#free home cloud backup

[dramas-vs-novels]

It's a Tech Kinda Weekend...

So, I have a PC and a laptop (and a Chromebook but whatever).

Both were Windows 10 when I got them, now upgraded to Windows 11. On Windows 10, you set a 4 digit pin. On Windows 11, you do 6-8 digit pins. But when it upgraded to Windows 11, all fine, it kept my pin.

An update came out the other day and I installed it on my laptop. Went to turn it on yesterday, and it asked for my pin instead of fingerprint (it's fine, it does that every month or so where it wants both in one login just to kind of re-verify).

And apparently it won't take my 4 digit pin anymore. It only wants a 6-8 digit pin. Which again, coming from windows 10 originally, I only ever had a 4 digit pin.

I ended up having to bitlocker my own laptop and completely reinstall the operating system, fully wiping my files and resetting to new, all because Windows 11 suddenly decided to force a 6-8 digit pin without letting me set one.

So, if you have a 4-digit login pin for your PC, go update it or you might face the same problem I did...

Today is less dramatic, I'm just upgrading my portable drive from 1TB to 2TB. So far I'm only moving the folder I keep shows in...

**I don't know why there are so many "Items" listed, I don't record THAT many shows...

Oh, it's because half of my watch-through posts were mistakenly put in that folder instead of the Screenshots one.

[silentmagi]

Awkward Arrival:

First headcanon off the bat, 2 in 1, a name and thing, tessa’s design of what she call’s “protection model drones” are different then disassembly drones a few key ways

1.Sturdier build and only slightly more humanoid but overall still a drone.

2.Weapons are more varied and customizations/attachments for weapons can be spawned via a 3d printer that’s designed to look like a satchel at either hip, and a new weapon can be uploaded to the cloud at any point (I imagine Uzi would be happy to lend design schematics to see what a version of her railgun would look like on a PM drone body) but the weapon swap system is a bit slower to load the weapon,a 0.5 second slower to be exact (eldritch magic be damned, tessa got close).

3.no oil hunger thankfully but there is alot more oil acting as the blood of this machine.

4.backups of personal memory of the unit are done CONSTANTLY and the drone themselves is their own admin.

5.has tools for repairing regular drones as well in the arsenal

6.has a version of the patch installed in their hardware, allowing transfer of solver users into PM drone bodies

7.has a sharp knife-tipped usb with a copy of the patch on it as apart of the weapon arsenal

8.instead of the color scheme of the yellow and black of safety tape, its green and red.

Her J was of course the first subject, and also managed to free her from solvers admin controls and gave her memories back.A lot of digital tears were shed that day because solver implemented a false memory of her killing tessa, which Tessa removed before giving admin over to her jaybird.

2nd headcanon: The spaceship base is the most self-indulgent looking home of tessa, her interests on full display, she has found and made a station for oxygen tank refills, there is more futuristic stuff, mainly lots of old food and water producing related tech (thankfully J has watched her and she has a green thumb)

3rd headcanon: Tessa has had to learn how to make ammo and make new weapon designs to deal with dd’s due to the last planet she was on, picked it up from a old weapon smith colony on the same planet(they were the weapon supplier during the solver war)

1 Question: how is cyn feeling amidst all of this as she watches from the back of her own mind?

Awkward Arrival

I love the idea that Tessa would make the Protection Model Drones (PMD), with the Solver's Disassembly Drones (SDD) being inferior knock offs.

Probably would have them based off construction drones to start study, and just add some armor without cutting functionality.

The greater variety would make up for the delay in making a weapon, especially once Uzi gets the greenlight to have some fun making more weapons. She actually is slowed down due to upload speeds.

Probably also took care of the heat problem that caused the oil hunger.

Great idea, cloud back ups every hour, and a full system back up at night.

They are uploaded to the cloud for the weapons under a sub folder.

Excellent touch for them to have that patch, and that it's updated.

File number 00003 is the USB penetration unit.

This is her gift to the universe so the Christmas Colors are thematic.

J needs therapy, Tessa needs therapy, EVERYONE NEEDS THERAPY! No, group therapy is not kissing Tessa, Jaybird, get it together you two... NOT THAT WAY!

I could see her making it an even fancier mansion than her parents could imagine, and every inch is full of her interests and love. J keeps her alive by reminding her to use the food and water machines.

I could see her developing a love of kinetic and beam weapons over ballistic weapons. She gathers all blueprints she can find, no matter what.

1 Answer: Cyn is glad to see the two of them, and hopes that they can stop her, and the monster she has become.

[tiri5459]

Think I'll make something for dreadrook week. So here's Fade Conversations prompt @thelighthouse-server, or Rook is forced into Fade every time they go to sleep. Rook is gn!Shadow Dragon.

Rook watches as Templars lead the smuggler away. It's not the end they've hoped for, but it’s something; the Shadow Dragons can take it from here. Lace and Rook stand at the entrance where Templars have lifted the metal gates, waiting for Neve. 

“The rain is getting heavy. Think your fellow Shadows will be kind enough to offer us a shelter?” Lace asks as another Templar passes by; he was one of the Shadow Dragons, Rook remembers meeting him once.

They turn their attention to the dwarf, shaking their head. “Wouldn't bet on it. But we have a few coins. I'm sure Neve can find us some cheap inn with no Venatori around,” Rook says, stretching their hands above their head; the past two days were draining, filled with chasing, fighting, and Darkspawn. Tomorrow will be no different, but Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain must be stopped. Rook stifles down the yawn.  “And, hopefully, they’ll have free rooms there. Don't know about you, but I'm too tired to head back to the Lighthouse.” 

“The Shadows will take it from here. Our job’s done…” Neve says as she reaches the two of them. Moments ago she was filling a Shadow Dragon in on the case; he often offered the Shadows information straight from the Templars and kept an eye on Venatori agents who used their status and money to avoid punishment. Neve knows Shadows will soon find out what happened here, but she still plans to tell them everything directly. She also makes a note to get in touch with her contact in Threads. In all her years as a detective, Neve would never expect them of all people to deal with Ventori and red lyrium. The plan is already forming in her head. “... for now.”

“For now? You already have a plan?” Rook looks at Neve with a glint in their eyes; they like what she’s hinting at: there’s no room for Venatori and red lyrium in their city.

“I always have one and a few backups.” Neve looks at Rook with a sly grin; she will certainly let them know about her progress. But that’s for later, right now they have more pressing matters to attend to. 

Rook returned the grin before heading back to the city. “So, think you could find us some place to stay?”

“And with good food,” adds Lace, her stomach moments away from eating itself. The Lighthouse had little food when they arrived there, and the only person whose cooking skills weren't regarded by others as a murder attempt was Bellara. So, naturally, they had a proper meal only when they just came to Minrathous, and it was hours ago.

“I'll talk to Viper. He'll find something for us. And tomorrow we can discuss everything with him.” After tracking down the relic, they all deserve a good rest, and with the sun setting behind the clouds, it’s getting progressively late to discuss work with someone who isn’t as work-driven as her. 

“You think he'll agree? The Ventori are still up for my blood.” Rook knows the Viper won’t be cruel enough to throw them out on the streets, but they don’t want any more problems for Shadows.

“Viper will understand.” Neve takes the lead, heading back to the Shadow Dragons’ safehouse.

When the sun set, they were already in one of the Shadow Dragons’ safehouses. After a late supper, Neve and Lace had settled in their rooms, and Rook stayed in the main area; they were glad to be back to the place they called home. Ultimately Rook goes to their room; it isn't big, but it has a bed, and they don't care about anything else. The exhaustion is already catching up with them, so they waste no time getting in bed. As the last bits of energy leave their body, Rook finally falls asleep. The moment they open their eyes, they are met with two purple eyes staring back at them.

“Solas,” Rook says matter-of-factly, recounting every single event that led them here.

“Rook.” Solas has the same smug grin on his face he had when they talked last time. Rook hated it the first time, and they hate it now. They don’t like how self-satisfied he is, and they don’t like how it makes him look so captivating.

“And you're going to be here every time I fall asleep?” Rook looks him right in the eyes, like their life depends on it. Because if they turned away and then looked back at him, their eyes would inevitably land on his lips, on that stupid charming smirk of his.

“If the Veil is thin enough for you to enter the Fade without any complications,” Solas clarifies. He's not particularly pleased that his connection with Rook will pull them into the prison every time the Veil is thin enough, but it's necessary; he can bear with it.

“So what you say is I should move to Treviso,” Rook says, already considering in their head all the places where the Veil is thinner than in Minrathous or Arlathan Forest, and their alternatives are few. And Treviso of all places seemed like a good place to stay, if you forget that it’s filled with qunari, and that they’ll have to live with assassins, but at least no chances of seeing Solas in their dreams.

