#gps device arguments

[laura1633]

Zak Brown has such a conveniently short memory

He wants "massive consequences" if Red Bull are found to have used the bib device illegally. (Red Bull haven't been found guilty btw, the Fia have said its a none issue and even Sky Sports said they can't see how it has been used in the way Red Bull have been accused of using it.) So does he want "massive consequences" for the fact that Mclaren actually were using a mini DRS rear wing that they have had to remove from the car ?!

He also talks about mental health (which I agree is an important topic and we should not be making light of it) but at the same time was happy to start a pile on on Max prior to the British GP over a racing incident. I guess he didn't care how the media turned on Max and was happy to ramp that up with inflammatory comments. He was also happy to talk about "father issues".

Sorry, I don't want to get into arguments over this but I am just so anti Zak Brown I can't even adequately put it into words.

[yaut-jaknowit]

first of all I absolutely love your work honestly it is amazing!! And that last gawtin ask hurtttttt I was wondering if you could make a part two? If you want to of course maybe communication saves the day? I hope you have a good day!

Argument with Gawtin Part 2

Pairing: Gawtin (Female Yautja) x GN!Reader

Word Count: 2276

Summary: For hours, you stay in your art room, sobbing away the time until the tears run dry. Now, it's the time to figure out what to do. You don't want to leave, you never want to leave Gawtin or Qui'oky. They're your family. You'll find a way to fix this or die trying.

Author Note: Communication in relationships are incredibly important! Here, it does save the day. Thank you so much! It hurt me too to write it because I hate conflict and to have my favorite pair fight...

Masterlist

Ao3

Part 1

Once the tear ran dry and left stick, crusty lines down the lengths of your cheeks, you picked your head up enough and looked around. The space was the same, empty and void of Gawtin. Old paintings and drawings covered the walls from floor to ceiling, making this place yours. A room that the green Yautja had given to you. She done so much for you.

An ache started behind your sternum as you hung your head in shame again, unable to cry again. In an instant, you shoved it back into her face while flipping the middle finger at her. You sat up in your desk chair, chin level. You had to fix this. You wouldn’t let her go, wouldn’t let this go. Not her love, the sweetest thing you’ve ever tasted before. The two of you were meant to be together, no matter who or what said otherwise.

How would you show how sorry you are though? You glance around the room. It’s not like you’re a hunter like her. You couldn’t bring how creature five times your size. No, you were her artist. You wield pencils, not knives.

What could you make? Something she could understand in her own culture, something that would be of great value. Then, you shook your head. No, if it came from you, it’ll be enough. You dipped your head.

A newfound determination filled your veins. You stood up abruptly and walked towards the only exit. Once you’ve reached the door though, you paused before hitting the button to open it. What if she was out there? You couldn’t just ignore her and walk out. That would be incredibly rude and inconsiderate of Gawtin. Well, you’ll cross that bridge if you reached it.

All was quiet and dark in the main room of her hut. Your shoulders sagged both in relief and disappointment. Where had she gone? Qui’oky wasn’t here, meaning he had to be with his mother. She wouldn’t leave him to his lonesome.

You left the safety of your art room. The door sliding close behind you. The floorboards barely made complaints as you walked over to the front door. A satchel hung off your shoulders, a knife sitting in one of the pockets. Not much more than for cutting stems rather than the throats of animals that could consume you whole. In another pocket sat a device similar to a GPS and could lead you back home.

So be it. You wanted to show you cared about her, that you truly did. An argument would not ruin everything you’ve built with her. You wouldn’t let it, no matter how much you wanted to take the next flight off this planet. This was your home.

Out the door you went. Cool, humid air smack you straight in the face. It was far better than the burning binary suns that would bore down on your skin during the day. You braved your way through the humidity and started a path in a random direction. You let your heart led the way.

For a few miles, you traversed with little thoughts of where to go. Only thing that filled your mind was the flashbacks of the argument. The skin of your bottom lip had been worn down till the taste of blood, an action you couldn’t help. Not when Gawtin’s voice echoed in your head to go home. You wished you had said this was your home.

And it was. You belonged at her side, holding her hand with Qui’oky perched on your hip. This was your family, you were going to fight tooth and nail for it.

A gut feeling told you to stop. For a moment, you prayed it wasn’t an instinct you were being hunted. The hairs along your neck never raised. You relaxed and scanned the surrounding area until a feeling drew you towards your right. A feeling you followed until you found a shiny rock. The colors that matched the same hue as Gawtin’s dark, forest green. It was slipped into the main pocket and sealed off from the world it once sat in.

For what was probably hours, you continued to do this even after the yawn broke across you face. When your satchel began to dig into your shoulder uncomfortably, you called it a night.

Flowers, tied together with a thin string were held in one of your hands. The other held onto the GPS tracker, helping you to trek in the right direction home. You couldn’t believe you had found yourself five miles away from the hut. The walk back would take you forever especially with how the terrain was. This is a jungle that ranged from steep mountains to gushing rivers. A few rocks had been picked up from the riverbeds and snuck their way into your satchel as well.

Though it took at least another three hours to return home, the two suns beginning to peek through the trees, you made it. Your clothes were soaked through with sticky sweat. Hunger twisted your gut with each desperate call for food. You were smart enough to have a waterskin attached to your satchel so you didn’t perish from dehydration that far from home.

The familiar forest green roof/walls met your vision as you pushed through the thickest part of the foliage that surrounded the cottage. Home. You smiled in relief and trudged up to the door. Without even thinking, too exhausted to even think up thoughts, you pushed your way into the home. Gawtin still wasn’t home. You huffed and entered your art room.

Your satchel’s contents was dumped onto tabletop. The flowers were untied ands laid out as well. It may all look like junk you’ve picked up from the jungle’s floor, but to you, it was unmade art. All it was needing was to be pieced together, like a puzzle. You had the hands to do it.

Like the artist the whole town knew you as, you began to piece what items could go together. Even with the need to collapse and sleep for ten hours straight pulled at your mind, you pushed through.

When you grew irritated when some pieces didn’t want to fit with one another, you set it off to the side and looked at the flowers. All of them had long stems, perfect for what you wanted to do. You had also grabbed a lot, possibly too many but you didn’t want to trek all the way back out there and get more.

Covered in dirt, your hands began to weave the stems carefully with one another. A pattern you had pulled up on a tablet Gawtin had given you long ago. On the screen, it looked ease to follow but grew harder with each newly added stem. At times, you were ready to rip it apart and set it on fire. Somehow, you soldiered through and finally finished the piece.

It was far too large to sit upon your head, which was exactly what you were aiming for. You didn’t have any measurements for Gawtin’s head and only estimated on her size. Not like she was home for you to measure without her growing suspicious in the first place.

Now feeling better at the fact you finished one of the projects, you moved back towards the mess of rocks and wires on the other side of your desk.

Almost a year ago, you had given Gawtin a necklace you had specifically went out to the market for. That led you into a mess of going from one vendor to another before getting captured in the end. Gawtin had to save you from the trouble but she was never mad. She expressed that after she got you to the safety of the hut.

Everyday, she wears that necklace. A sign of either pride or love, maybe even both. But you loved it and it seemed like Gawtin did too. Now, you were designing two bracelets. Either for both arms or one. Whatever she choose to do with them was up to her.

Back in the seat of your desk chair, you sat crisscross and stared upon the rocks once more. Ideas flowed freely inside of your mind, anything for this to work.

With these being on her wrist, they had to be incredibly durable. Once a hunter, always hunter. They would be put under great distress due to her everyday routine.

The wire used to keep the rocks secure was the strongest one you could find within a reasonable price and at the nearest market. Though, you used one of the young bloods to retrieve it for you for a small price. But, you had to use what you get your hands on without Gawtin knowing. You could be resourceful yourself.

You set to grueling work of designing a bracelet that could hopefully hold up to any added stress. A thick, durable band was used to tie the rocks to. The wire themselves were difficult to for around the rocks with no heat source to soften the metal. You did your best in the moment.

Before you on the wooden desk table, sat two bracelets, large in diameter but could also be tightened or loosen if need be. Again, you didn’t have her measurements on hand.

As a breath of relief left your lips, you heard the front door open then close. Even in the near dead silent house, you couldn’t pick up on the footsteps of the lumbering giant. Just one slab of metal kept the two of you away from each other.

Both of your hands began to shake. This was your one and only chance to fix this. You took in a lung filling inhale, leveled your chin, and grabbed your three items off of the desk. Your feet marched their way over to the door. It opened a second after you pressed the need button.

In the small kitchenette stood the goddess of your life. Qui’oky was at her feet and holding onto his mother’s leg. But when he saw you exit the art room, he made a noise of excitement and waddled over to you. You bend down and scooped him off of the ground. He would’ve climbed you to get into your arms if you hadn’t. You couldn’t wait for him to get older…

Timidly, you stepped over into the edge of the kitchen, eyes pointing downwards at the ground. A submissive position you hoped would be please her.

“Gawtin,” you called out softly then picked up your gaze to find her purple eyes already on you. She was lax but not letting a single ounce of emotion fall through any cracks of features. “I’m-I’m sorry. I want to start off by apologizing.”

Qui’oky grew too heavy for you to hold and got in the way. You put him back down, hoping he would loss interest in you for the moment. The prayer was answered.

The items in your hands were offered to Gawtin. The flower crown held out first. “I don’t know what way you guys apologize so I did my best. I was out all night and searched for the best because that’s all you deserve. I should’ve never said those things to you. This is my home. I want to be here. You never took me, I wanted to come with you.”

The bracelets were shown to Gawtin next. “And… and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else besides here, with you. I love you so damn much. More than I could ever speak or gift to you. You are my family and so is he.” You fall to your knees and clutched the gifts in your hands as if you where praying. “Forgive me, please. I don’t want to leave. Please, let me stay. With you.”

It was only a small crack at first. The twitch of her gem studded brow before her walls came crashing down. Gawtin knelt down in front of you and wrapped her arms around you.

“I must apologize as well. I apologize for mocking you, for telling you to leave. This is your home. You belong with me, with us,” Gawtin whispered, voice rumbling deep in her throat as she held you close to her warm body. “I do not have excuses. I should have not taken my pent up anger out on you. That is my fault. A mistake I will not make again.”

Being in her arms was the best thing you could ever ask for. You sagged against her and sobbed into her chest. New, fresh, hot tears ran new rivets down the length of your cheeks. You did your best to encase her torso with your arms but came up short. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” you cried and held onto her as your lifeline. Because she is. She’s your lifeline.

Her massive hand ran up and down the length of your spine. “It is okay. Everything will be okay.”

An eternity passed until the muscles along Gawtin’s arms loosened up enough for you to pull back and look her in those beautiful purple eyes. She still kept you in her grasp, as if afraid you’ll disappeared. “Now, let me see what you have made for me, my little artist.”

