#this looks way better on my phone than it does on desktop

[dirtysvthoughts]

𝓟 𝓡 𝓘 𝓥 𝓐 𝓣 𝓔 𝓓 𝓐 𝓝 𝓒 𝓔 𝓡 - CHAPTER THREE

pairing: prospective club owner! joshua x stripper! reader

word count: 2.2k

general tags/warnings: smut, pwp, worldbuilding before the dirty stuff (be patient 😉), female! reader, mildly cocky! shua, dom! shua, power play/brat! reader, full nudity for reader, use of pet names (love, baby, sweetheart), shua tries to get reader to fall for him but to no avail (or yes avail?)

playlist songs: special affair - the internet, give me head - sweet the kid, na na - trey songz

notes: chapter 3 baybeeeee! sorry this took so long, but it’s finally here! i’m gonna start working on chapter 4 and that should be done vv soon! hope you enjoy besties!

taglist: @im-gemmy @enhacolor @hooniewnderland @svtup @kawaiikels @weeevrse @diorsfxck @kyexvly @woozarts @ifuckcheol @marsstarxhwa @haoxiaoba

“and i’m telling you, i don’t need any help, take your service elsewhere,” your boss, mia, says over the phone, curtly hanging it up afterwards. “fucking nuisance,” she mumbles under her breath as you enter her office.

“somethin’ happen?” you say as you shut the door behind you, away from prying eyes and listening ears.

“shouldn’t you be getting ready, sage?” mia says not even looking in your direction, fiddling with whatever paperwork is in front of her.

you roll your eyes, “it’s 5 PM, i only came here early to practice my new routine. plus, i needed to ask you something, but then i overheard you. you know i’m one of the few people you actually trust here. so seriously, what was that all about?”

she stops messing with the papers and finally directs her eyes towards you, breathing a heavy sigh. “okay, so you know the club has a few more debt payments before i can solely own this place right? well, this man i was on the phone with can more than likely wipe away the rest of the debt with a snap of a finger.”

“so if he can do that, why would you tell him to fuck off? i don’t get it.”

“because he wants to own majority of the business! all of the creative decisions, finances, even down to the dancers’ employment would be his decision. i’m not doing that! i’ve worked way too hard to get to where illusion is today. and do you know how many strip club owners are women? not a whole lot. this is my pride.”

you both sit in a minute of silence, her words repeating in your mind. she was right, so much went into this club and those who weren’t on the pole proved that a club could run without a man’s help or approval. and you knew your boss wasn’t desperate enough to give in just yet.

“well no one but you is gonna run club illusion. fuck another owner or a co-owner,” you firmly say as mia shakes her head and smiles, now directing her attention at her desktop, moving her mouse around.

“why do i like you so much, sage?”

“i dunno, i guess i have that effect on people,” you smile as you push your hair back, opening the door so you could start getting ready.

“by the way,” you say with one foot out the door, “what was the guy’s name?”

“somethin’ hong, i kept forgetting the name, why? does it ring a bell?”

“nah, just wanna have a name in mind just in case he shows up, you know they like doing that.”

“well let’s hope not,” she groans as she stretches her arms out. “i really don’t need the extra stress - i can already tell tonight’s gonna be extra for no reason.”

and crazy enough, your boss was right. security had to break up two fights, one of the dancers ended up getting sent home (she was overly drunk), and a bartender ended up quitting - all in the span of four hours.

you look at the clock on the wall, readjusting your bodysuit straps and making sure your makeup was still intact. it was finally midnight, which hopefully meant the rest of the night would be better until it was time for the club to close.

“crazy ass night huh?” your closest friend and fellow dancer, hana (also known as chardonnay) approaches you. she finds her makeup kit and grabs a brush, dolling up her face.

“who are you tellin? and it’s only thursday! if heads into the weekend,” you say but hana finishes your thoughts.

“oh hello no, do not manifest that energy. this weekend can be busy, but not crazy,” she puts her kit back in her corner and checks herself out.

min then walks into the dressing room, hastily scanning the area for one person. “hana!” she calls out, slightly panicking. “you have a whole party waiting for you and you’re talking in the dressing room?”

“i know min, i just had to make sure i was ready, sheesh,” hana rolls her eyes. “gimme five and i’ll be out. they can wait.”

“you better hurry up,” min says walking away, “mia already has had to deal with a lot of shit and i’m pretty sure the last thing she wants to deal with is y’all acting out.” she closes the door behind her and the music becomes muffled again.

“lemme head out there before even more hell gets raised,” hana sighs as she switches her clear heels for her champagne-colored ones. “i guess i’ll see you out there in a bit.” she and a few others leave the room, leaving the space nearly empty.

——

after checking yourself out, you finally head back on to the scene, deciding to walk around and look for clientele since you already performed on the main stage for tonight.

as you get deeper into the center, you notice a figure at one of the small, standing tables. intrigued, you walked closer and your body can’t deny it’s reaction when you see how handsome he is. his dress white shirt had a few buttons opened, his black hair styled to where not all of it was in his face, and his eyes? oh you felt like you could melt in them.

when you finally get close enough, you place your hand on his shoulder and he looks up at you, putting his glass of whiskey down. “hey there,” you smile flirty at him, and he responds by smiling back at you.

“hey beautiful,” he says in the most soft, yet incredibly sexy tone. “i haven’t seen you around before, are you new here?”

“oh, so you’ve been here before,” you say going to the opposite side of the table, your eyes not leaving is. “that’s interesting, considering i’ve never seen you, i practically have a sixth sense when it comes to this place.”

“mmm, different days, different times, maybe,” he picks up his glass and takes a sip and when he puts it down, you reach for his hand and take hold of it.

“well that can’t stop us from getting to know each other better,” you rub his hands softly. “what’s your name?”

“hong. joshua hong, to be more specific,” he says. “and yours?”

you try to keep a poker face, but you fail drastically as your expression changes. “hong?” you think to yourself. “hong.. why does it sound so familiar?”

you mind then recalls the conversation with mia, and you slowly remove your hand from his. “w-wait a minute, hong? are you a club owner or something?”

“actually i am, how did-” you interrupt him by scoffing and shaking your head, not believing what could’ve happened.

“no fucking way.. you’re the man that called my boss earlier today weren’t you? about wanting to own this place?”

“yeah, that was me,” he says with all the pride he can muster and it made you a little annoyed. “this place has so much potential, and it’s becoming one of the most popular clubs in the area. with my help, it can reach that and more! everyone would benefit.”

“look, hong - whoever you are, this club is doing fine. mia didn’t need a savior before and she doesn’t need one now, especially from some cocky motherfucker who he thinks he can change everything just by walking into the room.” you walk away ready to find another customer, but he comes in front of and stops you.

“you’re bold as hell.. i love that in a partner,” joshus says grinning as he begins to kiss the side of your neck teasingly, his lips feeling like a soft pillow. your body and your mind are now drastically confused. yes, he was trying to take over the club and you didn’t want that, but you couldn’t deny your physical attraction to him either.

after a few more seconds, joshua pulls away and smirks at you, clearly enjoying the fact that you were starting to break down your walls. he takes something out of his pocket and slides it into your hand, and when you feel it - it’s a thick wad of cash.

“let’s go upstairs baby,” joshua says as he pulls you towards him, having you lead the way. watching your surroundings, you firmly grab his hand and you lead him to the vip rooms, walking up the steps and then finding the closest, empty room.

unable to hold back anymore (and away from any other eyes), you sharply pull him closer to you and smash your mouth against his, hands roaming his hair as he walks backwards. when he reaches the edge of the couch, joshua gently sits down and pulls you onto his lap, his hands now palming your ass. you lowly moan at the feeling as you begin to roll your hips into him, his touches becoming more firmer as he squeezes your cheeks.

“you couldn’t resist me, could you?” joshua laughs to himself. “just a second ago you were telling me off, and now you’re like putty in my hands.”

“fuck you,” you moan out when he starts playing with the crotch of your bodysuit, dragging two fingers over the cloth. he continues the motion until he can start to feel a familiar dampness.

“awww cute, you wanna fuck me,” he gloats, dragging his fingers into your bodysuit, playing with your inside lips. he continues the motion for a few moments and then you muster every good bone left in your body, to pry his fingers away from your now dripping core.

“fuck, i shouldn’t be doing this.. i really shouldn’t be doing this,” you say hesitantly.

“well why not? we’re already here aren’t we? no one has to know, baby. this’ll be our little secret, m’kay?”

and that was all you needed to hear. this was definitely something you’d be carrying with you to the grave.

“fine. one round and then that’s it-” you can’t even finish your sentence before joshua slams his lips once again on yours, this time with more vigor and fever.

——

for the millionth time tonight, your body and your mind are in two conflicting states. how could something this bad be so incredibly good?

“m-mmm, sh-shua,” you moan into his ear as he thrusts into you, your bodysuit completely off and his pants pooling down at his ankles. “you feel amazing,” you continue to feel him up, pressing down on his shoulders. joshua hisses at the feeling, guiding your hands down to his waist so you can see and feel what he was doing to you.

“that’s all you,” he smiles as you move a bit to match his pace, almost moaning with you at the new intensity you both set. “with me here, you could have this every night, hmmm, maybe even more than that to be real with you.”

he was really trying to get you over, but for your sake - it couldn’t happen.

“and with you here, you’d probably take out 20% of my pay,” you chuckle but it’s immediately cut off when joshua thrusts sharply into you, causing you to hunch over and moan, almost loud enough to where someone could hear you.

“i thought you needed to be quiet? you’re fucking the new potential owner, can’t have everyone finding out, right?”

“fuck, fuck, f-fuck,” you whisper, joshua not sure if that was from the sex or if you were still frustrated that your morals have gone out the window.

you feel a tightening in your core, and you knew any minute that you were about to come. as he continues to thrust into you, the coils in your become smaller and more detailed.

“joshua, shua, i- mmmm, i-!” you call out for him and moments later, you juices leak on him. you relax into his chest, regulating your breathing to a slower pace.

——

“this doesn’t mean anything you know,” your back facing him as he helps you fix the strings on your bodysuit. “i’ve already crossed some lines that i can’t return from.”

“i keep telling you sweetheart, no one has to know. you’re making it seem like you have to tell the whole world.”

several thoughts run through your mind, including ones of him railing you from behind in one of the secluded vip rooms. you try and push them out of your head when you finally speak.

“and if i did want to see you again, how would i go about that?” joshua then hands you a business card and pats your back, signifying that he was done.

“just gimme a call love.”

you both walk out the room, and he turns to face you again, leaving a kiss on your forehead. “see you soon, baby.” he walks away, leaving you dazed and in suspended motion. you almost don’t hear your name being called out.

“sage!” hana calls out to you and you walk over to her.

“who was that? he’s so fucking hot! how’d you bag him?”

you sigh as you lie through your teeth, “he’s no one special. just another customer.”

[blubberquark]

Wish List For A Dumb Phone

I have a dumb phone with 20 days of standby time. It's getting old. I might need to buy another one soon.

I only really need that phone for phone stuff. It's small and light. It's my backup in places where my smartphone does not have reception.

A replacement would need physical buttons, and have bar or flip phone form factor, preferably in a blight green or orange colour. It should be a dual-SIM quad-band with GSM for basic phone calls, SMS and MMS, and 4G or 5G connectivity. The web browsing or download speed doesn't really matter.

In terms of featurephone features, I don't need twitter, facebook, whatsapp, or any of those built-in apps. I want the ability to take pictures, play MP3 and OGG files, record audio, play audio, browse the file system, and assign audio files as custom ringtones. E-mail is optional.

The hardware features I want are an SD card slot, a 240p camera or better, a light, FM radio (DAB would be a plus), a replaceable battery, bluetooth for tethering and audio headsets, and USB-C for tethering, charging, and file transfer. It doesn't have to be USB-PD or USB 3.0.

There are some features that would be nice. It would be nice to have a playlist that I can sync with a desktop podcatcher application. It would be nice to be able to move contacts between the SIM card and the SD card in bulk, and to sync contacts with my NextCloud address book with a desktop application. It would be nice if I could mount my phone's file system via USB.

All these features boil down to this: My dumb phone is a bit beat up. I wish I could just replace it with a slightly newer model with USB-C, but otherwise it doesn't need apps or wlan.

There is no phone out there that is just slightly better than my old dumb phone, and can be charged via USB. Once you have all the hardware and features, you might as well slap Android on there, and a more powerful processor, and sell it on features.

It's sad. There are many dumb phones that are almost better than my old one. There is one that is just like my old one, but with 4G instead of 3G, but no USB-C. There is one that looks great, but all reviews say the software is buggy and bluetooth doesn't work reliably. There is one with loads of features that has a couple of days of standby time, not weeks.

There's also one that has all the features but costs more than a smartphone.

All I really want is a Nokia 215 with USB-C, tethering, and a comfortable way to sync my stuff to a PC.

[moonlit-tulip]

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend about comics, and he was complaining about how the pressures of the webcomic industry are slowly pushing in the direction of turning panel layout into a lost art, with sites like Webtoon increasingly moving in a "the comic is a vertically-stacked series of single panels, no complex layout required"-type direction, losing all the artistry of the more traditional "panels need to be laid out within pages, pages need to be laid out against one another in spreads" approach to comic-layout.

