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queer-charming · 2 years

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FO4 Deacon fic because brain-rot

Title: To Learn To Love Again

Rating: M~ish (Nothing serious in here, maybe next chapter)

Words: 4.8K

Warnings: Mentions of sexual situations, Mentions of miscarriage, kinda angsty if you squint, more angst in next part

this was supposed to be much shorter but here we are, nearly 5k words in, it was also supposed to be a oneshot, but I think I’m gonna add a second part to it, maybe get a little spicy, who knows. Anyway, for this story I used my SS Kate, who worked in intelligence for the US Gov, pre war and was in deep cover as a lawyer when she was married to Nate, just for some context.

If you had told Kate that she would smile again after what happened to her family, she would have punched you. After Nate’s death, and Shaun’s kidnapping, she was in a dark place, barely surviving, the only thing keeping her alive being her overwhelming need to find her baby, to find what little family she had left, to find the most precious thing in the world. When Kate had first stepped out of the vault, had first found herself in this barren wasteland that used to be a world she knew so well, she didn’t expect much, she certainly didn’t expect to find a world, not so dissimilar to the one she’d left. Sure, it was significantly more irradiated than she remembered, but all in all, it was still full of people just trying to survive and to have a life, raise their families, make a living, she had been surprised just how familiar it had been.

The second she stepped out of that vault, her survival skills kicked in, she needed to get to shelter and out of the open quickly, the ruins of Sanctuary would work enough. She hadn’t been expecting to find Codsworth, but thinking back to it, if she hadn’t, she’d probably be dead. Codsworth had done a good job at keeping her alive, defending Sanctuary from raiders, making sure she had the resources she needed, he’d protected her cache of weapons and armors after the bombs dropped, it also had all of her old passports and fake IDs, not that she’d be needing those anymore.

It had taken her a while to find her footing, but when she did, boy did she make an impact. She made a name for herself, she made friends among the Commonwealth, traveled from settlement to settlement, kicked ass in the best way she knew how, and she knew, from the moment she stepped out of that Vault, that she was being watched. By whom, she hadn’t the slightest idea, but she could feel it when their eyes were on her, she’d been trained to know. She also knew not to let her observer know that she knew they were there, no, she needed to let them get comfortable, think that she didn’t suspect anything, and eventually they’d slip up, get too close.

Little did Kate know that the person who had taken such an interest in her, would be a man who would change her life forever. He was good, talented, she hadn’t even suspected him when she saw him for the first time in Diamond City, he just looked like any other guard, but when she saw him in Goodneighbor, and then Bunker Hill, she recognized him immediately, really it was the sunglasses that gave him away, too consistent. Of course, he probably wasn’t expecting her to know what to look for. This was her onlooker, her guardian angel it seemed, were the times a raider had gotten a little to close and had miraculously been taken out by a friendly sniper anything to go by, she couldn’t say for certain that it was him, but she had her suspicions. Still, she couldn’t approach him, not yet, she didn’t know why he was tailing her, and as helpful as he’d been, she still didn’t know what his motives were, so she found herself secretly looking for him, everywhere she went, and to his credit, he was very good at sticking to the shadows, he probably hadn’t expected her to be so good at seeing in the dark.

The Freedom Trail had been random, she’d heard a rumor from a random merchant who heard it from customer, but it had peeked her interest. An underground organization who specialized in saving synths escaping from the very place that Kate knew, from her albeit short but revealing conversation with Kellogg, had her son. Even if the Railroad ended up being bullshit, she had to try, wear out the lead until she hit that dead end.

Luckily, there was no dead end, she found the Railroad, and managed to make quite the impression on them if she did say so herself. She hadn’t been expecting to find him there, her guardian angel, the man who’d been keeping an eye on her for the better part of year. His name was Deacon. To say that he wasn’t what she was expecting was an understatement, he was funny and laid back with a sense of humor that rivaled Kate’s own and had a way with weaving bullshit like a professional.

Kate wasn’t expecting to get a partner when she joined the Railroad, but Deacon quickly became hers, no longer sticking to the shadows and pacing himself behind her, instead, he took his place by her side, watched her back. He became her best friend, and she became his, nearly every op, they did together, and they made waves, gave the Railroad the foothold they needed.

It’s been almost a year since Kate and Deacon had formed their dream team twosome, and tonight they were working. Deacon’s cover was John Dalton, a wealthy caravan owner attending a party of sorts, a party reserved for the wealthiest of the Commonwealth, make business deals, fight over territory, the fun stuff. Kate’s role was of Emily Dalton, John’s very beautiful and very flirtatious wife. Realistically, Deacon could have done this op on his own, he had the skill and the patience for it, but when Kate learned that their target had a weakness for trying to seduce the wives of his competition, she knew she had to go.

Their target was Joseph Warren, another caravan owner, he was notorious for this bad attitude and promiscuous nature, he was also believed to be helping The Institute in their task of retrieving liberated synths, transporting them in his caravan to pickup points, where they’d be returned to their life of servitude.

Kate certainly played her part well, she was dressed to the nines, a beautiful long red dress, a cut in the side that went just under a little too high, the sturdy bodice bringing attention to her chest in all the right ways, off the shoulder sleeves, her long dark hair pulled half into an up do, the rest cascading down her exposed back like waves, she was enchanting to say the least, she’d grabbed the rooms attention the second she walked in, including the attention of Joseph Warren, who took an almost immediate liking to her. guests started introducing themselves to Deacon almost immediately, and Kate had to admit, Deacon sure did know how to clean up, she had no idea where he had managed to find a tailor in the wasteland but the suit he wore fit him like a glove, Kate had had a hard time keeping her eyes to herself when she’d seen him, much to Glory’s amusement. He’d reluctantly foregone his sunglasses, they clashed with the suit too much, which meant, if Kate wanted to, she’d have an unobstructed view of Deacon’s eyes, she didn’t know what she was expecting, but she certainly wasn’t expecting them to be so blue.

Kate isn’t sure when her view of Deacon went from strictly platonic to... something a little more, was she going to sit here and say she was in love with him? No, despite what Glory says, but she had to admit that she was attracted to him, the way she could feel his eyes on her, even behind his sunglasses, the way he’d occasionally brush his hand against hers when they were walking side by side on their way back to HQ after a particularly tiring op, the way he’d keep her up at night, just to talk to her, tell his dumb jokes which never failed to make her laugh... okay maybe she was just a little bit in love with him, but she certainly wasn’t to admit that to anyone except her internal monologue, and she certainly wasn’t going to admit it to Deacon.

Glory had been the first to realize that maybe Kate’s feelings had expanded a little past just platonic. Calmly, she had come to sit down next to Kate, while Kate was writing up a report on a recent op to hand in to Dez.

“So, you and Deacon fucked yet?” The words had come out so nonchalant, like the question she was asking didn’t just upend everything Kate was doing and send her into a sputtering mess of ‘What the fuck, Glory’.

“Please,” Glory had continued, eyeing over Kate’s shoulder to get a peak at the report she was writing. “You two have more chemistry than Tinker Tom has in his chem station, it’s kind of gross actually, watching you two check each other out every time one of you isn’t looking.”

“I have no idea what your talking about,” Yes she did. “I do not check him out.” Yes she did.

“My money is on Deacon, I bet he’ll make the first move.” Glory acted like this entire conversation was normal, and thank god Deacon was away at the time or Kate might have actually spontaneously combusted on the spot. “But he’s patient, so who knows really.”

That conversation replayed in Kate’s head on a regular basis, the thought of Deacon being as attracted to her as she was to him, there was no way, right? Deacon had made it pretty clear after he’d told Kate about Barbara that he wasn’t ready to love again, to get that close to someone again, and Kate understood that, because she hadn’t been sure she’d ever be ready for it again after Nate died, and it took her a long time before she could tell herself she saw Deacon as anything more than a friend. Deacon lost Barbara going on 16 years ago, and Kate knew that to him, that scar still bled sometimes, and she absolutely was not going to push him. people grieve in their own ways, and if Deacon was still grieving so many years after, then Kate would let him. She was content just being able to be by his side, to be his best friend, and she never wanted to do anything to jeopardize that.

“Earth to Charmer,” Deacon’s voice pulled Kate out of her head, she could feel his heat behind her where he stood, his hands had come to rest on her bare shoulders, the calluses of his fingers rough on her skin, she loved when he touched her, it was so rare. Instinctively, one of her hands came to rest on top of his, giving it a light squeeze before she turned to face him, she was supposed to be pretending to be his wife right? So there was nothing out of place about the gesture. “You seem a little out of it, you okay?” Deacon whispered, close enough for her to hear, his breath on her skin sending a shiver down her spine, one that she worked hard to conceal. Of course he’d been paying attention to her, he was always paying attention.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be.” It was weird being able to look Deacon in the eye, usually she was staring at her own reflection in his dark lenses, she liked this.

“Just making sure you’re not going all space cadet on me.” Deacon joked.

“Well I doubt Mr. Warren would like a brainy woman, so I’m just playing the part.” Kate joked back, earning an amused chuckle from her partner. When he smiled, it reached his eyes, and for a moment, Kate was struck speechless.

“Good evening.” The voice broke the moment, turning, Kate was greeted by the very man they were here to see. Mr. Joseph Warren. “I don’t believe we’ve met.” Warren extended a hand toward Deacon, who immediately responded to the gesture in kind. “I”m Joseph Warren, and you are?”

“John Dalton, and this,” Deacon gestured to Kate. “Is my beautiful wife, Emily.” Kate extended a hand to Warren, who took it gratefully, bringing the back of her hand to his lips in a greeting.

“Beautiful indeed,” He said. Joseph Warren was a man, maybe a few years older than Deacon, early to mid 40′s perhaps. He was dressed smartly, with a well fitting suit and a top hat that screamed superiority. His eyes were green, and Kate found she liked looking at them significantly less than she liked looking at Deacon’s beautiful blue ones. “It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you, do tell me if there is anything, and I mean anything,” He geared his eyes toward Kate. “I can do for you.” Warren took his leave, going greet other guests who’d recently arrived. Kate felt Deacon’s hand flat on the small of her back before he leaned down close to her ear.

