#What is RFID

[reasonsforhope]

"Clothing tags, travel cards, hotel room key cards, parcel labels … a whole host of components in supply chains of everything from cars to clothes. What do they have in common? RFID tags.  

Every RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag contains a microchip and a tiny metal strip of an antenna. A cool 18bn of these are made – and disposed of – each year. And with demands for product traceability increasing, ironically in part because of concerns for the social and environmental health of the supply chain, that’s set to soar. 

And guess where most of these tags end up? Yup, landfill – adding to the burgeoning volumes of e-waste polluting our soils, rivers and skies. It’s a sorry tale, but it’s one in which two young graduates of Imperial College London and Royal College of Art are putting a great big green twist. Under the name of PulpaTronics, Chloe So and Barna Soma Biro reckon they’ve hit on a beguilingly simple sounding solution: make the tags out of paper. No plastic, no chips, no metal strips. Just paper, pure and … simple … ? Well, not quite, as we shall see. 

The apparent simplicity is achieved by some pretty cutting-edge technical innovation, aimed at stripping away both the metal antennae and the chips. If you can get rid of those, as Biro explains, you solve the e-waste problem at a stroke. But getting rid of things isn’t the typical approach to technical solutions, he adds. “I read a paper in Nature that set out how humans have a bias for solving problems through addition – by adding something new, rather than removing complexity, even if that’s the best approach.”   

And adding stuff to a world already stuffed, as it were, can create more problems than it solves. “So that became one of the guiding principles of PulpaTronics”, he says: stripping things down “to the bare minimum, where they are still functional, but have as low an environmental impact as possible”.  

...how did they achieve this magical simplification? The answer lies in lasers: these turn the paper into a conductive material, Biro explains, printing a pattern on the surface that can be ‘read’ by a scanner, rather like a QR code. It sounds like frontier technology, but it works, and PulpaTronics have patents pending to protect it. 

The resulting tag comes in two forms: in one, there is still a microchip, so that it can be read by existing scanners of the sort common within retailers, for example. The more advanced version does away with the chip altogether. This will need a different kind of scanner, currently in development, which PulpaTronics envisages issuing licences for others to manufacture. 

Crucially, the cost of both versions is significantly cheaper than existing RFID kit – making this a highly viable proposition. Then there are the carbon savings: up to 70% for the chipless version – so a no-brainer from a sustainability viewpoint too. All the same, industry interest was slow to start with but when PulpaTronics won a coveted Dezeen magazine award in late 2023, it snowballed, says So. Big brands such as UPS, DHL, Marks & Spencer and Decathlon came calling. “We were just bombarded.” Brands were fascinated by the innovation, she says, but even more by the price point, ���because, like any business, they knew that green products can’t come with a premium”."

-via Positive.News, April 29, 2024

--

Note: I know it's still in the very early stages, but this is such a relief to see in the context of the environmental and human rights catastrophes associated with lithium mining and mining for rare earth metals, and the way that EVs and other green infrastructure are massively increasing the demand for those materials.

I'll take a future with paper-based, more humane alternatives for sure! Fingers crossed this keeps developing and develops well (and quickly).

[2022dirt]

Some places put RFID chips on drink cups to track and limit refills.

[2ghoul4u]

literally just got a notification about a suspicious charge on my card. for the 3rd time this year.

[fox-bright]

Important! Your pet's RFID chip number might have been disconnected this week.

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.

If it turns out yours is one of the affected cases, the chip itself will still be fine! There's no need to add another, or anything like that. You'll just need to transfer the number to another company, and your vet should be able to recommend the one that they like the best.

[venomgender]

ate dinnar + still hungry sk basically its over for me

[lostintransist]

Broken Beyond Bearing | Part 3

-.-. …. .. .-.. -.. .-. . -. / -.— —- ..- -. —. / .- … / - . -.

Part 1 found here | AO3

CW: A/B/O sexism I guess is what we should call this? Trauma reactions to doctors, awful in world politics.

Keeping his eyes on you Kyle’s concern rises with each shallow breath you suck between your teeth.

The nurse had been watching and held the door open as he directed Kyle to the first room on the right. Settling your body flat on the table he steps back, trying to give the nurse room to move. With two chairs, a small counter and a sink, and a ‘calming’ green on the walls the room looks exactly like he expects it to.

“How long ago was the exposure?” The nurse is taking your vitals and you stiffen as if your body hit rigor. “Ma’am if you don’t relax this is going to take longer.”

“Less than thirty minutes,” Kyle answers coolly.

The whine, primal and terrified, that comes from your throat as the blood pressure cuff is tightening has Kyle moving to where your head lays. Running the back of his knuckles down your cheeks he whispers to you. The scent of your fear, clear and uncontaminated with whatever afflicted you normally, flooded the room.

“Hey, hey. I’m here. You’re not alone. Everything will be okay.”

The nurse, an alpha by scent, makes a noise that pulls Kyle to look at him. The nurse, Johnson by the glance to his name tag, keeps his eyes on the monitor taking your blood pressure and pulse. Kyle focuses back on you. Your body regains mobility as the cuff is removed, eyes rolling like a horse looking for a place to run.