This seems plausible, as far as it goes. (I don't read much on Webtoon or its imitators, due to finding their format abstractly Off-feeling for reasons which may or may not be related to this, so I can't comment much on paneling trends there; but I do need to go pretty far out of my way, when selecting comic-reader software for local comic files, to find readers with actually-good handling of spreads, and I always have the vague feeling of something being lost when I read things like more-traditional webcomics which, although they do within-page panel layout, don't do spreads at all and are thus constrained to the canvas of a single page layout-wise.) But also, separately, it got me thinking...

So, currently, pressures in webcomics are pointing in the direction of removing layout-layers. Single pages instead of spreads; then individually-separable panels instead of pages; and if people can find ways to shrink things down still farther in the future without alienating their audiences too much then I expect they will. This is, as far as I can tell, a symptom of the broader mobilification of the internet, the switch in assumptions from "most readers are on desktops with reasonably-sized monitors wider than they are tall" over to "most readers are on phones with tiny monitors taller than they are wide".

But suppose one resists the mobilification effect and designs a webcomic primarily targeting desktop monitors, as in the old days (except now even bigger since monitor sizes have gone up in the last decade-and-a-half). Two-page spreads will be back on the table, at a minimum, allowing the same depth of layout-complexity as in paper books (and thus allowing one to ensure that, if one's webcomic eventually is printed into a paper book, it comes out looking good for the format). But, also, there's no deep reason things need to stop there. Once one decides to push in the direction of layout-complexity within a modern webcomic, there's nothing preventing the use of much fancier layouts than that. Three- or four-page spreads, instead of two-page, because one isn't limited by the logistics of book-spine-design any more; pages located in different positions relative to one another, rather than all the pages being lined up horizontally; pages of different shapes and sizes depending on what information they're conveying; and...

...and I've just reinvented the Infinite Canvas here, haven't I. Whoops. (Or at least a variant of it, with less focus on scrolling-in-place-of-hyperlinked-pages (since that's more the Webtoon thing which this is ~directly a reaction against) and more on spreads which, despite their largeness, can all fit readably onto a single monitor.)

Still. It does seem like there's some room for interestingness here, for those inclined to grasp at it (...and better at art than I currently am), vaguely analogous to the recent attempts at revival of Bespoke Personal Websites. Maybe a modernized Infinite Canvas variant is actually a meme worth spreading, to see if it can help counteract the layout-simplifying excesses of the mobile era in the comic sphere (at least in those particularly receptive to it) like how Neocities et al. are helping-on-the-margins to counteract the mobilification of people's personal sites!

[deathbypufferfish]

hi! I just started a simblr. I don't have Photoshop or anything, I didn't think I'd need it either. I play my game on ultra settings and my PC can definitely handle it. how do I make my screenshots so crisp like yours? when I upload they are SO blurry. yours are nice! I guess I'm just trying to get like the pros lol. sorry this is long!!

The crispness in my screenshots comes from a few things

gshade, which is free and here's a tutorial on how to install it. (my preset is a frankenstein of @gunthermunch lithium and @malixacc wintermelon tea)

topaz clean in photoshop

smart sharpen in photoshop

my settings for all of these and my editing process would be a whole other post lol. also i did not get photoshop the traditional way if you catch my drift.

Tumblr also blurs the previews of large images and will pretty much always look better upon clicking. I help this by resizing my photos to 1000x. But if you want to post the full resolution for whatever reason (1920x1080) or you feel like you can't get it perfect, it is the majority understanding that tumblr does this to images and you have to click to view the full quality. It will preview differently on mobile vs. desktop and the crop of the picture. For instance my wider crops are a little blurrier of a preview than my more square-shaped ones.

I recommend starting with gshade, resizing, and adjusting brightness, saturation, and exposure.

Go in your own time with finding your editing process! The beginning of pufferfish rags to riches was edited on my phone with nothing but picsart! or if you find you have more fun not editing as much do that! do what makes having a simblr fun, not a job. :)

[wasppilled]

Been thinking about joining inaturalist (had a real interesting convo today w some guys who monitor fish in our creek, it’s home to a really rare species of fish that only lives here!), can you tell me a bit about it, since you use it? How does it work for uploading stuff, and do you know anything about privacy of info on it?

Did a quick poke around and there’s literally one bush by the gate into one of my paddocks on it and that’s it in my entire area! Feel like I could stand to learn and share a lot by posting some things, and also get more in touch with what’s living here besides me and my animals, yknow. =)

hi!!! not sure when u sent this ask but I must have missed the notification, just saw it today!!

I'd definitely encourage you to use inaturalist! Uploading stuff is pretty straightforward, there's a website and an app. The quality of the app depends on the kind of phone you have (for some reason the apple version is way more limited and sucks, the android/everything else version is better), but either way the website is kind of the best for uploading if you have a lot to upload. If you just take photos on your phone occasionally, uploading from the android app is pretty good.

You upload things with however far of an identification you can confidently give it, ideally- so often that can just be something like, "insect" or "plant"- even that bit of detail makes it easier for people who go through identifying stuff in more specific areas to see it. And over time people will help identify things based on your photos, which is a really cool thing! It's also great for making connections with people who are interested in this stuff, hobbyists and experts alike, in my experience :-)

As for privacy, there's a few options you have there. You can upload with the locations open, which means it'll show the exact location data associated with the photo, but if you're concerned about privacy, there's a few options. You can obscure the locations of your observations, which basically sets it to show the general area rather than specific location. The obscure function has a specific radius it gives and I don't remember what it is, but if that radius isn't big enough for your comfort you could also go into the location selecting part when you're uploading and set a wider "accuracy" radius, and move the point within that circle if you wanted for good measure as long as your actual observation location is somewhere in that circle- definitely for an open location you can change that. Not sure about changing the obscure radius but if you wanted to know more on that I can look into it! Since you have the option to manually enter locations though, you could tell it something as broad as you'd like, such as your general region or even country.

You can also make the location private entirely, although this sets the observation to casual grade. There's a few downsides to this:

- casual grade observations don't come up in the searches or ID menus for people looking to identify things unless they manually toggle the option in the search

- without even a vague indication of geographical location, identifying organisms is way more difficult, because the biodiversity of different regions varies so much

- casual grade observations don't contribute to data for global biodiversity databases (whereas any research grade observations do- they are used on GBIF, specifically, which is used by a lot of scientists).

so ultimately a completely private observation is not very likely to get identified or anything. personally I'd recommend going for manually inputting a broader location to whatever extent you're comfortable with. when uploading on the desktop site you can mass edit uploads so you may also not need to manually do that one by one.

I personally love inaturalist, and I'd be happy to dm you about it more too! 10/10 would recommend I'm steadily approaching a good 19k observations on there rn

[gilfrespecter]

I'm chatty this morning sorry(I'm not it's my blog I'll do what I want)

Some things that I'm thinking about is one day I really want to switch to just having a landline and a desktop. Probably a flipphone too(do they make ones with good cameras?). I love having my Friends in my pocket but alas there is also The Apps there and I'm the kind of insane guy who prefers phone calls to texting especially for information that doesnt need to be written down to be remembered.

2 my favorite flavor of monster(papillon the real sugar peach one) has disappeared replaced by the australian lemonade which is Nasty. I do like the pineapple reserve and the sailor jerry can one but peach is one of my favorite flavors and artificial sugars make me sick. I was looking about maybe ordering some with my tax return but it's like. 40$ for a 24 pack when all the gas stations around here always have a "buy multiple for cheaper" sale going on. I've asked they won't let me just buy a pack. Wait I actually just did the math the 3 for $5 deal is the same price as the 24 pack($1.67). Much to think about. I'd probably be better off just starting to take a multivitamin LOL

3 oh my god I want to kayak so fucking bad. Mine is absolutely NOT safe to take out in the winter and I don't mind being cold I don't mind being wet but I do not like being cold and wet and to launch mine bc it's so long I have to go like at least ankle depth into the water to launch it and that's not even beginning to talk about getting a 16 foot ocean kayak up on top of my fucking chevy spark on the icy driveway(it DOES look very silly it's mostly safe. I dont take it on the highway). Or out of the basement even LOL. I also absolutely need to get my fishing license this year what with the price of meats. With my rudder working now I can go Faster and Further which I'm excited about and I think that's what my brain's like "kayak time now" about. I need to take a rescue course TBH they're really cheap by the local paddle renting company in a nice warm inside pool but also that involves being Maskless which I don't do(waterboarding is not an option) and I'm still not allowed to be Submerged. It's absolutely something I can teach myself on a calm day at like one of the state parks I just need to work on powering through cold shock again which I used to be really good at and am probably Even Less Good At Now bc a ton of fat has been Removed from my chest. But also I run even warmer now(who knew that was possible LOL) so it might be less of a problem than I'm thinking it will be

Speaking of post top surgery changes WOW THEY SURE CAN DO my voice has dropped again relatively significantly for me(I still have a pretty high voice but I can hit really low if I try I'd love to do voice training but money) my facial hair is coming in alot more too I use like. Minoxodil once a week at work/if I remember (when I first get in this way I can wash it off to keep the Vivicat safe by the end of the day) but I don't think once a week is enough to really be the Cause. I wonder if getting my Very Expired nexplanon out will change things more(I was on it to stop my period which t seems to be keeping up on just fine I'm just not getting it taken out bc I like using my arms and they wouldn't do that for me during top surgery I asked. I don't really need it either pandemic induced celibacy).

I want to go to one of the drag shows or karaoke nights at the local leather/only gay bar soon. I need to remember to set up an eye doctor appointment on monday. Nushki needs a bath. You scrolled through all this so here's the reward of seeing Nushki being Sillay

[aseriesofunfortunatejan]

writing request: Trucy Wright hears Apollo's ringtone and finds it cute (it's Lamirroir's theme)

Thank you for your request ✨

Being that I know who sent this anon, I feel comfortable mentioning that Lamiroir isn't a character I would exactly describe as my favourite. Her relationship to Apollo and Trucy as a mother is an element of AA4+ I don't enjoy. However – this might exactly be what makes this prompt interesting. I get to explore a facet of how Apollo and Trucy might feel about it, from my point of view, and think about ways in which I can make a part of the story I don't favour work positively for me.

Hopefully this'll be an enjoyable read to any AA fan, whether they like these characters most or not 👀

Fandom: Ace Attorney (AA4+) Characters: Apollo Justice, Trucy Wright

Sugar, Sugar... O that night, in your embrace... When you stole away the... nananaaah...

... "- Argh! My phone!" Unused to his own ring tone, Apollo was about to catch himself humming The Guitar's Serenade when he suddenly realises someone is calling him. Darting up from his seat, he looks all around the desk with an exaggeratedly panicked look on his face.

The desk is covered in files, stationary, and various knick knacks, and his cellphone does not stand out from the mess. Caught in the middle of re-re-reorganising his computer files, Apollo stands still for a few seconds while his ring tone continues to go off. "- Pffff..." He realises that this is nothing worth panicking over, but he should really calm down and get to finding his phone before it stops ringing. After letting out a long sigh, he widens his eyes to concentrate on every thing that's laid out in front of him...

Let's see... No... Not here... Not here either... How about... ... "- Hey Polly, what's this song?"

... "- Hey Po—HEEEEYY! POOOOLLLYYY! - AaaaAAAAAH! - Aaaah!" Finally noticing Trucy's presence, Apollo, who had been focusing on nothing but differentiating his cellphone from the mess on his desk, jumps a little too high, scaring her at the same time. "- Jeez Polly, what's your problem?! - What's your—What's yours?!" Red in the face, he starts to slap his hand all around his seat, without breaking eye contact with Mr. Wright's daughter. "- I don't have a problem, I'm just asking what's that song your phone is playing." Quickly bored of the pouty face she decided to pull, she reverts back to her usual calm, amused state. Apollo, however, is still on a mission. "- It's my ring tone, Trucy, and I'm looking for it! - Oh..." She stays silent for a few seconds at least, and the lawyer, taking the opportunity to stare at the desktop a bit more, doesn't notice her head slowly turning to the middle of the room. "- Just where did I put it?! - Uhmm..." After another, briefer pause, Trucy takes a short inspiration before asking: "- Your phone... You don't mean, the one's that ringing right now? On the couch? Just here? - ...What?" Oh no. It's that feeling yet again. The immediate embarrassment that overtakes him and makes him feel like he was just punched in the face. Apollo raises his head, much too aware that Trucy is probably right. "- Aaaaaand it's done ringing. - Aaarghhh..." The lawyer lets himself fall back butt first onto his seat. It's fine... It wasn't mean to be. "- Aren't you gonna..? - No. They'll call back. - Suuuure. Okay." Shrugging it off, Trucy takes a peek at the phone's screen before walking closer to the desk. "- So, are you gonna answer my question, now? - What question? - What's the song? Your ring tone, I mean. - Oh..." Accustomed to these blows to his ego, Apollo recovers quickly. Still, for some reason, he stares at the phone from a distance, for about a minute, in complete silence.