“I didn't suggest you do that. Though it would surely save me from your company,” Solas taunts, understanding it's not possible for them to stay in Treviso all the time. Rook is tied to him now, and with Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan around, they have no way but to travel from the Lighthouse, gathering allies and escaping the grasp of their enemies there. This way he can ensure that everything goes according to plan, that Rook won’t fall into the ‘gods’ trap or do something stupid; he can’t allow another one of his plans to go wrong.

“You mean your only company.” Despite his claim, something tells them like he doesn’t really want them to leave. Maybe it’s the eye contact they keep, maybe it’s his intonation, or maybe that he chose to engage in conversation. Rook isn’t sure if what they see is all this prison is, but they have a feeling it’s much bigger than two islands, so he’s here willingly. 

Solas says nothing, scrutinizing Rook; his expression is finally relaxed, but his hands are still clasped behind his back. They aren’t far from the truth; beside the two of them, there’s no soul or spirit around, but he'd never admit it. He doesn’t want to spend more time in the prison than necessary, so it’s only natural that he would come out to Rook.

“I suppose you have started gathering allies for your fight with Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain,” Solas inquires after a moment of contemplation. Solas knows he can’t ask them this question every time they get in the Fade, but right now nothing comes to mind; he’ll think of other ways to turn the conversation away from discussing his feelings, just not this time.

“Dealt with a smuggler in Minrathous, who tried to deliver red lyrium to Venatori. Tomorrow, we ask the Shadow Dragons to help us.” Rook keeps the details to a minimum; they have no desire to indulge in a conversation with Solas. Or at least to indulge more than they've already had. Otherwise they’ll either end up as another victim of his lies or get too attached to him, and Rook’s not sure which one of those is worse.

Solas feels that Rook avoids telling him the whole story, but that’s to be expected with his reputation. “I see.” A corner of his mouth quirks as he continues. “I hope they're reliable.” Solas was sure they would come first to the Shadow Dragons; his agents told him about Rook's close connections with Shadows. At least here Rook couldn't surprise him. But how reliable they would be remains to be seen.

“They surely are, compared to some,” Rook couldn't help but taunt him in return. They have no doubts about Shadows; Solas, on the other hand, can and will betray them.

“Of course, I'm a god of treachery, after all.” Solas remains composed; Rook's attitude, no matter how impudent it is, seems like a breath of fresh air to him. The men who worked under him showed nothing but reverence and admiration. They would do anything he’d ask of them, making him miss Dorian and Vivienne, even Sera. Back in the Inquisition, he’d never believed he would wish to be in their company, but there he was. They never held back to say in his face what they thought about him or his words. Just like Felassan back in the day… Just like him once…

“Maybe it's about time someone added pettiness to the list. Fen'harel, elven god of lies, treachery, rebellion, and pettiness.” Solas still couldn't let go of that one remark they made when they first met. Nor would Rook let him forget all he said and did. They're worth each other in a sense, but that still won’t stop Rook from jesting; nothing could.

“And sarcasm.” Rook stares menacingly at Solas, who seems satisfied with their reaction. His eyes dart up and down them as everything goes hazy, and their mind slowly returns back to the waking world.

“We'll continue this conversation later.” Solas says before Rook disappears, turning away from them to avoid looking at the statue that will be conjured by the Prison in their place. He has to take down the Veil, to right his wrongs, to make sure all those he killed to achieve that died for a cause. He doesn’t want to harm Rook; if anything he’d like to know them better, but they wouldn’t understand his cause, not that it’s going to stop him from trying. 

Rook wakes up to another eventful day, a day they try to prolong for as long as they can. But despite their effort, they find themselves back in the Fade.

“Avoiding me now?” Solas is as smug as always. “Or you've decided to be productive?”

Rook groans, thinking to themselves that they need to buy coffee next time they're in Treviso; maybe it’ll help them stay awake for longer.

“Maybe you'd rather stumble into a trap than face me?” Rook sighs as he continues mocking them. They know they can't stay awake all the time, but seeing Solas every time they fall asleep doesn't exactly seem like a good perspective. Rook looks around the Fade Prison, seeing nothing but void on the left, on the right, and surely behind them too, and that leaves only Solas as a source of any entertainment.

“What's going to happen if I fall?” Rook inquires in an attempt to strike up a conversation, looking down into the void between the two of them. Their conversations rarely go without someone trying to taunt or mock the other, but Rook may as well try to be decent.

“Nothing that would harm you. But you may spend the rest of your dream falling endlessly. But that's still better than my company, I assume,” Solas goads Rook, their attempt to avoid rest could endanger his plan, and he doesn't want to lose his only way out. And the only company he has here. Eventually he decides to warn them. “Though I would not suggest falling down there in the flesh.”

“And what would happen if I did?” Rook tilts their head, ignoring the taunting. Bellara had no idea what would happen, but Solas may.

“Spirits usually return such inattentive souls back to a more stable area.” Solas never heard or ever witnessed someone fall and disappear into the Void, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. And remembering his days in the Inquisition, knowing what Inquisitor could do, he better make sure Rook doesn't have urges to try this out. “Usually.”

“Great. I'll keep that in mind,” says Rook with little enthusiasm. They’ll have to warn the rest of the team about that when they wake up. “So there's reaaaly no way to avoid getting dragged here?” 

“None I know about.” Solas doesn’t try to hide the glimmer of amusement in his eyes from seeing how much Rook wants to avoid seeing him every night. He's stuck here with the voices of all those he has killed for his goals and Rook as the only living company. Even if he knew of a way to accomplish that, he wouldn't tell them; he won't be left alone.

“And what if I'm drunk? Would I appear here drunk too?” Rook decides to question him; they need to understand how careful they should be. Varric did refer to Solas as Fade expert back when they traveled together, so he must be able to answer them.

“Most certainly,” he nods. 

“And if I fell asleep naked?” Rook remembers that the last several times they've appeared here in what they wore before falling asleep, but they had to make sure.

“I'm sure you already know the answer.” The idea of Rook showing up like that did come up to him while they were in the waking world, and despite himself, it intrigued him, and so the gap between them remains. Rook’s eyes lock with his; Solas sees the thoughtfulness clear on their face, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t understand what’s on their mind. The thoughts raced in their head, and for a brief moment the idea of showing up like that arose. 

“And what if I will?” Rook tilts their head, their voice laced with challenge. They had no idea why such an idea would occur in their head, but Solas looks all too smug about that for him to be disgusted by it. Rook would go even as far as to say that he entertained this possibility.

“Excuse me?” Solas looked at Rook wide-eyed; deep down he didn’t mind it, but seeing Rook looking back at him with their lips turned up made him push the thought aside and compose himself. “You would see little reaction, if you would even see me.”

It didn’t convince Rook, so they’ll surely get back to that idea later. “We can discuss your hair if this topic causes certain reactions in you.” If Rook is to be trapped here with him, then they can at least have some fun of their own.

Solas clenches his fists behind his back, but he doesn’t let Rook have the upper hand; he’l deal with their insolence later. “My hair?” He raises his eyebrow, suspecting where the conversation would go.

“I once saw magister Pavus in the safehouse, and he had the same hairstyle.” Solas looks at Rook with surprise yet again. The conversation will certainly be entertaining if they will be able to keep it civil.

[epic-kotlc-crossover]

Survive

This is the second chapter of the Cyclops saga!! Hope you enjoy :)

(or cry. i did when I read this.) -cricket

Tags: @myfairkatiecat @ham-cheese-toastie @bookwormgirl123 @thesfromhms @justalunaticfangirl (let us know if you want to be tagged in the future!)

Fitz hadn't had his adrenaline so high in ages. He'd fought in a war, but this felt more... real. Instead of a bunch of people trying to kill each other—over a woman, even—he and his men were fighting against a cyclops.

A real life, hungry, cyclops.

"The rest of our crew wait for us!" Fitz roared out over the commotion. "If we get killed, they're as good as dead."

He lifted up his sword to the cheers of his men. "How great is your will to survive?"

600 lives to save. No backup. Fitz thought, narrowing his eyes and trying to think of a way to defeat the cyclops. I only have to kill him.

At the word "kill" he faltered, thinking of the infant. If he kept taking lives, how long would it take for him to become a monster?

This is different, Fitz reminded himself. But... instead of killing, maybe we can just maim him a little.

He reminded himself to reach out to Sophie as soon as this was over. She always helped.

Anyway.

"Don't die on me now, not when we're so close to coming home!" He charged forward, and managed to nick the cyclops on the leg, eliciting a howl. Fitz grinned, satisfied.

"Surround him!" The chorus of soldiers cried out. "Attack him from behind!" As they constantly stabbed and slashed at the cyclops, Fits was scanning for any way to take Polyphemus out.

He came up empty every time, and soon the thrum of frustration set in. Blood was flying everywhere, and he saw with grim satisfaction that the source of most of it was the cyclops.

"How great is your will to survive?" Fitz didn't know who said that, but it reminded him of why he was trying to survive.