“Her vitals are all looking normal, the doctor will be in shortly,” Johnson shuts the door behind him. He must not be far enough away from the door when he starts talking to someone else. “Beta bitch in room one has track marks up both arms. I knew betas died from drugs more than any other gender but it’s wild to see that out here.”

Kyle would have stormed out the door to rip into the man if your hands hadn’t slapped into his, holding them tight. Pulling yourself upright from the reclined position you tuck your knees to your chest and rest your chin atop them. Letting go of his hands you curl them around your legs.

Sitting on a chair positioned next to the bed Kyle looks up at you, trying to catch your eyes.

Even when he could see the streaks of color through your irises no recognition lit your features. Concerned, Kyle stays sitting on the bed with you watching each breath and twitch. Nothing changes until the door opens with a faint knock.

“My name is Doctor Chen. Can you tell me what happened today?”

Like an automaton, you uncurl from your crunched position. Legs folded you straighten your back and rest your forearms on your knees palms aimed at the ceiling. Kyle had seen poses similar in meditation videos he would watch sometimes to give his mind a moment to relax. There is no peace in your pose. The width of your open eyes and the shallowness of your breath all remind him of victims he has saved from torture.

Memories that left their marks on his bones should not be reflected in your posture, he faced evil abroad and in the mirror to keep people like you safe.

He glanced at the man, dark hair, light blue scrubs, thick-rimmed glasses, and a white overcoat Kyle mostly associated with lab work. A quick draw of breath and Kyle marked him as an alpha. Dr. Chen did not look at you once, eyes staying firmly on him.

“We had an exposure to an allergen.”

Dr. Chen nodded once and sat on the small, wheeled stool that Kyle only ever saw in doctor’s offices. He wondered if they had to special order them or if they appeared in the building like fairies to offers of milk and bread. The man logged into his computer with a swipe of his name tag to an RFID reader and tapped a few buttons before turning to look at Kyle again.

“Do you know what the allergy was in reaction to?” He adjusts his glasses further up his nose.

“We don’t and would like to get some testing. Does this clinic do testing?” Kyle asked; all of his medical care happened on base.

Dr. Chen’s eyes glanced at you for the first time with a flare of his nose as he took in the fear salting the room with your uniquely beta scent. Kyle knew deeper than his marrow that you could turn off his brain and any explosive rage that he dealt with being an alpha. You didn’t use that now, but by the gods, he wished you would. The flash of disgust that whipped across Dr. Chen’s face ignited the soul-deep rage that existed with being an alpha.

“Dr. Chen,” the darkness, power, in Kyle’s voice brought the doctor’s face to him. “You will treat my wife with respect or I will ensure you don’t live to regret it.”

The cloying, nose-coating scent of Dr. Chen’s alpha rising to meet the challenge filled Kyle’s nose. He let the monster rise in his eyes, keeping his scent muted. Military training had to be good for something beyond the battlefield.

Kyle stands, placing his body between the doctor and the bed where you sit. Arms crossed and shoulders spread wide he used the mass of his bulk to show the barrier he could be. He didn’t know you, but Kate had seen something that prompted her to give them the care over you. You would not feel any harm if he could prevent it. You started to rock softly, eyes still unseeing. Then you begin to hum Edelweiss, effectively breaking the tension. Chen lost the staring match when he glanced at you.

“Do your job doctor, so I don’t have to.”

“That is out of line Mr—”

“Sergeant, special forces.”

Dr. Chen’s eyes narrowed but accepted the correction.

“Sergeant, your wife is doing fine by her visual inspection and her vitals agree. This clinic does not offer allergy testing but there are a few private practices here that you can call.” He turned back to his computer, typing in what Kyle assumed to be a summary of the visit today. “Most of what we do here for allergies is to stop the reaction and watch for any adverse effects.”

“I will need a copy of that report for our records,” Kyle stated it like a command he would give a private or a trainee. A firm ‘this is the course of action you will be taking’ that did not leave any room for questions or disobedience.

If Dr. Chen thought of arguing with Kyle, he kept it to himself. He left shortly after with a comment that Johnson would be in soon with the paperwork he requested. That is how Johnny found them, Kyle’s arms crossed and holding back his rage and you the juxtaposition of a peaceful body and an absent mind.

“You are more than you appear, wife,” Johnny took your hand, curling fingers around palms.

They wait in the cadence of your voice for nearly five minutes before Johnson appears, papers in hand. Kyle snaps a vice grip around the man’s wrist, pulling him close.

“Johnson. If I hear you telling tales about betas, and more specifically about my wife I will paint the walls of your room with colors not even crime techs will unsee.”

The man under his eyes paled quite impressively. Plucking the papers from his hand Kyle dropped Johnson’s hand and turned to his pack mate and partner in crime. Johnny’s thumb traced a track along the back of your hand as he watched the interaction play out before him.

“Can you carry her to the truck?”

Johnny’s eyes flicked as he watched the nurse flee from the room.