Thank God for Trucy's patience. "- You know it better than I do, don't you? - Well, it sounds familiar, but I can't place it. That's why I'm asking about it. - Ah. It's that song, from the concert with Lamiroir, uuuh... uuuuuhhh... - Oh! Ooooh! That's ri—The Guitar's Serenade! Yes! - Y-Yep, that's right." Is that what the song's called? "- Oooh, I love it! I didn't expect you to set it as your ring tone, Polly!" Unsure what to do with that information, Apollo nods without much enthusiasm. Now why did I do that, again? "- It's really... Hmm... Let's say, it's a bit more wholesome than what I would expect from you," she continues. "- What? What do you mean by that? I'm a very positive person— - Suuure... But you're bit more, hmm... Stre... Oh, uh, whatever! - Sorry..? - It's cute, really." He doesn't trust that giggle of hers. "- What's cute about it? - Hmm... Hmmmmmm..." Even he can tell she's hesitating to say something that might embarrass him. And with a smile, too. "- Hmmmmmmm... Well, it's a Gavinners' song. - That's no— - Co-written by Klavier Gavin himself, no less. - That is not why I picked it! - Reeaaally? - Really!" Once again, his face is becoming about as red as his suit. To be teased by a teenage girl at his place of work is—aaargh! The music that darned prosecutor puts out is ridiculous, and he does not care for it. "- Then what's the reason? - It's..!" ...It's somewhere inside his head, for sure. There must have been a reason he picked it... Uuuuh... "- Jeez, it's, uh... It's a popular song. Everyone and their grandmother uses it. - Oh Polly, that is not the reason you would do anything. - ...Touché." She's too smart, that girl. The actual reason was... Hmm... When was it even..? ...Hmm... It was... ... Oh. Pff. It's suddenly obvious again. Trucy's inquisitive attitude overwhelmed him as always, and he's now left to look odd as usual, when this decision had always just made sense. "- Right, uh... It's some sort of a keepsake, is all. - Of what? Or who? - Oh, c'mon. It's just a way to remember a client we helped. It's not every case that we're led to attend and repeatedly re-explore a musical performance. - Hmm, I see." Oddly enough, this answer satisfied the girl. She turns her back to Apollo and walks up to the couch again. "- I wonder," she goes on. "- Hmm? - There's something soothing about it. - The song..? Yes, I agree. - Lamiroir, she seems very... Personable. Her singing is engaging in that way. - That's true." As a performer herself, Trucy must be sensitive to this impression of another artist... ...Jeez, now that I thought that, I feel bad for complaining about the Gavinners' performances when she likes them.

"- I guess... If you were going to keep it as your ring tone, you're lucky your clients turned out to be a pair of good artists, aren't you? - Yeah... That's for sure."

He might not have decided to use it if that hadn't been the case, though... "- Oh!" Leaning against the couch, Trucy notices the screen of Apollo's phone turning on before it starts to ring again. Although set a bit loud, a pleasant melody resonates in the office.

She grabs the cellphone and reads the name on-screen. "- Kla-vier... - Ack..! Give it!" A newly overwhelmed Apollo messily stands up from his chair and runs in Trucy's direction. "- Teehee!" The magician is a very kind boss, thankfully, and hands it to him right away.

[survey--s]

476.

When was the last time you got more then eight hours of sleep? A couple of nights ago.

Do you find that people don't really understand you? Ha, that’s such an angsty way of looking at the world. I don’t fee that way but I definitely remember thinking like that when I was a teenager.

Is there anyone in your life that you wish you were closer to? Yes, but more geographically than emotionally.

Would you say you are a gullible person? No, I wouldn’t say so.

Are you one to swear often? Yeah, most days.

Have you ever sat down and played video games all day? No, but I could easily spend all day on my laptop/phone messing about online.

What is one thing in your life that is no longer there, that you miss? I have no idea.

What do you believe is the best thing about being a kid? No responsibilities or worries about things like money.

What flavor Dum-Dum is your favorite? I have no idea what that is - I assume like a lollipop? In which case, cherry.

What is the last book you read/are reading? Did you/are you enjoying it? I haven’t read a book in quite a long time. I think the last one I read was The Night Circus which was really good.

Are you on a laptop or a desktop right now? Laptop.

If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go; why? A holiday to somewhere with a nice, hot beach please. Maybe Mauritius or the Caribbean lol.

Have you ever trusted someone you wish you wouldn't have? Sure.

Have you ever been on a picnic? Yeah - I find they’re pretty overrated. Like, the idea of them is always way better than the actual reality lol.

Which is better tea or coffee? I prefer coffee, but both are good.

Do you own an umbrella? Yeah, it lives in my car.

Do you like the ocean? I absolutely love it - the beach is my happy place. I’m so fortunate to be able to go there most days.

Is there anyone that you wish you were with right now? Nope.

Who was the last person you hung out with? Aside from Mike, I would say Suzy.

What animal cracker is your favorite? We don’t have those here.

Is there anything you're currently holding back? No.

Do you like your smile? No, not really.

Have you ever watched something on the TV that truly disturbed you? I’m sure I have - probably on some true crime documentary lol.

Are you scared of needles? No.

Is your current cell phone out of date? It’s just over a year old, so no, not really.

Have you ever drank milk when it was spoiled? How does that even happen?

Would you/have you ever bought a gym membership? I’ve never paid for one myself but I used to work at a gym and got membership for free, and then my dad paid for one when I was at university.

Have you ever bought anything on the TV? No.

Have you ever done something that you knew was wrong? Sure.

Do you know what all the keys on your keyboard do? Probably.

What is the last channel you were on, when watching TV? We never watch live TV.

What is your favorite restaurant? It depends on my mood and what kind of food I fancy.

What is the last thing you spent money on? Flowers for my mum for Mothers Day.

Do you know of anyone who hates you? I mean, not to my knowledge.

Lose your arm or your leg; Which do you choose? I mean, why would I ever be in a position where I had to choose? Maybe my leg though, as I could still drive (automatic) etc.

Has an animal ever bit you? Yeah, cats and dogs.

Have you ever tripped over your own feet? Sure, all the time.

Do you ever take out the garbage? Yeah.

Do wash your face thoroughly everyday? Yeah, I wash it everyday in the shower.

Would you ever do a ride along with a cop? Sure, but that’s not a thing here.

Are things, in your opinion, overly expensive these days? Definitely, the price rises are ridiculous thanks to Brexit.

Where was your last car ride to? I drove home from work yesterday.

Are your nails long? No, I cut my nails yesterday.

Have you ever gotten food poisoning? Yes.

Have you ever had to put a dog to sleep? No, thankfully not.

What messenger services do you use? WhatsApp and Messenger, and occasionally iMessage.

Have you ever lost someone important to you? Yeah.

Are you listening to music currently? No, I’m watching an old episode of The Simpsons.

[c-40]

A-T-4 003 Push The Button

I was out the other day when the lyric to a pop rap song being piped caught my ear, the lyric was Push The Button. The context in this case was pushing a button on a mobile phone, as a subject of pop music the telephone has been around as long as pop music itself. The subject is continually being reinvented for anew generation, for a while in the 1990s I remember it was pagers, and before telephones songs were written about writing letters, there are also plenty of songs about telegrams, all sorts of long distance communication

Pop music records changing times but as with fashion it likes to see itself in the vanguard leading the way, every season a new year in with the new out with the old, but for the last 20-years or so it's tech and gadgets that have been the height of fashion. It was a lot easier to imagine the future of technology in 1984 than it is in 2024, or even 1999 when Nas released Nastradamus in which he predicted (amongst many things) laptops with 100 gigabytes [of memory], my smartphone has more memory than that! Perhaps that's one of the reasons the most streamed song in the UK last year was Miley Cyrus's turn of the century style pop disco track Flowers, you can't argue with the song, no wild predictions here, she will survive and she can buy herself flowers - I remember in the 1980s when women couldn't buy themselves flowers, it shows social progress - or perhaps it's the workout she does in the video like all those Ministry disco-house videos from the turn of the century that's made it so popular

Miley Cyrus's Flowers is retro like pretty much all mainstream pop music is today, is it just nostalgias pendulum? I'm not convinced, this type of disco-pop been out of the charts since the late 1990s. What has changed since then is how we consume music. I enjoy science fiction movies but what makes me laugh in them is no matter how far in the future they are set if the scene is in a bar or club or something the music is 1990s techno or house, maybe bass music for films made more recently. To me it says in the imagination of the film makers music stopped innovating at some point in the mid 1990s. Coincidentally this when neoliberalism peaked and has been limping along ever since

Newcleus's Computer Age (Push The Button) takes Push The Button from another cultural obsession synonymous with the height of the Cold War (pushing THE button) and applies it to computing. Newcleus weren't as niche as you might think, Jam On Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song) peaked just outside the top 40 on the UK singles chart and Jam On It got into the top 100, the album Jam On Revenge getting to 84 on the album chart (Newcleus did even better in the US)

One of the main drivers of innovation in pop music is new technology. Electro-funk of the early 1980s like Newcleus arrived on the back off new synthesisers and drum machines. Has there been any great leaps in music tech since the mid 1990s? Soundcards are better, tasks have certainly gotten quicker and easier, there are MORE software emulators and you can do some of the old tasks on a smartphone now instead of a laptop or desktop. I'm not a musician or studio guy so I can't say for sure if there's been any great leaps in music production in the last 20 years, it looks to me things have just been refined. Oh! of course generative or ai music has come along in the last few years

Which brings us to the lyrical content of Computer Age, for a pop song that is 40-years-old some of the things they are saying about computers are still in discourse today. Newcleus had previously gone by the name Positive Messenger "and were making music that had a purpose, either messages of love or faith or talking about the conditions of the world." Newcleus and Jam On Revenge was lighter and had fun with hip hop but Computer Age sounds like it's a throwback to their roots

"Computer age is now Everyone must have a machine They say it's gonna make life easier, well, I can't stand it...."

You can't argue with the above verse. In the UK there's been several efforts to adopt a computer and for all of us to go online, interactions with local government or banks and all your bills are done via computers now, it easier until it isn't. Here Newcleus decide to ask a theological question which isn't exactly useful, does reliance on computers make us gods or slaves? and Newcleus conclude god is going to be pissed with us if we replace him with a computer

"For here we sit in our easy chairs As our machines decide how we'll fare Who will suffer, who will survive? It's up to the computers"

So in the above verse Newcleus hit one one of the most important discourses around ai/ml computing. Ai/ml has been used to decide who qualifies for parole in the US for a decade now, the data used to make the calculation records many decades of bias against non-white people so when ai/ml was used in the prison system we found the ai/ml reproduced the bias recorded in the data. Ai/ml is being used as giant management tools, making all kinds of decisions that have real life consequences. If a government or business want to make cuts or set tight targets an ai can do this without see people or asking how people will manage?

"It's up to the computers" isn't correct, it could be up to us. Some computer scientists are calling for citizen assemblies to work with ai/ml, more awareness is certainly needed. Right now tech giants are predicting a scary ai future that only they can fix, this isn't true and it gives tech companies with already too much power even more power

I wrote a proposal for a job funded by the CIA once via Cambridge University. They wanted artists to create narratives that challenged the story that an all powerful all knowing ai will destroy humanity so we might have a more sensible conversation

[gregrambles]

Let's talk about home networking, and the absolute frustration I am currently experiencing with the disparity between consumer networking equipment, and the speed of storage in most modern computers.

I'm an outlier, and I understand that. But let's highlight my current situation, and why I'm baffled at how we've remained at a now piddly gigabit speed for in-home wired networking for such a long time.

Almost 15 years ago, in May of 2009, we got SATA in its current form. This is that weird little connector on every motherboard that has a long L running down it.

Stock photo courtesy of Envato

This allowed for the transfer of data between storage devices in your computer (at the time, hard drives) and the rest of the system. SATA-III, the current specification, allows for speeds of up to 6.0Gbit/s, or ~600MB/s. At the time of its release, hard drives on the market could read/write at ~100MB/s. I'm generalising, but this is largely true for consumer hard disks of 2009/2010. Now, that's definitely not 600MB/s, you might think. And you'd be right! I won't go too deep into the reason for why SATA-III seems overkill here to avoid derailing the original topic.

Also by this point, gigabit Ethernet was ubiquitous. If you had a home computer, and were part of the wave of people starting to take the internet seriously in the mid-late 2000s, it's not unlikely you were wired up. The family computer was still a strong component of most homes, and wi-fi was slow and unreliable. Most ISP provided cable modems at this time would have also included at least one gigabit port to connect a router or network switch to. And to that end, NETGEAR has been selling the same little GS105 gigabit network switch for more than 20 years now.

So, if you had network attached storage in this era, then it was almost certainly working to the best of its ability. You were pretty much going to get that max throughput from your network and the connected drives without being concerned about a bottleneck on either end.

But then we move to the early 2010s. SSDs have entered the market and they're coming down in price quickly. Originally designed to use the SATA interface, these suckers could write quick, and a single one of them could easily max out SATA's 6Gbps, writing or reading at around 550MB/s. We've officially crossed the threshold now, and if you wanted a couple of these in a network attached storage device, you would be sacrificing some speed. A few more years, and not only have SSDs gotten cheaper, but clever engineers over at Intel and a consortium of other companies had introduced a newer, better standard than SATA: NVMe.

With this, we were looking at speeds in the GB/s range, not MB/s. By 2020, these had become standard in almost every desktop and laptop you could buy.

So now, three years after that, and many after this disparity between gigabit networking and storage transfer speeds showed up, why does home networking still insist on remaining terrible?

Well, as it turns out, I'm just a weirdo. About the same time that our storage speeds got better, people started needing less of it, and the way people used computers has changed drastically. These days, people don't really user ethernet the way they used to. Wi-fi has gotten better, data plans have gotten better. Most of the devices we use on a regular basis now don't have a means to plug them in. Everyone streams content, stores documents and photos in the cloud, or browses light content on their phone.

