#i have not played the second or third postal games yet | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

anexplanationofunfortunateevents · 4 years

Text

FIVE MORE DAYS

There are three things you need to do in the next few days.

I. If you haven’t voted yet, you need to do that.

If you still have your absentee ballot lying around somewhere, you need to bring it to a drop box or your local elections offices. If you try to mail it in, the regime’s capture of the Supreme Court and sabotage of the postal service may succeed in stealing your vote. Don’t let them.

If you didn’t request an absentee ballot, that’s totally fine, but you need to make your plan to vote now. If your state has early voting, you need to go TODAY.

Absolutely no bullshit games about “oh I’m in a safe state, I can not vote/vote third party/write in my dog.” Do not let anyone get away with saying that shit in your presence. First of all, no state is safe until it’s certified. Second of all, the margin of the popular vote is REALLY IMPORTANT. Any crap these mobsters might be tempted to pull is going to be more difficult and less appealing if there’s a five point Biden win than a one point win, harder and less worth their while still if there’s a nine or ten point blowout. That’s true in any particular state and it’s true nationally. If they think they’re going to contest or throw out votes, AND THEY DO, then we need to have more votes in the bank than they have time to steal.

II. You need to keep your head.

Their plan is to overwhelm everyone with their bullshit. It probably would’ve been smarter not to spend four years teaching us how to tune them out; lucky for us, they’re brainless jackasses.

Their big confusion play seems to be scaremongering if we don’t have a winner called, like, during prime time on Tuesday night. Ignore them. If it takes a few days, it takes a few days. That’s part of making sure the votes get counted. Even recounts and lawsuits in the days and weeks afterward are part of a sensible process. Don’t let these goobers overwhelm you with their shitty Trump fanfiction.

III. You need to prepare yourself for Wednesday, November 4.

I don’t mean emotionally. I mean that you should expect you will need to take some kind of direct action the day after all the votes are cast. Keep an eye on Protect the Results for events near you. If it’s available in your state, download the ACLU mobile justice app and get familiar with it now; if not, at least get the number of your state or local ACLU into your phone. Pack a little knapsack now:

hand sanitizer and a spare mask;

a tiny bottle of whatever OTC pain medication you use, plus a dose or two of any prescriptions you need;

a bottle of water and some snacks you can eat while you’re out;

an extra flannel or sweatshirt;

a photo ID and some bail money might not be the worst idea in the world.

In my opinion – AND THIS IS JUST MY READ ON THE SITUATION, WHICH CAN CHANGE ANY MINUTE – I still think the most likely scenario for next week is pretty similar to the midterms, where Trump goes to bed that night thinking the margins are close enough that he can wriggle his way out of a real loss, but the magnitude of a Democratic landslide gets clear pretty quickly. He doesn’t have the guts for a real fight, and he doesn’t have the psychological ability to absorb a narcissistic injury fast enough to take action. He’s spent years alienating the top brass of the military. He’s spent weeks trying to give his Secret Service detail the ‘rona. (Seriously, what successful coup has included “try but fail to kill a bunch of your armed bodyguards”? I’m genuinely curious.) But that’s the most likely scenario out of a lot of scenarios. It’s not over until it’s over.

People are anxious. They’re disoriented after 2016, when everyone knew Democrats would win a free and fair election but too few people realized that wasn’t what we were having. And they’re discombobulated now, because most Americans don’t have practice waiting for an election that they already know will be unfair. Chances are pretty good that at least a few of these people are in your social media feeds. So you might see a lot of doomporn loser talk about how it’s all rigged and he’s never going to leave anyway and blah blah blah.

Those aren’t misplaced concerns. But there’s a way to talk about them in a way that’s a lot more constructive, and it’s this:

Trump cannot win legitimately. That’s not me reading tea leaves or interpreting polls or whatever. He cut himself off from that possibility with his solicitation of foreign interference, his extortion of foreign leaders and American governors for his own political benefit, his willful destruction of the infrastructure we need in order to have an election, and his incitement of terrorism against journalists, opponents, and voters. He did not want to win an election with any democratic legitimacy and so he won’t.

That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll win. But I like our chances. Even knowing about so much of his cheating, and being aware that there’s almost certainly more cheating we don’t know about yet, I like our chances.

So let’s do it. Get that ballot in. Use whatever platform you have to remind other people to do the same. Make calls if you can. It’s not too late to chip in to your state party or the DSCC – they’re probably done buying ads, but we should assume they’re going to need money for recounts and lawsuits.

This is it. Crunch time. We can do this. Let’s go.

#2020 election

27 notes · View notes

newstfionline · 4 years

Text

Headlines

Work From Home Is Here to Stay (The Atlantic) “Are you still working, doo-doo?” This is the interruption that the Stanford University economist Nick Bloom hears several times a day as his 4-year-old daughter runs into his office and summons him to play by using his nickname. But the blurring of work and home lives might not be just a temporary side effect of the pandemic. Many Americans were already couch laborers before this all started. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, about 29 percent of college graduates worked from home at least some of the time. Even once coronavirus restrictions are eased, Bloom and others expect the proportion of Americans working from home to grow. “I could see it being totally standard for jobs that can be performed at home to allow two days at home” per week, he told me. Companies have been reluctant to allow employees to work from home because of inertia and entrenched norms, says Julia Pollak, the labor economist at ZipRecruiter. But the pandemic has forced nearly two-thirds of Americans to work remotely, making it clear just how much work can get done from home, even despite the presence of children. When people get certain perks from their jobs, they tend to value those perks more than they used to, according to research by Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson, a sociologist at Washington State University. Workers might resist being yanked back into offices after they’ve enjoyed the luxury of never changing out of their pajamas.

33 million have sought US unemployment aid since virus hit (AP) Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades. Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is the equivalent of one in five Americans who had been employed back in February, when the unemployment rate had reached a 50-year low of just 3.5%.

As Hunger Swells, Food Stamps Become a Partisan Flash Point (NYT) As a padlocked economy leaves millions of Americans without paychecks, lines outside food banks have stretched for miles, prompting some of the overwhelmed charities to seek help from the National Guard. New research shows a rise in food insecurity without modern precedent. Among mothers with young children, nearly one-fifth say their children are not getting enough to eat, according to a survey by the Brookings Institution. The reality of so many Americans running out of food is an alarming reminder of the economic hardship the pandemic has inflicted. But despite their support for spending trillions on other programs to mitigate those hardships, Republicans have balked at a long-term expansion of food stamps—a core feature of the safety net that once enjoyed broad support but is now a source of a highly partisan divide. Democrats want to raise food stamp benefits by 15 percent for the duration of the economic crisis, arguing that a similar move during the Great Recession reduced hunger and helped the economy. But Republicans have fought for years to shrink the program, saying that the earlier liberalization led to enduring caseload growth and a backdoor expansion of the welfare state.

Fears of ‘second wave’ hang over coronavirus successes (AP) Britain was expected to extend its nationwide lockdown on Thursday, but the European country hit hardest by the coronavirus plans cautiously to ease some restrictions on economic and social activity next week as it tries to reopen without sparking a devastating second wave of infections. Authorities in many countries are drawing up plans for how to cope with a resurgence in outbreaks even as they slowly work to reopen businesses and resume other activity halted to combat the pandemic. In Germany, which has begun to emerge from lockdown, authorities have begun drawing up plans to cope with any resurgence of the virus and experts in Italy doubled down on finding new victims and tracing their contacts. France, which hasn’t yet eased its lockdown, has already worked up a “reconfinement plan” in the event of a new wave.

Trump Vetoes Iran War Powers Resolution (Foreign Policy) On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a bipartisan war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval to carry out military strikes against Iran, the latest in an ongoing battle between the White House and Capitol Hill over war powers authorities. Wednesday’s veto is not the first time that Trump has batted away congressional attempts to restrict his ability to use military force without a legislative greenlight. Lawmakers advanced similar measures to stop U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s war last year, which Trump also vetoed. But the lawmakers backing the latest resolution are undeterred, saying they’re playing the long game and inching their way closer to getting war powers authorities on the books.

The Irish give back (NYT) More than 170 years ago, the Choctaw Nation sent $170 to starving Irish families during the potato famine. A sculpture in County Cork commemorates the generosity of the tribe, itself poor. In recent decades, ties between Ireland and the Choctaws have grown. Now hundreds of Irish people are repaying that old kindness, giving to a charity drive for two Native American tribes suffering in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Poland postpones presidential election (Foreign Policy) A controversial presidential election in Poland, due to take place on Sunday, has now been postponed. The ruling Law and Justice party had pushed for the election to go ahead, but a dispute over how to enact postal voting on short notice derailed their plan.

Chemical leak at LG plant in India kills 11, about 1,000 ill (AP) A gas leaked from an LG chemical plant in southern India early Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. At least 11 people died and about 1,000 suffered breathing difficulties and other problems. The synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the LG Polymers plant in a city on India’s eastern coast while workers were preparing to restart the facility after a coronavirus lockdown was eased, state official Vinay Chand said. Chand said some people collapsed on the road and were rushed to a hospital. About 1,000 people in an area of 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) complained of breathing difficulties and a burning sensation in their eyes, he said.

