#what is the amazon tracking process

[deliciousangelfestival]

bucky barned x depressed reader?!!!!!! ☕️🍪

Of course dear. This request is a perfect match for this continuation. I hope you like it.

Only The Lonely - Rain and Umbrella

Summary: After being saved by Bucky and freed from the debt collectors, you finally managed to get a job with normal working hours. You thought you’d lost your late-night train buddy, but Bucky still visits your place whenever he can.

Everything seemed fine—until you ran into someone from your past. Suddenly, all the feelings you had been holding back came flooding out.

Character: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader

Genre: Romance, Action, Comedy, Slice Of Life

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Main Masterlist || If you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee on Ko-fi 🙏🏻

By the way I publish my book Arrogant Ex Husband in Kindle. 👉 Now available on e-Kindle Amazon! << here's the link.

Thank you to everyone who has read this chapter. Leave a comment and Reblog, please. I'd love to hear your thoughts. ❤️

“Giving what you can, even when you don’t have much, makes you the richest person,” your grandfather would always say. On his birthday, instead of celebrating, he spent the day handing out free food to the homeless. It was his way of teaching you that kindness ripples back in unexpected ways.

That lesson became your compass, even when life pushed you into the shadows. For three long years, you had been hiding—avoiding the gang that chased you, ducking into smaller, quieter corners of existence. Yet, even when you struggled, you gave. Like the day you paid for a mother’s milk at the store with the last of your cash, and somehow, you landed a cashier job at a car workshop that very evening.

And now, giving extra food—a small, unthinking act of kindness—had saved your life. Who would have thought your train buddy was capable of something like this?

After Bucky untied you from the ropes, you stumbled forward, your muscles sore and stiff. His strong hands caught your arm and steadied you without a word. The cold air outside the warehouse hit you hard, but you welcomed it—it was freedom. Around you, the gang members lay crumpled—some groaning, others fainted in various awkward positions.

You turned to Bucky, your breath visible in the freezing air. “How… how can I repay this?” you stammered, still processing everything.

Bucky looked around at the chaos, then back at you, expression unreadable. “You’ve already paid me.”

“What?” you whispered, confused.

He raised a gloved hand and pointed. “Monkey bread—for him,” he said, nodding toward a man sprawled against a crate.

Your eyes widened.

“Beef Wellington,” he continued, motioning to another unconscious man slumped against the hood of a car.

“And Fish and Chips—for him,” Bucky finished, nodding toward a guy dangling limply from a chain.

You blinked, processing his words. Then it hit you—your cooking. That’s what this was about. “Wait… you mean the meals I gave you at the shelter?” you asked incredulously.

Bucky didn’t respond, but the faintest flicker of amusement passed through his blue eyes.

The surreal realization was too much; you let out a soft, shaky laugh, half disbelieving. “So… that’s what you were doing when the lights went out?”

Bucky didn’t answer. Instead, he shrugged off his leather jacket and draped it over your shoulders. You flinched at the weight of it, stunned at the unexpected warmth—both from the jacket and from him.

“Let’s go home,” he said softly, his voice as gentle as the night air.

Since that night, something shifted between you and Bucky. The quiet man who barely spoke a word became a constant presence in your life. You didn’t know how he’d taken down the gang—single-handedly, no less—but he had ended the nightmare that stole your freedom.

Days passed, and slowly, you found pieces of your old life returning. The hotel manager—the one you used to gossip about with Bucky—tracked you down one afternoon. When he saw you, his expression softened, his tone low and warm.

“Life’s been hard on you,” he said, a quiet statement that felt like a hand on your shoulder.

You swallowed hard, your chest tight as you struggled to hold back tears.

He offered you a lifeline: “I have a friend who owns a small café. They’re looking for a barista. I know you’re good with coffee—you’re overqualified, honestly.”

Your breath hitched. A job. A normal job. No more vampire hours. No more hiding.

You smiled weakly, trying to speak past the lump in your throat. “Thank you,” you whispered, barely audible.

But relief came with a bittersweet edge. A job with regular hours—9 a.m. to 4 p.m.—meant no more morning train rides with Bucky. Those quiet, unspoken moments had become a comfort, and losing them stung more than you expected.

When Bucky heard you suggest a visit to your café, he didn’t hesitate. “I’ll stop by after I wake up.”

You paused, curiosity tugging at you. “Wait... what time do you usually sleep?”

“Sleep?” Bucky’s voice trailed off, his expression unreadable. Silence followed as he stared off at nothing. For him, sleep wasn’t a comfort. Resting for three long months in a coma had left its mark—it was enough sleep for a lifetime. Being idle, trapped in a body that couldn’t move, was unbearable. The thought of sleep brought back those suffocating memories, and he avoided it whenever he could.

Instead, Bucky spent his nights on late trains. The rhythmic clatter of wheels on tracks calmed him in a way nothing else did. The hum of motion, the gentle swaying, the faint, distant sound of announcements—it was constant, predictable, alive. Trains were his solace. There, in the quiet hum of machinery, Bucky didn’t feel alone.

“Well, aside from that,” you said, snapping him from his thoughts. “Visit my café, and I’ll give you the best sandwich you’ve ever had.” You paused, then remembered his preference. “Oh—come around 2 or 3 p.m. It’s quieter then. Fewer people.”

Bucky nodded, his usual silent agreement. “Alright.”

Since that day, Bucky stopped by your café whenever he could. Most weeks, he visited twice. Your co-workers noticed him immediately, his tall figure and striking demeanor impossible to miss. But none dared to approach him. Bucky had an aura—one that screamed, “Don’t talk to me.”

It had been a few months now, and the rainy season had settled in. One afternoon, the skies opened up. Rain pounded against the café windows, blurring the view outside. Bucky walked in, his clothes slightly damp, as if he’d miscalculated the storm. After finishing his sandwich, he stood to leave, glancing out at the relentless downpour.

“Wait!” You grabbed the bright yellow umbrella sitting near the counter and held it out to him.

Bucky frowned. “Do you have another color?”

You shook your head. “No. Take it.”

He stared at the umbrella, reluctant, almost as if offended by the bright hue. But after a moment, he sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly. He took it.

“Bye!” you called as he left, your voice light with amusement.

☕☕☕☕

The next day started like any other. The café was warm and bustling as you worked behind the counter. The hum of the espresso machine, the hiss of steamed milk, and the soft murmur of conversations filled the air. You greeted customers with a smile, moved quickly between orders, and wiped down counters when the rush slowed.

Then you heard your name—spoken softly, yet somehow sharp enough to pierce through the noise.

You looked up, and your stomach dropped. Toby.

Your ex-boyfriend stood there. His face betrayed his shock. “It’s… wow. How? I don’t even know what to say. You’re… you’re here?”

Clearing your throat, you straightened, forcing calm into your voice. “I’m fine. Everything’s been taken care of. What do you want to order?”

Toby blinked, regaining focus. “Just… a regular hot Americano, please.”

“One hot Americano,” you repeated, turning to the machine. He followed your movements, lingering on the other side of the counter.

“You look good,” he said suddenly. His voice was soft, genuine. “I’m glad you’re okay now.”

You glanced at him, just for a moment. And then you saw it. The silver ring glinting on his left hand—fourth finger.

Before you could react, a deafening crack of thunder shook the café. Everyone flinched, covering their ears instinctively. Even Toby winced.

“That’s loud,” he muttered, forcing a smile. “I’m glad I brought an umbrella—just in case.”

“Yes,” you replied stiffly, handing him his coffee. “It’s always smart to prepare for the rain.”

Toby paused, his eyes lingering on you longer than they should have. “It’s good to see you,” he said softly. “And knowing you’re okay… it means a lot.”

You nodded slowly, your throat tight. “Goodbye, Toby.”

He left, the café door swinging shut behind him, the bell jangling softly.

The moment he was gone, everything around you felt distant, unreal. You went numb. Your hands moved on their own—wiping counters, refilling the sugar dispenser—but it was like your body was acting without you.

“I need to step out for a bit,” you mumbled to your coworker.

“Under this heavy rain? Are you serious?” she called, but you didn’t hear her. You were already out the door.

The rain hit you instantly, cold and heavy, soaking through your clothes in seconds. You squinted through the downpour, but you could still see him—Toby—his figure fading as he walked farther away.

Your feet hesitated at first, uncertainty freezing you in place. Should you follow him? But then he turned a corner, disappearing from sight, and something inside you broke.

You ran.

The rain blurred everything—your vision, your surroundings—but you didn’t stop. Water sloshed into your shoes, weighing you down, but you pushed forward. Your heart pounded, a warning deep in your chest. And then you saw him again.

He walked into a small gift shop. You slowed, panting, your chest heaving. Through the rain-slicked windows, you saw her—a woman—walking up to Toby with a smile. She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

CRACK. Another thunderclap shook the sky, louder this time. It felt like the thunder was mocking you.

☕☕☕☕

Back at the café, Bucky stepped inside, shaking water from the yellow umbrella you’d given him. His eyes swept the room quickly. “Where is she?” he asked your coworker.

“She went out. Said she needed to chase something. She didn’t take an umbrella or a jacket.”

Bucky didn’t wait to hear more. He turned and ran back into the rain, the yellow umbrella forgotten in his grip.

The rain was relentless. Bucky scanned the streets, his sharp gaze darting from one figure to the next. He moved quickly, following his instincts. Then he saw you.

You were walking slowly now, soaked to the bone, your shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world had settled there.

Bucky approached you quietly, matching your pace. When he reached you, he didn’t say a word. He simply opened the yellow umbrella above your head, shielding you from the rain.

You blinked, startled. The absence of cold raindrops pulled you from your thoughts, and you looked up. Bucky stood beside you, his face calm but unreadable, the umbrella angled to keep you dry.

For a moment, you just stared at him. His blue eyes searched yours, patient, steady—waiting.

“Bucky…” you whispered, your voice trembling.

He didn’t respond, but the look in his eyes said enough: I’m here.

The rain fell relentlessly, soaking through your clothes, clinging to your skin, but you welcomed it. You wanted the coldness to freeze your thoughts, the heaviness of the downpour to wash away the tears streaming down your cheeks. Maybe, just maybe, the rain could hide how much you were crying. But no amount of cold could numb the ache inside you.

Why did I go after him? you thought bitterly, scolding yourself. Deep down, you knew—you felt—that you shouldn’t have followed him. Your instincts had warned you, whispered that you wouldn’t like what you saw, that you’d be disappointed.