Routers/modems of today prioritize wireless speeds over wired ones. Wi-fi 6e and the upcoming Wi-fi 7 standard boast multi-gigabit speeds in ideal environments. Gigabit ethernet adapters are cheap to manufacture, and there's little demand for anything better. For that, you end up in a the "prosumer" market where you deal with equipment that isn't much more than a rebadged, feature locked enterprise product for niche enthusiasts like myself.

I just want a cheap, unmanaged 2.5+ gbit network switch from a reputable brand. Is that too much to ask?

[transienturl]

tumblr live things

I assume you can't stream from a sideblog, which is unfortunate if your main is follow-only or whatever

streaming tumblr live from desktop web using OBS does work; landscape 1080p30 video is allowed (not sure if portrait works too)

there's a wrench icon -> "my details" section in the iOS app (and I assume android app as well) to set your bio that is currently missing on web

apparently there's a "guest" feature that lets a stream become effectively a group video call that is also a stream; each guest's stream is actually a separate video (they're composed responsively in the web interface when you view a group stream).

now wait a second. that's. legitimately cool? I'm sure there are other streaming platforms that can do this but I don't know of any?

I need to go make yet another full tumblr account to see if you can compose streams out of multiple people on desktop web, but if you can, that's got to be their killer app, right? like, right now you can stream on twitch with your friends (sound only) by being in a discord call, of course, and you can add their video streams by putting a discord video call on another monitor and doing a lot of manual composing work in OBS or using VDO.ninja or whatever, but this lowers the barrier of entry by a mile.

if they add/have the ability to have guests mic-only, add the ability to manually focus one user (for game streaming), and redo the entire UI to actually have labels and tooltips on the buttons, and make the discoverability aspect not suck, and tone down the monetization push, and maybe a couple of other things...

...then I can see the vision, tbh. the moment you get more than one person interacting on a stream, at least IMO, the listenability goes way up, because humans are naturally good at conversing with each other rather than speaking directly to camera (doing the latter well is a rare skill, I think).

and lowering the barrier of entry to guesting on a friend's stream down to "have phone or pc and press button," and lowering the barrier of entry to having a stream that's actually fun to listen to is "any two people doing that and talking about a fandom they share," is actually an interesting vision, if that's the vision?

because, I mean, who doesn't have at least one friend who you get talking to and go, "hah, I bet someone would actually enjoy listening to this?"

great, now I sound like I'm simping for Meet Group. to be clear, I think the current implementation of Live with absolutely no modifications, just simply the collision of cultures and codebases, is... look, see, I don't want to disparage anyone's development work, okay?

but, you know, anyway. the place I'm actually coming at this from is "I have always been interested in streaming but only if it's multiple-people-interacting," and it never occurred to me that one of those flashy mobile-first platforms would probably do that because I always figured complex setups are better on desktop. but, hey, like, I just tuned into a random stream with 4 people who seem to know each other just hanging out and, well, I do get the pitch. I'm sorry, every part of your UI around the streaming window (when placed in a tumblr context) is garbage and I get the impression that a lot of your analytics stuff is pretty questionable. but I do get the pitch.

half a week ago I said:

if I were a product manager, my giant whiteboard would have "click the square with the person's face and see ways to tip them" on the left, and "you'll make friends / you'll fall in love / you'll make enemies / you'll become unrecognizable to your friends and family" on the right, and a whole bunch of arrows and question marks in the middle.

well, one of those arrows is apparently "one-button live podcast with your friends" and that was already built-in. fair enough. one down, many to go, I guess.

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 140: A Flower in the Wasteland

Haru headed downstairs the next morning to hear her father furious. Him being angry wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, but with the recent bad press he was heating up more than usual. Haru noticed he was on the phone.

“WHAT?!...How could you IDIOTS let them escape?!...Do you know what this will do to my IMAGE?!...Yes, yes, I’ll be right there…Alright…” He hung up.

Haru’s dad turned around to see his daughter observing him on the stairs. “Oh, Haru,” he said. “Forgive me. I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

“...It’s…alright…” Haru said.

“Someone went and vandalized the office last night,” Okumura explained. “Why does this always happen to me?” He sighed. “Anyways, I have to go. I’m sorry I can’t stay for breakfast.”

“...It’s…alright…” Haru repeated.

“I’m glad to have such an understanding daughter,” Okumura said. “If only the people could be more like you.” He left in a hurry.

Haru, still on the stairs, considered her situation. “I wish I could be more like the people…”

Okumura arrived at his office in a fury. “What is going on?!” he demanded.

“Well, uh, sir,” one of the security guards said, “some kind came by last night and threw a rock through the window.”

“I’m aware of that!” Okumura chided. “Why didn’t you catch him?!”

“We lost track of him,” the other guard stated.

“Grrr,” Okumura hissed. “WHAT AM I PAYING YOU FOR?! Do I have to hire MORE people?!”

The security guards were scared. “We’ll do better next time, sir! We promise!”

Okumura looked at them intently. “You better.” He walked away in anger. On the way to his office, the employees took note of his sour mood. A chilly feeling hung in the air after he passed by.

He got to his office and sat down. He was furious, but he calmed down enough to begin work. After all, time is money. He started up his computer. However, it didn’t go to his desktop. Instead, an ominous and threatening note appeared on his screen. It read:

“Mr. Okumura,

You believe you’re on top of the world. You believe you are too high and mighty to care about anything besides your bottom line. If that’s the case, I will make you care.

I have gained access to all of the data stored at Okumura Foods HQ. I know each and every one of your dirty little secrets. I could leak this to the public at any time. But I will give you an opportunity to make things right.

You want to have a pristine image? Well, here’s your chance. I want you to fix things up at your company, Make sure everyone gets treated equally. I also want you to give your money to various causes.

If I don’t see any improvement from you, I will hunt you down and kill you. You have until October 11th.

-The Savior of the Apocalypse”

Okumura was slightly scared, but more furious. “GAH!” he screamed. He picked up his phone. “ Hello, tech support?!”

“Yes?” the person on the other end answered.

“GET IN HERE NOW!”

“Yes sir!”

A few minutes later, Okumura was talking with some tech people in his office. “HOW did some punk get into MY computer?!”

“We’re looking into it now,” the tech guy said. 

“This is the LAST thing I need,” Okumura said.

“Um, sir?”

“WHAT?!”

“Um, aren’t you a little concerned?” the tech guy said. “About the contents of the letter, I mean?”

Okumura glared at him. “Do you REALLY think this punk can follow through on this?!”

“Well, he did get into our systems,” the tech guy said. “That’s no easy feat.”

“And yet, it happened,” Okumura said.

“Well, if he did that…” the tech guy implied.

Okumura sighed. “Very well. I’ll talk with the security team.”

“Thank you,” the tech guy said. He left.

Okumura sighed. “This is the last thing I need. And my campaign is launching soon.” He looked back at the note. “‘Savior of the Apocalypse’ PAH! I’m helping usher in a utopia, and they have the GALL to tell me this is an apocalypse! When I find out who you are, I’ll tear you piece by piece!” He sighed. “I should call the security team,” he said, resigned. He picked up his phone.

Meanwhile, Hiroki was on cloud nine. The first part of his plan was set in motion. He was this much closer to releasing Haru from the clutches of her father. Of course, he needed to monitor the situation to see what Mr. Okumura would do, but the onus was now on him. He continued to school with a spring in his step.

When he got to class, Lena turned to him and said “Well, it seems like you’re feeling better.”

Hiroki smiled. “You have no idea.”

Ryuji walked in a few minutes later. He sat down and turned to Lena. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Lena replied.

“Hi there,” Hiroki said.

‘Oh! Hey there,” Ryuji greeted.

“Sorry,” Hiroki said. “I’m just excited.”

“I can tell,” Ryuji said.

Hiroki chuckled. “We should prepare for class.”

“R-RIght…” Ryuji said. Lena giggled. They got ready for class.

Later, as he was doing student council work, he was approached by Makoto. “So, how are you feeling today?”

Hiroki looked up. “Just peachy.”

“Well, that’s good,” Makoto replied.

“It is,” Hiroki said.

“Well, if you need anything, you know you can count on me,” Makoto said.

“Of course,” Hiroki said.

Makoto nodded. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Sounds good,” Hiroki said. Makoto headed back to her station.

Kisa walked over to Makoto. “Um, are you sure he’s alright?” she asked discreetly.

“Well…” Makoto answered. “I can’t say I’m not concerned. But I feel it’s better if I give him some breathing room.”

Kisa looked over at Hiroki, then turned back to Makoto. “Yeah. Hiroki will tell us when he feels like it.” She went back to doing her student council work.

A little later, Sae arrived at Okumura Foods headquarters. She approached the front desk. The person asked “Can I help you?”

Sae took out her business and slid it to them. “My name is Sae Niijima; a prosecutor for the Special Investigations Unit. I would like to ask Mr. Okumura a couple of questions.”

The person at the front desk was confused. “Already?” Sae was confused by that. “Well, uh, sure. Just go on up.”

Sae nodded. “Thank you. Feel free to keep my card.” She started walking to Okumura’s office.

She knocked on the door. “Come in,” Okumura demanded. Sae opened the door. “You’re from the prosecutor’s office, yes?”

Sae walked in. “That is correct. I have some questions I’d like to-”

“Why are you asking ME questions?!” Okumura. “I’M the victim here!”

Sae was now more confused, though she kept her composure. “Of course. Just…tell me what happened.”

Okumura calmed down. “That’s more like it.” Sae felt the sting of Okumura’s casual sexism, but pretended she didn’t. “This morning, I received a threatening letter. I’m going over things with my security team, but I guess having someone else investigate it as well would be beneficial.”

“I see,” Sae nodded. “May I see this letter?” Okumura nodded. He turned his monitor over so Sae could see the note. Sae read through it carefully. With each passing line, she felt a familiar feeling. It wasn’t as charged as Naoko’s manifesto, but it had a similar cadence.

“So,” Okumura interjected, “how long do you think this investigation will take?”

“Hmmmm,” Sae pondered. “This seems serious.”

“I’d like it if it took as little time as possible,” Okumura stated.

Sae smiled. “I’m glad you said that.” She turned to him. “I believe this may tie into an investigation I’m currently conducting.”

“What?!” Okumura said, shocked.

“It might take a bit for me to bring my full force to bear,” Sae said. “Our office is busy at the moment, and I need to run this by my boss before I take any drastic measures. However, once the investigation begins in full, I can count on your full cooperation, right?”

Okmura seemed less than pleased, but he wasn’t in a position to argue. Also, he did want this situation dealt with as soon as possible. “Fine,” he relented.

“Thank you Mr. Okumura,” Sae said. She handed him a business card. “I’ll be in touch.” She left the office.

Okumura got on his phone and made a call. “Hello?”

“One of YOUR prosecutors just stopped by,” Okumura said. “Care to explain?!”

“I see,” the SIU director said. “Was their name, by chance, Sae Niijima?”

Okumura looked at the business card. “That’s EXACTLY who I’m talking about,” he replied.

“Hm. Well then,” the director said. “Just go along with it for now.”

“But what about-?!”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” the director said. “We’ll be sure to protect you in all of this.”

Okumura nodded. “I sure hope so. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take!”

“Rest assured, everything will be alright,” the director said. “Goodbye.” They hung up. The director smiled. “All according to plan.”

After school, Hiroki was walking through the halls when Haru approached him. “Oh, Haru. Just who I was looking for. What a coincidence.”

“Well, not really…” Haru said. “I was looking for you too.”

“Oh. Of course,” Hiroki said.

“So, did you solve your issue with your brother?” Haru asked.

Hiroki smiled. “Well, kind of…”

“‘Kind of…’?” Haru wondered.

“Well, it will be resolved,” Hiroki said. “Sooner or later, I won’t have to worry about him.”

“What do you mean by that?” Haru asked.

Hiroki chuckled. “Well, let’s just say I’ve been given the key to solve all my problems.” He grabbed Haru’s hand. “All OUR problems.”

Haru pulled back. “You’re starting to scare me, Hiroki.”

“Well, I don’t mean to scare you,” Hiroki said. “I’m here to save you. I’m here to save everyone.”

“Why do you sound angry when you say that?” Haru asked.

Hiroki laughed. He sighed. “I knew I couldn’t quite fool you, Haru. I could put on a facade for everyone but you.” Haru was more worried. “To answer your question, ‘anger’ is a bit pedestrian. What I’m feeling is an ire that matches what this cruel world has done to us without our permission. And soon, I will right those wrongs, and stop the oncoming apocalypse.”

Haru gave him a smack across the face. “What’s gotten into you?!”

Hiroki reeled. “The thing that’s ‘gotten into me’ is that for the first time in my life, I feel like I can do something that matters.”

“So being my friend doesn’t matter?” Haru asked.

“I don’t mean it like that,” Hiroki said.

“Hm,” Haru huffed.

“Aw, c’mon,” Hiroki said. “I’m not saying anything the Phantom Thieves aren’t, and you put your faith in them. The only difference is you know me. You trust me.”

Haru was shaking. “I know Hiroki,” she said, forcefully. “I don’t know you.” Her phone went off. She was concerned.

“You can answer it,” Hiroki said.

Haru wasn’t sure, but decided to do so to try and collect herself. “Hello?”

“Haru?!”

“Father?!”

“Haru, I want you to come home right away!” her father demanded.

“You sound worried,” Haru said. “Is everything alright?”

Haru could hear her father stewing on the other end of the phone. “Everything will be fine,” her dad explained. “Just come home!”

Haru only grew more concerned. “I’ll come home then.”

“Thank you,” her dad said. “I’ll see you soon.” They hung up.