“Yeah. Up you pop bonnie,” he settled one arm over his shoulder and then the other before lifting you under the thighs to settle around his waist.

Still, you hummed, no life in your form. Kyle had a glare and a harsh, nose-blistering scent of rage for anyone who looked too long. Johnny settled in the back seat with you, buckling you into the middle so he could keep a hand on you and Kyle could check on you in the review mirror.

The drive home is tense, filled only with Kyle’s quiet mutterings about inexperienced winter drivers. When he turns onto the path home Johnny asks a question.

“What the hell happened in the clinic when I was on the phone with John?”

The steering wheel creaks under the pressure of Kyle’s hands.

“Nurse and doctor had some awful things to say about our wife, called her a drug addict, and couldn’t keep professional.”

“The hell? Why did they do that?” Johnny’s face in the rearview is tight with angry concern.

“It’s due to the beta laws that went into place ten…eleven? Yeah maybe eleven years ago.” Your voice is an unexpected addition to the conversation.

Kyle slows to a stop in the snow, throwing the truck in park and turning to look at you.

“What beta laws?”

He knows his gaze is harsh when you flinch back. Johnny wraps an arm around you and you settle a bit.

“There were laws on the books for a long time that weren’t really enforced,” you swallow and look from man to man before staring at your knees and continuing. “About how betas weren’t allowed the same personhood rights as alphas and omegas due to the lack of either consistent rut or heat. Apparently, the ability to do both is scary to the government. Several years back a group successfully passed a new law that said basically that betas should be treated like children, unable to sign paperwork without an approving authority, have bank accounts alone, apply for a credit card, or passport, you name it without the approval of an alpha or omega. In some places it went beyond that, stripping beta’s of all rights.”

Johnny muttered under his breath something that sounded like ‘What the fuck’ but Kyle kept his eyes on you.

“What happened to you?” His whisper hardens on your skin like ice.

There is no weak, scared beta woman here, only a beast that would peel him apart if he pushed. He didn’t scare her, but doctors did.

“No.”

Nodding once and accepting the answer Kyle turned back to driving. He would discuss this all with the guys after they had settled into bed. The interactions with the clinic staff were nothing like he had ever experienced before. Though as he thought of it he couldn’t remember the last time he had worked with a beta.

Simon and John step onto the porch as Kyle parks, as if they had been keeping watch for them.

The four men set about their tasks, hauling everything inside. You follow when Johnny reaches into the back seat and helps you out, hand tucked in his as he carries in a few bags. Simon sets about setting up the bed they picked for your room. Johnny settles you at the table, laughing and joking at you as he prepares a plate of food. Kyle and John set to work on creating the dresser. They don’t hear you laugh at any of Johnny’s stories but John points to you once and Kyle catches a glimpse of a smile. The sun slips away into the trees as each of the men finishes their task. Once the bed is made and the mattress settled on the frame John and Kyle lift the dresser into place.

The three men who had built things collapsed onto the couch facing the back wall of windows into the woods. Simon is settled between John and Kyle an arm dropped around each of them. You are standing on the back porch, head tilted back as you look at the ink-dark sky. The coat and boots you wear are those picked up today. Kyle didn’t think to wonder where Johnny had gone until he bounced down the steps with a bright bundle of fabric over one shoulder as he shoved a beanie on his head.

“Where ya going, Johnny?” Simon pitches his voice to carry but not to shout.

“Gonna give our wife a gift,” he winks at his lovers and pops out the back door.

Simon tightens the arm around Kyle.

“He loves you. That won’t change if he chooses to love someone new as well,” John murmured.

Kyle looked over at John who lay his head fully on Simon, nose buried in the scent gland at his neck. John licks the length of the gland causing Simon to let out a short whine.

Glancing back out to the back porch Kyle watches Johnny settle a shawl across your shoulders and sees in your profile confusion, hesitance. When you look down and clutch the shawl tight to your chest Kyle could only call the look on your face concerned acceptance. Johnny grinned at you like the sun had risen.

“To bed Simon, I can feel you grumble. Your rut starts soon. Let Johnny get our wife settled and let Kyle and I get you into bed.” John pushes up from the couch pulling Simon with him.

Kyle stands as well, eyes drifting to you and Johnny one last time. Standing side by side the two stare at the stars. John calls him from his observations and Kyle starts up the stairs after his lovers. His other lover will arrive with time.

Broken Masterlist | Masterlist

@lucienofthelakes @gg-trini @talia-the-gemini @thriving-n-jiving @z-wantstowrite @asialovesyou09 @literallegendicon @canthavetoomuchchaos @reinekoya @jsptmoche @demothers-empty-blog @hbaasaad

[the-four-humors]

Idk if there are any videos about it specifically* or if you just need to take a trip to experience it, but Meow Wolf's Santa Fe installation, "The House of Eternal Return" feels adjacent to House of Leaves, and has the fun of the ARG elements of This House Has People In It, but with the added benefit of getting to sit in a character's bedroom and go through journals or computer files.

*I'm aware of at least one video essay about the Las Vegas location, and while I haven't been to that one yet, it's set in a supermarket instead of a house so it seems fundamentally different.