India to begin massive evacuation operation from 12 countries (MENA) The first of more than 60 flights repatriating thousands of Indians stranded overseas by the coronavirus lockdown is due to set off on Thursday. Nearly 15,000 Indians are expected to return on special Air India flights from 12 countries over the next week. Passengers will pay their own fares and be quarantined on return. India suspended all international travel in March before it went into lockdown to curb Covid-19 infections. Eventually, about 200,000 Indians will be brought back, report local media.

Netanyahu cleared to form government (Foreign Policy) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surmounted the latest hurdle in his bid to retain power, as the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that his corruption charges should not get in the way of forming a government. Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, agreed a power-sharing deal in April after almost a year of deadlock and multiple elections. The new coalition partners expect their government to be sworn in next week. While the Supreme Court has allowed Netanyahu to continue in government, it pointed out that the ruling was not a preemptive absolution from his impending corruption trial. “The legal conclusion we reached does not diminish the severity of the pending charges against MK Netanyahu for violations of moral integrity and the difficulty derived from the tenure of a prime minister accused of criminal activity,” the court said.

#headlines #news

1 note · View note

52nddoor · 5 years

Text

Books I Read and Games I Played in 2019

BOOKS - 40

I’m counting novellas in a series as one entry since some are pretty short. I read a few books multiple times this year and I listed them separately but counted each only once in the final total.

Thud! by Terry Pratchett (I’ve read Pratchett’s City Watch series so many times I’ve lost count. I ended last year starting this book, so I finished it up as 2019 started.)

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

The Truth by Terry Pratchett (I decided to branch out with some of Pratchett’s other Discworld books, read some that weren’t about Vimes, and began reading all the books that mentioned Vimes or where Vimes had a cameo. Big step for me.)

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Making Money by Terry Pratchett

The Martian by Andy Weir (I took a break from Pratchett to reread what’s probably my favorite book that’s not part of a series. I actually ended up reading it three times in a row? I just like it a lot?)

The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt (A lady in cryo wakes up hundreds of years in the future to warn of aliens, but humanity already knows about aliens by that time. Except she doesn’t mean those aliens, she means bad ones!!)

The Dreaming Stars by Tim Pratt (The third one in the series wasn’t out yet and I didn’t know that when I started!!)

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (These four novellas were on my list last year too. I love them a lot and a new novel is coming out in 2020! A security robot hacks it’s own code so that it can do whatever it wants, and what it wants is to be able to watch as much tv as possible in between jobs without anyone knowing.)

Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett (Back on the Vimes-adjacent books train.)

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (Okay look, yes it’s the Watch books again, but my best friend started reading them for the first time, and so when she got to this one I started reading them with her so I could remember every single little detail to talk with her about.)

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Alanna: the First Adventure (Song of the Lioness book 1) by Tamora Pierce (Hoo that’s a mouthful. YA series about a girl that pretends to be a boy so she can learn to be a knight. I got a library card so I wouldn’t have to buy so many books but the wait time on this series was sooo long. Because of that I didn’t read them one after another but I’m putting them consecutively on this list anyway.)

In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness book 2) by Tamora Pierce

Woman that Rides Like a Man (Song of the Lioness book 3) by Tamora Pierce

Lioness Rampant (Song of the Lioness book 4) by Tamora Pierce

Binti, Binti: Home, and Binti: Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor (A girl gets accepted to the galaxy’s top university, except no one in her tribe is supposed to travel far from home, let alone leave the planet.)

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy book 1) by N. K. Jemisin (I only ended up reading the first in the series because the books I put on hold at the library started coming in, and between that and rereading the Watch books with my friend, I kind of forgot about them, whoops. The first one was very good so I’ll definitely finish the series next year.)

The Forbidden Stars by Tim Pratt (Thank goodness! The third book in the stars series! I didn’t have to wait long.)

Thud! by Terry Pratchett (Yes the same Thud! that I already read this year.)

The Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust (Um, okay look, there are currently 15 books in this series and I don’t want to list them all out separately, but I read all of them in one month. They were so good that I didn’t want to do anything else until I had finished and I haven’t stopped thinking about them once I did. Have you read these books? Please talk to me about them if you have.)

Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark (Memoirs and life lessons from the ladies that do the My Favorite Murder Podcast.)

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer (I saw the movie recently and wanted to read the book, and I’ve never seen a movie based on a book that was so vastly different from the source material while still somehow feeling like the same story. A group of people are tasked with studying some weird shit happening in a particular spot of land and, no surprise, weird shit happens.)

Authority by Jeff Vandermeer (The second book in the series. Takes place back at headquarters after the events of the first book.)

GAMES - 18

Like the books I read this year, a lot of these games were replays for me.

Celeste

Detroit Become Human (This was 1/3 of a fun game?)

The Spectrum Retreat (You’re in a hotel, except maybe you’re not? The mystery stuff was fun and the puzzle stuff was cool for a while but I liked the mystery stuff better and the game turned into mostly puzzle stuff.)

Uncharted 4 (replay)

Rime

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Of COURSE I played as Kassandra. #arms #arms #arms)

Tacoma (One of my favorite games of the year. You have to find out why an AI malfunctioned on a space station.)

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Replay, one of my favorite games ever.)

Observation (You have to find out why an AI malfunctioned on a space station, only you’re the malfunctioning AI.)

The Talos Principle (I like puzzle games but the sheer number of puzzles I had to solve made it kind of tedious and the ending felt hmmmm not worth the effort?)

Dishonored (replay)

Dishonored 2 (reply twice, once as Corvo and once as Emily)

Control (This game was so dope and I loved it but also I wanted to throw my controller more than once, so the highs are real high but the lows are real low. That said I did preorder the DLCs immediately once I finished.)

Untitled Goose Game

Link’s Awakening (Typing this made me remember that I’m still on the final dungeon whoops.)

God of War (Holy shit y’all this game blew me away. These games have always been hyper violent and now here’s that protagonist trying his best not to let his anger get the best of him so he can teach his son how to be a good person.)

Pokemon Sword (I chose Scorbunny.)

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Shoar.)

2017

2018

#witt #witt words #books i read #games i played

4 notes · View notes

revwinchester · 7 years

Text

True Vessel

Summary: In the midst of the apocalypse, Gabriel sends a message to his true vessel.

Characters: Reader, Gabriel, Uriel, Azrael (Orig. Angel Character), Sam; Dean (mentioned)

Word Count: 3323

Warnings: cursing, angst, apocalypse stuff, breaking and entering, angel(s) being dicks, kidnapping, mental and emotional manipulation, major character death (canonical)

A/N: This almost ended up a 2 parter but then it didn’t, so yay for that! There are a few challenge prompts in here, starting with @ellen-reincarnated1967‘s back in the game challenge: “Dear you, the body you re wearing used to be mine. I’m writing this letter to you because it’s necessary for your survival. The rest is... complicated.” Then there’s two of the @gabriel-monthly-challenge prompts, “My life consists of bad puns and candy,” and “All that bravado, all those witty comebacks… Just to hide how terrified you really are.”

There’s a mix of my real lore and my own head canons mixed together in here and there are some things that I know about this story that I didn’t have the space to put into it so, feel free to send me questions about the lore of this one!

Your name: submit What is this? // <![CDATA[ function replaceAll(find, replace, str) { return str.replace(new RegExp(find, 'g'), replace); } function myHandler() { var input = document.getElementById("inputTxt").value; document.body.innerHTML = replaceAll('Y/N', document.getElementById("inputTxt").value, document.body.innerHTML); } // ]]>

True Vessel -

You had seen this guy before, a few times. You didn’t know why but you would recognize the man anywhere. You were drawn to him whenever he was around. There wasn’t anything that made him stand out more than most average men - he was about 5 foot 8 with sandy blond hair that was a little on the longer side and eyes the color of whiskey - but you always noticed him. This was the closest he had gotten, though.

When the doorbell had rung, you hadn’t been expecting any visitors so you had padded over to the door and looked out the peep hole only to find the golden eyes staring back. You had seen this guy wearing a lot of different outfits, everything from a janitor at the college you had attended to a business suit to casual wear, but today he was dressed to deliver mail and he was holding an envelope in his hands.

In the back of your mind, you knew this wasn’t normal. You knew that running into the same person repeatedly in numerous different places with him assuming numerous different identities couldn’t be a good thing. Every horror movie or thriller you had ever seen told you that the last thing you should do is open the door to this man; that it was a one way trip to hell on earth at the hands of your stalker turned kidnapper, but you didn’t have any family left - your parents had died just before you started college - so there was no one to ask for ransom and, for some strange reason, you had always found the man’s presence comforting. When he was around, no matter how crazy your life or the world around you would get, you were always able to stay calm.