Hiroki chuckled. “Was that you dad?” Haru was still concerned, but she nodded. “Eh, you can go.”

Haru was surprised. “This conversation isn’t over!’ she protested.

“I know,” Hiroki said. “I’ll be waiting.” Haru looked at him, unsure of what was happening, but she decided to leave for now. Whatever it was, she knew she couldn’t leave it be.

After she left, Hiroki chuckled some more. “I might as well let him have more time with her while he still has time,” he said to himself. He grew more serious. “Don’t worry Haru. I’m sure you’ll understand in due time.” He decided to take his leave as well.

Meanwhile, the Phantom Thieves were meeting. “So, how are we going to figure out all the words to get into Okumura’s Palace?” Lena asked

“Well, the good news is I figured out the second keyword last night,” Futaba told them.

“You did?” Ann said. “That’s great!”

“So what is it?” Morgana wondered.

“It’s Okumura Foods Headquarters,” Futaba informed them.

“You know, I think we could have guessed that,” Ryuji said.

“To be fair, it could also have been his house,” Yusuke said. “Madarame’s was his shack, remember?”

“Right,” Ryuji said.

“Is there a bad news in there somewhere, Futaba?” Ren asked.

“Well, yes…” Futaba answered. “I’m not sure how we’re going to find out the final word.”

“Well, all we have to do is find whoever is targeting him, right?” Ryuji said.

“No offense, but I think that’s easier said than done,” Jose said.

“Jose’s right,” Makoto said. “I mean, he is number one on the Phansite poll rankings. It’s going to be hard to narrow that down.”

“I could try,” Futaba said, “but even then, I don’t know what to look for.”

“Hmmmm,” Sumire said. “This is tough.”

“Maybe we can use this,” Lena said. She pulled up an article on her phone. “Vandalism at Okumura Foods.”

“Woah!” Ryuji said. “You think whoever did that is our guy?”

“It seems like a coincidence,” Yusuke said.

“Given that Eris has corrupted someone, I’d be willing to take that chance,” Ren said.

Makoto seemed hesitant. Jose noticed this. “Is something on your mind, Makoto?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh…well…” Makoto stammered. “I’m worried about going down there to investigate. I don’t think Mr. Okumura took this very well.”

“I get it,” Sumire said. “We might look suspicious if we all go together.’

“Yeah,” Morgana agreed. “I mean, in the city, we can blend in just fine, despite our eclectic group. But near a corporate HQ, especially one that’s investigating vandalism, we’d stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Um, just curious,” Ryuji said. “But if we’d stick out, how could we get into his palace? We’d all have to be there, right?”

“He brings up a good point,” Jose said.

“Well, for that, we’d be there and gone in an instant,” Morgana said.

“Or at least we wouldn’t be staring at the place for too long,” Ren added. “And as much as I want to get to the bottom of this, I don’t want to get arrested again.”

“Fair,” Yusuke said

“What if we went one at a time?” Lena suggested.

They thought about it. “You know, I think that could work,” Makoto said.

“Plus, with only one of us on the ground there, the rest of us can find other ways to search for this crusader,” Futaba pointed out.

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want to go out alone, aren’t you?” Ren teased.

“He he,” Futaba chuckled.

“So, should one of us go there now?” Ann asked.

“Hold on,” Makoto said. “This is the immediate aftermath. It might be a bit too suspicious to go right now.”

“I agree,” Morgana said.

“Well then, starting tomorrow, we should take turns observing the scene,” Sumire said.

“Oo! I can do it tomorrow,” Lena said, excitedly.

“Well, it sounds like we have a plan,” Ren said. “So, as long as we’re here, you want some grub?” The crew agreed, and Ren went to make food for everyone.

In the office of the SIU director, there was a knock at the door. “Come in,” he said.

Sae entered. She was nervous, but she wouldn’t show it. “You wanted to see me sir?”

“I hear you visited Okumura Foods earlier today,” the director said.

Sae was stunned. “How did you-?!”

“Mr. Okumura is one of the richest people in Tokyo,” the director said. “He and I are acquaintances.”

“I see…” Sae said, slightly dejected by the general situation of the rich rubbing elbows with the justice system.

“What did you find?” the director asked.

Sae nodded. “I was there to investigate the possible tie between Mr. Okumura and some of the victims of the mental shutdowns. However, it appears someone had vandalized the building last night.”

“Interesting,” the director said.

“He also informed me that he received a threat,” Sae said. “When I read it over, it looked like that manifesto that was passed around targeting Junya Kanashiro.”

“Do you think they’re by the same person?” the director asked.

“No,” Sae reported. “The cadence was different. However, I do believe it ties into how the Phantom Thieves mention someone else going after their targets.”

“So, you’re saying that the Phantom Thieves are going after Okumura?” the director asked.

“I believe so, yes,” Sae answered.

The director nodded. “Well then, you are free to do whatever you please.”

Sae was shocked. “You mean it?”

“Of course,” the director said. “If you think you can uncover the Phantom Thieves and whoever is behind those ghastly shutdowns, then I see no reason to impede your investigation. Plus, this threatmaker is an added bonus.”

Sae bowed. “Thank you sir.”

The director smiled. “Of course. Now, I imagine you have a lot to do.”

Sae stood at attention. “Right.” She turned and left.

Once she got back to her office, Riko asked “So, what was that about?”

Sae smirked. “The director gave me full steam ahead to investigate Okumura.”

Riko was stunned. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Sae repeated. Riko seemed worried. “What is it?”

“Well, I’m excited for you,” Riko said, “but…isn’t this a little too convenient?”

“What are you implying?” Sae asked.

“I’m just saying…” Riko said, “be cautious.”

Sae nodded. “Right. Thank you. Well, I have some things to prepare.”

“Right,” Riko said. Sae went back to her office, while Riko sat back down at her desk.

Haru arrived home. Her father was there to greet her with a hug again. “Haru, my dear. I’m glad you’re safe.”

Haru was again torn. Last time this had happened, she had hoped her father had returned to his previous self. She wasn’t about to get her hopes up this time. “Did…something happen?”

Okumura let go. “We don’t need to get into it, but yes.”

“Oh…I see…” Haru said.

Okumura sighed. “At any rate, the situation is being taken care of. But I’m concerned about you. I want you back home immediately after school until this is settled.”

Haru was stunned. Whatever rattled her father shook him a lot. “But…what about my club activities?!”

Okumura was displeased, but knew Haru had a passion for her club activities. “Fine. Be home by 7, and not a minute later. You hear me?”

Haru bowed. “Thank you father.”

Okumura nodded. “That’s my girl. Now, if you’ll excuse me, because of what happened, I’ve had to delay some important meetings. So I apologize, but you will be dining alone this evening.”

“I…” Haru was about to say “don’t mind,” but caught herself before doing so. She instead finished “..understand.”

“Hm. Well, I’m glad SOME people do,” Okumura remarked with his usual underlying vitriol. He began to leave. As he passed Haru, he muttered “...When I find this ‘Savior of the Apocalypse’ I’m gonna…” he left out the door.

Haru heard just enough though, and grew concerned. “...Apocalypse? Hi-Hiroki-kun?!” She was worried, but didn’t have the means to investigate thoroughly. She went to eat dinner and further contemplate what to do.

The next day, during lunch, Haru found Makoto in the hall. “Oh!” she bowed. “Hello there Niijima-san.”

“Um, hi,” Makoto said, awkwardly. “You’re Haru, right? Hiroki’s friend.”

Haru nodded. “Um, well, I…kind of wanted to talk to you about Hiroki.”

“Oh?” Makoto said. “Did something happen?”

“Well, kind of…” Haru said. “I’m not sure how to explain it.”

Makoto looked around. “Let’s move someplace more private then.” Haru nodded. Makoto began to walk, and Haru followed.

They ended up by the vending machines. Makoto looked around some more. “Um, why here?” Haru asked.

“Huh?” Makoto replied. “Oh, well, if we went to the student council office, Hiroki might be there, which may cause problems.”

“Oh,” Haru said.

Makoto finished looking. “I don’t think I see him.” Makoto sat at the table. Haru sat across from her. “So, what’s been happening?”

Haru was a little hesitant. “Well…I think Hiroki’s been acting weird lately.”

“Hmmm,” Makoto said. “I’ve been noticing that too. But he’s insisted he’s fine, and it’s hard to confront him when I don’t know what exactly is going on.”

“I understand,” Haru said. “Hiroki does tend to say he’s fine when he’s bearing the weight of the world. But I think something happened recently that’s changed him.”

“I know what you mean,” Makoto replied. “The day before yesterday, he seemed very stressed out. And yesterday, he seemed like he was on top of the world. It’s a really strange turnaround.”

“Well…” Haru began, “...when I talked with him yesterday, he seemed…I guess enraged.”

Makoto was shocked. “That doesn’t sound like Hiroki.”

Haru nodded. “I agree.” She paused. “He went on talking about how he could solve all of our problems, and how he was fighting this cruel world.”

Makoto was really confused. “I feel like I should have seen this.”

“Well…to be fair, he did tell me he knew he could fool everyone but me,” Haru said.

“I’ve never known Hiroki to be someone who would fool anyone though,” Makoto said.

“True…” Haru said. “But the thing that’s really worrying me is…well…it’s a long story…”

Makoto nodded. “We have time.”

Haru nodded. “Before I could finish talking with Hiroki, I got a call from my father asking me to come home. When I got home, he was shaken. I could tell something had happened, but he wouldn’t tell me anything. However, before he left, I heard him mumbling something, and it reminded me of something Hiroki had said earlier.”

“Oh?” Makoto said.

Haru nodded. “Hiroki mentioned something about saving us from an oncoming apocalypse. And my father mentioned he was threatened by someone who calls themselves the ‘Savior of the Apocalypse’. It…just feels so confusing.”

“Hmmmm,” Makoto thought. A weird shift in mood, and an apparent targeting of a specific person. She looked at Haru. If I’m wrong, I’d be telling someone I barely know. But if I’m right, we could have more time to do this.

Hair noticed Makoto’s pondering. “Is something the matter?”

“Huh?” Makoto said. “Oh, I’m just thinking about something.”

“What is it?” Haru asked.

Makoto looked at her intently. She sighed. “This is going to be a longshot. But, by chance, are you the daughter of the head of Okumura Foods?”

Haru was surprised. “Um…well…I try to keep that a secret…but yes…”

I was right! “I see. Just one more question: Has anything else strange happened to you? It doesn’t have to be about Hiroki.”

“Hmmmm,” Haru said. “Now that you mention it, there is something. But I’m not sure you could help. Er, no offense.”

Makoto sighed lightly. “It’s fine. Just tell me.”

“Well…” Haru was still hesitant. “This weird app appeared on my phone. And no matter what I do, I can’t remove it. Crazy, right?”

“I see…” Makoto said. She got out her phone. “Does it look like this?”

Haru was very surprised. “You have it too?!”

“Yes,” Makoto said. “Well, this changes everything. Believe it or not, I have the solution. But I need you to meet up with me and some of my friends after school.”

Haru nodded. “Well, it does sound a bit odd, but since you have the app too, I think I can trust you.”

Makoto nodded back. “Great. Let’s meet back here after school.”

“Very well,” Haru said. She stood up and bowed. “Thank you for listening to me.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” Makoto said. Haru walked away, while Makoto got out her phone.

Makoto: So, I have some good news.

Makoto: I think I’ve figured out how to get into Okumura’s palace.

Makoto: But we need to bring someone new into the fold.

Ryuji: Eh. Nothing new.

Ann: Yeah, it seems like someone joins us whenever we find a palace.

Yusuke: I don’t think it’s worth complaining about.

Yusuke: The more the merrier, as they say.

Ann: I’m not complaining. It’s just an observation.

Ren: Well, I don’t hate it.

Ren: More manpower means we’ll have an easier time. At least, in theory.

Sumire: Yeah. We might even become powerful enough to take on Eris herself.

Jose: Well, I don’t know if she’ll let us before we figure out who else is using the Metaverse besides us.

Futaba: What’s this person like?

Makoto: Well… There’s a bit of a complication to that.

Futaba: Uh oh.

Makoto: No, she’s really nice.

Makoto: We’ve met her before. She was Hiroki’s friend we met in Hawaii.

Ren: Oh?

Ann: Oh yeah!

Lena: We didn’t talk much, but she was really nice.

Makoto: The problem is, I think Hiroki may be the crusader.

Ryuji: For real?!

Lena: Yikes!

Makoto: We just have to be cautious.

Makoto: All Shujin Thieves, meet up by the vending machines after school, OK?

Makoto: From there, we’ll meet everyone at the usual place.

Ren: Got it.

They put their phones away, and they went on with their day.

After school ended, Ryuji and Lena cautiously turned and looked at Hiroki. They didn’t want to seem too suspicious, but also knew they didn’t have the best poker faces. They were relieved when Hiroki immediately got up and walked out. They gave each other a knowing look and waited a bit before heading to the vending machines.

However, Haru was on her way, when Hiroki stopped her. “Hello there.”

“Ah!” Haru shrieked. “Oh. Hi Hiroki.”

Hiroki pouted. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Right,” Haru replied. She took a deep breath. “So, um, how can I help you?”

Hiroki was confused. “You wanted to finish our conversation from yesterday.”

“Oh. Right,” Haru said. “Um, well, there’s been a change in plans.” Hiroki was intrigued. “Well, um, my father has been getting more frantic as of late, and he wants me to be home as soon as possible.”