Almost finished reading house of leaves.

Anyone know if there’s a genre for this sort of horror or any suggestions? I’m looking for more things with the same vibe as the following;

House of leaves

Myhouse.wad

This house has people in it

Skinamarink (I highly recommend checking out Kyle Edward Ball’s other works on YouTube while high at “bitesizednightmares”)

Heck (Kyle’s much shorter YouTube-version of skinamarink)

Now that I’m almost finished, I’ve been having very strange and intense dreams reminiscent and even referencing some of these things

[absolutebl]

Phi. Not BL related. You have hacks to avoid pickpocketers? Please share if you are willin.

Oh sure, just quick ones off the top of my head

Tips to Avoid Pickpockets and Thieves

from someone who is always travelling

I'm not gonna go over the usuals (just google), but I do have some esoteric approaches.

Research the specific pickpocketing (and related scams) in the city you're visiting. I like YouTube for this. Each city has its own little quirks of evil. I like to know what specifically I'm keeping an eye out for. (Like those damn clowns in Barcelona, shudder.)

I prefer sports gear over stuff designed for travel. I find it's more comfortable and stylish, less expensive (and easy to thrift for). So I don't wear a money belt but I do have one of these belts designed for runners which works the same way. Bonus it also makes for a pretty cool actual belt and you can use it to strap your luggage in a pinch.

I don't have any special all weather travel gear with tons of pockets and zippers etc... but I do like a golf jacket or vest. They usually have a nice inner pocket and fun other bells and whistles.

Strong large safety pins are great. You can use them to pin your wallet to you (if you don't do the chain thing), or a pouch (with spare cash and card, or your passport etc...) to inside your pants or undergarments. You can also use them to pin pockets closed (that don't have zippers) for extra safety.

By wallet I mean this kind of thing, more versatile, rfid and fits into the aforementioned belt.

I will literally sew inside pockets into things I like to wear for travel that don't have them already. Sometimes I will sew in a canvas pouch with a zipper top. 'Caus I fancy!

I travel with 2 credit cards, about $200 cash in the local currency (1 card and 1/2 cash sashed separately different places), and no ATM card.

I have a laminated 3x5 card of all the necessary info in case my phone or credit cards get stolen as well as emergency phone numbers. This info lives in my toiletry bag. I know, but no one thinks to look there and it stays back in my hotel most of the time.

Purse - if you insist on a purse go for something cheap, outrageous, hard sided, and with a loud closure like large snaps or a click. Outrageous because then everyone is looking at it all the time, so it's hard to snake it away, loud so you can hear it opening. Also I would say don't carry your wallet in that purse, but elsewhere on your person, say the belt or inside pocket? Purses are for, oh I don't know, lip gloss? Bandaids?

Backpack - ditto no wallet in it, but actually I always go for a crossbody instead of a backpack. Backpacks are the worst. I loathe them.

Crossbody - if you're waring a jacket wear the jacket over the strap (and bag, if you can) for goodness sake! I love a cape or a poncho in rain for these exact reasons. Yes I said cape, I'm a superhero.

Don't LOOK like a damn tourist, for the LOVE. I know everyone says this, but I mean - do the fashion research. I like to look up on YouTube those street camera "walking a shopping district" things for the destination city and time of year I'll be there. Then I actually pack planning to dress like a locals. Specifically color preferences, outerwear, and shoes. CLEAN shoes.

More on this: did you know people in Scandinavian countries rarely wear sunglasses? Mediterranean countries = no hats. Most Southeast Asian countries hate a backpack (yay!). I have no idea why, this just is.

Four signs you are a target tourist: 1. backpack, 2. fleece, 3 sensible shoes, 4. a baseball cap.

Don't keep your valuables in fancy pretty cases. I have a fancypants iPad, it travels in a manilla envelope. Why? No one wants to steal my damn mail. My laptop has the same thing, only made of faux leather so it only looks like an envelope from a distance, but still works for my needs.

I'm rarely out and about in danger zones with my work laptop. If I have to, I will wear one of those cheep slim not-backpacks (I KNOW) underneath my jacket with my computer flat against my back, you know the ones where the straps are string? It's very innocuous.

Stock up on cheap zipper pouches: I carry a lot of my other expensive tech in things like cheep makeup pouches (they're water resistant and often padded, ideal for tech). I'm a sucker for stupid looking but secretly well made baggies, easy pick-ups at a thrift store. And since they are miss-matched i always know which ones hold what.

Okay, hopefully that was helpful!

[chu16a-blog]

Benji Dunn x Reader – That settles it

Pairing: Benji Dunn x Reader

Summary: During a high-stakes mission, rising tension between you and Benji pushes things past the breaking point. What starts as a fight ends in something neither of you expected and neither of you can ignore.

Warnings: I don't own anything

That settles it:

“You’re not thinking straight,” Benji snapped, stepping in front of the screen where you were pulling up the blueprints.

