#time saving document tools

[pdqdocs]

Document Automation Software for Small Business: Streamline Workflows and Reduce Errors

Efficiency and accuracy are critical in today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape. Small businesses, solo practitioners, and law firms often find themselves overwhelmed by the volume of documents they need to manage while striving to provide exceptional client service.

PDQDocs offers powerful and user-friendly document generation software for small businesses that enables businesses to streamline workflows and focus on what matters most. It offers an innovative solution for small businesses and law firms. Streamlining document workflows, enhancing efficiency, and reducing errors, empower professionals to focus on core areas of their service.

Key Advantages of Document Automation

Using document automation software offers numerous benefits for small businesses such as-

Faster Document Creation - Automating document drafting reduces the time spent on creating documents, allowing professionals to focus on more critical tasks.

Minimized Errors - Automated templates help eliminate inconsistencies and reduce the likelihood of mistakes, ensuring that documents meet optimal standards.

Improved Client Satisfaction - With quicker turnaround times and higher accuracy, client satisfaction naturally increases.

Increased Efficiency - Automation allows staff to allocate their time to strategic initiatives rather than repetitive paperwork.

Why Choose PDQDocs?

Document Automation Software for Law Firms

Legal professionals manage a myriad of documents daily, including contracts, estate planning documents, court filings, and client communications. Drafting each document manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. It simplifies the document creation process, significantly reducing manual effort while ensuring accuracy, consistency, and efficiency.

Centralized Document Management

Managing and generating documents can quickly become overwhelming. PDQDocs, an innovative document generation software for small business provides a centralized platform where professionals can store, edit, and track all their documents. This allows for seamless management of templates, drafts, and finalized documents so that client interactions and documentation remain organized and efficient.

Powerful and Seamless Automation Features

It significantly reduces time spent on repetitive paperwork by allowing professionals to set up templates for recurring documents. It automates data input, bringing consistency and accuracy while eliminating manual errors in official documentation. Additionally, the software allows users to send documents directly from the platform via email, enhancing communication efficiency.

User-Friendly and Easy to Use

Understanding that many professionals may not be tech-savvy, it is designed for simplicity. Its intuitive interface allows users to quickly learn how to create and manage documents with minimal training. Users can create and customize an unlimited number of templates for various purposes, efficiently managing multiple clients and their respective documentation.

Innovative Desktop Software for Document Generation

Efficient document management is essential for productivity, compliance, and security. PDQDocs serves as a robust document generation software for small business providing a centralized platform for storing, sharing, tracking, and managing documents. Without an efficient DMS, law professionals often find themselves bogged down by manual tasks, hindering productivity and business growth.

[hug-your-face]

via @swatercolour here on Tumblr and also on [insta]

EDIT: I do not interpret "just managing" as "just suffering, just enduring, curling into a fetal position and waiting for it to be over." Managing is an active process.

So I'm using this post as a platform to make the reminder that "the power of the people is greater than the people in power," and we all are cordially invited to:

Take good care of ourselves. Mental, physical, emotional health. Hydrate. Move if we can, get outside if we can.

Keep up a routine. Remember quarantine and we all had to find a routine? This is the same.

Be intentional in our news consumption. Let's not stick our heads in the sand but let's not doomscroll either. Get an RSS aggregator. Subscribe to WTF Just Happened Today, Yoour Local Epidemiologist, Fix The News (for some inspiring hopeful news!). We'll check our feeds a few times a week, but no more than once a day.

Connect with friends and loved ones. Remind ourselves that while SOME people are horrible, for the most part people are awesome... if complicated. Share our fears but also our hopes. Eat together.

Now that we're keeping healthy, safe, sane, and hopeful... now we also fight. Quietly if we prefer, loudly if we prefer. But sustainably. I hate that I had to live through three rounds of this nonsense where a few people use half of us as tools to fuck over ALL of us, but here we are again. So let us take just one moment every week or so to...

Use 5calls to keep blowing up our reps phones. Tell them to either break ranks with the Orange Administration, or to stand up louder than just matching outfits and signs. Or to THANK them for standing up.

Use Vote411 to find elections before the midterms. A lot of villages, cities, townships etc have local elections that will affect where we live... and more importantly, the people in office there will affect things upwards too.

Use Ballotpedia to know exactly what's on our ballots ahead of time.

Protest, because it actually works.

Use Vote.org to make a plan to vote in the midterms. Make a plan that is immune to voter suppression tactics. Get our documents in order. Reach out to our friends to go to the polls as a group. Plan to livestream our visit, up until the point we have to turn our cameras off.

Make and share memes that promote hope, organizing, solidarity, and/or resistance.

Get involved with an action network like Indivisible, MoveOn, or Working Families Party.

Go to a local town hall meeting. Speak up.

Heck, start our own local activism networks, letter campaigns, call campaigns, or fundraisers with Action Network.

And we will remember our self-care. We will remind ourselves and each other that they want us scattered, focus is how we resist.

It IS coming back. Things ARE going to get worse. The world has become a place where a very few people are pulling levers and pushing buttons that are actively destroying much of what is good about living in a society where people care for each other.

Many others are in shock, sputtering "but can they do that?" MANY many others are waiting for someone to come save us.

But there are those who are actively, loudly, opposing.

And there are more people speaking up, acting up, every day. More people saying it's time to get scrappy. It's time to get into some good trouble. The shock is wearing off.

Yes, it's gonna get worse before it gets better (the long-term damage of the acts of the past momentum of all the damage that has been done will take that long to be felt -- but it WILL get better.

If WE will it.

[kiravandyne]

How to Automate Document Processing for Your Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

Managing documents manually is one of the biggest time drains in business today. From processing invoices and contracts to organizing customer forms, these repetitive tasks eat up hours every week. The good news? Automating document processing is simpler (and more affordable) than you might think.

In this easy-to-follow guide, we’ll show you step-by-step how to automate document processing in your business—saving you time, reducing errors, and boosting productivity.

What You’ll Need

A scanner (if you still have paper documents)

A document processing software (like AppleTechSoft’s Document Processing Solution)

Access to your business’s document workflows (invoices, forms, receipts, etc.)

Step 1: Identify Documents You Want to Automate

Start by making a list of documents that take up the most time to process. Common examples include:

Invoices and bills

Purchase orders

Customer application forms

Contracts and agreements

Expense receipts

Tip: Prioritize documents that are repetitive and high volume.

Step 2: Digitize Your Paper Documents

If you’re still handling paper, scan your documents into digital formats (PDF, JPEG, etc.). Most modern document processing tools work best with digital files.

Quick Tip: Use high-resolution scans (300 DPI or more) for accurate data extraction.

Step 3: Choose a Document Processing Tool

Look for a platform that offers:

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract text from scanned images

AI-powered data extraction to capture key fields like dates, names, and totals

Integration with your accounting software, CRM, or database

Security and compliance features to protect sensitive data

AppleTechSoft’s Document Processing Solution ticks all these boxes and more.

Step 4: Define Your Workflow Rules

Tell your software what you want it to do with your documents. For example:

Extract vendor name, date, and amount from invoices

Automatically save contracts to a shared folder

Send expense reports directly to accounting

Most tools offer an easy drag-and-drop interface or templates to set these rules up.