You opened the door and took him in. His uniform didn’t have a name tag but you weren’t sure if postal workers usually wore one. The man at the door looked nervous and you weren’t sure if it was because he was afraid you would recognize him or if he was worried you wouldn’t. Though you knew he had frequently been around, you had never been this close to him and you noticed that even his scent drew you in. As he thrust a certified letter into your hands, the air around you smelled like rainfall and cotton candy and you intuitively knew that it was the man.

When you thanked the man for the letter, he looked at you with such longing and you wanted nothing more in that moment than to reach out and comfort him. It was a strange desire, you knew, wanting to bring peace to a man who could very well be stalking you, but it was deep within you nonetheless.

After you signed the receipt, the man turned quickly and retreated to his mail van. You watched as he drove away before returning inside and ripping open the envelope, curious as to what was inside.

Dear Me, or, I guess… Dear You,

The body you are wearing used to be mine. I’m writing this letter to you because it’s necessary for your survival. The rest is… complicated.

I had planned to tell you all of this in person one day, to explain everything, and I still hope to do that and answer any questions you have. If you’ll even see me.

I don’t usually do serious. Pranks and jokes are much more my style. Generally, my life consists of bad puns and candy. I tell you this because I hope it lends some gravity to what I am about to tell you, even though you don’t remember knowing me.

You are a strong person in ways that almost no human could comprehend. You are a vessel… My vessel. I am an angel and in order to interact face to face with humanity, I have to take a vessel. In doing so, my grace shares the body with the human soul. You are my true vessel - a human designed especially to hold and safely contain my unique grace and power. However, no angel can take a vessel without permission. I am currently residing in a different body but you have granted me that permission before, though, should I return to you, you would have the opportunity to choose to give it to me again.

You knew this - and more - at one time but, as it became clear to me that the current chain of events had become unavoidable, we thought it would be best to leave you and keep many of the memories of our years together to myself. It was for your safety and for my own. But now, with things as they are, having some knowledge will likely prove useful for your continued safety.

If the first half of this didn’t sound crazy enough, the rest of it will. The apocalypse is here. It’s happening. Book of Revelation, breaking of seals, all of it. But there is a small group of humans who are fighting back. There are two brothers leading the charge but they’re also right at the center of it all. Sam and Dean Winchester. If they ever turn up on your doorstep - and they probably will - you’ll simultaneously be safer than you’ve ever been and in more danger than ever. I’ve always trusted your judgment so I won’t stop now. They’re good guys (usually) and they can be a lot of fun but they’ve got major roles to play in the apocalypse if Heaven and Hell get their way. The choice to trust them or not is entirely yours. You’ll know it’s the Winchesters because they’ll be in cheap suits and pretending to be FBI agents.

Sam and Dean will probably try to kill me (again) for telling you this but they’re vessels, too. They’re vessels for two of the most powerful angels and, technically, you’re related to them. That’s a completely different, even longer story. If you decide to dig into family history, just know that when an angel possesses a vessel, the body doesn’t age and you and I, well, we have quite the history. I’ve designed it so that as you read this letter, more and more memories will come back to you

Look, I never wanted to hurt you but I’m afraid that no matter what I do or don’t do at this point, you getting tied up in the middle of all of this is inevitable. I’ve been keeping watch over you as best as I could but I won’t be able to do that any longer, not unless I want to draw undue attention to you. Heck, I never should have even delivered this to you myself. Do what you can to stay under the radar and keep yourself safe. I’m sorry.

- Gabriel (yeah, that Gabriel)

You read the letter twice for good measure, taking in the words on the page as memories flooded back into your mind. It all seemed so… crazy. And, yet, you found yourself starting to believe what Gabriel had told you. Granted, he had left you with more questions than he had given answers but, at least, it made sense why you had always felt so calm - complete even - when the honey eyed man had been near. If you could call being the vessel of an angel - an archangel if you weren’t mistaken - making sense.

You were half way through your third read through when your doorbell rang for the second time that afternoon. You looked out the peephole and took in the man on the other side. He was wearing a suit, like Gabriel had mentioned, though you weren’t really up on your men’s fashion so you had no idea if it was a cheap suit or an expensive one, especially through the fisheye view your peephole gave you. The man’s skin was dark and you wondered if and how you were related to him. Gabriel had said that Sam and Dean would most likely show up; maybe this was one of them.

You opened your door carefully, leaving the chain lock in place, just in case. The letter had also been a warning and you knew that you’d be taking every precaution from now on.

“Can I help you?” You asked the man through the crack in the doorway.

He looked you up and down and you could hear disdain in his voice when he responded. “Are you Y/N?”

You immediately felt a sense of unease. Something told you that this was neither Sam nor Dean Winchester and you were grateful for the chain that held your door mostly shut. “Who wants to know?” you replied, keeping your voice as steady as you could.

The man at the door rolled his eyes and pushed against the door, snapping the chain easily. “The hairless ape wants to play games, does it?” His tone was full of malice and he wore a terrifying grin to match it. “It’s too bad I don’t have time to play…”

Before you could get away, the man was reaching towards you and pressing two fingers to your temple. Then the world went black.

----

When you came to, you weren’t sure where you were or how long you had been out. You were seated in a chair but found that you couldn’t move your arms, which seemed to be bound behind your back, or your legs, which you assumed were tied to the chair. There was something covering your eyes, maybe even your whole face, and there were muffled voices in the room.

“The runaway cares for this human, our brother will come.” The voice belonged to the man who had broken into your home. His voice was like ice and sent a chill down your spine.

“And you’re sure this will work, Uriel?” a second voice asked. This person was unfamiliar to you but his voice was no less harsh, though it wasn’t nearly as deep as the first man’s, as Uriel’s.

“The runaway needs to put aside his childish self centeredness and choose a side. We have his preferred vessel; the ape is the only bargaining chip that we need,” Uriel assured his companion. “He will come and he will see reason. I must go, now. Castiel and I have another mission to see to.”

There was a moment of silence before the other voice spoke up again. “The Winchesters again?”

Your ears perked up at that name. You were in trouble but if they were nearby, perhaps the Winchesters would be able to help you. Unless… unless they were working with the assholes who had taken you.

“They are tiresome creatures but they are serving their purpose nicely. We have a job for Dean but I plan on ensuring that he will not make it out alive. The younger one will blame the demons and Castiel will join with our cause. Once we have him and Gabriel, nothing will be able to stop us from raising Lucifer.”

So, the Winchesters weren’t working with these two, that was a relief. However, it didn’t sound like they were going to be in much of a spot for rescuing anyone besides each other for the time being. You were on your own and Gabriel’s worst fear had come to be - this Uriel dude and his partner were using you to get to him. You could only pray that he wouldn’t take the bait.

But apparently, praying wasn’t the best decision.

“Ah, the human is finally awake,” the second voice cooed sarcastically, “and it’s trying to warn the runaway. Well, don’t count on it, ape. We’re warded here; no prayers get out of this place.”

The second voice was approaching you and suddenly you could see again. The voice was owned by a man, which you had already guessed from the timbre of his words. He had beady eyes and thin mouth and, even if he hadn’t been holding you captive, you wouldn’t have trusted him.

“Why am I here? What do you want?” You asked, your voice surprisingly clear and strong. “I don’t have any money.”

The man chuckled. “As if we would have a need for such human things. No, your only purpose is to bring the runaway back into the fold and onto the right side of history.”

“The runaway? You’ve got the wrong person. I don’t know any runaways,” you tried. “I mean, there was the time my little brother tried to run away from home but he got out onto the roof outside of his bedroom and freaked out because he was afraid of heights…” You were babbling, making up a story in an attempt to buy yourself some time and come up with a plan but it was clear that the man in front of you knew what you were trying to do.

“Silence,” he commanded and you found that you could no longer speak. You tried to hide the fear in your eyes but the man continued to speak and he had your number. “All that bravado, all those witty comebacks… Just to hide how terrified you really are. You truly are a perfect match for Gabriel.” The man spat the name out of his mouth like a curse

A third voice rang out in the space but you couldn’t tell where it was coming from. “Oh, Azrael, that hurts, really cuts deep.” The voice was somewhat familiar and, despite the seriousness of your current situation, it immediately put you at ease. However, it also put you on edge. Gabriel shouldn’t be here. It was what this guy wanted so it was the last thing that you wanted.

Gabriel came into your field of vision behind the man, behind Azrael. You did your best to not acknowledge him, instead fighting against your bonds in an attempt to keep his attention focused on you instead of looking for the archangel.

Azrael came towards you, his arm extending with two fingers pointed toward your temple like Uriel had done in your home but before he could make contact, Gabriel was there with a silver blade at his throat. “Almost cuts as deep as an angel blade, brother.”

The angel stilled, recognizing the danger. “Brother, you would not want the blood of one of our own on your hands,” Azrael tried reasoning but Gabriel wasn’t having it.

“Like the seven from your garrison that are now dead? And just whose hands are covered in their blood?” Gabriel questioned, looking truly fearsome. When Azrael didn’t answer, the archangel pressed on. “No response, brother? Well, then how about you tell me why you thought stealing from the Archangel of Justice was a good idea.” Gabriel punctuated his title with a press of the blade against Azrael’s neck.