“No, you’re not thinking straight,” you fired back, jabbing a finger toward the intel spread out on the table. “The only shot we have is going through the underground utility tunnels. If we wait for extraction points or try to reroute—”

“It’s suicide!” he cut in, voice rising. “You want to sneak through a tunnel crawling with heat sensors and pressure plates just because you think it’s faster?”

“I know it’s faster. And if you’d stop trying to control everything, you’d see that too!”

Benji stared at you, jaw tight. “This isn’t about control. It’s about not watching you get blown to pieces just because you don’t want to admit I might be right!”

You stepped closer. “You aren’t right. You’re scared. And instead of trusting me, you’re trying to wrap the whole op around your paranoia!”

That struck a nerve.

Benji’s expression darkened, a flush creeping up his neck. “Don’t you dare turn this into something personal.”

“Oh, it’s always personal with you. You pretend you’re just ‘the tech guy,’ but you want to call every shot when things get messy!”

“Because I care if you come back!” he shouted.

Without another word, you surged forward and grabbed him by the collar, slamming your mouth against his.

It was harsh, angry, messy. His hands flew up in shock, then grabbed your waist and yanked you closer as he kissed back just as hard. The argument didn’t end; it just changed form. His lips moved with the same frustration that had fueled his shouting. You barely registered your back hitting the wall before his hands pinned you there, his mouth devouring yours like he needed to prove something.

You tangled your fingers in his hair, biting his lip slightly, and he growled into the kiss. Heat pooled between you. Clothes creaked under gripping hands. The tension had broken like a dam, passion crashing over both of you in waves.

There was no thought, just heat, anger, and whatever this thing between you was, finally combusting.

“Ahem. Uhm… uhm?”

You both stilled, lips still barely touching. Breathing heavily.

Luther stood in the doorway, holding a mug and a raised brow like he’d been there for way too long.

No one moved.

Eventually, Benji stepped back slowly, breath shaky, glancing down at you, his eyes wide but not regretful. He looked away, ran a hand through his hair, trying to collect himself.

“Right,” he muttered, voice hoarse. He paused, exhaled, then looked back at you with something softer beneath the tension.

“…That settles it. We’re going through the tunnels.”

You nodded once, your pulse still pounding, heart echoing in your ears.

Luther turned away muttering, “Finally,” as he walked off, shaking his head.

You and Benji didn’t say anything else. But something had changed. You both felt it. The mission wasn’t the only thing that had just crossed a point of no return.

---

You didn’t speak on the way to the site.

Benji sat beside you in the back of the surveillance van, fingers flying across the keyboard as he hacked into the security feeds. You checked your gear without a word, your eyes never straying from the mission file open in front of you.

But the air between you was radioactive.

Not just tension. Not just the kiss. But the fact that nothing had been said about it since.

The comms crackled. Luther’s voice came through: “Entry point’s clear. You’re up.”

You slid your earpiece in and stood. Benji’s hand brushed your arm as he handed you the RFID scrambler just a second too long, just a second too late. Your fingers touched. You didn’t look at him.

You dropped into the tunnel without hesitation.

The tunnels were narrow and damp, every footstep echoing in silence. You moved like a shadow, comms open.

“Two guards posted near the vault access door,” Benji’s voice came through, steady, professional. “Infrared beams cycling every 3.4 seconds. You’ll want to cross on the second pulse.”

You crouched in the dark, pressed against cold concrete, heart still hammering—but not from nerves.

“Copy,” you whispered. “Anything else I should know?”

There was a pause. Just a beat too long.

Then: “Yeah. Don’t die in there.”

You almost smiled. Almost.

The vault room was high security, motion-trapped, no alarms but instant lockout if you triggered it. You followed Benji’s voice through every step left turn, step, wait, now.

It was like music, the way the two of you worked. No second guesses. No hesitation. You trusted him. He trusted you, even if he didn’t say it out loud.

You got the package, slid it into your vest, and exfiltrated through the same tunnels.

“Extraction team is two blocks out,” Luther said in your ear. “Meet point Bravo in five.”

Benji opened the back of the van just as you reached the alley. His eyes scanned you quickly for injuries, face unreadable.

You handed him the case.

He took it, nodded, then said nothing.

You moved past him. Sat down. Pulled off your gloves, heart still punching against your ribs.

The van ride back to the safehouse was quiet, but not like before.

There was still a weight in the air but not sharp. Not angry. Just… heavy. Full.

Benji hadn’t looked at you much since the kiss. But he hadn’t looked away either.

Now, alone in the safehouse’s tiny kitchen, you stood with your hands wrapped around a mug of something too bitter to be comforting. Still wearing your tac gear. Still too wired to sleep.

Benji stepped in, quiet.

He stopped just a few feet from you, like he wasn’t sure how close he was allowed to get.

You didn’t speak.

Neither did he.

You turned fully toward him. “You gonna pretend that didn’t happen?”

His eyes dropped for a second, then rose again, steady. “No.”

Another pause.

“I was angry,” you said.

“I was worse.”

You looked at each other. No heat now. No sparks or shouting. Just two people standing in the slow quiet after the storm.

“I don’t regret it,” you said, simple. Clear.

Benji stepped closer. “Me neither.”

He reached for your hand, tentative. You let him take it.