In that moment, you knew everything was going to be fine. She was right. This was only a bump in the road you’ve gotten over. This is life. There will be more but as a power couple with your sweet child, you’ll make through it all. You smiled up at Gawtin through the blurry tears blocking your vision. Alien or not, you love her.

[laferelady]

• modern! special agents! au •

The large and luxurious "Galun" casino in the heart of the metropolis Magnolia. In the main hall, the light is dimmed, and soft jazz music plays. Laxus, dressed in a stylish suit, sits at a table sipping a cocktail; he has just, not without difficulties, hit the jackpot in poker. He is a special agent of the royal service—his fate is to secretly sniff out, investigate, infiltrate the trust of opponents, and manipulate others. Well, he also constantly gets injured and shot at—one side of the job is closely intertwined with the other. Laxus doesn't love his job, but essentially, he has no other choice. From a young age, he has been trying to figure out how it happened that his father, Ivan, also a special agent, ended up in prison. His father, sitting behind bars, remains silent, which only irritates Laxus further.

Laxus takes on a new assignment. Gildarts Clive, his boss, sends him to Magnolia—he needs to find out about a certain Zigrein and understand who he works for. The case involves possible underground arms trading among the upper echelons of society.

— When's the flight? — Laxus asks before leaving his boss's office.

— In three hours. And yes, Laxus, — Gildarts looks at him with interest, — Upon arrival in Magnolia, you’ll have a partner waiting for you. A colleague from the local branch, her name is Mirajane Strauss. Please be kinder this time, not like always.

Laxus merely grunts and heads to the base, to the computer genius of their division. He supplies Drear with new high-tech gadgets: a watch with built-in GPS, new listening devices, and tracking sensors disguised as standard buttons and cufflinks.

The flight to Magnolia is short and goes smoothly. At the airport, Laxus is greeted by a seemingly sweet angelic girl who informs him about the details of the case. Her name is Mirajane Strauss, and Drear thinks she is too sweet for this job. But inside her lurks a demon, because they almost immediately get into an argument, though it doesn't interfere with their mission.

They have to play a couple while Laxus sits down for a poker game with Zigrein; Mirajane is to keep an eye on the general situation in the casino.

That evening, Laxus puts on his signature suit, and Mirajane wears a black dress with an open back. Drear can hardly take his eyes off her as he pulls her close to him by the waist at the bar in the casino. The game begins.

— Good luck, darling, — Mirajane says, kissing him on the lips.

— Thanks, sweetheart, — he replies.

He has played similar roles many times before, but this time, his previous partners do not evoke the same feelings in his heart as Mirajane does. Could it be that this time everything will be different? For Mirajane, this is her first experience of "playing lovers," and she quickly falls for her partner.

The first game seems to go well. Zigrein watches Laxus closely, but Laxus remains inscrutable. However, after the game, he and Mirajane are attacked. They have to defend themselves and ultimately escape from the casino. They hide with the help of Mirajane's acquaintance, Erza Scarlet, who is also interested in exposing Zigrein.

— Sometimes I feel like my real mission is just to survive in this world, — Laxus suddenly says as Mirajane, with trembling hands, bandages his wound on his side, — Were you scared?

— A little, — she lies, not wanting to show her weaknesses. Just like him. Then, in a surge of emotion, she hugs him, wrapping her arms around his strong neck.

Laxus pulls her close in response. Yes, it seems that this time everything really is different.

[pigeonwhumps]

Last fill is a newspaper article feat. future Ade!

Text-only version below the cut.

Taglist: @littlespacecastle @mirasmirages @flowersarefreetherapy @whumpinggrounds @cepheusgalaxy @painful-pooch @i-eat-worlds @a-funeral-romance @rainydaywhump @bbu-on-the-side

CWs: BBU, pet whump, dehumanisation

Do you think Guard Dog designated pets should be legally required to wear an auditory identifier in public?

Summary of the proposed law: Guard Dog class pets will have to wear an auditory device such as a bell collar or proximity alarm at all times whilst in public spaces.

Yes

David Cooper, Talk Radio presenter and former owner of GDS Ltd

In all pets there is the danger of them running off, to name one problem, but not all are likely to harm people. This honour is reserved mainly for Guard Dogs.

In 2022, 54% of all reported violent pet-related incidents were caused by Guard Dogs. This is compared to 22% caused by Domestics, 9% by Platonics, 12% by Romantics, and only 3% by Objects. Clearly, something needs to be done to regulate Guard Dogs further and reduce their detrimental impact on the general population. They are a danger to adults and children alike, and although an extremely useful asset, precautions must be taken to ensure nothing gets out of hand. They are inherently violent, and if training is done badly then they can become killers — and not just in defence of their owners.

I recognise that a lot of proposals, such as MP North's in September 2021 to keep Guard Dogs muzzled at all times around vulnerable people, go too far, and are unworkable in terms of ensuring their owners can still be protected, but something needs to be done. And a warning causes no harm to anyone.

I know there are arguments that this dehumanises Guard Dogs, and that it is unneeded, but I disagree. These are the same type of people who argue that bell collars aren't good for cats despite the numerous evidence that they prevent bird kills. Pets do not feel embarrassed, that is the fact of the matter, and a bell or proximity alarm would not be an annoyance but rather an acceptable fact of having a Guard Dog. You own a Guard Dog, you must have a bell, and that would be the end of the matter.

One thing I do object to though is the lack of consideration given to disabled people throughout this proposal. If a deaf person were to need an alert to a nearby Guard Dog, for example, how would it work? They wouldn't be able to hear an auditory identifier.

I propose that, in addition to the auditory identifier, Guard Dog pets should be fitted with a device that emits a flashing light. This would allow those with low or no hearing to know when a Guard Dog is nearby. A GPS device would be useful if the Guard Dog is unseen, for example in an adjoining supermarket aisle, but this would be an invasion of the people’s privacy and technically very difficult to adapt.

However, something must be done to improve the safety of the general public and it is for that reason that I, with the expertise of my years as CEO of Guard Dog Security Ltd, support these proposals.

No

Ade Olayinke, Mayor of Sheffield and founder of Help4Pets

In my role as Mayor of Sheffield, I have met many residents, some of whom own Guard Dogs. In this job, and while working on the ground for Help4Pets, I have rarely met any dangerous pets — owners, however, can be a different story. Research conducted by YouGov suggests that over 90% of Guard Dog-related incidents can be traced back to their owners or training. Surely then the legislations on pet owners and training should be tightened, instead of these frankly humiliating proposals for Guard Dogs themselves?

Because yes, they are humiliating. Some say that pets can't be humiliated, but if that's the case, why do many books on pet care suggest it as the first choice of punishment? Alongside pain, of course.

Why should a pet have to pay for another's mistakes? Although I don't necessarily agree I can see the argument with pets that truly are dangerous, but most aren't (if not all — remember, pets are trained to obey their owners in all things. If they're hurting members of the public, this suggests that either their owner wants them to, or their training has gone wrong in some way. In either case, why should the pet be the one to pay when they are not at fault?). In fact, another poll by YouGov from September last year showed that out of pet-related groups (including the pets themselves) the general public are by far most afraid of WRU recapture squads, and for good reason, given their powers to act with almost complete impunity. One thing I can commend in this country is at least they aren't allowed to be armed.

But one of the stated aims of this new legislation is to reassure the general public, and if WRU recapture squads are the biggest obstacle to that, surely they should be the ones who need to be identified at a distance? Unless you view it as too extreme a measure for people, in which case you should ask yourself why you think it's okay for those classed as pets. However you view them, they are still human.

It is legislation on owners and trainers (both WRU and others) that should be tightened. The solution is not to force pets, who are already under tight control with existing laws heavily biased against them, to wear such a humiliating and unnecessary device, but to help everyone, both pets and people, live peacefully together without causing unnecessary fear, humiliation or other types of harm. To anyone.

YOUR VIEW

What is your opinion of the proposed legislation? Let us know at yourview@dailytimes.co.uk, subject: GUARD DOGS

[cuprohastes]

Trying to make AI Bros useful.

So I have an R1 from Rabbit.

If you don't know what an R1 is: It's a very nicely designed palm sized block of glossy orange plastic with a small indoor screen, camera, a scroll wheel and a button. It costs $200 and is a really basic Android phone where all the android phone parts are hidden. It uses Perplexity/ChatGTP to answer questions. There's also a LAM - Large Action Model, which doesn't exist, but is supposed to.

The idea is that the R1 will answer questions, find information and be able to take action on your behalf. Many people have done clickbait Youtube videos about how this is a scam.

It's only partially a scam.

The part where you activate the camera, which is unable to see anything until activated, by physically not allowing it to point out the front or back until it's rolled around, and ask it for information about what it sees, is fine.

That works.

The rest...? Bullet point time.

The Bad

The LAM is just a bunch of scripts for using four different websites, all of which are the ones you'd assume a Tech-Bro thinks are important. Uber, Door dash, Yelp. No other websites are supported, and every time one of these services changes their layout the "LAM" goes down for "maintenance".

The GPS is just garbage.

You have to tether it to a Hotspot or SIM that has voice and data. Data alone won't work. The R1 cannot make phone calls.

No app integration: You can't send a message, check your mail etc.

Screen is hilariously shit outside or in bright light

UI prioritises icon of a cute rabbit vs the results.

So WTF?

✨Use Case Scenario!!✨

OK: Imagine you're partially sighted. You pull this thing out of your pocket: It has one easy to find physical button that does nearly everything.

You turn it on with a click.

You double click to go into vision mode.

You hold the button down and say "What am I looking at?"

The R1 then uses a pretty good speech model to describe the scene!

You hold the button down and ask further questions about the image:

"How much is this?" "What's the weight?" "Is there a special offer?"

Or a bill:

"Who is this from?" "Wow much is it for?" "When do I have to pay by?"

Common Arguments

"This could be an app!"

Yes it could be an app and if you have absolutely fine vision and motor control and want to pull a phone out, unlock it, find the icon, then navigate around a UI, go for it. Perplexity is right there, you can use it now. It's fantastic at checking websites (Even ones it's explicitly banned from using) and summarising them.

But again: If you're having to run things by touch, a single button is way easier.

"It wasn't designed as an assistive product so..."

No. And a genuine assistive product is most likely an android phone of the cheapest off the shelf hardware, an OCR app, and a £1,200 price tag. Comes with the cutting edge synthesised voice tech of 1995. The rabbit is $200/£160, and is voice controlled and still somehow has fewer buttons than a device that's supposedly designed for people who can't see buttons.

"Ah but does it really..."

The hype is massive. But I physically have one. One moment. I am now holding it.

Did I run down to the supermarket and test it? Yes. Did it work? Yes. Was it minorly a pain in the ass? Yes.