Sophie.

Marella.

Ithaca.

Stay in his blindspot! Strike his heels! Fitz transmitted out the orders.

He's strong, but he's slow, he thought to himself. How could they use that to their advantage?

"No dying on me now!" He yelled. "We just need to take one life and we're free!"

He must've jinxed it.

A scream pierced the air, and Fits instantly realized that it wasn't the roars of Polyphemus that he'd been hearing for the past minutes.

No, he realized in horror, it was one of his men.

"He's got a club!"

That was....Dex. No. No, no no, no. Not Dex.

"He's got a club!" Someone screamed again.

"Captian, what are our orders?" Keefe asked urgently.

"Captian?"

"Captain!?" That was Dex. Fitz rushed over to where his friend lay on the trampled grass. Dex looked like he'd been stepped on, which he actually might've.... His torso was bleeding from several gashes, and his legs were totally crushed.

"Dex..." Fitz started, tears burning in his eyes

"Captian--" he said, then coughed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Please don't forget to--" he coughed a little more-- "greet the world with open arms. For me?" Dex pleaded.

Fitz nodded shakily.

Dex's chest fell still.

Fitz vaguely registered tears streaming down his cheeks as he stared at his best friend.

Dex was dead.

Six people were dead.

He was snapped out of his trance as another one of his men yelled for him. Seven. Sven people died under his command. He stood up, shifting his sword around his hand. The cyclops was going to pay.

Only, before he could do anything, Polyphemus collapsed, a cloud of dust rising from where he lay.

Fitz grinned sadly. He'd forgotten about the lotus flowers in the wine. At least not too many people had died, yet.

We have to do what it takes to survive.

[heidi891]

My Digital Minimalism Journey

Doomscrolling. Smartphone addiction. Google this, Google that. Sounds familiar? I've begun a journey to untangle myslef from American megacorps and declutter my digital life.

I consider Google the worst big corporation, because while Microsoft and Apple sell products (hardware, software), Google's basically an advertising company. We are Google's products—that's why Google can give us so much for free and still make so much money. "But I have nothing to hide." Me too. I don't commit crimes, I don't watch pornography, I don't do anything classified. If everyone suddenly could see everything I do online, I'd just be slightly embarrased, that's all. But monopolies are illegal and dangerous for a reason. They erode freedom, shape our reality, leave us no alternative, influence our beliefs. I know I'm not immune to this, even though it's easy to believe otherwise.

Another factor I take into account is using local products to support my country's (Poland's) and Europe's economy and security.

Google Search

I noticed long time ago that Google Search became far from ideal, full of ads and focused on shopping. For example, when I looked for information about a medicine, I saw a long list of online pharmacies. I started using Bing, because it gave me information I was looking for—the medicine's description and side effects. (My husband is happy with Google, but his searches involve more shopping, like buying things for his hobbies and renovations.) Recently I've started using Qwant—a French search engine that uses their own index to some extent and Bing. Some people like German Ecosia that uses Google search results AFAIK.

Browser

The problem with browsers is that most of them are based on Chromium (not to be confused with Google Chrome). Chromium, Safari's Webkit and Mozilla's Gecko are like engines beneath the hoods that are browsers. Browsers may have different functions like adblocks, tab management or favourites, but those three are what allows browsers to read and display websites. While Chromium is open source, it's controlled and developed by Google.

I decided to use Mozilla Firefox with turned off telemetry and Qwant and uBlock Origin extensions. Mozilla, though American, is open source and non profit.

Update: I also installed Privacy Badger extension.

E-mail

Almost twenty years ago, as a teenager, I set up my mailbox on Onet—a Polish news portal. When I got married and changed my last name, I changed my mailbox too, to Gmail. Recently I've started using my old mailbox again when I discovered that I could create an alias for my current last name. In my Gmail I set up my mail to be forwarded to my current mailbox and deleted from Gmail. It isn't perfect, because the mail still reaches Google servers, but I changed most logins and I hardly get any mail there.

If you're from Poland, you can check out wp.pl and O2, they have mailboxes too. Otherwise, Swiss Proton and German Tuta are popular, especially amongst those who care much about privacy. Swiss Infomaniak offers a mailbox in Western Europe. There may be some good mailbox providers in your country, you can look it up.

Contacts

I deleted my contacts from Google and store them locally on the phone. I have backups saved on a pedrive and in a cloud.

Calendar

I've started using a paid Polish app called Domownik (dom means home, so the name means it's an app for home, for household matters). I keep my private calendar there and tasks, and recipes, and weekly menu, and a shopping list that I share with my husband, and some notes that I used to keep in Google Keep and Microsoft OneNote. It's Polish and family oriented, so it isn't a good choice for everyone. Some mailbox providers offer calendars too. You may also think about a paper calendar.

Google Drive, OneDrive

I still use them to some extent. We pay for a family plan on OneDrive. Unfortunately, when I checked European providers like Filen, Proton, Koofr, Cryptee, kDrive, Jottacloud, Hetzner... (if you just want a few GB of storage for free, check them out), it turned out OneDrive is cheaper. My husband loves photo remainders there too. I want to use Swiss pCloud where you can pay once for a lifetime. They also offer nice photo gallery and playlists made from your files. I hope I manage to change it this year.

Google Maps

I checked out a few navigation apps like HERE WeGo, Magic Earth and Organic Maps, but eventually decided to use mapy.com (former mapy.cz). You can download one country's map for free and they have great hiking trails map. I know it works best for Czech Republic and its neighbours (which I happen to be), so I'm not sure if it's as good in other countries.

There's an option to share location, but currently I'm the only one in my family who use it, so I haven't had a chance to try it out. Location sharing is the only reason why I'm still keeping Google Maps on my phone. Next time we're visiting my parents I'll try location sharing in WhatsApp and if it works, I could get rid of Google Maps.

For public transport I use Polish app jakdojade.pl.

Google Docs, Microsoft Office

I've used LibreOffice for years (and OpenOffice before that), so I don't need to change much on my PC. However, I used Google Docs and Sheets on my phone. I had a Google Sheets file for recording my weight. I decided I'm going to keep a digital version of that as ODS (LibreOffice file) on my PC (with a backup in a cloud) and I'll start noting my weight and pressure in a notebook, so if I ever have to show it to a doctor, I can just bring it with me. I used to write fanfiction in Google Docs, so I'm either coming back to writing on my PC in LibreOffice or I'll try French Cryptpad.

Update: I ended up using FreeOffice. It isn't perfect, but it works and that's what's most important.

Google Translate

I've started using German DeepL instead.

Social Media

I have a blog and used to have fanpages on Facebook and Instagram. I don't offer any services or sell any products; it's a project born out of passion. Running a fanpage was so time consuming and hardly anyone was interested in my work, so I decided to stop doing it. I still have my blog; I started running a small blog on wordpress.com with updates and interesting links, so that anyone who's interested can subscribe to it via newsletter or RSS app. I write an update only once in a while when I change something on my main website or if I find something interesting. I deleted Instagram and Facebook (I changed there some settings though, to get some most important notifications to my mailbox), and Tumblr too (too much mindless scrolling).

I downloaded an RSS app instead (I chose Bulgarian Inoreader, but there're others). I follow news sites and blogs I like. It's a feed, but it's my feed, in a chronological order, without ads, sponsored content, algorithms and stupid or hateful comments. Just news and blog posts in a chronological order. I noticed I started to actually read articles! On social media apps it was so easy to read a title and go to the comment section immediately.

Podcasts and Music

I follow my favourite YouTube channels in the RSS app and I got rid of YouTube. I listen to my favourite podcasts in Swedish Spotify. We used to have a family plan in Spotify, but we use American Tidal for music now, because it's a little cheaper, there aren't so many YouTube-like podcasts that my son watched (and I don't want him to), and Tidal pays artists three times more than Spotify. Personally, I'd love to come back to having my mp3 files and playing my own music (I only listen to my own playlists anyway), but my family isn't on board. I'll try to buy my favourite songs to support artists a little and find a way to convert my CDs to digital files (I did it years ago, but I got rid of them...).

Films and TV shows

We had Netflix, Disney+, HBO and Prime at one point. Currently we only keep Netflix (where we have lots to watch) and Prime (my husband says it's cheap enough to keep; I'd just get rid of it if it were up to me). We may pay for i.e. HBO for a month when there's something we want to watch.

I love watching TV shows, so I don't want to give up streaming altogether.

Phone

I use an old iPhone. Android is controlled by Google and iPhone is the only Apple thing I use. Degoogled Android like Graphene OS or Dumbphones are too much for me (just like self-hosted cloud).

What Is Difficult To Get Rid Of

I keep Google Family Link and Microsoft Family Safety to have parental control over my children's computers and phones. My children keep using Microsoft Edge browser too because of that. It's less about time limits and mostly about blocking some websites (I want them only to use websites and download apps that I allow them to). I haven't find a better way yet.