“Bingo.” Was all he said, before he went to continue mingling with the other guests, pulling as much info as he could before the night was over. Deacon weaved through the crowd like he belonged there, putting up the perfect facade of an accomplished business man, Kate did her best to appear passive, approachable and most importantly, seducable. She wanted Warren to think he had a chance with her, and from the way his eyes kept finding her over the course of the night, she’d say she was doing a pretty damn good job of it. It wasn’t until most of the attendees of the party had been properly liquored up that he made his move.

Kate was conversing with another party goers wife, spending the conversation bullshitting stories about how she and Deacon, sorry, John, had met and fallen in love and had this whirlwind wedding, she as having a good time, convincing his lady that Kate’s father had forbade her from marrying him, and so she snuck out of the house late one night, married him anyway, and never looked back. a real Romeo and Juliet story, just without the death at the end. The woman was completely entranced, then Kate felt the hand on her back, a hand that was distinctively not her fake husband’s.

“Am I interrupting?” Warren’s voice said, all too close to her ear, and despite the ice in her stomach, she put on her sweet smile, turning her attention toward him.

“Of course not, Mr. Warren.” She may or may not have put an extra little lilt in her voice when she said it.

“Please, Mrs. Dalton, call me Joseph.” The look in his eyes made Kate’s stomach churn, not that she’d let him see that.

“Call me Emily, I insist.” Warren’s hand slithered around her waist, pulling her ever so slightly closer, he was being so forward, she really must have played her part well.

“Well Emily, would you care to join me for a drink? Perhaps in one of the back rooms?” Kate knew where this was going. She’d worked enough of these types of ops before the war, she needed to get the info and get out, before Warren decided to get too handsy. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Deacon was watching, was seeing how Warren had his hands on her, standing just a little too close to be friendly, she wondered what he was feeling while he watched, she wanted to look, to meet his eyes, but if she did, she might make Warren reconsider his actions, and she couldn’t afford that.

“I’d love to, Joseph.”

Kate’s plan was simple, join Joseph for some drinks, get him maybe a little more tipsy than he needed to be, people like to loosen their lips with alcohol, she’d learned years ago. As she walked through the crowd with Warren, she felt his hand slip down her back, reaching her waist, and then continuing lower, if he continued anymore, he’d practically be groping her, the thought put ice in her veins.

Warren likes bourbon, Kate had come to learn. They were nearly alone, only the occasional stray guest wandering in, but typically finding their way out again soon. Warren poured glass after glass, drinking it like it was water, though most of Kate’s drinks were enjoyed, quite thoroughly, by the fake house plant behind her chair, she didn’t like bourbon, as well as a sober mind kept the lies crisp on her tongue.

Boy if lying were an Olympic sport, Kate would have won gold tonight. She spun tale after tale as she talked to Warren, telling him about growing up in Boston and meeting John, unlike the tale she told the woman in the main room, she didn’t make this one nearly as magical, telling a story of only getting married because she got pregnant, but lost the baby soon after, but John was successful and wealthy, so she stayed, although she was getting quite bored in her marriage of convenience. She wanted Warren to think he had even an inkling of a chance with her, that maybe he’ll have the privilege of getting her into his bed tonight, and with her story, she made sure he kept drinking, egging him on with teasing touches to his arm, walking her fingers up his arm or stroking the back of his hand, to the outside onlooker, it would look like she was the one trying to get him into bed.

It wasn’t long before Kate had Warren singing like a canary, once he was drunk enough, he was quite happy to brag about his work, protecting the Commonwealth from the evil synths, soon, the ice in Kate’s veins turned to fire, anger sitting deep in her belly, but she needed to keep her cool, at least for now, this guy would be getting it later if she had her way. She’d gotten her intel, now she needed to find a way to extract herself before Warren decided it was time to take her back to his room for the evening. Somehow she’d managed to coax Warren back into the main room under guise of asking him to humor her with a dance, and as much as she would have enjoyed watching this drunk man embarrass himself by trying to dance with her, she fully intended to lose him in the crowd, she needed to get back to Deacon and tell him the Op was done, she had the intel and they needed to leave.

Of course Deacon was one step ahead of her, he always was, so it really shouldn’t have surprised her that he was there to great she and Warren almost immediately. She tried to convey as well as she could with her eyes that they were done and they needed to get out of there, a look that she knew he would understand, she’d given it to him multiple times, so when he made a show of pulling her, quite forcefully mind you, into him, snaking his arm around her waist to hold her flush against him, close enough that she could feel the heat of his body beneath his suit, the hardness of his chest under her fingertips. He had an iron clad grip on her, she didn’t think she could break it if she wanted to, not that she did.

To onlookers, she knew what this looked like, a jealous husband, marking his territory in front of a man who threatened to steal his wife. “There you are,” Deacon started, shooting a passing glance to Warren, who if Kate were honestly, looked like he was about to fall over. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, honey.” Kate felt herself being pushed closer to his body.

“Oh, Mr. Warren and I,” Kate intentionally stopped. “Sorry, Joseph and I, were just having the loveliest of conversations, dear.” Deacon eyed Warren again, he was deciding how he wanted to play this, did he want to put on a show for all to see, become the jealous husband trying to keep his wife out of the hands of a known womanizer, or was he going to end the op quietly, like usual.

“Oh I’m sure, tell me honey, did he offer you a place in his bed as well?” Jealous husband it was, it would seem, she could role with this.

“Of course not, John,” Kate may have raised her voice a little higher than she needed to, but hey, they were causing a scene weren’t they? Make it big. “You always get like this, I even dare to talk to a nice man and you get all up in a huff about it!” They had an audience, and Kate could see Warren rapidly sobering at the prospect of being the center of such negative attention.

“Well maybe if my wife could learn to keep her hands to herself, I wouldn’t have to make such a huff!” Kate gasped, if only to disguise what would have been a laugh.

“Well maybe if you would take me to bed more often I wouldn’t feel so lonely as to seek company!” Kate felt herself blush at the prospect of Deacon taking her to bed. She saw when Deacon nearly broke cover, disguising his would have been laugh for a well placed offended scoff. With that, Deacon wrapped a firm hand around Kate’s elbow, tight enough to get the message across, but not so tight that she couldn’t break away if she wanted to, but she caught on to what he was doing.

“That’s it, we’re leaving,” He fussed, tugging Kate with him. “And Warren,” Deacon threw a glare at a horrified looking Joseph Warren. “I’d advise you keep those filthy hands of yours off of my wife.” And with that, Kate was being tugged through the crowd of onlookers, leaving a flustered Warren behind to deal with the aftermath.

They’d gotten around the outside of the building when Deacon finally let go of Kate’s arm, she was about to make a clever comment about his performance when she saw something, out of the corner of her eye, barely enough to make her look, but she knew what she was looking at. It was one of Warren’s guards, no doubt instructed to follow Kate and Deacon out, she didn’t know if Deacon had seen him too, but she needed to do something before their cover was blown. Thinking on her feet, Kate grabbed Deacon’s hand, making him turn to her, she hadn’t though about what she was going to say, so she just let the words spill from her mouth.

“Oh, John, honey, you know I wouldn’t have let him take me to bed, don’t you?” Kate pleaded, in quite remarkable character she might add, and before she could give Deacon a chance to respond, she pulled him into a hug, burying her face into his neck in a way that made sure any onlookers couldn’t see her lips move. “4 O’Clock.” She said, quiet enough that only Deacon could here. Kate felt Deacon’s arms wrap around her as he glanced over, presumably clocking their eavesdropper. He pulled her closer as he spoke into her ear, the feeling of his lips on the shell of her ear forcing goosebumps to the surface of her skin.

“Play along.” Was all he said before he pulled away, moving one of his hands from her waist to her jaw, tilting her head up to look at him. “Honey, you know I just worry sometimes, I didn’t mean to shout at you.” His thumb stroked her cheek, and she shut her eyes at the feeling, before opening them up again to stare into those blue eyes, and what she said felt all too truthful, and she hoped Deacon couldn’t tell.

“Baby you have nothing to be worried about,” Kate made a show of dragging her hand up Deacon’s chest over his suit, bringing it to rest on his shoulder. “The only man I want taking me to bed is you.” Kate felt the acid in her throat at the words, they were the most honest thing she’d said that night, and they burned. She was about to mouth if their onlooker was still there when Deacon did something she certainly hadn’t been expecting.

Kate couldn’t help the embarrassing squeak she let out when his lips crashed into hers, and it took her brain what felt like a full minute to realize that Deacon was kissing her. She wasted no time in tangling her arms around his neck, pulling him down as close as she could get him without toppling them both over. His hands, which had started on her waist, moved down her body, painfully slow, until they reached her hips, pulling her forward until her body was flush against his. Despite Deacon’s laid back attitude and good time seeking personality that he showed most people, he was all muscle, completely solid against Kate’s body, and it did dangerous things to her.

When they finally pulled away, Kate was properly out of breath, and Deacon sounded like he was too when he spoke. “Well in that case, how about I take you to bed properly, just like you want me to.” And with that, Deacon took Kate’s hand and lead her off in the direction of Hotel Rexford, where they did actually have a room, and it took Kate the entire way there to regain her composure. She wasn’t sure when their follower had dropped off of their tail, but even so, she clung on to Deacon’s arm like a lover, leaning her head on his shoulder all the way until they reached their room at the Hotel Rexford. To say Kate was disappointed when they walked into the room and Deacon didn’t shove her against the door and kiss her again would be an accurate statement, but she had known from the beginning that the kiss had been part of their cover and that was all it would ever be, as much as it made her heart hurt.

Pushing those feelings down, Kate walked into the room’s bathroom, working on getting her dress off, as beautiful as it was, she was beyond ready to have it off and have her comfortable sleep clothes on. She was still a little flustered after the door closed behind her. The kiss hadn’t even been that intense, a press a lips and nothing more, relatively chaste compared to what it could have been had they really been lovers, but she still felt the effects of her breath being stolen away from her so swiftly. She let out an audible sigh of relieve when the dress slipped to the floor, stepping out of it and pulling on the pair of shorts she had packed, along with the shirt she may or may not have stolen from Deacon’s stash of disguises, it’s not like he’s going to miss it, he’s got plenty, and if he wants it back, well she guesses he’ll just have to take it off of her won’t he?