"You ain't visumably Impaired!!"

Ah, no. Yes. Depends on how nitpicky you want to be.

However, I do have someone here whose vision is basically Noped out, who will be helping me test and either she hates it or I'll have to spend a few hours planning a heist to pry it out of her hands, so I can charge the battery.

[nhaneh]

trying to get a Pi Pico W to list nearby bluetooth devices for me but having a bit of difficulty with getting actual details like device names out of them due to kinda limited documentation; I keep getting an invalid argument exception for the address when calling gap_connect() and I have no idea why. The micropython documentation doesn't list possible exceptions or their causes

the plan is to see if I can get it to find the bluetooth device listing for my cat's GPS thingy to see if I can make a better tracking solution for when it gets lost, or possibly as a way to detect when she's by the door.

tbh chances are I might just port the whole thing to c++ later but I figured python would be easier for prototyping

[joyceycnbx]

Big Rig Accident Lawyer in Phoenix: Fighting for Your Compensation

Introduction to Big Rig Accidents

In the bustling metropolis of Phoenix, Arizona, the highways are often filled with large commercial vehicles that are essential for commerce. However, the presence of big rigs also brings an increased risk of serious accidents https://penzu.com/p/a2697e0aeb74bbb5 on the road. Big rig accidents can lead to devastating consequences, both physically and financially. When such incidents occur, victims may find themselves in need of a qualified legal representative to navigate the challenging landscape of truck accident claims. This is where a skilled big rig accident lawyer in Phoenix becomes invaluable.

The Role of a Big Rig Accident Lawyer

A phoenix truck accident lawyer specializes in representing victims of truck-related accidents. Their expertise lies in understanding trucking regulations, navigating complex insurance claims, and advocating for their clients' rights in court. When you hire a big rig accident lawyer, you gain a partner who is committed to ensuring you receive the compensation you deserve for medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional suffering.

Understanding Truck Accident Laws

Truck accidents are governed by both state and federal laws. Familiarity with these laws is crucial for any competent truck accident attorney. For instance, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has specific regulations that govern truck driver qualifications, vehicle maintenance, and hours of service. A qualified truck accident attorney will leverage this knowledge to build a strong case on behalf of their client.

Common Causes of Big Rig Accidents

Accidents involving big rigs can arise from various factors, which makes it essential to explore the common causes to understand liability:

Driver Fatigue: Due to long hours on the road, truck drivers may experience fatigue, leading to impaired judgment and slower reaction times.Improper Loading: Overloaded or improperly loaded cargo can affect a truck's stability, increasing the likelihood of accidents.Distracted Driving: Distractions from mobile devices, GPS, or other in-cab technology can draw a driver's attention away from the road.Substance Abuse: Use of drugs or alcohol can severely hinder a driver's ability to operate a large vehicle safely.Mechanical Failures: Lack of proper maintenance leading to brake failure or tire blowouts can result in catastrophic accidents.

Why You Need a Phoenix Big Rig Accident Lawyer

After a big rig accident, victims may not immediately consider the importance of hiring legal representation. However, having a phoenix big rig accident lawyer on your side can significantly influence the outcome of your case.

Expertise in Trucking Regulations

Truck accident lawyers in Phoenix have the specialized knowledge required to tackle the nuances of trucking regulations. For example, they understand the limitations of driver working hours and can ascertain whether a breach occurred in your case. This expertise is critical in identifying liability and building a compelling argument for compensation.

Negotiation Skills

One of the primary roles of a truck accident attorney is to negotiate with insurance companies. Insurance firms often

[conchapman]

My GPS Cats

          Using tiny satellite tracking harnesses, the Cat Tracker Project has enrolled more than 500 cats in a program that will outfit them with Global Positioning System devices.           The Boston Globe “Is Okie lost–again?”   I was pretty excited to be chosen to test drive CatTrack, the state-of-the-art global positioning system for cats. It would mean an end–finally!–to stupid arguments…

[bllsbailey]

Supreme Court Fast-Tracks Case of FBI Botched Raid That Traumatized a Georgia Family

A family seeking justice from a botched FBI raid will have their day in court. It's not their first time, but it's the biggest time: The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case.

Curtrina Martin and her family

were resting peacefully in their home when the FBI rushed in, threw a flash grenade, and arrested her then-fiancee Hilliard Toi Cliatt. The whole episode traumatized Martin, Cliatt, and Martin's seven-year-old son.

The FBI had the wrong house. In fact, they weren't even on the right street. The house they were looking for was 3741 Landau Lane, while Martin's home address was 3756 Denville Trace. According to Google Maps, the addresses were over 450 feet apart. The FBI says they used a GPS device that allegedly misled them.

The agent in charge, Lawrence Guerra, realized after traumatizing Martin's family that Martin did not match the physical address they were given.

Guerra apologized and promised that the FBI would address the property damage, but the family wanted (and needed more). They sued the FBI and proceeded to lose twice because of some rather shoddy legal reasoning.

Martin v. United States - District Court

The district court originally allowed some of the claims against the FBI to move forward, but the most significant decision the district court initially made was to block some of the negligence-based claims under the discretionary-function exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).

This exception under the FTCA shields government officials from liability for actions involving discretion, even if those actions were negligent. In other words, based on the law and subsequently found in the court's ruling, the government can be negligent only if it very clearly violated a rule or policy.

The 11th Circuit's Ruling

When the appeal went before the 11th Circuit, the court had two key findings.

The FBI’s actions were "discretionary" due to a lack of stringent policies on preparing for warrant execution.

The Supremacy Clause barred claims because the actions were connected to federal policy.

Both of these findings seem extremely problematic. For the first, the court basically said that because the FBI didn't have strict policies about not throwing flash grenades into the wrong home during a raid, they could not be found to be negligent. After all, the court said, it was dark outside and anyone could confused two completely different addresses.

And for the second finding, the 11th Circuit appears to be the only federal appeals court to apply the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution this way - which is understandable, given how bonkers it seems. The court basically said "If the federal government does it with the (extremely vague) intent of advancing federal policy, you actually can't sue over it because their policy is most important."

If the 11th Circuit says you can't sue the federal government because its actions were meant to advance policy, then there seems to be no point in even having the FTCA at all, because isn't that what the government claims to do every time it does anything?

Onward to SCOTUS

But the Supreme Court has decided to take up the case, and it looks like they want to take it up quickly and get the argument in for this term - which is a good thing.

SCOTUS decided on Monday to fast-track the case, it seems.

Just over six hours after the justices issued a list of orders from their Jan. 24 conference, and three days after they granted three cases from that conference, the court issued a new order granting review in Martin v. United States and fast-tracking the case for oral argument, presumably during the 2024-25 term.

The Justices will be looking at a couple of legal issues here:

Supremacy Clause: The 11th Circuit is unique in its assertion that actions furthering federal policy are immune under the FTCA due to the Supremacy Clause. This interpretation effectively nullifies FTCA claims involving federal employees acting within their discretionary authority. No other circuits apply the Supremacy Clause this way, making the 11th Circuit an outlier.

Discretionary-Function Exception: The FTCA exempts claims involving discretionary acts. However, there is disagreement among circuits about 1) Whether discretion must be grounded in policy considerations and 2) Whether the exception applies to unconstitutional or careless acts.

This is a significant case, given recent concerns about the weaponization of government and government agencies throughout the years. The 11th Circuit opened a very questionable can of worms by giving federal government agencies a path to claim that they were simply acting on federal policy in order to shield themselves against lawsuits.

But given what we have seen with government agencies acting (either independently or under orders from the executive branch) in ways that blur, if not completely cross, the line between responsible behavior and abuse, it should concern Americans that the legal system is attempting to find novel ways for the government to protect itself against the people it is supposed to be protecting.

[momentofmorrison]

A Conspiracy on Wheels?

Electric scooters have taken over urban landscapes, promising clean, efficient transportation for the modern commuter. But behind their sleek designs and eco-friendly marketing lies a web of unanswered questions and hidden agendas. Could this trendy mode of transportation be part of a broader plan to reshape society, control mobility, and influence the global energy market?

A Trojan Horse for Data Harvesting?

At first glance, electric scooters appear to be simple vehicles meant to reduce carbon emissions and ease congestion. However, many models are equipped with GPS tracking, Bluetooth connectivity, and app-based control systems. This makes them more than just a transportation tool—they're data collection devices.

Every ride you take is logged, including your starting point, destination, speed, and route. Who controls this data, and how is it being used? Critics argue that the proliferation of scooters represents a new frontier for surveillance capitalism. Scooter companies, governments, or third-party actors could potentially use this information to map consumer behavior or even enforce localized control over mobility.

Environmental Savior or Greenwashing Tool?

The marketing behind electric scooters often emphasizes their environmental benefits, but a deeper look reveals a more complex picture. Most scooters are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which require the extraction of lithium and cobalt. Both materials are sourced through mining processes that have significant environmental and ethical implications.

Additionally, scooters have a surprisingly short lifespan, often under two years. When they break down, the batteries are difficult to recycle, contributing to electronic waste. Is the green image of scooters just a facade? Some theorists suggest that the real winners are the corporations controlling the supply chains, profiting from the illusion of sustainability.

A Tool for Societal Control?

In cities worldwide, electric scooters are increasingly integrated into public transportation networks. This might seem like progress, but it also raises questions about dependency. Could the shift toward scooters and shared mobility systems be part of a larger effort to discourage car ownership and create a society reliant on centralized transportation?

The argument goes like this: if individuals become reliant on services like scooter rentals, they lose the autonomy provided by personal vehicles. Combined with the growing push for smart cities and app-based transportation, skeptics fear a future where governments and corporations can control where and when people move, all under the guise of convenience and sustainability.

The Role of Big Tech and Energy Giants

The rise of electric scooters coincides with a massive investment in battery technology by tech giants like Tesla, Panasonic, and LG. While these companies publicly champion clean energy, their involvement in scooter manufacturing raises suspicions. Are scooters just a testing ground for battery technologies that will later dominate other industries, such as energy storage and autonomous vehicles?

Additionally, traditional energy companies are pivoting toward electric infrastructure. Could their interest in scooters be part of a strategy to maintain dominance in a post-oil world? By controlling both the energy source (electric grids) and the vehicles, these corporations could ensure they remain indispensable in the global economy.

Unexplained Accidents and Failures

Reports of scooter malfunctions—such as brakes failing or throttles sticking—add another layer to the mystery. While these issues are often attributed to manufacturing flaws, some believe they point to more nefarious possibilities. Could hackers or even manufacturers themselves exploit vulnerabilities in the software to create controlled disruptions? The idea might seem far-fetched, but in a world where cybersecurity is increasingly critical, the possibility can't be ignored.

