Something Clever

Sharing this because I just found out about this and it blew my mind.

The short version of it is: The Wayback Machine is not the only backup/archive of AO3 content out there. It’s just the most user-friendly and immediately browsable.

THIS database on Archive.org contains most AO3 fics as text files, including plenty that are not Waybacked: https://archive.org/details/AO3_final_location

What you’ll need: A browser for .sqlite3 files such as DB Browser for SQLite, an archive manager (e.g. WinRar or 7zip), good internet download speeds, and potentially a LOT of free GBs in storage space.

Not needed but heavily recommended: A download manager such as HTTP Downloader (so you don’t lose the entire download the second your internet stutters).

1. Click here to get to the archive’s files. It’s going to look something like this:

ao3_current.sqlite3 and ao3_old_files.sqlite3 are metadata files. The .zip files contain fic, most of them in simple .txt format. The metadata files tell you which fic is in which zip.

The “current” metadata file is recent backups. The “old” metadata file seems to be fics archived until 2020ish.

2. First, download either ao3_current.sqlite3 or ao3_old_files.sqlite3. Now launch DB Browser for SQlite, then File > Open Database Read-Only > open the sqlite3 file. Now click on the Browse Data tab.

3. It’s going to look like this.

4. The “Filter in any column” field can be used for keyword searches in, well, any column of this table. Be warned, it takes a while to update, give it time, it’s indexing.

5. Here I searched for all fic which gets a hit for the “Avengers” keyword (usually fandom). You can also search for a specific title, author, description, etc.

Let’s try to locate the first fic on the list. Click on the field on the left - row 1, column 1.

On the right you’ll see the full content of that cell. The most important thing here is the start - ao3_01. This means that the fic is located in ao3_old_files_part01.zip.

6. Download ao3_old_files_part01.zip and open it with your archive manager. It’s 5.5 GB. This will take some time.

7. There are multiple ways to find the fic within the zip file. Probably the easiest way is to use your archive manager’s search/find function to locate the fic by keyword - author is a good bet here, or title if it’s unique enough - and extract that. This way you don’t have to extract the entire archive. Be sure to add a wildcard operator (*) on either side of the keyword.

8. Extract the file and you’re done. Note: It will probably be in .txt format, and might be in one giant block of text. Just select-all and paste it to a proper word processor to restore the paragraph formatting.

+ I suppose if you’ve got like a free TB of space you could just skip the metadata step and download all the zip files and unzip them and use a command line search tool for keywords, too. This will work with keywords like title, author and fandom that are part of the file title. The metadata file just contains additional info, like character fields, description, etc.

I really do regret my inaction the most. Every time. All of my future problems are always caused by things I failed to do in the present. And every time, I get so mad at past Me for not even trying because I’m so afraid to fail.

pixel art of some planets

to hit me so hard.

-there’s a horse where I work named Lucy who HATES men

-like “bite your face off” levels of hate

-enter me, who’s been having gender thoughts but not really realizing what that means

-I’d been avoiding Lucy because I quite like having my face not bitten off thank you

-Then one day I forget that she hates men and I go into her stall with her to clean out the poo

-She Doesent Hate me but I don’t think anything about it because I don’t remember that she’s sexist

-Someone walks by and comments on how she never lets any men in there

-“ha ha weird”

-internally I’m screaming “holy shit holy shit holy shit”

-thoughts that I’ve been having suddenly start to make sense

'Transfem DIY HRT' and 'Transmasc DIY HRT' are a pair of zines aimed at teaching transgender people how to safely self-administer DIY Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

Both zines are 100% free to download here from Little Mouse (who also made the zine). Print, share and distribute to those who need it!

Is your pet chipped? They should be. Do you know who made the chip?

Pet RFID chips are so small that there's really only room on them for a serial number. When your lost pet is brought to a shelter or a vet's office, they can scan the chip, read that number, and then type it into a program that draws from a series of linked databases to find your name and phone number. That's how they find you, and tell you that Silly Lilly von Wigglesbottom has gone wandering, and she's safe and sound, and would you come get her, please?

Texas-based Save This Life, which provided chips to vets and shelters all across the US, has all at once and abruptly gone dark; their database is just gone. Their customers were not given warning and so did not know to change their registration to another company. A lot of animals have basically become anonymous now.

If you don't know what company you've been using, call your vet's office and ask what pet chip number they have on file. If the chip number starts with 991 or 900164, it's probably a Save This Life chip.

I want you to remember these ones

Jordana LeSesne (1.8.7) is a Black trans woman. She is widely regarded as the top drum and bass producer in the world. Without her, we wouldn’t have electronic music as we know it today. 

She came out in 1998 and went on to get a contract with the Syfy Channel, be profiled in Rolling Stone, and have several albums chart in the Top 25.

These men just stole the personal information of everyone in America AND control the Treasury. Link to article.

Akash Bobba

Edward Coristine

Luke Farritor

Gautier Cole Killian

Gavin Kliger

Ethan Shaotran

I hate Nintendo Switch Online. I hate the lack of optimization. I hate the expensive subscription service. I hate the lack of games. I hate the limited time releases. I hate that it's never gonna have the level of content that the Wii virtual console had. I hate what capitalism has done to gaming.

This collection includes: All the GBA, GB and GBC games currently available on the Switch!!

+ And a few extra bonus!! Mostly from the same series'seses

Download here for free!!: https://www.mediafire.com/file/pzycxh6zu9b8drf/GBA_Online_PC.rar (405 MB Uncompressed)

"Safe Abortion for All.

No Compromise - No Apology"

I’m not talking about screaming at people at the top of your lungs about how they have let us down or that they aren’t picking it up fast enough. I’m talking about little things. When someone in your life tells you that they don’t know what to do about what’s happening here, intimate conversations about what YOU are already personally doing or striving for can help them find there way.

I am a fitness instructor and often my private clients are pretty comfortable “liberals” that are so close to the radicalization that this country needs to turn the tide. So I talk about what steps I’m taking if they are curious. I make suggestions about first steps and organizations to step toward. I talk about how important community and care for your neighbors is. Etc etc etc.

My client this morning sounded so defeated when we started her session but by the time she was ready to leave we stood in my front yard garden as I gave her vegetables that my community helped me grow and talked about divestment, boycotts, orgs to work with and little steps she can take everyday to make this country better.

If you’re reading this right now and don’t know where to start I’d like to make some suggestions:

Do something you know is illegal, every day. Little things that build a rebellious spirit. Don’t harm your neighbors, but break stupid laws now so you can get your nervous system conditioned for the laws inevitably coming down the line from our government that only suit those in power. To be a good person we will all have to break laws in the coming years.

Find your local socialist rifle association and join them. Learn how to shoot guns safely. It may serve you in the future.

Grow some food. Get into your connection with the earth wether it’s one plant in a pot in your window from seeds you get from your local seed library or turning your yard into an urban farm. Taking steps to get away from our dependence on this incredibly fallible food system is gonna take work and experience.

Learn conflict resolution techniques and realize that we don’t have to like the people we are in community with if we are all stepping toward similar goals. We don’t have to like someone personally to care about and for them.

Buy second hand. Get back on Craigslist and sell things you don’t need for fair prices or trade within your community.

There’s a lot more you can be doing and these are just small examples, be creative. What are you good at?

No one is coming to save us.