, which will absolutely annihilate Sonic's friends. (I honestly just avoided them and never bothered beating any of them, not even with my high-level Sonic. I have no idea if they're beatable with the others.)

None of this is explained to you particularly well. I spent my first few minutes with Amy wondering why the attack button did nothing, only to eventually think to check her skill tree and realize that I had to unlock her basic attack. If you don't bother to take the time to read through the skill trees, you'll very quickly find obstacles you have no way of getting past with no clues as to what exactly you're supposed to do.

Adding to this confusion is the fact that objective markers often tell you to go half a kilometer into the sky, and you'll have no idea how to get up there because all of the relevant platforms are out of your draw distance. Many objects seem to only pop in for me when I'm within about 60 meters of them, which isn't a long distance for a high-speed open world platformer like this. I was having this problem running the game with high graphics on PC, so I can only imagine how obnoxious it is on Switch. I'd frequently find myself poking around nearby clusters of platforming objects and praying that they'd lead me to a spring, rail, or cannon that would eventually point me in the direction of the floating objective marker.

There were always complaints about the art direction in Frontiers and the way it relies on floating rails and prefab platforms that are visually disconnected from the natural scenery of the islands, but it's even more dire here. The new platforming sections are dense and complex, but they seemingly didn't have the budget to change the topography of Ouranos Island at all, so it all takes the form of these prefabs. It very strongly gives the vibe of a Forge creation in Halo 3, back when there were no blank canvas maps and people just had to make "new maps" by jamming a bunch of shipping containers and barricades together in the sky above one of the default arenas.

I was still more or less having fun, though, despite the jank. It's a big creative swing, I told myself! They're trying stuff out! They're experimenting!

And then I hit the towers.

The towers are agonizing because they're SO close to being great. The logical part of my brain understands why some people love them, but god, I just fucking hate them. The platforming there IS cool! These layouts are cool! The individual challenges along the way are a bit tough, but totally doable. You know what's not cool? Making one mistake and slowly falling 800 meters all the way back down to the ground, forcing you to start over. Because none of these towers have checkpoints. For me, this one decision transforms what should have been a fun set of platforming challenges into a massive, unfun difficulty spike.

I enjoy some masocore platformers, but those are typically games with quick deaths and restarts like Celeste, Super Meat Boy, or VVVVVV. Hell, the Mario games tend to get way more difficult than the average Sonic game, and those are obviously all great. Quite frankly, unlike those games, Sonic Frontiers is nowhere near tight or polished enough to make this difficulty feel fair. Bits of jank that I could ignore in the base game due to its lower difficulty are now matters of life or death. Missing a jump because I boosted off an incline in a way the game didn't like for reasons I don't understand is not fun. Falling off a tower because the camera was pointing in the wrong direction while I was in midair and I couldn't see the next thing I was expected to homing attack is not fun.

And it's such a jarring spike when moving from the base game to the DLC that it feels like the game is suddenly quizzing me on skills it never bothered to instill in me. Maybe if you've spent the last year labbing out the movement tech in this game this is all a no brainer, but for the average returning player it's a kick in the dick.

I'm sure I could've beaten these towers normally if I gave them enough tries. They aren't the hardest thing in the world. But I very quickly decided I had better things to do with my life and turned on easy mode, which adds tons of extra springs and homing attack balloons to make all of the platforming piss easy. I wish there was a middle option between Only Up: Sonic Edition and this extreme hand holding, but when given the choice between the two I gladly picked baby mode. I just wanted to see the story.

(The new Cyber Space levels are also long, challenging, and devoid of checkpoints, not unlike the towers. But I only ever found the entrances to two of them. So I only did two. They're theoretically required, because they give you "Lookout Koco" that you need for... some reason? But in a rare act of mercy, Sonic Team put Cyloop treasure spots that give you free Lookout Koco all over the map.)

As I continued, so many little things started adding up to piss me off. Why do you only reveal like five tiny squares of the map at a time? I would've loved to find all the new 1-on-1 dialogue scenes, but not if I had to do dozens of hard mode versions of the stupid little puzzles and challenges to reveal the whole map. Why does every character need their own unique collectibles? What is this, Donkey Kong 64? Why can't I just grab this EXP for Amy when I find it as Tails? Why can I only manually swap characters by talking to an out-of-the-way NPC unlocked right before the final boss? Why is fast travel disabled? Why are the new vocal themes you hear when playing as Amy, Knuckles, and Tails so monotonous, with a single verse repeating over lo-fi beats ad nauseum? Why is the jukebox feature completely disabled throughout the DLC, even after rolling the credits? Why can't Tails homing attack? Why do I have to wrestle with the camera so much while also holding the jump button to fly as Knuckles and Tails? How many right thumbs do they think I have? Why is this animation for picking up animals in the Cyber Space levels so incredibly slow, and why can I still take damage while it's playing? Why does the stupid starfall event have to make it so hard to see what I'm doing when climbing these towers? Why does this shitty combat trial have a popup that makes it seem like I should be using the Cyloop when the actual strategy revolves around repeated parries? And on and on and on...

The story

What about the new story? Well, there sadly isn't much to chew on here. Most of the DLC has the cast running around and finding different macguffins for arbitrary reasons, as part of some sort of plan to divide up the work on the last island so that Sonic can go train with the spirits of the Ancients and harness the power of his cyber corruption. What the fuck is an Impact Form? I don't know, but Knuckles needs something to do, so go find one.

It's a thin excuse plot meant to make you do platforming challenges around Ouranos Island, with little room for Ian to add any real flavor of his own, even though he certainly tries. Having Sonic meet the spirits of the Ancients who controlled the Titans, who are revealed to directly parallel the personalities of him and his friends, is kinda neat, I guess? It's something. The optional conversations seem to have some fun bits, including both conversations between the supporting cast and additional lore. But again, I only found a few of those because of how tedious filling out the map was.

The writing is also let down by the voice acting - or I guess the voice direction, because I know this cast can do better. Roger's voice continues to be weirdly, distractingly deep as Sonic, which was clearly something that was requested of him just for this game. (For a recent example of him going back to his regular Sonic voice, see this LEGO trailer.) The performances of Sonic's friends are also WILDLY mismatched. This is most clear when they start feeling the effects of the cyber corruption. Knuckles seems to be barely affected at all, Tails sounds like he's moderately hurt and low on energy, and Amy starts completely overselling her pain out of nowhere. The extremely strained performance makes it sound like Cindy's literally being tortured in the fucking booth. I have no idea what's going on over there.

The final challenges

People have debated whether or not things like the towers and the new Cyber Space levels are fair challenges. What's not up for debate is the fact that Master King Koco's Trial is complete and utter bullshit, and I can't believe they shipped this.

Before you can fight the new final boss, the game forces you to do a boss rush of the first three Titans - INCLUDING the pre-Super Sonic climbing sections - with a hard limit of 400 rings. For all three lengthy, heavily scripted fights. Back to back. You can't even cheese it with the leveling system, because you're forced to do this at level 1. This all but forces you to look up speedrun strats for the Super Sonic fights so that you don't run out of rings and fail the trial.

And the real kicker? They changed the parry just for this trial! Originally, you could just hold down the bumpers endlessly and Sonic would ready himself to parry the next attack, whenever that may hit. Now it requires you to do a "Perfect Parry" with specific timing. And you HAVE to hit those parries if you wanna clear this trial and get to the new ending. Miss a few and you're probably fucked. You just have to reset. Time to go through all those fights, all those climbing sequences, all those QTEs, and all those unskippable mid-fight cutscenes all over again. This is by far the most egregious example of the DLC deciding to quiz you on new skills that the base game never required of you, and it's one of the most absurdly unfair things I have ever seen in a Sonic game.

Easy mode does make this trial easier by making the timing window for Perfect Parries much more generous, but that's all the help you get. It's still easy to lose time failing to parry Wyvern's hard-to-read animations, or to lose rings by getting hit on the climb sections, or for things to just fuck up because these fights were always kinda jank. I gave it a few shots. I looked up guide videos. I tried the Quick Cyloop and stomp combo strat that seems all but mandatory. But I quickly decided that, again, this wasn't a worthwhile use of my time. It just sucks. And I really, REALLY didn't want to overwrite all my fond memories of these Titan fights, some of my favorite setpiece moments in any Sonic game, with memories of this shit ass boss rush.

So I cheated! And if you're on PC, you should too.

With the worst hurdle out of the way, I turned cheats back off and moved on to the new final boss. It was pretty cool. It's much flashier than the original fight against The End, that's for sure. It's still kinda annoying, and it requires you to do very specific shit without properly telegraphing it, but it's nowhere near as bad as the preceding challenges. I was hoping for one last new metalcore song to go with the new fight, which we sadly didn't get, but at least the new version of I'm Here is good.

The ending is... mostly the same, with a couple altered scenes that don't really change anything in the long run. But overall the new finale was pretty good. I just wish it hadn't been such a slog to get there.

Closing thoughts

Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon wants to be three things:

A patch that adds a new alternate ending that was probably supposed to be in the base game in the first place.

An experimental take on making Tails, Knuckles, and Amy playable again, presumably testing things for the next game. And...

An official Kaizo Sonic Frontiers mod for the sickos.