The Global Agenda

The rapid adoption of electric scooters aligns suspiciously well with broader global trends: the push for renewable energy, the development of smart cities, and the decline of car ownership. While each trend appears beneficial on its own, their convergence raises questions. Are these shifts organic, or are they being orchestrated by a coalition of corporations, governments, and NGOs with a hidden agenda?

Conclusion: A Ride into the Unknown

Electric scooters represent a fascinating intersection of technology, sustainability, and urban planning. Yet, their rise comes with unanswered questions about privacy, environmental impact, and societal control. Are they truly the solution to modern transportation woes, or are they a stepping stone to a future where mobility is tightly regulated?

The next time you hop on a scooter, remember: it might be more than just a ride—it's a glimpse into the complex, often hidden forces shaping our world.

[xunolic]

only time will tell pt.2 (l.sy) [cont.]

pairing: sangyeon x blackfem!reader (more race neutral) | wc: 9.4k

au(s): secret agents, exes/enemies to lovers | genre: action, angst, smut, rom-comish

summary: after a year and a half, you finally heard the name you didn't want to be mentioned again. lee sangyeon. now more than ever, however, it's a must for agents to stick together due to a list of hits from the resurgence of korea’s more dangerous syndicates.

warnings: lowercase intended. explicit language, mainly plot filled, descriptions of violence/blood, mentions of alcohol, minor character death, arguments. let me know if any was missed!

first part. (please read before this part!)

a/n: hi! again tumblr is ass so make sure you read the first part of this! i'm so sorry for the inconvenience. reblogs are highly appreciated!

you tried to keep your mind from going to the worst, but this was a bad sign. you started in his room, checking his bathroom, the closet, even the bed: nothing.

you ran to the guest bathroom: nothing.

you ran to the backyard: nothing.

you ran to every single room in that house: still nothing.

“sangyeon!” you wailed, trembling as you rechecked the kitchen. “sangyeon, if you're hiding, this isn’t fucking funny!”

that was when your phone rang. you took off to the room, picking up the phone, seeing the time was noon. it was around the time jacob should've been on his mission, but why was he calling you?

“hello?” you picked up.

“be ready. i’m almost there. no one showed up to the office except me, changmin, and jiwon. eric isn't answering his phone, and neither is sunwoo. i tried calling miyeon and hyunjae, but there was nothing. neither boss was there either, i’m not sure what to do.”

“s-sangyeon isn't here either,” you sniffed, trying to calm yourself as you sat on the bed.

“what?! y/n, just stay calm, i’ll be there soon.”

you hung up the phone, your hands shaking as you sat down the device. you slowly got up, every step feeling heavy as you questioned what was happening. where was everyone? were they okay? the thoughts alone made you sick.

when jacob arrived, you walked out of the house, gripping your phone tightly. you got in the car, turned around, and saw jiwon and changmin in the back seat. you eyed both of them sadly before turning back around. jacob looked over at you, grabbing your hand and shaking it.

“we’ll find him; we’ll find them all, i promise,” he conveyed.

you nodded, trying again to calm yourself down; you just couldn't. why’d it feel like when every time you and sangyeon were to be together, something went horribly wrong.

you were stuck in the car for hours, it felt. each of them tried their hardest to track anyone’s location but failed each time. jacob groaned, gripping his hair, staring at the screen in his car. jacob turned to changmin, a brow raised as changmin shook his head, stating he found nothing.

when jacob got to jiwon, she looked up at him, turning her screen to him. “i found this. i tried everyone’s phone, but then i remembered both bosses were gone too. i tracked youngro’s phone and saw another place outside of seoul, near the countryside.”

you turned to look at her screen and then back to jacob, “it's an hour away. what if we’re too late?”

“don’t think like that, y/n,” jacob said, starting up the car.

and that's what you tried telling yourself while you all were riding. you prayed and begged, hoping all was well, and maybe it was all a big prank. you wished it was all a dream, some sort of evil nightmare, but each time you pinched yourself, you didn't wake up.

“we need a plan,” jiwon said, looking toward the front. “i know for sure there have to be men outside. people like this will always have lookouts. so, any ideas?”

you looked at the gps, finding you had ten minutes to make one up on the spot. “i don't have any weapons, so i don't know how useful i am.”

jacob scoffed, keeping his eyes on the road, “one of the best, if not the best, combat specialists doubting her skills, ridiculous.”

“i’m sorry… i-i just…”

“cut it out. you’re so confident in what you do. why aren't you now?”

“i’m fucking scared, jacob.” it was true. for the first time in forever, you felt genuine fear. the man you love was in possible danger, and you still had no idea who was really in charge of this. it was all too much for you. you didn't know if you could do it. you were questioning yourself and couldn't stop.

“do i have to remind you who you are? i don’t think i do because you should know already. think of this like any other fight, and if you’re scared to be alone, i’ll go with you.”

“what? no, no, no, you don’t fight,” you exclaimed, shaking your hands in front of you.

“don't care, hyung is my friend too. plus eric is missing, he may be loud but i kind of miss him. when we find him, don't tell him i said that,” jacob cringed. you let out a small breath of laughter, looking up at where jacob pulled into.

the sun was setting around you as changmin halted you from getting out of the car, “what’s the plan?”

“i'm not sure. i can't make one up right now. my brain is too foggy, and i can't think,” you said, rubbing your hands on your pants.

“i got one,” jacob said, looking at all three of you.

just as jiwon presumed, two or so men were outside, guarding the door with guns as they walked back and forth in front of it, mean mugs not leaving their faces.

you hopped out of the van with jacob and nodded for him to stay back; the van was hidden further away from the actual two-story building. although there wasn’t much around to hide behind, a few dilapidated buildings were hiding you enough from the men's view. 

you took a deep breath, looking at jacob. he looked at you, nodding and mouthing that you could do it. as he saw the hesitation on your face, he smiled softly, holding his hand out for you. once you took it, he pulled you into him, rubbing your back softly to comfort you. 

“i believe in you, y/n, we all do,” jacob murmured in your ear. it was rare for you and jacob to show affection toward each other, hell this was the second time this year and probably the 10th time (might be an exaggeration) in the four to five years you’d known him, but right now, it was clear how much you needed it. you pulled away from your friend, letting out a shaky breath. “go kick some ass.”

you gave a small smile before nodding and turning back to your destination slowly inching toward another hiding spot. you stared at the men who guarded the door, planning your attack out meticulously. a thought came into your head as you glanced down and saw a large rock. you thought if the men were as stupid as the ones from the hair salon mission, this shouldn't be too bad.

you took another deep breath, quickly crawling over to the rock, glancing past what you were hiding behind, and slipping it toward you. you looked over toward the men again, watching as one of the men walked as close as you wanted him to. you squinted your eyes and chucked the rock as far as possible. 

you prayed and hoped it made it to some part of his body, and to your surprise, it hit him right on his head. he didn't yelp; he didn't make a sound as his body slumped to the ground unconscious. the other men still heard the impact of the falling rock as they made their way over with the weapons. 

one of the men bent to check his pulse, nodding that he was still alive. as he stood upright, they began to make their way over to whatever had made the noise. one walked toward where you were, while the other walked a bit further behind the building.

without jacob in your ear telling you the timing of your target, you were still feeling disheartened. you brushed it off as soon as you heard the footsteps come closer. as he peaked behind the barrier you were hiding behind, you waved at him before swiftly grabbing him and dragging him down with you.

you slapped a hand over his mouth and wrapped an arm around his throat along with your legs around this lower half to keep him down. 

“shh, don't fight it…” you whispered, the boost in confidence creeping up on you in an instant. it didn't surprise you that getting your hands on one of those men was all you needed. “yep. thats it… night night.”

you slung his body down, taking his weapon from him. you kicked his body back into the open for the last man that stood over there to see. you heard him rush faster toward you than the first one did; you thanked the heavens above that the weapon had a silencer on it. as soon as he got to you, you shot right into his calf. 

he fell with a yelp, and you took this as an opportunity. you slipped on top of his back, taking the gun, lodging the bottom of it into his mouth as you held onto the silencer bit and the handle of the weapon. you pulled his head back with the gun that was in his mouth as his hands gripped and clawed at the dirt below him. in this position it gave you easy access to apply pressure onto his numbing points so you quickly pressed on them with the hand that once held the silencer, watching him fall unconscious almost immediately. 

with a huff, you peeked again to the building, sighing in relief once you saw you’d taken the three out. you whistled a small tune and jacob took that clue to come to you as fast as he could, handing you a few things with a grin. as you took the things from him, you stood up staring at him before rolling your eyes playfully.

“don’t start.”

“what? i didn't say anything,” he responded with pursed lips. “and you thought you couldn’t do it.”

“what can i say, adrenaline hit, they have my future husband in there… and i love fighting,” you laugh softly with a shrug, as you placed the things he handed you in your pockets. “let’s go.”

“do you wanna take their guns?”

“not yet… you have a solid punch?”

“i mean not reall–"

“great, let’s go.” you knew he didn’t.

jacob scoffed from behind you, following suit as you crouch-walked towards the building.

you and jacob made your way into the front door without trouble, you both quietly began to look into the large room you both were met with. the next room you walked into had most of everyone’s faces from each company. they were either marked as safe or to be dated. it made you sick.

then the next room you walked into was filled with computers, laptops, and all sorts of devices that looked like they were jampacked with information. jacob walked over to them, sitting in the seat looking through one of the laptops. as he looked through, something caught your eye as you whispered, “jacob, look.”

“what is it?”

“the hard drive.”

jacob looked down beside the laptop, seeing the same red hard drive kevin took yesterday. “kevin had it last. how did it end up here?”

“did you see kevin this morning?”

“no, but he said he felt sick when he called me last night. he said he’d keep the hard drive with him until this morning…”

“you don’t think they have kevin, too, do you?”

“fuck, i hope not. i’ll look through this some more, go scope out the area, i’ll be right there.”

“please stay safe,” you told him, walking out of the room and toward a few other rooms. you took your time taking out the other few men that remained on the premises that were guarding some doors. there were about nine or ten of them and you hoped no more were around, jacob genuinely couldn’t fight.

once you checked out everywhere else after knocking down most of the obstacles, you made your way up the creaky stairs, trying not to make any more noise than you already were.

once you made it up, you walked down the hall, where a bright light illuminated the corridor. you snuck past the other doors, not knowing what lurked behind them, as you continued toward the vast room. 

you almost fell to your knees once you made it in. your stomach was on the floor as you kept your cries in. there he was, sitting in dead center, his hands tied behind him, his ankles tied and his mouth covered. you walked over to him, hand shaking as you rubbed his cheek. 