Step 5: Test Your Automation

Before going live, test the workflow with sample documents. Check if:

Data is extracted accurately

Documents are routed to the right folders or apps

Any errors or mismatches are flagged

Tweak your settings as needed.

Step 6: Go Live and Monitor

Once you’re confident in your workflow, deploy it for daily use. Monitor the automation for the first few weeks to ensure it works as expected.

Pro Tip: Set up alerts for any failed extractions or mismatches so you can quickly correct issues.

Bonus Tips for Success

Regularly update your templates as your document formats change

Train your team on how to upload and manage documents in the system

Schedule periodic reviews to optimize and improve your workflows

Conclusion

Automating document processing can transform your business operations—from faster invoicing to smoother customer onboarding. With the right tools and a clear plan, you can streamline your paperwork and focus on what matters most: growing your business.

Ready to get started? Contact AppleTechSoft today to explore our Document Processing solutions.

[appslookup]

11 Solid Point Alternatives: Find the Right Tool for You

SolidPoint.ai is an AI-powered tool that can help users quickly understand large amounts of content. However, there are a number of other tools that can also do this. Here are 11 solid point alternatives:

11 Solid Point Alternatives

Summly: Summly is a free online tool that can summarize text documents and web pages. It uses natural language processing to extract the most important information from a document and present it in a concise and easy-to-read format.

Summarize.ai: Summarize.ai is another free online tool that can summarize text documents and web pages. It uses a variety of techniques, including natural language processing and machine learning, to generate accurate and informative summaries.

Readability: Readability is a free online tool that can help you make your text more readable. It uses a variety of metrics to assess the readability of your text, and then provides suggestions on how to improve it.

QuillBot: QuillBot is a paid online tool that can help you improve your writing. It can summarize text, rewrite sentences, and improve your grammar and style.

Cliche Finder: Cliche Finder is a free online tool that can help you identify and remove cliches from your writing. It has a database of over 10,000 cliches, and it can identify them in your text with just a few clicks.

Grammarly: Grammarly is a paid online tool that can help you improve your grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It also has a plagiarism checker and a style guide.

Hemingway Editor: Hemingway Editor is a free online tool that can help you make your writing more clear and concise. It highlights areas of your text that are difficult to read, and it provides suggestions on how to improve them.

ProWritingAid: ProWritingAid is a paid online tool that can help you improve your grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style. It also has a plagiarism checker and a writing coach.

LingoJam: LingoJam is a free online tool that can help you generate creative text formats, like poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc. It uses a variety of techniques, including natural language processing and machine learning, to generate text that is both creative and accurate.

Wordtune: Wordtune is a free online tool that can help you improve your writing. It uses AI to suggest better words and phrases, and it can also help you make your writing more concise and engaging.

PhraseExpress: PhraseExpress is a paid online tool that can help you save time and effort when writing. It has a database of over 100,000 phrases, and it can help you insert them into your text with just a few clicks.

Which one is right for you?

The best tool for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. If you are looking for a free tool that is easy to use, then Summly or Summarize.ai are good options. If you are looking for a paid tool that offers more features, then QuillBot or ProWritingAid are good options. And if you are looking for a tool that can help you generate creative text formats, then LingoJam is a good option.

There are a number of solid point alternatives . The best tool for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. I hope this blog post has helped you to narrow down your options and find the right tool for you.

[ms-demeanor]

For those who are not aware: Bitlocker is encryption software, it encrypts your computer and makes it impossible to access the information on the computer unless you have the key.

It should be standard practice for IT companies to document the bitlocker keys as they are configuring bitlocker on a computer; generally you would do this by creating a record in your client management software for that specific device and putting the key in the record. Sometimes software can be used to extract that information in the event that it's necessary, but even if there's theoretically a way to extract the key, it should be documented somewhere *other* than on the encrypted computer.

This is something that a lot of IT people fuck up on kind of a lot (we've definitely had problems with missing bitlocker keys and I'm quite happy that the people who didn't document those keys aren't my coworkers anymore).

So what do you do if you want to use encryption software and you're NOT an IT company using a remote management tool that might be able to snag the keys?

When you are setting up encryption, put the encryption key in your password manager. Put it in your password manager. Document the important information that you cannot lose in your password manager. Your password manager is a good place to keep important things like your device encryption key, which you do not want lost or stolen. (If you run your password manager locally on an encrypted computer, export the data every once in a while, save it as an encrypted file, and put the file on your backup drive; you are going to have a bad time if your computer that hosts the only copies of your passwords shits the bed so *make a backup*)

This is my tip for home users for any kind of important recovery codes or software product keys: Print out the key and put it in your underwear drawer. Keep it there with your backup drive. That way you've got your important (small) computer shit in one place that is NOT your computer and is not likely to get shifted around and lost (the way that papers in desks often get shifted around and lost).

[fixyourwritinghabits]

AI, Plagiarism, and CYA

Shout-out for all the students gearing up to go back to school in increasingly frustrated times when dealing with all this AI bullshit. As you've probably noticed, lots of institutions have adapted anti-plagiarism software that incorporates AI detectors that - surprise - aren't that great. Many students are catching flack for getting dinged on work that isn't AI generated, and schools are struggling to catch up to craft policies that uphold academic rigor. It sucks for everyone involved!

As a student, it can really feel like you're in a bind, especially if you didn't do anything wrong. Your instructor isn't like to be as tech-savvy as some, and frankly, you might not be as tech-savvy as you think either. The best thing to do, no matter how your school is handling things, is to Cover Your Ass.

Pay attention to the academic policy. Look, I know you probably skimmed the syllabus. Primus knows I did too, but the policy there is the policy the instructor must stick with. If the policy sets down a strong 'don't touch ChatGPT with a ten-foot pole' standard, stick to it. If you get flagged for something you thought was okay because you didn't read the policy carefully, you don't have ground to stand on if you get called out.

Turn off Autosave and save multiple (named) drafts. If you're using Microsoft Word because your school gives you a free license, the handy Autosave feature may be shooting you in the foot when it comes to proving you did the work. I know this seems counter-intuitive, but I've seen this bite enough people in the ass to recommend students go old-school. Keep those "draft 1234" in a file just in case.

Maintaining timestamped, clearly different drafts of a paper can really help you in the long-run. GoogleDocs also goes a much better job of tracking changes to a document, and may be something to consider, however, with all this AI shit, I'm hesitant to recommend Google. Your best bet, overall, is to keep multiple distinctive drafts that prove how your paragraphs evolved from first to final.

Avoid Grammarly, ProWiritingAid, etc. All that handy 'writing tools' software that claims to help shore up your writing aren't doing you any favors. Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and other software throw up immediate flags in AI-detection software. You may have only used it to clean up the grammar and punctuation, but if the AI-detection software says otherwise, you might be screwed. They're not worth using over a basic spell and grammar check in both Word and GoogleDocs can already do.

Cite all citations and save your sources! This is basic paper-writing, but people using ChatGPT for research often neglect to check to make sure it isn't making shit up, and that made up shit is starting to appear on other parts of the internet. Be sure to click through and confirm what you're using for your paper is true. Get your sources and research material from somewhere other than a generative language model, which are known for making shit up. Yes, Wikipedia is a fine place to start and has rigorously maintained sources.