[atevanfool]

In the Light of the Day Chapter 2: (Final)

Waking Up in Hell

Chapter 1: Finding Heaven

On Ao3

Buck blinks his eyes open. The room is different tones of grey; the space next to him, blankets rumpled and chaotic, are cold. Rolling to his back he stretches, feeling nothing as his joints pop, releasing the gasses caused by moving tendon and muscle.

He lays there, staring up vacantly at the plain white ceiling. Every morning it’s hard to wake up; to carry on and act as if everything is okay. To act as though his world hasn’t fallen to pieces and pretend it doesn’t hurt him that no one has bothered to notice. But to wake up from the dream he’d been having is excruciating. It feels like waking up to someone dragging searing hot coals, fresh from the fire, over his exposed muscles after the flesh was already rent from his body. The pain is so visceral it’s a pulsing behind his eyes, though there is nothing left for him to relieve the pressure. There are no more tears to cry.

A memory flashes through his mind:

“This is dispatch requesting immediate backup to a five-alarm high rise fire. All available RA and fire response units are requested to the scene immediately. Station 217 is already on scene.”

Buck looks up at the CB, brows furrowed. He’d only stopped at the station to shit the shoot with some of the guys from B squad and pick up something he’d left in his locker. Tommy was supposed to be coming home in a few hours, and they were going to go out for dinner at some fancy new surf and turf restaurant his husband had insisted on trying. Buck wasn’t all that fond of surf and turf after the whole tsunami debacle, but if it made Tommy happy, he’d do anything.

The tones go off not thirty seconds later. The firefighter he’d been speaking with jumps to her feet and claps him on the shoulder before rushing for the stairs down to the floor where the rest of the crew is already in the process of getting their turnouts on. Buck watches with a feeling of dread settling heavier and heavier in his chest by the second.

Pulling out his phone, he shoots a quick text to Tommy, asking him to send a message the moment he gets a second free. Buck doesn’t know if he’s on ground control today, or if he’s working fire suppression from the sky. Either way he doesn’t expect a quick response.

Knowing that doesn’t settle his nerves.

Settling onto the couch in the loft, he turns on the TV and flips through stations until he finds one that’s covering the fire. A news chopper circles the scene, a familiar voice narrating the going on’s. “As we can see the fire continues to rage. Some LAFD helicopters are doing their best to hit the fire from above. On the ground, station 217 is helping to evacuate the building. As we’re watching, I can see more firetrucks from other stations pulling up. At the moment we don’t have much information on how the fire started, but we’ve been told it was likely an electrical issue followed by someone standing too close with either an open flame, or some sort of accelerant. Stay tuned as we continue monitoring the situation.”

Taylor’s voice fades into background noise. Buck sits on the edge of the couch, leg bouncing with nervous energy as he strains his eyes to catch even a glimpse of his husband. Nothing. They’re smaller than ants on the ground, and there’s so much smoke he can’t believe Taylor and the news chopper pilot can breathe, even that high up. The grey cloud plumage is so high it blocks out the otherwise blue sky, even with the wide angle camera lens. The thought is a whisper in the back of his racing mind. Where is his husband?

Time passes like two drops of molasses racing down the bark of its tree. Buck doesn’t know how many times he’s gotten up to pace the floor, biting at his thumbnail until it's raw, and checking his phone every ten seconds. There’s still no reply. His breathing comes out in short, heaving, pants. The world is zeroing in until all he can see is the TV screen. If he was wearing a heart monitor he’s sure it’d be warning him of an imminent heart attack.

And that’s when everything falls to pieces.

A deafening sound of a concrete collapsing in on itself echoes through the speakers, making Buck snap his head around. Taylor is reporting again, sounding frantic and afraid. “The building has just collapsed on one side. Reports say that there are still firefighters and civilians inside. We don’t have a number yet even as the fire continues to rage.”

The room buzzes like the wings of a fly inside Buck’s head. The oxygen is sucked from the room, and he has to lean against the back of the couch so he doesn’t drop to the floor. This can’t be happening. No. They were going to dinner tonight. Buck was going to eat food he didn’t like just because it made Tommy happy.

Tommy was coming home. He had to come home.

Buck doesn’t know where he finds the strength but one second he’s inside the firehouse and the next he’s in his truck, breaking every driving law as he races towards the disaster site. When he arrives, there’s a blockade of police vehicles and officers holding the crowd back. Half of them have their hands clasped as they gaze up in worry at the still burning building; the other half hold cellphones up like this is some kind of Goddamn circus, and Buck wants to rip every single one of their phones out of their hands and break them. This is a tragedy happening in real time; not some kind of fresh entertainment or a crew filming a new scene in their favorite procedural. Real people’s lives are at stake.

Shoving his way to the front of the group he tries to push past the officers. “Sir, you need to stay back. Let the firefighter’s do their jobs.” One says, pressing a hand against his shoulder.

“I’m a firefighter, let me through!” He growls, trying to shoulder past. Either from worry or lack of strength, he’s not able to break the hold. His knees feel weak. So weak. “Let me through God damn it! My husband is in that building!”

“Sir, if you don’t calm down we will have to restrain you. I’m sure your husband is just fine, and unless you’re in uniform I can’t allow you any closer, firefighter or not.” The officer is reaching for the cuffs at his side.

Buck is hysterical at this point; his blue eyes are so wide they take up half of his face. Can’t the officer see the way his heart is beating in his chest? It’s about to break through his ribs and greet the world. He can’t take this anymore. “Let. Me. Through!” His voice cracks. He doesn’t even notice that his cheeks are wet.

There’s a hand on his shoulder and he tries to shake it off but it grips on tighter. “Officer, please let this man through. He tends to get reckless if things don’t go his way.” A voice like a balm on his soul.

“S-sergeant Grant.” The nameless officer straightens up, stance rigid. “I apologize but we’ve been ordered to not allow anyone except emergency personnel any closer.”

That firm grip glides from his shoulder to his neck, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Athena’s fingertips are warm, and calloused, and familiar. And in any other situation would’ve eased Buck’s worries. “Former sergeant, officer. In any other instance, I would ask you to follow orders, but I know this firefighter far too well, and I understand just how far he’ll go to get to someone he loves. I’d rather he not do anything reckless and make more work for the EMT’s.”

“Ma’am?”

“My stepson is a very passionate person when it comes to his family. If anyone gives you any shit for disobeying orders you send them my way, and I’ll set them straight.”

“Stepson?” The officer looks confused, glancing between Athena and Buck even as Buck stands there vibrating out of his skin, wide eyes locked on the building. He doesn’t even have the mental bandwidth to appreciate Athena’s acknowledgment of his status as her family.

She nods. “Now, Officer Jackson, if you’d please let firefighter Buckley-Kinard through I would greatly appreciate it.”

Still looking a bit hesitant, Officer Jackson nods his head and steps to the side, holding back as many of the looky-loos as he can. Athena grabs Buck tightly by the neck and breathes, “Go find your man, but stay out of trouble, you hear? Everything will be alright, Buck,” before releasing him. He doesn’t respond, slipping from her grasp as he shoves through the line of officers.

The next twenty minutes are a blur as he stumbles through the scene, calling out Tommy’s name. The first responders he asks haven’t seen him; they don’t know if he’s ground ops even. Buck’s frustration, and anxiety ratchet even higher. And then he runs into someone who’s seen him. And he almost wishes he hadn’t.

The paramedic's face falls; he doesn’t know her name but he’s seen her at other scenes before. She’s kind, and great at her job. She knows who Buck is. She’s familiar with his relationship to Tommy. So when her pinched expression shifts into one of sorrow, Buck knows. He knows, but a part of him is still trying to tell him that Tommy is fine. He’s just helping with the evacuation. Any minute now Buck’s going to see that mess of curls, and Tommy’s soot covered stubbled jaw, running towards him with open arms. Those strong, familiar arms wrap him up in an embrace so tight he can’t breathe. Like he can’t right now.

His vision dims as black spots form at the edges. “Where is he? Where is my husband?”

“Buckley.” Her words are soft, but that’s not what he wants right now, but the noise that comes out of his mouth is wounded. “I… I don’t think you should be here right now.”

He doesn’t even turn to look at her. “Where. Is. My. Husband.”

Buck feels her eyes on his face, searching for what he doesn’t know, but after what feels like an eternity she sighs and takes him gently by the arm. “This way.”

They weave through the crowd, not a single person even giving them a second glance. The paramedic guides him to the white tent where a person with a clipboard is making notes. “Eve.” She calls out the woman’s name and Eve looks up. As soon as she sees Buck her expression turns to sympathy. “Firefighter Buckley-Kinard is here for… He’s here for…” Her breath hitches, tears at the corners of her brown eyes.