“I… I didn’t. Uriel… Uriel said that…” Azrael was well and truly scared and you understood why as you watched the scene unfold in front of you.

Gabriel’s eyes gleamed with blue energy and his 5’8” frame seemed to fill more of the room than it normally would. The lights were flickering because of the power that was radiating from his body and you could make out the almost glowing shadow of giant wings extending from the vessel he now wore. It was terrifying. It was beautiful.

“Justice will come to Uriel,” the archangel spat, “but in this moment it has come for you.” Gabriel moved the blade away from Azrael’s throat and the angel looked relieved for a moment. That relief was short lived, though, as Gabriel plunged the blade into his back and bright, white light streamed from the angel’s mouth and eyes.

You shut your eyes tightly at the light, bringing an arm up to shield yourself and realizing that Gabriel had thought to use his grace to release you from the chair before Azrael’s death could accidentally burn your eyes out.

The next thing you knew, Gabriel was at your side, a hand on your shoulder, and flying you back to your home. He willed the door back to its original, unbroken state and you could have sworn you saw Enochian runes flashing briefly on the walls. “They’re really not going to be able to get to you this time,” he promised. “I’m sorry. This was all my fault.”

You cut him off with a hand on his cheek. “No, I’m pretty sure you’re the one who showed up and saved me. This was Azrael’s fault, and Uriel’s.” You stared the archangel down, practically daring him to look away from you. “I knew from the very beginning what I was signing up for and I’m ready to get back in the game.”

Gabriel pulled away with a humorless laugh. You knew in that instant that Gabriel was planning on leaving you behind again. “The stakes are higher than ever and I won’t risk you - or put you at risk - again. When I left last time, the apocalypse was just a glimmer in the other archangels’ eyes but now there’s no stopping it. I can’t have you there if Lucifer and Michael are involved.” He paused for a breath and gave you a deep, searching look. “We can’t win this fight and I can’t drag you into a losing battle. Your best chance of survival is to stay here and keep on living your life.”

Before you had a chance to respond, Gabriel gave you a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’ve warded your house like crazy and set it up so that the warding will follow you. Not in everyday life but if you move or something like that. You’re still warded so that no angel, demon, or other creature can find you through supernatural means. Well, except for me but I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other for a while. Stay safe.”

With those words he was gone. You shouted at the space he had just taken up but there was nothing besides an empty room to hear you. You tried praying but the prayers went unanswered.

You prayed every day, never receiving any response, and you never saw the golden eyed man around anymore, either. If Gabriel was still checking up on you, he was being sneaky about it.

Then it happened.

About a year after he had left you, a searing pain shot through your chest. You grabbed for your cell phone to call an ambulance but, just as soon as it had come, the pain was gone and you were left with a feeling of emptiness. You knew immediately what the pain had meant. Gabriel was dead; you were sure of it.

A few days later, a tall man with shaggy brown hair knocked on your door. You opened it, keeping the chain in place. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Y/N,” he told you. “My name is Sam Winchester and I’ve got a letter for her from uh… from a mutual friend.”

You recognized Sam’s name from Gabriel’s first letter and you opened the door to him, accepting the envelope he handed you and putting it aside on the table. “Can I offer you anything, Sam?” you asked, feeling an odd pull towards the man. “Water? Coffee? A beer?” The man before you looked like he had seen better days and you felt an urge to care for him that you hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

Sam declined the offer but lingered for a moment, clearly debating his next words carefully. After a minute, he turned to you, his decision made. “Look, I can tell you know what’s in that letter, Y/N. We’re going to figure this out, my brother and I. We’re going to stop this damn apocalypse and make his death mean something.” Sam took a steadying breath. “I just thought you should know that.”

Sam turned to leave but you grabbed his arm before he could get too far. “Let me help.”

GMC peeps: @lacqueluster @ashiewesker @archangel-with-a-shotgun

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) one of my tag lists, send me an ask and let me know!

ALL THE TAGS! (forevers): @deathtonormalcy56 @supernaturalyobsessed @roxy-davenport @sumara62 @ginamsmith @gallifreyansass @samwinjarpad @hexparker

Gabe’s Babes: @nobodys-baby-now

Gabriel Tags from @mrswhozeewhatsis: @mrswhozeewhatsis @vintagevalentinexx @thinkwritexpress-official @bowtiesandapplepie @itsemmyb @crzcorgi @deerlululucy @walkingencyclopediaoffandom @mrsjohnsmith @manawhaat @growleytria @thegleegeneration @samtomydeanwinchester @supermoonpanda @sis-tafics @meganwinchester1999 @kittenofdoomage @ferferelli @lilyoflothlorien @olitzisbae @the-morning-star-falls @ackleslaugh @roxy-davenport @chrisatplay @bkwrm523 @faith-in-dean @kreborn17 @for-the-love-of-dean @sleep-silent-angel @trenchcoats-and-bees @curliesallovertheplace @not-so-natural-spn @skybinx-blog @thebunkerismyhome @feelmyroarrrr @winchesters-princess @katnharper @tia58 @deansleather @castiels-forbidden-angel @jelly-beans-and-gstrings @winchesterswoonathon @jotink78 @howmanytuesdaysdidyouhave @babypieandwhiskey @wayward-mirage @mysaintsasinner @shelovesallthethings @hexparker @alangel1895 @deals-with-demons

#andi'sbackinthegame #andi'swritingchallenge #gabriel monthly challenge #supernatural fanfiction #gabriel #reader insert #spn angst #fics by rev

48 notes · View notes

godsavetheq · 7 years

Note

1-30 c;

*GALE FORCE SIGH COMES IN FROM CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA*

1: Do you try to stay away from walkthroughs?

Yes. I want to win through my own merit. But I need that old ass game guide magazine for Perfect Dark because I want to unlock all the things and beat all the things (Perfect Dark will be a recurring theme from start to finish so buckle up)

2: Company you're always loyal to?

For consoles, Sony for the most part. XBox is the devil. But I do most of my gaming on PC these days.

For games, the Creative Assembly (which makes the Total War series of grand military strategy games). Although my loyalty is being tested because their cranking out fantasy Warhammer: Total War games like hotcakes now, presumably because their SEGA corporate overlords like the money they’re making off them. Though apparently they have a separate team that’s pretty far into developing the next historical Total War game so I’ll come back around when that comes out, probably.

3: Best game you've ever played?

What a hard question. You know I have 111 games in my Steam library? We’ll say 100 because some of those are like expansions of other games or test servers of WIP games. So 100 games just on PC, plus god knows how many PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, N64, GameCube, and Wii games I’ve played. It comes to a point where I can’t objectively single out one game from all of my favorites, so I’ll take “best” as meaning like highest production quality and best execution of the game, and I’ll hand it to Resident Evil 7. So professional, so fun... so Shoney’s.

4: Worst game you've ever played?

Shower With Your Dad Simulator 2015. Yes that’s a real game, it costs like $1 and someone bought it for me on Steam and it is the simplest, stupidest game that it probably belonged on a free online game site to justify its existence in some way.

5: A popular series/game you just can't get into no matter how much you try?

Well there’s a lot of popular games that I can’t get into, but that’s partially because I’ve internalized that I hate them without having given them much of a chance (looking at you, Dota, League of Legends, Overwatch (Or as we in the trade call it, “$40 Team Fortress 2″))

But now that I think of it, World of Warcraft. I got my free trial and played it some with Perry & Good Old Boys™ from Steam, but I just did not enjoy myself. I also had a prejudice against this one before I played it but at least I tried it and confirmed that I didn’t like it.

6: A game that's changed you the most?

Fallout series I guess. Kind of got me into post-apocalyptic stuff, RPGs and the like. Kind of opened the door for fantasy for me somewhat. I generally don’t like fantasy and I like to make the distinction between sci-fi and fantasy to justify my liking Fallout but truthfully half of the shit in Fallout is too over-the-top to qualify as like realistic fiction. Still haven’t played Skyrim because it’s too fantasy, but I’d at least consider it because it’s not all that different from Fallout if I’m willing to excuse the magic and shit.

7: A game you'll never forget?

Surgeon Simulator. What a titan of ridiculously clunky medical malpractice.

The Stanley Parable because that game messes with you and is comedy gold

POSTAL 2 because rarely does a game execute low-quality production and lack of taking itself seriously so beautifully

Hotline Miami because it fucks with you even worse than the Stanley Parable. I mean seriously, what a rollercoaster ride of mental fuckery. Am I a good guy? Am I a bad guy? All I know for sure is I’m killing a copious amount of Russian mobsters while masked figures in my head whisper nonsense at me and everywhere I go I see my dead best friend and........

Rollercoaster Tycoon (the old one for like Windows 98) because muh childhood

Destroy All Humans! 2 because they just don’t make any alien games that compare to it. Also muh childhood.