Work with the support your school has available. My biggest mistake in college was not reaching out when I felt like I was drowning, and I know how easy it is to get in you head and not know where to turn when you need more help. But I've since met a great deal of awesome librarians, tutors, and student aid staff that love nothing more to devote their time to student success. Don't wait at the last moment until they're swamped - you can and will succeed if you reach out early and often.

I, frankly, can't wait for all this AI bullshit to melt down in a catastrophic collapse, but in the meantime, take steps to protect yourself.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Like her or not, we're now on the same side and this woman knows what she's talking about. She suggests actionable steps steps we must take to win ourcountry back from the fascists.

From Liz Cheney

Dear Democratic Party,

I need more from you. You keep sending emails begging for $15,while we’re watching fascism consolidate power in real time. This administration is not simply “a different ideology.” It is a coordinated, authoritarian machine — with the Supreme Court, the House, the Senate, and the executive pen all under its control. And you? You’re still asking for decorum and donations. WTF. That won’t save us. I don’t want to hear another polite floor speech. I want strategy. I want fire. I want action so bold it shifts the damn news cycle — not fits inside one. Every time I see something from the DNC, it’s asking me for funds.

Surprise. Those of us who donate don’t want to keep sending money just to watch you stand frozen as the Constitution goes up in flames — shaking your heads and saying, “Well, there’s not much we can do. He has the majority.” I call bullshit. If you don’t know how to think outside the box… If you don’t know how to strategize… If you don’t know how to fight fire with fire… what the hell are we giving you money for? Some of us have two or three advanced degrees. Some of us have military training. Some of us know what coordinated resistance looks like — and this ain’t it. Yes, the tours around the country? Nice. The speeches? Nice. The clever congressional clapbacks? Nice. That was great for giving hope. Now we need action.

You have to stop acting like this is a normal presidency that will just time out in four years. We’re not even at Day 90, and look at the chaos. Look at the disappearances. Look at the erosion of the judiciary, the press, and our rights. If you do not stop this, we will not make it 1,460 days. So here’s what I need from you — right now:

⸻

1. Form an independent, civilian-powered investigative coalition.

I’m talking experts. Veterans. Whistleblowers. Journalists. Watchdog orgs. Deputize the resistance. Build a real-time archive of corruption, overreach, and executive abuse. Make it public. Make it unshakable. Let the people drag the rot into the light. If you can’t hold formal hearings, hold public ones. If Congress won’t act, let the country act. This isn’t about optics — it’s about receipts. Because at some point, these people will be held accountable. And when that day comes, we’ll need every name, every signature, every illegal order, every act of silence—documented. You’re not just preserving truth — you’re preparing evidence for prosecution. The more they vanish people and weaponize data, the more we need truth in the sunlight.

⸻

2. Join the International Criminal Court.

Yes, I said it. Call their bluff. You cannot control what the other side does. But you can control your own integrity. So prove it. Prove that your party is still grounded in law, human rights, and ethical leadership. Join. If you’ve got nothing to hide — join. Show the world who’s hiding bodies, bribes, and buried bank accounts. Force the GOP to explain why they’d rather protect a war criminal than sign a treaty. And while you’re at it, publicly invite ICC observers into U.S. borders. Make this administration explain — on camera — why they’re terrified of international oversight.

⸻

3. Fund state-level resistance infrastructure.

Don’t just send postcards. Send resources. Channel DNC funds into rapid-response teams, legal defense coalitions, sanctuary networks, and digital security training. If the federal government is hijacked, build power underneath it. If the laws become tools of oppression, help people resist them legally, locally, and boldly. This is not campaign season — this is an authoritarian purge. Stop campaigning. Act like this is the end of democracy, because it is. We WILL REMEMBER the warriors come primaries. Fighting this regime should be your marketing strategy.

And let’s be clear:

The reason the other side always seems three steps ahead is because they ARE. They prepared for this. They infiltrated school boards, courts, local legislatures, and police unions. They built a machine while you wrote press releases. We’re reacting — they’ve been executing a plan for years. It’s time to shift from panic to blueprint. You should already be working with strategists and military minds on PROJECT 2029 — a coordinated, long-term plan to rebuild this country when the smoke clears.

You should be publicly laying out:

• The laws and amendments you’ll pass to ensure this never happens again• The systems you’ll tear down and the safeguards you’ll enshrine • The plan to hold perpetrators of human atrocities accountable • The urgent commitment to immediately bring home those sold into slavery in El Salvador You say you’re the party of the people? Then show the people the plan.

⸻

4. Use your platform to educate the public on rights and resistance tactics.

If they’re going to strip us of rights and lie about it — arm the people with truth. Text campaigns. Mass trainings. Downloadable “Know Your Rights” kits. Multilingual legal guides. Encrypted phone trees. Give people tools, not soundbites. We don’t need more slogans. We need survival manuals.

⸻

5. Leverage international media and watchdogs.

Stop hoping U.S. cable news will wake up. They’re too busy playing both sides of fascism. Feed the real stories to BBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Reuters, Der Spiegel — hell, leak them to anonymous dropboxes if you have to. Make what’s happening in America a global scandal. And stop relying on platforms that are actively suppressing truth. Start leveraging Substack. Use Bluesky. That’s where the resistance is migrating. That’s where censorship hasn’t caught up. If the mainstream won’t carry the truth — outflank them. Get creative. Go underground. Go global. If our democracy is being dismantled in broad daylight, make sure the whole world sees it — and make sure we’re still able to say it.

⸻

6. Create a digital safe haven for whistleblowers and defectors.

Not everyone inside this regime is loyal. Some are scared. Some want out. Build the channels. Encrypted. Anonymous. Protected. Make it easy for the cracks in the system to become gaping holes. And while you’re at it? Stop ostracizing MAGA defectors. Everyone makes mistakes — even glaring, critical ones. We are not the bullies. We are not the ones filled with hate. And it is not your job to shame people who finally saw the fire and chose to step out of it. They will have to deal with that internal struggle — the guilt of putting a very dangerous and callous regime in power. But they’re already outnumbered. Don’t push them back into the crowd. We don’t need purity. We need numbers. We need people willing to burn their red hats and testify against the machine they helped build.

⸻

7. Study the collapse—and the comeback.

You should be learning from South Korea and how they managed their brief rule under dictatorship. They didn’t waste time chasing the one man with absolute immunity. They went after the structure. The aides. The enforcers. The loyalists. The architects. They knocked out the foundation one pillar at a time — until the “strongman” had no one left to stand on. And his power crumbled beneath him. You should be independently investigating every author of Project 2025, every aide who defies court orders, every communications director repeating lies, every policy writer enabling cruelty, every water boy who keeps this engine running. You can’t stop a regime by asking the king to sit down. You dismantle the throne he’s standing on — one coward at a time.

⸻

Stop being scared to fight dirty when the other side is fighting to erase the damn Constitution.