“It’s okay, Tif. I know.” Eve shoo’s her away and then Buck is being led through the tent towards the back where black bags are lined up, unzipped. Not a single one of their faces registers. The rock in his throat suffocates him and he’s about to pass out. No. No. Tommy is just helping load another person into a body bag. He’s marking them DOA. He’s not one of the bodies in these cold, black, bags.

At the very back of the space is an area clearly separated from the rest. He can see glimpses of the familiar brownish-yellow if their turnouts. A sob escapes him unbidden. Eve whispers something to him, probably trying to comfort him, but he can’t hear her. They’ve reached the end of the row. He doesn’t want to turn and look. If he looks, if he sees, it’s real. As long as he doesn’t see Tommy’s face it can’t be true.

He looks.

A second later he’s on his knees; doesn’t even register the pain of hitting the ground as he crawls to his husbands still body. There’s a red tag slapped around his wrist, his coat shredded and pushed open. Blood covers every inch of his face, dripping down his cheeks like a macabre painting of death. His exposed chest is black, and blue, and purple. His typically tanned skin is ashy and yellowed. 

He’s screaming; he can feel it. But there’s no noise. Nothing around him feels real. He fights off Eve as she tries to hold onto him, to pull him away. Concrete dust covers his curls, turning them grey. His blue eyes are shut tight, his face a picture of content. How can he be content? Tommy can’t be content after leaving Buck alone. Again.

“You bastard!” He’s screaming, covering Tommy’s stone cold body with his own, pressing their foreheads together. His falling tears make streaks down Tommy’s cheeks, causing the blood to run. Shaking those broad shoulders he screams until his throat is raw. “You can’t leave me like this. We were supposed to spend forever together!”

The funeral was held a week later. The numbness persisted through the ceremony; through the lowering of the casket and the handing off of the folded flag. Buck was the only next of kin for one Tommy Buckley-Kinard. Not one blood relative showed up to send him off. The former 118 held him, whispering condolences and encouragement. They set up the viewing and the celebration of life at their home after the service. But it didn’t matter.

Because the one person he wanted was never coming back.

Months passed. He took leave from the firehouse. Almost considered quitting. He couldn’t go back to the job that took his heart.

But he couldn’t. Being a firefighter was what he was made for. Saving lives, even though he couldn’t save the one that mattered more than anyone else's in the world, was his calling. Even as he moved through life like a ghost of himself he kept on.

Now he’s here, laying in a bed too big for one, with ruffled sheets and no smells except for the cold, clinical cleanliness of a kept home. A sob works its way up his throat; rolling onto his side, he stares down at the glinting silver ring on his left hand ring finger. And cries. Cries tears he didn’t think he had left.

Maybe he hadn’t believed in heaven, but he sure as shit believed in hell because he’s been living in it every single day since he buried his heart six feet under the cold, hard, dirt.

[ohshi-kaboom]

Murder Drones Rider Au + Uzi fanart

Or should i say... Murder Drive AU HEHEHEHE

This lovely amalgamation was made by yours truly when putting murder drones and pretty bikes on a blender hoping for something fancy. And i did it.

The mechanics are simple! (Haha get it? Mechanics)

Uzi is a moody mechanic (i will get real tired of the word mechanic and so will you.) Working in your local Auto shop: Copper's 9 ! Owned by daddy dearest Khan Doorman! She mostly does repairs and common car maintenance, aaand if she decides she likes you well enough you'll get some neat modifications for half the price! (Its a lie but only she knows that)

In her free time she stays around the back of the store repairing and selling old cars as a hobby that also doubles as a side hustle.

Her life in home isn't as sweet as she would hope for but she's learned to cope, something that she specializes in after her Moms disappearance; Nori Doorman, presumed dead.

Shes the only occupant of a nice little apartment, moving from their parents house a few years after Nori's disappearance and Khan's neglect. Rarely visited by anyone she stays little time in her apartment, either watching anime after a tiring day, eating lunch, showering after a messy oil spill or just existing after closing hours. Youll definitely see her more at the shop doing gods knows what this time. The reson why Uzi doesn't spend more time in the little home shes built herself is because of the atmosphere, too cold and gloomy for her liking, the barren space reminding her too much of her loneliness.

("She looks soo much like Uzi" you all say in unison.)

Nathaniel, or best known as "N" is a Bike racer, youll see him proudly sporting his various motorcycles all earned by his sweat, hard work, and money from illegal races.

N has and incredible set of bad luck, following him like a stubborn rain cloud with every single bike he touches breaking down at some point. No matter how much he dotes over them or how carefull he is; they will break. And thats a promise from the universe, aparently.

He lives in a fairly big house with his other two roommates: Jay, "J" and Veronica, "V". They all participate in their own races, N and V competing frequently while J sits back and collects their winnings. J also participates in rare ocations.

When N is not flying through the streets, or winning the months rent he resides in his little corner of the garage painting, drawing, scrap booking or doing whatever craft he can get his hands onto.

(I will probably add more on N later on)

N and Uzi meet when Ns bike breaks in "the middle of nowhere" according to V, so he just sits quietly besides the road waiting for either backup (V showing up to rescue him after cackling over the phone and then hanging up) or to simply perish. Uzi was heading to the workshop in Railgun (a very beat up, highly modified but very loved minitruck that she herself constructed from other cars parts) When she came across a very puppy kicked to the side of the road sad looking person laying down besides the road by a very nice looking motorcycle. She slows down to take a quick peek to the bike when the person laying down jumps immediately at her side after noticing her slowing down, begging asking for a ride to the closest Auto shop explaining how his bike broke. Uzi (although very begrudgingly) decides to help this weird friendly stranger as her good deed of the year. She parks to the side of the road helping N heave the bike into the trunk and waits until he hops into the passenger seat to begin their way to Copper's 9.

After Fixing N's bike (and getting a tip she will not complain about) She gives the rundown on what the problem of the bike was and how to avoid it. N thanks her (a little too much if you ask Uzi) and parts ways. Uzi not dwelling about it goes on to the rest of her day, not thinking about seeing N again anytime soon.

Not even a week later N shows up again with another bike, this one looking like it went into the devils asscrack and back. Uzi just gives him a glare and gets to work.

That is NOT the last time that happens. (She counts 12 visits in one month, what the hell N?)

So! This is the basic information about my silly little Au, i don't have a name for it yet, I have been calling it Murder Drive for gits and shiggles but i don't know if I should make it the official name of this Au, if you have any suggestions tell me about it!

And I've been thinking about making it a fic buuut I've never written anything lengthy before, and English is not my first language so you can imagine how I feel.

Do tell me how you feel about it, or if you have any asks send 'em my way!

ALSO! THIS IS A HUMAN AU!! YAYAY HUMANS‼️‼️

[im-not-buying-it-ether]

Billy wakes up.

He has a test today. It’s Friday, his science class has a test every Friday to go over what they learned in the week. He feels optimistic, but then his League communicator pings.

Felix Faust in Star, send backup

He sighs, bumbling down the stairs to catch Rosa and Darla setting up a quick breakfast before school and tell them he needs to head out. Rosa says she’ll write a note that he caught a sudden flu, he’ll take his test Monday when he gets back. He runs outside, calling down his thunder and is off to help as he always does.

Billy wakes up, his alarm blaring as he turns over with a groan to silence it. He brings his hand down to hit the snooze button and the side table breaks into splinters, the Strength of Heracles had activated without his permission. Again

He worries over it, spending too long silently mourning the side table his dorm room had come with and the phone that still had so much use left in it. It feels like a waste, both mourning the action and almost crying over what he lost. It’s what a quiet voice in his head tells him, that he shouldn’t cry over something so trivial, like his phone was split milk and not something that felt so special to him as the gift the Vasquez’s got him when he actually stayed until his birthday. Something he hadn’t done for any other previous foster home, something he only shared with them like he used to when he still had his mom.

He goes through the motions of getting ready for classes at the academy, going slow and measuring every pull of fabric like his shirt over his head and his jeans up to his hips. They don’t tear, but he’s scared his— that Heracles strength would cause him to ruin his clothes if he rushed like he normally did or put in too much effort.

He heads to class and listens to his history lecture, doing all he can to ignore the aged voice of a long dead king not picking their teaching technique and reminiscing their own past. The classroom one voice louder than it should be.

Marvel wakes up, jolting from sleep like the thunder claps that summon him. Hands flying to pat himself down as he looks down with horror. “Shazam!”

He’s gone as soon as Billy had woken up, the window by his bed now broken in from the lightning arching through the opening to detransform him. He heaves a breath in, then another, and quickly spirals into hyperventilating.

He didn’t even wake up in his own body. He went to bed as Billy, why did he wake up different? Wouldn’t he wake up from transforming?

He looks out the broken glass of his window, steadying his breath the best he can as the storm clouds roll away.

Billy wakes up above his bed, free falling into his mattress from the few feet he’d gone up while unconscious. Face planted into his pillow, he cries himself back to sleep.