It’s not that you still loved him or had any lingering feelings for him. It was the memories—the life you had before all of this—that you missed. Memories have a cruel way of hurting you, a constant reminder of what’s lost, especially when you know you can’t turn back time or rewrite the past.

The breakup wasn’t filled with anger or betrayal. It had been mutual—an agreement you both made, though it shattered your heart. Toby had been kind, too kind. When the debt collectors started chasing you, hounding your brother’s unpaid loans, Toby had offered to pay it all. But you couldn’t let him. It wasn’t his burden to carry.

The debt collectors—the gangsters—ruined everything. They made your life unbearable, calling Toby’s parents, threatening him and anyone close to you. That’s when you decided it was enough. You ended the relationship to protect him, to free him. Then you ran. You moved across the country, hiding, surviving. You cut ties with friends because even they weren’t safe.

And now, seeing him… seeing him happy with someone else…

You pressed a hand to your chest, as if trying to hold the pieces of your heart together. If my brother had never taken that loan… I wouldn’t have to run. I wouldn’t have to hide. I wouldn’t have to live in constant fear.

The years of silent suffering weighed on you, and the truth surfaced: you’d been depressed all this time. You pushed it down, locked it away, told yourself you were fine because you had no choice but to keep going. But right now, in the middle of the rain, all of those feelings clawed their way to the surface.

Then you heard his voice.

“What can I do to help you?” Bucky’s voice was soft yet steady, cutting through the storm like a lifeline.

You froze. The words hit you harder than you expected. You blinked up at him, rainwater still running down your face like invisible tears.

Those words. That was what you wanted to hear. That was what you had needed for so long. Without thinking, you closed the distance between you, your arms wrapping tightly around Bucky’s torso.

“Nothing,” you whispered into his chest, your voice shaking. “Just stay.”

The dam broke. Your tears finally came—hot, unrelenting sobs wracking your body. You cried for everything you’d lost, for the years you spent pretending you were okay, for the regrets and burdens you had carried alone.

Bucky stood stiffly at first, his arms slightly raised as if unsure what to do. He was caught off guard. You’d fooled him. He thought you were okay after he’d taken care of the debt collectors—the men who had chased you, terrorized you. He thought his help had freed you. But it hadn’t.

She’s been hiding it, Bucky realized, his jaw tightening. Depressed people were like that—they hid their pain so well that even someone like him couldn’t see it.

Slowly, his arms came down around you, one hand resting lightly on your back, the other shielding your head from the rain. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. He just held you as you cried, letting you break down in the safety of his presence.

Bucky brought you back to his place—a small, unassuming apartment that was surprisingly warm. He let you take a hot shower, the steam and heat finally driving the cold from your bones. When you emerged, you were wrapped in one of Bucky’s sweatshirts—soft, oversized, and smelling faintly like leather and soap.

You sat on his couch, knees drawn up, still sniffling quietly. Bucky handed you a small bar of chocolate.

“Mint chocolate?” you asked, the hint of a smile tugging at your lips despite yourself.

“Everyone likes chocolate,” Bucky replied, sitting across from you. He watched you carefully, his gaze softer now.

A long pause settled between you, broken only by the sound of rain tapping on the window. Then Bucky spoke, his tone even, but with an edge of seriousness.

“Do you want me to handle your brother?”

You looked up, confused. “Handle him?”

Bucky’s expression darkened slightly. “He’s the reason you’re living like this. In my line of work, people take responsibility for what they’ve caused. He’s the one responsible. He should pay for it.”

You stared at him, the weight of his words sinking in. “Thank you, but…” You hesitated, staring at your hands. “I’ve been looking for him for the past three years. I can’t find him.”

Bucky leaned back, arms crossing over his chest. His voice was calm but firm. “Don’t worry. I’ll find him.”

Your lips parted slightly, taken aback by the certainty in his words. “Jeez, Bucky… how could I ever repay you for all of this?”

Bucky shrugged, the ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips. “The coffee, the sandwiches, and that umbrella are enough.”

You huffed a small, tired laugh, shaking your head. For the first time in years, you felt a little lighter.

Bucky sat back, watching you. He didn’t need to say it, but you understood: you weren’t alone.

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

Who Broke the Internet? Part II

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in PITTSBURGH on in THURSDAY (May 15) at WHITE WHALE BOOKS, and in PDX on Jun 20 at BARNES AND NOBLE with BUNNIE HUANG. More tour dates (London, Manchester) here.

"Understood: Who Broke the Internet?" is my new podcast for CBC about the enshittogenic policy decisions that gave rise to enshittification. Episode two just dropped: "ctrl-ctrl-ctrl":

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1353-the-naked-emperor/episode/16145640-ctrl-ctrl-ctrl

The thesis of the show is straightforward: the internet wasn't killed by ideological failings like "greed," nor by economic concepts like "network effects," nor by some cyclic force of history that drives towards "re-intermediation." Rather, all of these things were able to conquer the open, wild, creative internet because of policies that meant that companies that yielded to greed were able to harness network effects in order to re-intermediate the internet.

My enshittification work starts with the symptoms of enshittification, the procession of pathological changes we can observe as platform users and sellers. Stage one: platforms are good to their end users while locking them in. Stage two: platforms worsen things for those captive users in order to tempt in business customers – who they also lock in. Stage three: platforms squeeze those locked-in business customers (publishers, advertisers, performers, workers, drivers, etc), and leave behind only the smallest atoms of value that are needed to keep users and customers stuck to the system. All the value except for this mingy residue is funneled to shareholders and executives, and the system becomes a pile of shit.

This pattern is immediately recognizable as the one we've all experienced and continue to experience, from eBay taking away your right to sue when you're ripped off:

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-user-agreement-may-2025-arbitration/

Or Duolingo replacing human language instructors with AI, even though by definition language learners are not capable of identifying and correcting errors in AI-generated language instruction (if you knew more about a language than the AI, you wouldn't need Duolingo):

https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/the-ai-jobs-crisis-is-here-now

I could cite examples all day long, from companies as central as Amazon:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

To smarthome niche products like Sonos:

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/sonos-ceo-patrick-spence-steps-down-after-app-update-debacle-2025-01-13/

To professional tools like Photoshop:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/28/fade-to-black/#trust-the-process

To medical implants like artificial eyes:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/12/unsafe-at-any-speed/#this-is-literally-your-brain-on-capitalism

To the entire nursing profession:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/12/18/loose-flapping-ends/#luigi-has-a-point

To the cars on our streets:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

And the gig workers who drive them:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

There is clearly an epidemic – a pandemic – of enshittification, and cataloging the symptoms is important to tracking the spread of the disease. But if we're going to do something to stem the tide, we need to identify the contagion. What caused enshittification to take root, what allows it to spread, and who was patient zero?

That's where "Understood: Who Broke the Internet?" comes in:

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1353-the-naked-emperor

At root, "enshittification" is a story about constraints – not the bad things that platforms are doing now, but rather, the forces that stopped them from doing those things before. There are four of those constraints:

I. Competition: When we stopped enforcing antitrust law, we let companies buy their competitors ("It is better to buy than to compete" -M. Zuckerberg). That insulated companies from market-based punishments for enshittification, because a handful of large companies can enshittify in lockstep, matching each other antifeature for antifeature. You can't shop your way out of a monopoly.

II. Regulation: The collapse of tech into "five giant websites, each filled with screenshots of the other four" (-T. Eastman) allowed the Big Tech cartel to collude to capture its regulators. Tech companies don't have to worry about governments stepping in to punish them for enshittificatory tactics, because the government is on Big Tech's side.

III. Labor: When tech workers were scarce and companies competed fiercely for their labor, they were able to resist demands to enshittify the products they created and cared about. But "I fight for the user," only works if you have power over your boss, and scarcity-derived power is brittle, crumbling as soon as labor supply catches up with demand (this is why tech bosses are so excited to repeat the story that AI can replace programmers – whether or not it's true, it is an effective way to gut scarcity-driven tech worker power). Without unions, tech worker power vanished.

IV. Interoperability: The same digital flexibility that lets tech companies pull the enshittifying bait-and-switch whereby prices, recommendations, and costs are constantly changing cuts both ways. Digital toolsmiths have always thwarted enshittification with ad- and tracker-blockers, alternative clients, scrapers, etc. In a world of infinitely flexible computers, every 10' high pile of shit summons a hacker with an 11' ladder.

This week's episode of "Who Broke the Internet?" focuses on those IP laws, specifically, the legislative history of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a 1998 law whose Section 1201 bans any kind of disenshittifying mods and hacks.

We open the episode with Dmitry Skylarov being arrested at Def Con in 2001, after he gave a presentation explaining how he defeated the DRM on Adobe ebooks, so that ebook owners could move their books between devices and open them with different readers. Skylarov was a young father of two, a computer scientist, who found himself in the FBI's clutches, facing a lengthy prison sentence for telling an American audience that Adobe's product was defective, and explaining how to exploit its defects to let them read their own books.

Skylarov was the first person charged with a felony under DMCA 1201, and while the fact of his arrest shocked technically minded people at the time, it was hardly a surprise to anyone familiar with DMCA 1201. This was a law acting exactly as intended.

DMCA 1201 has its origins in the mid-1990s, when Al Gore was put in charge of the National Information Infrastructure program to demilitarize the internet and open it for civilian use (AKA the "Information Superhighway"). Gore came into conflict with Bruce Lehman, Bill Clinton's IP Czar, who proposed a long list of far-ranging, highly restrictive rules for the new internet, including an "anticircumvention" rule that would ban tampering with digital locks.

This was a pretty obscure and technical debate, but some people immediately grasped its significance. Pam Samuelson, the eminent Berkeley copyright scholar, raised the alarm, rallying a diverse coalition against Lehman's proposal. They won – Gore rejected Lehman's ideas and sent him packing. But Lehman didn't give up easily – he flew straight to Geneva, where he arm-twisted the UN's World Property Organization into passing two "internet treaties" that were virtually identical to the proposals that Gore had rejected. Then, Lehman went back to the USA and insisted that Congress had to overrule Gore and live up to its international obligations by adopting his law. As Lehman said – on some archival tape we were lucky to recover – he did "an end-run around Congress."