The thing is, the people showing up for #1 and #2, the main things that Sega hyped up about the update, are not necessarily going to be down for #3. If they had announced some uber-hard new Cyber Space levels for the arcade mode or whatever, I'd be like, neat! And then not play them. I would never touch Master King Koco's Trial if it was an optional challenge. I would leave that for the sickos. But instead, they made the hardest content mandatory for anyone who wants to see the new Good Ending where the final boss gets an actual budget.

I'm mostly left in a state of shock that it shipped like this. I cannot believe they playtested this and decided this was the state The Final Horizon should be released in. That this should be the note Frontiers ends on. That this should be how we remember those Titan fights. That this should be the lingering taste in our mouths as we wait however many years for the next 3D game.

Armchair devs always love to say that things would be "easy to fix," but like... there really would be easy fixes for the insane difficulty and general tedium here! Add a few more tutorial popups explaining what the game expects of you with Sonic's friends. Give the Cyber Space stages and the towers a couple checkpoints. Give the combat trials more generous time limits, especially on the lower difficulties. Remove half of the map puzzles, and make the ones that remain uncover twice as many squares. Skip the startup animation for Knuckles' glide. Let me turn on the goddamn jukebox. Since so much of this update was designed around fan feedback, I can only pray that Sonic Team is still listening, and that they tweak at least a few of these things with a balance patch.

But still, after those many, many paragraphs of complaining... this still somehow makes the future of 3D Sonic seem pretty promising?

Sonic's friends are FINALLY playable again, and the focus is back to proper 3D platforming, rather than railroading players into awkward forced 2D sections in what's otherwise an open world. These are the things that they hopefully want to carry over to the next game. The difficulty? Well, that's just because it's the postgame DLC that's supposed to be the toughest challenge in the game. It's just an unreasonably cruel one of those - an example of how designing and balancing for a vocal minority of your fanbase can really hurt your game. But Sonic Team is onto something here, and I hope that they can learn the right lessons from this expansion and not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[solarpunkbusiness]

Are solar power systems prone to cyberattacks?

“Like any technological revolution, digitalisation presents incredible opportunity, for example, energy system cost savings of €160 billion per year,”

“It also comes with new challenges, like cybersecurity. We didn’t need anti-virus protection for a typewriter - but we do need it for our laptops. As a responsible, forward-looking sector, we have mapped the cybersecurity challenge, and we’re rising to meet it with clear, comprehensive solutions.”

The report, written by risk management organisation DNV.

Europe’s move away from an energy system dependent on a few high-impact targets to a more decentralised system offers clear energy security benefits, the report states. Ukraine has learnt this in a particularly brutal way, following repeated cyberattacks on its power grid by Russia.

But to realise these benefits, cybersecurity laws, which focus on old, centralised infrastructure, need to be updated, the experts say. New legislation must address the specific security needs of distributed energy sources, like smaller rooftop solar installations.

Though on a much smaller scale than the strikes on other parts of the energy sector, the solar sector has faced attacks and interference, too.

In 2023, a group of Romanian solar customers modified mandatory inverter settings - which convert DC electricity generated by panels into the AC electricity used by homes - to disable the voltage-active power function. 

This function is required by the grid operators to reduce active power at high grid voltage, in order to keep the power system running efficiently and safely. 

Modifying this grid support function enabled the customers to make more money by not limiting their solar systems during high-voltage events, potentially jeopardising grid integrity as a result.

In a more pernicious incident, pro-Russian hacktivist group Just Evil stole credentials for 22 client sites in Lithuania and posted them on the Dark Web last year. This opened up access to the management portal of these solar sites, although access was not used to carry out further attacks on that occasion. 

Analysing risk, the report found that these large utility-scale solar installations are more secure, since they are often managed by experienced utilities and covered by the EU’s Network and Information Security (NIS2) Directive.

Small-scale solar systems, meanwhile, which are often rooftop installations on people’s homes or businesses, lack strict cyber rules. They are connected to the clouds of manufacturers, installers, or service providers. 

And while the impact of compromising a single installation is low, when grouped together for power system efficiency, they become virtual power plants of significant scale.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Wednesday

SpaceTime 20250319 Series 28 Episode 34

Could violent supernovae have triggered at least two of Earth’s mass extinction events

A new study suggests that nearby exploding stars known as supernovae may have been violent enough to have triggered two of Earth’s known Mass Extinction Events.

NASA launches its latest new stellar mapping mission to study the galaxy

NASA has successfully launched its new SPHEREx stellar mapping mission. Sharing the ride was NASA’s PUNCH mission to map the region where the Sun’s outer atmosphere transitions to the solar wind.

128 new moons discovered orbiting Saturn

Astronomers have just found an additional 128 moons orbiting the ringed world of Saturn. The new discoveries bring the Saturnian systems total confirmed count to 274.

The Science Report

A new study suggests that both starting and quitting drinking booze has effects on cholesterol levels.

Crocodiles in Australia’s Top End are eating nine times more now than they did back in the 1970s.

A new study warns that by the year 2030 the Australian diet will include even more junk food.

Alex on Tech: Palestinian terrorists launch major cyber attacks against X.

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts (itunes), Stitcher, Google Podcast, Pocketcasts, SoundCloud, Bitez.com, YouTube, your favourite podcast download provider, and from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/

SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on his career in journalism and radio broadcasting. Gary’s radio career stretches back some 34 years including 26 at the ABC. He worked as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. He was part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and became one of its first on air presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. That compares to the ABC’s overall radio listenership of just 5.6 per cent. The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[doom-nerdo-666]

Anyway, some takes about the footage and "splash image" before January 23rd

(some observations came from other people in a DW thread or two)

Rocks with written text and drawings, could be lore related. Maybe like the Slayer's Testament stones in 2016 or that scientist's research screens in DE.

A thing pouring lava? Someone on DW said it could be a portal

Fences so you don't fall off.

A glowy cross thing. Could be a prop but i thought it could be a way to access the Maykr ship we saw in the trailer: Like, the ship is used to select maps and this specific thing works as a "return point" if you were to leave a map. So even if the maps are huge, there's still a HUB-like area to return to or portals as alternate paths?

A hallway with floating burning vases, looks nice and probably wasn't affected by Hell yet.

You see potential ammo pickups like skulls for the Skullcrusher.

Also, someone on DW caught a medikit

The items glow like they did in DE

In the Atlan factory, we see giant bullet casings and rockets.

Said bullets are probably for the chaingun that the Atlan can use, according to people who were in that QCon private showcase

Stairs can be seen in this room

Sentinels walking towards a kneeling Doomslayer, in a place that could be related to that place in the trailer we thought was related to a UAC Mars Base

Doomguy's armor looks a bit different, at least the red dot thing has extra bits

His eyes glow, could be Maykr magic related. Other less likely theories were power up related or mind control

"super weapon of gods and kings" could do along that mind control theory but the Slayer Testaments made it clear he can't be corrupted

Sentinels have a new design, someone on DW compared it to a design in the 2016 art book

As for that one artwork

We see a dragon-looking beast, could be a demonic dragon or something related to the Mecha Dragon

Cyberdemon has wings and it honestly works

I also like the details like the horns next to Cybie's mouth or the cyber thing with 3 eyes: Because it means even if you remove the wings, there's still other new details

I hope the Cybie's main attack is like the classic Cybie: Shoots 3 slow but BIG rockets and the third one is parryable.

(Unless the "quad" looking barrels in the cannon suggests the stream of smaller rockets from the Tyrant and 2016 Cybie)

Because with the Mancubus, they shoot 2 fireballs per cannon, making them a bit closer to the classic Manc.

(again, still hope they use the 2 cannons at once, therefore shooting 4 fireballs at once)

Speaking of Cybies, a pre-tech Baalgar would be great.

There's also these 2 things i noticed:

one looks like a tail, i think it could be a flying demon like a Gargoyle

The other looks like it could either be a fleshy/demonic looking canon/weapon OR a head with teeth, because it reminds me of the D64 Pain Elemental.

Other DW comments i heard make it related to that floating brain thing (Caco?) and a potential Arch-vile

[wisebillygaysex]

gonna ramble under the cut dont mind me im just saying shit

now that i have the ending of my dummy slowburn wisebilly fic like. 75% mapped out. i was wondering if i should start dabbling in the realm of aus for them........ like truth be told my interest in them n zzz in general is WAYY bigger this time around and i lowkey dont want this motivation going to waste 💔

for one i was thinking of a more like cyber-tech route where wise had surpassed like. crazy levels of fame as a proxy and shit and was a bit more vulgar n proactive, and he picked billy for shits n giggles as a frequent partner for missions, ORRR it was a billy bodyguard situation after wise gets attacked due to fame and secret conniving factions, n billy just so happens to be picked from a long list of potential protectors

[racinginchid3nt]

I’d Probably Still Adore You | Part Thirteen

Y/N x Lance Stroll, Y/N Best Friend x Pierre Gasly

In which a night at the club and a game of never have I ever turns into something new

Inspired by 505 - Arctic Monkeys

Warnings: cyber bullying

Previous | Next

————————————————————————

Fernando answered the phone almost immediately.

“Hey man, where did you go?” He asked jokingly.

“Hey, sorry. I’m on a plane to Barcelona right now. I know it’s a long shot but I need your help.”

Fernando has taken Lance under his wing during his time at Aston Martin. He had certainly been a questionable driver in the past, but his support for Lance and mentorship had been much appreciated.