They are threatening to disappear AMERICANS. A M E R I C A N S. And your biggest move can’t be another strongly worded email. We don’t want your urgently fundraising subject lines. We want backbone. We want action. We want to know you’ll stand up before we’re all ordered to sit down — permanently. We are watching. And I don’t just mean your base. I mean millions of us who see exactly what’s happening. I’ve only got 6,000 followers — but the groups I’m in? The networks I touch? Over a quarter million. Often when I speak, it echoes. But when we ALL speak, it ROARS with pressure that will cause change. We need to be deafening. You still have a chance to do something historic. To be remembered for courage, not caution. To go down as the party that didn’t just watch the fall — but fought the hell back with everything they had.

But the clock is ticking.

And the deportation buses are idling.

* * * *

UPDATE AND NOTE:

I have received (what seems like) several hundred copies of a document allegedly authored by Liz Cheney entitled, “Democrats, I need more from you.” The “letter” was not authored by Cheney, but by someone who does not appear to have a readily identifiable profile as a pro-democracy activist. The purported author, “Dr. Pru Lee,” may not be the real identity of the author.

Setting aside the mysterious source of the letter, it has struck a chord with many Democrats. Indeed, many of the copies forwarded to me are accompanied by emails that express some sense of satisfaction that the author has criticized the Democratic Party for its failures and laid out a sensible plan for a path forward.

I suspect the letter was written by a Democratic consultant or insider who is upset with the progressive wing of the party and/or the grassroots movement. The author says, in part,

Yes, the tours around the country? Nice. The speeches? Nice. The clever congressional clapbacks? Nice. That was great for giving hope. Now we need action Don’t just send postcards. Send resources.

Many of the “recommendations” in the letter aren’t realistic—either in a reasonable timeframe or ever. For example, the letter demands the Democratic Party

Form an independent, civilian-powered investigative coalition. Deputize the resistance. Join the International Criminal Court. Fund state-level resistance infrastructure. Stop campaigning. You [the Democratic Party] should be publicly laying out: • The laws and amendments you’ll pass to ensure this never happens again • The systems you’ll tear down and the safeguards you’ll enshrine • The plan to hold perpetrators of human atrocities accountable.

I endorse the author’s passion and understand how the author has managed to channel the anger of rank-and-file Democrats toward their party. But it simply isn’t productive or helpful during this moment of crisis to devote our resources to attacking the Democratic Party.

Here’s a thought experiment: If you have forwarded the above letter to your closest one hundred friends and relatives, try drafting a sequel that begins, “Dear Republicans, I need more from you . . . .”

The virtue of the “Dear Republicans” version of the letter is that it shifts the focus to where it belongs: On those who are enabling Trump, rather than on those who are resisting him.

Is the resistance perfect? No. Is the Democratic Party perfect? No. Are congressional Democrats perfect? No. But compared to their Republican counterparts, Democrats look like heroes of democracy, warts and all.

Democrats aren’t the problem. They are the solution. Be part of the solution. We can sort out the credits and debits after we reclaim democracy!

[Robert B. Hubbell]

[thethronezone]

Primarchs at the birth of their child

Mortation keeps trying to tell the midwives how to do their job. He's not doing it to be a dick but he really comes of that way. He's wearing those plastic shoe covers.

Fulgrim has the balloons, he's got the confetti cannon ready, he's documenting the whole thing. Probably has an artist in the room, making a commemorative painting.

Angron is pacing around the room and glaring at the midwives, freaking them out. Has to be escorted out so they can do their jobs in peace. Still pacing outside the room.

Magnus is so fascinated by the process that he almost forgets to comfort the mother of his child. Spouts a bunch of random fact about pregnancies, childbirth and the human body to distract them from the pain.

Konrad is freaking the midwives out but they are too scared to ask him to leave. He's not even trying to be scary for once, he's just super focused on the delivery and can't look away. He hasn't blinked even once in twenty minutes. One of the midwives are crying.

Lorgar won't stop yapping. Oh what a glorious moment! Praise God! Another member for his flock to guide! Asks if he can save the umbilical cord and the afterbirth. For religious purposes. Lorgar, you fucking freak, no.

Perturabo keeps complaining the whole time. Why is it taking so long? Are the midwives sure they know what they are doing? The room is not big enough. Grumbles when the midwives throw him out.

Horus brought the entire Luna Wolves legion with him, they are all waiting in the hallway right outside the delivery room. He's filming the whole thing, providing commentary like it's a sport event.

Alpharius is there. Omegon is also there, disguised as a doctor. In fact, every midwife just might be an Alpha Legionnaire. They are all pretending everything is normal.

Sanguinius is acting like he's the one giving birth. He's crying so much. He's just- he's just so darn happy. The midwives don't have the heart to tell him to calm down. Is getting weirdly hungry?

Vulkan is yet another one that has to be escorted out of the delivery room. He was just too damn cheerful and kept interrupting the midwives by telling them how happy he was and that he's so excited to be a father. Like bro, they get it, but stop shaking their hands.

Jaghatai is right there, holding the hand of the mother to his soon-to-be born child. His leg is also vibrating at the speed of sound. He's so damn hyped but keeps calm so he won't be thrown out.

Dorn is unhappy because the birth is not taking place at the hyper secure, secret bunker he built for just this moment. He's barricading the room for "security reasons". Was asked to leave but straight up just said "no" and they couldn't do anything about it.

Leman is another Primarch that brought his entire legion with him. He was also promptly shoved out of the delivery room cause he kept getting in the way of the midwives. Stands outside the door, whining, wanting to be let back in.

Lion just stands in the corner, unmoving, barely saying anything except every now and then when he tells the midwives to work faster. Is internally freaking out about the whole thing.

Roboute falls asleep in a chair, covered by the baby blanket, and only wakes up when the delivery is well under way and almost done. Please forgive him, he ain't gotten a good night's sleep in years.

Corvus is also freaking out, though compared to Lion, is much more vocal about it. He's already convinced he's going to be an awful dad and that the child will hate him. Corvus, please, chill.

Ferrus is trying to distract himself from the fact he's about to be a father by focusing on the tools and the scientific aspect of it all. He is also freaking out but refuses to show it.

[nowoyas]

Trying to make sense of the Nanowrimo statement to the best of my abilities and fuck, man. It's hard.

It's hard because it seems to me that, first and foremost, the organization itself has forgotten the fucking point.

Nanowrimo was never about the words themselves. It was never about having fifty thousand marketable words to sell to publishing companies and then to the masses. It was a challenge, and it was hard, and it is hard, and it's supposed to be. The point is that it's hard. It's hard to sit down and carve out time and create a world and create characters and turn these things into a coherent plot with themes and emotional impact and an ending that's satisfying. It's hard to go back and make changes and edit those into something likable, something that feels worth reading. It's hard to find a beautifully-written scene in your document and have to make the decision that it's beautiful but it doesn't work in the broader context. It's fucking hard.

Writing and editing are skills. You build them and you hone them. Writing the way the challenge initially encouraged--don't listen to that voice in your head that's nitpicking every word on the page, put off the criticism for a later date, for now just let go and get your thoughts out--is even a different skill from writing in general. Some people don't particularly care about refining that skill to some end goal or another, and simply want to play. Some people sit down and try to improve and improve and improve because that is meaningful to them. Some are in a weird in-between where they don't really know what they want, and some have always liked the idea of writing and wanted a place to start. The challenge was a good place for this--sit down, put your butt in a chair, open a blank document, and by the end of the month, try to put fifty thousand words in that document.