Lehman had been warned, in eye-watering detail, about the way that his rule protecting digital locks would turn into a system of private laws. Once a device was computerized, all a manufacturer needed to do was wrap it in a digital lock, and in that instant, it would become a literal felony of use that digital device in ways the manufacturer didn't like. It didn't matter if you were legally entitled to do something, like taking your car to an independent mechanic, refilling your ink cartridge, blocking tracking on Instagram, or reading your Kindle books on a Kobo device. The fact that tampering with digital locks was a crime, combined with the fact that you had to get around a digital lock to do these things, made these things illegal.

Lehman knew that this would happen. The fact that his law led – in just a few short years – to a computer scientist being locked up by the FBI for disclosing defects in a widely used consumer product, was absolutely foreseeable at the time Lehman was doing his Geneva two-step and "doing an end-run around Congress."

The point is that there were always greedy bosses, and since the turn of the century, they'd had the ability to use digital tools to enshittify their services. What changed wasn't the greed – it was the law. When Bruce Lehman disarmed every computer user, he rendered us helpless against the predatory instincts of anyone with a digital product or service, at a moment when everything was being digitized.

This week's episode recovers some of the lost history, an act I find very liberating. It's easy to feel like you're a prisoner of destiny, whose life is being shaped by vast, impersonal forces. But the enshittificatory torments of the modern digital age are the result of specific choices, made by named people, in living memory. Knowing who did this to us, and what they did, is the first step to undoing it.

In next week's episode, we'll tell you about the economic theories that created the "five giant websites filled with screenshots of the other four." We'll tell you who foisted those policies on us, and show you the bright line from them to the dominance of companies like Amazon. And we'll set up the conclusion, where we'll tell you how we'll wipe out the legacies of these monsters of history and kill the enshitternet.

Get "Understood: Who Broke the Internet?" in whatever enshittified app you get your podcasts on (or on Antennapod, which is pretty great). Here's the RSS:

https://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/nakedemperor.xml

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/13/ctrl-ctrl-ctrl/#free-dmitry

[books-and-strawberry-tea]

I don’t normally comment about booktube here. But I’ve just seen a video and I have to get some comments off my chest.

This video was about e-readers. And while the person has a huge collection of books behind them, goes on to explain that e-readers are so unnecessary, cause they are expensive. And if you are going to buy an e-reader, just buy an iPad cause they are similar in price….

I’m sorry but in what world is an iPad and an e-reader the same price?? (Or yk other tablets of a similar nature).

This person goes on to talk about how e-readers can’t install apps like Libby etc…are we just going to ignore the e-readers that run on android?? That function like a regular phone just with an e-ink screen??

I honestly gave up watching this video cause this person just sounded like they were pretty single minded on the topic. So here’s my two cents.

Pro’s for an ereader: (at least in my case)

1. E-reader’s are amazing for portability. Physical books can get very heavy, and although I love them, I hate taking physical books out with me cause I’m terrified of damaging them.

2. Books in my country, are incredibly expensive. You can go to the bookstore, and end up spending $50 AUD and get 1-2 books depending on what you get. Hard covers are usually $40+! Paperbacks can range between $17-$40 also. And if it doesn’t get printed in Australia?? Good luck. The only way I could get Hunting Adeline was to pay $65. Because whenever I ordered it from Amazon at $35, from America, it would come absolutely obliterated because they don’t package it in anything but a basic plastic mailer bag. No protection at all.

3. E-readers are much better for your eyes and don’t have constant distracting notifications and people trying to ring you. I have weak eye muscles. Always have. I wear glasses for this. And I used to read on my phone cause it’s what I have with me while I was out. But once I got an e-reader, I realised just how bad my eye strain was from my phone. E-readers have seriously improved my reading stamina especially since mine has the orange light feature. It’s not like we all don’t have an internet or phone addiction anyway. At least according to statistics I’ve seen in the past. Majority of us are trying to spend less time on our phones and more time doing what we love. And e-readers absolutely help with that. (Much better for my ADHD too honestly.)

4. I live with roommates, I have very limited space. So big book collections is just not something that’s possible for me. I’d love to, but again, space and money.

5. E-readers have given me the opportunity to read books that I’d never be able to get. Because of space reasons, money reasons, and the fact that Australia just does not get the wide selection of books that other countries do. We miss out so much. Some books, we have to wait YEARS for, while everyone else gets them on release dates. My e-reader has been such a huge investment for me, as well as an opportunity maker to give me the option to read books I’d never be able to get other wise.

I will clarify this by saying yes, I do have an iPad. But that was a gift. I didn’t buy it for myself. My mother very graciously bought it for me with her inheritance money. She went out of her way to make sure I had a good working device for university. That iPad was over $2,000 aud. My e-reader?? $250!!! HUGE price difference. And it has helped me save so much money in the process. Cause if I read the ebook, and don’t like it, that’s okay, refund. If I do??? Then I can absolutely go out and hopefully track down a physical copy. If that’s not possible?? I still have the digital version. That I can enjoy over and over.

No, I’m not ignoring the cons to do with DRM, and companies censoring ebooks, not at all. But I feel like either way there is still more pros then what this person was giving e-readers credit for. She sounded privileged honestly, she may not have a use for e-readers. But to be saying that you don’t need one, and that they are completely unnecessary….its just incorrect.

I haven’t even touched on how e-readers help others with disabilities to be able to access books. I have a friend for example that has been very unwell for many years now. And because of this, she has fatigue and strength issues. She at one stage could barely hold a book. But once she got her kindle, she was so over joyed cause she could finally enjoy books again. Kindles are so light, they have stands etc. It honestly reminds me of the people that say audiobooks arnt counted as reading and you shouldn’t do it. Sure, let’s just alienate all the people that can’t read or have vision impairment right? (For clarity, I’m being sarcastic.) Or how about all the cultures that past on the culture, history, legends etc all by word of mouth?? For centuries, way before anyone invented written script. But that’s a whole other tangent I can go off about later.

If e-readers arnt for you, that’s totally fine. But to say no one has a need for them, because physical books exist, is just closed minded. Just because you have the privilege of a huge book library and may not have use of an e-reader, doesn’t not mean that other people don’t have a great use for them.

Anyway, that’s my rant. I don’t like ranting online. But this just frustrated me so much. No hate to this person personally, I just think they weren’t open to the possibilities of how these devices are used and fulfil needs for other people that live differently.

If you read this, cool! I hope you have a good day. And enjoy reading what you are currently 💝

[tsukikonikushimi]

The Art and Making of Arcane (Masterlist)

I watched Arcane and loved it since the beginning! I got my hands on a PDF version of the artbook so I'll start posting screenshots of certain pages (like I did for the Avatar cookbook), I'm still deciding if I'll post the entire book or just some of the more interesting pages, regardless I will make a masterlist later DONE and link it to my pinned post so everything is easier to find!

The masterlist is in this post (under the image). ⬇️

For submissions and the schedule of posting: Info and Rules

For info on the China-Exclusive Art Book: Here (MASTERLIST)

As it's an PDF version some things are missing like Vander's letter, the jinx wanted poster, etc. Even the amazon list is incomplete, so i'm not really aware of what other things could be inside:

IN-WORLD EXTRAS: This stunning tome will also come with a trove of in-world extras. All editions of the book will include a Jinx poster, a removable map of Piltover, an in-world blueprint, a Vander Letter, fold-out spreads showcasing content from seasons one and two, and more.

I'm trying to buy a paperback English version of the book, which has proven to be very difficult. 😰 If i can find and buy one at a reasonable price, I will scan the extras and post them for people who also found the PDF, but can't buy the book (because of money or because it's almost out of stock everywhere). Due to some privacy related issues I will not give the site where I found the PDF, but it's pretty easy to find in my opinion [artbook name + PDF] , as long as you know one thing or two about pirating books, movies and shows.

Masterlist

Cover

Page 1 to 6

Page 1 & 2: Cover page, Jinx's spread and doodles, featuring some other characters - Here

Foreword

Page 7

TBA

I. Letting Creativity Come First

Page 8 to 16

Page 13: Storyboard of the flashback of EP1 - Here

TBA

II. Symbiosis & Synthesis

Page 17 to 26

Page 26: Easter Eggs - Here

TBA

III. A Citadel of Ambition & Invention

Page 27 to 47

Page 41: Crossroads of the Worlds - Here

TBA

IV. Exploring the Depths

Page 48 to 70

Page 48: Exploring the Dephts - Here

Page 53: Spread (Silco + Vander's Statue) - Here

Page 55: Viktor's Commune - Here

Page 57: Body Modification - Here

Page 58: Shimmer (1/2) - Here

Page 60: The Boy Who Shattered Time - Here

Page 61: The Firelights' Enclave - Here

Page 63: Spread (Ekko, Jinx, Sevika + Firelights S2EP9) - Here

V. Dualities

Page 71 to 91

Page 71: Dualities - Here

Page 76: Creating Jinx and Powder (2/3) - Here

Page 78: The Council and The Chem-Barons (1/3) - Here

Page 81: Silco & Vander (1/4) - Here

Page 82: Silco & Vander (2/4) - Here

Page 83: Silco & Vander (3/4) [Warwick design] - Here

Page 86: Mel & Ambessa (2/3) - Here

Page 88: Boys of Progress - Viktor & Jayce - Here

TBA

VI. A Rigorous Process with Room for Play

Page 92 to 104

Page 95: Background Characters and Pit Fighter Vi - Here

VII. Following the Beats

Page 105 to 114

TBA

Coda

Page 115 to 120

TBA

PS. The pages I put here are not the book pages, it's the pages of my PDF so I can keep track of which ones I have already posted.

divider

Post Timeline

Page 1 & 2 + 71 (20/03/2025)

Page 53 (21/03/2025)

Page 78 (24/03/2025)

Page 81 (25/03/2025)

Page 63 + 86 (26/03/2025) -> [63]* -🔫

Page 61 (27/03/2025)* -🎮🕹️

Page 57 (29/03/2025)

Page 58 (01/04/2025)* -🧁

Page 48 (02/04/2025)* -🧜🏻‍♂️

Page 76 (04/04/2025)* -🧜🏻‍♂️

Page 13 (08/04/2025)* -🔫

Page 82 (11/04/2025)

Page 83 (16/04/2025)*-🧜🏻‍♂️

Page 60 (30/04/2025)* -🎮🕹️

Page 55 (14/05/2025)* -🔫

Page 88 (22/05/2025)*

Page 95 (25/5/2025)* -🧁

Page 26 (05/06/2025)* -🎮🕹️

Page 41 (14/06/2025)* - Layla

*= Requested by User/Anon

[alexanderwales]

I spent some time trying to work on an epub issue: the table of contents is rotated 90 degrees. This only happens on a small handful of readers. It's infuriating.