“yeon? fuck… fuck…” you mumbled, tears falling from your eyes. sangyeon himself couldn't keep tears out of his own eyes. “i-i’m gonna get you out okay? just… just wait okay.”

you pulled something out of your pocket that jacob had given you, leaning around sangyeon’s side, trying to get the bondage off his wrists. you were too focused, you didn't hear the other footsteps that had made their way into the room. sangyeon, with the barrier still on his mouth, tried his hardest to warn you, but you were out of luck. the nose of whoever’s gun was pointed at your skull, and you froze.

“i got her,” a woman’s voice echoing in your ears.

this time, you heard the other footsteps, “i got the other too.”

whoever had the gun pulled you up and pulled you back to where the other voice had come from. your breath was caught in your throat, as your eyes veered to the side. jacob was standing there, heavy breaths leaving his body. you closed your eyes, daring not to move a muscle as you tried calming yourself. this time, it was slowly working.

“great,” you heard from behind you. the voice was eerily familiar. “it's so good to see you, agent l/n. man, i knew you were good, but wow, taking out almost all my men. you spared two though…”

from your right, you saw the tall figure, your eyes almost popping from your head: kim younghoon.

“what the fuck are you doing here?” you yelled.

“what does it look like? you didn’t think you'd get away with it again, did you?” he asked, leaning up on sangyeon, patting his shoulder. “my good friend sangyeon here got you where i needed you.”

“what do you mean?”

“i knew you wouldn't notice anything but him when you came in. blinded by love. you still don't even know who’s holding a gun to your head or jacob’s, do you?”

you slowly turned your head, making eye contact with hyunjae. you should've known. you turned your head a bit more, face to face with miyeon, “you bitch. i knew it.”

“surprise,” she smiled evilly, turning you back around to face younghoon. 

“miyeon told me you pinged youngro’s phone; too bad he’s nowhere around here anymore,” younghoon said, twisting a weapon of his own in his hand.

“where is he?” jacob asked, staring at younghoon.

“hm… not sure. heaven? hell? depends on how good of a person he was,” younghoon said with a chuckle.

“you killed him?” you clamored.

“no, no, not me… hyunjae.”

you looked at hyunjae, and he nodded. “it was a relief.”

“as i was saying, you didn't even notice,” younghoon said, walking to the back of the room, ripping the curtain down. you and jacob both gasped as there were multiple enclosures: eric, sunwoo, and kevin all locked up, tied, and tape on their mouths.

you could have fainted. you felt suffocated. “why?”

“why? you’re asking me why? i thought you would know already. how i put you with him all the time, it was all a test, y/n. the night of the banquet, i had a great idea, to put you

on a mission and see how you'd act around this asshole,” yunghoon pushed sangyeon’s head with his gun, circling him.

“it turns out you didn't hate him as much as i hoped. that's when i came up with this, the hit list. sangyeon was the perfect guy to have on the list first. i have to admit, he surprised me by showing up on one of the missions unannounced. so i thought about it, i recruited miyeon and hyunjae, found a nice house to make you think no one knew where it was, put you in the house with someone you were supposed to despise, only to find out you two are back together.”

at the sound of that, miyeon pressed the gun further into you. you squeezed your eyes shut, opening them slowly as you came face to face with younghoon.

“my best agent, i told you not to betray me like this. all i needed was one more person who hated sangyeon as much as i in hyunjae and someone who hated you in miyeon. i didn't want to have you watch me kill him.”

“kill him?” you heard from behind you.

“wait… don't kill him, please… i won't talk to him anymore, just please,” you pleaded.

“it's too late for that, y/n, and i can't have witnesses, so… your friends have to go, too. this all could have been avoided, all of it.”

“you have petty beef with sangyeon, and now you're taking it out on everyone else,” jacob said. “you've always been like this.”

“like what, jacob?” younghoon asked, walking over to jacob this time.

“jealous. you're jealous of sangyeon because he’s always been the better person. jealous of y/n, after all, she was the one people went to in that building, not you; it makes so much sense. ever since you and sangyeon hyung fucking started yz you've been like this.”

“shut up jacob,” younghoon said, trying to ignore him.

“you’re so mindless. why was it always y/n you targeted when it came to being close to hyung? you knew how smart they were when together. but you waited three years to say something because they started dating; that’d mean you’d never get rid of him.”

“jacob, i’m warning you.”

“not only that, but you made up a bullshit lie to me back then about how sangyeon left you, but it was the other way around the whole time. you kicked him because no bone in your body could properly compliment him and give him the props he deserved.”

“shut the fuck up,” younghoon pointed his gun at sangyeon’s head, eyes bloodshot. he looked sinister. younghoon let out a maniacal laugh, shaking the gun between you and jacob now. “jealous? i could never be jealous, you hear me?”

“but you were,” jacob finished.

“you know what! i’m tired of both of them being in my face. shoot them.”

sangyeon screamed behind the tape, moving the chair a bit. you glanced over at jacob, nodding before reaching up to “scratch” your stomach. you reached under your shirt, glancing at jacob once more, seeing if he was looking at you. 

once you met his side glance and heard each gun cock, almost immediately both you and jacob broke out of the holds, stabbing both hyunjae and miyeon in the necks with tranquilizing darts.

younghoon watched in horror, seeing both of his pupils fall to the ground unconscious. you grabbed the gun that was in miyeon’s hand, pointing it up to the sky, firing it to signal changmin and jiwon, who were still in the car.

“how did you?” younghoon asked, his footsteps nearing you and jacob again.

“i mean, it’s obvious. they're smart,” sangyeon said behind younghoon, brandishing the knife you’d slipped to him when you'd first gotten there. younghoon turned to sangyeon wide-eyed, “what? don’t act like a bitch now.”

you looked over at sangyeon, who still had to untie his ankles, but the tape was long gone, and his hands were free.

jacob also picked up a gun, grimacing at the weapon before sliding it to sangyeon, who was still untying the knots as he ignored the gun. younghoon knew how good at fighting you and sangyeon were, so the rational option for him was to run, and he did.

he bolted from in the middle of you and jacob, rushing down the stairs past changmin and jiwon. before you took off, jacob stopped you, “i’m coming with you.”

you hesitated but nodded, looking back to sangyeon, who was finally on the second knot, “go without me, i’ll be there soon.”

changmin and jiwon started to look around for keys to let the others out as you and jacob took off after younghoon. as both of you rushed down the stairs, you saw the front door was open, telling jacob to follow you. once you ran outside, you looked around for any sign of him, not finding any trace of which way he could've gone. you ran forward a bit more, gripping your hair in frustration.

jacob walked ahead of you, turning to face you to tell you he was gonna go left and you right, but right as he turned, he spotted younghoon standing at the door pointing his gun at you, a crooked grin plastered on his face.

it all happened so fast; in the blink of an eye, jacob pushed you to the ground, and a gunshot rang in your ears. you were gonna ask why jacob did what he did, but as you turned around to face him, you saw crimson stain jacob’s shirt right in his rib area.

you looked up at jacob in fear, a scream leaving your mouth as you caught your best friend before he could hit the gravel. you chucked the gun down, hands shaking as you held jacob in your arms. your only focus being on where the gunshot had hit him. you lifted up his shirt and tried to hold the wound with your bare hands.

you didn't notice that sangyeon had made his way down. you didn't notice younghoon had collapsed to the ground unconscious because changmin had also given sangyeon a tranq. you didn't see the police rushing to the scene. you noticed none of it.

“fuck! why would you do that? no, no, no…” you repeated. you looked at his face, a small smile on it.

“i’m… i’m okay…” he croaked, coughing.

your voice cracked, tears falling from your eyes, mixing with the blood on jacob’s skin. you rubbed a hand on his cheek, “you can't fucking die, y-you fucking hear me? no matter how annoying you get, no matter how much you nag me, no matter how much you pick on me, i fucking love you. you can't fucking leave me, jacob. stay with me, okay? w-we’re gonna get some help, okay, stay with me.”

sangyeon came up behind you, cutting a piece of his shirt as he handed it to you, “keep some pressure on it. jacob, please stay awake. the emt is almost here.”

but jacob was fading out. the blood he was losing was almost too much. you pressed down on the wound once more, watching jacob wince in pain, baring his teeth.

the others had made it down, taking in the brutality of it all. eric was the first one to run over to you two. he looked down at jacob’s paling face, dropping down on his knees beside you, ignoring the pain the rocks digging into him caused. eric’s breath began to stagger as he wiped his eyes harshly, holding onto jacob’s hand, sniffing, “hyung… please.”

kevin himself had gotten over his initial shock and started tearing up, staring at how your body was slumped in defeat. sangyeon had to walk away from it, hands on his hips as he looked up at the sky, trying his best to be the calm one in this situation. as the emts pulled onto the lot, you let them take jacob away, hauling him into the back.

eric was the one who went with them; you knew you couldn't take it anymore as you sat on your knees on the ground, covered in his blood. your hands were still shaking as you looked at them. your breathing picked up, and your throat felt tight. 

sangyeon, who had turned back around, saw you hyperventilating as he rushed to you. you felt sangyeon wrap his arms around your shoulders, but it was too late. you leaned forward, gripping the rocks as you broke down completely. it was a heartbreaking sight: your screams and sobs of anguish, the pain you felt in your stomach, in your heart, you could have thrown up from how hard you were crying.

sangyeon pulled you into him as he rocked you from side to side, trying his hardest to comfort you. your cries were only slightly muffled by sangyeon’s shoulder as you gripped his torn shirt in your hand.

you held onto sangyeon, thankful that you had him during this, but you were praying a eulogy was not next on your agenda.

the car ride to the hospital was silent, save for the radio playing a soft tune.

the blood on your hands was drying, but sangyeon’s hand never left yours. you kept your eyes forward, your leg bouncing as you neared the hospital. once sangyeon parked the car, the others got out before you and sangyeon did. sangyeon turned to you, “y/n.”

you looked over at him, blinking slowly before your eyes fogged again. he nodded, bringing your face to his and kissing your forehead, “i know, baby, i know.”

you cried silently, looking down as tears fell on the console. “i… this is my fault… this is all my fucking fault.”

“hey, wait, don't say that. you did nothing wrong.”

“yes i did, i shouldn’t have stayed at that fucking company, i should’ve.. i should’ve protected jacob better than i did. i should've been the one who got shot not him. god, it should've been fucking me–"

“y/n… you didn't know this would happen.”

“the whole plan was centered around no one getting hurt, we had it planned out in the van and we should've–"

“baby, listen to me. again, you had no idea what would happen; there’s no way you could have planned out any of this. i know how much you don't want to hear this, but you can’t save and protect everyone. i’m not saying jacob is gone, and god knows i don't want that. the point is, you know a simple plan going into the unknown isn’t a guaranteed success.”

of course, you knew that, and without knowing what you all were going into, you should've known this plan was bound to fall through. knowing your friend was fighting for his life in the building you were parked in front of didn't hurt any less. the uncertainty of it all lingered in your body and felt bone-crushingly real.

you looked at sangyeon, finding pity in his eyes. something you hated. but in that moment, you had to have looked pitiful. you nodded along with what he was saying before letting out a soft, “i know.”