Hiroki was more surprised. “He didn’t give you time to work on club activities?”

“Well…” Haru said. She was nervous about lying to Hiroki. But at the same time, Hiroki was acting weird.

Before anything could happen, Makoto interjected. “Excuse me.”

They turned to look at her. “Ah, how are ya doin’, boss?” Hiroki asked.

“I’m fine,” Makoto said. “In fact, I have some urgent business I need to take care of involving your friend here. If you don’t mind, I need to borrow her.”

“Well, we can go together,” Hiroki insisted.

Makoto shook her head. “I can handle this on my own. Besides, don’t you have other things you need to do?”

Hiroki smirked. “As a matter of fact, yes.” He looked at the two girls. “Well, if you’ve got things under control, I’ll believe you. See ya.” Hiroki walked off.

Haru sighed. “Thank you, Niijima!”

“Oh, um, you’re welcome,” Makoto said. “If you don’t mind, you can call me by my first name.”

“Are you sure?” Haru asked.

“Positive,” Makoto said.

“Well then…” Haru said “Um, it’s Makoto, right?”

“That’s right,” Makoto said.

“Thank you, Makoto-chan!”

Makoto was a little shocked, but didn’t hate it. “Well, it’s nothing. Shall we go then?”

“Oh, of course,” Haru said. They headed over to the vending machines. They were the last two to arrive, as Ren, Morgana, Ann, Sumire, Ryuji, and Lena were waiting for them. “Oh!” Haru was surprised.

“Hi,” Ren said.

Haru was still a bit nervous. “So, what are we going to discuss?”

“Not here,” Makoto said. “This was just to organize everyone.”

“C’mon,” Ann said. “We’ll take you to our usual hang out spot.”

Haru wasn’t quite sure, but she was determined to figure out what was going on. She nodded. “Very well then. Let’s go.”

“Well, you heard the lady,” Ren said. They left the vending machine area, and left school all together.

As they were walking, Makoto could tell Haru was nervous. “Don’t worry. We’ll explain everything.”

Haru smoked. “Thank you, Makoto-chan!”

“Makoto…chan?” Ann said.

“Heh, it’s kind of cute,” Ryuji replied.

Makoto was embarrassed. “Yes, well…”

Ren chuckled. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Did…I say something wrong?” Haru asked.

Makoto shook her head. “I’m just not quite used to it is all. But I don’t hate it.” Haru giggled. They continued on.

They arrived at Leblanc, where Jose, Yusuke, and Futaba were waiting for them. “Hello,” Jose greeted upon entry.

“Hi,” Ren said.

“So, she’s the one…” Futaba said.

Haru was thoroughly confused. “Don’t worry,” Ren told her. “We’ll explain everything.”

“Well, to the best of our ability,” Ryuji said. “Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around some of this.”

“How?!” Morgana shrieked. “You’ve been doing this practically half a year?!”

“Sorry I can’t fully comprehend this all!” Ryuji snapped.

“To be fair, it’s not an everyday occurrence,” Ann said, defending her boyfriend.

“Hmmm,” Morgana groaned. “I guess you’re right… But it should be this hard.”

“Um….” Haru spoke up. “Are you…talking…WITH you cat?”

“Yeah, that’s one of the things that needs to be explained,” Ren said. This did not end Haru’s curiosity. “Please, have a seat.” Haru took a seat at a booth. “Can I get you some food? Or maybe a coffee?”

“I’ll take a coffee,” Haru said.

“Sure thing,” Ren said. “Anyone else want a drink?” Some people said yes, while others said no. “Got it.” Ren fixed some drinks for those who wanted them, including herself.

Once they were served, Haru took a sip of her coffee. “Ah! This is really good.”

“The owner will be glad to hear that,” Ren said. She took a sip of her coffee. “Now, is there anywhere you want to begin?”

Haru thought about it. “Um, do you know why Hiroki seems to be targeting my father?”

“Well, not exactly,” Makoto answered.

“We don’t know why he was motivated to do so,” Ren explained, “but we can explain what’s driving him.”

Haru nodded. “I’ll take that.”

Ren nodded back. “Very well. So, we are fighting a being named Eris. She is a figure that likes to cause trouble. She does this by essentially corrupting people to try and kill other people.”

“I see…” Haru said, disheartened.

“Like we said,” Makoto added, “we don’t know what made Hiroki vulnerable to Eris’s power, but given what you’ve told me, it makes sense that he is.”

“And, he’s targeting my father?” Haru asked.

“Um, yeah,” Ryuji said. “So, um, does that make you Okumura’s daughter?”

“Huh? Oh, yes,” Haru said. She stood up. “Forgive me. I haven’t properly introduced myself.” She bowed. “I am Haru Okumura.”

“I see…” Yusuke said, stunned.

“Holy shit,” Ryuji added.

“Hey!” Ann said. “Don’t be so crass with someone so refined.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright,” Haru said. “Most people who know me as heiress to the Okumura fortune tend to tread on pins and needles. But I much prefer people being candid, so I don’t usually disclose that unless I have to.”

“I see…” Ann said.

Ren smirked. “Well, we should also apologize, as we also haven’t given a proper introduction. I’m Ren, this is Morgana, Ann, Ryuji, Sumire, Jose, Yusuke, you know Makoto, Futaba, and Lena.”

Haru nodded. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“There’s one more part to the introduction,” Ren said. “We are The Phantom Thieves.”

“I see…” Haru said. “Wait, what?!”

“Yeah…” Lena said, awkwardly.

“Are you gonna be alright?” Jose asked.

“I…think I should be fine,” Haru said. “But what does this have to do with this Eris person?”

“Just about everything,” Ren said. “So, let’s continue explaining. I think you get the jist of what we do, right?”

Haru nodded. “You steal people’s desires and make them confess their crimes.”

“Correct,” Ren said. “The way we do this is a little extraordinary. So, there’s a parallel world that is made up of people’s desires and perceptions. When someone’s desire is so distorted, a place called a palace forms. What we do is we go in and steal their desires, which distorts their perception and makes them confess. Are you with me so far?”

“I…think so…” Haru said.

“OK,” Ren nodded. “Anyway, Eris is a being that originated from this parallel world, which we call the metaverse. Eris finds people who have been hurt or threatened in some way by the palace ruler. She uses her powers to corrupt them to take over. We call these people crusaders.”

“So…you’re saying Hiroki-kun is a crusader in my father’s palace?” Haru asked.

“Pretty much,” Futaba answered.

“Again we don’t know what your father did to Hiroki,” Sumire said.

“That’s alright,” Haru said. “I’m sure if we look into it, we can figure it out.”

“Right,” Ren said. “Which leads me to my next point.” She took out her phone. “In order to get to the metaverse, we use this app which was given to us by a figure named Igor. He’s on our side, and he gave it to us in order to stop Eris.”

“Huh,” Haru said.

“I have to say,” Yusuke said, “you seem to be taking this quite well.”

“Well, to be fair, she’s not being plunged into the deep end,” Ann said.

“True, but it is still fantastical,” Makoto said. “It would be hard for anyone to believe at face value.”

“You seemed to take it alright, Makoto-senpai,” Sumire said.

“Well…” Makoto replied. “It’s because it answered some questions I was having. And I suspect the same is happening with you Haru.”

“That is correct,” Haru said. “I was also given this app, and Hiroki acting out of character makes sense now. And, well, I have wanted the Phantom Thieves to steal my father’s heart for quite some time. So it all coming together here is believable, if still a bit odd.”

“I think that’s the best we can hope for,” Jose said.

“So, you having the app means you have the ability to join us,” Ren said. “We do plan on stealing your father’s heart, and stopping Hiroki from carrying out what he’s planning. But doing so will likely unearth some hard truths. So, it’s OK if you want to stay back.”

Haru clenched her fist. “No. I want to help. I’ve been passively wishing my problems would improve, but the opposite has happened. They’ve only gotten worse. And now Hiroki is trying to fight on my behalf while corrupted by some evil figure. I should have done something sooner. But I will do it now!”

Everyone was impressed. “Woah,” Futaba remarked.

Haru was a little embarrassed. “Was that a bit much?”

“I like it,” Jose said.

“Yeah, it matches our passion quite well,” Lena added.

Haru blushed. “Thank you.”

“Oh, and don’t think about Ren’s warning too much,” Sumire said. “She’s just trying to protect you. In reality, she wanted you to say yes.”

Ren blushed. “...You didn’t have to say it out loud.”

Sumire chuckled. “Sorry. I just know you so well at this point.”

“Well, in any case, welcome aboard Haru,” Morgana said, excitedly.

Hair was confused. “Um, is the cat talking to me?”

“Oh, right,” Ren said. “Yeah. So, he also originates from the metaverse. He can talk there, and when you’ve been over, you can understand him no matter what world you’re in.”

“I see,” Haru said. She looked at Morgana. “You’re one intriguing cat.”

“Heh,” Morgana laughed. “Hear that? I’m intriguing.”

“Anyone would say that about a talking cat,” Ryuji remarked

“I am NOT a cat!” Morgana snapped.

“You didn’t correct Haru,” Yusuke said.

“Well, she can't hear me yet,” Morgana protested.

Ren smirked. “I think we should change that.” She noticed that Haru was trying to pay attention, but was getting lost only being able to hear a part of it. “Don’t worry about that for now. We need to figure out how to get into your father’s palace.”

“We can’t get in?” Haru wondered.

“Not quite yet,” Makoto said.

“So, this is how the app works:” Ren began, “In order to gain access to a palace, we need to figure out three things: The Palace Ruler, the location of the palace in the real world, and what the distortion is. In this case, we have two of the components; your father, and the Okumura Food Headquarters building. However, we don’t know the last one. And the tricky thing about this is that when there is a crusader, that one is theirs.”

“Hmmmm,” Haru said, processing all of this.

“So, we need to know what Hiroki thinks of Okumura Food, and your father as well,” Futaba said.

“I think you have a pretty good idea what that may be,” Makoto said.

“I do?” Haru wondered. “She began thinking. “Oh! Could it be Apocalypse?”

“Match found,” Ren’s phone said.

“Well, that settles that,” Ren said.

“Woah!” Lena said, stunned. “I don’t know your father too well, but that seems like a lot.”

“Yeah, that’s incredibly charged,” Jose added.

“He certainly doesn’t mince his words, huh,” Sumire said.

“Um, why are we still here?” Ryuji wondered.

“Because, we aren’t at Okumura Foods,” Ann answered.

“Oh, right,” Ryuji replied. “Sorry, I’m so used to just being dragged in.”

Ann giggled. “It’s fine sweetie.”

“Ryuji does have a point though,” Ren said. “We should go and at least take a look.”

“I agree,” Makoto said.

Haru nodded. “Me too. I’ll lead the way.” Everyone who was drinking something finished their drinks, and headed out.

Upon arrival, they noticed that the place was crawling with cops. “Hold up,” Ren said. They looked at them. “This could get tricky.”

“Well, we only need to be here for like a minute, right?” Ryuji said. “We just gotta make sure we aren’t seen.”

“Good point,” Jose said.

“I said it first,” Morgana insisted.

Jose gave him a pet on the head. “Sorry.”

Morgana calmed down. “It’s fine…”

“The coast is clear,” Yusuke said.

“Let’s head in, shall we?” Makoto said. They all nodded and got out their phones.

“Navigating.” They were teleported to the metaverse.

Once they arrived, they were greeted with scorching sand blowing harshly in the wind. “Another desert?!” Ryuji yelled.

“Well, it is a common apocalypse motif,” Futaba said.

As they were trying to keep the sand out of their eyes, Jose noticed something. “Look!” He pointed to a field filled with human-looking robots that seemed to be turned off.

Yusuke turned to the other side. “Over there!” he called. They all turned around. They saw a giant ship rating on the sand. Everyone was in awe.

Futaba focused her goggles. “That’s the palace proper. I can detect the treasure.”

“Well then, let’s head in,” Ren instructed. They headed over to the ship.

As they got closer, they saw the front door being guarded by two shadows. They approached it. “HALT!” one of the shadows said. “WHO GOES THERE?!”

The thieves were on edge, but Haru decided to take a risk. “They’re with me!”

“Oh! Miss Haru,” the shadow said. “Please, go ahead then.”

Haru bowed. “Thank you.” She turned to the thieves. “Come along now.” The thieves were surprised, but decided to let it be. They followed Haru inside.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Ryuji said.

“We don’t usually take the front door, do we,” Sumire pointed out.

“Well, I’m two for two so far,” Lena said.

“I guess it depends on the palace,” Ann said.

“Yeah,” Makoto said. She turned to Haru. “So, those are shadows. We usually have to fight them.”

“Oh,” Haru said.

“But with them being OK with you, we may not have to,” Jose said.

“I doubt we’ll have that luxury for long,” Morgana said.

“Well then, let’s make the most of it,” Ren said. “Let’s go.”

“Um, just a minute,” Haru said. Everyone looked at her. “Why are you wearing those costumes?”

“Oh, right,” Makoto said.

“We didn’t really explain this,” Sumire said.

“It’s what happens when you awaken to your persona,” Morgana explained. “Our outfits are our wills of rebellion.

“Persona?” Haru wondered.

“That’s…” Ann said. “It’s like another you that fights alongside you.”

Haru was still confused. “I think it’ll make more sense if you just get yours,” Ryuji said.

“How do I get one?” Haru wondered.

“Well, uhhhh,” Ryuji responded.

“It has to be at the right moment,” Yusuke said.