KHOLAT because it’s like a clinic in how to do horror right. And it came out at a time when it was a sad time to be a horror fan because Resident Evil was all “hurr durr our games need to be like Call of Duty” and there were no new Silent Hill, Outlast, or Slender games coming out. Of course eventually Resident Evil got good again, Outlast 2 came out, Silent Hills was SUPPOSED to come out (RIP)

Kerbal Space Program. I held out on this one for so long because I was turned off by the little green alien people and I figured it wasn’t serious. But holy fuck it’s actually like the best simulation of running a space program and designing rockets and shit oh my god like they train Astronauts with that game no lie.

8: Best soundtrack?

Slender: The Arrival. Honorable mentions go to Hotline Miami and Supreme Ruler: Cold War

9: A game you turn your volume off every time you play it?

None

10: A game you've completely given up on?

Five Nights at Freddy’s, like, all of them. I can’t beat all of the levels in any of them. I beat the five nights in the original FNaF but not the edgy sixth night. Didn’t even get that far in the second or third. Kinda lost track of which is which too...

11: Hardest game you've played?

Fucking Perfect Dark. I’ve been playing that game effectively for my entire conscious life and only just this summer have I begun to win A FEW levels on Perfect Agent difficulty. For context, I beat the entire game on Special Agent difficulty years ago, but at the time, I could not even beat the first level on Perfect Agent.

12: Shortest time you've beaten a game in?

When I got GTA V for Christmas several years ago I did almost nothing but play it all day every day and beat it in a few days.

13: A game you were the most excited for when it wasn't released yet?

Probably Total War: Rome II. Honorable mentions go to Saurian, Resident Evil 7, Silent Hills (RIP)

14: A game you think would be cool if it had voice acting?

I dunno, I feel like most games that SHOULD have voice acting DO have voice acting. Nothing comes to mind.

15: Which two games do you think would make an awesome crossover?

I got nothing.

16: Character you've hated most? From what game?

I have to do it. Ashley from Resident Evil 4. I don’t care if you are the President’s daughter, you are useless and annoying.

17: What game do you never tell people you play?

I mean, games that I don’t like I guess.

18: A game you wish your friends knew about?

I got nothing, my friends know about most such things.

19: Which game do you think deserves a revival?

Spore, 100%. Nobody before or since has saw to completion a game where you literally design your own organism from a microscopic sea creature, evolving onto land, gaining sentience, building a civilization, uniting your planet and pushing out into space to build a space empire. It deserves to be remade, and done right this time.

20: What was the first video game you ever played?

The first REAL video game was GTA 3, but I may have played something stupid before that.

21: How old were you when you first played a video game?

I dunno, young.

22: If you could immerse yourself in any game for one day, which game would it be? What would you do?

Kerbal Space Program. I’d finally make that manned mission to Duna (Mars), baby. It has eluded me for so long, and to see it with my own eyes... 10/10

23: Biggest disappointment you've had in gaming?

Rome Total War - Alexander expansion. It seemed like such a simple thing. Make an expansion for Rome Total War about Alexander’s Empire. It was the most pitiful thing I’d ever seen. I mean, I know the original Rome Total War is old as dirt, but the base game and the Barbarian Invasions expansion were pretty good.

24: Casual, Hardcore, or in the middle?

In the middle. I tryhard sometimes and just fuck around other times.

25: Be honest; have you ever used cheats (like ActionReplay or Gameshark)?

I mean... do the cheats in GTA 3 count that spawn a bunch of guns and tanks for you? I didn’t use them to beat the game, I just wanted to fuck around because that’s the best way to play GTA 3 :P

26: Handheld or console?

Given those choices, console. Never was too into handhelds after Gameboy Advance. I had a DS Lite and was into Scribblenauts on that for a while, but since then, nah.

27: Has there ever been a moment that has made you cry?

Don’t think so, but it hit me in the feels when John Marston got killed by the crooked wild west cops in Red Dead Redemption.

28: Which character's clothes do you wish you owned the most?

The only thing that comes to mind is Trent Easton from Perfect Dark because he has like a fucking red velvet suit and it’s so ridiculous like he’s the head of the NSA you’d think he’d wear a black suit but no, bright red. I’ll take 20.

29: Which is more important, gameplay or story?

Don’t make me choose. Depends on the game I guess. I like Perfect Dark despite the fact that its storyline is an incoherent mess. Try to follow along.

It involves a plot between Cassandra de Vries, owner of a shady arms manufacturing corporation with private paramilitaries on the march in every corner of their corporate HQ as well as all over the city streets (I, too, voted for Trump so that he could legalize corporate-owned private armies) that also has a massive underground research lab hidden inconspicuously under the city of Chicago; Trent Easton, the fashionable Director of the National Security Agency, whose goons start shooting up Air Force One in a plot to kidnap and clone the President of the United States, and a mysterious tall blonde man known only as Mr. Blonde who wears evil clothes and, unbeknownst to the other two conspirators, is a massive alien dinosaur thing that sounds like a jaguar in disguise who eventually kills both of them once they’re no longer useful. But don’t worry! The plot to give the dinosaur aliens a super-weapon fails when some guy sends his on-staff professional mass-murderer to go kill endless corporate militias and NSA agents to get to the bottom of it with the help of a flying laptop that has developed a moral code and a different race of aliens who look much less impressive. Or something. So that game makes a compelling case against storyline, but in other cases it’s not so XP

30: A game that hasn't been localized in your country that you think should be localized?

Everything that I care about is localized to the US.

