#it was really fun to draw. the commissioner had a great vision and was really fun to work with

[pizzazz-party]

I have been waiting months to post this.

A present commissioned by @kithnkin for her friend @magicalspacedragon!

The Helmsman AU.

[yandere-daydreams]

Title: Pendent.

Written for a lovely anonymous commissioner.

Pairing: Yandere!Bokuto/Reader.

Word Count: 2.0k.

TW: F. Reader, Toxic Relationships, Possessive Mindsets, Co-Dependency, and (Unintentional) Emotional Manipulation.

[Part Two]

Bokuto was better, when you were around.

Better at playing, obviously, at spiking and receiving and controlling his temper when his performance couldn’t keep up with his temper, but he felt like he was better at everything, from volleyball to mathematics. He felt lighter, he felt stronger, and rarely, when you sat down and smiled so patiently and let him rest his head in your lap as you helped him study, he might’ve been grateful enough to say he felt smarter, too. You’d never believe him, but he’s a caring boyfriend, like that. He’ll always try to make you feel as good as he does, when you’re next to him.

It was only natural, really. The two of you were soulmates, a complementary pair. Bokuto’d been sure of that since the first time he saw you, following in Akaashi footsteps like a kicked puppy, a transfer student fresh from another city entirely, desperately lost and eager to latch onto as many familiar faces as you could. You’d made friends since then, obviously. Hell, your popularity might’ve rivalled Bokuto’s, but he’d liked those first few weeks. His heart had skipped a beat the first time you came to one of Fukurōdani’s games, and he could still remember the first time you’d spoken to him, tripping over your words as you introduced yourself with that small, endearing smile constantly pulling at the corners of your lips. You hadn’t really liked him at first, even if you were always too nice to admit it. You must’ve been intimidated, put off by the friend of a friend who was, admittedly, far from subtle about his interest in you. But, that’s alright. It’s in the past, and all of that happened before he had you, before you had him.

You made him better. The two of you made each other better, and Bokuto wouldn’t know what to do without you.

You agreed to watch him practice, today, too. He should’ve kept his mind on the drills, on the coach’s critics and Akaashi’s quiet requests for him to try to concentrate on the game at-hand, but it was difficult to stay focused with the love of his life so close, leaning against the nearest guard-rail, waving every time his eyes strayed from the court and towards you, instead. It was an instinct, honestly, a reflex to adore his very own masterpiece. Knowing you were there for him only made it better, even if he’d never pass up any opportunity to be close to you. Still, he liked knowing you cared. He liked having you so close. He liked everything about you, but he liked knowing you were his the most--

A volleyball collided with the back of Bokuto’s head, and instantly, he was pulled out of his thoughts and into reality. He snapped around, finding Konoha with one arm still raised and his mouth already open, cutting in before Bokuto could start to complain. “If you haven’t noticed, we’re taking a break,” He explained, only pausing to pick up the ball rolling idly in this direction. “Stop making eyes at your girlfriend and go talk to her, before she realizes she’s dating a stalker.”

“I’m not a stalker,” Bokuto whined, but he was already fighting the urge to find you again, just to make sure you were still there. Just to ease his own paranoid concerns, even if he knew they’d start to brew again as soon as you were out of sight. “You’re just jealous I go to ‘er first. No one that pretty ever comes to see you play.”

Konoha only scoffed, turning on his heel. “That’s because some of us can play without an audience, dumbass.”

Bokuto almost took the time to retort, but he didn’t get the chance. There was a flash of movement in the corner of his vision, a slight hint of color in his peripheral, and then you were wrapped around his arm, leaning against his bicep as you rested your cheek on his shoulder with a contented sigh. It was routine, you’d always been the affectionate type, but Bokuto couldn’t help but feel special. He wanted to feel special, when you went out of your way to touch him. “Kotaro,” You started, drawing out his name playfully, and Bokuto had to bite back a grin. It’d taken you months to use his given name, but the thrill of it never seemed to wear off. “You were great out there, you have to show me how you--”

“One second, alright?” You fell silent, but you brightened as he took your head, pulling away and beginning to tug you in the direction of the gym’s exit. “It’s just a little crowded in here, ‘s all. I want to be alone with you, for a while.”

Your smile wavered, but you didn’t argue, only sinking into his side as he led you outside, the courtyard thankfully empty. Usually, Bokuto wasn’t the jealous type. He wasn’t possessive, and he’d never want to smother you, but there was something satisfying about having you all to himself, about having your eyes on him as he pinned you against the back of the gym, one arm supporting him and the other snaking around your waist, pulling you into his chest as he buried his face in the crook of your neck, letting himself sigh for the first time since practice started. 