“What do you need?” Seriousness seeping into his tone.

Lane explained the backstory, spilling everything that had happened from Spa to the gala to the media shitstorm and the assault. He talked about how he could get ahold of you, and how he was on a flight right now to track her down, but that he didn’t know her address. Pleading with man to see if there was any strings he could pull with friends in his home country, if he could somehow find out the address Lance would owe him for life.

“Ok. I’ll see what I can do. And Lance?”

“Yes?” He replied.

“You don’t owe me for this. Trying to be a good person should never be tied to strings.” He stated before hanging up the phone.

Lance scrolled through social media, looking for every bit of information he could find. Every gossip article, wag account, and f1 page we’re talking about it. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he read the comments from fans and critics alike. While people were certainly commenting on how he and Carlos were trying to screw over Lando, the vast majority were negative about Y/N. Lance had tried to stay away from the negative fan comments throughout his career, but he knew people could be cutthroat. These comments were the standard jabs that the drivers got about nepotism, paid seats, being crash prone, etc. These were personal attacks about her appearance, sexual history, even threats. Reading some of what people were saying made him nauseous.

After an hour a text came through with an address from Nando. Pulling it up on a map he realized it was one of the Barcelona suburbs. He had guessed right about which airport to fly into.

A few minutes later another text came through from Nando, this time with instructions about how someone would meet him at the airport with a car. He had never been more thankful for the older driver than he was in that moment.

————

A knock sounded on your door at 8 pm. You hadn’t told anyone you were leaving the race, nor did you know who would be here at this time. Creeping towards your window you peeled back the blinds, seeing a figure waiting at your stoop. The sun had set earlier, clocking the person in too much darkness to distinguish.

Another knock sounded. You grabbed a shoe from near your door, hiding your hand behind your back you prepared in case you needed to hit someone. Not your best weapon, but your brain was too scrambled right now to think of something better.

Unlocking the deadbolt, you left the chain attached, cracking the door. The person standing on your doorstep was the last person you’d expected.

“Lance what are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?”

You paused, unsure of how to respond. Your suitcase still sat in your living room, unpacked. An empty bottle of wine on your coffee table next to your couch. The apartment looked as disjointed and chaotic as you felt just then.

“Please Y/N.” He said.

You caved, undoing the door chain and letting him into the space. He set down his backpack before turning to face you.

“What do you want? Why are you here?” You asked.

“Are you okay?” He asked nervously.

You stared at him in silence. Sitting down on your couch you winced, flicking on the lamp. Staring at him you said nothing.

“That was probably a dumb question. Fuck. I’m sorry.”

As he turned to look at you, he inhaled.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah fuck.” You replied.

“I saw what happened. I’m so sorry. I turn my phone off on race day, but as soon as I heard I tried calling. None of them went through and the front desk said you checked out early.”

“Yeah.” You weren’t sure what more to say. How do you even respond to that.

“I can’t believe the attacked you. How bad is it?” He asked, reaching for you.

Leaning back you stared at him.

“I’ve definitely felt better.”

“What did the doctors say?” He questioned.

You continued to sit in silence, fiddling with the pajama pants you had on.

“Y/N. What did the doctor say?” He repeated.

“I didn’t go Lance. I don’t exactly want to be wandering around alone right now…” You trailed off.

His mind ran, questioning why you wouldn’t have gone to the hospital. Why security at the hotel hadn’t called for medics yesterday.

“You were bleeding.” He responded.

“Yeah. I dropped my wine and cut myself.”

“Where?” He asked.

A sigh escaped your mouth, wondering how you had ended up here.

He approached slowly, reaching for the cuff of your pajama pants when you flinched back. The idea of anyone touching you had your heart rate spiking.

He stared at you, before trying again. Whispering reassurances under his breath, you caved. You didn’t have any fight left in you to tell him no right then.

Sliding the pant leg up he saw a small bruise on your left leg, but nothing serious. It was when he moved your right pant leg that he saw it. A purple bruise about the size of his hand was on your shin, from the kick. Further down was a large bandage, disappearing under the edge of your sock. Lifting your foot he peeled off your sock, before gently lifting the edge of the bandaid. An angry cut stared back at him, wrapping across your ankle and to the top of your foot before ending near your arch, about 8 centimeters in length, blood slowly pooled out of it with the bandages pressure removed. He inhaled sharply.

After replacing the bandage he reached for the edge of your shirt, before slowly sliding it up your rib cage. Four large purple bruises covered your sides, the result of the elbows and hits people at thrown in the crowded mess.

His expression grew harsh.

“Fuck. Y/N you need to go to the hospital. I think that cut might need stitches and the bruises on your ribs look bad.”

“Lance I really would prefer that you don’t lecture me right now. I’ll go in a few days if they’re still bad okay?”

He stared into your eyes before walking back to the door. Picking up his backpack he unzipped it, pulling out a hoodie and slinging the bag over his shoulder. He reached down and grabbed your sandals, blood still on the right one from last night. He slid them onto your feet, before pulling the hoodie over your head.

You went limp, letting him take care of you. He held out his hand, pulling you to a stand.

“We’re going to the hospital.”

Standing up, a wince rolled through you at the weight you put on your foot. Before you had time to move he was bending down and lifting you into the air. Balancing you he reached for the keys on your entry table, locking the door behind himself as he carried you out to a waiting black car.

Gently setting you back down, he pulled the seatbelt across you and buckled it. Moving to the driver side, he sat down and turned on the car before pulling away from your street.

The ride to the hospital was silent, the radio turned off. Your phone had died hours ago, but the occasional buzz from his broke up the silence every few minutes. Keeping his eyes on the road, hands clenching the wheel tightly, he followed the gps to the nearby 24 hour clinic.

————

Settling her back into the car two hours later, Lance tried not to jostle her. After five stitches, X-rays of her shin and ribs, and a diagnosis of one broken rib and two bruised, the doctors had given her pain medication, before she had fallen asleep waiting for the nurse to bring the crutches.

He was seething. Five fucking stitches and a broken rib all because she had talked to him and hugged Carlos after going to the gala with Lando. His anger simmered under the surface as he drove back to her apartment.

Flicking on the lights he opened doors until he found her bedroom, laying her down gently and plugging in her phone. Pulling the blankets over her, be closed the door and returned to the living room.

He knew texts had been coming in since he had run out of the press area. He was sure his PR agent was trying to play damage control. He was sure Mike had reached out too, letting him know that he should be expecting a fine from the FIA for skipping out early.

Right then he didn’t want to talk to anyone. Calling the only person who might be able to calm him down, he rang his sister.

“Lance? I’ve been trying to get ahold of you! Would it kill you to answer your phone! I saw the post race interview. There’s photos of you all over Twitter running through the paddock like a mad man. Dad said you took off in the jet? Where are you?”

“Barcelona.”

“YOU’RE IN BARCELONA!” She yelled.

“Yeah.”

“You need to explain. Start from the top.” She said.

Exhaling you’re mind raced.

You heard her call Scotty in.

“You’re on speaker Lance.”

And then he repeated everything. Relaying the whole story from top to bottom, meeting, hooking up (with less details), the gala, the post race interviews, how he ended up in Barcelona, the stitches and broken rib.

“Lance.” Said Scotty.

“Yeah man?”

“Lance this isn’t your fault.” He replied.

“I mean it sort of is. If I hadn’t ever pulled her aside at the gala that photo wouldn’t have leaked and..”

“Lance!” His sister cut off.

“It’s not your fault.” She repeated.

He sighed into the phone. How had the weekend gone to shit so quickly?

“Lance can you hear us?” She called.

“Yeah, I can hear you.” He replied.

“Where are you now?”

“I’m sitting on her couch.”

“Ok. Are you staying there?” She asked.

“Of course I’m fucking staying here.” He snapped.

“Ok. Do you care about her?“ She asked gently.

Confusion clouded his mind. Did he care about her? Sure they’d hooked up, and he had been a little jealous that she had gone to the gala with Norris. But they hadn’t gone out on a date, never had any real deep conversations.

“Honestly Chloe, I’m not sure. I don’t know. All I know is she deserves to have someone watching out for her right now. She shouldn’t be alone.”

“Ok. Can you keep us updated please? Let us know if we can help at all. And maybe call Mom and Dad?”

He sighed, his form of agreement. Ending the phone call, he settled into the couch and pulled out his phone to start responding to everyone else he had put off.

————————————————————————

[scipunk]

Hackers (1995)

----

Dade Murphy hacks into a local television station… infiltrates the station's broadcasting system… and he manipulates a robotic mechanism responsible for changing video cassettes used to air programs… then another mysterious hacker enters the scene and Dade and the unknown hacker engage in a virtual battle for dominance.

----

Dueling HACKERS 🔐💻 IS OUR Digital LIFE on the LINE? 🚨👁️

Yes it could very well be...

Our digital lives, often entrusted to large corporations, may face significant risks… in a recent cyber incident in 2023, two hacker groups claimed responsibility for an alleged attack on a major corporation. One hacker group asserted that they successfully compromised the target's systems and offered stolen data for sale.

----

The movie presents a stylized and exaggerated portrayal of hacking culture, where the young hackers manipulate technology to outsmart and outmaneuver law enforcement officials. The film showcases a perception that law enforcement, at least in the context of the movie, is often portrayed as being behind or clueless in understanding the world of hacking.