Billy wakes up from a nightmare fighting Arson Fiend with his fist through the wall his bed is pressed against and into the neighboring room, the kid on the other side awake and yelling at him as to what he was doing.

Billy wakes up.

Billy wakes up.

Marvel wakes up, his new phone buzzing on the floor next to his bed. He’d moved it to the middle of the room, he’d started tying an ankle to the post to keep from flying out too high or far from his bed. His phone buzzes again, a call. Looking over the edge has his sisters face smiling at him, and the strength of Heracles nor the courage of Achilles helps him muster up the will to answer her with a voice not his own. He hardly has the strength to mutter his word, something he’d call out proudly with a lions roar now reduced to a complacent whimper of the battle cry it once was.

He’s told he’s just growing up, that what he’s feeling is something everyone else has had to go through. He wants to believe his teachers, the Titans, his parents, but as well meaning as they are he can’t find himself able to believe that what he’s feeling is normal.

The phone goes silent, and eternity drags on.

Inspired by @billymarvel ‘s post about Dick absolutely sucking at his lil’ pep talk to Billy about his powers going wonky, he’s a sad lil bean and I want to hug him

[barbwritesstuff]

Writer to writer, what program do you use? What are your thoughts on "cloud" type services? I ask because I use Word, but I'm at a point where I might change. My work is nothing to write home about, but I'm also hesitant to trust...basically anyone to store my thoughts. I'm basically a feral possum keen on guarding their trash, also on the market for a new garbage bin. Any suggestions?

I am the worst person to ask. I tend to be really reluctant to update to new technology, even when it is blatantly and obviously better. My phone is eight years old, if I use photoshop it's the 2007 version, and I'm still sad about getting a new laptop even though my old one was 10 years old and overheating every couple of hours.

For choicescript projects I use CSIDE. You can download it for free and it makes the experience of writing and coding choicescript so much nicer.

For prose, I still use word, and only VERY recently (when I got the new laptop) started backing up my work on a share drive.

For Ren'py, I use whatever the default thing for Ren'py is. It's not my favourite, mostly due to the lack of an inbuilt spell checker, but it's also just not quite as sleek and sexy looking as CSIDE.

When it comes to trusting clouds and/or organisations to store your writing... I don't have any good advice. If you're worried, you can save all files locally and email yourself a draft as a backup (2001 style).

I'm sure a young person is now judging me for my technological backwardness, so I'm going to stop this here. I hope you find the garbage bin you're looking for, anon.

💙

[decks-writing-blog]

If Given the Choice: 6/6 Epilogue

Chapter One

Previous Chapter

~

Gabbro blinked open their eyes to sunlight and Timer Hearth’s sky yawning massive overhead. The angle of the light indicated it was either dawn or sunset, hard to tell which when lying on the ground.

They sat up and lifted their hands to release their helmets’ seals, allowing them to twist it off. Thanks to Auri’s generosity, they’d been home quite a few times now. The fresh air on their face was still delightful though, never again would they take it for granted.

A look around revealed that they were in a field. Auri lay next to them, also stirring as if just waking from a long sleep. A loose rope tether tied them together.

Auri sat up and reached up to take their helmet off. “Where are we?”

“Timber Hearth, I think.”

“The real one or the one in the Eye?”

“Hmm… good question.” Carefully Gabbro pushed themself of their feet before offering a hand to help Auri’s to theirs too. “The sun is raising though and things seem… normal. Other than the whole, waking up here thing anyway. That’s certainly not normal.”

Holding their helmet under their arm, Auri turned their head back and forth, their gaze on the horizon, a couple times before turning to look at Gabbro again. “No quantum stuff’s happening.”

Gabbro did a couple checks of their own to see for themself and to backup that ascertain. It was true; nothing changed. “That’s not very Eye-like.”

“Do you think maybe… it was a dream?”

It had certainly had a dream like quality with how the two of them were shifted from one thing to the next. Everything had felt like it made sense; they were supposed to be there and knew what to do. Looking back on it though wasn’t like remembering a dream though. It was still solid and real in Gabbro’s mind. And, “The trip there would’ve been a dream too then, right? And that would mean we fell asleep here. Why would we do that? Especially with our suits on.” Always eager to be free of it, Gabbro made a point to take the suit off during the flight back home. “Also, we’re still tethered. Why would we do that on Timber Hearth?” It was the shortest they’d ever tied their tether too.

“Yeah true but…” Auri trailed off for a moment. “If it wasn’t a dream that would mean… the loops are over? But that can’t be the case either, can it? Or it can, that was the goal but…”

“Sounds too good to be true,” Gabbro finished for them as they trailed off once more. “We could compare what we remember though if that would make you feel better.” It would certainly ease the remaining doubt.

“Um… okay. I went to get you first to take you to Ash Twin. We had to wait for the sand for a few hours. And then when we were inside, I read everything to you because I wanted to delay a little longer and you seemed interested. And then I showed you the Advance Warp Core.” They paused and looked to Gabbro; a request to continue from there.

“You were scared to take it out so I offered to do it. You said, ‘please’ and that you were worried you’d drop it so you’d prefer if I held it instead. So I took it out and we left. You flew us to Dark Bramble and followed a signal to Escape Pod Three. It was… sadder in person than you’d described it. So was the Vessel. The Anglers were quite something up close like that though. We drifted right by them. It was kinda cool in a scary way.”

From there, Auri took over for a little bit before Gabbro continued further. They laid out the whole thing, focusing the most on what they’d encountered after entering the Eye. The long fall and then the forest filled with a million more universes. They saw themselves just as they were, tethered and holding hands. And then the Observatory and the hunt of the other Ventures’ members plus Solanum and the Stranger’s Prisoner. Gathered around the campfire they’d played their song; beautiful and haunting. With one last reminder of their hope that they could renew the current universe, they’d hopped into the cloud that had formed over campfire and then… woken up here.

None of Auri’s parts contradicted anything Gabbro remembered. The same seemed to hold true the other way around too as Auri only ever listened and nodded along. Meaning it couldn’t have possibly been a dream.

“You think we succeeded then?” Auri asked after the silence had held between them for almost a full minute. “The universe isn’t ending anymore?”

‘Yes’ was what Gabbro wanted to say. Both because they desperately wanted that to be the case and because Auri shared that want. But it was probably a bit early to take it as fact yet. “Maybe. Something happened though, we know that. We should go to the village and ask around.” Assuming it still existed by Gabbro wasn’t voicing that thought unless they had to. “See if anyone remembers anything.”

“Good idea. Let’s go.” Auri as both of them took off. Too fast for several strides resulting in them tugging against the tether. Slowing down, they fell back into step with Gabbro. “I love you but this is one of those times I really wish you walked just a little faster, you know?”

“Very well, just this once because I love you, I’ll go a bit faster.” Also they weren’t immune to anxiety. They’d taken out the loop’s power source and gone to the Eye of the Universe, achieving something but what? Were the loops over and the universe saved? What if that was the case but it was just the two of them now? Everyone else was dead. Or what if, somehow, the loops would continue? The Eye had put them back at the start, not fixing anything, just putting them here for some reason and everything else back at the where it began? The sun was still going to go supernova in three days. They’d find out eventually no matter how fast or slow they went, there was no need to rush, but they wanted to know sooner rather than later. “First though, let’s untie ourselves, huh? I don’t think we really need to be tethered anymore.”

~

Even going at Auri’s preferred faster walking speed it took them a couple hours to reach the village in its crater. Looking down into it eased Gabbro’s fear that they might be the only two left as there were people about. Dropping down into it, using their jet packs to catch themselves, put them near the launch tower. Auri’s ship didn’t stand atop it. A good sign? It was still in Dark Bramble where they’d left it?

Slate wasn’t immediately in evidence but it didn’t take long to find them exiting their nearby workshop. They looked up as Auri and Gabbro approached. “You’re back and you brought Gabbro.”

Taking a deep breath, Auri stepped towards them. “This is gonna sound like a really weird question but how many days has it been since I launched? And has anything weird happened in the past like… day or two?”

“You mean other than you coming back and asking me a weird question you should know the answer to? No, I don’t think so. And it’s been like three days since you launched, I think. Not a long time to be gone considering you should have enough fuel to last twice that.”

“So if launch day is day one, this is day four?” Gabbro asked for clarification lest this be the final day of the loop. Just before dawn on day four was when the sun went supernova and it was well past dawn by now. So if this was day four that would mean they’d succeeded in making the universe whole again.

“Uh, sure, yeah. Why?”

Auri let out a wordless sound of delight that echoed the sound Gabbro’s soul wanted to make as they rushed forward to hug Slate. They let out a grunt of surprise as Auri lifted them off the ground and spun around twice before putting them back down. “That’s great news! Thank you!” Letting go, they turned back towards Gabbro to do the exact same thing to them, squeezing them tight around the middle and lifting them up to spin around. “We did it! We really did it!”