When Kate exited the bathroom, Deacon was already sitting in bed, leaned back against the headboard, book in hand as he read in the lamp light, she noticed he still hadn’t put his sunglasses back on, without them, Kate could see just how tired he looked. She knew Deacon didn’t sleep well, traveling with him for the better part of a year had made that painfully obvious, but it wasn’t until moments like this, when he was settled, as off guard as he could be, which if she was being honest is not very off guard at all, that she saw just how tired he was. His eyes darted up to meet her when she emerged, his blue ones meeting her green eyes, but only for a moment before he looked down at what she was wearing, a puzzled look taking its place on his face.

“Is that my shirt?” He asked as Kate climbed up the bed to lay next to him. Sharing a bed with Deacon was normal, they always did, even with her feelings for him, never once did it feel awkward.

“Of course not,” Kate lied, obviously. “What would ever make you think that.” She settled in next to him, pulling the blankets up over her lap, leaning back against the headboard to read over his shoulder.

“Of course,” Deacon played along. “How ridiculous of an assumption to make.” Kate felt a sense of warmth in her chest, and she was sure the fondness in her eyes was perfectly obvious, but this felt right, next to Deacon in bed, reading over his shoulder as they settled in for the night, playful banter between partners, this was where she belonged... this was home.

Yes, Kate was in love with this man, she could admit that to herself now, but she could also admit that she was okay with giving Deacon the time he needed, one day his scars would stop bleeding quite so bad, and one day, maybe he’d be in a place to love again, but until then, Kate was content with just being in his corner.

To be continued...

#fallout 4 #fallout 4 companions #fallout 4 deacon #deacon #fo4 deacon #fo4 #deacon x sole survivor #companions x sole survivor

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pamphletstoinspire · 4 years

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Archbishop Vigano’s Warns Trump About ‘Great Reset’ Plot

Open Letter To The President Of The United States

DONALD J. TRUMP

Sunday, October 25, 2020

Solemnity of Christ the King

Mr. President,

Allow me to address you at this hour in which the fate of the whole world is being threatened by a global conspiracy against God and humanity. I write to you as an Archbishop, as a Successor of the Apostles, as the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America. I am writing to you in the midst of the silence of both civil and religious authorities. May you accept these words of mine as the “voice of one crying out in the desert” (Jn 1:23).

As I said when I wrote my letter to you in June, this historical moment sees the forces of Evil aligned in a battle without quarter against the forces of Good; forces of Evil that appear powerful and organized as they oppose the children of Light, who are disoriented and disorganized, abandoned by their temporal and spiritual leaders.

Daily we sense the attacks multiplying of those who want to destroy the very basis of society: the natural family, respect for human life, love of country, freedom of education and business. We see heads of nations and religious leaders pandering to this suicide of Western culture and its Christian soul, while the fundamental rights of citizens and believers are denied in the name of a health emergency that is revealing itself more and more fully as instrumental to the establishment of an inhuman faceless tyranny.

A global plan called the Great Reset is underway. Its architect is a global élite that wants to subdue all of humanity, imposing coercive measures with which to drastically limit individual freedoms and those of entire populations. In several nations this plan has already been approved and financed; in others it is still in an early stage. Behind the world leaders who are the accomplices and executors of this infernal project, there are unscrupulous characters who finance the World Economic Forum and Event 201, promoting their agenda.

The purpose of the Great Reset is the imposition of a health dictatorship aiming at the imposition of liberticidal measures, hidden behind tempting promises of ensuring a universal income and cancelling individual debt. The price of these concessions from the International Monetary Fund will be the renunciation of private property and adherence to a program of vaccination against Covid-19 and Covid-21 promoted by Bill Gates with the collaboration of the main pharmaceutical groups. Beyond the enormous economic interests that motivate the promoters of the Great Reset, the imposition of the vaccination will be accompanied by the requirement of a health passport and a digital ID, with the consequent contact tracing of the population of the entire world. Those who do not accept these measures will be confined in detention camps or placed under house arrest, and all their assets will be confiscated.

Mr. President, I imagine that you are already aware that in some countries the Great Reset will be activated between the end of this year and the first trimester of 2021. For this purpose, further lockdowns are planned, which will be officially justified by a supposed second and third wave of the pandemic. You are well aware of the means that have been deployed to sow panic and legitimize draconian limitations on individual liberties, artfully provoking a world-wide economic crisis. In the intentions of its architects, this crisis will serve to make the recourse of nations to the Great Reset irreversible, thereby giving the final blow to a world whose existence and very memory they want to completely cancel. But this world, Mr. President, includes people, affections, institutions, faith, culture, traditions, and ideals: people and values that do not act like automatons, who do not obey like machines, because they are endowed with a soul and a heart, because they are tied together by a spiritual bond that draws its strength from above, from that God that our adversaries want to challenge, just as Lucifer did at the beginning of time with his “non serviam.”

Many people – as we well know – are annoyed by this reference to the clash between Good and Evil and the use of “apocalyptic” overtones, which according to them exasperates spirits and sharpens divisions. It is not surprising that the enemy is angered at being discovered just when he believes he has reached the citadel he seeks to conquer undisturbed. What is surprising, however, is that there is no one to sound the alarm. The reaction of the deep state to those who denounce its plan is broken and incoherent, but understandable. Just when the complicity of the mainstream media had succeeded in making the transition to the New World Order almost painless and unnoticed, all sorts of deceptions, scandals and crimes are coming to light.

Until a few months ago, it was easy to smear as “conspiracy theorists” those who denounced these terrible plans, which we now see being carried out down to the smallest detail. No one, up until last February, would ever have thought that, in all of our cities, citizens would be arrested simply for wanting to walk down the street, to breathe, to want to keep their business open, to want to go to church on Sunday. Yet now it is happening all over the world, even in picture-postcard Italy that many Americans consider to be a small enchanted country, with its ancient monuments, its churches, its charming cities, its characteristic villages. And while the politicians are barricaded inside their palaces promulgating decrees like Persian satraps, businesses are failing, shops are closing, and people are prevented from living, traveling, working, and praying. The disastrous psychological consequences of this operation are already being seen, beginning with the suicides of desperate entrepreneurs and of our children, segregated from friends and classmates, told to follow their classes while sitting at home alone in front of a computer.

In Sacred Scripture, Saint Paul speaks to us of “the one who opposes” the manifestation of the mystery of iniquity, the kathèkon (2 Thess 2:6-7). In the religious sphere, this obstacle to evil is the Church, and in particular the papacy; in the political sphere, it is those who impede the establishment of the New World Order.

As is now clear, the one who occupies the Chair of Peter has betrayed his role from the very beginning in order to defend and promote the globalist ideology, supporting the agenda of the deep church, who chose him from its ranks.

Mr. President, you have clearly stated that you want to defend the nation – One Nation under God, fundamental liberties, and non-negotiable values that are denied and fought against today. It is you, dear President, who are “the one who opposes” the deep state, the final assault of the children of darkness.

For this reason, it is necessary that all people of good will be persuaded of the epochal importance of the imminent election: not so much for the sake of this or that political program, but because of the general inspiration of your action that best embodies – in this particular historical context – that world, our world, which they want to cancel by means of the lockdown. Your adversary is also our adversary: it is the Enemy of the human race, He who is “a murderer from the beginning” (Jn 8:44).

Around you are gathered with faith and courage those who consider you the final garrison against the world dictatorship. The alternative is to vote for a person who is manipulated by the deep state, gravely compromised by scandals and corruption, who will do to the United States what Jorge Mario Bergoglio is doing to the Church, Prime Minister Conte to Italy, President Macron to France, Prime Minster Sanchez to Spain, and so on. The blackmailable nature of Joe Biden – just like that of the prelates of the Vatican’s “magic circle” – will expose him to be used unscrupulously, allowing illegitimate powers to interfere in both domestic politics as well as international balances. It is obvious that those who manipulate him already have someone worse than him ready, with whom they will replace him as soon as the opportunity arises.

And yet, in the midst of this bleak picture, this apparently unstoppable advance of the “Invisible Enemy,” an element of hope emerges. The adversary does not know how to love, and it does not understand that it is not enough to assure a universal income or to cancel mortgages in order to subjugate the masses and convince them to be branded like cattle. This people, which for too long has endured the abuses of a hateful and tyrannical power, is rediscovering that it has a soul; it is understanding that it is not willing to exchange its freedom for the homogenization and cancellation of its identity; it is beginning to understand the value of familial and social ties, of the bonds of faith and culture that unite honest people. This Great Reset is destined to fail because those who planned it do not understand that there are still people ready to take to the streets to defend their rights, to protect their loved ones, to give a future to their children and grandchildren. The leveling inhumanity of the globalist project will shatter miserably in the face of the firm and courageous opposition of the children of Light. The enemy has Satan on its side, He who only knows how to hate. But on our side, we have the Lord Almighty, the God of armies arrayed for battle, and the Most Holy Virgin, who will crush the head of the ancient Serpent. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31).

Mr. President, you are well aware that, in this crucial hour, the United States of America is considered the defending wall against which the war declared by the advocates of globalism has been unleashed. Place your trust in the Lord, strengthened by the words of the Apostle Paul: “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). To be an instrument of Divine Providence is a great responsibility, for which you will certainly receive all the graces of state that you need, since they are being fervently implored for you by the many people who support you with their prayers.

With this heavenly hope and the assurance of my prayer for you, for the First Lady, and for your collaborators, with all my heart I send you my blessing.

God bless the United States of America!

+ Carlo Maria Viganò

Tit. Archbishop of Ulpiana

Former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America

#great reset plot

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joshslater · 5 years

Text

A Week in Indiana

Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

I was exhausted. It’s weird, because on long haul travel you have done nothing but relaxing. First on the initial connection, then at the airport, then at the trans Atlantic from Amsterdam to Chicago. I even napped a bit on it. Since that flight follows the earths rotation, you basically land at the same time as you start. Queues, immigration, wait for luggage, customs, relax some more at O’Hare. Finally followed by a decidedly less comfortable regional flight to Indiana, wait for luggage again, and out. And there he was, looking even better in person than he had on Skype the day before, waiting to pick me up. He was younger than me, but acted confident, cocky even. I like that.