And let's remember the Greyball incident: Uber developed the Greyball software to determine if a user requesting an Uber ride was a potential law enforcement officer or regulator. The program used various data points, such as location information, device data, credit card details, and social media profiles, to identify individuals who might pose a threat to Uber's operations. When the program identified a potential threat, it would show a different version of the Uber app to that user. This altered version of the app would display fake cars on the map, making it difficult for the user to locate a real Uber driver.

Additionally... Greyball would provide false information about the location of Uber vehicles or show no cars available at all.

The intention behind Greyball was to obstruct and evade regulators and law enforcement officials who were attempting to enforce taxi and transportation regulations in cities where Uber faced legal challenges.

So, the Greyball incident, which occurred in the real world, involved Uber using technology to identify and circumvent law enforcement officials and regulators actively trying to enforce transportation regulations… it's a real-world application of tactics that mirror the fictional portrayal we see in the 1995 movie Hackers.

[darkmaga-returns]

Determining the precise boundaries of various spheres of influence in a multipolar world—and formalizing them into an agreement—will be a complex and prolonged process.

It won’t happen overnight.

Until a formal agreement is reached among the world’s major powers—much like the Congress of Vienna after the Napoleonic Wars, the Treaty of Versailles following World War 1, and the Yalta Conference at the close of World War 2—World War 3 will continue.

While a direct kinetic war between the US, Russia, and China cannot be entirely ruled out, it remains an unlikely scenario.

Instead, we are likely to see a continued mix of proxy wars, economic conflicts, financial warfare, cyber attacks, biological warfare, deniable sabotage, and information warfare as these powers compete to expand their spheres of influence—until an agreement is reached to formally end World War 3.

Below is a geopolitical map of the emerging multipolar world as I see it today—click the image to enlarge. I expect the colors and borders to change dramatically in the near future.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 53: The Scream Of Perfect Chaos

''Oh yeah! Try to look cool, make mistakes, and stand back up! To the unknown horizon that I gaze upon with you! Go act tough, jump on, and become like the wind! We'll make the sun shining on tomorrow our landmark! Fly on to the free, glorious world!''

– Mikakunin Hikousen (Unidentified Airship) by Digimon Adventure: (2020)

xXxXxXx

''What is that?'' Big was surprised to see a blue diamond-like gem lying on the ground, having found it after following Froggy through Sentoraru. He picked it up, looking around curiously as he saw people walking and passing by him, some picking up the pace as the Irregular Hunters were directing them towards a safer area. Big remained standing, wondering if someone lost this gem and wanting to return it back, but instead, he was approached by a Hunter.

''Please, sir, you will have to leave this area. We're closing it off as a safety precaution,'' the Hunter said.

''Okay…'' Big didn't see any reason against following the crowd to safety, figuring that he could hold onto the blue gem until he found the owner.

xXx

Team Chaotix was still on their way from Eas to Sentoraru when they ran into another Badnik – E-105 Zeta. The battle raged on, with Vector, Espio and Charmy taking down the Egg Keepers, all while avoiding Zeta's attacks and playing hot potato with the purple Chaos Emerald, which was currently held by Charmy, who blew a raspberry at the Badniks.

''Watch out!'' Espio shouted, throwing several shuriken at the Egg Keeper that threatened Charmy.

''I'll be just fine! Don't worry Espio!'' Charmy replied, clearly having fun as he zoomed down and knocking another Egg Keeper, then throwing the Chaos Emerald at Vector. ''Catch!''

Vector was about to catch it, but then a claw suddenly extended, catching the Chaos Emerald and holding it up. The Chaotix detectives were baffled to see Eggman now holding the purple Chaos Emerald, hovering above them in his EggMobile.

''Eggman, give us that Chaos Emerald back!'' Vector growled, feeling frustrated that they lost it so easily.

''As if,'' Eggman scoffed, deciding not to waste his time on the detectives and flew away on his EggMobile. ''Have fun defeating my Badniks!''

Vector got into a grappling match with Zeta, managing to break off the canon arm, then grabbed him by the other arm and swung him around before tossing him into a group of Egg Keepers. There was a small explosion, with Zeta and the Egg Keepers catching fire and breaking down, now destroyed. Vector immediately reached for the AR Visor, calling Lucas.

''Vector?''

''Unfortunately, I have some bad news. We lost both the Chaos Emeralds from Souto and Eas to Eggman,'' Vector said, him, Espio and Charmy feeling guilt over their failure.

''Don't beat yourself over it,'' Lucas replied, narrowing his eyes. ''We'll have to change plans, as Starline had already managed to acquire two Chaos Emeralds, and from what Makoto and Silver told me, he and Eggman now have access to two more Chaos Emeralds. I'm certain that we can still defeat him, even if he reaches his Chaos 6 Form, but we cannot let him, under any circumstance, reach his Perfect Chaos Form, else the whole of Neos City will be in grave danger.''

''Which Chaos Emeralds are left?'' Espio asked.

''Team Rose and Team Dark still have theirs, going by the signal on the map. The one from Sentoraru seems to have been also found, as it is moving towards Souto, but we don't know who has it,'' Lucas explained. ''Sonic and I will try to get it. Could you guys try to track down Chaos' location? We fought him earlier, but he disappeared.''

''You can count on us. We will make up for our earlier failure,'' Espio replied, with the holographic screen closing.

''You have heard him, boys! Find Chaos and prevent him from becoming Perfect,'' Vector said, with Espio and Charmy nodding. ''If we manage to actually find Chaos, we'll most likely find Starline and Eggman.''

''Then, we can get the Chaos Emeralds back!'' Charmy chimed in, excitedly.

''Right! Let's go!'' Vector said, with the three running off.

xXx

Unfortunately for the Chaotix Detectives, Eggman had managed to find Chaos 2 first, having used the control chip Starline implanted inside the water deity to remotely call for him. He had found a good spot at the border between Sentoraru and Eas, observing as Chaos 2 emerged from the sewer in a burst of water.

''I already know what will happen next, given how this isn't the first time we've been in this situation, and I hope for Starline's sake that this will work better than last time,'' Eggman said, tossing the cyan and the purple Chaos Emerald towards Chaos 2, who had absorbed them, growing much stronger.

As Chaos 4, Chaos was more fish-like, having a shark-like body with a dorsal fin on both his back and a horn on his forehead, and the flaps on the sides on his head have grown longer. He also had two sharp pelvis fins and a pair arms like Chaos 2's, except his hands looked more like fins and lacked thumbs. Inside his hands and wrists he had gray bones, each with a Chaos Emerald embedded in them. He also had bones running from his tail fin to his belly where he had a pelvis-like bone holding two Chaos Emeralds.

''Go, use the Chaos Emeralds and destroy Team Neos!'' Eggman ordered, only to pause for a moment when Chaos 4 did nothing. ''Hey, I was talking to you!''

Chaos 4 did not respond, instead turning himself into a pool of liquid and disappearing down the street as swiftly as possible. Eggman furrowed a brow, wondering why Chaos 4 was so hesitant about following his order initially.

''I have a bad feeling about this,'' he muttered.

xXx

''This situation has gone wrong, but I know that I can fix it,'' Starline muttered, feeling a sense of panic creeping up his spine. ''All I need is to find Chaos, round up the remaining E-100 Series robots and the Egg Keepers, and launch a counterattack. That should be easy enough.''

He was flying towards Kita on the EggMobile, as Gamma appeared to be the closest robot to his own position. He didn't know where Chaos was, but had decided that it would be smarter to acquire another Chaos Emerald. He also felt irritated that he didn't predict that Chaos would have a weakness to electricity, but at the same time, no one in Team Neos or Team Neos' allies were capable of generating electricity, from what he knew.

Unfortunately for Starline, destiny decided to throw a wrench in his plans, as Tails appeared out of nowhere, flying up to him, grabbing the controls and generating the EMP wave that caused the EggMobile to crash on the ground. Fortunately for both, Tails and Starline had managed to get out of the EggMobile before it crashed, Starline using the Fly Type Power Core, and were now standing across each other.

''What have you done?! Are you crazy?!'' Starline screamed at Tails, who was joined by Warren.

''No, but we have figured out how the Chaos Emeralds are being transported, and the only people who'd be the recipients would be you and Eggman,'' Tails replied. Starline was glaring daggers at him, the situation unraveling before him at sonic speed. Despite that, he still believed that he could do something to fix the situation. Before Tails and Warren could even react, Starline activated the Speed Type Power Core and quickly ran off.

Tails and Warren were left standing, realizing that he was going towards Kita, both exchanging questioning looks, with Tails asking, ''What do we do?''

''We'll go find Chaos. I'm sure that Minami and Amy will be able to handle Dr. Starline,'' Warren said, with Tails nodding in agreement.

xXx

Amy stepped in front of E-102 Gamma and the Egg Keepers, placing herself between the Badniks and an injured Cream, who was still being held by Minami while keeping a tight grip on the grey Chaos Emerald. Amy brandished the Piko Piko Hammer, glaring daggers at Gamma.

''I won't let you hurt Cream again!''

''Pink Hedgehog, resistance is futile. Give me the Rabbit,'' Gamma responded.

''No way! I promised to protect Cream and I won't back off!'' Amy growled, ready to fight this battle all on her own.

''Why?'' Gamma questioned her, the sudden question confusing Amy.