Your laugh was like windchimes, like bells, like heaven, ringing out every time he kissed your neck and spurring Bokuto forward despite your attempts to distract him. It was more playful than anything, your fingers tangling themselves in his messy hair as you shake your head, but either way, it didn’t work. It would’ve taken a lot more to rip him away from you, and you should’ve known that.

Still, you scolded him, clicking your tongue before you spoke. “We’re still in public,” You chided, tugging on the collar of his shirt, making a half-hearted attempt to pull him away before giving up, resigning yourself to his eager pecks at your jugular, to the hand slipping under the hem of your skirt, just enough to squeeze your thigh. “If you’re going to be this impatient, I’m going to have to keep you muzzled.” A nip, this time, to the junction of your jaw, and he heard you fight the urge to giggle. “I don’t want your teammates catching us in a… compromising position, y’know?”

Right, of course not. You were always the shy type, too timid to be anything but awkwardly charming, but Bokuto wasn’t. He liked to think he could be the one to break you out of your shell, too, as long as he tried hard enough. “Afraid to show me off?” He laughed, earning a scoff and a soft shove to his chest. “It’s fine, baby. If anyone sees anything, I’ll handle it.”

There was a beat of silence, a tangible deflation. He almost drew back, almost asked what was wrong, but you were talking before he had the chance. “I don’t like the way you handle things, ‘taro.”

You weren’t joking, this time. Your tone was enough to make Bokuto realize that, still stand-offish, but colder, distant in a way that seemed more disappointed than angry. He didn’t let you go, but his grip tightened, blunt nails digging into your soft skin with just enough force to catch your attention. Instantly, you tried to backtrack. “No, I mean, I appreciate it, but you can just be so…” You trailed off, your voice falling into a breathy sigh. “I think you get a little too excited, sometimes. It scares people. It scares me, honestly.”

Something cracked inside of Bokuto’s chest. It wasn’t the first time you’d brought this up, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last, but it always hurt him to hear you talk about him like… like some overly aggressive jerk. He wasn’t, not really. If he approached one of your friends, it was only because he didn’t trust them, because he knew you were delicate and he’d never be able to forgive himself if you got hurt. If he got a little too bold with a few underclassmen, it was only because he’d heard your name brought up a little too casually in a conversation that wasn’t as respectful as it should’ve been. As your boyfriend, it was the least he could do, and he knew you’d understand if explained that. He knew you would. You’d have to.

Because if you didn’t, things would go back to the way they used to be, before you made him better. When you were still so shy, when you were too busy being swarmed by distraction to see him, to realize the two of you belonged together. It wasn’t your fault. You were new to this, knew to him, but back then, he would’ve done just about anything for your attention. He’d been distraught. He couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, and even on the court, he couldn’t play, not if he knew you wouldn’t be watching. The rest of the team had noticed, but they couldn’t do anything to help. He hadn’t been able to pull himself together, not until you came up to him, white envelope in your hands and your eyes on the floor. Not until he knew you cared about him. Not until he knew you loved him.

Not until you made him better, whether or not you’d meant to.

He knew you liked being popular. It was fun, he’d be the first to admit that. You liked having friends, having fans, having people who left gifts at the foot of your locker and offered to help you study and saw you, even if you rarely let yourself indulge in the privilege. He knew you liked it, but he liked you, he loved you, and all of that, all of them threatened to take you away from him. He’d be a wreck without you. Bokuto didn’t know much, but he knew that. He wouldn’t be able to breath if you left him, if he just sat back and let you leave him.

He stopped thinking, for a moment. It might’ve been a little too impulsive, looking back on it, just a touch too rough, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop, not as he jerked forward, slotting his mouth against yours before you could pull away. He tried to make the kiss as gentle as he could, once he realized what he was doing, but there still must’ve been that jolt of neediness behind it, that undeniable desperation. He could barely bring himself to pull away, but he tried to remind himself that he’d have more time. If you loved him, he’d have more time, and you had to love him.

“I’m sorry.” He was gasping, fighting to turn awful, blurring emotions into something coherent while you stared on, your expression a mix of stun and halting concern. “You know I’d never want to scare you, right, baby? You mean so much to me, and the last thing I’d do is hurt you. I just thought I could help.” He forced himself to stop, after that, to take a breath before he started again, attempting to sound more composed, this time. “You know how much you mean to me, don’t you? And you know I love you, right?”

You seemed reluctant, but you answered. “I know, ‘taro.”

“And you know I’d be a mess without you, right?”