4 notes · View notes

jeffrmayhugh · 4 years

Text

HOLY COW!!! BITCOIN GOLDEN CROSS & 100% ACCURATE SIGNAL SAY BULL RUN IS HERE

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Today in Krypto, we have got a golden cross for Bitcoin, which is a very bullish sign and a rare indicator has just flashed, which has accurately signalled the start of a new bull cycle. Every single time, Block FDI has had a data breach. Greyscale bought one-third of all of Bitcoin in 2020. Bitcoin mining is becoming dangerously centralized and investment fund, a 16 said, talks about the fourth major crypto cycle, which is humming the crypto lurk. This is where you subscribe for all of the oddest and all of the latest happenings out here in the wild, wildland of crypto. Also, if you want to learn how to trade Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but you aren’t really sure how to get started. Then check out my course. Crypto trading. Explain it will walk you through all the basics, like how to properly manage our risk, how to set a good Stop-Loss, key indicators, key trends and much, much more. There is a link down below where you can learn more. So let’s go ahead and jump straight in the charts to get started off with. We can see here that Bitcoin has been in a very tight range over the last week, moving up and down through that nine thousand dollar range. But you can see now that we have the price action really starting to coil up and that we are forming an ascending triangle on the four-hour charts for Bitcoin. Now, this is a continuation pattern that has a 75 percent chance of moving in our favour and thus driving the price of Bitcoin upwards. We could, of course, see a few more days of that price coiling in before we actually do get a breakout. The implied target from such a move would be eleven thousand dollars. But there is one thing working against this triangle, the ten thousand dollar line of resistance that has been a very, very sticky price point for Bitcoin recently. So we really need to crush that to really feel like this has been a confirmed ascending triangle breakout. But one thing that we may have working in our favour is the Golden Cross, which has just played out over on the daily. This key moving average crossover could be heralding in the start of a new bull market. Certainly, it is a signal that is likely to entice a fair amount of traders to hop into the market, since so many major signals have now confirmed that the market is in a good uptrend in that price, continuation is likely to continue maturing. Always a chance this could be a fake-out. We have seen that before with golden triangles, but this time we really do have a wild amount of super bullish data and market indicators all lining up at the same time. So I remain bullish. Anyway, here are some other interesting data for you. See any Bitcoin futures? Open interest is at an all-time high since its launch. This means that the institutional players, they are piling in big-time to those Bitcoin futures contracts, possibly, of course, on the back of the announcement from Paul Tudor Jones that he’s getting into the Bitcoin futures game. Also, the Puel multiple is beginning to flash a bull signal. The pull is calculated by dividing the daily issuance value of bitcoins into U.S. dollar terms by the 365 days moving average of the daily issuance value. So when we see reading on this chart below zero points five, this indicates that the value of the daily new issued coins is low compared to historical precedents. The very cool thing to note here is that the historical data shows us that bear markets tend to end when we see this indicator drop below that zero points five lines. It has been a very reliable bottom indicator multiple times before and a drop below zero points five. Now could be heralding in the start of a new big bull cycle, just like you see here, that it has done before. Very, very exciting to see how that is playing out. Now, this does not mean supermoon instantaneously overnight. That’s not how the market works. It means a slow and steady grind up to new highs over potentially the next two years or so. There might be 30 to 40 percent pulldowns within that timeframe. So just keep that in mind. Obviously, we still actually to break and hold above ten thousand five hundred dollars to really get that bull fuel just pumped into the market. We could dump before that happens, but I truly feel like the timeframe were to stack Cito, she’s at these cheaper levels. That window’s closing, that window is closing. We’ll look back in a few years and go, man. Wish I’d stack more sets. A big thank you to Fem X for sponsoring today’s episode. So the big news from Femme X is that they have just launched fearless spot market trading. So for nine ninety-nine a month or sixty-nine ninety-nine a year, you can do unlimited trading of the top coins like bitcoin in a theorem as well as altcoins like a chain link. So if you are a trader and you find yourself spending a lot of money every month on fees, then this is definitely something that you should look into as it can really save on that bottom line. Over time, FedEx is currently offering a free seven day, no-obligation trial of their fearless trading service. Go ahead and check that out. Now, this new offering, of course, is in addition to their popular futures markets, which feature Bitcoin and top AWALT coins like Tasos and a theorem as well as gold. Now, FedEx is definitely a more advanced platform, and it is definitely only for experienced traders. Now, as an added bonus, if you sign up using the link Downbelow, then you can be eligible for up to one hundred and twelve dollars in trading bonuses on their futures platform. OK, so let’s go ahead and get into the news. So a bug has forced the shutdown of teh BTC, which was a project that is Tolkan using bitcoin on a theorem. So essentially wrapped Bitcoin on top of theory and now no funds were lost. It seems that the first security audit missed this particular bug. T BTC will be relaunching soon, but only after another round of security audits, hopefully, to fix everything this time. So kind of a failed launch for them. But this is at the end of the day, software and software, it will have bugs. I bring this story up as a reminder that things can and will go wrong in the early days of DFI. So if you are using many of these new decentralized finance solutions out there, then you are a pioneer. And like all pioneers, you run the risk of dying of dysentery or being eaten by a bear and never reaching Oregon. That game, then a game anyway. Next up, Block Fei has sadly suffered a data breach. So hackers gained backdoor access via a SIM swap attack on an employee. Now the hacker was able to access confidential data such as names, dates of birth, postal addresses and activity histories for some clients on the platform. Other sensitive account information, including bank account details, Social Security and tax ID edification numbers, as well as really, really sensitive data like passport, driver’s licenses, photo scans, all that stuff that was not affected in this data breach. So a few personal details were affected, but not everything so can keep that in mind. Now, first. First off, just got to say, the fuck is up with all the SIM swap attacks in America, man. Like, how is this not been fixed yet? What a total mess. Second, all the funds are safe. Nobody’s money was taken. Remember, block five does their custody with Jemini and they manually process all withdrawals. So in this instance, the system actually worked just as designed and protected user funds because is custody with Jemini, which is fully insured. Now, if you’re using block fi, though, just make sure you do have to factor authentication using Google authenticator, not SIM authentication, please. So make sure you have that. And for that matter, make sure using two-factor authentication literally everywhere, any service they use. So anyway. I can’t see. I’m very excited about potentially having some of my data leaked, so that’s not cool. Certainly wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened to me, though, and probably won’t be the last time that it happens to me. And obviously this is not a good thing. But on the flip side, at least, that is good. The block by did stop it so quickly and is being transparent about what happens that I’m trying to hide away from what happened. Cybersecurity remains such a massive, massive issue, especially for companies working with cryptocurrencies. They remain a big target of these individuals. But it does at least give me a lot of confidence that the security protocols that block has in place actually worked exactly as intended. So because the custody is done with Jemini, they weren’t able to access any user funds. So anyway, me personally, I am keeping the funds that I currently have in Block Fye in Block five, even though I’m not very happy about having some of my data potentially leaked again. It wasn’t everyone NSA. Scarily. But, man, this damn KYC thing interest remains a thorn in the side of the crypto industry. And it is only getting more and more strict as time goes on platforms that don’t have strict KYC yet. It’s going to becoming. The travel rule is increasingly being enforced. So all the platforms that haven’t caught up yet, they’re going to have to next upgrade scale investments has bought up to 33 percent of all newly minted Bitcoin over the last three months. Damn greyscale. That’s a lot of Bitcoin man. Remember, they also bought half of the A theorem that has been mined this year. The asset manager, they are just their stockpile. A major cryptocurrency is just a crazy pace. This is nuts. In total, Grace Scales, Bitcoin Trust Fund now has a total of three hundred and forty-three thousand nine hundred fifty-four bitcoin under management. Wow, that is crazy. My guess is that Greyscale will hold one million bitcoin within five years. The effect of players like this sucking bitcoin off of the open market, it is massive and it’s not highly desirable either. I don’t really like the greyscale is going to be having percentage points worth of the total bitcoin supply. Nevertheless, it does mean that as they continue to vacuum up all this bitcoin off the market, they’re locking up the coins and all thus become increasingly rare on spot exchanges to be able to get Bitcoin. So they’re really taking a lot of supply out of the open markets. OK, next up, there is some new data regarding the source of bitcoins. Hash rate, which is showing that Bitcoin mining is largely becoming centralized between two major mining pools. So the combined hash rate of BTC dot com and ampoule, which are both bits main affiliated entities, are going to classify those like the one here and F two pool together. They crossed over a fifty two percent of the hash rate the other day. Now, since the time of breaking this news story, the hash rate has actually been moved around and the combined rate of these pools is back under 50 percent. But, you know, the reality remains Bitcoin mining pools and the power backing them. It is getting increasingly centralized into very, very few hands. The having it only made this situation worse as more miners and more power went to the big mining pools. What is needed right now is robust competition, perhaps that U.S. based company, Layer One, they can actually make a big splash and actually capture a large percentage of the hash rate. We also see the rise of exchange based mining pools from who will be buying ads and okay acts. But honestly, this really doesn’t make things better either, as it just gives even more power to the already uber-powerful exchanges. But in terms of network stuff, I’m really not worried because it’s not that this is bad for Bitcoin necessarily. Any mining pool acting maliciously would essentially be committing financial suicide and would only be just a blip in the radar momentarily. But it just underlines how much power is being consolidated right now in the Bitcoin mining game. What a big-money game it’s becoming. And finally, say, a recent post from famous crypto fund Andreassen Horowitz has outlined the price innovation cycle of crypto and the data is suggesting that we are on the edge of cycle number four. You can see from the charts here that Bitcoin has gone through three big price cycles in terms of what has happened innovation wise. And every single cycle began the same. There was a massive run-up in price, which was followed by an explosion of new developer activity, new startup activity and social media activity, which, of course, we can loosely classify as new users coming into the market. Every one of these cycles has resulted in new products that were a net positive for the industry as a whole, even if it also resulted in a lot of failed concepts and a lot of scamming all that other stuff. The end result does give us a few diamonds amongst all the mud. Now, a key feature of the crypto cycles is that each one of these really just plants a seed which later grows and then drives the next market cycle. The firm suggests that many of the projects from really a range of verticals like finance and gaming and payments and of course, infrastructure for the crypto economy, they are now going to be the key drivers of the fourth major cycle for crypto. You know what this says to me? It says that the old coins that launched back in 2017 or 2018, the ones that actually built and not just survived, but actually thrived. We’ll be seeing massive gains in the coming market. The gaming crypto. It might soon be moving into a major alt coin cycle. Not to say Bitcoin won’t do well, but AWALT coins could start before outperforming Bitcoin in a major way. So something to keep in mind for you anyway. Those are just my two. She’s your question for today. Which cryptocurrency launched back in 2017 or 2018, and that’s survived the winter and the bear season. Do you think is really ready to make a massive impact on the crypto economy in which of them is likely to also have massive gains moving into the next cycle? Daily reminder, of course. You’re freaking awesome. So thank you so, so much for tuning in and listening to this dude right here on the Internet talking about crypto currencies. Long live the block, Jane. Yeah, and peace out till next time.

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-golden-cross-accurate-signal/ source https://cryptosharks1.tumblr.com/post/618822304125812736

0 notes

cryptosharks1 · 4 years

Text

HOLY COW!!! BITCOIN GOLDEN CROSS & 100% ACCURATE SIGNAL SAY BULL RUN IS HERE

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-golden-cross-accurate-signal/

0 notes

scottmapess · 4 years

Text

HOLY COW!!! BITCOIN GOLDEN CROSS & 100% ACCURATE SIGNAL SAY BULL RUN IS HERE

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-golden-cross-accurate-signal/ source https://cryptosharks1.blogspot.com/2020/05/holy-cow-bitcoin-golden-cross-100.html

0 notes

heatherrdavis1 · 4 years

Text

HOLY COW!!! BITCOIN GOLDEN CROSS & 100% ACCURATE SIGNAL SAY BULL RUN IS HERE

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Via https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-golden-cross-accurate-signal/

source https://cryptosharks.weebly.com/blog/holy-cow-bitcoin-golden-cross-100-accurate-signal-say-bull-run-is-here

0 notes

eddycurrents · 7 years

Photo

For the week of 4 September 2017

Three comics made the favourites list this week. Made Men #1 from Paul Tobin and Arjuna Susini, Seven to Eternity #9 by Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña, and Star Wars: Captain Phasma #1 by Kelly Thompson and Marco Checchetto. Published by Oni Press, Image, and Marvel respectively.

Made Men #1 is a mix of a crime drama and horror, introducing us to the world of Jutte Shelley (nee Frankenstein), a cop who tried to leave behind a world of monsters.