''What do you mean?'' she asked, still being on guard, but now curious.

''Rephrasing question. Why do you feel the need to protect someone so weak?'' Gamma inquired.

''Weakness or strength is irrelevant in this kind of situation. Cream is my friend, and that's all I need to know,'' Amy responded in a resolute tone. ''Of course, you wouldn't understand that.''

Gamma paused for a moment. ''Data unavailable.''

''Huh?'' Amy blinked, staring at Gamma for a moment.

''Does not compute. The Rabbit is useless to you. Does not compute,'' Gamma responded again.

''That's a rude thing to say! Cream is not useless, and you should apologize for hurting her!'' Amy demanded.

''Apologize…?'' Gamma replied slowly. ''Does not compute.''

Amy tilted her head, wondering whether Gamma was actually capable of self-reflection. Eggman surely wouldn't program his Badniks to act this way, right? Admittedly, there is also Omega, but he's a special case…

''Mr. Robot…'' Both Amy and Gamma looked over at Cream, who managed to get up with Minami and Cheese's help and took a few weak steps towards them. ''I know that you are following the evil Dr. Eggman's orders, but please, don't hurt Miss Amy.''

''Cream…'' Amy muttered, her heart aching because Cream was pleading with the robot despite having been injured by him. Gamma just stared at Cream, his intentions being unreadable as he locked eyes with the little rabbit, completely silent. Amy suddenly stepped up, realizing that Gamma had been contemplating after hearing Cream's plea. ''You are capable of experiencing emotions, right?''

''Does not compute. Dr. Eggman did not program me with emotions,'' Gamma responded.

''But, you do feel something,'' Amy pointed out. Gamma was silent for a moment.

''I do not know how to articulate,'' he said.

''That's fine. I know people who also have trouble explaining how they feel,'' Amy said, giving Gamma a warm smile. ''Do you still want to fight us?''

''I should be following my orders,'' Gamma stated.

''But, you don't have to,'' Amy insisted. ''Omega has also rebelled against Eggman.''

''E-123 Omega has been registered as a traitor in the data base,'' Gamma responded. ''He needs to be destroyed on sight.''

Suddenly, several missiles appeared out of nowhere, with Gamma having just enough time to dodge it, but the Egg Keepers that were with him weren't as lucky, getting blasted into pieces.

''As you said – it is on sight,'' Omega stated, holding up both of his cannon arms at Gamma. In response, Gamma held up his own cannon arm, only for Amy to suddenly run in-between the two.

''Omega, wait! You two don't have to fight!'' she said, looking at the two.

''I vowed to eliminate all of my predecessors,'' Omega told her.

''Omega is a traitor. He needs to be destroyed,'' Gamma added.

''But, you don't have to destroy each other,'' Amy pointed out. ''Omega, you said that you want to destroy all of Eggman's Badniks, didn't you?''

''Affirmative,'' Omega replied.

''Gamma, you said that destroying Omega was an order issued by Eggman, right?'' Amy then turned to the other robot.

''Correct,'' Gamma replied.

''Would it be possible for you to not follow Eggman's order?'' Amy asked, leaving Gamma stunned. She turned to Omega. ''If Gamma abandons the Eggman Empire, then you two could work together. Would you be okay with that?''

Omega was silent, having not thought about this solution. He was solely focused on destroying all of Eggman's Badniks, but if Gamma betrayed Eggman, that would mean that he was no longer a Badnik. In other words, Omega would have no reason pursuing him, unless Gamma gave him a different reason to destroy him.

''I only hunt Eggman robots,'' Omega stated, only to suddenly point his arm cannons at Gamma again, his action startling Amy and Cream. ''But, I won't hesitate to destroy Gamma if he offended any of you.''

''That's not necessary,'' Amy said, waving her hands in a defensive manner and glancing at Gamma for a response. The robot just stared back at them in silence, contemplating the situation. He wasn't sure why he was feeling like this, why he was so hesitant to just eliminate all of them and grab the Chaos Emerald. He gazed back at Amy and Cream, and that strange sensation resurfaced again. It was as if a mere look from both of them could stop him in his tracks, but he still had trouble understanding what exactly it was.

''Stop giving me that look,'' Gamma suddenly said, turning around, leaving Amy and Cream confused. To everyone's surprise, Cream ran up to him, giving him a confused look.

''What's wrong, Mr. Gamma? Are you okay?'' she asked him, with Gamma taking note of her warm and gentle cinnamon-brown eyes. He then turned to the side, avoiding eye-contact with her, which confused Cream further. She turned to the rest of her friends. ''Did I do something wrong?''

Minami suddenly giggled, snapping her fingers as she came to a realization. ''Hey, Gamma, is it possible that the word you're searching for is 'cute'?'' Everyone stared at her in surprise, with Minami continuing, ''That has to be it! You consider Amy and Cream too cute to attack them anymore.''

This conclusion left everyone in an awkward silence, even sweatdropping at her comment, while Minami just kept smiling as if she had figured out the secrets of the world. Amy sighed.

''Minami, I don't think that's the real answer… Even if I am flattered about being called cute,'' she said, then placed the Piko Piko Hammer over her shoulder and glanced at Gamma. ''Anyways, have we reached an agreement? You could use this opportunity to find a purpose outside the Eggman Empire.''

Gamma simply nodded, wondering if Minami had really guessed why he felt like this. Regardless, he could accept the idea of actually having a life outside the Eggman Empire, as he was curious about what kind of life Omega was living after he had left. Gamma then saw Cream looking at him, and she gave him the most heartwarming smile possible, the kind that could melt a heart made of ice.

''Thank you so much, Mr. Gamma,'' Cream said. Gamma suddenly felt as if his inner systems were short-circuiting, and had to wonder if that had anything to do with him thinking that Cream was cute. He certainly felt that he should protect her, recalling Amy's words from earlier.

''I apologize…'' he said, with Cream just giving him a bright smile.

''I'm fine,'' she replied.

''Well, I guess this issue is now resolved.'' Minami smiled at this scene and turned her head towards Rough and Tumble, who just stood a bit further way, watching what was going on. ''So, do you two still want to fight? Especially now that we have two very destructive robots on our side?''

Rough and Tumble exchanged glances, now being stared at by the whole group. The two glared daggers at the group, but also understood that they were woefully outpowered and outnumbered. Not only that, but Cream was still holding the Chaos Emerald.

''You have won this time,'' Rough grumbled.

''But, we will get our revenge next time!'' Tumble shouted, with the two turning on their heel and running off.

Minami stretched her arms, releasing the Chaos Surge and looking at the rest of the group. ''So, we got the grey Chaos Emerald and Gamma's now helping us. What should we do next?''

''I think we were supposed to give the Chaos Emerald to Mr. Sonic,'' Cream said, with Cheese chiming in.

''I still have my mission of eliminating other Eggman robots,'' Omega said, clearly fired up for another battle.

''I have bad news for you, brother,'' Gamma suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention. ''We are the only E-100 Series robots remaining. I have lost the signals of ZERO, Beta, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta and Theta.''

Omega suddenly lowered his arm cannons, and despite having no expression, he was clearly disappointed by the news. ''There are no more? That's unfortunate. Disappointment has risen by 100%.''

''Don't worry, Omega,'' Amy said, patting him on the arm. ''I'm sure Eggman will be sending out more forces to fight against us. After all, he needs the Chaos Emerald that we have.''

''You are correct. Will you join me in the bloodshed, brother?'' Omega turned to Gamma, who nodded in agreement.

''We need to go to Sentoraru now. If we come across some kind of obstacle, you two can clear it for us,'' Minami reminded them, with Omega and Gamma accepting that. The group rushed back, but unknown to them, a different figure was observing them from behind of one of the buildings, growling in frustration.

''So, Gamma has become a turncoat. I should've reminded Dr. Eggman to actually make sure his programming isn't faulty,'' Starline muttered under his breath in irritation. ''Unfortunately, this mistake might cost us a Chaos Emerald…'' He hummed, pressing the Fly Core and flying up the building, following the group as they were going towards Sentoraru. ''Although, I might be able to fix this situation.''

Starline took note of the fact that Cream was the one carrying the Chaos Emerald, flying after the rest of the group and being open for an attack. He carefully calculated his options, leaping from building to building to keep up with them. He knew that in a direct battle, he would be defeated faster than he could say 'Chaos Emerald', so he needed to be careful. He couldn't even use his special technique, the Tricore Blast, to defeat them, as that would completely deplete the Power Core energy he had gathered and he would have to recharge.

''But, perhaps I don't have to…'' Starline placed a hand under his beak, his eyes darting towards the spurs on his heels. ''Of course, that's the solution! Hah, I'm a genius!''

Cream didn't even know what had hit her. All she felt was a sharp sensation in her back and the world turned black, with someone screaming her name. The one who screamed for Cream was Amy, having turned around only to see her fall on the ground after being hit by Starline, who had leapt out of nowhere, having managed to grab the grey Chaos Emerald. Amy attempted to attack him, only to get her arm scratched by Starline's toxic spur, causing her to fall on the ground as she fainted.

''Amy, Cream!'' Minami was stunned, her and Cheese checking up on both, while Omega and Gamma immediately focusing on Starline, firing a barrage of bullets and missiles at the platypus. Unfortunately for them, Starline had tapped the Speed Core, using his super speed to get away from them.