How does it make you feel to try? Your wrists ache and you don't feel like any of the words were any good, but didn't you learn something about the process? Re-reading it, don't you think it sounds better if you swap these two sentences, if you replace this word, if you take out this comma? Maybe you didn't hit 50k words. Maybe you only wrote 10k. But isn't it cool, that you wrote ten thousand words? Doesn't it feel nice that you did something? We can try again. We can keep getting better, or just throwing ourselves into it for fun or whatever, and we can do it again and again.

I guess I don't completely know where I'm going with this post. If you've followed me or many tumblr users for any amount of time, you've probably already heard a thousand times about how generative AI hurts the environment so many of us have been so desperately trying to save, about how generative AI is again and again used to exploit big authors, little authors, up-and-coming authors, first time authors, people posting on Ao3 as a hobby, people self-publishing e-books on Amazon, traditionally published authors, and everyone in between. You've probably seen the statements from developers of these "tools", things like how being required to obtain permission for everything in the database used to train the language model would destroy the tool entirely. You've seen posts about new AI tools scraping Ao3 so they can make money off someone else's hobby and putting the legality of the site itself at risk. For an organization that used to dedicate itself to making writing more accessible for people and for creating a community of writers, Nanowrimo has spent the past several years systematically cracking that community to bits, and now, it's made an official statement claiming that the exploitation of writers in its community is okay, because otherwise, someone might find it too hard to complete a challenge that's meant to be hard to begin with.

I couldn't thank Nanowrimo enough for what it did for me when I started out. I don't know how to find community in the same way. But you can bet that I've deleted my account, and I'll be finding my own path forward without it. Thanks for the fucking memories, I guess.

[heliosunny]

Fyodor with a reader that he grows to be a fond of and that turns a little bit into an obsession 👀👀

HOW ABOUT... A LIFETIME SIDEKICK

You had been by Fyodor's side from the very beginning. In his opinion, you were borderline suicidal. There wasn’t a mission he assigned that you didn’t face head-on, no matter how dangerous or reckless it was. Loyal, graceful, and unwavering, you embodied everything he could ask for in a partner.

“Sacrifice yourself for me.” Fyodor’s voice was calm, devoid of emotion.

Without a second thought, you leapt from the 20th floor of the building, clutching the critical document he needed. The wind whipped past you as you plummeted, your only concern ensuring the document remained safe.

It wasn’t for him, not really. You didn’t care about Fyodor as a person. The only reason you stayed by his side was your unwavering desire to see his goals achieved. He had saved your life once, pulling you back from the brink when no one else had cared enough to try. That act had shackled you to him, binding your existence to his whims.

You owed him your life. And for that reason, you would endure anything, no matter how harrowing.

Despite the countless brushes with death, it was nothing short of a miracle that you always survived. Maybe it was luck. Or maybe, deep down, Fyodor’s plans never truly involved losing you.

As your body hurtled toward the ground, you felt the inevitability of death closing in. Yet, at the last moment, a strange sensation enveloped you—a sudden suspension, as if time itself had bent to spare you.

When you opened your eyes, you found yourself lying on the ground, unharmed. A soft, golden glow surrounded you, quickly fading. Standing nearby was Nikolai Gogol, one of Fyodor's closest allies. He twirled his cane, his usual mischievous grin in place.

“Well, that was a close one” Nikolai mused, his tone laced with mockery. “You almost painted the street red. What would our dear Fyodor do without his precious sidekick?”

You sat up, clutching the document tightly, your body trembling from the adrenaline. Before you could say a word, Nikolai tapped his cane against the ground, opening one of his portals.

“Let’s not keep him waiting~” he said, and with a flick of his hand, you were whisked back to Fyodor’s side.

When you arrived, Fyodor was seated in his usual spot, his fingers elegantly poised on the keys of his cello. He stopped playing as soon as he saw you, his dark eyes scanning your form. You handed him the document without a word, expecting a curt acknowledgment or even a reprimand for nearly failing the mission.

But instead, something strange happened. Fyodor’s expression shifted—just for a moment, so quickly you almost missed it. Was that relief? Concern?

“You’re reckless.” he said, his voice colder than usual.

You shrugged, brushing off the comment. “It’s what you asked for. The mission is complete.”

Fyodor stared at you for a long moment before turning away. “No more.”

The words hung in the air, unfamiliar and heavy. You frowned, unsure if you’d heard him correctly. “No more... what?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stood, his movements as graceful as always, and placed the document on his desk. “No more dangerous missions. I won’t send you out again.”

You blinked, taken aback. This wasn’t like him. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

He glanced at you, his expression unreadable. “No. You’ve done everything perfectly. That’s precisely why I’m putting an end to it.”

His words only confused you more. “I don’t understand. Isn’t this what you need from me? Someone to carry out your plans without hesitation?”

Fyodor moved closer, his presence suffocating. He reached out, his hand brushing against your cheek. The gesture was almost tender, but his eyes carried the weight of something far darker.

“You’re more than a tool.” he said softly, his voice unnervingly intimate. “You’ve proven your loyalty time and time again. But you’ve also shown me something else, your value. And I won’t risk losing that. Losing you.”

His admission sent a chill down your spine. This wasn’t the cold, calculating man you had followed for so long. This was someone else, someone whose obsession ran far deeper than you had imagined.

“Fyodor...” you began, but he cut you off.

“I saved you once” he murmured, his fingers trailing down to your neck, resting lightly against your pulse. “And I’ll save you again if I must. But you won’t need saving anymore, because I won’t allow you to put yourself in harm’s way.”

His grip tightened slightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to make his point clear.

“Do you see now?” he asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You don’t owe me your life. I’ve claimed it.”

Back when Nikolai saved you, you had thought it was just another mission, another brush with death. But later that night, as you tended to your wounds in silence, you overheard Fyodor speaking with Nikolai in a hushed, calculated tone. You were hidden behind the door, listening intently.

Their discussion revolved around a new plan—a dangerously elaborate scheme that would leave Fyodor exposed in its final stages. A specific detail caught your attention: the risks he was willing to take. He was so focused on the end goal that he disregarded the possibility of his own demise.

Your chest tightened. Fyodor’s ruthlessness had always been part of his charm, or his curse—but this time, it felt different. You couldn’t explain why it mattered so much, but the thought of him dying unsettled you in ways you weren’t prepared to face.

So, you made a decision.

Without a word to him or anyone else, you acted on your own. You followed the threads of the plan, inserting yourself at critical points to ensure everything would go smoothly. You intercepted threats, dismantled traps, and rerouted danger away from Fyodor.

But in the end, you couldn’t avoid everything.

The moment came during the final phase. A sniper’s rifle was trained on Fyodor from a hidden vantage point, the assassin waiting for the perfect moment to strike. You didn’t hesitate. Throwing yourself into the line of fire, you shielded him, taking the bullet meant for his heart.

The pain was blinding, and as you collapsed to the ground, you barely registered Fyodor’s voice calling out to you, sharp and filled with something you’d never heard before -panic.