“We really did, huh? Go us..” Gabbro squeezed Auri just as tight

No more dying and/or watching the solar system die every three days. No more conversations with anyone other than Auri that only they would remember. No more waking up on Giant’s Deep alone and having to set up the hammock for the umpteenth time. No more impending end of everything they knew and loved hanging over them every moment.

“Are you two okay?” Slate asked. “Do you need me to go get someone or something?”

Auri put Gabbro down so they could turn to face Slate, though they kept an arm around Gabbro’s middle, keeping them close. “We’re fantastic actually! Probably the best we’ve been in long fucking time.”

“We’ll explain later,” Gabbro added. Probably anyway. That was a conversation they were going to have to have with Auri later. How much did they want to tell about what they’d been through with the loops. “So don’t worry about it for now.”

“Telling me not to worry about it is only going to make me worry about it more. What did I miss? What happened?”

“We’ll explain later,” Auri repeated. “I promise. First we,” they gestured to themself and Gabbro, “have a date we gotta go on before we figure out what we’re gonna do next. We’ll see you later though.”

Turning away, Auri tugged Gabbro into walking with them. “We should probably ask around a little bit more to make sure and stuff. Especially we should ask Chert what happened with the stars these past three days to make sure the universe really is continuing. Also, we’re probably gonna have to figure out what to do about the Bramble Seed so it doesn’t destroy Timber Hearth. And we should probably discuss borrowing someone’s ship so we can go retrieve ours. Or just yours and we could use that one to get back to mine. And while we’re there we should collect Feldspar too finally.”

“Don’t forget the Stranger, you can finally officially report it.”

Auri nodded. “Yeah, yeah, that too. There’s lots to do but… but after all that what are we going to do? It’s been a long time since I thought about after.”

“We’ll figure out what all we wanna we do when we get there.” They didn’t have the infinite time of the loop anymore but they still had plenty. There was lots that needed doing, dealing with the Bramble Seed being the most urgent, but once all that was taken care of, they were free to do whatever they pleased. They finally had real choices to make again. What all those choices would be Gabbro hadn’t thought about in a long time either though. All they knew was that whatever they were going to do next, they were going to do it with Auri.

[glapplebloom]

The Season 8 Finale and Cozy Glow’s true self shows.

The episode begins with Cozy Glow really showing just how much she integrated among the school. She helps Muffins getting the mail, a new student find her first class, Silverstream with a crossword puzzle and Twilight when she goes Twilynanas. But on a field trip to Cloudsdale, half the school decides to drop out of it. And by that I mean the spell that keeps them on the clouds stops working.

I’m going to save my Cozy Glow rants for later, but keep in mind the following: Five Ponies, Yona, Starlight, Sandbar and two other students, are falling to their deaths because the Spell Starlight cast suddenly stopped working. There are currently six winged creatures who have not fallen down. Each one catches another, with Gallus and Ocellus working together to get Yona. Imagine if there was one or more Non-Pegasi among them.

Back at the school, Dash and Starlight told Twilight but she dismissed it thinking it was a mistake in the spell she cast. That is until Twilight herself failed to pick up a book. With Rarity being another pony who lost her magic, they wonder how this could be happening. Cozy Glow suggests Tirek is behind this. And just in time as Celestia calls them to Canterlot to talk about this.

Pretty much there has been multiple reports of this all over Equestria, even they are having trouble moving the Sun and Moon. And Starswirl, via letter, figured out the problem. In three days, all magic will be gone. Starting with Unicorn Magic and Spells. Then creatures in general. And finally artifacts. So when the Sun Sets on the Third day (let’s ignore that for now), all Magic will be gone forever. 

Twilight and Friends volunteered to go to Tartarus to see if Tirek is behind this. But as she leaves the School, she entrusts Starlight to run the school when she’s gone. Cozy Glow thought she was going to, but got super excited to help her. The next time we see her, apparently Starlight Glimmer decided to go with Twilight while Cozy Glow runs the school now. I’m pretty sure even new watchers are seeing this and thinking the same thing Smolder is.

After seeing our heroes move on, Cozy Glow seemed to have been winning over the majority of the students. The Student Six are doing a group study in the Library as they discuss the current situation. The Anti-Cozy group gets the leg up when they see her exiting the catacombs that we established had the Tree of Harmony in. They follow her to see Chancellor Neighsay in Twilight’s office. 

After seeing Twilight and friends again entering Tartarus with no way out, we establish that the two are not working together. Neighsay is having a hostile takeover and his first action is to lock up the Student Six so they can be sent back to their homes. Sandbar lies saying he sees the truth but instead looking for help. He finds the Crusaders and they think Cozy Glow can help them save the school from Neighsay.

The first part ends and the second part begins with us discovering Cozy Glow is the pony behind the Magical Disappearance. She wants to rule Equestria as the Empress of Friendship. And thanks to Cozy Glow’s plan, Twilight and Crew are stuck in Tartarus with possibly a day remaining. So Twilight came up with a plan: convince Tirek to absorb the Magic that remains in the fusion creatures to open the door. Spoiler, it works but basically where they are it would have been too late.

Back with Sandbar and the Crusaders, they try but find out stepping on the Magic Symbol sucks anyone close up. So the plan is Sandbar gets their friends while the Crusaders try to distract Cozy Glow. This was their backup plan because their original plan of “convince Neighsay the truth” was already taken out when Cozy Glow manipulated the rest of the School to take him out. 

The Students free him after this and he goes to the Princesses. After all, he saw first hoof that she was evil. And after finding out she was responsible, easy to believe. So while they wait and hopefully the Crusaders doing their job, they would go down to the catacombs to try to stop the spell. Sadly, Cozy Glow saw through this and got the School on her side. The Student Six gets sucked up and basically, Cozy Glow would have won.

The Main Six are too far away to stop her. The Princesses and the Guards are far away. And Cozy pretty much has the School eating out of her hoof. And with no magic, pretty much no more flying pegasi. No more controlled weather. No more proper food storages since they mostly use magic to maintain it. Maybe Eternal Night considering nobody is controlling the Sun and Moon.

Luckily Friendship is Magic and the Tree of Harmony decided to save them. They released the artifacts and luckily the school didn’t blow up. All the magic is back and Cozy Glow gets her comeuppance. Pretty much every Student, the Princesses, Chancellor Neighsay and the Royal Guard stop her. After some time, most likely the next day, Neighsay apologizes for pretty much everything as the Student Six try to graduate but don’t because it's only been a year. 

Sometime after, we see Luna escorting Cozy Glow to Tartarus, who immediately plots to try to take over Equestria again. Overall, it is a very enjoyable episode with possibly the smartest villain to ever be on the show. She integrated with the entire school so she could earn their trust and set it up so pretty much she was in total control. She just didn’t take into account the Tree of Harmony, the Ultimate Uno Reverse Card.

My big issue is with people thinking Cozy Glow didn’t deserve her punishment. They question why she doesn’t get the Redemption Attempt when Discord and Starlight do. A future Research Bin is basically going to be me trying to convince you that she straight up deserved what she got. From Headcanons about her not being a child to actual facts that showed why Discord and Starlight got turned to good while others didn’t. 

Click here for the original review and how it fits in GLAB canon.

[ukagakadreamteam]

Hi! super quick question, is there a way to recover the data of an ssp ghost that randomly forgot, like, everything? home boi doesn't even know my name anymore and developed a few other issuies like not loading some options and not using any pronouns, like, at all. it's super confusing and made me really sad when i first opened it and they started off with one of the early stage lines. (which i was wayyyyy past.)

It sounds like your ghost's save data may have been corrupted/deleted. Unfortunately it's likely unrecoverable, unless you have a copy of it somewhere.

We're not quite sure why this happens sometimes; in normal use it usually doesn't, but if SSP crashes or something catastrophic happens during network updates, it can.

There is also the possibility that you are either running it out of a temporary folder (such as if you downloaded SSP as a .zip file and are running it out of that archive without extracting it), or you're running it out of a folder linked to some kind of cloud service (such as OneDrive or Google Drive) and those services are intervering with the save files.

It's hard to say more in this case without knowing what your exact situation was. If you're running SSP out of a temporary folder or have it stored in a folder linked to a cloud service, it is recommended to move it to a non-protected folder somewhere on your computer. Make sure that the folder name is plain alphanumeric characters as well; sometimes special characters in the file name can cause trouble with SSP and it will refuse to run, so in theory it's possible this could also have prevented ghosts from making their saves.

Either way, if you would like to make backups of your ghost's data in the future, here's what you can do:

If you're using a ghost that is written in AYA or YAYA, your save file is located in the ghost's folder, under ghost/master/

In YAYA ghosts, it'll be called yaya_variable.cfg. In AYA ghosts, it'll be called aya5_variable.cfg. (If you happen to be using a ghost written in a different programming language, you may need to do some digging to find out which file is the save file.)