An EPUB is actually a zip file in disguise, and you can open up that zip file to see all the guts inside, which is mostly CSS and HTML, because an EPUB is very nearly just a webpage formatted for readers.

So I was hoping that I would be able to find some hideous little bit of machine-generated CSS that had been inserted at some point during the various conversion processes, but nope, it's not there. Which means that it's not a problem with the CSS by itself, it's a problem with how the CSS is being interpreted by a certain subset of Kindle readers, and actually, the epub isn't what the reader is using, it's just used by Amazon to generate their own proprietary format. So the problem is likely in some quirk of the CSS and how it gets interpreted or translated.

And you know what? I became a writer instead of a software engineer to get away from CSS interpreter issues. But here I am, trying to track down a bug that's difficult to reproduce using a gigacorp's proprietary format I can't quickly iterate against, and it's exactly as awful as I remember it being.

[alalaya2]

Tim Drakes sleep habits save the Earth

14 All Clear

Once everyone knew that Phantom was safe, the fighting went from attack of the shadows to prison riot energy in a few seconds flat. The Flash family was running at full speed getting everyone ready having a snack in between so they could join in the flight at full strength. Lady Gotham was helping by boosting Signals powers so every shadow in a 5 Mile radius was now a potential portal. There was two Green Lanters that were posted on the hill to accept incoming prisoners for processing. They were going to be taken to Oa to be judged in Galactical court as they had committed Galactic war crimes.

Fright Knight and Pandora were competing to see who could get the most Agents. Lady Gotham was reveling in fighting without being tired after one hit stretching her metaphorical muscles while she was shedding the hooked chains of the curse that had plagued her for centuries. Swining her fist, brass knuckles made of the blood-stained steel of her city glinted in the light, breaking the jaw of any agent that got close to her. Her Knights were finally getting their powers of blessing at full strength.

Batman was striking hard and fast; any shadow that touched him distorted his silhouette making him harder to see properly as he seemed like a living shadow of vengeance coming out of the night to get them. Red Hood was hitting harder, an Agent ducked causing the fist he threw to put a hole in the steel wall. Anything that hit him was healing at a rate so fast that he looked invulnerable healing in seconds and his aim with his guns was supernatural in how they hit everything he aimed for. Red Robins seemed to know things before they happened and any secret that his opponents wanted to hide from him knew, at a glance, he was a good fighter with a Bo staff but with this knowledge he was God tier fighting. Nobody saw or heard Black Bat as she took down agent after agent with grace the light and shadows danced around her making her impossible to see.

Spoiler flittered from agent to agent like Red Robin, she knew what secrets would spoil the agent’s life the most, and she gave them holy hell laughing as she told everyone in hearing distance her opponent’s most embarrassing secrets. Robin footfall was so light he seemed to be gliding over the floor like gravity had no say in his movements. Each movement was hard to track to the average eye and no one heard him coming.

The Amazons had heard Pandora’s wager and were doing their best to keep up with the Bats. The Bats were getting more respect from them with each agent taken down as it was looking like Fright Knight would be the one to pick the first date. Pandora was fine with this as she was going to win either way. As far as her first courting fight was going, she was enjoying every second of it and she kind of expected to lose once she realized that Lady Gotham’s curse was broken. She had waited for a thousand years to get her man after the fighting was over and her king was safe. She would have her man, the date location really didn’t matter to her in the end.

While the heroes were taking out the Agents, Morrigan and Nightwing were working on making Phantom stable and free of his shackles. Nightwing may not have been a good a hacker as Red Robin or Oracle, but he was able to get the mechanical locks to release Phantoms hands and feet.

“Get him off the table the Ectotaniam is hurting him, and we need to get that muzzle off of him he is not a dog.” Morrigan fretted she could not touch the table as it would burn her.

Nightwing moved him to one of the office chairs as they would be slightly more comfortable than the ground and it would keep him up so he could pick the lock on the muzzle.

“Got it!” he started to take the muzzle off as the lock only took him a few minutes. His slight smile of triumph quickly turned to horror as he noticed that they had sown his lips shut. “B they sown his lips closed.” He tells his family over the coms. Nightwing heard Red Hood snarl of anger echoed by several other heroes.

Morrigan reached her hand to Danny’s face only to screech in pain as her fingers brushed over the threads. “Get those off him they are poisoned! A dead man’s nose to bind him and Blood Blossom Oils to kill him. Get them off NOW!” Morrigan’s Eyes were black with her rage, she was starting to look more skeletal than bird like.

Taking out a small knife Nightwing cut the knot holding the thread in and started to put it out Phantom made small noise of pain but didn’t react much. It wasn’t until he started to flush out the oil and thread pieces with a disinfectant that Phantom really started to notice what was going on around him.

Phantoms Voice was distorted like static, and several voices were talking at once “Please save them, I couldn’t …. I failed them. Save them Hero pleases they destroyed souls!” The sound makes the lights flicker and Nightwing flinched as he could understand it but it sounded like it didn’t belong to this side of the vail.

Morrigan reached out for Phantom again crooning in a bird like fashion. “Little Stars they are safe the rescue teams are getting them now, you are safe.” Her clawlike nails combed through Phantoms flowing white hair “you can’t save everyone, but your daughter is safe she is with Clockwork and Frostbite. You protected her, she is safe focus on that not those who you couldn’t help. You didn’t know and you can’t be everywhere no one can not even that old stopwatch of your father can.”

Nightwing got down to Phantoms eye level “you did so well in the Two years you were an active hero we never heard a thing form your corner of the world because by the time we would have heard of it you have taking care of it, and you have a near perfect record of saving your people. I’ve been a hero for almost 20 years, and I can’t even manage that, no matter how much I wish otherwise.

Phantom keened in pain and sorrow “Shh it’s alright as soon as they give us the all clear, your Farid will be called in.” Morrigan rested one of her hands on his shoulder reaching her aura out projecting comfort love and safety. She knew if she started to kill every agent that had even looked at Danny it would cause problems down the road, but it was tempting. Oh by Existence was it so tempting. Then as if her Little Sister Destiny had heard her Red Robins Voice was Heard over the loud speakers of the base.

“All Clear, all GIW Personal on sight has been captured and we have complete control. All Clear we have King Phantom call in the medics.”

That was all the news Morrigan needed. Nightwing watched as she sliced her palm and drew a Circle on the closest Wall. The Circle Filled in with a swirling neon green. “Bite, Gears Get your Asses over here now!”

“Death, it has been two long and I wish this were under better circumstances.” Said a Giant Yeti as he stepped out of the portal.

Morrigan gave him a small smile “it has been to long Frostbite, we will catch up once they King has been healed.”

Frostbite Stumbled as a purple blur speed past him and made a beeline towards Danny. Nightwing Held up his excrma stick while using his body to shield the kid.

“Clockwork!” Exclaimed Morrigan.

The now identified Clockwork made a wounded noise as he finally got to see Danny in person. He knew that his son would be hurt and that he was in bad shape. It was a totally different thing to see it in person.

“Clocky!” Cried Danny as he flung himself off the Chair into Clockworks arms knocking over a surprised Nightwing.

“I’m guessing they are friendly’s?” he asked looking at Morrigan for confirmation.

“Yes Clockwork is Phantoms Ghost Father as well as my brother and Frostbite is his main Doctor.”

“Cool, cool.” Nightwing exhaled as the adrenaline started to leave his system “well this is going to be an interesting mess to clean up.”

Morrigan Grinned in Reply it was to wide had to many teeth and flashes of old blood on them “Yes but this is why me and life get along so well we are never bord together.”

Clockwork Blinked, while he cuddled his son, he was forgetting something and it was going to be a problem for him soon.

First, Preview, AO3 Next

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

update on the good omens grieving process

Hello hi yes maggots your mascot sacrificial goat here, none of your ominous bloody warnings prepared me for this. On the advice of one of you I took a break from tumblr today so I thought ah, yes, I shall not think about Good Omens during this time. Hahahaha bet. This is a long post, about a series of disturbing good omens moments that haunted me anyway. Proceed with caution.

It was nine hours away, out of which I slept through four.

During the first nap, it became clear how tumblr brainwashed me. You'll never guess what I dreamed of. If you said Good Omens the answer is no.

I dreamed that someone on the television was reading out an audiobook of a nature arts and crafts book I had as a kid. And there were six pages dedicated to praising Neil Gaiman.

So then in the dream I wrote a tumblr post about it saying, "I thought y'all were kidding about the whole Neil being in our falafel thing but goddamn he really is everywhere".

Then, still in the dream, I remembered I wasn't supposed to be on tumblr, so I tried to delete the Neil Gaiman falafel post. Instead tumblr fucking glitched and set the post to 'lo-fi mode'. I kept trying to delete it.

At this point my screen was covered with pop-ups of tumblr yelling at me and a goddamn timer counting down from 41,000 minutes. Tumblr informed me that their 'delete post' function is actually run by BitCoin.

Currently due to their skeleton staff and the fact that this hellsite is held together with washi-tape and queer trauma, they were having negotiations with BitCoin and so I could not delete my post. I tried again anyway and the entire site hung. Then I woke up. This is some @one-time-i-dreamt shit.

The only social interactions I had were with the two irl good omens fans I know, whom I informed that I had finished Good Omens.

One of them sent me an audio clip of him screeching about trauma and six months and children of divorce at the top of his voice.

The other one texted ASMIIII YOU'RE A CHILD OF DIVORCE HOW ARE YOU COPING WITH THE PAIN. Two hours into my tumblr break I was already facing withdrawal and I wanted to sob that's what the maggots call me but that would have led to them saying BECAUSE THAT'S YOUR FUCKING NAME and I didn't wanna descend there yet.

I then went on Amazon and tracked my good omens book package like a creep. I then went on the US Amazon to cry over all the Good Omens merch that I cannot buy and isn't available here.

I then went on Pinterest to look at Good Omens tumblr screenshots. It was all going well until I found a stupid fucking post that said the duration of the song playing in the Bentley during the final fifteen and the duration of the kiss are the same. So he was replaying the kiss in his head before stopping the music.

Naturally, this then made me cry over Crowley. Painfully.

I looked up Good Omens ambiences on Youtube and cleaned a whole half of my desk while an Aziraphale's bookshop ambience played with rain and shit and when the lockdown audio came I smiled again.