''Tha-That was close,'' Starline muttered, feeling his heart beating like crazy. After all, he had looked death into the face and survived. He kept running, taking turns at streets to make sure he wasn't followed. Eventually, he skidded to a halt, taking a deep breath and tapped on the Tricore, activating a holographic screen.

''Dr. Eggman, I have acquired another Chaos Emerald,'' Starline said proudly, displaying the grey gem to the Doctor.

''I see. Send it over,'' Eggman replied in a curt tone.

''Uh… Unfortunately, I have lost my EggMobile…'' Starline admitted nervously, with Eggman raising an eyebrow. ''But, don't worry, Sir, I'll be right over. I just need Chaos' coordinates.''

Eggman grumbled as he sent Starline the relevant information, with the platypus pulling up a map of Neos City. To his surprise, Chaos was on his way to Souto, nearing Cosmo River that was flowing through Sentoraru and towards Souto. Figuring that there had to be a reason for this movement, he quickly followed the water deity.

xXx

''I see,'' Loki muttered, after Lucas and Sonic explained him what was going on in further detail. They were also going towards Souto, trying to track down the remaining Chaos Emerald. ''Clearly, you're in over your heads.''

''We're doing our best, but this situation has turned into a Battle Royale for the Chaos Emeralds,'' Lucas replied.

''At least it looks like our friends have dealt with most of the Badniks,'' Sonic said, sounding quite optimistic. ''I'm sure we'll be able to turn this around.''

''I hope you will. Unfortunately, I will have to leave you now. I need to inform the other Hunters about a possible another battle, as well as Neos City getting flooded by Chaos. I wish you luck,'' Loki told them, quickly rushing off. Lucas and Sonic exchanged glances and then hurried up towards the Chaos Emerald signal. They had taken a break, with Sonic managing to recover. Now, he was ready for the next move. They had gotten the news from Team Chaotix and, later on, Team Rose, that they lost their Chaos Emeralds to Eggman and Starline respectively, meaning that they would also be after the remaining Chaos Emerald. Lucas also sent a message to Team Dark to meet up with them at Cosmo River, predicting it to be the next setting of their encounter with Chaos, considering how it was the closest body of water.

''Even though we have defeated Eggman's forces, Chaos is well on his way to his Chaos 6 form,'' Lucas said, his eyes narrowing as he stepped on the accelerator of his hoverboard and sped up.

''What will we do if he does reach his Perfect Chaos form?'' Sonic asked, speeding up to match Lucas.

''Honestly, I don't know. We could regroup with the rest of the team and fight Perfect Chaos that way, and we also have the Master Emerald as another option,'' Lucas replied, a troubled look appearing on his expression. ''But, if that doesn't work, we will need the Chaos Emeralds and, well…''

He glanced at Sonic, who smirked. ''I already have an idea what you're talking about.''

''I'm not sure if that would even work though. Unlike your counterpart, this would be your first time using the Chaos Emeralds in such way,'' Lucas replied, still concerned. ''What if something goes wrong?''

''Aw, com'n, have a little faith in me.'' Sonic winked. ''Even if it's something that only happened in the games, it doesn't mean that I'm not capable of pulling the same feat.''

''You're right. Now, let's hope we're not too late,'' Lucas said, with both speeding up.

xXx

''Watch out!''

Big and Froggy were at Cosmo River, having followed the Hunters' instructions to get away from whatever conflict was happening in Sentoraru. That didn't mean that they weren't at least a little bit worried about their friends, but they were confident that they knew what they were doing. Big then turned his attention to the blue gem in his hand, wondering what he should do with it. He had figured that it was probably important, as it gave of a strange aura, but he figured that, if someone came searching for it, he'll just give it back. He had no need for a blue gem, since they it make good fishing and since he was already at Cosmo River, he figured that he could just cast the line.

''Huh?'' Big blinked in surprise when he felt something tugging at his fishing rod almost immediately, and pulled back, struggling to get out whatever was holding onto the line. His mouth dropped in surprise when this thing turned out to be now fish-like Chaos 4. ''That's a big one!''

Chaos 4 stared down at Big, only to slam his body onto the water surface, creating a huge wave that forced the purple cat and his frog companion to flee. Both climbed up to the nearby road, taking note of the water levels in the river rising and Chaos 4 staring at them, giving the two a calculating look. Before either of them could do anything, something shiny and grey flew across the sky, with Chaos 4 absorbing it.

''Give me the Chaos Emerald!''

Big and Froggy were surprised to see a platypus standing behind them, having been the one to throw the other gem towards Chaos 4. Starline held out his hand, demanding the blue Chaos Emerald that Big was holding, but the cat in question sensed that the platypus was up to no good.

''No,'' Big responded in a firm tone. Suddenly, Chaos 4 sent a wave of energy towards Big, forcing the latter to dive to dodge the attack, losing grip of the Chaos Emerald in the process. Chaos 4 launched an extendable arm towards it, with Froggy quickly jumping over the Chaos Emerald to protect it, only to for him and the Chaos Emerald to be grabbed and absorbed into the water deity.

''No, Froggy!'' Big cried out, but Chaos 4 already started to change, much to Starline's glee.

No longer humanoid, Chaos 6 instead vaguely resembled a bloated scorpion/frog-like creature. Over three times Big's height, he had a massive body with two extensions/antennas on his sides, two pairs of digit-less legs, and a similar pair of large hind legs bending backwards. He had a large mouth with razor sharp teeth and two large eyes aligned vertically on his face with three smaller eyes aligned horizontally on each side. He also had a zigzagged tail with a blunt tip. Running through his hind legs were gray bones, connected in the rear by a pelvis-like bone, with a Chaos Emerald embedded in each of them. In his belly lied his bone-covered core, encircled by four standing bones, each with a Chaos Emerald on top.

Big felt devastated, desperately trying to find any sign of Froggy within Chaos 6, only seeing a vague figure floating inside the water deity. Suddenly, Chaos 6 sent out water tendrils from all of his body, attempting to ensnare Big, but a streak of blue broke through the tendrils, revealing itself to be a Chaos Surge-empowered Sonic.

''Thank you, Sonic,'' Big told the hedgehog, who just nodded in response. Big then pointed at Chaos 6. ''Froggy is somewhere inside. If we attack, we'll hurt him.''

''Yeah, but if we don't attack Chaos, he'll go on a rampage,'' Sonic pointed out.

''Ha, you can't defeat Chaos like this! He is being empowered by all but one Chaos Emerald! Even Chaos Surge won't work!'' Starline gloated.

''Oh, shut up!'' Starline was startled by Lucas, who was glaring daggers at him. ''You have no idea what you're doing! Regardless of all, we still have a chance!'' Starline scoffed, with Lucas turning to Sonic and Big. ''Sonic, you and I will keep Chaos distracted! Big, you'll have to fish Froggy out of his body!''

''Got it!'' Sonic pumped his fist, with him and Lucas rushing ahead, avoiding the tendrils that Chaos 6 sent after them. Big tightened his grip around the fishing rod, narrowing his eyes as he focused on Chaos 6's body and the vague figure inside it and run up to the water deity as close as possible. He saw Sonic running across the river bank, avoiding the tendrils and not daring to get into the water as he knew that, if he got hit, Chaos 6 wouldn't hesitate to drown him. As for Lucas, he was essentially surfing on the surface of the river via his hoverboard, avoiding the water tendrils that shot out from below and dodging a huge wave that the water deity sent after him.

Big waited, his gaze locking with the green figure inside Chaos 6, and finally cast the line, the hook flying across and passing straight into the water deity's body. To Big's relief, Froggy was able to move enough to grab onto the line and Big tugged it with all his might, allowing his best friend to escape and reeling him in. Relieved, Big hugged Froggy. ''Are you okay?''

Froggy just croaked in response, clearly fine, if a little shaken, but neither could take a moment to breathe, as Chaos 6 roared furiously, slamming into the water and creating a wave that crashed over the river bank. The only reason Big and Froggy weren't swept away was because Sonic and Lucas grabbed both of them and pulled them away. A water tendril suddenly came flying, trying to grab Sonic and Lucas, only to be met by a flash of red.

''Lily?!''

Both were shocked to see Lily literally punching the water tendril, being empowered by Chaos Surge that made her whole body crackle with red energy, and blocked it from harming her friends. She didn't even respond to the two, raising her head instead.

''Knuckles, now!''

The red echidna came gliding with the Master Emerald in his hands, hoping to use it to deactivate the Chaos Emeralds that Chaos 6 had absorbed, only to get flung back by another barrage of tendrils. He managed to catch himself, landing on the river bank, with the pink orb of light flashing next to him and revealing herself as a peach-orange-furred anthropomorphic echidna girl with a peach muzzle, a small black nose, cobalt-blue eyes with two medium-length eyelashes on each one, dreadlock-like spines around the sides and back of her head and a medium-sized, tri-crooked tail. She wore a white tank top which revealed her midriff and a traditional tribal skirt with beige, green, and red diamond patterns. She wore a gold armlet on her right arm, a gold necklace and a tiara-like headband atop her forehead, both of which were decorated with triangles and a light blue gemstone in the center. Her white gloves were adorned with thick, cobalt-blue bracelets around her wrists, and she also wore white-strapped sandals. Her dreadlocks and left arm were also wrapped with similar white bandages.