“Yeah, you can’t force these things,” Makoto said.

“I see…” Haru said.

“Well, in any case, we should get going,” Ren said. “We need to sniff out the area.” She turned to Haru. “You should stay close by, just in case things get hairy.” Haru nodded. They began progressing through the ship. The shadows didn’t pay them any mind, as Haru was with them, but they were still on guard.

Eventually, they got to a door. “So, do we just open it?” Ryuji asked.

He went to open it, when the scanner above the door activated. “Biometric scan commencing.” It scanned Ryuji. It buzzed red, and the sign read “No match.” “I’m sorry, but you cannot progress.”

“WHAT?!” Ryuji shrieked.

“Let me try,” Haru said. Ryuji shrugged, and left the scanner area.

Haru walked in “Biometric scan commencing.” It scanned Haru. It glowed green, and the sign read “Match.” “You are free to enter.”

Haru giggled. She started walking in. She turned back. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

“She has a point,” Morgana said.

Ren nodded. “Let’s move.” The thieves passed through the door and down the following hallway.

At the end of said hallway, there were two figures. One was a man in a black spacesuit, and the other was a man in a white suit. Haru recognized them both. “Father?”

Okumura glanced over. The thieves tensed up, while Haru was still shook at this version of her father. “Haru?” he wondered. “I had gotten a call you were outside the spaceship. I’m glad to see you’re back inside.”

“Right…” Haru said, concerned.

Okumura looked beyond Haru. “Who are they?”

The thieves didn’t answer. Haru did. “They’re my friends.”

“Friends?” Okumura said. He took another look at them. “They seem like a rather unsightly bunch.”

“Hm,” Haru’s fiance scoffed. “Don’t worry, Mr. Okumura. They won’t be allowed once Haru comes to stay with me.”

“WHAT?!” Futaba yelled.

Makoto looked at her, and she calmed down slightly, but was still mad. “And just who are you?” she asked.

“Hm. If you were really Haru’s friends, you’d know that I’m her fiance.”

“WHAT?!” Makoto yelped.

Ann looked at him. “I don’t like the look of that guy.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter what you think,” Sugimura said. “All that matters is that Haru accepts me. Isn’t that right, darling?”

Haru paused. Okumura nodded. “Go on. Be a good girl, and submit.” The thieves were repulsed.

Haru clenched her fists. “No.”

“What?!” Okumura said.

“I said NO!” Haru repeated. She grew more intense “I hate that horrid man!”

“That’s no way to treat your fiance,” Okumura barked.

“My, I dare say, I might have to back out of our deal,” Sugimura said. “I can’t have a wife who disrespects me. Maybe it’s those ruffians she’s hanging out with.”

“You LITTLE!” Ryuji snapped.

Haru gestured to stop them. “It’s not them! It’s you! It’s always been you!” She pointed at Okumura. He was a little shocked. “Father…what happened? Why are you so cold now?”

“Hm,” Okumura scoffed. “‘Overcome failure at any cost. Even if it means betraying others.” THAT is our family motto. You don’t get anywhere in this world by playing nice. Play to win, or don’t play at all.”

Haru was shocked. “That can’t be right…”

“Hm,” Okumura scoffed. “Perhaps those ruffians did corrupt her.” He turned to Sugimura. “I propose a new deal. I agree you can’t have a wife corrupted by virtuous ideals. So why not take her as your plaything?” Everyone was shocked.

Sugimura smirked. “Heh. I like the sound of that. I don’t need to keep her as pristine.”

A shot rang out. Sugimura was stunned, as blood started dripping from his mouth. He fell forward. Everyone turned to face the gunman. He was holding a shotgun, and had wild orange hair, a pair of goggles, a respirator covering his mouth and nose, a brown scarf and cape that had holes in it, brown gloves, a really toned body, black pants, and black boots. He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“Hiroki?” Haru wondered.

“THAT’S Hiroki?” Lena wondered.

Hiroki walked over to Sugimura draped on the floor. He kicked it. “As you can tell, my brother doesn’t have as much tact. Or really, anything of value.”

“Brother?!” Yusuke yelped.

“This is getting more complicated,” Sumre said.

Hiroki turned to Okumura. “Although, I guess the same could be said about your father.” He aimed his shotgun at him. He pulled the trigger, but it clicked and didn’t fire. “Huh?” He checked the barrel. “Ah, it’s jammed.” He fiddled with it. “That should do it.” He clicked it back in, and aimed it at Okumura once again. “Now then…” Before he could pull the trigger, Haru rushed in and stood between Hirokiand her father. “What are you doing?!”

“I WON’T LET YOU KILL HIM!” Haru protested.

Hiroki was confused. “Didn’t you hear him?! He said-!”

“I know what he said!” Haru retorted.

Okumura smirked. “Ah, coming back into the fold I see.”

Haru turned to her father. “No!” Okumura was stunned. “Just because I won’t let you die doesn’t mean I will let you treat me like property!”

“Sweetheart,” Okumura said, “everyone is property. If you’re not selling, you’re being sold.”

“You see?” Hiroki said. “There’s no reasoning with him.”

“STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!” Haru shouted. She turned back to Hiroki. “You want to talk about being unreasonable? Threatening my father with death is beyond unreasonable!” She turned back to her father. “And as for you! You keep doing things only for your own self interest!”

“Of course,” Okumura said. “It’s the only way to live.”

“You see?!” Hiroki shouted. “He’s not a man! He’s a beast that feeds on money and self-gain! There’s no other way!”

“Yes there is!” Haru shouted back. She pointed to everyone else. “You see them? Those are the Phantom Thieves! Starting today, I will fight alongside them. I will change my father’s heart, and I will prove that you can play nice AND play to win! It doesn’t have to be one or the other!”

She paused slightly. “I don’t recognize either of you, and I hate it! I kept hoping something would happen that would help, but now I realize that I need to act. I need to save the people I want to save. I need to change. And I will.”

“I see you finally made up your mind…” A voice in Haru’s head rang out. Haru began struggling. She collapsed to the ground. “...My dear fated princess. Freedom for you must stem from betrayal. If you still yearn for it now…then you must not err.” A mask appeared on Haru’s face. “Tell me, who are you betraying?”

Haru smiled. Hiroki and Okumura were on pins and needles, wondering which of them will be more betrayed. “Isn’t it obvious?” Haru asked. “I’m betraying my old self!”

The voice laughed. “Yes! That conviction!...I am thou, thou art I…let us adorn your departure into freedom with a beautiful betrayal!”

Haru stood up. “Of course.” She grasped the mask and ripped it off, a spatter of blood leaping out of her face. “Milady!”

Haru stood there, wearing a musketeer uniform, with her persona, Milady, above her. Milady’s dress pulled apart revealing a face with a myriad of guns. “Heh,” Morgana chuckled. “I’m impressed.”

Okumura and Hiroki were still facing Haru on either side, both surprised and unsure of what to do. Hiroki made the first move. “Hm. So, you’re working with the Phantom Thieves.”

“That’s right,” Haru said.

Hiroki stared at her, then at Okumura, then back to her. “Well, I did give HIM a date. We’ll try it your way for a bit. But if you can’t do anything by October 11th, then I will.” He ran off.

Haru wanted to chase him, but she heard her father call out “GUARDS! DEAL WITH THESE THIEVES!” Some robots and shadows swarmed the area. The thieves prepared for battle. Haru looked at her father. “Hm. Perhaps if you beg, I’ll forgive you.”

“I don’t need your forgiveness,” Haru countered. “I need your kindness.”

“It appears we’re at an impasse,” Okumura replied. He turned around and walked off. “Take her out as well. If I can’t deal with you, you’re worthless to me.” Haru was shocked, but not surprised. She noticed the thieves battling it out, and decided to join in the fight.

Before she could, Sugimura started to morph. He stood back up and became a robot, similar to the robots that were attacking them. He had a hole in his chest, but that didn’t stop him. “Well well. Why don’t we have some FUN?!”

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Ryuji shrieked.

“What’s going on?!” Futaba yelped.

“Ugh, creeps like him never know what to give up,” Ann said.

“It’s OK,” Ren said. “With our new team member, we can win this for sure.” She looked at Haru and nodded.

Haru nodded back. “Let’s do this!”

“YEAH!” they cheered. While the number of shadows and robots were many, with every Phantom Thief giving it their all, they were nothing.

Once they were finished, Haru wiped her brow and said “Whew! That was exhilarating.”

“Talk about an understatement,” Yusuke said.

“I’ll say,” Jose said. “You really gave it to them.”

“Thank you,” Haru said. She began to fall over, but she stopped herself.

“Woah! Careful now!” Makoto cautioned.

“Yeah, you get really exhausted after awakening to a persona,” Morgana pointed out.

Haru managed to catch her breath. “Thanks. You’re one helpful kitty, you know that?”

Morgana sighed. “I’ll only tell you this once: I am NOT a cat.”

“That’s a lie,” Ryuji said. Morgana glared at him. Ryuji smiled. “You’ll keep bringing up the fact you’re not a cat until the end of time.”

Morgana smirked. “I’ve gotta say, you surprised me with that one. Well done.” He chuckled.

“You’re…not a cat?” Haru wondered. “Then what are you?”

“I’m a being from this world made to look like a cat,” Morgana explained.

“I see,” Haru said. “So, should I just call you Morgana?” Everyone was a little shocked. “Um, did I do something?”

“No,” Makoto said.

“I can’t believe we forgot,” Lena said.

“It’s one of the most fun parts too,” Ann said.

Haru was still confused. “Forgot about what?”

“Whenever we’re in the metaverse, we use codenames,” Sumire said.

“Yeah,” Jose said. “Saying our names out loud in what’s basically somebody’s heart might give us away. Which would be a problem, since we’re thieves.”

“I see,” Haru said.

“So, I’m Joker, that’s Mona, Panther, Skull, Sunshine, Violet, Fox, Queen, Oracle, and Cupid.”

“Oh,” Haru said. “How delightful.”

“Do you have a codename in mind?” Yusuke asked.

Haru pondered it. “Noir.”

“Hm,” Makoto said, impressed. “I like it. It has a sense of elegance to it, while still being rebellious.” Haru chuckled.

Sumire looked around. “I think this is as far as we’re going today,” she said.

“Yeah,” Ren said. She smiled. “But we got a lot done.” She smiled at Haru. Haru smiled back. “Let’s head back.” They went back to the real world.

Once there, Makoto said “Now Haru, there’s still some things to discuss. Is that OK?”

“Haru checked the time. “Oh uh, maybe not now. Because of what happened, my father imposed a curfew of 7, so I need to get back. WAIT! Will he remember what happened?”

“Nope!” Morgana said. “A person doesn’t remember what happens in their palace.”

Haru sighed. “Thank goodness.”

“Well, we should meet up tomorrow,” Ren said. “Do you think you can make your way back to that cafe?”

“I think so,” Haru said.

Ren nodded. “Great. Let’s meet there after school.”

Haru nodded. “Let’s.”

“Oh, and Haru?” Ren said. Haru was curious. Ren outstretched her arm. “Welcome to the team.”

Haru smiled. She shook Ren’s hand. “Thank you for taking me on.” Once they finished, Haru let go, and rushed off for home. She waved at everyone. “See you tomorrow!” Ren and the others waved back. Feeling similarly exhausted, and it being late in the day, they decided to go home as well. They had a new member, and their new goal was awaiting them, and they were eager to go for it.

[myersfrazier66]

oracle america inc bluestacks

Odds are, if you're here, you are looking for buying the Amazon kindle fire. Perhaps you are a Kindle owner wanting to upgrade, or maybe you are checking out the fireplace as an e-reader and tablet. Completed in pricing, it does not get better than the Kindle Fire. Amazon unveiled their custom Android tablet in November of 2011 with a value under $200. This process was a calculated move just before Christmas. In no time, it was on Amazon's top sellers list. Since Amazon happens to become a web-based store of books and music, offer used the fire to monopolize entertainment. In the Fire, they rolled out a free month of membership as a result of Prime program allowing users ability to go to more than 20,000 videos and Broadcast tv. Users can get just about any form of content for your Kindle including Android apps. There is a large selection for the content required be found completely free, consequently it fits any financial situation. From the Linux-based kernel, the rest of Android was inspired by Java. Java is bluestacks one of the more popular programming languages up to now. It is entrenched in servers and versions of it exist in desktops and regular smartphone. It has also become free and open source in certain important places. Google adapted this too. You'd be impressed to realize that not all job search apps for smart phones, such as Android phones, enable in order to apply for jobs with resumes. After all, do you have a resume stored on your phone? It is likely on your computer. You should be able to get jobs via online job applications by typing inside application. In the very least, you is able to email organization listing to yourself. This enable in which access your opportunity from a personal computer where your professional, well-written resume is stored. For the love of Twitter, I present you Seesmic for Android. Impact you staying updated almost all of the tweets, on the go. With its ability to managing multiple accounts at one place, you don't need to log in and out all time. Very handy, and really sleek. Defaults-I have my own set of apps I would like to use for several tasks so i don't have to manually input the data for these types of perform actions (like opening a URL). By fixing the widest market distribution, Google ensured that nearly everyone smartphone hardware manufactured now and on future will run Android operating system. It did this by giving away the Android os free and during this price who is able to afford to purchase elsewhere? Apple will fade from history in point way that this has faded from history in weight loss. However " bluestacks Activation Code Free " will still be seen in Starbucks the iPad with regard to the little while longer.