And now here I am. Back. In pain.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Projects continue apace. My current (Jan 2025) focuses are

Processing the paperwork for incorporation (LLC with long term goals of NFP or cooperative structuring)

We've moved onto product testing folks! Some of the things we're working on all designed in tandem with my lovely wife @loreofthejungle: cloth dolls and Creature Plushies (weighted and unweighted, all designed by @loreofthejungle and patterned by me!), stickers, embroidered pieces (buttons, pins, bookmarks, pendants), and scent pack pairings for other items

Continuing to develop the Pilot Program for Community Food Forestry as a protective feature against food insecurity in the region (build greenhouse and continue to build modular chicken run, monitor hurricane and flood resilience, track supply capacity and timeline, plant appropriate food crops and companion flora, discuss "food fridge" shed affiliation with local food banks and coordinate to fund the construction, etc)

Purchasing equipment for long term growth and expansion (carpentry tools, looms and spinning wheels, sewing findings and notions, wire and bead work equipment, smoker and hot house, etc)

Continue monitoring and documenting Canine Behavioral Rehabilitation model for maintenance of recovery from stress-related reactivity (track recovery of current subjects, monitor the human-canine clinical interactions and their role in prognosis and recovery, document the process and identify common areas of resistance, setback, or difficulty, etc)

Document and create educational/outreach material for Stress Modeling and anti-psych community mental health initiatives/alternatives suggested by the research

Maintain access to infusions (current access to specialist who can prescribe is delayed until Sept. 2026 with some possibility of sooner availability via consultation with non-specialist care management) to manage the severity of my OH/dysautonomia symptoms and reduce my risk of falling/head trauma

If you want to help me with my work or support me in doing what I do, there are a few options!

I accept cash donations and can currently do so digitally via: Venmo at morbidly-queerious, CashApp at $RazTalks

You can send digital gift cards to the email subsistence_botanicals@proton.me from any of the following online shops: webstaurantstore.com, seedsavers.org, southernseeds.com, sowrightseeds.com, tractorsupply.com, rowhouseyarn.com, dickblick.com

It's not necessarily my preference due to the company practices, however here is an Amazon Wishlist for those who may prefer to purchase specific gifts or donations for the work. It includes low-, mid-, and high-budget options, and the most helpful items are typically either seeds or animal feed, but folks are always welcome to reach out and ask directly if there are any currently pressing needs!

As always, I would prefer people only support us if they can genuinely do so in comfort and without sacrifice. We do the work we are doing so that we and others can be safer, not for anyone to put themselves at risk to support us.

[chunkyspice]

Im a beginner gainer, how did you start gaining weight and how much would you recommend gaining in the first 2 months? Your gains are so impressive btw :)

Oh, why thank you!

I’m not good at advice, BUT with my experience (as it is different for everyone) I started by drinking most of my calories. In doing that I notice a significant difference I had out on like 30 pounds within 2 months. For example: drinking whole chocolate milk, high calorie boosts (the 530 cal ones, these are ordered from Amazon. as well as the 250 cal ones bc they are sold in stores and easily accessible) I also eat lots of protein that way my body still gets its needs and what not. Also instead of using milk for milkshakes I use heavy cream which is honestly the bulk of my gains hehe. ( I can’t stand the taste of it by itself but some just drink it straight from the carton)

Also in my experience, while it’s awesome to track your weight, I always found it disappointing when I wouldn’t be a certain number goal, I have since stopped focusing on the number as much as It put me in a pretty funky mindset when not reaching that ‘end of the month goal’ I would set.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: just enjoy it! Don’t burden yourself when you aren’t making those weight goals, everyone’s body is different and processes food and what we intake differently so what works for me might not work for others. And lastly, how much you exercise can effect how much you gain, I work in a very fast paced and heavy movement work place so I’m constantly “working out” granted it’s just my arms and legs that do most of the work but still.

So yeah hope this helps in your journey!

Edit: im not a health expert lmaoo and gaining is not cheap by any means so keep that in mind as well

[shamandrummer]

What Happens During a Shamanic Journey?

A shamanic journey is an ancient spiritual practice found in cultures across the globe, from the Amazon to Siberia. At its core, it is a meditative process that allows the practitioner--often a shaman or a seeker guided by one--to enter an altered state of consciousness and explore non-ordinary realms. These journeys are not escapism; they are intentional acts of spiritual exploration, healing, and connection. But what really happens during a shamanic journey? What does the practitioner experience, and how does it impact their waking life?

In this blog post, we'll explore the key stages of a shamanic journey, what a person might encounter, and why these experiences are deeply meaningful.

Entering the Journey: Setting the Intention

Every shamanic journey begins with intention. This isn't merely wishful thinking--it's a focused, purposeful question or goal that directs the journey. The practitioner may seek guidance, healing, ancestral insight, or clarity about a life decision. The clarity of this intention is crucial because it shapes the journey and determines what spirits or archetypal forces show up.

Before the journey begins, the shaman or facilitator often prepares the space with ritual and ceremony. This may involve smudging with sage, drumming, chanting, or calling in the directions--North, South, East, West--as well as the sky, Earth, and the center. These rituals help to create a sacred container for the journey.

Shifting Consciousness: The Role of Rhythm and Breath

To enter the shamanic state of consciousness, the practitioner usually relies on sound and rhythm--most commonly, the steady beat of a drum or rattle at about 4–7 beats per second. This rhythm helps entrain the brain into the theta state, which is associated with deep meditation, intuition, and altered awareness.

Some traditions use breathwork, chanting, or even entheogens (psychoactive plants) to induce the journey state. Regardless of method, the goal is the same: to shift the mind from the ordinary to the non-ordinary, creating a liminal space between the physical and spiritual worlds.

Once the brain is in the theta state, the journey begins. The practitioner may feel as though they are traveling--either ascending, descending, or moving across space. This is often accompanied by vivid imagery, symbolic landscapes, and the presence of guides or spirits.

The Journey Landscape: Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds

In many shamanic cosmologies, the spirit world is divided into three realms:

The Lower World is often accessed by descending through a cave, hole, or roots of a tree. It is not a place of darkness or evil but a realm of power animals, ancestral spirits, and deep Earth wisdom. Here, seekers might find animal allies, recover lost soul parts, or retrieve healing messages from the subconscious.

The Middle World reflects the energetic layer of the physical world. It is used for spirit tracking, healing, and communication with nature spirits. It's the realm where the shaman may travel to help someone else--retrieving information about illness, trauma, or spiritual imbalances.

The Upper World is typically accessed by climbing, flying, or moving upward through clouds or a beam of light. This realm is populated with ascended teachers, deities, and cosmic archetypes. Journeys here often bring expanded perspective, divine messages, and spiritual initiation.

Each of these realms has its own flavor, challenges, and wisdom. What a practitioner experiences is unique to them and often deeply symbolic.

Meeting Allies: Power Animals and Spirit Guides

One of the most common--and powerful--experiences during a shamanic journey is encountering spiritual allies. These may appear as animals, human-like figures, mythic beings, or even elemental forces.

Power animals are spiritual protectors and guides that embody qualities the practitioner needs. A bear might offer strength and grounding; a hawk, vision and clarity. Once met, these allies can be called upon in daily life for support and guidance.

Spirit guides may take on ancestral or angelic forms. They often serve as teachers, healers, or gatekeepers, helping the seeker navigate the spiritual realms.

These beings are not imagined in a fictional sense. From the shamanic perspective, they are energetic intelligences with real presence and agency in the unseen world.

Receiving Messages and Healing

The core of the journey lies in the insight or healing received. This may come as a vision, a sensation, a voice, or an intuitive knowing. The practitioner may be shown symbolic images--a broken mask, a river, a flame--or experience something emotionally moving, like an embrace from an ancestor or the release of long-held grief.

In some cases, the journey involves soul retrieval--bringing back lost aspects of the self that fragmented during trauma. In others, it's about energetic cleansing--removing harmful attachments, entities, or emotional residue. Sometimes the healing is subtle, a shift in awareness or a new perspective that blooms over time.

Returning and Integration

After a time--usually 15 to 30 minutes--the drumbeat changes to signal the return. The practitioner comes back through the same path they took--up from the lower world, down from the upper world--and gently reorients to physical reality.

But the journey doesn't end there. The integration phase is just as important. What did the symbols mean? What does the guidance suggest in real life? Journaling, drawing, or talking with a trusted guide can help unpack the meaning.

Shamans often say that "a journey not integrated is a journey wasted." The real power lies in applying the wisdom--making changes, taking action, or embodying the healing that was offered.

The Transformative Nature of the Journey

A shamanic journey is not just an inner adventure--it's a transformation of consciousness. It realigns the seeker with their deeper purpose, reconnects them with nature and spirit, and offers tools for living in balance. Over time, regular journeys can increase intuition, emotional resilience, and a felt sense of interconnection with the web of life.

In a world often fragmented by stress, technology, and disconnection, shamanic journeying provides a sacred space to listen--to the Earth, to the ancestors, to the soul itself.

Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or simply curious, the shamanic journey invites you into a profound relationship with the unseen. It's not about escape--it's about remembering who you truly are and walking your path with clarity, courage, and compassion. Now that you know the basics, take a shamanic journey.

[rebeccathornewrites]

the way u write romance means the world to me omg…how do u start your writing process??? do u use any like websites to organize ur characters or worlds? so curious bc being able to take such an inherently simple concept and expand on it so well and in such a raw way is an amazing skill!!! big fan

Hello!! Thank you so much for the kind words, omg. :D

For me, I usually mull over an idea for anywhere from a month to a couple years while I’m writing other projects. The ideas that fade quickly aren’t usually worth my time, but the ones that persistently come back are the ones I add to my schedule. (I typically know each book I’m writing next at least a year in advance.)

Once I sit down to write, I’ll draw up a rough outline with the 5 Sentence Method. I designed this method to be a simple bridge between pantsing (writing by the seat of your pants) and plotting (planning everything meticulously). It’s based around the Snowflake Method and uses elements from Save the Cat, but is far simpler! Just 5 sentences for 5 key plot points across the book. Once I have those, that’s my roadmap for writing, and I’ll expand accordingly!