“You’re a mess with me.” This time, there was a hint of something playful, just a ghost of a smile as you went on. “I just need you to promise to be a little more considerate, next time. I know you’re just trying to do what you think is best, but I really need you to try to think these things through. For me.”

You might’ve hesitated, but Bokuto didn’t. He didn’t need to. You were the love of his life, his soulmate, the only person in the world he’d ever cared about this much, and he’d do anything for you.

He was better, when you were around, and he needed to be better.

“I promise.”

[warninggraphiccontent]

5 March 2021

Data linkage

Data dichotomies Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden wrote for the FT about the UK's new approach to data outside the EU this week - which managed not to say what this new approach would actually be (especially for GDPR), and prompted comments that the narratives that privacy had dominated discussion and pitted innovation and privacy against one another weren't quite right... ICO baby Though perhaps the next Information Commissioner does need to make a distinction between innovation and privacy, as medConfidential and others have pointed out. Dowden's article kicked off the appointment process for the next Commissioner. (I interviewed the current one in 2019.) Doing so in an article behind a paywall and with no version on GOV.UK isn't a particularly great example of open government...

Open season But then it's not been the best of weeks for open government in the UK, with the news it's been censured by the Open Government Partnership, prompting a letter coordinated by the UK's Open Government Network (on whose steering group I sit). Though there remain some good examples of open government in the UK, and... Open day Tomorrow is Open Data Day, with lots of events planned. Speaking of events... Data Bites We held our seventeenth Data Bites this week, with some rugby-related fun to kick off and some very important budget analysis (which may have contributed to this), before four brilliant presentations. One of those was about better data visualisation, which was also the subject of...

Chart hits and misses This Computer Weekly article looking at good and bad #dataviz during Covid features a quote from me. Speaking of bad #dataviz... Mistake and fail pie My wonderful IfG colleagues are holding me somehow responsible for this particularly bad BBC Wales pie chart, which left me shocked. Another shocking fail which came to mind this week was... Johnson's new department The time when the UK government briefly renamed the business department to something quite unfortunate (though it turned out to be a flop). It wasn't quite the job Alan Johnson expected, but then you don't really get to apply for Cabinet roles...

Odd job Whereas you can apply to work in the Cabinet Office's new Information and Data Exchange, another new unit which there doesn't appear to be much information about. Like a number of recent developments (the Central Digital and Data Office, the integrated data platform) we have to comb press releases, minutes and job ads to find out what's going on (#opengovernment). There's also a deafening silence on... Certifiable The government's (welcome) review into vaccine passports. I wrote something about that for the IfG this week. And if you've not had enough of me... Strategic thinking I'm speaking at a Westminster Forum event next week, on the National Data Strategy. Something that was announced a few months ago, by Oliver Dowden.

Have a good weekend

Gavin

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Graphic content

Vax the way, uh-huh uh-huh, I like it

New data show that leading covid-19 vaccines have similarly high efficacy* (The Economist)

What Do Vaccine Efficacy Numbers Actually Mean?* (New York Times)

Speed and trust (Reuters)

Oregon, Vermont Lead the Way in Equitable Vaccine Rollout: Covid-19 Tracker* (Bloomberg)

Tempers fray over France’s vaccine strategy* (FT - thread)

COVID-19: Major cities falling well behind in UK's bid to vaccinate its way out of lockdown (Sky News)

COVID-19: Is your area one in England and Scotland where half of adults have received a vaccine? (Sky News)

My, corona

Why Opening Windows Is a Key to Reopening Schools* (New York Times)

Should Your School Be Fully Open? Here’s What the C.D.C. Says* (New York Times)

BATS and the ORIGIN of OUTBREAKS (Reuters)

500,000 LIVES LOST (Reuters)

Boris Johnson defends UK border regime amid hunt for Covid patient* (FT)

Inside ultra-Orthodox Jews’ battle with the virus and the Israeli state* (FT)

NHS faces questions over Covid infections contracted in hospital (The Guardian)

Europe struggles and saves in pandemic as Sweden keeps calm and carries on (Reuters)

Animated data visualisation of covid-19 data in G20 countries, with a focus on USA (Jamie Whyte)

Money, money, money

Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2021 (OBR)

UK Budget: the long road to levelling up* (FT - thread)

Sunak goes big and bold in bid to repair UK public finances* (FT)

Six things we learned from budget 2021 (IfG)

Budget 2021: a preview in charts (IfG)

Spending fast, taxing slow (Resolution Foundation)

Some unprotected departments had their budgets cut by half in the decade from 2009-10, as health spending has growth by almost 20 per cent (Resolution Foundation)

Budget 2021 (IFS)

Rishi Sunak’s Budget has not prevented a surge in unemployment – it just delayed it* (New Statesman)