''Chaos, please, don't do this!'' Tikal pleaded, but Chaos 6 roared, slamming his tendrils into both Knuckles and Tikal, who were both forced to dodge the attack.

''He won't listen to you! We need the prayer!'' Knuckles told Tikal, holding up the Master Emerald. Tikal was devastated that her old friend was too far gone, her expression then changing to a firm gaze as she put her hands together in a prayer.

''The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos,'' Tikal prayed, with the Master Emerald that was held by Knuckles started to glow. To their relief, it appeared that it was working, as the Chaos Emeralds too were glowing response, only to be followed by a horrifying scream that caused Tikal to slam her hands over her ears. She could sense Chaos' pain and agony, understanding that he was suffering that he was suffering due to the energy within him slowly being torn out. ''No, please…''

She hated seeing her friend being in so much anguish, not even registering when a wave of energy came suddenly crashing down on her and Knuckles until she heard him shouting for her. Her eyes widened in shock and time slowed down as she stared death in the face, being frozen on the spot. The last thing she saw was a dark figure suddenly appearing before her and Knuckles, crimson eyes staring at both of them.

''Chaos Control!''

There as a flash of light, and the next thing Tikal knew was that she found herself on her knees, further away from the river bank, surrounded by other people. She looked up, her and Knuckles realizing that the one who saved them was Shadow, still in the possession of the green Chaos Emerald.

''Even if the Master Emerald can control the other Chaos Emeralds, Chaos himself is resisting its power,'' Shadow pointed out.

''Then, we should get closer to him!'' Knuckles insisted.

''I don't think so, Knuckles,'' Rouge approached him. ''Look at Chaos – he has completely lost it!''

The group turned towards the water deity, who rose from the river, slamming his tendrils into the building on the other side and picking up pieces of debris, flinging it towards the group.

''Watch out!'' Touka shouted, only for a blast of energy to destroy the debris into tiny pieces. The blast in question came from a Chaos Surge-empowered Metal Sonic.

Despite the fact that he had almost been crushed by the debris if it weren't for Sonic's metallic counterpart, Starline continued to gloat, ''You're no match for Chaos, even though he's not perfected, yet!''

''You know what, I don't think I even want to see him go Perfect!'' Ferra suddenly said, glaring daggers at Starline, who just registered her presence.

''You and Metal Sonic were supposed to grab the last Chaos Emerald! Why don't you have it?'' he asked in a furious tone.

''We were in the middle of it when Shadow used Chaos Control to bring us here,'' Ferra replied, both her and Starline gazing at Shadow, who shot a glare at both of them, his hand crackling with energy in a challenging manner. If they wanted to fight him over the Chaos Emerald, they were welcome.

Suddenly, more debris came flying, forcing the group to scatter. Shadow warped closer to Chaos 6, realizing that he was probably the only one able to get close enough to fight the water deity. He dodged another energy blast, snapping his fingers.

''Chaos Spear!''

The energy spear connected, blowing up Chaos' side, but unfortunately for Shadow, the water deity quickly recovered. Shadow attempted to launch an another attack, only to realize that he couldn't move. He didn't even notice that he stepped into a puddle of water, which suddenly turned into a tendril that wrapped around his body.

''Shadow!''

Shadow heard someone screaming for him, the tendril suddenly lifting him up and slamming him into the asphalt, almost knocking him out cold. Chaos 6 lifted the ebony hedgehog up and flung him at the road, the green Chaos Emerald falling out of his hand and rolling away. Shadow was still conscious, feeling his whole body aching as he tried to get up, only to see another water tendril coming from the corner of his eye.

''Shadow, watch out!''

''Sonic, don't!''

Shadow's eyes widened in horror when the tendril grabbed Sonic, the azure hedgehog being enveloped in water and unable to move as Chaos pulled him back above Cosmo River and holding him up for everyone to see. Sonic's eyes were wide and he desperately tried to get out of the water tendril, one hand over his mouth to not gasp for the non-existent air. His movements were erratic and he suddenly coughed, with bubbles escaping his mouth. He attempted to cover his mouth again, but the spark on his eyes was fading as he felt his lungs burning. His limbs were numb and his eyes slowly closed, bubbles escaping again as his mouth slightly opened.

Sonic was drowning.

''Sonic!''

There was a sudden flash of light, with an orange streak slamming into the water tendril, followed by another flash of light, this time on top of a nearby building. Sonic's glazed eyes slowly opened and he started coughing and sputtering the water he had swallowed, finally opening his eyes and realizing that he was carried bridal-style by Shadow, who gave him an uncharacteristically soft gaze.

''Heh, my hero,'' Sonic quipped weakly, smiling as he wrapped his arms tightly around Shadow's shoulders and pulling him into a tight squeeze as a way to thank him for saving his life. Shadow smiled back gently, then sighed and shook his head, his expression changing to a scoff, albeit keeping it on the softer side.

''Even if you're close to death, you won't stop with your quips,'' Shadow commented, with Sonic just grinning back at him. Shadow narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with anger born of worry. ''Idiot.''

''Yeah, but I am your idiot, Shads,'' Sonic replied back, giving him a playful smile. Shadow avoided his gaze, feeling flustered as he tried to calm down his racing heart. He could still recall the sensation of shock and devastation as Sonic almost sacrificed his own life for his, followed by the overwhelming fear of loss and a wave of determination as he rushed to save Sonic regardless of the danger.

He put Sonic down, the azure hedgehog stumbling a bit as his legs felt weak and holding onto Shadow until he regained some strength, with Shadow giving him a firm look. ''Don't do that again.''

''I'm sorry, Shads, but I can't promise you that. If I ever see you in danger, I will do everything in my power to save you, and I'm sure that you'll do the same for me,'' Sonic said, with Shadow staring at him for a moment, then exhaling.

''You're right,'' he muttered, his expression darkening. ''I lost the Chaos Emerald.''

''Shads…'' Sonic gave him a worried look, but Shadow shook his head.

''You… You're…'' Shadow turned his gaze away towards what was happening below them, unable to finish the sentence. Despite not hearing the rest of the sentence, Sonic smiled warmly, still understanding the message. You're more important than the Chaos Emerald.

As for the Chaos Emerald, the green gem had been grabbed by Starline, who took advantage of the chaos, holding it up for everyone to see. ''At last! Now, it's time to unleash Chaos full potential!''

''Starline, stop!''

To everyone's shock, Dr. Eggman came flying in the EggMobile, glaring at Starline, who just dropped his beak in surprise. He then smiled nervously. ''D-Doctor, what do you mean 'stop'? This is what we both wanted!''

''Yeah, but you forgot one thing!'' Eggman turned towards Chaos 6, who was flailing with his tendrils. ''Chaos, I order you to stop!''

Chaos 6 suddenly stopped for a moment, lifting his head as he observed Eggman, only to launch another attack at the group, with Lucas, Touka, Lily, Ferra, Knuckles, Tikal, Rouge, Metal Sonic, Big and Froggy being forced to scatter again. Eggman then turned back to Starline, who just waved him off in a dismissive manner.

''Chaos has been ordered to destroy Team Neos and he is simply doing as told,'' Starline replied, holding up the Chaos Emerald. ''One more, and we can complete our goal! This is it, Doctor!''

''You idiot! We are losing control of Chaos!'' Eggman shouted at him, causing Starline to wince in surprise. However, he managed to quickly collect himself.

''Doctor, I have made sure that the control device withstands any kind of damage. Don't worry, I will make sure that he remains under our control,'' Starline responded, throwing the green Chaos Emerald at Chaos 6, who absorbed him.

Starline's smile widened, a crazed look appearing on his expression as he watched Chaos grow and change once more, blissfully unaware of the looks of horror on everyone's expressions, including Eggman's. However, his expression changed soon to that of shock when he realized that he may have been in over his head with this move.

The water deity was growing into a gargantuan monster composed entirely of pure, water-like energy. His main body resembled a thick snake whose head, back and sides are covered in dark blue reptilian skin with scales. On the other hand, his underbelly was made of clear liquid energy, and he had pointy liquid spikes protruding from his back. He also possessed a large mouth with green razor-sharp teeth and a green tongue that extends far beyond his eyes, which were green as well and had slit-like pupils. He also had flaps of blue skin with scales hanging from just behind his eyes, green horns along his nose area and behind his eyes, and a fin-based bulge on top of his head that had his organic brain floating inside it. Also, running from the base of his body to his back spikes and brain were massive green-glowing arteries. The base of his snake-like body ended in a flood of liquid with several liquid-composed tentacles extending from him.

Perfect Chaos let out a mighty and devastating roar, followed by a tidal wave that swept over Neos City.

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[sonicasura]

Contradictory to some of his safeguard protocols, Trypticon very much wanted to crush certain Decepticons in his internals while transforming back to his root mode. But no… The protocols his spark came into being with would not allow such a security hazard to occur willingly. His frame twisted and reconfigured itself as his plating had been modified without any consent. His processor compensated for the changes by reorganizing what it did have.