Here’s a rough idea of the 5 Sentence Method! If you want to know more, I did write a craft book on the subject, available on Amazon. :D

Sentence 1 (5% mark in book): Inciting Incident, the moment where everything for your MC shifts, and they can’t ignore the pressing plot problem that just arose. (NOTE: this should NOT be on page one. We need to know what a character’s normal is before you toss in an inciting incident, so we can see how that moment is different than their daily life.)

Sentence 2 (25% mark in book): Leaving Home, the “leaving the Shire” point that kicks off Act 2. This is either the start of a physical or mental journey where the MC begins to pursue the real plot!

Sentence 3 (50% mark in book): Midpoint Reversal, the best part of the book. Done right, this is the moment where everything your MC thought they knew changes. Elizabeth swore she’d never love Darcy--then he proposes, and she realizes he’s loved her this entire time. If it’s a good Midpoint Reversal, it should completely change the MC’s interaction with the plot from this point on.

Sentence 4 (75% mark in book): Beginning of the End, the moment when an event happens that concludes Act 2 and begins the downward spiral into the ending battle / novel’s climax. After this point, the events of the ending CANNOT be stopped.

Sentence 5 (95% mark in book): Conclusion, where we see how the MC handled the climax and the book is wrapping up. Make sure you offer an off-ramp for your readers here, where you properly conclude the plots of the novel and give them a bit of breathing room after an intense ending.

I drop those sentences in Scrivener, which is how I personally track plots, characters, and worldbuilding. I’ll add in extra scenes I imagined based on the 5 Sentence roadmap. Then, when I’m ready, I write the book in Word, cause old habits die hard. LOL.

I hope that helped!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Amazon Alexa is a graduate of the Darth Vader MBA

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

If you own an Alexa, you might enjoy its integration with IFTTT, an easy scripting environment that lets you create your own little voice-controlled apps, like "start my Roomba" or "close the garage door." If so, tough shit, Amazon just nuked IFTTT for Alexa:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/25/23931463/ifttt-amazon-alexa-applets-ending-support-integration-automation

Amazon can do this because the Alexa's operating system sits behind a cryptographic lock, and any tool that bypasses that lock is a felony under Section 1201 of the DMCA, punishable by a 5-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine. That means that it's literally a crime to provide a rival OS that lets users retain functionality that Amazon no longer supports.

This is the proverbial gun on the mantelpiece, a moral hazard and invitation to mischief that tempts Amazon executives to run a bait-and-switch con where they sell you a gadget with five features and then remotely kill-switch two of them. This is prime directive of the Darth Vader MBA: "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."

So many companies got their business-plan at the Darth Vader MBA. The ability to revoke features after the fact means that companies can fuck around, but never find out. Apple sold millions of tracks via iTunes with the promise of letting you stream them to any other device you owned. After a couple years of this, the company caught some heat from the record labels, so they just pushed an update that killed the feature:

https://memex.craphound.com/2004/10/30/apple-to-ipod-owners-eat-shit-and-die-updated/

That gun on the mantelpiece went off all the way back in 2004 and it turns out it was a starter-pistol. Pretty soon, everyone was getting in on the act. If you find an alert on your printer screen demanding that you install a "security update" there's a damned good chance that the "update" is designed to block you from using third-party ink cartridges in a printer that you (sorta) own:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Selling your Tesla? Have fun being poor. The upgrades you spent thousands of dollars on go up in a puff of smoke the minute you trade the car into the dealer, annihilating the resale value of your car at the speed of light:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/23/how-to-fix-cars-by-breaking-felony-contempt-of-business-model/

Telsa has to detect the ownership transfer first. But once a product is sufficiently cloud-based, they can destroy your property from a distance without any warning or intervention on your part. That's what Adobe did last year, when it literally stole the colors from your Photoshop files, in history's SaaSiest heist caper:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/28/fade-to-black/#trust-the-process

And yet, when we hear about remote killswitches in the news, it's most often as part of a PR blitz for their virtues. Russia's invasion of Ukraine kicked off a new genre of these PR pieces, celebrating the fact that a John Deere dealership was able to remotely brick looted tractors that had been removed to Chechnya:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

Today, Deere's PR minions are pitching search-and-replace versions of this story about Israeli tractors that Hamas is said to have looted, which were also remotely bricked.

But the main use of this remote killswitch isn't confounding war-looters: it's preventing farmers from fixing their own tractors without paying rent to John Deere. An even bigger omission from this narrative is the fact that John Deere is objectively Very Bad At Security, which means that the world's fleet of critical agricultural equipment is one breach away from being rendered permanently inert:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/23/reputation-laundry/#deere-john

There are plenty of good and honorable people working at big companies, from Adobe to Apple to Deere to Tesla to Amazon. But those people have to convince their colleagues that they should do the right thing. Those debates weigh the expected gains from scammy, immoral behavior against the expected costs.

Without DMCA 1201, Amazon would have to worry that their decision to revoke IFTTT functionality would motivate customers to seek out alternative software for their Alexas. This is a big deal: once a customer learns how to de-Amazon their Alexa, Amazon might never recapture that customer. Such a switch wouldn't have to come from a scrappy startup or a hacker's DIY solution, either. Take away DMCA 1201 and Walmart could step up, offering an alternative Alexa software stack that let you switch your purchases away from Amazon.

Money talks, bullshit walks. In any boardroom argument about whether to shift value away from customers to the company, a credible argument about how the company will suffer a net loss as a result has a better chance of prevailing than an argument that's just about the ethics of such a course of action:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/microincentives-and-enshittification/

Inevitably, these killswitches are pitched as a paternalistic tool for protecting customers. An HP rep once told me that they push deceptive security updates to brick third-party ink cartridges so that printer owners aren't tricked into printing out cherished family photos with ink that fades over time. Apple insists that its ability to push iOS updates that revoke functionality is about keeping mobile users safe – not monopolizing repair:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

John Deere's killswitches protect you from looters. Adobe's killswitches let them add valuable functionality to their products. Tesla? Well, Tesla at least is refreshingly honest: "We have a killswitch because fuck you, that's why."

These excuses ring hollow because they conspicuously omit the possibility that you could have the benefits without the harms. Like, your tractor could come with a killswitch that you could bypass, meaning you could brick it at a distance, and still fix it yourself. Same with your phone. Software updates that take away functionality you want can be mitigated with the ability to roll back those updates – and by giving users the ability to apply part of a patch, but not the whole patch.

Cloud computing and software as a service are a choice. "Local first" computing is possible, and desirable:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers

The cheapest rhetorical trick of the tech sector is the "indivisibility gambit" – the idea that these prix-fixe menus could never be served a la carte. Wanna talk to your friends online? Sorry there's just no way to help you do that without spying on you:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/08/divisibility/#technognosticism

One important argument over smart-speakers was poisoned by this false dichotomy: the debate about accessibility and IoT gadgets. Every IoT privacy or revocation scandal would provoke blanket statements from technically savvy people like, "No one should ever use one of these." The replies would then swiftly follow: "That's an ableist statement: I rely on my automation because I have a disability and I would otherwise be reliant on a caregiver or have to go without."

But the excluded middle here is: "No one should use one of these because they are killswitched. This is especially bad when a smart speaker is an assistive technology, because those applications are too important to leave up to the whims of giant companies that might brick them or revoke their features due to their own commercial imperatives, callousness, or financial straits."

Like the problem with the "bionic eyes" that Second Sight bricked wasn't that they helped visually impaired people see – it was that they couldn't be operated without the company's ongoing support and consent:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete

It's perfectly possible to imagine a bionic eye whose software can be maintained by third parties, whose parts and schematics are widely available. The challenge of making this assistive technology fail gracefully isn't technical – it's commercial.

We're meant to believe that no bionic eye company could survive unless they devise their assistive technology such that it fails catastrophically if the business goes under. But it turns out that a bionic eye company can't survive even if they are allowed to do this.

Even if you believe Milton Friedman's Big Lie that a company is legally obligated to "maximize shareholder value," not even Friedman says that you are legally obligated to maximize companies' shareholder value. The fact that a company can make more money by defrauding you by revoking or bricking the things you buy from them doesn't oblige you to stand up for their right to do this.

Indeed, all of this conduct is arguably illegal, under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits "unfair and deceptive business practices":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

"No one should ever use a smart speaker" lacks nuance. "Anyone who uses a smart speaker should be insulated from unilateral revocations by the manufacturer, both through legal restrictions that bind the manufacturer, and legal rights that empower others to modify our devices to help us," is a much better formulation.

It's only in the land of the Darth Vader MBA that the deal is "take it or leave it." In a good world, we should be able to take the parts that work, and throw away the parts that don't.

(Image: Stock Catalog/https://www.quotecatalog.com, Sam Howzit; CC BY 2.0; modified)

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/26/hit-with-a-brick/#graceful-failure

[sweetfirebird]

More Things You Can Do

aside from protesting

There are a lot of boycotts going on right now. I have seen calls for an official day (February 28) of no shopping and others that are extended avoidance or limitation of using: Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, Amazon, Airbnb, Tesla, Meta, CNN, Fox News.

I've also seen boycotts, individual and collective, of businesses like Sephora or CVS, which voluntarily rolled back their DEI. (So did Disney, btw) But while boycott is a power you can flex (and save yourself money in the process), I think it's easier to list some places that have NOT caved on their DEI and/or who are even actively supporting it: Costco, Walgreens, Ulta, Lush, Penzey's, King Arthur Flour, Bob's Red Mill, Albertson's grocery stores (includes Safeway), Apple and more

Delete any Meta apps you aren't using/don't need. This includes Threads, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and whatever stupid VR thing they try next that will fail. If you do need to keep using them (small businesses, unfortunately, still often do), you can still keep Meta from profiting from you by going into your Privacy Settings and turning off any function that allows them to collect your information for ads. Meta does not make this easy to find, btw. And you are going to end up with weird ads, but just ignore them.

Go into all of the Meta apps you use, find the Privacy Center, under Settings, I think, find Ad Preferences or Common Privacy Settings. It's then going to make you click on more things, like Manage Settings. And then you can turn off settings like "Use your information to show our ad partners"

Then you have to find the other settings to turn off other companies sharing your information with Meta jfc

Here, John Oliver explains it better

Switch from Chrome. (I have to use Chrome to pay my electric bill, they won't let me use another browser. Dicks. But for everything else, I use Firefox or Ecosia) Firefox isn't Google but also Firefox lets you add extensions to block tracking or ads and I have one up to help limit Meta's information scraping anyway. And it's free! Switching only takes minutes!