While the story did grab me, what really made this book stand out was the artwork by Arjuna Susini. He has a style I’ve been seeing pop up more again recently, that shows a certain influence by Bernie Wrightson, but also artists like Richard Case, Bill Sienkiewicz, Sam Kieth, and Kelley Jones, and it’s just wonderful. Dark and evocative with nice use of cross-hatching and some hard angles, Susini probably veers closer to the Richard Case end of the spectrum. Still realistic and not nearly as stylized as Kieth or Jones. It’s very impressive work.

The introductory narrative from Paul Tobin, gives us a first-person narration by Jutte that is fairly direct, clinical, and visceral in its description of what’s going on and allows for a distinct window into the procedural way her mind works. It really aids in driving home the cop drama aspect to the story and provides an interesting lens to perceive the carnage.

Needs more talking cats, though.

Seven to Eternity #9 concludes the second story-arc of the series. And hoo, is it a doozy.

In many ways, this series has been telling the story of the fall of a hero. Or at least someone who sets out in the first issue on what seems like a hero’s journey. What Rick Remender really seems to be writing about is how the protagonist, Adam Osidis, has become potentially compromised and has begun a spiral into selfishness over the steadfastness of his father.

Especially as a large part of this issue is a discussion on the nature of good and evil, and of how whispers and rumours--the weapons of Adam’s antagonist and current travelling companion/hostage, the Mud King--and thereby perception shape the reality of an individual. And then, of course, there’s a climactic magic battle.

All of it made beautiful by Jerome Opeña and Matt Hollingsworth. It’s nice to see Opeña back after a couple issues by James Harren--to his credit knocked it out of the park as well--as this series remains what’s probably the best looking book on the shelves.

The only downside to this issue is that we now have to wait until February 2018 before the series starts up again.

Star Wars: Captain Phasma #1, or more accurately the unwieldy title of Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Star Wars: Captain Phasma, is a direct continuation from Star Wars: The Force Awakens chronicling what happened to Captain Phasma, the First Order Stormtrooper played by Gwendoline Christie in the film, in the destruction of the Starkiller Base. Wacky hijinks ensue.

Okay, maybe not.

Although certainly a matter of coincidence in timing, Kelly Thompson’s narration for Captain Phasma serves as an interesting comparison to Tobin’s in Made Men. It too is clinical and succinct, but where Jutte is no nonsense and direct in her observations, Phasma is cold and emotionless. Both characters adhere to a certain type of ruthlessness, but one is seeking vengeance for a wrong-doing and the other is taking a pathological approach to covering her tracks. It’s interesting to see the difference in a similar narrative approach in how it relates to ostensibly a hero (Jutte) and a villain (Phasma).

Beyond just that comparison, this first issue is compelling in its own right. There’s a nice bit of humour in juxtaposition of Phasma’s log recording of the events of the destruction of Starkiller Base and what was actually going on, deadpanning much of the explosions.

This issue also features what is probably the most gorgeous art in one of Marvel’s Star Wars titles yet. And that’s saying a bit since they’ve had artists such as Kev Walker, Phil Noto, and Salvador Larroca working on them. The art here from Marco Checchetto and Andres Mossa is just breathtaking.

Quick Bits:

All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #9 begins telling the story of what exactly happened to Groot to make him into Baby Groot at the beginning of this volume. Aside from corporate synergy with the second Guardians of the Galaxy film that also saw the rest of the team more reflect their cinema brethren. The answer Gerry Duggan gives in the story is interesting, adding a new wrinkle to the Guardians’ tapestry.

| Published by Marvel

Astonishing X-Men #3 continues the Shadow King’s game with the X-Men trapped in the Astral Plane, this time focusing mainly on Old Man Logan. Ed McGuinness tackles the art this issue and I’m still wondering about how the overall arc will read in one go. Unlike the past two issues, though, this one doesn’t necessarily play to McGuinness’ strengths. The art is still good, but I would have expected something more bombastic or action-oriented from the story.

| Published by Marvel

Black Bolt #5, like every issue preceding it, features some excellence in storytelling from Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward. There’s also a nice four-page sequence illustrated by Frazer Irving that gives a summary of Lockjaw’s relationship with Black Bolt.

| Published by Marvel

Daredevil #26 kicks off the three-part Land of the Blind story-arc with the return of Ron Garney on art, delivering some absolutely gorgeous work.

| Published by Marvel

Elsewhere #2 continues Amelia’s Adventures in Wonderland, with the revelation that she’s apparently going to end this world and summarily sent to be executed. Jay Faerber’s story is still a bit of a slow burn in introducing this world, its people, and what exactly is going on, but it remains interesting.

| Published by Image

Giant Days #30 deals with the fallout of Ingrid and Daisy’s relationship. It’s a funny, but sometimes accurate, look at how a first love--or even just a new love--can affect a broader friendship dynamic.

| Published by BOOM! Entertainment / Boom! Box

Hawkeye #10 reminds you that you should be reading the series if just for Leonardo Romero’s artwork. Even if the story from Kelly Thompson wasn’t entertaining in its own right, Romero’s visual storytelling from page layouts to character work to panel transitions is just a visual treat. But the overall story is entertaining too, with some fun dialogue, humour, and an interesting take to see Madame Masque as Not-Kate.

| Published by Marvel

Iron Fist #7...just look at this spread from Mike Perkins with colours by Andy Troy. This issue is a feast.

| Published by Marvel

Royals #7 continues Al Ewing’s trip through obscure(ish) Marvel cosmic and Inhuman continuity, deftly weaving past tales into his ongoing narrative that seems to be his signature. Not to mention some great character moments and development.

| Published by Marvel

Scales & Scoundrels #1 was very nearly my fourth favourite book of the week, it’s a damn impressive debut. Sebastian Girner has offered up another winner after his Shirtless Bear-Fighter a scant few week ago. As its title suggests, this is a fantasy book taking after traditional Dungeons & Dragons tropes, but like other recent series like Night’s Dominion and Ladycastle, it seems primed to turn some of those conventions on their ear. This issue is full of humour, action, and an interesting protagonist in the titular scoundrel, Luvander.

The art by Galaad is also magical. It’s deceptively simple, reminding me of a more abstract Albert Uderzo, and it propels the story nicely.

| Published by Image

Star Wars: Darth Vader #5 is Charles Soule’s third book this week, after Astonishing X-Men and Daredevil, and it’s another solid read. There’s an interesting missed path What If...? in the issue as Vader works to construct his lightsaber. Giuseppe Camuncoli’s artwork is fantastic as usual.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars Adventures #1 is good all-ages fun. There are two stories here, both written by Cavan Scott. One focusing on a young Rey on Jakku as a continuing story and the other a “Tales from Wild Space” tale of Obi-Wan one and done. If you like Star Wars and want to share with your kids, this isn’t a bad choice.

| Published by IDW

Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe #1 is a digital original on Comixology and Kindle from Jeremy Whitley and Simone Buonfantino. I’d consider it more light-hearted, out-of-continuity, all ages fun, probably meant to be collected in time for the Thor: Ragnarok release. It features Thor Odinson and Bruce Banner, so if you’re missing the classics, this is a good get.

| Published by Marvel

Venomverse #1 is every bit as good as the preceding Edge of Venomverse mini-series of one-and-done stories introducing some of the players in this event. Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello deliver an entertaining first chapter here, setting up not just a playground for alternate Venoms, but also a series of adversaries in ever more alternate Poisons.

| Published by Marvel

The Woods #35 has all of the chickens coming home to roost. This penultimate issue of James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas’ series is epic. After this, I can’t wait for the conclusion.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Other Highlights: 4 Kids Walk into a Bank #5, Ab Irato #5, Animosity: The Rise #3, The Greatest Adventure #5, Harbinger Renegade #7, Inhumans: Once & Future Kings #2, Jessica Jones #12, Kingsman: The Red Diamond #1, Lazaretto #1, Millennium: The Girl Who Played with Fire #1, Motor Crush #6, Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie #6, No World #5, Outcast #30, Postal #22, Rocket Girl #9, Spider-Man #20, Spider-Man/Deadpool #21, Usagi Yojimbo #161, Venomverse: War Stories #1, The Wicked & The Divine #31, World Reader #6

Recommended Collections: Black Beetle: Kara Bocek, Extremity - Vol. 1, Iron Fist - Vol. 1: Trial of the Seven Masters, Kong of Skull Island - Vol. 2, Manifest Destiny - Vol. 5: Mnemophobia & Chronophobia, Pathfinder - Vol. 1: Dark Waters Rising, Throwaways - Vol. 2

d. emerson eddy knows where the bodies are buried. Which bodies? The ones that hit the floor in 2001.

#This Week in Comics #Made Men 1 #Paul Tobin #Arjuna Susini #Seven to Eternity 9 #Rick Remender #Jerome Opeña #Star Wars: Captain Phasma 1 #Kelly Thompson #Marco Checchetto

1 note · View note

flauntpage · 7 years

Text

Two Longshot Teams Who Could Soon End the Warriors-Cavaliers Dominance

Basketball fans in Ohio and the Bay Area will obviously think it's wonderful having the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers meet in the first three-match in NBA history. Basketball fans in general get to enjoy two of the most dominant teams ever assembled go at it in what's quickly become an annual series of haymakers. And yet it's also possible that you can love basketball but at the same time hate that the same two teams are facing each other for the third consecutive year in the NBA Finals. The most obvious argument against such an occurrence is that it has devalued what the other 28 organizations have accomplished in that time. The NBA has become predictable.