- Hi there. How was the trip? - Long. I’m exhausted, like I said I would be. - It’s not far.

Americans have no idea what that word means. It wasn’t until an hour later we finally parked in his driveway. We had so much to talk about, but I made it perfectly clear that my mind wasn’t were it needed to be right now for anything serious. I quickly went online with my phone to cancel the backup hotel night I had, keeping some nights for the end of the week if things didn’t work out. Then I zoned out for most of the trip to his house.

- Let’s put your stuff in your room, head out for a bite and then you can go to sleep. - Head out? - I ain’t cooking.

The house was spacious living for a single dude, and probably the tidiest it been in a long while. Not that I paid much attention, as tired as I was. I would had preferred to just crash there and then, but I know from experience not to go to bed too early, or you’ll just wake up at midnight.

- Hey, can I get you something to drink? Coke, beer, water, absinthe? - A coke would be great. It’s dry in air planes.

A big, cold can of coke felt exactly like what I needed, despite the corn syrup. Rehydrated I carried my bags to the guest room, which doubled as a home gym. It’s silly, I know, but despite being so tired I found it kind of hot to be sleeping in a room where someone else had been working out. Well, I guess that’s the kind of shit we have in common, and the entire reason why I was here.

People really undersell the sheer amount of confusion when you wake up after having been drugged. Especially when you have been moved and things have been done to you. You didn’t plan for it, like going to sleep, and you have nothing to fall back to when you wake up to orient you. Everything around you is out of context. In addition to that, you still have residual effects and possible traces of the drugs in your system.

It’s impossible to estimate how much time it took to get a grip of the situation, but gradually I was aware that I was naked, tied to a bed, gagged and unable to see, possibly because of a pitch black room.

- Did you sleep well?

How long had it been? No way to tell. I feel like shit. I can feel him touching my naked chest. But that means he can see me, right? Why can I not see?

- I thought I would surprise you with a little transformation for yourself. This is the garage by the way. It’s not quite soundproof, but I don’t really need that, do I.

I don’t know what kind of gag he is using, but I can’t move my mouth in any direction. It feel like he had put some clay-like plastics into my mouth, had me bite into it, and then have it harden. I want to scream. I don’t want any piercings or tattoos or whatever. I shout that whatever his plans are, I want out. The best I could muster was an agitated hum.

I feel something cold against first my left nipple, and then both. Some sort of gel. Then some object is put there. Are these suction cups? Then a motor sound starts and I feel a rhythmic suction on my nipples. Guess they are.

- You should just relax. I don’t know anything about hypno, and you said it doesn’t work on you, but just so you have something to listen to I’ve downloaded a few things.

He puts earphones on me with the typical nonsense with multiple voices all talking over each other that all hypno mp3 files are so fond of. Then I feel him doing something with my gag, and a small trickle of fluid at the back of my throat, and then everything gets fuzzy.

- And here is something to keep you stupid. Enjoy the ride.

I’m too tired and drugged to analyze what is happening. I’m swimming in black velvet soup of words. I should relax, I’m told, be calm and follow instructions. I’m barely even aware I have a body, but occasionally the senses intrude into the bliss and I can feel the suction cups removed, more cool gel applied, and then the cups put back. Everything just gets softer and softer until everything ceases to be.

There’s no audio anymore.

- Hello, sleepy beauty. Are you ready for something solid to eat? - Yeah...

Wait? When did he remove the gag. Why can’t I see?

- Just be still, and I’ll remove the IV.

I could feel the short sting of an IV needle being pulled out, and felt him bandage the arm. What did he put into me? Where did he get an IV from in the first place?

- Now, just be still while I undo the restraints.

Any kind of resistance would be pointless. I was naked, in an unfamiliar room, and completely blind. I just followed along with his movements as he released my arms and legs. He then helped me on my feet and led me from the garage and through the house.

- So, I’ve prepared an outfit for you. Just put it on and we are ready for dinner. It’s all your size. Now, be very still and I’ll remove your black contact lenses.

So that’s what he had done. He was way better at removing them than I think I would have been, had he just asked me to remove them myself. As I blinked in the light I saw I was back in the guest room. My bags were no where to be seen, and on the bed was a small line up of clothes.

I turn to the mirror and see myself, but instead of my normal hairdo my head is almost completely shaved, save for a few millimeter Mohawk. Secondly, and more concerning, my nipples are huge. Like finger tip huge. He’s observing me from the door.

- Cortisone cream and a modified milking machine, and a few tricks. They will shrink a little bit, but not much. You’ll look like this from now on.

I don’t even have the energy to yell at him. If it is permanent, as he say, screaming doesn’t help. I need to get away from him before he can do whatever else he has planned for the week. It’s only day.... Actually I don’t know how long it’s been. One day? Two days?

- Just get dressed, and we can be on our way. Bring the ID so we can take a beer as well. - OK.

I look at the items laid out for me at the bed again, next to my passport. One black tank top with white hem in some sporty mesh material with the text “PUMP!” printed on the front. Blue, short adidas polyester shorts with white stripes. White, calf high socks with two black rings at the top. Black adidas shoes with white stripes. The only things missing for a stereotype bingo is a whistle, glow sticks and some molly.

No underwear, apparently. I put on the shorts. Like hell “all your size”. The shorts are tight and doesn’t leave my dick size to anyone’s imagination. Socks and shoes go on fine. I brace myself and put on the top. My tits feels like sparklers, shooting nerve signals all through my body. I can feel the tight shorts getting even tighter. I feel slutty.

On the way to dinner he is quite chatty. Talking about the buildings and neighborhoods we drive by, as if he hadn’t drugged and violated me for hours, perhaps days. He is casually dressed, Levis’ jeans and American Eagle polo. Still he manage to outclass me by an order of magnitude. Dinner is at P.F. Chang’s, so not at all fancy. Still I feel like everyone is looking, and judging. Everyone we pass on the parking lot, through the mall, at the front of house, on the way to our table. Everyone can clearly see my tits and my dick through the fabric. My haircut practically shouts for attention. My clothes even more so. And it’s not like I’m part of a group that has dressed up, or down. I’m lead here by someone dressed normal. A regular dude and his slut.

Sitting down feels better, with a table hiding my lower body, but it still feels like I’m in public in just underwear, having two flashing tits.

- Hey, relax. Calm your tits.

It was such a cheesy joke, I exploded in laughter. He’s right of course. It’s not like I’m hurt or massively disfigured. Most people will never even see it, once I’m in decent clothes. No one around me knows me, and I’ll never see them again. This is me experiencing something I could never have set up myself. Besides, I can’t really do anything about my situation except flagging down a cop, so I might as well enjoy it. I ordered the Dynamite Shrimps, the Singapore black pepper chicken and a steady flow of diet coke.

Man, was I hungry. It was tasty and I even managed to relax, though my tits kept rubbing against the mesh fabric, keeping me semi erect. And every time someone passed by, I got a twinge of feeling exposed, feeling “slutty”. We chatted a bit about ourselves, kind of how I had imagined our first real meal would have gone. When we were both done we asked for a refill and the bill. I managed to hide it, but I got quite the shock reading it. It said Tuesday. I arrived Saturday afternoon, so I had been drugged for three whole days! I don’t think he noticed my shock, because he leaned over and asked me, in a hushed voice “Are you ready to leave, slutty fuckboi?”.

Right away my dick throbbed into almost fully erect, and it was very close to pump custard into the shorts. Of course! The fucking hypno loops! That’s why I have been so docile since I woke up. “Slutty fuckboi” and “Calm your tits” were trigger phrases. Tits?! They are nipples. I’ve even been conditioned to refer to them as tits. I’m sure there are some programming about feeling self conscious and “slutty” as well. Who the fuck does he think he is! I must escape right now!

- Almost. I need to go to the boy’s room first. - I bet you do. You drank quite a lot.

I need to walk through two thirds of the restaurant to reach the restroom. Again I feel like I’m under dressed, overexposed and it would be hard to miss my raging erection in the hilariously tight adidas. I keep a fast but calm stride. Running would just draw even more attention.

I even have a hard time pulling down the shorts. They are almost locked in place by my swollen deadbolt. I stand feet together, slide the shorts straight down and turn to the sink to chill my dick in cold water. After the erection is gone I take a leak, pull up the shorts, and that’s when I feel the passport in my pocket. I had almost forgotten about it. I still have a reservation at the hotel. My credit card is on file and I have an ID to show. It must be within just a few miles, and if anything I’m dressed for exercise.

I don’t have a phone or a watch, so I don’t know exactly how long it took, but I guess about two hours to sneak out through the other entrance, ask mall information on the location of Holiday Inn, walk there without Google Maps, manage to check in with a receptionist who clearly didn’t approve of my attire, and have a lie down in bed. I should call Amex and have them block my credit card and send a new one to the hotel. Should I call him and tell him to send my bag here? Would it be risky to let him know where I stay? Would it be risky to even talk to him? That’s when the phone rang.

- Room 304. - Calm your tits, bottom boy. Isn’t it time to continue your transformation? - Yes, it is. - Cool. Pick you up in half an hour. - OK.

Shit. I’m broken.

468 notes · View notes

ratmonologue · 5 years

Note

odd numbers

THAT’S A LOT OF ODD NUMBERS

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?Uhh I guess water bottles, but the refillable kind, because I like being environmentally friendly when I can~

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?neither tbh. cotton candy if I absolutely had to pick but ehhhh

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?I like the fancy old timey glass soda bottles a lot. I pretty much only ever drink tamarind jarritos these days though, and I buy it by the big bottle bc it’s cheaper, so… I guess glass cups more frequently. though not even cups because all of my drinking glasses are old pasta sauce jars…

7. earbuds or headphones?earbuds

9. favorite smell in the summer?barbecue with a side of fruity and refreshing beverages. alternately, that faint, specific ice-cold-river-in-dry-pine-forest-mountain-air scent that I associate with summers at camp and the tahoe area in general. I miss that

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?lately, croissants

13. lanyard or key ring?key ring

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?HAMLET but also most shakespeare plays

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

they’re v comfy

19. sleeping position?on my side. it varies which side

21. obsession from childhood?S P A C E. specifically black holes I was OBSESSED(it never really faded)

23. strange habits?sometimes I spit in toilets while they’re flushing, I guess that’s pretty strange. no idea why or how that started

25. first song you remember hearing?probably something by Enya

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?stay inside and play Skyrimor just horse around in the snow, if there is snow, but I haven’t lived anywhere with snow for years

29. best way to bond with you?have in-depth discussions about character arcs in semi-obscure sci-fi media

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?the above boots, favorite jeans, uh... really any random black tanktop and button-down shirt? that’s just my day to day outfit really

33. most used phrase in your phone?I have no idea how I would even look that up

35. average time you fall asleep?hahahHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA that’s a good one….