Mo money, mo problems

How Much Minimum Wage Changed in Each State (Flowing Data)

Remote workers spend more on housing than those who commute* (The Economist)

Costco CEO, Who Pays Median Worker $39,585, Enters Wage Debate* (Bloomberg)

Funding devolution: The Barnett formula in theory and practice (IfG)

More people think benefits are too low* (The Times)

Earth song

The messy business of sand mining explained (Reuters)

In the Atlantic Ocean, Subtle Shifts Hint at Dramatic Dangers* (New York Times)

The Five Hotspots Where Food Prices Are Getting People Worried* (Bloomberg)

In data: what are Britain’s fisheries gaining from Brexit?* (Prospect)

Climate graphic of the week: shipping routes behind Mediterranean oil spill* (FT)

More United Than You’d Think: Public Opinion on the Environment in Towns and Cities in the UK (Centre for Towns)

More than 25m drink from the worst US water systems, with Latinos most exposed (The Guardian)

Politik

So wählten die Gemeinden bei Bundestagswahlen (Berliner Morgenpost)

How Keir Starmer has fallen out of favour with voters* (New Statesman)

How Much Longer Can This Era Of Political Gridlock Last? (FiveThirtyEight)

How Marjorie Taylor Greene Won, And Why Someone Like Her Can Win Again (FiveThirtyEight)

Which senators have been voting against Biden Cabinet nominees?* (Washington Post)

Myanmar records its deadliest day of pro-democracy protests* (The Economist)

Myanmar’s new wave of detainees (Reuters)

Everything else

Another name change for the business department in the offing? (IfG)

Is the lot of female executives improving?* (The Economist)

Constituency data: broadband coverage and speeds (Commons Library)

And yet... (Giuseppe)

How governments use evidence to make transport policy (IfG)

#dataviz

Covid-19 and the art and science of data visualisation (Computer Weekly)

Trump’s literacy, KPIs and Citizen Data: final lessons from covid-19 charts (Andy Cotgreave)

Presenting data: 5 tips for making your data understandable (Data in government)

a list of my favorite #dataviz tools (Jon Schwabish for @iamscicomm)

How to draw your audience's focus in visuals (Alvin Wendt, Jon Schwabish)

Meta data

Certification uncertainty

Government needs to beware the easy promise of Covid certification (me for IfG)

Establish if vaccination passports will work before tackling ethical issues* (FT - more here)

Some thoughts on the legal and ethical implications of ‘vaccine passports’ (Adam Wagner)

No jab, no job – the moral minefield confronting the UK government (The Guardian)

Is there a way to make vaccine passports ethically acceptable? (The Guardian)

Vaccine passports could save British theatres – why won’t they embrace them?* (Telegraph)

Vaccine passports: Ticket to freedom? (whynow)

Covid-19: How would an NHS vaccine passport app work? (BBC News)

Israel’s “green pass” is an early vision of how we leave lockdown (MIT Technology Review)

Viral content

COVID-19: Test and Trace barely used check-in data from pubs and restaurants - with thousands not warned of infection risk (Sky News)

COVID-19 VACCINE TRANSPARENCY (Transparency International)

The New Necessary: How We Future-Proof for the Next Pandemic (Tony Blair Institute for Global Change)

AI got 'rithm

Ensuring statistical models command public confidence: Learning lessons from the approach to developing models for awarding grades in the UK in 2020 (OSR)

What is an “algorithm”? It depends whom you ask* (MIT Technology Review)

Turing Lecture: How to talk to robots - The road to a people powered, AI-enabled future (Tabitha Goldstaub)

Government response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (DCMS/BEIS)

How UCL’s groundbreaking AI research became entangled in Facebook’s net* (New Statesman)

Building trust in AI systems is essential* (FT)

Final Report (National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence)

Taking on the tech giants: the lawyer fighting the power of algorithmic systems (The Observer)

Big tech

Microsoft's Dream of Decentralized IDs Enters the Real World* (Wired)

New York Times Columnist David Brooks Blogged For Facebook's Corporate Site (BuzzFeed)

Section 230: Big Tech’s favourite law is running out of time* (New Statesman)

Palantir, part 2 (Rowland)

Charting a course towards a more privacy-first web (Google)

Google is done with cookies, but that doesn’t mean it’s done tracking you (Recode)

‘This is bigger than just Timnit’: How Google tried to silence a critic and ignited a movement (Fast Company)

CMA investigates Apple over suspected anti-competitive behaviour (Competition and Markets Authority)

US removes stumbling block to global deal on digital tax* (FT)