When you woke days later, you were in an unfamiliar room. The stark walls were suffocatingly plain, and the heavy silence was broken only by the faint hum of distant machinery. You tried to move but found yourself too weak, your body weighed down by exhaustion.

It didn’t take long for Fyodor to appear. He entered the room with his usual grace, his piercing eyes locking onto yours. But there was something different about him.

“You’re awake” he said, his voice calm but cold.

You managed a weak smile. “Looks like I ruined your plan.”

Fyodor didn’t respond right away. He stepped closer, his fingers brushing against your cheek. The touch sent a chill down your spine.

“You didn’t ruin anything” he murmured. “But you came dangerously close to ruining yourself. And that, I cannot allow.”

His tone was unsettling. It wasn’t anger or disappointment—it was something darker, something possessive.

“Why did you do it?” he asked, though his expression suggested he already knew the answer.

You struggled to find the words. “I... couldn’t let you die.”

Fyodor’s lips curled into a faint, humorless smile. “So loyal” he mused. “But you should have known better than to act without my permission.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but he silenced you with a single gesture.

“From now on” he said, his tone firm “you won’t be leaving my side. No more missions. No more reckless heroics. You’ve proven you’re incapable of protecting yourself, so I’ll do it for you.”

His words felt like a prison sentence. “You can’t just isolate me” you protested weakly. “I’m not some fragile thing to keep locked away.”

Fyodor leaned closer, his dark eyes boring into yours. “You are mine” he said softly. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure you stay by my side, alive and unharmed. You’ve played the hero for the last time.”

His hand lingered on your face for a moment before he stood. “Rest” he commanded. “This is your new life now.”

As he left the room, you felt the weight of his obsession settle over you. Fyodor Dostoevsky had always been a man of control, but now that control extended to you in ways you never imagined. You had saved him, but in doing so, you had unknowingly sealed your own fate.

-----

You knew it was only a matter of time before Fyodor’s suffocating control became unbearable. His obsession, once subtle, had grown into something oppressive. The isolation he imposed wasn’t protection, it was a cage. You could feel yourself losing pieces of who you were, and you refused to let that happen.

It was with quiet desperation that you turned to an old acquaintance from the team, someone who had always harbored doubts about Fyodor’s methods. They agreed to help you, knowing the risks but willing to defy him for your sake.

The plan was simple yet perilous. Your friend created a diversion, slipping you out of the facility during a chaotic moment. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, you breathed the open air, your heart pounding with a mix of fear and exhilaration.

Freedom was fleeting.

It didn’t take long for Fyodor to discover your escape. His network was too vast, his reach too far. And when he learned of the betrayal, his retribution was swift and merciless.

You were hiding in a safe house when he found you. The door burst open, and Fyodor entered with his usual eerie calm, though the storm raging in his dark eyes was unmistakable. Behind him, two of his men dragged in your friend—bloodied, beaten, and barely conscious.

“You thought you could run from me..” Fyodor said, his voice a chilling whisper. “Did you really believe I wouldn’t find you?”

Your heart sank as he turned to your friend. “And you” he continued, his tone laced with venom. “Betrayal is such an ugly thing.”

Before you could intervene, Fyodor gave a subtle nod to one of his men. A gunshot rang out, and your friend collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

“No!” you screamed, tears streaming down your face.

Fyodor stepped toward you, his expression unreadable. He wiped a stray tear from your cheek with his gloved hand, as if to mock your anguish. “You made me do this” he said softly. “If you had stayed where you belonged, none of this would have happened.”

The next thing you knew, you were back in Fyodor’s domain, locked in a room with no windows and a single door that never opened unless he willed it.

Fyodor visited often, his presence both comforting and menacing. He brought you food, books, even flowers, as though these small gestures could erase what he had done.

“You forced my hand” he told you one evening, sitting beside you with a calmness that belied his actions. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I couldn’t allow such betrayal to go unpunished. And I couldn’t allow you to leave me.”

You glared at him, anger boiling beneath your grief. “You’re a monster...” you spat.

Fyodor tilted his head, his lips curling into a faint smile. “If being a monster is what it takes to keep you, then so be it.”

He reached out, brushing your hair back gently. “Don’t you see? You belong to me. You can try to run, but I’ll always find you. I’ll always bring you back.”

You turned away, the weight of his obsession crushing your spirit. Fyodor had always been meticulous and unyielding, but now you realized the extent of his madness. You were no longer just a part of his plans, you were his plan.

[bagelboihijinks]

I like to imagine Armsmaster after a 35 hour tinker bender walking around the rig excitedly looking for little situations to use his new hyper specific tinker tech like:

Miss Militia: *in the break room about to put some bread in the toaster*

Armsmaster: *takes slice of bread, clasps it in both hands for 3 seconds, hands it back perfectly toasted and somehow buttered*

And everyone just goes on as normal because he’s been doing this for over a decade. Sometimes Assault will try to manufacture little situations himself just to see if Armsy has a solution for it.

Assault: Darn, i dropped these very important documents into this incredibly thin slot between the industrial printer and the wall.

MildInconvenienceMaster: *holds out tool tailor made to get small or thin things out of similarly small or thin crevices. Assault will go on to use this whenever his phone slides between his bed and wall at home.*

Everyone sort of silently encourages it because theres been a few times over the years where his Perfect-Slice-of-Toast-In-Under-Three-Seconds Gauntlets have come in clutch and genuinely saved hundreds of lives.

It’s Colin’s awkward way of being helpful and somewhat social. Dragon thinks it’s adorable.

[pdqdocs]

Streamlining Operations with Document Automation Software for Small Business: PDQ Docs

For small businesses, managing paperwork and documentation can often become a cumbersome task, consuming valuable time and resources. From contracts and invoices to employee forms and legal documents, small business owners have to handle an array of documents daily. However, document automation software for small business, like PDQ Docs, offers an efficient and reliable solution to streamline these processes, saving time, reducing errors, and allowing business owners to focus on growth and innovation.

What is Document Automation Software?

Document automation software is designed to automate the process of creating, managing, and processing business documents. This type of software helps businesses generate professional, error-free documents quickly by using predefined templates, reducing the need for manual entry. Whether it's creating contracts, generating invoices, or filling out forms, document automation simplifies the workflow by integrating standard data and reducing human error.

Adopting document automation software for small business can lead to improved productivity and organization. Instead of spending countless hours manually drafting documents, businesses can rely on automation tools like PDQ Docs to ensure that all documents are generated quickly and accurately.

Why Small Businesses Need Document Automation Software

Small businesses often have limited resources, and inefficient document management can slow down operations, leading to missed opportunities and decreased profitability. By investing in document automation software, businesses can eliminate time-consuming manual tasks, cut down on operational costs, and maintain consistency across all their documents.

One of the key benefits of document automation software for small business is the reduction in human error. When creating documents manually, it's easy to overlook details or make mistakes, which can lead to costly errors or even legal issues. With automation, data is pulled directly from integrated sources, ensuring accuracy every time.

Moreover, automation increases the speed and efficiency of document-related tasks. Instead of creating documents from scratch, employees can use templates that automatically populate with the correct information, allowing for rapid document generation and faster decision-making. This enables small businesses to scale faster and operate more efficiently.