37. suitcase or duffel bag?I’m actually a fan of my big backpacking backpack

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?not a massive fan of either but I guess lemon cake

41. last person you texted?I’m simultaneously texting you, Belle, and also the pretty dude I’m dating

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?honestly all of those except cardigan. hoodies for being lazy around the house/office and/or layering; the others for going outdoors

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?I like combinations of sci-fi and fantasy. I’m sick to death of superheros

47. favorite type of cheese?oohhhh that’s a hard one because I like a lot of cheese, but it’s hard to beat the versatility of good ol’ pepper jack

49. what saying or quote do you live by?I don’t really have one tbh

51. current stresses?work and being sick

53. what is the current state of your hands?in front of me on my laptop keyboard as I type this….?

55. favorite fairy tale?shit you know what…….I forget most of them

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?freshman year of college, the summer after freshman year of college, and I guess depression but who knows if that’s ever truly overcome

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?“yeah that’s fair.” dunno what kind of video game would have context for that but I’ve been saying it too much recently

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?but there are sO MANY GOOD LINES IN SO MANY GOOD BOOKS AND SHOWS AND MOVIES AND STUFF

63. five songs that would play in your club?I don’t listen to any music that would really work in a club setting so I’m just gonna say the mos eisley cantina music from star wars, unironically

65. any permanent scars?probably a few small ones

67. good luck charms?my brain, when it functions

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?duck penises

71. least favorite pattern?patterns of continuing abuse I guess? those are pretty shittyif you mean like, fabric, uh idk I’m not a fan of houndstooth

73. favorite weird flavor combo?I don’t think any of the combos I like are that weird, though…. chocolate and bacon, maybe?? but that’s still A Thing. Tamarind whiskey sours?? idk

75. when did you lose your first tooth?I think I was six and it was wiggly and flopping forward and I tried to push it back behind the non-wiggly teeth and there was a *crack* and a shitton of blood and then it wasn’t in my mouth at all anymore. I was a lil freaked out

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?I like succulents and bamboo but I haven’t managed to keep any plants alive long-term

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?driver’s license. and both the DL and the old school IDs look better than my passport photos

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?Aren’t they the same thing….? Maybe….? (don’t hurt me I’ve never lived in a place that had either)

83. writing or drawing?Both, not that I’ve been doing much of either lately

85. fairy tales or mythology?I guess mythology but they can be related

87. your greatest fear?Dying in obscurity? Being forgotten? Plane crashes? Jellyfish?

89. who would you put before everyone else?Urdnot Wrex from Mass Effect

91. boxes or bags?They both serve important yet different functions and can’t really be swapped out for the other-

93. nicknames?nah

95. favorite app on your phone?discord and groupme so I can talk to all my friendos

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?mine, my mom’s, possibly my dad’s, and our ancient landline that’s been out of commission for over a decade but is still attached to our safeway club card so

#I answer stuff #thanks belle!!

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supersecure-blog · 5 years

Text

Week 7 Case Study - Pre-readings

This week’s case study concerns privacy - specifically should the government be allowed to collect data for individuals to be used in the interest of public safety?

I’ve compiled some notes on the sources we were given:

2019 - Facial Recognition to Replace Opal Cards

Facial recognition could be used to replace opal cards

Digital rights groups say it would pose a risk to privacy

Transport minister said facial recognition would provide convenience for commuters -> envisioned something similar to Amazon's "Just Walk Out" technology. "All about making the journey easier and faster for people"

Opposition have major concerns about technology being rolled out -> data collected would be of large commercial value to owner. "NSW taxpayer shouldn't be used by their government to make money, and government shouldn't be trusted with this technology

Tim Norton - "worrying to see such flippancy from the gov about potential rollout of technology like this across public services like transport -> these decisions shouldn't be taken lightly, and require extensive public consultation to ensure citizen's rights aren't impacted"

People must have trust that governments are taking appropriate action to protect the privacy that people expect when in public

Justin Warren, board member of Electronic Frontiers Australia - how would an opt-out system be used if everyone is scanned. "needs to be public debate about plans to roll out this technology, need to stop taking the framing from government that this is something that needs to happen -> ask why?"

2019 - Australian Views on Surveillance

“Australians tend to accept government surveillance, particularly if they think it necessary or trust the government"

If surveillance continues to increase -> general public opinion might reach a turning point and start adopting measures to 'hide' themselves

Government surveillance justified as necessary to protect us from criminal or terrorist attacks

Intelligence agencies, federal and state police can request access to telephone and internet records. This can reveal info about location, recent contacts

Proposed legislation would allow the government to share photos and other identifying info between government agencies, and private organisations for law enforcement, road safety, national security purposes

Recently passed "Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 - allows gov agencies greater access to encrypted messages like from WhatsApp

Study with 100 Aus residents about their views on gov surveillance

52% said they accept gov surveillance

Average response was 3.1 (acceptance for surveillance)

Two main factors that influenced acceptance:

Is surveillance needed

Most influential factor

Practical implications as lawmakers capitalise on people's responses to events to justify new legislation

For example - "The need for the powers in this bill has become more urgent in the light of the recent fatal terrorist attack in Melbourne and the subsequent disruption of alleged planning for a mass casualty attack by three individuals last month – also, sadly, in Melbourne. Individuals in both of these cases are known to have used encrypted communications."

Do I trust the gov?

Overall trust in the gov also determined their acceptance -> trust in the Aus gov is generally quite low

Might be more influenced by general view of gov rather than their views of specific policies and practices

Large amount of people opting out of the My Health Record

No link between people's level of trust in the way the gov manages data and their acceptance of surveillance

AI can analyse CCTV footage without human input -> when face recognition is used to identify suspects, there is the risk of matching people with similar, close matching profiles. Results in a high error rate, posing risks for innocent people.

Threat of repurposing - when info is collected for one purpose and used for another

Concerns that insurance companies could access and use info from the My Health Record

2018 - Facial Recognition Used by Aus Authorities

NSW police and crime agencies preparing to use new facial recognition system to match pictures of people on CCTV with their driver's license photo to detect criminals and identity theft

Federal and state gov has access to data and photos from passports, driver licences, visas for facial recognition system

People do not have the option to opt out of their details being included from the facial recognition system

NSW gov has allocated $52.6 million over 4 years to support this tool

Two parts:

Face Verification service: 1-1 image-based match of a person's photo against a government record such as a passport - already operational

Face Identification Service - one-to-many, image match of an unknown person such as a criminal against multiple government records to help establish their identity. Access to the FIS will be limited and expected to come online this year

Monash Uni Professor said the system breaches privacy rights by allowing collection, storage and sharing of personal details from innocent people

Gov spokesperson said laws allow these services to be used for "identity and community protection activities"

Research indicates that ethnic minorities and women are misidentified at higher rates than the rest of the population

Significant concerns about the reliability or otherwise of its algorithms and biases that can be inherent

"There are no proper definitions of how the data will be used under the current bill"

Law enforcement authorities habitually push for greater access to private data and info to help them do their job

Government has to balance safety and welfare of citizens, and the limitation on people's civil liberties, and the threat to life in the case of terrorist attack

2017 - Benefits of Surveillance

Issue of mass surveillance

Amount of data collected - bulk collection only way to handle volumes of data

What data is collected - some places don't have clear distinctions of what data is to be collected

How data is collected

Key points of intelligence officials' statements on the effectiveness of surveillance technology are that:

Difficult if not impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of surveillance programs

Because data is aggregated with other data to form a larger picture, it becomes hard to evaluate the effectiveness of surveillance tech

Purpose of intelligence is to inform policy makers and to improve their decision making, but it is hard to measure this impact

Seven measures of effectiveness drawn:

Thwarted attacks

Lives saved

Criminal organisations destroyed

Output

Context

Support

Informed policy-making

However: counting successful cases seems to have merit with officials as a measure of effectiveness of surveillance technology employed for tactical intelligence purposes, but not for strategic intelligence

2015 Australian Metadata Retention Laws

Following information need to be retained be telcom service providers:

Incoming and outgoing telephone caller ID

Date, time and duration of a phone call

Location of the device from where phone call was made

Unique ID assigned to a particular mobile phone of the phones involved in each particular phone call

Email address from which an email is sent

Time, date, recipients of emails

Size of any attachment set with emails and their file formats

Account details held by the ISP such as whether the account is active or suspended

"The content or substance of a communication is not considered to be metadata and will not be stored"

ASIO, police, Crime Commission, ATO, ICAC are able to view stored metadata without a warrant except for journalists (need to seek a warrant)

Act was supported by law enforcement and security agencies including federal police and ASIO - argued telcom data is critical to criminal investigations, need to be made accessible through legislation

Act questioned for its effectiveness as a tool to combat crime, increasing encroachment of privacy in Aus, consequences for journalism and journalistic practice

2013 - Opinion: Why We Need Government Surveillance

Edward Snowden - leaked classified intelligence

Willing to give up on his job, family, home, relationships to stop the U.S government from destroying privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties with their surveillance

New revelations about gov surveillance programs -> why are same policies being used across presidents?

Government overreach

21st century war is different - requires new ways of gathering info

Move towards 'home-grown' terror will require collection of U.S citizen's conversations with potential overseas people of interest

Constant armed struggle against terrorist threats has adjusted beliefs on what citizen's expect government to do in order to protect society

Need for enhanced intelligence activities is necessary, but abuse can occur easily

After compiling these notes I’ve also drafted some points to answer the discussion from both perspectives, which summarise the main points raised in the articles above.