So, for the next few days, VICE Sports will take a look at every team that's conceivably in line to end the dynastic Warriors vs. Cavaliers stranglehold, possibly as early as next season.

The teams will be separated into three categories—"Growing long shots", "The fatalistic upper-middle class", and "(Maybe) one player away". First up, the long shots: two young teams that are on the right track, and could leapfrog teams in front of them as early as next season if they make a few creative moves this summer.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Photo by Jesse Johnson - USA TODAY Sports

At first glance, this is ridiculous. The Timberwolves won 31 games as the NBA's youngest team last season. They finished 26th in defense (dead last in back-to-backs), and, perhaps even more disturbing, 30th in three-point rate. The athletic Zach LaVine, their third (maybe fourth) best player, tore his ACL midway through the year. Kris Dunn, Tom Thibodeau's first draft pick as Minnesota's president of basketball operations, averaged 3.8 points per game and shot 37.7 percent from the floor. All that's very bad. But the first year of Thibodeau's reign was more of a necessary culture shock than an alarming disappointment. The Timberwolves have their framework set: a brilliant head coach, a franchise center, and a physically-gifted wing. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins could both make the All-NBA team next year (Wiggins as a guard), while Ricky Rubio's post-All-Star break shooting splits showed he may have shored up his biggest weakness. Thibodeau enjoys the idea of what his 23-year-old rookie can become, even if his offensive woes were a concern last season. "I like Kris a lot," Thibodeau told me last season. "I think he brings toughness to a team, it's something that we desperately needed. He plays defense not like a rookie. He plays like he's a seasoned vet. He's got great feet. He's tough. He anticipates well. He can guard multiple positions. So defensively right now he's way ahead. Offensively he's learning the NBA game, which takes time." Dunn's type of versatile defense is valuable against any team, but especially so against the Warriors—a group that pressures defenses to switch on split cuts and ball screens multiple times over the course of any single possession. Beyond growth from Towns, Wiggins, and Rubio, a recuperating LaVine and a maturing Dunn, Minnesota also has the No. 7 pick in this year's draft and an opportunity to spend max cap space if granted a medical retirement for Nikola Pekovic. If not, they already have enough money to sign someone like J.J. Redick, Andre Iguodala, P.J. Tucker, or C.J. Miles. All can help, but aren't suitable long-term within Minnesota's timeline; none are talented enough to do much beyond lift them from the lottery to the postseason. But if accelerating said timeline and competing with Golden State next season is the goal, Minnesota can throw itself into the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes by offering the Bulls whoever's selected with the seventh pick (Jonathan Isaac, Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr., etc.), LaVine, Gorgui Dieng, and their first available unprotected first-round pick two years after the previous one is conveyed (the Timberwolves currently owe a lottery protected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks that can be submitted as early as 2018 and as late as 2020).

Photo by Sergio Estrada - USA TODAY Sports

If real-life factors such as the luxury tax (which Minnesota would shoot into by 2019) or a desire to patiently cultivate their preternaturally gifted youth are eliminated from the equation, it's technically possible for Minnesota to offer someone like Paul Millsap a four-year max contract. Rubio, Wiggins, Butler, Millsap, and Towns is a hellacious starting five. All this seems fantastical because it probably is, but the Timberwolves will still need to take a swing in free agency this summer before their cap space gets tied up in extensions for Wiggins and LaVine, then Towns the following summer. It's doubtful Thibodeau wants to get any younger, so it's reasonable to wager that this year's draft pick may be on the block. This new version of the Timberwolves would be a championship favorite heading into most seasons, but are they good enough to compete with the Warriors? It's possible, if Towns makes a gargantuan Year 3 leap (particularly defensively) and Wiggins continues to excel as a cutter within an offense that no longer needs him to post-up three times every game. These Timberwolves would provide match-up questions on both ends that Golden State has never seen before. Minnesota's improved three-point shooting would remain a concern, but it's possible that wouldn't even matter if Golden State couldn't stop Towns. Unleashing Godzilla in the post, forcing defenders to double off Wiggins, Rubio, Butler, and Millsap could play into Minnesota's hands. If Towns can control tempo with his back to the basket and force the Warriors to mud wrestle in the half-court, it'd be fun to see how they respond. Size is their only weakness, and Towns could be the answer to exploit it. Elsewhere Rubio, Millsap and Butler are three of the best defenders at their position, with the latter two already proving their worth as All-Star-level contributors.

Each can score on his own, run a pick-and-roll, rebound, and—maybe—make enough threes to give Towns the space he needs down low. Minnesota's bench would be thin, but Thibodeau could easily stagger lineups that ensure at least one (possibly two) top-30 players is always on the court.

Milwaukee Bucks

The big difference between Milwaukee and Minnesota—besides one's attempt to topple the Warriors and the other trying to stifle LeBron James—is flexibility. The Timberwolves can open up max cap space while the Bucks may not have any to spend at all.

It starts with Greg Monroe's $17.8 million player option. Even if he and Spencer Hawes (owner of a $6 million player option) both opt out, Milwaukee renounces all its cap holds, and then trades the 17th overall pick, the most cap space they can clear is about $15 million. With that they can afford about half of a max-caliber player, which, you know, isn't great.

Re-signing Tony Snell to a long-term, team-friendly deal (Tony Snell is not bad!), hoping Thon Maker can make a seismic leap alongside Malcolm Brogdon's puddle jump in their respective sophomore seasons, making a sound choice with the 17th pick, and acquiring a stable rotation player with the mid-level exception, isn't a bad offseason.

If they can add someone like P.J. Tucker, Justin Holiday, Luc Mbah a Moute, C.J. Miles, Thabo Sefolosha, or even Nick Young to what they already have, Milwaukee can enter a series against the Cavs with even more options on the wing to match up against those LeBron-led small units that pulverize everything in their path. They can fight fire with fire and go wild with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the five.

If Milwaukee desires cap space, it can probably dump John Henson's contract by attaching it to their first-round pick, but if Monroe opts out they'll actually need Henson to play some backup five. Add all this together and it means the Bucks have to bank on improvement from what they already have. The good news: They own a house made of gold.

It's hard to fathom how good the Bucks can/will be once their three best players are all healthy and near their prime at the same time. Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, and Khris Middleton shared the floor exactly zero minutes last season. The year before, those three played 1475 minutes together, with a +0.3 net rating.

Photo by David Richard - USA TODAY Sports

But none were as good as they'll be in 2017-18, especially Antetokounmpo. There's a decent chance sometime next year "move like Giannis" will permanently replace "move like a gazelle" as the go-to simile that describes graceful gallivanting. A quick glance at his body reveals that it was built for two possible occupations: 1) gliding by NBA defenders in the open floor, 2) supplanting the United States Postal Service as a new way to deliver cross-country mail. Already a second-team All-NBA tornado, elite shot-blocker, pseudo-MVP candidate, and consistently improving phenomenon who's accomplished all he has without a respectable outside shot, Antetokounmpo will be only 23 years old next season. When you combine his age, True Shooting percentage (.599), and per-game splits (22 points, eight rebounds, five assists), Antetokounmpo's breakout season was unprecedented for every 22, 23, and 24-year-old in NBA history. Michael Jordan's 25-year-old season is the only comparison. A top-10 player who can elevate into the top five is the most critical ingredient required by any Eastern Conference team that wants to sack the Cavs. But it's not enough. The Bucks need Parker to be 100 percent healthy (he's not expected to return until next year's All-Star break), competent on defense, and to perform with the experience and maturity of a 28-year-old. (He'll be 22 next year.) Had Parker not torn his ACL, there's a decent chance (a likely one for the purpose of this exercise) that Milwaukee would shop him this summer for someone like Paul George, Butler, or any other established help that better complements Antetokounmpo. Middleton's game fits well as an ideal sidekick, but for Milwaukee to scramble past Cleveland next year, he needs to consistently play like the top-shelf two-way contributor he's shown he can be.

Even still, assuming everyone on last year's team is better next season, the Bucks still have a schematic issue to solve against the Cavaliers. Even when executed with consistency, Milwaukee's trap-and-recover defense is illogical against Cleveland's three-point shooting. Instead, given the length and quickness up and down their roster, they should switch every screen without skipping a beat. That's the best way to limit open three-point opportunities and force the Cavaliers to attack in less dangerous ways. Antetokounmpo and Maker provide unprecedented physical gifts as a rim-protecting duo that can also contain ball-handlers in space. And their evolution could very well be what ends LeBron's run. If their collective evolution transpires at a faster rate than most expect, we could see a new team in the Eastern Conference Finals as early as next season.

Two Longshot Teams Who Could Soon End the Warriors-Cavaliers Dominance published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

0 notes