Alan Rusbridger says Oversight Board will ask to see Facebook's algorithm (The Guardian)

UK government

New approach to data is a great opportunity for the UK post-Brexit* (FT)

The UK needs an independent privacy regulator (Open Rights Group)

Dr Nicola Byrne has been named as the government’s preferred candidate for the post of National Data Guardian (NDG) for Health and Care (Cabinet Office)

‘Digital big bang’ needed if UK fintech to compete, says review* (FT)

UK taxpayer to take more stakes in tech start-ups* (FT)

Data in the line of duty; PSGA data keeping us safe. (Geospatial Commission)

Goldacre Review

EU too

EU must overhaul flagship data protection laws, says a ‘father’ of policy* (FT)

Data protection: European Commission launches process on personal data flows to UK (European Commission)

ARIA ready?

Bill introduced to create high risk, high reward research agency ARIA (BEIS)

Bill

Explanatory notes

I see the ARIA press release frames FOI as bureaucratic (Peter Wells)

Few thoughts (Alex Parsons)

How government can help make Aria sing (Civil Service World)

Social media

India imposes sweeping new social media rules* (FT)

Far-Right Platform Gab Has Been Hacked—Including Private Data* (Wired)

Open for the best but expecting the worst

UK government censured for a lack of transparency and accountability (Sky News)

UK GOVERNMENT ‘UNDER REVIEW’ SAYS OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP (UK Open Government Network)

Data: sharing is caring (mySociety)

Why Transparency Won’t Save Us (CIGI)

News real and fake

MAPPING CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONSES TO DISINFORMATION: AN INTERNATIONAL FORUM WORKING PAPER (National Endowment for Democracy)

The Unknowable News Audience (Slate)

A Better Way to Think About Conspiracies* (New York Times)

The History of Misinformation (The Full Fact Podcast)

Databases

ICE investigators used a private utility database covering millions to pursue immigration violations* (Washington Post)

A Theranos Database Is Useless. What Happened?* (Wall Street Journal)

Data

Data Bites #17 - watch as live (IfG, edited version will appear here)

Exploring legal mechanisms for data stewardship (Ada Lovelace Institute, AI Council)

Data Is the New Sand* (The Information)

Data's Future: 2020 highlights (ODI)

Supporting ‘levelling up’: the case for more and better data on Post-16 Education and Training (Centre for Cities)

Yuval Noah Harari: Lessons from a year of Covid (FT)

Remote learning

Out of office: what the homeworking revolution means for our cities (The Observer)

Stanford researchers identify four causes for ‘Zoom fatigue’ and their simple fixes (Stanford)

Face your fears

MyHeritage offers 'creepy' deepfake tool to reanimate dead (BBC News)

The Shoddy Science Behind Emotional Recognition Tech (OneZero)

Everything else

Launch of Rules as Code forum for government officials (OPSI, OECD)

Soft power and technological sovereignty in the 21st century (Matthew Clifford)

How Adam Curtis gets into your head* (Prospect)

How a 10-second video clip sold for $6.6 million (Reuters)

Life & Times of: Audrey Tang (Digital Minister @ Taiwan) (The Taiwan Take - my interview from June 2020)

On the block: Could blockchain aid policing? (Tech Monitor)

Nesta's Strategy to 2030 (Nesta)

The Conundrum of Information Scarcity in a Time of Information Overload (Slate)

Opportunities

EVENT: ADR UK three years in: Harnessing the power of administrative data in the age of Covid-19 (ADR UK)

EVENT: Procurement after Brexit: a keynote speech by Cabinet Office minister Lord Agnew (IfG)

JOB: Information Commissioner (DCMS)

JOB: Head of Data Science, INDEX (Cabinet Office)

More (via Owen)

FELLOWSHIP: Future policy for a future internet (Tony Blair Institute for Global Change)

And finally...

Charts, maps and dashboards

One way road to beer

The many chart crimes of *that* Citi bitcoin report* (FT - thread)

Hey Citi, your bitcoin report is embarrassingly bad* (FT)

What language am I reading? (Max Fras, Oystein H. Brekke, Dominik K. Cagara, Aron)

Music Borders (The Pudding)

Everything else

The Australien Government has made an ad about the new media legislation it just passed, and it's surprisingly honest and informative! (theJuiceMedia)

Data... (Dan Hon, via Giuseppe)

Unlocking history through automated virtual unfolding of sealed documents imaged by X-ray microtomography (Nature Communications)

The Agile Theme Park. Scream when you have to sprint faster. (DESIGN THINKING! Comic)

The best image of Mars was made in 1965 (Thomas van Ryzewyk)

What will it be like when we go back to the office? (Reuters)