While the ghost is closed, find the save file, and make a copy of it to a separate folder somewhere safe. That will effectively be a save state of your ghost at the time you copied the file. To restore that state, make sure the ghost is closed, then copy your backup back into the ghost's folder, making sure it's named appropriately.

It's really important to do this while the ghost is closed, since they always save upon closing, and you don't want them to overwrite the old file you just put in.

Hopefully that helps, if you're still having trouble or have more information to add, feel free to send us another ask! If it becomes a recurring problem, especially, then we might be able to help narrow it down.

[slavicgerman]

I worked at Blockbuster in high school and we got 5 free rentals a week. New releases we had to pay but I didn't. I just took home new ones that were ready to be put out front in a couple days when I closed. I wanted to make copies so I figured out connecting the vcr to the tv-vcr combo and.....voila! Blank cassette in the combo, master in the vcr and then my own movies for free.

For streaming services I have Netflix(free for a year) and Prime Video. I wait for whatever to leak online and either download it to my laptop or my phone then transfer it to my hard and/or cloud drive so I still have a copy to watch whenever.

Point being have backups of backups because torrents run out of seeders and download links stop working after a certain time.

P.S.

Laptops have a built-in screen recorder.

“To protect their copyright, streaming sites do not allow for screenshotting of any kind.”

Hey remember VHS where you bought a box to plug into your tv and you could legally record whatever was playing and then own it for free forever

[sekspeakss]

Do Solar Panels Work on Cloudy Days or in Low Sunlight?

It’s completely normal to wonder if solar panels still generate electricity when weather isn’t cooperative. If clouds, rain, or limited daylight hours worry you, this guide will debunk myths with facts and practical insights.

What Happens to Solar Panels When It’s Cloudy or Raining?

Even when the sun is hidden, your solar panels keep working — just less strongly.

They harness diffused sunlight, not just direct rays.

Overcast skies reduce output to roughly 10–25%, depending on cloud thickness.

Countries like Germany — often cloud-covered — are still major solar energy producers, showing that smart design matters more than constant sunshine.

Do Solar Panels Work on Cloudy Days?

Absolutely. Though performance dips, panels still generate power.

On sunny days, you get peak capacity.

On cloudy days, there’s a performance drop, but the flow doesn’t stop.

High-efficiency monocrystalline panels do a great job even in low-light conditions, making them ideal where consistent sunlight isn’t guaranteed.

Do Solar Panels Work in the Rain?

Yes — and rain even helps.

Rain naturally washes away dust and debris that reduce output.

While efficiency can drop to 10–20% during heavy rain, panels still convert light into electricity.

That cleanup benefit often offsets the slight dip in performance.

What About Fog, Snow, or Shade?

These conditions can reduce solar efficiency, but panels still function:

Fog diffuses light but doesn’t eliminate it.

Light snow might cover panels briefly, but sloped roofs usually allow melting and clearing quickly.

Shade from trees or buildings can block light, though technologies like microinverters and optimizers help maintain overall system output. Choosing a reliable solar partner ensures your system is configured to handle these variables.

How to Boost Your Solar Output in Low-Light Conditions

Maximize your solar potential even when the sun’s shy:

Opt for high-efficiency, low-light-capable panels.

Install panels at angles that catch diffused light.

Use battery backups to store energy during cloudy days.

Keep panels clean with routine maintenance and occasional washing.

With these measures, your system maintains strong performance regardless of weather.

Final Thoughts, Solar Still Works When It’s Cloudy

Solar power doesn’t shut off when the skies are overcast — it continues working, even if output dips. With thoughtful system design and the right technology, you’ll get reliable energy year-round.

Power Your Home, Rain or Shine

At Kondaas, we design solar systems to perform consistently through all weather conditions. We evaluate your roof, local climate, and energy needs to deliver the right solution. Want a dependable solar power system for home in Coimbatore Get in touch today for a free consultation.

[atplblog]

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[aidc-india]

File Tracking Software Development for Seamless Workflow – AIDC India

AIDC India 2025: Leading the Future of File Tracking Software Development

In today’s digital world, the need for efficient document control is more important than ever. With growing data and rising compliance needs, businesses are actively shifting to automated systems. That’s where File Tracking Software plays a vital role.

AIDC Technologies India is at the forefront of File Tracking Software development, offering secure, real-time, and customizable solutions designed for today’s workflow demands. Whether your organization deals with physical files, digital records, or both, AIDC’s solutions make tracking seamless and stress-free.

The Need for Seamless Workflow in 2025: Why File Tracking Software Matters

As businesses expand, so does the complexity of file movement and storage. Misplaced files, delayed approvals, or missing records can disrupt entire operations. The main aim of File Tracking Software is to bring order to this chaos.

In 2025, companies demand speed, accuracy, and remote access. AIDC’s File Tracking Software ensures that teams can collaborate, locate, and manage documents without delay—whether they’re in the office, on-site, or working from home.

Key Features of AIDC’s File Tracking Software for Workflow Optimization

AIDC Technologies India develops software that not only tracks files but also improves the overall workflow of an organization. With built-in features like automation, role-based access, RFID/barcode tagging, and mobile compatibility, the system becomes a central tool for file management.

Whether it’s legal documents, medical records, HR files, or customer contracts, File Tracking Software by AIDC ensures everything is in the right place at the right time.

Real-Time File Movement Tracking with AIDC Software Solutions

Real-time tracking is a core benefit of AIDC’s File Tracking Software. Every time a file moves—whether it’s being checked in, sent to another department, or accessed remotely—the software records the activity.

This reduces guesswork and saves valuable time. Managers can instantly view file status and location, preventing miscommunication and lost documents. In large organizations, this alone can recover hundreds of wasted hours annually.

Automated Workflows & Custom Routing Powered by AIDC India

Manual file handling can slow down operations. AIDC’s File Tracking Software includes workflow automation features that allow files to move through departments based on pre-set rules.

For instance, a purchase request file can automatically be routed from the procurement department to finance and then to management for approval. This removes bottlenecks and ensures a smoother workflow with fewer delays.

Automation also reduces the risk of human error, helping teams stay on top of their tasks without needing manual follow-ups.

Secure Access & Role-Based Permissions in AIDC File Tracking Systems

Security is a top priority, especially when dealing with confidential information. AIDC’s File Tracking Software allows organizations to assign role-based permissions. This means users only have access to the files they’re authorized to handle.

Whether it’s employee files in HR, client data in legal firms, or test reports in healthcare settings, AIDC ensures that sensitive information stays protected. Every access, change, or movement is logged, providing a full audit trail for compliance purposes.

Mobile-Ready & Cloud-Based File Access: AIDC’s Anywhere Access Model

In 2025, work happens beyond office walls. That’s why AIDC Technologies India has developed File Tracking Software with cloud access and mobile support. Users can track, search, and manage files using smartphones, tablets, or laptops—anytime, anywhere.

This mobile-friendly design helps field teams, branch offices, and remote staff remain connected and productive. Cloud-based systems also offer real-time syncing and automatic backups, protecting data from loss or damage.

Integration with ERP & Office Tools: AIDC’s Seamless Compatibility

Efficiency grows when systems talk to each other. AIDC’s File Tracking Software can easily integrate with your existing ERP, CRM, or document management tools.

This eliminates duplicate data entry and allows different systems to work together. Whether you use SAP, Tally, Microsoft Office, or Google Workspace—AIDC ensures a smooth, unified experience for users.

Such integration saves time, avoids errors, and ensures everyone in the organization is always working with updated information.

Industries Benefiting from AIDC’s File Tracking Software Development

The demand for File Tracking Software isn’t limited to one sector. AIDC India serves a wide range of industries including:

Healthcare: Track patient files and lab reports securely

Legal Firms: Monitor case files, contracts, and documentation flow

Government: Manage administrative records with full traceability

Education: Handle student records, results, and admissions efficiently

Finance & Banking: Track compliance documents and customer files

Logistics & Warehousing: Maintain dispatch records and movement logs

Each solution is tailored to fit industry-specific needs, ensuring maximum ROI and ease of use.

Why AIDC Technologies India is the Trusted Choice for 2025 and Beyond

With over two decades of experience in tracking technologies, AIDC Technologies India is a name businesses trust. Their File Tracking Software combines innovation, customization, and strong customer support.

Key benefits of choosing AIDC:

RFID/barcode-enabled smart tracking

Custom-built workflows for every department

Simple, user-friendly dashboards

Data security and access control

Local support with training and setup

Whether you’re a startup or a government agency, AIDC offers flexible, scalable solutions that grow with your needs.

Book Your Free File Tracking Consultation with AIDC India Today

Is your team still wasting hours searching for missing files? Do manual processes slow down your work and risk data loss?