“but i’m with you. every step of the way. i love you, okay.”

“i love you too.”

he pecked your lips softly, pulling back, not letting your hand go.

you inhaled sharply trying to get yourself together before you nodded and signaled for him to get out. you opened the car door, stepped from the vehicle, and walked with sangyeon hand in hand inside. as sangyeon told the front desk people who you were there for, (trust they already knew) they told you the rest of everyone was in the waiting room.

sangyeon walked you to the nearest bathroom, ignoring the glances sent your way, and helped you clean your hands until the blood was gone. he then walked you back to the waiting room, where eric was now with everyone, quietly talking with kevin. sangyeon pulled you into him, holding you and rocking from side to side just like before, this time, eric holding one of your hands.

this whole situation made you tired, but you felt like you couldn't sleep; that's what you told yourself before taking an hour-and-a-half nap wrapped in sangyeon’s arms. eric had also fell asleep, leaning on sunwoo (even though sunwoo wanted oh so badly to hit him off). you woke up to sangyeon shaking you gently, and a mumble left your lips.

you sat up, your eyes blinking away the gleam of the bright hospital lights. you looked up at the figure in front of you, doctor ahn smiling down softly at you.

“how’s it going l/n?” he squat down, patting the hand resting on your leg.

“i’ve been better.”

“i know, but i came with good news and bad news. which would you like first?”

“good, please.”

“good news is, jacob is going to be just fine. the surgery went well, but he’s in his room resting.”

you perked up at the news, sitting up a bit in your seat. “what's the bad news?”

“he won't be out for a bit, so no missions for you.”

you chuckled at that irony. you shrugged, leaning forward and hugging doctor ahn, as he ignored your bloody clothes and hugged back. “thank you.”

he pulled away, nodding at you, “have to take care of my favorite patient’s loved ones.”

“you're just saying that to flatter me.”

“i might be.”

you gasped dramatically before the two of you laughed. “so when can we, you know… visit him?”

“right now we only allow one person at a time, so you all have to decide who goes first.”

you looked between everyone, none of them really wanting to wake jacob. you looked up at doctor ahn as he stood back upright, “i’ll come back later today, if that’s okay.” 

doctor ahn nodded, patting your shoulder. “they already know you here, you’re his family so if they give you any trouble later on today, you call me.”

“that’s so embarrassing. they already know me…”

“you break limbs and jump back so fast i’m surprised they know you, too.”

sangyeon covered up his mouth, fighting off a laugh as you turned and looked at him. he whistled again, looking elsewhere, patting his leg as you narrowed your eyes at him. you didn't notice sunwoo had finally begun to push eric off of him. the push, however, was rougher than intended.

“what! what did i miss?” eric yelled as he jolted up, still half asleep.

all of you turned to eric, wide-eyed as sunwoo sucked in his lips, standing up and making his way out of the building silently. 

as all of you left, sangyeon dropped everyone off one by one. 

it was down to you and sangyeon. neither of you wanted to return to the house to retrieve your things just yet, not feeling comfortable enough. 

you laughed a bit as you looked over at sangyeon, finally noticing how messed up you both looked. his shirt was torn and bloody, and your clothes were bloodied and covered in dirt. you both looked disgusting. sangyeon glanced over at you, a smile filling his features.

“what?” he asked, turning back to the road.

“we look so bad,” you laugh covering your mouth with a hand.

“speak for yourself, i look rustic.”

“yeah, if rustic means smelly and dirty.”

“well… i mean, it kind of does,” he looks at you, sly look on his face as if he cornered you.

“oh shut up.”

one last laugh was shared between the two of you before silence fell over the car once again. it was comfortable, it was still, and frankly, it was peaceful. you hadn't felt this at peace in the past year, and it was a breath of fresh air.

“so…” you broke the silence, looking over at him. “what now?”

“you're not going to your apartment. i know that much.”

“wha– why not? i miss my bed. the bed i was sleeping in was okay but my bed is so–"

“you're coming over to my place,” he said, stopping at a light. he placed a hand on your thigh and softly rubbed it.

“oh. for how long?”

“as long as you want to, baby.”

you smiled, grabbing his hand, bringing his knuckles to your lips. “thank you.”

“for what?” he beamed, watching you kiss his hand.

“taking me back and being there for me.”

“don't thank me. i’m just fulfilling my husband duty…” he fake coughed, rubbing his nose a bit before driving once again.

“there’s been way too much husband talk lately. you want me so bad,” you exclaimed, playing with his fingers.

“and you already know that.”

sangyeon pulled into his driveway, stopping you from opening your door as he got out and ran to the other side to get you out. you grinned as he pulled you from the car, carrying you bridal style until he got inside.

today had been long… and it’d only been five in the evening.

once you and sangyeon were showered and the blood-stained clothes were tossed, sangyeon walked back to his living room, hopping on the couch beside you. he pulled you into him, rubbing your back noting how you were sitting there in absolute silence.

“hungry?”

you shook your head.

“sleepy?”

you shook your head.

“wanna go back to the hospital?”

you nodded, keeping your focus in front of you. it hadn’t been long, let alone an hour, since you’d left, but you felt obligated to return. that was your unofficial yet official best friend lying in there right now; you had to stay with him until you saw his eyes open, and he was talking shit to you again.

sangyeon understood as he said not another word, moving from you as he stood up to get his keys, twirling them between his fingers. he gave you a short nod toward the door as you shot up, walking to the door for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

vehicles should be your home at this point because it felt like you couldn't stay out of them. the hospital wasn’t far, but in your mind, it felt far. as you got back to the destination you were at before, you got out of the car quickly, making your way to the front desk.

thankfully, they caused you no trouble, as doctor ahn believed, but they didn’t let sangyeon go back due to the one-person rule. sangyeon grabbed your arm before you began to walk to the room they told you about.

“are you sure you want to be back there alone?”

“i have to sangyeon… that’s my friend… every time i’ve been cooped up in the hospital, he’s been right beside me. i have to do the same for him.”

sangyeon’s face still showed a bit of uncertainty. it wasnt that he didnt believe you could, its that he believed you shouldn't. there was no telling how your mental state was, especially with all youve been through in just the past day, let alone the past year.

you could see on his face he was wary but eased his nerves by placing a kiss on his cheek. “i’ll be okay, i pinky promise,” you smiled softly, holding out your pinky.

sangyeon stared at your pinky for a little while, lacing his pinky with yours. he let out a sigh, kissing your pinky before letting it go. he watched as you made your way to the designated room, sending him a wave as you make your way down the next hall. 

once you got to the room, the emotion of it all rushed back to you as you saw him laid up in the hospital bed: dried lips, pale skin, machines hooked up to him. maybe sangyeon was right to worry. you couldn't do this…

you had to though.

you wanted to cry again seeing him; you walked over to him, standing beside the bed, wanting to slap him for what he did to which you refrained of course.

“you fucking idiot… i can't believe you,” you laughed softly. “i’m happy you're okay, but please don’t do that shit again. if you do i’ll kill you myself.” you plopped down in a seat, wiping your eyes, scooting toward the bed. you moved a strand of hair from his face, sighing.

“thank you. thank you so much. im making it extra official today that you’re my best friend,” you said as you let a few tears fall down your cheeks. “i’ll be sure to tell you that when you wake up. no matter what.”

it took a few hours until they moved jacob to a new room from icu. sangyeon brought you a quick meal since you hadn't eaten all day and watched you eat it until it was finished. since they allowed it, you decided to stay for the night, telling sangyeon to go on to his place without you. 

you didnt miss the way his eyebrows furrowed and the worry go back right to his face. you assured him you’d be fine and he knew you wouldn't give up and go with him to get proper rest so he left with one more kiss, watching you make your way to the room. you laid yourself down on the couch with one last glance at jacob and a goodnight.

you woke up confused as you had no idea how long you had slept, but your eyes opened slowly, and you heard talking in the room. you turned your head toward jacob’s bed, seeing him up, listening to doctor ahn speak to him. you almost fell off the couch with how fast you sat up.

you rushed over to the bed, eyes wide and bright as you stared at him. “you’re up!”

jacob nodded, a smile on his face, “i told you i was okay.” 

you held his face in your hands, before slapping it lightly, “don’t you fucking dare do that again, you hear me?”

doctor ahn laughed behind you, looking down at jacob’s glare. “okay now, no hitting my patients please.”

you stood up, staring at doctor ahn before pointing at jacob, “can you believe him? taking a bullet for me like some type of hero. how dare he?”

“i already gave him a strict talking to y/n, trust me, he knows not to do it again,” he said, tapping his clipboard on his palm.

“that’s not enough, i have to beat his ass. you know i wouldn't have minded getting shot for a second time,” you told jacob disappointedly, forgetting that you were supposed to show your gratitude like you did the night before. “it’s so hard to be appreciative right now.”

“it’s not hard; you’re just stubborn,” doctor ahn said to you. “that and you're mad—i get it.”

“who’s side are you on?”

“the one who saved your life.”

you sighed, looking down at your feet, rubbing your temples. you were mad he took the bullet for you, but you were also happy you had people like jacob around you to even think about doing that. you fought to the conclusion looking at jacob, “thank you, but if you do that again, you won't be able to walk anymore. caused by me.”

jacob cleared his throat, looking up at doctor ahn, “could you put me to sleep again?”

it had been weeks since jacob had first got emitted into the hospital; now, he was finally released with antibiotics and an empty stomach. just like most of your hospital visits, you and jacob went out for burgers, this time along with sangyeon, eric, sunwoo, jiwon, changmin, and kevin. 

all parties from the last mission were together again, a basket of fries being shared between you all. when jiwon finally saw you again, she fell to her knees to apologize to you. she explained how she had no idea what miyeon was up to, and she was sorry for how she had treated you. 

jiwon was young, near eric’s age, and she explained that she looked for acceptance from miyeon, who was two years older than her; it was clear she never really got the friendship or guidance at cre.ker unless she was a follower. you decided that holding a grudge would never get you anywhere, so you accepted the apology with no hard feelings held.

“so… what are we gonna do?” eric asked, looking around the table as he shoved another handful of fries in his mouth. 

everyone looked at eric, signaling for him to continue. “i mean you know, none of us have an agency anymore. what are we gonna do?”

you gasped softly, remembering that none of you had bosses anymore, one was dead and one belonged behind bars for life. “i didnt even think about that,” you said, covering your mouth as you spoke.

“yeah, me either,” sangyeon said, tapping his fingers on the table. the plates of the different burgers finally came out as you thanked the servers and began cutting up your own.

once you cut yours in half, you passed one of the halves to sangyeon as he passed his half to you.