Why PDQ Docs is Perfect for Small Businesses

Small businesses often struggle with finding software that meets both their budgetary constraints and operational needs. PDQ Docs offers an affordable, scalable solution for businesses of all sizes, helping them streamline operations and improve efficiency without breaking the bank. The software can grow with the business, providing flexibility as needs evolve.

Conclusion

In a world where efficiency and accuracy are critical to business success, document automation software for small business is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. PDQ Docs offers small businesses the tools they need to automate and streamline their document management processes, saving valuable time and resources. By reducing errors, improving speed, and increasing productivity, PDQ Docs helps small businesses focus on what matters most: growth and innovation. Embracing document automation can make all the difference in staying competitive in today’s fast-paced business environment.

[traumawhomst]

Hero Yandere/ Villain Reader

Heroes should be flexible with their morals and if not that then their plans. The plan had been to take you to prison lock you away from the public where you couldn’t harm anyone. But, well you looked so tiny in the rumble, body battered and bloodied. Really you looked like someone in over their head, really it was surprising that you’d gotten this far.

He stood over you watching your eyes focus and unfocus as your brain tried to process the pain, the screaming, the smell of smoke and burning garbage. You didn’t look like you’d even make it through the night with your injuries. Not with the type of care villains got. You’d be permanently disabled even if you did make it through the night. So he shredded any identifiable parts of your villain outfit and took you to the Hero’s headquarters.

The medical staff knew better than to ask the hero why he’d brought it a ‘civilian’ to be treated and he asked if that mattered when they were actively dying. He watched silently as the began to patch you with supplies that cost more than a house.

He couldn’t let you go after that, all of the time and energy put into saving you, just to rot in prison? No that’d be a waste.

He’d rehabilitate you, make you into the perfect sidekick ready to aid support when needed. But that would be difficult, because he didn’t know you yet past your villainy. Not to mention you’d be so fragile for at least six months, what if you tried escaping or attacking him? Again all that time and money wasted.

His solution was temporary. He’d have one of the telepathic Heroes just create a block on your memories, you wouldn’t remember any of your past villainess intent or motivation. Just to give you time to rest and for him to get to know you. Understand how your mind worked, no one was born bring evil and he was sure he could make you see the light of you gave him a chance. He was just making sure he had the chance.

You woke up in an extremely nice apartment that belonged to most powerful Heroes on this side of the earth with no memories whatsoever. He explained you were a college student, with no family who’d almost been a civilian casualty before he saved you. He’d felt so bad about almost killing you that he personally wanted to see to your recovery.

It was hard to doubt him, but when he had your student ID and years of documentation of your unremarkable life. Still something poked at you, you couldn’t quite put it together yet. Maybe it was the way the nurses looked at him like he was a ticking time bomb. Or the way he shot down every attempt to leave his apartment but either way you were suspicious.

He on the other hand, well he kind of found it adorable if he was honest. Even with your memories locked away you still found some opposition in you, it was charming. The way he placated you was with tools and building supplies, he told you your major was engineering and you seemed to retain a good number of skills even if you didn’t remember how you got them. He’d come home to find you perched working on some gadget completely engrossed for hours.

He found that it was pleasant to have someone to come home to. While he never discussed ‘work’ with you he was happy to chat about little bits of unremarkable news and gossip. While you treated him with suspicion you were also one of the few people who weren’t completely scared of him, it made him feel normal. He also got to practice his homemaking, cooking for you, making his apartment something more than somewhere he slept and showered.

And then his bosses reminded him the entire point of him taking you in was to ‘rehabilitate’ you so they’d have another sidekick. It had only been a few months but he completely did a 180 and said that there was no way you could be a sidekick. You didn’t even have powers! In fact even when you were being a ‘villain’ (he really can’t think of you like that anymore, you were just a kid who got in over their head) you were mainly making weapons, traps, bombs ect. for Villains, really his and your path shouldn’t have crossed. So he compromised and said when you were fully healed then maybe you could start working in the Heroes’ lab and that’d be good enough.

You on the other hand were fully engrossed with trying to prove that something was up with him. You’d be in his care for months and he only let you out to walk in the apartment’s roof garden fully supervised with him. You spent your time trying to make camera and microphone sensors, (you’d tried looking but there was only so much you could do without tearing the apartment to shreds). You couldn’t prove it but every time you tried to escape during while he was gone he’d be extra smothering for the following two weeks.

Another few months passed and you were starting to climb the walls. His reassurance that yes your memories would return, was starting to become more grating each day. You were sick of waiting, sick of living in a place you didn’t know with a person who was more of a jailer than anything.

He and his 'superiors' came to a compromise. You wouldn't be going into field work. No, you be safely tucked away in the base laboratory and engineering wing where you efforts would be utilized and your well being assured. Only a few days a week to start of course, but finally you were able to leave the house on a regular basis.

The ended up strengthening your guys relationship. He was always more than happy to talk about your latest projects, taking your work seriously as your colleagues did. He also made sure to regularly bring you lunch and check in, which before felt suffocating now felt well thought as you had a habit of working for hours on end so focused you forgot to eat. Maybe his attention wasn't as smothering as it felt, maybe you had just been a little stir crazy. You had been really injured after all.

But then you had an odd occurrence at work. You'd gotten used to seeing the odd hero or superhero either in the halls or very occasionally in your part of the building. You'd actually met most of the A list hero's that knew your caretaker, most of them filtered down to get a look at what was consuming so much of his time. You'd gotten used to it.

But one day as you on your way to the cafeteria, a hero brushes you in the hallway and it almost...stings. You brushed it off at the time but after, very slowly your started to get pieces of your memories. It started off with childhood stuff, riding a bike, show and tell, one of you're parents fighting. But you also got other flashes that didn't match up with what was told at all.

Neither you or your super hero knew was that the telepathic hero who'd put the block on your memories in the first place had been growing more and more upset with his own part in it. He'd really believed that it was just supposed to be for a short while and you'd be allowed to live out your life. But the months kept passing, and now he could see you getting closer to the superhero and it was driving him mad. So he broke the seal as gently as he could. He didn't want to overwhelm you so he made the come back slowly. He just hoped that you'd be smart enough not to tell your 'savior' when the came.

Which you didn't, and by the end of the week you remembered everything. You remembered your real life, you dropping out of college to make weapons for villains, your last few years constantly breaking the law. But maybe the worst one was a memory of being grabbed before being thrown through a wall by an all too familiar face.

You'd barely hid all of this from him. Anger and an infuriating sense of hurt that was always just under the surface. You resented the life he'd tried to lie and say was yours, some bright face college kid from a wholesome family in a small town, you wanted to help people, none of it was true. And you hated him for giving you that false sense of security. But most of all you wanted your old life back.

Was it a good life? No it hadn't been, constantly dealing with money issues, injuries from engineering, dealing the shitty villain politics no it wasn't a fun life, but it had been yours and you'd built it with your own grimy hands and you'd be damned if you let it be so easily taken.