No rush. No more fighting.

Just his fingers lacing with yours, the space between you finally still.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said, voice low. “You and me.”

You didn’t answer right away. Just looked at him, really looked at him.

The lines of tension still hadn’t fully left his face, like he wasn’t sure if this was still a fight or if it had shifted into something else entirely.

So you answered him without words.

You stepped in. Just one step. Close enough to close the gap, close enough that he’d have to say something if he didn’t want this.

He didn’t say a thing.

You leaned in and kissed him again. This time slow, steady, no adrenaline behind it. Just everything else you hadn’t said.

Benji let out the faintest breath against your lips before kissing you back, hands coming to your waist like it was instinct. Like he’d been holding that in longer than either of you wanted to admit.

It was warm. Real. Nothing like before, but somehow more.

When you finally pulled back, he didn’t go far. Just rested his forehead against yours, both of you breathing slow now.

“Okay,” he whispered, voice barely there. “Now I believe you.”

You huffed a soft laugh, eyes still closed. “About the tunnels?”

He smiled against your skin.

“About everything.”

[justjensenanddean]

Watch exclusive first clip of Jensen Ackles' return to Tracker

Sometimes, you just need your brother. And sometimes, somebody else calls your brother in for backup when you go missing.

For Colter (Justin Hartley), it's the latter. After he disappears while searching for a missing father, it's Reenie (Fiona Rene) who asks his brother, Russell (Jensen Ackles), for help. And in an exclusive clip of Ackles' season 2 return to the CBS drama, it's clear that Russell showed up just in time.

In the clip, which you can watch above, Russell smashes his brother's phone, before cutting an RFID chip out of his brother's back. As for what they're getting into, it might have something to do with aliens?

EW also has an exclusive look inside the episode, below, which shows Colter and Russell discussing proper terminology for UFOs — "UAPs" (unidentified anomalous phenomena) — among other things. "Colter gets into a lot of trouble, and this young man comes in and saves the day," star Justin Hartley says of Ackles' Russell, a role that Hartley says Ackles has "put his own flavor on," adding, "It's much better than we ever could've imagined."

As for Ackles, he says, "When you work with somebody you like, you tend to have chemistry on camera."

And that brotherly chemistry will be on full display when Russell returns to Tracker on Sunday, Oct. 20 on CBS, with episodes hitting Paramount+ the next day. (Season 1 also recently hit Hulu.)

[enokito]

Key | Back to Basics

I still don’t know how to format on tumblr so I’m basically just copying the way Saiint does it except also I’m on my phone

Inspired by her post on what kind of small sentimental items Ken might like to keep in their pockets. I like physical security pen-testing content, therefore my Kenadian operates somewhere in between irl security bypass strategies (slipping latches, picking locks, copying keys) and minecraft escapist tech.

WC: 715 | divider

First of all, Kenadian doesn’t consider himself a very sentimental person. He’s practical above all else, and has to be – he’s an escapist, after all, and the first part of escaping involves being (at least nominally) imprisoned. He’s honed himself, like a blade, to be excellent at this one particular thing, and so he sheds all excess like water, in favor of absolute practicality. An earring can get ripped out during a particularly tricky crawl glitch or pearl clip, a necklace can get caught on something and strangle or garrote him, anything reflective can catch a glimmer of light directly into a guard’s eye and get him caught.

Second of all, items can be lost or stolen even more easily than memories, and he wouldn’t be able to handle it. The idea of coming home and feeling unfamiliar walls closing in on him, the idea of seeing a photograph of himself with his friends, and not being able to recognize any of the faces (not even his own)…

Ken avoids stuff that freaks him out, and part of honing himself like a blade means that he operates on a hair trigger. And either way he prefers his life of transience, hopping from place to place, keeping small bases knowing that they’re impermanent, passing out on a friend’s couch after a few days of going non-stop. It’s fun, he loves adventure and playing with danger, and he loves narrowly slipping through to the other side and showing up at Avatar’s place unexpectedly. Therefore, Avatar is the one with his prison escape speedrun times framed on his wall; Wato is the one with the massive folder of all his escape room blueprints, Jammin’s got a pile of his laundry at her place even though he basically wears the same hoodie and black work pants every day.

But the carabiner clipped to his belt loop to hang at his hip, a matte steel gray and perfectly innocuous, is a gift from Wifies. The keyed-alike group set of keys he still uses are from Wato and his lockpicks are from Avatar, his under door tool is from Tundra and his traveler’s hook is from Void, his RFID badges were all printed and programmed by Maximum. He even still has the pair of binoculars Cory gave him while they were together, though he doesn’t use them anymore, and has gone back to just lowering his FOV or using optifine zoom. Jammin is also more of a builder than an escape artist, but he just ends up with more dresses and skirts and high socks whenever he stays the night with her, which he’s not gonna complain about.

The point is, his closest friends catch on to what kind of items have a chance of making it into his everyday carry packs, and gift him accordingly (if Parrot catches on one of these days, he is willing to finally get rid of those binoculars in favor of a spyglass).