Government agencies should collect and have access to your data for good purposes:

Necessary to sacrifice privacy for the greater good - if you're not a criminal then in an ideal system you shouldn't have to worry about being falsely accused

Protect against terrorist/criminal attacks - lives saved

Identify suspects/unknowns in the database before they are able to execute an attack -> prevention, attacks thwarted

Can be used in biometric technology like facial recognition which has applications for public transport -> replace physical cards, and provides convenience for commuters

Data can be used to help inform policy makers, and better increase the quality of their decision making

Shift towards 'cyber warfare' context has caused a shift in people's expectations for what role the government should play in protecting the welfare of all citizens ->collected intelligence might be necessary to thwart terrorist attacks

Government agencies should not collect and have access to your personal data:

For use in public transport, etc:

Does the benefit of convenience really outweigh the cost of lack of privacy, and risk of having data being stolen from the government?

For use in the interest of public safety:

Are terrorist attacks so rampant that they warrant action of this scale?

Can we put complete faith into this technology to make life-implicating decisions for individuals?

Studies have shown that minority groups and women are more likely to be mismatched -> higher rates of error

Can policy catch up to the technology -> currently there are no definitions in bills/acts which distinctly determine what data is allowed to be stored and collected -> grey area

Significant concerns about the reliability or otherwise of its algorithms and biases that can be inherent

Risk of matching people with similar, close matching profiles. Results in a high error rate, posing risks for innocent people.

Threat of repurposing - when info is collected for one purpose and used for another

How is data collected and stored? Is it ethical? Are there any risks of data being leaked or the risk of an insider attack?

Overall increase in surveillance activities -> might lead public opinion to distrust the government, and ask why is it necessary to be monitored so heavily -> where are our human liberties to privacy?

Public opinion of NSW already as the "nanny state" -> could be the tipping point for complete rejection of government

#week 7 #case study #pre-readings

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katzenflocken · 6 years

Text

LA Times

I went to a Halloween party in October and I wrote down my experience in my phone.

A month or so ago I had made the decision that I wanted to attend a Halloween event and ultimately I decided on scream in Edmonton. I had bought the pre-sale ticket without actually knowing who was playing since there was no lineup details but this didn't concern me because I just wanted to go have fun and listen to some jams with cool people. I had calculated the cost of bus and hotel and came up to roughly 700 for a comfortable trip with all the best food/mixed drinks at the show. I had already had my own party favors so this was one of the reasons why I wanted to keep it local in Alberta. But then the lineup got released and I only seen one artist that was potentially going to be "okay" after listening to their SoundCloud. I was feeling very on the fence and on top of that, the party only went until 2am which was making it real hard to justify a long boring ass bus ride for a short night of mostly lame edm music. (No offense to the edm enthusiasts out there)

After some Olympic tier mental gymnastics of being so sure I wanted to go to Scream, I got curious and went to the handy dandy Resident Advisor and looked at shows in Alberta then Vancouver, even Toronto. I didn't see any events I was interested in and I left it at that. Then I got the brilliant and brave idea to possibly venture outside our borders, and a few clicks later I stumbled upon louisahhh's upcoming events and noticed she was playing a show along with boys noize and tbh, it was a no brainer. I had to make this happen. After a few calculations, it was literally going to cost the same as going to Edmonton (600 cdn) but with more spending money required in American. So naturally it was 💯 percent the logical choice. The event was called Minimal Effort which was an all techno show with 4 stages. Like holy shit! This event was most definitely calling my name.

I had told family and a few friends and some them ask me why? I've already vacationed once or twice this year so why a third time? I really don't know why, there is no reason. I just like doing these things. It is true that given the current situation, I better to avoid these such things. but the idea of letting someone's words prevent me from doing something so fun and exciting yet so doable drives me mad. In fact this very idea is what makes it so evident that I am in control of my life. I create the reality I live in and why should I let others shape it for me with manipulating opinions. I would argue I am not living to die, I am dying to live. Personally I don't think it's very odd or strange to do exactly what you put your mind to, so it is in such a context that I wanted to make this trip. I hope people see what I do and feel encouraged or empowered. If I can do it you can too. But everyone isnt me and is open to their own opinion.

So my passport is lightly damaged, a few months after I got it I washed it lol whoops. I've been using it since without incident and it expires pretty quick in early 2019 so I felt confident I will make it on the plane and I did! I flew air Canada btw and their service was very meh. There was also some meean turbulence, other than that it was boring. Planes suck ass and I can't sleep on them. I had bought a roaming plan so I can text and use Google maps like a real Traveller. This was the best decision of the whole trip actually, so get ur phones working guys!

Upon landing I was very nervous because I literally didn't want to pay a lot of money to get downtown where my hostel was. But I asked this Tony hawk looking guy he gave me the rundown and to take the skyaway bus which was like 9 dollars. Hella life saver! I got downtown and got Subway spicy chicken wrap at Union station. Now I taxi'd to my hostel... It was near or in the ghetto. When the man dropped me off it was dark and these yuuuge dogs were jumping at me from the other side of the fence, confirming my suspicion that this is in fact the ghetto. I find the property next door and these dudes are smoking outside, I got their attention and they said to go upstairs and talk to "Champaign". In my head I instantly thought a black drug dealer... But then I was greeted by a slim easy going japanese dude with a samurai ponytail who spoke poor English but still had a friendly vibe. Turns out he is the cook/caretaker. I came on the night they had a dinner party that they hold once a month. Pay 10 dollars and you can eat the food that he was cooking. Champaign cooked for a army and I felt like an asshole because I literally came with a belly full of Subway. I had a few snacks and met the other Traveller's/Tennant's that were residing here. In that exact moment I felt like this is exactly where I needed to be. I was not alone and I was amongst other human beings like myself and we were all brought together by an unknown force all so Champaign can go to bed we knowing no one went to bed hungry. I actually passed out after midnight. Kinda lame but tbh I was wiped out from that hectic almost frantic trip to this hostel. The toppest compliment I give to any hotel/hostel is that this place had the best mattress, apparently they were italian (I asked lol).

Saturday (party day). My goal in the afternoon was to adventure and have a decent meal but it was getting off to a slow start due to me not figuring out where I wanted to go. I was recommended business district and looked up reviews but it was all meh. I want that yummy and probably unhealthy local food locations. The guy also said to take an Uber. Which I was like uhhhhhh iduno man... Maybe. Then as I was just getting ready to leave, this korean guy named Sam asked where I was going and he said "you should check out Korea Town, it's dope!!" And I looked up places and he said "no go here!" And I was like okay. Then he said he'll come with me and show me around after he finishes the laundry. Like a good lad I waited and in between he looked at me and whispered "hey do you do... Stuff" and there are a lot of implications there lol so I had to ask like what? And he pulled a little baggie and my reply was "yeah I like stuff" then did it and the kid lit up like a Christmas tree. He was mad hype folding the towels and then him and Champaign blazed downstairs.

One of the most fascinating yet mundane happenings was that I installed Uber on my phone. While those guys were blasting off I went ahead and gave the Uber a good historic first whirl. Little did I know my life was about to change in that exact moment. In 2 minutes after selecting where I wanted to go the driver was there. Holy shit! The cool part was that I only paid 8 dollars to go to the opposite side of the downtown. I wish I can expand on what I did, but tbh all we did was just walk and talk. It was great because it made me feel more immersed in to the city. Kind of like you had to be there type of experience. Then it was food time, he pointed out a Korean joint and I got a meal and he didn't order anything and then like 10 sides came and then 6 more little plates for the main dish. I told Sam he can have some because this is absurd. As we were eating, I slowly gazed around the place and everyone was just a little bit chubby. Sam told me Koreans don't waste their shit and eat as much as possible... Plus it's America lol. After eating like an animal and totally ruining my white shirt we went to get smokes and the line at 711 was almost way too long. Sam pointed out that everyone was powerballin' it... Then upon paying for the smokes and soda I said "one Powerball please". I had caved in and joined the race. We took an Uber back and the driver was a Mexican mom. She was cute in a grandma kind of way and we talked about there should be a "good news" radio because it's so scary listening to the radio. We laughed and laughed some more while Sam had fell into a Korean BBQ coma.

We get back to the hostel, Sam goes back to work and I have about an hour to get ready/nap before the party. Sam asked if I needed party favors and I took him up on his offer, because I hate asking at parties because it's so sketchy. At this point of the trip I realized everything is going 110% right. Sometimes I feel like I am just lucky because I always find myself in surprising situations and that now it's almost normal to me. My body and mind was totes ready to party, then I almost forget... I have stickers!!! I always have some in my bag and I grabbed at least 50 of them. People always love that shit, plus it makes everything more fun by adding another layer to the party... Lol get it? Layer?!? Aaanyways the one girl showed me how to work the door lock, basically it's an app that registers my phone to the deadbolt... What a game changer! Technology huh?! What a cool place! Then the Uber came and took like 4 dollars to get there, I think I can get used to this LA lifestyle if I ever had the chance. The dude dropped me off and I was proper nervous, made sure to hide my shit good and have my ID, ticket and game face ready because there was like 8 security in front... Also I am a pretty nervous person in general, I may seem cool and collected on the outside but on the inside I am a scared little shaking Chihuahua barking internally.