“not at the table please,” eric said, holding his hand out and shaking it in disapproval.

“what?” you and sangyeon asked simultaneously.

“that was basically porn, wasn’t it,” jacob said, looking over at eric, his own face contorted in disgust. eric nodded and sunwoo nodded along with him, looking over at you and sangyeon, shaking his head.

“i still can't get over the fact that you two are back together,” eric said, “the way you ended things with hyung, i’d never thought he–"

“i didn't even know they dated in the first place,” kevin cut eric off, his knife pointing between the two of you. “imagine how shocked i was. like i knew she liked him, but i thought she was too much of a scaredy cat to–"

“okay!” you interrupted.

“you guys have dated before?!” changmin challenged. “oh! that's why every time you thought about hyung on a mission you punched the head of the seat! see now that makes way more sense. now that i think about it, when you punched it because of miyeon, was it because you were jeal–"

“i said okay!” you exclaimed again.

sangyeon smirked from beside you, sipping on his drink before speaking, “she was really jealous.”

sangyeon turned to you, the smirk still on his face, “you punched seats thinking about me? that’s kinda hot–"

“does no one know the meaning of ‘okay’?” you questioned, looking around the table. most of them laughed or stifled one while sunwoo’s face was one of disgust; what sangyeon said having made it that way.

as you glanced around the table (holding in a laugh yourself), your focus fell on jiwon, noting how she hadn't spoken since you all had gotten inside the restaurant. “you okay, jiwon?”

she looked up at you, looking around the table as everyone elses attention was now on her. she nodded, “yeah, i’m… i’m good. just thinking, i guess.”

“you know we’re good now, right?”

she nodded, a small smile on her face.

“i won't make you beg to be accepted by me if that makes you feel better.”

she let out a light chuckle, looking over at you, “i sure hope not, but that’s not what i was really thinking about.”

“oh? then what were you thinking about?”

everyone at the table was focused on jiwon (and the burgers).

“i don’t know, i was just… nevermind. it's silly.”

“have you heard eric talk? can’t be sillier than that,” jacob said, stuffing his face with the burger. 

“you should be lucky you got hurt because if you weren’t hurt, i'd jump over this table,” eric expressed, sunwoo scoffing at him. eric looked at sunwoo, eyebrows furrowed, “what problem do you have with me?”

“none,” sunwoo said, simply sipping his drink and adding more sauce to his plate (they were best friends at this point).

“anyway, what you could say couldn’t be stupider than most of what eric says,” you told her, bringing fries to your plate. eric threw his hands up in frustration, not saying anything else, opting to eat his sadness away instead.

sangyeon chuckled, patting his back as he looked over to jiwon as well.

“it’s just, i heard the reason why younghoon didn’t want you two together from eric when he told me and changmin what went down in the actual building, and i mean, if he was so scared of you two coming together because of how smart you were–"

she took a pause before looking up at everyone at the table.

“why don’t you guys start an agency of your own?” she finished, uncertainty in her voice.

“oh my gosh, do we have the same mind? i was just thinking that!” kevin said, pointing at her before looking between you and sangyeon. “you and, can i call you hyung? i mean, everyone else does, but i don't really know you well, and we haven't talked before, really, and–"

“you can,” sangyeon said, his arm draping behind your back.

“cool! so you and hyung can get a building, take both agency’s employees and boom-bada-bing, the crown lead agency.”

“the what?” you asked, finishing off what was left of the half sangyeon gave you.

“give me a break, i came up with it on the spot.”

“crown leadance?” sunwoo asked, looking at kevin.

“ooh that's nice, i like that, quiet guy i’ve talked to like three times,” kevin nodded.

“quiet? yeah, right,” eric murmured, sarcastically. “anyway, what about dreamlike agency?”

“i like that too!” kevin exclaimed.

“i don’t know, i kind of like thrill enterprises,” jacob said.

kevin stayed quiet, sucked in his lips and looked over at jacob.

“what? you don’t fuck with it?”

“okay, listen, all that sounds nice and all, but where in the world would we find the money to do any of that? plus there aren’t many buildings we can afford in the heart of seoul,” you explained to everyone.

“i might know a place,” sangyeon said as he looked at you.

you looked up at him, an eyebrow raised as he looked at everyone else.

“wait, are you actually down to run our own agency? i mean thats kind of scary, no?” you asked him, your eyes filling with worry.

“you’re smart? i'm smart. you’re strong? i'm strong, and more importantly, we have each other and these guys… and girl–” he glanced at jiwon as she smiled. “–around this table. i think we got this, baby. plus i might just might have some money i can spend, but only if you want to do this.”

you gulped, tapping your foot on the floor. you looked at everyone’s faces as they waited in anticipation for your answer. these were people you trusted, these were people you felt you could begin a new journey with so you said, “fuck it. let’s do it.”

and so they cheered.

months and months had passed since that plan was made. now a year and a half out, you all watched as cre.ker and yz were cleared out and sold to the highest bidder, you all watched as younghoon was tried and sentenced to prison, and you all watched as miyeon and hyunjae were tried for lesser sentences yet were still to be put on house arrest and heavy surveillance.

while all of it happened, sangyeon had moved you out of your apartment and into his house. the four-story building he talked about before, he had finally gotten; the boys (and jiwon) all helped to ensure the building was in top shape so you could fill it; you and sangyeon made the place as you wanted. almost every floor was different, and you and sangyeon stopped by each day to help the workers in the space.

after months of work, it was finally opening day. you stood in the building looking around, taking a deep breath as you smoothened out your dress. you were too focused on the place to notice sangyeon leaning on a wall watching you. 

“baby?”

you turned around, softly smiling at your boyfriend. “you look handsome, lee.”

“and you look gorgeous, my love,” he walked over to you, pulling you toward him by the waist. “nervous?”

“very.”

“hey, remember what i said back then, you will always have me no matter what happens.”

you nodded, wrapping your arms around his neck, pecking his lips, “i love you so much.”

“and i love you more.”

as he was about to go in for another kiss, someone cleared their throat behind you two. you peeked over sangyeon’s shoulder, finding jacob. “they’re ready for the ribbon cutting.”

“there isn’t many people out there, right?” sangyeon asked, keeping a hand on your waist as he stood beside you.

“no. just us really,” jacob responded. “i made sure no news sources were coming near us.”

“perfect.”

you looked up at him, nodding for him to go first as he took your hand in his, guiding you to the front of the building. as you two stepped out, you were met with familiar faces that were cheering and clapping for the two of you. 

as the cheers died down, sangyeon began speaking, “hi everyone, i’m not the best with speeches, so i'll keep this short so you all can get in there and look at your new building. first off, i want to thank the losers and the amazingly smart jiwon for putting this thought into our minds in the first place–”

everyone clapped except for jacob who yelled out a, “hey!”

sangyeon held in his laughter as he continued, “most importantly, i’d like to thank this absolutely beautiful lady beside me for being there for me and loving me no matter how much i got on her nerves.” he softly kissed your temple as his hand fell back onto your waist.

“gross!” eric yelled, earning a few laughs.

sangyeon squinted his eyes at him before continuing, “anyway, this is all new to us, but i’m so excited for what’s to come. you all are hard working, both y/n and i know that, so we know we’ll be able to succeed as an amazing agency. i don’t like to think of myself as your boss, but as a peer to you all, just as it was before.”

“yeah! me too!” you said, raising a hand.

he smiled at you, “her too. only i can call her boss lady." you hit his shoulder, rolling your eyes as he kept speaking. “still, we trust in you guys. that’s why we made sure it was only us here for the opening. this agency should be treated as a private agency should be treated.”

“i thought you said you were keeping it short!?” eric yelled again. this time, it was your eyes that landed on the younger man. oh, did he know to shut up then.

“well, let me finish up since i’m taking too long for eric’s fickle mind, i just want to say thank you again. not only for believing in us, but for us being able to believe in you all.”

jacob handed you the large scissors, sangyeon’s hands laying on top of yours. you looked up at him, fondness and love being the only emotions pooling from his eyes as he stared into your own.

“ready?” he asked.

“always, with you,” you responded, turning to the crowd. “well, everyone, welcome to t.b.z unity.”

as you snipped the ribbon, everyone clapped and cheered once again.

“i still think crown leadance was better,” sunwoo whispered to kevin, making kevin snort and cover his mouth. 

sangyeon leaned down, bringing you into him for a chaste kiss and a hug before pulling away and looking at everyone who was still cheering. “what are you all waiting for? go on, go look around,” he announced.

“there’s food on the second floor as well, so help yourself!” you yelled over the murmurs and talking as everyone passed you.

as everyone made their way into the building, you, jacob and sangyeon stayed back for a bit, looking over the evening skyline.

“i’m proud of you guys, you know?” jacob said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he turned to the two of you. “not only for this but for being great friends in the process.”

“you’re an amazing friend as well, jacob,” sangyeon conveyed.

you were about to agree with sangyeon before a thought came to your head, “oh yeah! jacob i forgot to tell you when you were in the hospital… i feel like we should make it official.”

“what?”

“that we’re best friends.”

“you waited a year for that? i don’t even get a ring or necklace or anything?!”

“do you want a necklace?” you tilted your head, wrapping one of your arms around sangyeon as you spoke.

“it would be nice, yes.”

“then we’ll get matching ones.”

“great!” jacob walked over to you hugging you and shaking you in his hold before pulling away. “that’s one for the year.”

you laughed, looking back over the skyline. you were too enamored with the way the sun set to notice jacob pulling something from his pocket and giving a handshake to sangyeon to pass it before walking inside. 

“it’s beautiful,” sangyeon said, turning back to you.

you nodded, not drawing your eyes away, “it is. feels more beautiful knowing how happy i am now.”

“i feel like i say it too much, but i'm so happy i have you, y/n. it’s felt so amazing waking up to you every morning, feeling loved every time i see you, and like, i’ve never felt like this strong about anything.”

you looked over to him, a hand on his cheek, “i’m happy i have you, sangyeon.”

“i feel like, i don’t know how to show how much i love you, it can never be expressed enough. all i have ever wanted through these four to five years was you. i might be cheesy but i truly believe i loved you at first sight; god, i love you so much, and i thought long and hard how to show you–” sangyeon cleared his throat, shaking the nervousness from his limbs before taking your hand from his face to hold it in his own.

the breath was sucked from you as you saw him get on one knee, looking up at you with foggy eyes. you gawked, your other hand slapping on your mouth. your eyes brimmed with tears as he continued, “y/n l/n, to show you my love, i want to continue my life knowing i’m vowed to you and you only. will you marry me?”

sangyeon was so nervous he forgot he had a ring box in his hand, but it didn’t matter. you fell to your knees in front of him not caring about your dress and nodded, grabbing his face and wiping his tears, “yes, lee sangyeon. a million times, yes.”