Use Mapquest --Mapquest is not referring to the Gulf of Mexico as anything but the Gulf of Mexico.

If you are into these sort of podcasts, The Meidas Touch is openly critical of Trump and Musk, and just ousted Joe Rogan from Spotify's top spot.

This one is difficult for trans people right now but everyone, yes everyone in America, get your IDs in order and up to date. They are going to try to push some Voter ID shit too (where they haven't already) so take the time NOW to get your paperwork in order. Go request (or order through the mail) a certified copy of your birth certificates from the county where you were born. Going in means you only pay the County Clerk fees. Through the mail usually means you will have to have something notarized as well. (Hell, anyone who changed your surnames when you got married, maybe get a certified copy of your marriage license too.) Get a Real ID. Get a passport if you can afford it. Passports also require a certified copy of a birth certificate. If you have a valid passport, it will work in place of a Real ID but get both if you can. American passports are good for ten years (for adults).

Also, and this sucks, get your affairs in order. You could get hit by a bus or something, and you want to make sure your death is handled *how you want* and your loved ones get what you feel they should, regardless of your gender and how many roadblocks the govt is going to try to throw up in your way. Protecting Trans Bodies in Death and Making Your Death Plan (videos from Caitlin Doughty). Also and I know I keep harping on this, MAKE A WILL. MAKE IT LEGALLY. Look up your state's requirements for such a document or hire someone to do it for you. (Sometimes credit unions or regular unions will offer this as a service. LegalZoom also exists if that is more your jam.)

Fun stuff (cuz sorry about the death stuff!)

Got Spotify or Tidal or even Youtube? Start making playlists of POC and queer artists, and make them public. Search for BIPOC and/or queer podcasts and video essayists.

Personally, I've been putting on all the booktuber videos about ditching Kindle and just letting them play in the background while I do tasks. Someone is out there on Youtube speaking the truth? Like and Subscribe! (It helps them get visibility and shows Youtube there is an audience, and if it worries you... it's not permanent. You can unsubscribe later if you want.)

Like books by BIPOC and/or queer people?? Recommend that shit. Check it out from libraries even if you've read it before!

Be Kind. Be kind to people and to yourselves. Participate in boycotts and remember they can mean *totally avoiding* a store, or, if there is no alternative for what you need, then *spending far less* there than you normally would. Shop local. Shop small. Spread correct information as best as you can. Remember that Black lives matter, that trans lives matter, and that way more people on our side than they want us to realize.

[thisisnotmeta]

Million Dollar Man

Chapter 1

-

Sent.

There it was—my very first music contract signed.

My hands swiped back and forth between the 'sent' and 'draft' inboxes, confirming the reality of the moment. The air shuddered with anticipation as I blankly stared at my inbox, silently praying for a reply in the mere 1.4 seconds since I hit 'send.'

Fresh out of university last year, I found myself grappling with the realisation that I needed to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Studying history had its limits—teaching or diving into more debt for a specialised master's degree were the conventional routes. However, nestled in the corners of my life was my little secret—I'd always been a songwriter. It wasn't something anyone really knew about until 3 months ago. After a drunken night in with my mum, I mustered the courage to share one of my demos with her. Her insistence that it was the greatest piece of music she'd ever heard, albeit the expected maternal praise, boosted my confidence. The morning after, armed with nothing more than my shitty Amazon mic and GarageBand, I sent three of my best demos to four different music labels across the country.

In the agonising months of waiting for a reply from any label, hope slipped through my fingers with each passing day. Just when despair threatened to engulf me, a glimmer of possibility emerged two weeks ago. Emails from two labels requesting in-person meetings to discuss my music further landed in my inbox, a lifeline amid the silence. Navigating a whirlwind 24-hour trip to London, I juggled the meetings, fueled by a mix of nerves and excitement. Having returned to my parents' home post-university, my part-time receptionist job became the financial anchor for one day moving out and starting my own new little life.

The journey from the North to London felt long, god it was so long, yet the promise of these potential signings kept me going. The meetings with both labels exceeded expectations, but Dirty Hit held a specific pull on me. They not only understood my musical aspirations but, to my disbelief, I met specifically with the label's founder, Jamie Oborne. A stark contrast to the very very lovely but somewhat underwhelming talent scout at the other label, Dirty Hit resonated with me on every level—the sound, the artists, the team. It felt like a perfect fit, a musical home where my compositions seamlessly blended with their illustrious discography.

The dream was a reality when Jamie extended the signing offer. Without hesitation, I accepted. The train ride back, though again, immensely long, was some of the best fun I’ve ever had. Amidst the clatter of the tracks, I scribbled down fragments for future songs, mapped out my imaginary world tour, envisioned albums, and even planned my Met Gala outfit. The euphoria of realising a lifelong dream had just basically become a reality in a matter of months hadn’t given me any time to process anything. But I was absolutely ready to potentially start something absolutely amazing. And here I was sitting in front of my MacBook, staring blankly at my Gmail.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind, a lot of online meetings, emailing and future discussing. Jamie liked my demos and wanted to get them produced and mixed professionally as well as teach me how to do it myself. I travelled back to London a few times in the weeks prior to practice and test with different producers the team thought I’d mix well with. My most successful session was my most recent, as Dirty Hit expensed a hotel for me for two nights in London to focus on my time in the studio. Ben Gleason, one of Dirty Hit’s leading producers, was someone who truly understood my music and shaped it in a way that I could genuinely hear one of my demos appearing on the radio, it was crazy. His vision and expertise were admirable to anyone. My demo, over the past 15 hours we worked on it, had turned into a real, titled potential single – ‘Million Dollar Man’.

Before I was sent to travel back home, we sent it off to the team to listen to and give feedback. It was a success, thank god. Waiting for the train to come in at Kings Cross, the sound of my ringtone filled my headphones. As I looked at my phone, I wasn’t fazed by the ‘unknown’ number and filled my boredom by answering it anyway.

‘Hello?’ I said in a slow voice, totally expecting some type of phone provider or accident scam, which usually came with answering unknown numbers.

“Hi, is this Camille?” A chirpy, womanly voice replied back to me.

“It is, yeah,” I replied nonchalantly. “Who is this, sorry?”

“Perfect! It’s Holly from Dirty Hit,” She replied. My breathing hitched, okay this phone call was important then and not just fun. This must be Jamie’s assistant, who I met a couple times through our Zoom meetings. “Thought I’d give you a little ring, so you can get my number saved and so I can update you on some things! We’ve just had a meeting today about what we want to do with you in the next few weeks and we went through everything you talked about, and we were thinking about potentially focusing you more on studio time right now, and we are wanting you to build on the songs you are in the process of and create one really really strong song that we can put out as your debut. What are your thoughts on that?”

“I think that’s a great idea! Ben and I were brainstorming a lot of songs that had great potential, so it would be cool to work with him again,” I practically begged through the phone. Ben is most definitely my favourite producer in the three I’d worked with in the short time. As much as I think Million Dollar Man is perfect, there are so many that might even end up better.

“Yeah, Ben is one of the best, especially for your sound,” she agrees, pausing for a second as she clicks what sounds like a pen and takes time to write something down. “We were thinking of sending you and a couple of our producers on a work getaway and maybe taking the time that you are there to write some songs and find your own dynamic with them, what do you think?”

“Of course, I’d love to!” I exclaim through the phone. Walking through the station to get to my soon departing train back home. Amazing, more studio work, more song writing - I have been dreaming of getting phone calls like this for years.

I have so many ideas in my head and written in my notebook just waiting to be explored with real professionals like Ben. I just prayed silently in my head that my quick praise of him would lead them sending him on the getaway along with whoever else they wanted to send with me - probably Joel or Vanna, the other two producers I had worked with in the time I’d been here. Joel’s sound was old school and he loved that classic drum in the background. Of course I didn’t hate it; he always made it sound gorgeous, but I loved the more earthy, tender sounds - songs that you could sit in the bath and vibe/pour your eyes out to. Vanna’s sound was cool, she worked a lot with the 1975, Dirty Hit’s biggest signing. Working with her was very fun, hearing about her stories with them and lots of other big musicians she has produced allowed me to have a little fangirl moment a couple times in the studio.

“Do you have an idea on which producers are coming along?” I continued.

“I’m just gonna give Ben a call and see when he’s available,” she replied. Yes! Thank god. “Thought I’d give you a call first before I called anyone else… but I know you haven’t met yet but Jamie thinks it would be a great opportunity to work with Matty aswell.”

“Matty… Healy, from the 1975?” I stutter. Surely not, I know he worked with Baebadoobee and a couple others on their latest work but surely he wouldn’t take the time to work with someone who’s just starting, would he? I wasn’t a huge 1975 fan, but I knew of their songs and Matty’s work and I admired them a lot. I’d kill to get to the level they are, but all in good time.

“Yeah, actually!” She laughed slightly through the phone. Woah. “He actually works a lot with our artists to establish their sound, you know what I mean? and he’s really talented, I promise. He was a part of our meeting today and he’s got a lot of good ideas that I think you’ll like, not to mention all the advice he can give you with starting out and he can talk you through his own experiences as well.”

“That’s amazing, I love his work!” I smile to myself, probably looking like an idiot in front of all these serious, fast walking Londoners. It seems so unbelievable that Matty Healy would take any time out of his busy schedule to work on my music, he must be bored. “If that’s something he is interested in, then I’d absolutely love to work together on something.”

“Okay, that’s perfect!” She replied. “No, he’s very interested, don’t worry. He went with Beabadoobee on a work getaway a few months ago, working on some new stuff and they made some gorgeous music - think he just wants the bragging rights again really. But, honestly he’s a star, you'll love him.”

As I was settling myself down on the busy train, Holly was writing down my best dates for the trip and ended the phone call pleasantly soon after. A Sunday to Wednesday a few weeks from now was the time they had written down for Matty’s availability and that worked with me! God knows where they were going to take us, but I couldn’t help but get excited. Me, Ben and sexy Matty Healy. I just hope he’s not a dick.

[tieflingkisser]

We’re About to Find Out What Mass Deportation Really Looks Like [archive link]

Selected from the article:

ICE officials envision a private-sector contracting bonanza that would rely on old workhorses such as CoreCivic and Geo Group-–the for-profit firms best known for running immigration jails—while enlisting large data companies to make the deportation system run more like an e-commerce platform.

This was a theme of ICE’s message to industry leaders at a border-security expo in Arizona last week. Keynote speakers included Homan, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.