When he’s in the zone, the pieces of a puzzle forcing everything else out of his brain, or when he’s on really good pace for a speedrun of some gauntlet or obstacle course, or holding his breath against the wall as guards make their rounds less than a meter away, Kenadian doesn’t need to be reminded of his friends. Would really prefer not to be distracted, in fact, since a single lapse in focus could get him caught or force him to reset the room entirely. But he’s also not mad when he notices the nail polish chipping off his fingers and realizes he hasn’t talked to another person in way too long.

He might not keep a permanent residence of his own, but that means “coming home” can also mean greeting Wifies with a peck on the cheek and begging Wato to mend a tear in his hoodie from when it got caught on some dripstone, a mug of tea at Seawatt’s kitchen counter, seeing friends who don’t mind getting woken up in the middle of the night by Ken’s arrival at their back door. Ken belongs to himself before anybody else, won’t change who he is even with handcuffs around his wrists and a netherite ax held to his throat, but the people who love him don’t demand him to.

[trainsinanime]

Trains in Miraculous Ladybug - The Season 6 Tram

Part 1: The Metro Train

Part 2: The Metro Station

Part 3: Startrain

Part 4: The Gare du Nord

Part 5: The Bus

It's a new season, and we got a new art style, new trains, buses, cars, villains and anxieties in the world of Miraculous Ladybug! Mostly trains, of course!

At the end of season 6, the right person got elected mayor, which immediately transformed Paris into a wonderland of walkable urbanity and plentiful urban transit, even more so than before. That's literally canon. As part of that, the city has gotten trams. A lot of them. And they're weird. Time to restart this series of posts that I thought I'd finished long ago!

This will only focus on the trams we see, because there's just one episode out yet, "The Illustrhator". This will contain spoilers for what happens to the trams there. There is also a new bus that we see very briefly, but I'm hoping other episodes will tell us more about that.

The Vehicle

The trams we see are single four-axle vehicles. Yes, four axles, we do get to count them.

The design looks like they're individual small wheels rather than connected axles, which is a common design that has its advantages and its drawbacks. The floor tram is entirely at one level, seemingly about 30-40 cm above rail height.

We do get to see its interior as well. Nice big windows, different seating layouts, a big wheelchair area, and readers for Navigo RFID tickets at all doors. And, interestingly, fold-down seats, which are a feature on older Paris metro rolling stock.

We get a tiny hint of the inside of the cab as well. According to the display, we're going forward, and we're on line T3A towards Porte De Vincennes. And we're going 70 km/h.

There is actually a real-life Paris line T3A that does terminate at Porte De Vincennes (where you can change for the T3B), and I want to talk more about that, but before we can go there I need to talk about the rear of the train first. It has an open platform!

The rear platform

Don't worry about it being raised in the air here, that's just because the tram is currently falling down because the bridge is collapsing.

But don't worry, that is not a supervillain thing, the bridge just did that on its own, that's perfectly fine…

…right? The characters treat it like it's perfectly fine that this bridge just partially collapses without any supernatural interference, but, uhm, I have concerns. Questions even. Frankly I'm far more worried about that than about any supervillains. Alya and Nino later interview the mayor, and they completely ignore that a city bridge collapsed while a tram was going over it.

Sorry, I keep getting distracted. The rear of the tram has an open platform, which looks silly, is silly, is completely unrealistic, and I love it! See, while I am not aware of any trams like that, unless you count partially open ones like the San Francisco Cable Cars, but those are not quite the same.

However, there is a precedent for this platform, because Paris has a long history of city buses with such platforms. A good example is the Renault TN series

Picture from Wikimedia Commons, taken in 1950 by Sven Goliath, published by the Stockholm Transport Museum Commons

These were mostly a thing in the 1930s, but then got brought back in limited numbers in the 1960s after a Saviem SC10 had an accident that destroyed most of its rear, and RATP decided to be funny while rebuilding it. Later Saviem built these busses in series.

Picture from Wikimedia Commons, Tumblr won't let me link to the actual page there but it's on the Wikipedia article, taken by Sauvabus (bus historical association), published under CC-BY 4.0 international

All buses since then have put their engine at the rear, which has a lot of benefits, but also means it's right where this platform would go, so this has fallen out of fashion. Today you can only experience it when the one private transport museum near Paris has its monthly opening day, which is something I really need to visit one of these days. Here's a video showing the experience:

So there is precedent for this rear platform. Does it serve any purpose? Not really. Is it fun? Absolutely! And that's all it was on the Saviem SC10 as well, really. I love this platform. It's historic, it's quirky, it's fun, it's great.

The show definitely aims for a retro-futurist vibe now, seen e.g. in cars, like this modern take on the Citroën DS:

This modern take on this 60s and 70s legendary classic is what the modern DS brand should do, instead of their array of generic boring SUVs. Anyway, I'm not going to go too far into that, if I start talking about the cars in Miraculous Ladybug I'll never stop (yo is that a modern Peugeot 504? They literally modernised Aphrodite from Only Murders in the Building!). But I will say that this detail matches nicely.