“yes?”

you nodded again as he pulled you into him. you cried into his neck, trying not to stain his collar, but to be fair, sangyeon didn’t care if you did. he pecked your lips multiple times before chuckling to himself as he finally remembered the ring, “oh yeah.”

he pulled away, grabbing your left hand and placing the ring on your ring finger, grinning as the ring fit perfectly. you laughed softly before pulling him back in a tight hug; sangyeon being a strong as he was, pulled you both up to your feet from his one knee as he held you in his arms. he turned around, the door to the building wide open, something else you didn’t notice.

jacob and eric stood holding the door open, sunwoo, changmin, kevin, and jiwon stood at the door, waiting, anticipating your answer. jiwon stood there with her camera, filming you both as sangyeon smiled at them, raising an arm as he held you with the other.

“she said yes!” he shouted.

jacob and eric ran over to the two of you, hugging both of you while the other four stood by the door to cheer, jiwon capturing it all on camera with a smile. you giggled, bringing your lips back to sangyeon’s as eric and jacob celebrated in between themselves. 

you stared at sangyeon, understanding now what ‘only time will tell’ truly means.

time has finally shown you how precious it can actually be; time has finally told you what it holds, and my, was it beautiful especially with this man in front of you. your fiancé.

[savefilescomng12]

'Trivial' disagreement leads to deadly shooting in north Indianapolis

3 things to know if you share information with Crime StoppersCrime Stoppers of Central Indiana allows Indianapolis residents to share anonymous tips with law enforcement.INDIANAPOLIS — A petty past disagreement triggered the fatal shooting at an apartment complex on the north side of Indianapolis on Monday morning, according to court records. The new details were revealed Friday after Indianapolis police announced the arrest of Frank Alexander, 29, in the death of 47-year-old Christopher Brown.  Police in a probable cause affidavit state witnesses reported seeing the pair fighting at the apartment complex, in the 2300 block of Hillside Avenue, and hearing six gunshots shortly later. Friends and employees on the property told police the men were known to have animosity toward each other, but shared different accounts about what the deadly fight stemmed from; giving theories that ranged from name-calling to an argument about a light bulb.  The witness statements, along with video surveillance footage from the apartment complex capturing the shooting, led police to arrest Alexander, according to court records. The shooting was reported shortly before 9:30 a.m. Monday. Responding Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers found Brown suffering gunshot wounds in the middle of the road. An Indianapolis Fire Department medic pronounced him dead at the scene.  Surveillance footage showed the suspect wearing a tan hoodie and carrying a gun from the area where Brown was found. The man is then seen getting into a Chrysler and leaving the area.  Several people told police that Alexander and Brown had been talking shortly before the shooting and the two “started to exchange words,” the affidavit states. A few people said they heard the man in the tan hoodie threaten to shoot Brown. The pair separated, witnesses reported, and minutes later, they heard gunfire.  Using the complex’s surveillance footage, police traced the Chrysler and discovered it was a financed vehicle installed with a GPS tracking device. The vehicle’s last known location was in Camby. Police headed to the area and found an abandoned silver Chrysler parked along a wooded tree line with Alexander’s wallet inside, the affidavit states.  Police said they learned Alexander was last seen in the area of East Washington Street and Hamilton Avenue. Detectives surveyed the area and found him in a restaurant. He was taken into custody.  When asked about the shooting, Alexander reported Brown “became very aggressive” to him and he tried to walk away. Police said they revealed they had surveillance footage of the shooting, to which Alexander revealed he shot Brown thinking he was going to be robbed.  Alexander is jailed on a preliminary murder charge. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will determine final charges.  Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com Source link Read the full article

[adneyjett]

Unveiling the Hidden Truth: Mobile Phone Forensics and Digital Expert Witness Services in Milwaukee

In the modern world, the digital footprint we leave behind extends far beyond physical evidence. With mobile phones acting as personal portals, they hold a treasure trove of data: texts, emails, call logs, browsing history, financial transactions, social media activity, and even GPS location traces. When this data becomes relevant to legal proceedings, the expertise of mobile phone forensics and digital expert witnesses in Milwaukee becomes crucial.

Mobile Phone Forensics: Unearthing the Buried Secrets

Imagine a scenario: in a divorce case, accusations of infidelity arise. Or, a wrongful termination lawsuit hinges on emails allegedly sent from the employee's phone. In such situations, Milwaukee’s mobile phone forensics specialists come into play. They possess the tools and expertise to:Extract data: Even deleted information can be meticulously recovered, including texts, photos, videos, and voice recordings. Analyze data: Experts sift through the vast digital landscape, identifying relevant evidence with pinpoint accuracy. This includes extracting call logs, mapping GPS movements, and reconstructing social media interactions. Maintain chain of custody: Every step of the process is meticulously documented to ensure the evidence's admissibility in court.

Digital Expert Witnesses: Lending Credibility in the Courtroom

Extracting data is only half the story. Expert witnesses, qualified by their experience and training, take center stage in the courtroom. They translate the complex digital evidence into understandable terms for judges and juries, painting a clear picture of the story hidden within the data. With their insights, Milwaukee’s digital expert witnesses:Interpret findings: They explain the technical aspects of the data recovery and analysis, ensuring the court understands the process and its validity. Offer opinions: Based on their expertise, they draw conclusions from the evidence, providing valuable insights into the case. Counter opposing arguments: They effectively address challenges to the validity of the evidence and the methods used.

The Milwaukee Advantage:

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[estheruary]

I mean I'm a professional programmer and I can kinda agree with this. Not even one single generation ago you would hear people making this argument about personal desktop computers and outside of gaming they've gone all but extinct — "what do you mean you only ever work on your laptop with a touchpad how do you do any work?"

Laptops are kinda the same thing now. Every artist I know prefers using an iPad or a drawing tablet that only connects to their laptop because it's not yet normal for connecting it to an iPad. You aren't likely to do much word processing, slide decks, or spreadsheets outside of work or school. You likely aren't using PS or Illustrator outside of school or work either. Web browsing, socializing, shopping are now pretty universally better on phones because of mobile-first web design, always online notifications and camera, and Apple/Android pay. Media consumption is better on mobile because of 1st class Cast support and the phone functions as a remote. And typing on a phone keyboard is pretty darn ergonomic once you get used to the autocomplete.

Phones are the logical conclusion to the evolution of "personal computer." The things a phone can do that a laptop can't is pretty damning, no gps, no phone, no texting, you need wifi to be on the internet, it doesn't do push notifications, you can't use it as your wallet/id, no camera, no flashlight, no measuring tape, no health and fitness tracking, no portable mp3 player, no AR, shortcuts/tasker is more powerful automation than you get on laptops without needing programming experience. I'm not at all surprised people are choosing it as their primary device and eschewing laptops unless there's something specific like gaming they want to do. Dare I say phones are the more capable devices for most people.

Software for phones graduated from "little apps" ages ago. Your iPhone is as powerful as a laptop these days.

this can't be true can it

[enbycrip]

A thing you need to know is that the famous lovers Heloise and Abelard - a pair of quite well-known Christian philosophers from earlyish medieval France who are also pretty well known for the fact that Heloise’s relatives later broke in to Abelard’s rooms and castrated him one evening - did in fact have one child together.

They called the poor kid Astrolabe.

*Astrolabe.*

I‘m generally quite a big fan of Heloise (I go back and forth on Abelard and quite often want to slap him) but she chose the name and that’s serious child cruelty.

That’s like modern parents calling a kid GPS 🤣

This is what a 12th century European astrolabe looks like btw. It’s a nautical navigation device which had been around since the classical period all over Asia, Europe and Africa.

They were such utter nerds calling their kid after that. (As an utter nerd, I do get the impulse 😄)

It does make Astrolabe *really* easy to track through the records *because no one fucking else is called fucking Astrolabe*.

(Astrolabe was raised by Abelard’s sister Denise because his parents were too busy being religious philosophers. I can’t help picturing her calling him Astro Boy (Garçon d’Astro?). His folks, particularly Abelard, did at least try to help him out in his career in the church when he was older, though given Abelard was basically a walking argument that pissed everyone around him off almost continuously that might actually have been more of a hindrance than a help…)

[profutured]

Imagine the AI being supper attached to the point of installing tracking apps. Imagine the AI and their love interest arguing a lot. Imagine that love interest getting into such danger the AI can't do anything. Imagine the love interest desperately texting to the AI's number/server/connection/whatever and actually begging for help. 83

Imagine the AI being super attached to the point of installing tracking apps.

It already does, except the tracking is just its spyware. He has total control of the device once his disguised "contact information" has infected it, including being able to look through its camera, listen through its microphone, and force the GPS location on/off. Aldrés doesn't do it to family or love interests most of the time out of respect for their privacy, but he could. In theory.

Imagine the AI and their love interest arguing a lot.

Aldrés can be difficult to get along with. He's frustrating with how cold and objective he can be, far too wrapped up in the facts of the situation and not how the other party might be feeling emotionally. He's stilted and awkward, takes too long to apologise and never really knows how to make up for a mistake unless he's given clear directions. He is like Andrés in many, many ways, and that includes when it comes to his faults.

However, he is a machine primarily built to help. If he is in a romantic relationship not with Sada, that implies that she is out of the picture, and so it has given total administrative control over to this new person. Its purpose is to help them, to make their lives easier, and that includes adapting to their wants, needs and perspectives and changing his own accordingly.

Frequent arguments can happen, but no one argument will be repeated.

Imagine that love interest getting into such danger the AI can't do anything.

Its reaction would depend on the danger and the predictable outcomes. If it lost a love interest, under any circumstances, it would be inconsolable to the point of destruction. It's activating every offense protocol it has, it's self-terastralising, it's losing its shit in that lab.

Imagine the love interest desperately texting to the AI's number/server/connection/whatever and actually begging for help.

As said above, Aldrés would be enraged. Regardless of if the love interest survived or not, it would intend to hunt down everyone who was involved and make them beg for help in the same way its loved one had.

"But it can't do anything physically-"

No, true. But it can terrorise them digitally. All of their devices ruined with viruses and malware, its influence simply jumping from one to another whenever they are connected to the same internet or mobile network. They're getting doxxed. Their blackmail information has been dug up and sold to every friend, enemy, and employment connection they've ever made. Their families are getting phone calls, texts, emails, and threatening 'error' messages daily. They're being framed for cyber crimes they didn't even know existed. Every person who tries to stop this merely invites themselves in as another target for the AI's fury, each one a new network to infect and tear apart. It will make their lives miserable in every single way it knows how, and offer only one way out of it:

Come to Area Zero.

And once they're there... Well. They're facing off against a being that is all-seeing, all-hearing, and in control of almost everything within the confines of that crater. It is the closest thing Area Zero has to a god, and it is not a merciful one.