“We need to get better at treating this like a business,’’ said Lyons, who added that he wanted a deportation system that would work like Amazon Prime “but with human beings.’’ His comments, first reported by the Arizona Mirror, drew condemnations from immigrant-advocacy groups.

[...]

ICE officers have been spending too much time on “targeting,” Homan told me, which is the process of identifying deportation candidates and researching their daily routines so that officers don’t come up empty when they try to make an arrest. ICE teams can’t force their way into a residence without a judicial warrant, so they try to determine when the person they want to grab typically leaves for work, or drops off kids at school. Then they can try to catch them in the open.

This is one example of the kind of data research Homan would like to hand off to private contractors. Reached by phone a day after the Arizona security conference, he sounded like someone who’d been listening to pitches from management consultants and data firms.

“You got all these companies out there that say they can help with targeting,’’ Homan said, mentioning firms such as Palantir and Deloitte, neither of which responded to inquiries. “There are a lot of smart people who can help cops be more efficient at what they’re doing.’’

[...]

Laura Rivera, an attorney who tracks contracts between tech companies and the Department of Homeland Security for the Just Futures Law project, attended the border-security expo and told me the message from Trump officials was that they are seeking to hire contractors to do “every task that doesn’t necessitate a badge and a gun.”

That includes social-media monitoring, immigration case management and the use of cellphone data to locate targets for arrest. The companies offering those services ‘’are looking to be the right hand of Trump in carrying out mass deportations,’’ she said.

[mariacallous]

Since the end of January, Ryan Helgeson, a Chicago-based immigration attorney, has noticed an unusual trend: He’s been getting significantly more pushback from US Citizenship and Immigration Services as he files employment visa petitions on behalf of his foreign-born clients.

Helgeson’s firm, McEntee Law Group, represents tech workers who hope to emigrate or remain in the US by way of visas granted for specialty occupations or extraordinary abilities. On average, Helgeson’s firm files 50 to 75 visa petitions per month. This goes up to as many as 90 per month at the height of “H-1B season,” when employers enter a lottery for visas on behalf of foreign workers, and candidates then file a formal petition. During his many years of practicing law, Helgeson and his team have occasionally received requests for additional evidence, or RFE’s, from USCIS, as a part of the agency’s process for vetting applicants.

But since Donald Trump took office and began cracking down on immigration, Helgeson says, there has been “an absolute increase in the number and rate of RFE’s” on the visa petitions he has filed. That tracks with what three other immigration attorneys told WIRED. Whether their clients are applying for H-1B visas, O-1 extraordinary ability visas, intracompany visas for foreigners looking to move to a US office, or visas specific to traders and investors, USCIS has been seeking an increased amount of information from applicants.

This includes more requests for letters of support, certificates of education, and biometric data, immigration lawyers tell WIRED. Some of the pushback is based on “adverse information” about the applicant or an applicant failing to update their address, lawyers say. But other RFE’s are redundant, requesting information that has already been provided. In some cases, attorneys are struggling to determine what else USCIS could be seeking.

“The tone of the requests for evidence has remained the same, but the whole process is overtly more hostile,” Helgeson says. These requests from USCIS can double the amount of time it takes for a visa to be processed, he adds.

It’s also expensive to resubmit visa petitions. Matt Doyle, a British-born tech entrepreneur living in Austin, Texas, and one of McEntee Law Group’s clients, recently had his EB-1 visa application denied. Now he’s having to reapply. Doyle will pay another $4,000 to the government to expedite his reapplication, on top of the $20,000 he says he has already spent in legal fees for him and his family. For now, the law firm is waiving any additional fees.

“I was approved on two out of the three criteria, and they acknowledged [my company’s] innovation and uniqueness, but they didn’t feel the evidence showed broader impact,” Doyle says. The entrepreneur is now soliciting several additional letters of support from customers and colleagues. He’s paying to expedite the process, he says, in the hopes that his visa gets approved before his current extension expires this fall.

“In the 30-plus years combined of me and my legal partner practicing immigration law, we have seen more denials in cases like Matt’s within the past few weeks than we had cumulatively seen before in our careers,” Helgeson says.

Immigration lawyers and technologists are concerned that a more restrictive visa process could limit the talent pipeline in Silicon Valley. Around 66 percent of tech workers in the Valley are foreign-born, according to the think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley. US tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta are some of the largest recipients of H-1B visas.

H-1B visas are for newly-employed, high-skilled workers. First introduced in 1990, the visas are issued for three years and allow a worker to extend by three years. The allotment is capped at 65,000 per year, with an additional 20,000 available for workers with a master’s degree or higher. Workers from India make up the overwhelming majority of H-1B petitioners—73 percent—while workers from China and Hong Kong are the next largest group, at 12 percent.

Proponents of the H-1B say it’s a way to fill highly specialized roles within US companies and help those companies remain competitive. Critics say it undercuts the US job market and that the petition process is rife with fraud. During his first presidential run, Trump lambasted the H-1B visa as part of a system that took jobs from Americans and vowed to “end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program.”

During the Biden administration, H-1B applications jumped up 61 percent, and USCIS began investigating whether multiple applications were being filed for the same visa. Shortly before Biden left office, his administration attempted to modernize the H-1B visa by expanding eligibility categories and speeding up the application process, while also allowing immigration officials to defer to previous approvals on visa extensions. In theory, this would reduce the need for requests for evidence.

The influence of immigrant founders on Silicon Valley is undeniable. Several tech unicorn founders and top CEOs are immigrants, including Sergey Brin, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Max Levchin, and perhaps most famously, Elon Musk. Musk, Trump’s unofficial adviser, has expressed support for bringing in outside talent to the US. So has Sriram Krishnan, a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz and currently one of Trump’s AI advisers, who posted on X in November that “anything to remove country caps for green cards / unlock skilled immigration would be huge.” The following month, Trump softened his tone on H-1B’s: “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” he told the New York Post.

But in the absence of any official policy directives on employment or skill-based visas, and amid a broader crackdown on immigration in the US, attorneys and technologists believe that the administration’s hard-line approach is beginning to impact the tech sector.

In late April, Pejman Nozad, an Iranian American who runs a Palo Alto venture capital firm called Pear VC, posted on X that “too many Pear VC founders are getting their visas challenged—and it’s downright absurd. Entrepreneurs build America, so let’s open the doors for innovators, not shut them!” Nozad tagged Musk and David Sacks, a South African–born venture capitalist and Trump’s AI and crypto czar. (Nozad declined to elaborate on his remarks when contacted by WIRED, saying that the founders he was referring to were too nervous to speak out.)

Aizada Marat, a lawyer and cofounder of the firm Alma Immigration in Menlo Park, California, says her firm processes “hundreds” of visa petitions per month, including extraordinary ability visas like the O-1 visas and EB-1. Marat says that her firm has seen a recent jump in RFEs, estimating that last year 8 percent of petitions were sent back with RFEs and that this year, the number has nearly doubled.

“It’s alarming,” Marat says.

Marat recently filed an O-1 visa petition on behalf of a client who was a board member of a national bank in their home country and who had raised venture capital funding from well-known angel investors and VCs in order to start a company in the US. She says the person's accomplishments were well-documented in the press. USCIS rejected their application—twice—due to a supposed lack of evidence, Marat says. She resubmitted a third time, and the visa was later granted. If it had been denied again, she planned to sue USCIS.

“We suspect the agency is just rejecting certain petitions without reading through them first, and asking for more evidence right off the bat,” Marat says. “It has definitely changed since the [2024 US presidential] election.”

Nell Barker, a partner and immigration lawyer at the Chicago-based firm Kempster, Corcoran, Quiceno & Lenz-Calvo, works with academics and tech workers filing for visas. She recently received a request for more information on a postdoctoral researcher who was applying for an H-1B. She says USCIS was seeking more evidence certifying that the person’s degree supported their work in the field. “If the person is a postdoc in physics, they likely studied physics,” Barker says dryly.

Another client of Barker’s who was petitioning for an H-1B received notice that USCIS couldn’t process the application until the client presented in person at an application support center and submitted their biometric data, including a photograph and fingerprint scan. Barker says this request for biometrics is standard for many types of visa applications, including green cards, but it’s “new for I-129 applicants,” meaning employer-led visa petitions.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with more than 16,000 members, recently acknowledged the uptick in RFEs. In early May, the AILA put out a practice advisory to its members, telling them that “while the information being requested on RFEs may appear duplicative, RFEs must still be responded to in order to prevent any application or petition denials.”

USCIS told the AILA that “as part of the Trump administration’s commitment to restoring integrity to our immigration system, we are increasing the screening and vetting of all aliens filing for immigration benefits and reserve the right to request additional information and conduct additional security checks at any point in the immigration lifecycle,” according to a copy of the advisory viewed by WIRED. The agency said that collecting beneficiary information and biometric data is a necessary part of USCIS’s efforts to promote national security and public safety and to mitigate fraud.

In a statement to WIRED, USCIS Spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser reiterated the remarks given to AILA.

Some lawyers say that the jump in RFEs is unsurprising: It happened with certain visa categories during Trump’s first term, too. The Massachusetts law firm Parker Gallini noted that from 2016 through 2021 the RFE rate for H-1B’s doubled, based on USCIS data. H1-B final approvals also dropped to 85 percent, down from 94 percent, during Trump’s first term. But other visa categories, like the one for extraordinary abilities, only saw single-digit increases in RFEs during Trump’s first term, and RFE’s actually rose from 26 percent during Trump’s term to 31 percent during the early months of Biden’s presidency.

While requests for evidence from USCIS appear to be on the rise again, it’s too soon to determine if outright visa denials will increase as well. Still, immigration attorneys say, the effects of a more stringent petition process are already being felt by their clients.

“I do think a lot of what the administration is doing, between a surge in RFEs, USCIS staff cuts, and erratic immigration policies, is a deterrent for both foreign talent and US employers,” says Ayda Akalin, a Los Angeles–based lawyer at LandUS Law who has also encountered more RFEs in her practice. “And this is ultimately bad for the US economy and harmful to American companies, particularly those in tech and the creative industries.”

Helgeson also believes this will have a “chilling effect” on the US tech industry, especially for young people who might have once found their way into the US through the education system and remained in the US on specialty visas to build companies.

“A lot of people are reconsidering right now whether they want to deal with this uncertainty,” he says. “If the administration gets its way, the US risks becoming a technological backwater. And the talent will just drain.”