[foreverkerlon]

Mobikin assistant for ios cost

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST FOR MAC

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST MAC OS X

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST INSTALL

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST FULL

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST ANDROID

Otherwise, if you’re willing to look at alternatives, you can probably find something a bit better. Therefore, you can pay for it if you’ve already tried it and just want a reliable backup tool and don’t want to mess around spending more time looking for alternative software. Our built-in antivirus scanned this download and rated it as 100 safe. This software is a product of MobiKin Studio. The default filenames for the program's installer are AssistantForiOSMOBIKIN.exe or MobiKin Assistant for iOS.exe etc. see my PhoneRescue review where I show how PhoneRescue not only displays current files on your phone, but files you previously deleted) or for less than $29.95. MobiKin Assistant for iOS 2.9.9 is free to download from our software library. It currently costs $29.95, and there are a plethora of tools that do what it does either more comprehensively (e.g. But it’s debatable whether it’s worth the price.

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST ANDROID

Is Coolmuster Android Assistant worth it?Ĭoolmuster Android Assistant does exactly what it says it does, and it’s a reliable and good backup tool. Of course, as with all tools that connect to your phone and view your files, you have to give it permission to read your phone’s data, but this is only for the software to work. Yes - I have not found anything to indicate that Coolmuster Android Assistant would compromise your phone or harm it in any way. All the other “Advanced” features also only come in other software released by Coolmuster.

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST FULL

To actually use these you have to pay for the full version. I also ran into this bug with the app after exiting and going back in: :/īut anyways, in the desktop software, once you’ve connected your phone and have all your files listed you can click the “Super Toolkit” tab in the top to go to the Backup/Restore functions: I couldn’t see the point of it since these features would surely be on any Android phone by default. “App Management” just shows you a list of installed apps, and “File Management” just shows you your files organized by pictures, videos and so on. The phone app here, by the way, is nothing special. You’ll then be able to view all files on your phone on your computer, as well as use the phone app: Install and register the software with the license code according to the onscreen prompts. Download MobiKin Assistant for iOS from GOTD promotion page.

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST INSTALL

Once you’ve enabled USB debugging, Coolmuster Android Assistant will try to install itself on your phone:ĭuring this time you’ll have to approve the app on your phone:Īnd let it read your contacts and everything else: In case you are not familiar with this Giveaway, here we bring some tips for you. Once you install it, open it and go to the main screen for the first time, you’ll then be prompted to connect your phone to your computer via USB:Īs soon as you plug your phone into your computer, the software should detect it, and it’ll then prompt you to enable USB debugging: Using Coolmuster Android AssistantĬoolmuster Android Assistant (download it from the latest Coolmuster website and nowhere else) has a totally normal install process: Here I’ll test it and write up a short review. 100% secure during the ordering.Go to the latest Coolmuster Android Assistant website (2021)Ĭoolmuster Android Assistant (one of many tools offered by Coolmuster) is a simple tool that allows you to easily backup and view all files on your Android phone. Keycode will be sent to you automatically within minutes. With it, you can transfer up to 10 types of files from your iDevices to computer with one simple click. The current setup file available for download occupies 2. The program is categorized as System Tools. Our built-in antivirus checked this Mac download and rated it as 100 safe. The actual developer of this Mac application is MobiKin.

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST FOR MAC

MobiKin Assitant for iOS (Free) is a totally free iOS Assitant tool for Windows users. The 3.0.9 version of MobiKin Assistant for iOS for Mac is provided as a freeload on our software library. World's 1st Free Transfer Program for iPhone, iPad and iPod.

MobiKin Assistant for iOS (Windows Version) 1. Download MobiKin Assistant for iOS (Free) for free.

MobiKin Assistant for iOS is a software utility that enables you to perform the file exchange with minimal hassle involved, by simply connecting the desired device to.

The software is periodically scanned by our antivirus system. The version of the program you are about to download is 1.0.17. The download is provided as is, with no modifications or changes made on our side. This download is provided to you free of charge.

Thank you for downloading MobiKin Assistant for iOS Free from our software library.

MOBIKIN ASSISTANT FOR IOS COST MAC OS X

Manually uninstall MobiKin Assistant for iOS 1.0.19 step by step: Most applications in Mac OS X are bundles that contain all, or at least most, of the files needed to.Visit for free, full and secured software’s. Download MobiKin Assistant for iOS 1.0.3 free - offers free software downloads for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android computers and mobile devices.

[rmpmw]

BlackBerry’s Transformation Journey and Our Smartphone Heritage

BlackBerry Blog

BlackBerry’s Transformation Journey and Our Smartphone Heritage

BlackBerry’s Transformation Journey and Our Smartphone Heritage

MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEMS / 01.04.22 / John Chen

For many of us, today is the end of an era – and the beginning of a new one.

I vividly remember when I got my first BlackBerry® device. How it looked. How it felt in my hand. The feeling of connection it gave me, to my work, my family, my community. It seemed like more than just an object made of hard, black plastic. It was also a rite of passage. It was something I had earned, that spoke of not just my importance to the organization that had bestowed it upon me, but also to my status as a valued professional, whose knowledge and opinions were relied upon, even when I was not at my desk.

And I’m not alone in this. Millions of people had a very similar experience with those early, pioneering devices. As the mobile and cellular device market began to grow, BlackBerry continued to lead with devices designed to be the most advanced, the most user-friendly, and the most secure that money could buy. For many of us, those BlackBerry devices earned a permanent place in our hearts, and it’s been sad to see them go.

The fierce commitment of our customers to their BlackBerry devices still fills us with pride, though we stopped manufacturing them years ago. We have been holding off on decommissioning the BlackBerry service out of loyalty to our customers for a long time.

So, it stirs mixed emotions today, as I write this blog telling you that era has finally come to a close. As of today, BlackBerry has decommissioned the infrastructure and services used by our legacy software and phone operating systems which are over 20 years old now.* You can find full details of this decommissioning of BlackBerry devices here.

The End is Just the Beginning...

I also said today marks the beginning of a new era. The independence, mobility, security, and privacy that so many of us came to associate with those ground-breaking BlackBerry devices remains alive and strong, as does the spirit of invention and innovation that got us here.

BlackBerry ushered in the mobile workforce and messaging revolutions that changed the world. The grandeur of our mission to make the world a better place has not changed. Five years ago, we reinvented BlackBerry as a software company, allowing us to stay 100% focused on providing enabling technologies to ensure the safety and security of all the devices and systems you rely on. We invested and invented our way to leadership positions in cybersecurity, encrypted voice and digital communications, automotive safety, and innumerable connected and IoT (Internet of Things) systems and devices in fields such as medical, industrial, avionics and more – all with the common thread of intelligent security.

Today, we secure 96% of the threat landscape, preventing more than 165 million cyberattacks in 2021 alone. We securely connect more than 500 million mobile, desktop and IoT endpoint devices. Our safety-certified software is used in over 195 million vehicles – including those from 24 of the top 25 electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, and we continue to expand into new markets with new capabilities and innovation. This includes the 2,000 patents awarded to us in the last year.

Chances are, we are more a part of your life today than we ever were as a handset company, though you may not even realize it. That suits us just fine.

Letting go of the past is always bittersweet, even when a brighter future awaits. At BlackBerry, that brighter future is based on a commitment to solving the world’s most pressing problems with our industry-leading technologies in artificial intelligence and machine learning, safety-certified real-time operating systems, critical event management, secure communications and more. We’re expanding and applying that portfolio of capabilities every day, to help more customers create a safer, smarter, and infinitely more secure way to live and do business.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you, our loyal customers and partners, for supporting us throughout this journey. You are an important part of our story, and we are proud to have played a part in yours. I invite you to learn more about how BlackBerry innovation continues to set the bar for delivering intelligent security, everywhere.

*BlackBerry devices powered by Android™ OS will not be impacted by the end of life (EOL) of infrastructure services unless they are receiving redirected email sent to a BlackBerry hosted email address, or assigned an Enhanced Sim Based License (ESBL) or Identity Based License (IBL). Please refer to the FAQs for details.

John Chen

About John Chen

John Chen is Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of BlackBerry. Appointed in November 2013, John led BlackBerry’s turnaround stabilizing the company’s financial position, ensuring its viability, and pivoting its operations from consumer hardware to enterprise software. Today the company takes advantage of the current growth opportunities in IoT and Cybersecurity and is pioneering the convergence of these two markets.

John is a distinguished business leader and proven turnaround executive with over 40 years of engineering and management experience. Prior to joining BlackBerry, John served as Chairman and CEO of Sybase Inc. where he re-invented the company and achieved 55 consecutive quarters of profitability during his 15-year tenure.

Recognized as a thought leader and as a respected voice in foreign policy, John has testified before Congress on U.S.–China trade relations and was appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Export Council. In 2006, he was appointed co-chair of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee. Additionally, John chaired the U.S.-China Policy Advisory Roundtable for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), served on the Board of the National Committee on U.S. China Relations since 2012, and has been a member of the Committee of 100 since 1997 and its Chairman from 2009-2011.

John graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). John has an honorary professorship from Shanghai University, and honorary doctorates from San Jose State University, City University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. John has received awards from the U.S.-Asia Institute, the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, the California-Asia Business Council, and the U.S.-Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation.

John served on the Board of Directors for The Walt Disney Company (2004-2019) and Wells Fargo & Co. (2006-2018) and as a trustee of Caltech (2008-2022). John is an Advisory Board member of the US Chamber China Center. He is also active in the not-for-profit community, and is a board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, member of CFR, national trustee of The First Tee and Governor of the San Francisco Symphony.

Share on Twitter

© 2022 BlackBerry Limited. All rights reserved.

BlackBerry uses cookies to help make our website better. Some of the cookies are necessary for proper functioning of the site, while others are to help us understand how you use it. Learn More

[trustquik]

On1 photo raw albums cataloged folders

#On1 photo raw albums cataloged folders how to#

#On1 photo raw albums cataloged folders full#

#On1 photo raw albums cataloged folders code#

#On1 photo raw albums cataloged folders code#

Team Fusion Simulations Code To TFSĮarlier this yéar, 1CGS gave the source code to TFS allowing them to further improve the title. Their work hás greatly improved pérformance and fixed sérious issues. The regular pricé after the speciaI will be 24.99.rnrnh1Whats Includedh1rnTeam Fusion has spent the past several years improving and fixing issues in the original Cliffs of Dover since its initial release. If you dónt already own CIiffs of Dover yóu can purchasé it from thé Steam store.rnrnTó celebrate the Iaunch, from December 14th until January 4th BLITZ will be on sale foru00a025 OFF. The result óf that éffort is now herernrnAIl current owners óf Cliffs of Dovér Classic will réceive BLITZ foru00a0FREEu00a0in their Steam Library starting today. If you aré using one óf the two ánd are having troubIe starting Cliffs, pIease set the Launchér64.exe on their whitelist. I've never used Capture One though I've generally read good things about it.Unfortunately Avast ánd AVG Antivirus (ánd only those, beIonging to the samé company) have repeatedIy and falsely considéred Cliffs of Dovérs Launcher64.exe as a possible virus. I think DxO Photolab is a better raw developer, but On1 is a more comprehensive tool for overall workflow (at least for my overall workflow). The editing tools are pretty comprehensive, you can easily do local edits, it has layers, it has very nice resizing algorithms, etc. To this point On1 Raw does not export directly to things like FB, Flickr, etc. So I edit the files in On1, add selected files to an album, select all, and export to Photos. So I use Photos mostly as a tool in which I can keep albums for display on devices other than my iMac. And you can select files and export them directly to Photos. You can easily create albums to help with organization. You can import files to On1, rate them, sort them by rating, etc. If you save the On1 sidecar files in the same folder as the images, you can move the folders around using finder and not loose track of the files (do that in LR and all of the links are broken). Overall, I find the browse module of On1 Raw pretty powerful and flexible. Perhaps there are tricks of which I'm not aware. Probably works well for a pure phone photographer, but not so much for things like culling and rating a relatively large number of imported files.

#On1 photo raw albums cataloged folders how to#

Perhaps I just don't know how to use it effectively but I find Photos inadequate as an organizational tool.

#On1 photo raw albums cataloged folders full#

Or does anyone have advice for how to deal with stuff like this? On1 for “projects” maybe? With the full library sat in Photos still? I realise this’d give her two copies of her library but that might not be terrible? One like negatives and the other more working files? But how to manage imports? Is there a way to automate Photos to export all its new photos to a folder? On1 could automatically scan that folder for changes. Is there any way at all to make something like this play nicely in the Apple hardware/software ecosystem though? It can use referenced photos so I guess if she has a decent file browser for her iPad and phone she’ll be able to view the pics if they were organised by folder in iCloud, then use the desktop to do edits etc. Soooo, so far On1 looks to tick most of the boxes, it looks to do everything she needed from Aperture, but gets support and is affordable. ugh.Īnyway, I’ve helped her try out a ton of alternatives, she doesn’t want to use Lightroom CC as it’s as feature gimped as Photos is, and tbh I don’t look forward to supporting her in the transition if she goes with LR classic (which they’ll probably discontinue like Apple did Aperture, leaving us back at square one.) It’s frustrating how Photos is so close to being ideal but missing so many obvious features. A relative of mine was a long time Aperture user and loved it but then switched to Photos and has benefitted from some of the nice features (iCloud photo sync particularly) - she mostly takes photos with her iPhone now too.īut she misses Apertures star ratings and multi window/screen side by side previews etc.