So I finally made it! All my hard work payed off! The weird thing was the guy didn't even look at my ticket, just my ID. Any Yahoo off the street could have walked in. Butt fuck it, I am here and that's all that matters. Imediately I get a beer... 8 dollars. The shit I put up with tbh, the price I pay for fun is worth it but my goodness is it painful. I wander around the theatre and it is nicely large and open. Not hot!! Can you believe that? The other stages weren't bad, too much to take it all in tbh. I settled at the main stage which was the first one you sent me when you walk in. The first artist playing was a chick, she played some good jam actually so I quite enjoyed her set. The only thing that led me to believe she doesn't actually make music and only is a DJ, was that every track she played I knew. Which is expected from shows like this but she didn't play anything "original", it's not a bad thing but if I was to critique her I'd be disappointed because I am the type of person to be wowed and I like to seek new material. I went for a smoke and met this couple dressed and Vegeta and Bulma, hella rad. They were cool, totally forget their names tho. Met this Mexican dude too who was a little short had crazy contact lenses and had a friendly chat. he was rolling which was cool because I wish I was, I even asked him but he was fresh out. The party started picking up too and louisahhh's set was about to play and I am 3 beers deep so I gotta step up my game. And guess what!? It's Modelo time homie!! Met a dude in a headdress and took a pic with him to piss off other people who are against that bullshit, as long as they are respectful about it I think it's awesome... so @ those who are trying to be offended on purpose, fuck you. Went to the bathroom and dropped my Modelo and the worker watched me do it and didn't say anything and swept it up. I went back to get another normal beer because the Modelo was 9 dollars. They mind as well get the lube ready because they are already fucking me dry. I had run out of party favors at this point because I only had a little but that's not why I am here so I accept that fact and I am just glad to be here. The dancefloor was sticky but as more spills happened it was less annoying and more people came, it made it more bearable lol if that makes sense. The sound was definitely worse at the front of the stage so I found that sweet spot 15 feet back in the zone where the speakers were pointed. 7/10 audio, it's no pk system but hey I don't mind too much! Louisahhh was stepping in and she had a super neat outfit going kind of future/madmax like. Her hair was excellent if I might add. I've always wanted to catch her set but never had the chance until now. I could say it was what I expected, which was basically the same set I've heard her play on other sets I heard from her. It's not a negative but mental gymnastics aside she could have spiced it up some more by playing new shit, like I said. I am just glad to be there.

After louisahhh played her set Boys Noize had stepped in and he opened up with that one song he always does lately lol I forget the name but let me tell you, my body was ready! The "wares" I had bought off Sam at the hostel were already used up but I didn't need any, my body was tingling from the energy in the room. I met the maddest group of lads in the crowd and I gave them a handful of stickers to help me distribute. They loved it! I was also doing "rogue" work by slapping stickers on people without them knowing. The funniest ones were the Dealer and Wasted stickers. The lazers and lights in this place were magnificent. Production was nearly top notch 7.8/10. it's a theatre but they used it as well as they could. I want to describe this experience more but going to a party is the purest chaos you can experience. It almost can't be explained, only witnessed. I honestly love being social at these events. In real life I can be very shy or unwilling to exchange or talk with others. It pains me really, I just love people and I want to make genuine friends but I feel so reluctant to meet new faces because I don't really click that well with others. I know that I am unique and sometimes strange, I am sometimes don't give a fuck but I tend to be antisocial because of paranoia that other people won't like me when they get to know the real me. When I attend rave parties, I tend to feel more free and open because I know the people in attendance are also there for the same reason I am. Obviously this may or may not be a healthy life style but it is very fulfilling in a very emotional way. I may not have that many real life friends but when on the dancefloor everyone is my friends lol that sounds like the gayest shit ever but it's true. Anyways party is still bumping and it's 6 am and I am wiped out, boys Noize played some of the best tracks I heard at awakenings I noticed. Kind of the same shit really. But it was LA so more mainstream crowd. I leave the club and it was so fucking foggy outside, like a horror movie. 2spooky4me. I hit up Uber like 4 blocks away because it was just too crazy in the front of the theatre. I got this younger driver about my age and we talked about McDonald's lol she was fun then I get back to the hostel hungry as fuck. Eated bread and smonked some herb and hit the hay.

Next morning I hung out in the common area. Watched friends and watched Champagne die from smoking weed lol he was my favorite. Cool hostel tbh very home like. I had few hours to myself before my flight so I decided I wanted to go to little Tokyo. I had to say goodbye to the hostel, the guys downstairs gave me a donut lol and I got into the Uber. The guy talked about the dodgers game like I actually give a heck about sports. He dropped me off at the entrance of Little Tokyo. This was actually the most wholesome part of my trip. The first sight of the Japanese style outside mall was kind of exhilarating because LA is mostly just the same everywhere. The buildings and decorations were very refreshing and it was a feast for the eyes. Such beauty. As I continue to explore the small but busy space I feel this feeling of wonder and excitement, it made me feel less hungover if I am being honest. The world I was seeing in that moment was powerfully moving and rich with happiness. I wanted to stay forever. In the centre there was an open space where an older Asian man in a scooter and an array of instrument s in front of him. He had a little sampler Casio and hi hats and maracas. It was like a scene out of the movies where you see those cute moments because he was playing to this couple from China that were standing in front of him and you can hear them talking to the Man in between singing lol, they gave him money to play that song from toy story "skies of blue" or whatever it's called and then at the end he pulled out the maracas and hit them on the cymbals with style. I filmed a little bit of it actually. I ended up eating sushi and chicken katsu outside on the deck and just enjoyed the experience. Alone. Fucking sad actually that I couldn't share my emotion with someone else but I really enjoyed the place. I shop in the anime store and gift shop, got a few things for friends and family then had to rush to the airport. I got to Union station and shuttle to the airport right on time. Slightly early since the flight changed to a later time. I walked around and had some beer and wings then got on the plane. Nice cozy airport experience. My dad picked me up and he was working in siksika that week so I slept in his trailer. It was cold as shit and I was late for work the next day like nothing ever happened lol. Just a quick weekend trip, no big deal. Travelling is so so so much fun, I want others to read or see my adventures and feel somewhat inspired to take more risks and go on their own adventures. Its good to open your eyes and free yourself of your surroundings, especially on the reserve. There's a world out there and there's more to life than the bullshit drama that happens here. I look at the world in wonder and amazement, I know it's a sick and sometimes dangerous place but I make it my world by appreciating it for what it is. Everything is kind of all right. Sometimes I wish I didn't exist but I don't want to die either, doing these things remind me that life can be great so I hope I don't come off braggy or I am acting "too good". I make minimum wage yet I still do all this cool stuff. It's not hard to do, just literally set your mind go and do it . I chase my dreams while others think "what if" lol but yeah do more fun shit guys!!!!

#travel #los angeles #america #little tokyo #boys noize #louisah #airport #journal #adventures #rave #party #friends #strangers #bread

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my-inner-fabulous-pose · 6 years

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Twitter's Customer Support, Ain't Shit.

Some context.

I've been using Twitter for a while now, about 4 or 5 years. However I have technically had my account much longer than when I had started to actively use it. Apparently when I was about 10 or 11 I decided to make a Twitter account which I promptly forgot about until I decided to make an account again about 4 or 5 years later (2013-2014). Now imagine my surprise when I find that I not only already have an account but said account is from 2009 that I had no knowledge of. Well seeing as it was already there I decided to use it, just refurbish it to erase all the 11 year old from it. I mean it wouldn't let me make another account using the same email so I really didn't have much of a choice.

Turns out that in order to get a Twitter Account you have to be 13 or over meaning my younger self had lied about his year of birth and when I tried to change it to be accurate it wouldn't let me change the date past 1995 (I just set it to that because it was the closest I could get). This would continue for the next 4-5 years up to present time. Ecstatic that I could finally fix the date after all these years of effectively being force to lie about it I quickly changed it it's actual year. Given the fact that I could change it at all to an earlier or later date it stands to reason that they would be no penalty for setting your birthday to something earlier than the date you set originally, right? Wrong. Apparently doing so will result in the system locking your account because it has a record of when your account was created logged and double checks it with the date you created the account automatically, locking you out without warning. So not only am I locked out of my Twitter account, but I'm locked out for something that happened 9 years ago that wouldn't have even happened had a been allowed to make a new account under the same email 5 years ago.

But that's not all. Seeing that this error should be relatively minor and explainable I look to their customer service to clear this up. The link that they provided on the page explaining my locked account and it linked me to this Review Request page where you can have you locked account evaluated and resolved.

They require you enter all your details (the ones used to get the account) and then proof of your identity like a liscence or passport, that they swear they'll delete after use (yeah right).

So I enter in the details and send in a picture of my photo ID and they send me this message saying they'll go over it and get back to me. This was last night.

My sleep schedules all messed up so I stay up all night watching YouTube and surfing through Tumblr to pass the time, while I wait for the response. I figured this could possibly take days so I had prepared to wait it out, but too my surprise I got this response this morning (just before making this post).

Hey guys. Wanna guess who's account still isn't unlocked?

Yup despite getting this response almost two hours ago at the time of making this post I am still locked out of my account despite them having "Restored Access" to my account.

Seeing as this clearly automated system obviously wasn't going to work I turned to doing it the old fashioned way. All I'd have to do is call Twitter's Customer Service center and get this sorted out with an actual employee, that way I can actually explain my situation and get some real feedback and explainations. Well after a bit of search I found Twitter's Customer service number. 415-222-9670. I rung the number and got an pre recorded response telling me to press 1 for customer support, 2 for comunication and 3 for employment verification (useless). So I press 1 for customer support and when I do the automated voice says, and I quote "Unfortunately Twitter does not provide user support over the telephone, to find information and answers to your questions please visit, support.twitter.com. If you are unable to find what you're looking for our help center contains information about contacting or team via email."

If Twitter doesn't supply user support via telephone, THE WHY THE FLYING FRUITY F*** DO YOU HAVE A CUSTOMER SUPPORT LINE IN THE FIRST PLACE?! What kind of backwards ass practice is that?! First you prevent me from making a new account, then you prevent me from fixing the details of the account, for 4-5 years mind you, then once I do finally fix it you automatically lock me out of my account for something that happened 9 years ago that I've been trying to fix this whole time, then when I try to fix it you have me submit personal information and then lie about unlocking my account, and then when I look to your phone support you tell me, "Lol gotcha, we don't actually have phone support. Go send an email Shithead". Twitter can seriously F*** right off with that, I'm not having it.

I still need to unlock my account so I will be sending a email (hopefully it'll reach an actual person who can help me) and I wwill try to remain civil despite my gripes but I just wanted to point out the conga line of bullshit this process have been so far. Twitter needs to get their shit together and I feel that this automated only system needs to seriously be addressed, nuanced problems like this require real human responses. This system is far too harsh and unrelenting, especially when the problem itself is the results of the actions of an 11 year child.