You escaped using the built trust and made your way to your old apartment. Not the cute studio near the college filled with plants and textbooks he'd shown you once. No, the shitty two bedroom with a mouse problem, the one with oil stains, and all your beat up tools that you hoarded. You'd only recently remembered it but you desperately needed to go back. To prove that you weren't the person he was trying to build.

You climbed up the fire exit, like you'd done a hundred times before before stopping at your window.

It was completely empty. Stripped of everything you'd spent the last few years built. No clothes, no furniture, no tools, no creations, no personal effects. Like it never existed. Like you never existed.

That’s were He found you, broken on the fire escape just staring at an empty apartment. You demanded answers, why he did any of it.

The worst part was how unfazed he was about your growing distress, he just stood as you ranted about how deranged he was, how he couldn’t just erase you, change your name and take you home like you were a pound dog.

Take you from what? Was his response. From villains who hadn’t cared that you almost died? From the never ending cycle of bills, payment and bills again? From your lack of a social life, no friends, no family, and a future that was going to end poorly no matter what you’d done? That was everything he’d ’took’ from you.

This was a chance to have a better life, a good life, and it was just as real as your old life.

When he was done he handed you your ID he’d given you when you first woke up. The address was unfamiliar but he promised that all of your most important items were there, waiting for you. It wouldn’t be everything of course, the agency had swept up anything too dangerous but the rest was there waiting for you. You just had to leave an empty apartment behind.

[edward-cabrini]

I 've recently seen so many here's how to start writing posts that are simply "Just write." That I've decided to call out the terrible advice for what it is, terrible.

So here's some practical things you can do to prepare your environment to facilitate getting words on the page:

1. Clean your writing space

Vacum the carpet, dust the windowsill, empty the keyboard of your hair and crumbs. A clean writing space is a happy writing space.

2. Stay hydrated

Keep a large jug/1-2 litre bottle on your desk with delicious, life sustaining water. A hydrated writer is a happy writer.

3. Open the curtains

The sun might be a deadly laser, but it is also a freind. It will not harsh the vibes, unlike artificial lights, which are not freind.

4. Set a writing time

Pick a time during the day when you are least likely to be disturbed. This is your dedicated writing time. Even if you write a tiny amount of trash or do nothing but think about what you want to write. Stick to this schedule! A disciplined writer is a productive writer.

5. Keep your writing tools in good order

Store pens in their proper place and bin empty pens. Keep your software of choice updated, and save your documents in a project folder. Ensure your notepad is clean and in its proper place. The few barriers a project has the sooner work can begin.

6. Have an idea

This is the last and most important step. It's no good deciding you want to write without any ideas. Stories do not spawn from the void. Once you have an idea, write it down so you don't forget. That will be your official first sentence of your new project. It can be as simple and silly as: "My neighbour has too many baby strollers in his back yard."

A final thought, a happy hydrated writer in a happy place with a friend, can write stories. A dead writer with no friends tells none.

[clarenecessities]

He-man.org will close in 5 days.

He-man.org has been a staple of the Masters of the Universe community since the early days, originating as an email list that worked to document episodes before anything (not footage, not lists, nothing) was available online. It grew into a sprawling, multi-faceted beast of a thing, including an encyclopedia (an in-house wiki), merch lists, a marketplace, forums, anything you could think of.

Several years ago now, the main site went down for updates/maintenance. For a few weeks, we were told, maybe months. The forums remained open for fans to communicate, and barring a period of downtime earlier this year things were going smoothly.

Yesterday, the owner of the site, Val Staples, announced the site would be closed on November 14th, 2023. Six days later. We are currently attempting to contact him, to see if he’s interested in selling, and if he means closed as in “no new posts” or closed as in deleted entirely. Regardless of its eventual fate, the archiving of these forums is essential to preserving the history of the franchise, the fandom, and the brand.

TO SHE-RA (and MotU) FANS SPECIFICALLY: I have personally used these forums to answer questions that could be answered nowhere else. Had I not had access to them, I would never have been able to prove that Purrsia was fake, or found so much unpublished concept art, or discovered that Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich personally wrote Catra’s MOTUC bio (even if he’s put off answering my questions about it for over a year now). Forum members have conducted interviews with the likes of Jon Seisa, Cathy Larson, Janice Varney-Hamlin—essential figures in the very foundations of POP, and those interviews revealed and recorded priceless information for future generations (me! you! us!) to find. Did you know Cathy Larson named Adora? That she originally pushed for “Dorian”, after her own daughter? We cannot let this treasure trove disappear into the ether(ia).

TO THE UNAFFILIATED: Please help. Pretty please. If you’ve ever liked my art or my writing or my haphazard blogging, ever, at all, consider archiving just one board. Just one page. Literally anything helps. I am spiraling into madness & this is my library of Alexandria. The mythical one that was totally unique and persevered nowhere else and was destroyed in a single cataclysmic event. Pretty pretty please help.

HOW TO HELP:

Archive.org has several ways to upload shit but most of them are longer term than “a few days” so we’re focusing on two (which can be run simultaneously): Save Page Now, and browser extensions. From their help page:

1. Save Page Now

Put a URL into the form, press the button, and we save the page. You will instantly have a permanent URL for your page. Please note, this method only saves a single page, not the whole site.

We want to keep outlinks and screenshots wherever possible. The Archive does not keep your IP address, so your submission is anonymous.

2. Browser extensions and add-ons

Install the Wayback Machine Chrome extension in your browser. Go to a page you want to archive, click the icon in your toolbar, and select Save Page Now. We will save the page and give you a permanent URL.

One plus to installing the extension is that as you surf around, when you run into a missing page they will alert you if we have a saved copy.

More extensions, apps, and add-ons:

Firefox add-on

Safari Extension

iOS app

Android app

I strongly encourage you to use these tools even if you aren’t helping with this project/after it ends. Documenting and preserving information is essential in this day and age & The Internet Archive is at the heart of it. Please support them however you can.

I’m serious about paying you, though I may need more communication with folks I don’t know so we can coordinate/verify shit gets done. I think this is a worthwhile pursuit in itself but I recognize your time is valuable & like, people gotta eat. DM me if you’re interested and we’ll talk. I may need to adjust pay depending how many people bite but I’ll do what I can

[saywhat-politics]

Ending a two-decade program to give people in poor countries anti-HIV medication will cause millions to develop AIDS and die. It's also a massive national security disaster.

The Trump administration cruelly and abruptly stopped the distribution of live-saving antiretroviral drugs to almost 26 million people worldwide. The program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief—PEPFAR—is the global health program started by Republican president George W. Bush in 2003. He celebrated the 20 year anniversary in 2023 at his presidential library.

While the White House has called this a “pause,” The New York Times described it in more dire terms:

On Monday afternoon, officials worldwide were alerted that PEPFAR’s data systems would shut down at 6 p.m. Eastern — roughly three hours after the email was received — immediately closing off access to all data sets, reports and analytical tools.

“Users should prioritize copying key documents and data,” said the email viewed by The Times.

The message prompted speculation that the program would not resume, as its future was already in question.

The Times noted, in what seems like pure evil, that the administration, “has instructed organizations in other countries to stop disbursing H.I.V. medications purchased with U.S. aid, even if the drugs have already been obtained and are sitting in local clinics.”