Trypticon at least found himself still having his “jetpack” of sorts which allowed for escaping planetary pull in both modes. Some places were less armored than he remembered having, a flicker of annoyance bubbled up at recalling the Vehicons taking plating from where his tail was configured in his alt mode. At least they hadn’t been aware of his true self—it was an accident…

He redistributed power to his jetpack, only to find it was similarly damaged as the time the Autobots forced him to crash to Cybertron. The Titan could fly yet escaping planetary orbit like this would be impossible in root made. He jolted when he registered something grabbing onto his back. Turning his head revealed a dragon-like creature with large white wings trying to help him regain altitude. Another three creatures joined it—a massive avian, a red plated draconic mech, and a yellow insectoid.

“They’re with me, don’t worry.” The strange youngling who helped restore his processor and goaded him into transforming reassured. “We’re just giving you an extra boost till your stabilizers settle. Though, I do have to ask what’s your plan if you land?”

“…I am unsure.”

The Titan answered honestly, mindful of how loud his voice was to smaller beings. Trypticon had merely been motivated to finally transform out of his lay mode! As good as it felt to stretch his servos and pedes, he knew that he didn’t want Megatron within his frame any longer. He was less sure over how felt of the Vehicons or Soundwave—it had been ages since his actual emotions mattered… Getting everyone out of his frame so he didn’t have to worry over anyone attacking his t-cog sounded feasible.

“Young speaker. I am reluctant to limit my flight, but I understand that this planet does not take kindly to ones of my size. Can you direct me to a spot where I can land down without being attacked?”

Trypticon was unsure what exactly the young organic was, but she certainly seemed to have a similar existence to a city-speaker. Those creatures of hers appeared to listen to her with no hesitance on either end of the bond.

“There’s much to be discussed and done.”

He saw her nod through one of his interior cameras—a strange serpent like creature knocked Megatron unconscious once again.

Trypticon hoped the warlord suffered processor damage for defiling his frame oh so long ago.

——————————

Pen had to cut off communications with the Autobots right after she connection jumped. She didn’t need them screeching in her ears about not waking up a Titan. For all intents and purposes, Trypticon had been wronged on a level most cybertronians would balk out. The unfortunate truth was that no one would see past the fact he’s a Titan or a Decepticon.

She had.

At the very least, the cyber sleuth could play damage control by stationing herself within the Titan. Megatron had revived his frame with a new Titan’s spark using dark energon. If she hadn’t taken the time to reconnect his processor? Who knows what sort of Terrorcon Titan would have come about eventually.

The cyber sleuth had several maps up trying to find a place nearby without many if not any inhuman inhabitants. A giant mechanical lizard/dragon taller than even most cybertronians was going to be hard enough to conceal already.

…Damnit, the closest place was Wayward Island. They had been heading to Manhattan because if Nemesis decoding a coordinate.

Pen knew that she might have to risk hacking into Soundwave’s remote space bridge generator to scatter the Decepticons soon.

I love it when neutral characters look past the labels of others. Even the most powerful, heroic, or evil being just rather being treated like a normal person. Also Null constantly knocking out Megatron is still funny.

[warningsine]

My recent research trip to the Thai town of Mae Sot on the Myanmar border coincided with two big events. The heavens opened for several days with the first big rains of the monsoon season. And across the border, the Myanmar opposition forces took control of Lashio, a major military stronghold and key city on Myanmar’s trade route with China.

On July 25, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic opposition group, claimed it had captured the Northeast Regional Military Command of the Myanmar junta. It is the first time one of the 14 regional military commands around the country has fallen to an ethnic armed group in more than 50 years of military rule.

The rebels claim the regional commander was also captured – the highest ranking military officer to be apprehended. And they said more than 4,000 troops had been arrested.

This is an historic and humiliating setback for Myanmar’s military junta in its war with the opposition forces, which are comprised of ethnic armed groups and the People’s Defence Force, drawn from the democratic opposition.

But will this offensive be a turning point? While there remains no clear end point for the civil war, the opposition continues to make significant gains. This is giving them important resources, a significant morale boost and leverage in any future negotiations.

For Myanmar’s neighbours, particularly China, there is also increasing concern over the instability in the region and growing impatience with the junta.

What is happening in Shan State?

The recent successes by the opposition forces in northern Shan State are part of the second phase of Operation 1027. This operation was launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance – a group of ethnic rebel armies – in October.

In January, after the alliance took over the cyber-scamming centre of Laukkai on the Chinese border, China brokered a ceasefire between opposing forces.

In June, however, the military attacked rebel targets from the air and hostilities resumed. The alliance began rapidly advancing across Shan State and neighbouring Mandalay region, taking control of key towns such as Nawnghkio and Mogok, a lucrative hub for ruby production.

The biggest prize of the offensive, however, was the military’s Northeast Regional Command, which oversees the junta’s operations across Shan State. While some fighting continues, the MNDAA is tightening the noose around the remaining junta forces and setting up its own civil administration.

The rebels also took control of the local prison and released 200 political prisoners, including Tun Tun Hein, who was deputy speaker of the Myanmar parliament’s lower house and a key figure in Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party before the coup.

A map of the area taken by the opposition in the first and second phases of the offensive demonstrates the extent of their dominance across the state.

What is China’s role in the conflict?

China plays a somewhat ambiguous role in Myanmar’s conflicts and the extent of its influence, while undoubtedly significant, is difficult to gauge. It managed to negotiate a ceasefire between the combatants in January, but appeared to be unable to prevent both sides from returning to hostilities.

Myanmar’s mountainous borders with China and Thailand have always been unregulated grey zones with opium growing, methamphetamine production, gambling and online scam centres, along with more traditional natural resource extraction.

This has provided huge opportunities for the armed insurgent groups – as well as the military and its cronies – to accumulate wealth to fund their operations.

There is a complex interplay between the various ethnic militias in the region and their relationships with China.

The United Wa State Army, for instance, has a 30,000-strong military force and runs two autonomous border regions in Shan State, supported by China. During the rebel alliance’s attacks on Lashio, the army entered the city “to protect residents, its liaison office, and properties it owns”, although it made clear it received permission from both the junta and the MNDAA and that it wouldn’t be taking sides.

While the ethnic armed groups in Myanmar are relatively independent, rather than Chinese pawns, the recent movements by the Wa indicate that China may be losing confidence in the ability of the junta to manage and control its northern frontiers. As a result, China may be deploying its ethnic proxy army instead.

What happens now?

On July 22, the junta announced that coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing would become Myanmar’s interim president, replacing Myint Swe due to health issues. This is in addition to his responsibilities as commander in chief of the military, prime minister and chair of the ruling State Administration Council.

A few days later, the junta again extended Myanmar’s state of emergency by six months in order to “prepare valid and accurate ballots” for elections. However, these proposed elections will likely never happen. Even if a vote of some sort is held, it will be so bereft of legitimacy it will be rendered meaningless.

The last democratic elections, held in November 2020 before the February 2021 coup, were a fair representation of the electorate’s will. Voters comprehensively rejected any role for the military in running the country.

As the monsoon gradually shifts from Myanmar’s southern lowlands to the mountainous northern border regions, opposition forces will endeavour to solidify their control over Shan State.

There is very little chance that negotiations alone will resolve the conflict in Myanmar – the military leadership and Min Aung Hlaing have too much to lose, unless their hand is forced.

As a result, it’s up to the international community to assist the pro-democracy forces however they can – militarily, diplomatically and through humanitarian aid – so the country can finally achieve a lasting peace.

[tomorrowusa]

Things are only getting worse for Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party in the UK. These are self-inflicted wounds and they're happening just two weeks before a general election in which the Tories are predicted to have their worst showing since World War II (if lucky) or the Napoleonic Wars (if unlucky).

One of Rishi Sunak’s close protection officers has been arrested over alleged bets about the timing of the election. The officer was arrested on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the Metropolitan police said in a statement. The news comes a week on from the Guardian’s revelation that Rishi Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide, Craig Williams, had placed a £100 bet on a July election just three days before the prime minister named the date. As a result of that incident, the Gambling Commission conducted a wider investigation and found information that led to the decision to investigate the officer. The Metropolitan police said it was contacted last Friday by the Gambling Commission, which informed the force that it was investigating alleged bets related to the timing of an election by a constable from the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command.

There's also a scandal involving the wife of Chris Philp – Sunak's Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire. Philp takes a hard line on law and order but apparently his wife is engaged in corporate espionage.

Policing minister’s wife reported to CPS over corporate espionage claims

A leading businesswoman who is married to the policing minister, Chris Philp, has been reported to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by a former employer and is being sued in the high court over allegations of corporate espionage. Elizabeth Philp, 40, whose husband has called for “zero tolerance” to all crime, is accused of data-handling offences and unlawfully using confidential information from her former employer to set up a rival business. She denies the allegations and is countersuing her former employer, whom she accuses of cyber-attacking the website of the company she subsequently founded.

The pro-Conservative Daily Telegraph on its front page placed a map of 2019 election results next to its projections for the July election. On the UK political color palette: Red = Labour, Blue = Conservatives, Orange = Liberal Democrats, Yellow = Scottish National Party, Light Green = Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales), Medium Green = the Greens.

Wipeout indeed! Savanta, which conducted the poll the Daily Telegraph based its 2024 map on, projects between 481 and 516 seats for Labour (depending on how results are analyzed) in the 650 seat House of Commons.

Sunak may see the writing on the wall and could be thinking of moving to California if he personally gets booted from his seat in the constituency of Richmond and Northallerton. Richmond and Northallerton is currently considered a tossup.

Rishi Sunak’s California escape hatch: His $7.2 million beach home