Update:

Apparently there is no email. Besides the email for the communications department (that I'm not even sure works) meaning the only way to get in content with them is through their help center which doesn't allow you to enter enough information to explain you issue in full or start up any kind of dialogue between you and an employee. Why in God's name is there no way to discuss your issue directly with anyone with Twitter. Submitting my ID to Twitter just caused them to change my date of Birth which just trigger the system to automatically lock my account again, abd since I can't explain why the same is wrong if I submit it again the same problem will arise. Effectively my account is stuck in purgatory because Twitter decided it was a great idea to shut out their consumer and automate all their security processes, meaning their is no room to for discerning between cases. In essence I am forced to wait for the miracle of Twitter actually responding to me directly or delete my account and start over from scratch.

If anyone can provide help in any way it would be much appreciated.

#twitter #marche800 #customer service #customer support #bullshit #unnecessary stress #inefficient #i'm exhausted #help #i need help #Stuck

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annie-rereads · 4 years

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Annie Rereads Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

Immortal Beloved Chapter 2

I have read this book mulitple times and the two that follow. The main character, Nas, and her journey of growth throughout the story is something that I admire. This tale of self-discovery, love, and healing is something that I haven’t found in many other books and I find that its a realistic take on the journey to change.

After some of the events I’ve witnessed, the Incy/cabbie/magick/neck night should seem like a party. I’ve raced away in the night, clinging to a horse’s mane, with a city behind me burned to the ground. I’ve seen bodies covered with the oozing sores of the bubonic plague, piled high in city streets like logs because there wasn’t enough people alive to bury them. I was in Paris on July 14, 1789. You never forget the sight of a human head on a pike.

But we aren’t at war now. We were living an ordinary life, or as ordinary a life as an Immortal can have.

Chapter 2 finds Nas in the immediate aftermath of the cabbie night. While we know she’s running, we having quite gotten to the running part of the story yet. Nas goes over things she’s experienced, all of them truly horrible, and the reasons why this new horrible thing shouldn’t phase her. Except it does, and that makes sense. While one can get desensitized to horrible acts (something I’ve seen my generation talk about often enough), those horrible acts are still going to effect you. Especially if they happen during peace time. Yet, it also shows that while Nas did a terrible thing by walking away, she isn’t a bad person. She knows what she did was wrong and that’s important if your story is going to include massive growth of a character.

In the paragraphs following this introduction, Nas makes mention of “northern raiders” and “berserkers”, which are a group of people that come into play later in the story.

Fun Fact: One of the things that Nas says she experienced is the storming of the Bastille which occured on July 14th.

Where had Incy gotten that spell? Yes, we’re Immortal, we have magic running through our veins, but one has to learn on purpose how to use it. Over the years, I’d known some people who were all about studying magick, learning spells, learning whatever they needed to learn to wield it. But I’d figured out a long time ago that I didn’t want to. I’d seen the death and destruction that magick could cause, I’d seen what people were willing to do to pursue it, and I didn’t want anything to do with it. I wanted to pretend it didn’t exist. And I’d found some like-minded aefrelyffen (an old word for immortals), and we hung out.

It’s important that Nas provides us context on magick, alongside the nature and rules of Immortals as she does later. It’s important that we, as readers, know that what Incy did has to be sought out. Magick has to be learned, and if Nas’s learning later on is anything to go by, it also has to be practiced. This makes what Incy did more disturbing because if he learned to a man’s back in a similar way that Nas learns to put ristrictions on her magick, then it means Incy practiced on other people.

Nas also gives examples of ways she’s used magick, all small which is probably because she doesn’t like to use it. She’s seen what magick does to people and boy has she seen things. She also used magic for the same things we all probably would. For all that her snark and actions might rub a reader the wrong way, these almost petty uses for magick endears her to us just a little.

To me he was sweet and generous and funny and fun, willing to go anywhere, do anything. He was the one who would call me to go to Morocoo at a moment’s notice. The one I’d call to get me out of a jam.

Simple friendly things like this are called into question in a later book, where we find out that Nas was actually reluctant to a lot of Incy’s “go here, do this” attitude.

We would howl about it afterward, falling together, laughing until tears came out of our eyes. The fact that we’d never been lovers, never had that awkwardness between us, only made it more perfect.

Incy and Nas’s friendship really does seem good and wonderful, similar to that almost to the friendships plenty of real people have. Except Incy did something terrible and its reminiscent of the times were you find out your friend wasn’t the kind of person you thought they were. And it’s incredible that they were never lovers, that it never came up for them, not even as a one-night-stand. And I can almost understand why, as later we find out that Incy was obsessed with her power. He had everything he wanted: unfathomable power and a friend to pull around to enjoy all his whims.

It was as if I’d woken up into a different life from the one I’d woken up into yesterday, and I was a different person. And this life and I were both suddenly much darker and grosser and more dangerous than I’d realized.

What Nas is feeling is familiar to me, having gone through some dark things myself (although nothing like she has). I like to think that its a common trauma or shock response to feel as if the world is different and darker. Because in that aftermath it is, as you’ve gone through something that was truly horrible. A big part of healing is moving on and out of that darkness, and realizing that that thing was out of your control and is not reflective of how the world is in its entirety.

Except for me. The mark on the back of my neck was a burn, and I’d had it since I was ten years old. It had never faded, never changed, and the skin was slightly indented, patterned.

We find out more about the mysterious thing on Nas’s neck! It’s a scar that’s been there since she was young, and unlike all other scars or injuries that Immortals get, it hasn’t changed at all. It was caused by magic, powerful magic, which explains why its never changed. And the reason everyone who has seen her scar is dead is because they were all probably mortal themselves. Incy is probably the first Immortal to see it, ever. And even if he doesn’t automatically know what it means, he can certainly find out. And now we’re left with the question of what magical object caused it?

It said, Trevor Hollis, 48, an independent taxicab driver, was attacked last night by one of his fares and suffered a broken spine. He is in the ICU of St. Jame’s Hospital, undergoing tests. Doctors have said he will likely be paralyzed from the shoulders down. He has been unable to name or describe his attacker. His wife and children have been at his side.

And suddenly we know about the cabbie and it makes the situation somehow so much worse. He is a father! He has a wife! It’s unclear if he was the sole provider for the family but either way this is devestating to them. And he can’t name his attackers which gives an excuse as to why he never appears again. We never do learn his ultimate fate though, never learn if he’s permantly paralyzed which is very likely unfortunately.

Finally, at about eight, I got up and went to my bedroom and pulled out my biggest suitcase, the one that could hold a dead pony. (Before you go there, I’ll clarify that it never has.)

Hahaha. We all have that one friend that would ask that question. I would. I am that friend. All my friends are that friend.

“Mr. Bawz and Mr. Innosauce were looking for you, Miss Nastalya,” he told me. I’d always been amused at how he butchered all of our names.

Nas is on the run. And look at the comparison on how she responds to this man messing up her and her friends names versus how Incy reacted to the cabbie. Nas finds it humorous. Incy broke a man’s back. Just because the doorman here is kinder than the cabbie and the fact that Incy was probably very drunk accounts for little or nothing. Nas may be a chronic partier who’s done her fair share of bad things, but she’s nothing like Incy’s level of bad.

“Here you are, Ms. Douglas,” said the clerk, handing over a set of keys. “And how do you say your name?”

“Phillipa,” I answered. Like every immortal, I have a bunch of different passports and IDs and driver’s licenses. Someone always has a friend who knows someone who can get what we need.

Okay so until Nas’s name changes again, because I know it will, she is Phillipa for now. This also explains a little more about what being an immortal is like: you need fake stuff because you’re old and suspecious otherwise. No doubt you also have to change countries or pretend to die.

The rental-car people could have plotted the course to West Lowing for me, but then they might have remembered doing it, if anyone asked them later. And right now I just wanted to disappear. I felt like - like the devil was after me. Like I was being swallowed up in a disaster or something and had to get far away.

Phillipa is headed for West Lowing, Massachusetts. Its near a bunch of other places also named Lowing, such as Lowing Lake and Lowing River. She’s hoping to get lost there, and going through an awful lot of effort to get lost, but its such as specific place that she’s clearly hoping to find something there. And given she apparently needs a map to get there, its not a place she’s been before.

So, the whole immortal thing. You must have questions. I don’t have all the answers.

World-building. Immortals have been around for such a long time that no one knows where they really came from. Like their name suggests, they don’t really die. They can have kids and partners, although unless your partner is also immortal your mortal partner and children will die. Mortal children of an immortal live longer than other mortals. Immortals age differently (one year = one year then one year = 100 human years). Phillipa is 460 years old, born in the year 1551. Immortals don’t get life-long illnesses or more fatal illnesses like cancer or diabetes. They do get colds and the plague. They live their lives like mortal people do, some party and others learn.

I didn’t even know what I was looking for. A sign? Either a literal sign, like RIVER’S EDGE, TURN LEFT, or a metaphorical sign, like a burning bush or something, a bolt of lightning point me in the right direction.

Phillipa is looking for a place called River’s Edge. She can’t find it so she uses a spell to find it. She also remembers how she learned about this place. A woman named River found her and Incy after the two and some mortals (who died unfortunately) were in a car accident in 1929. River told Nastasya (current name, no more Phillipa) who was then Christiane that she could be more, have more, than she currently did if she went to River’s Edge. River and Nastasya had immediately recognized each other as immortals, in a similar way that gay people can recognize each other, but also in a way that provides much more certainty. Nastasya refused so River left, leaving Nas with an open invitation. Nas and Incy hitched a ride sometime later. Nas has now hit a low enough point where she is seeking out River. It’s been eighty years and no guarentee that River is still there.

Nas eventually finds the long winding road to River’s Edge.

There was a tap on the window of my car, and I jumped, barely able to stifle a scream.

My frantic eyes focused, and the man leaned down to look at me.

This lovely man is an immortal too and he also lives at River’s Edge. He is apparently very handsome, a Viking god as Nas puts it. He is somewhat familiar to her, but she isn’t sure how as she can’t remember how she knows him. She recognizes him as another kind of immortal. There are two kinds. The kind that take their power from the life around them and then the kind that don’t.

The chapter ends with this reveal and the confirmation that River is still there.

#reread #immortal beloved #cate tiernan

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