The Infrastructure

Look at that station! Gorgeous! The designers of this show have created a tram stop in the style of the famous Guimard metro entrances, with their beautiful Art Nouveau design. That's amazing. I wish real tram stops in Paris look like that.

As for the tram stop itself, it's a low floor island platform with walkways to the sides, which matches modern standards for new tram stops worldwide. The track has gras planted on it, which is also common and popular, as it helps absorb noise, water, heat and pollution and it just looks nice. Yes, side platforms are more common, but this is still what a modern urban light rail network can and should look like. The only thing unrealistic about it is how pretty it is.

It should be noted that there's no overhead lines here, so the trains are powered by batteries, probably. That, or hydrogen, but a hydrogen tram would be a supremely bad idea, nobody would ever build something like that…

…except for Hyundai for some reason.

God that thing annoys me by its very existence. Hydrogen is expensive and will remain expensive for the next few decades, and this is what you're spending it on? A tram!? Trams should run with overhead wires. That's the good thing about a tram, you know where it's going to be, so you can put a wire there to give it power, and then you don't have to worry about batteries or hydrogen storage or whatever…

Sorry, I got distracted. Anyway, no overhead lines is realistic, and if they ever say, "it's a hydrogen tram" in future episodes, that'll be realistic too, even if it shouldn't be.

Instead let's look at this!

Closer…

Yeah! They finally fixed the metro map! The old one was an unholy mess of lines that didn't match anything (which I complained about before), but this one clearly has the Seine flowing through Paris as it should, with the island in the middle. The transport lines on it don't seem to match anything I can recognise, neither Metro nor RER, but let's just assume they are the new tram lines that happen to go this way.

Compared to the real thing

Real-life Paris abandoned trams in the 1930s already, being a negative trend-setter there. It didn't help that trams were limited to lower top speeds than buses were at the time. However, since the 1990s, trams have made a huge comeback in the Paris region.

(Aside: Note that I say the Paris region. There's only really one tram line in Paris itself (plus a few stops from the other ones). Where Berlin or London absorbed most of their suburbs at some point in the 20th century, Paris didn't, so the actual Paris part of the Paris region is surprisingly small. That's why Paris has both far fewer and way more inhabitants than e.g. Berlin, depending on what you count.)

Anyway, the tram lines in Paris mostly serve the suburbs, providing tangential connections from one suburb to the next so you don't have to take the metro or RER into the city centre, change at fucking Châtelet-Les Halles, and ride back out again. A unique feature of the the tram network is that each line is separate, with its own tracks and maintenance facilities, and at times very different technologies used. Most of the tram lines don't connect to other tram lines at all, each line is just out there doing its own thing. And since they're out in the suburbs, as a tourist you're unlikely to ever see one if you don't go looking for it.

The exception to that is the T3, divided into T3A and T3B, which runs in a 3/4 circle around Paris along the outer boulevards. The final quarter is where rich NIMBYs live, so it'll be a while until the circle gets closed, I fear.

This actual T3 is run with long bi-directional vehicles with no open platform anywhere in sight, and pleasant but considerably more boring stations. It does have green track (meaning with grass) in many places, though, and it has overhead wires.

In Paris, the trams are used as very long buses (with some overlap with really tiny metros) in underserved areas. Serving areas outside the city core is really the main thrust of Paris transit development at the moment, with a 200 km metro extension, the Grand Paris Express, being built exclusively to better connect the suburbs. This mega project is one of the coolest things happening in public transport anywhere in the world at the moment. The trams augment this.

I do actually think that some trams in Paris's city centre could make sense, to replace the busier bus routes. And there are definitely thoughts about that, but with all the money going towards doubling the size of the Metro, I don't think we'll see that very soon.

The verdict

I like that tram. I don't think it's what Paris would actually have, a longer articulated bidirectional model without a rear platform would make more sense, but I love the quirkiness of it. This season is off to a good start.

[jonathanrook]

like i know i drew this real fast in paint w a track pad and they look like binoculars but these are like cool futuristic robo handcuff things and the top bit is a scanner pad where you tap your unlock key to get them open. and i've put some whack diagrams in my fics before but for some reason i draw the line at inserting this into my author's note.

google how to describe a device as looking like one of those square(tm) tap card readers in a setting where those absolutely do not exist

[quasi-normalcy]

If I were really rich, what I'd do is I'd start-up an electronics company that's not intended to grow. It's just intended to make good, reliable, energy efficient appliances and personal electronics that are built to last. It's a fridge; your great grandchildren will be able to inherit it. It doesn't use software, why would it use software, it's a fridge? No, it doesn't have any proprietary parts, on the off chance it breaks down, you can just use whatever (advise against using anything with a fucking RFID in it). It's a printer. It prints. You put paper in it, you put ink in it, it lasts decades? This phone? You could drag it through a war with you and the screen won't crack. You can open it up and put more ram inside, whatever. It'd sell products at an extreme discount to undercut the competition and drive them out if business because my electronics essentially never need to be replaced. Then, I'd put it in trust to keep producing new units as needed in perpetuity, with a strong stipulation that no one with a business degree ever be put in charge.