#smart sleep sensors

[sleeprecoverytech]

Enhancing Sleep Quality with Smart Sleep Environment Sensors

Smart sleep environment sensors have revolutionized the way we approach sleep quality and overall well-being. These innovative devices offer a comprehensive solution to monitor, analyze, and optimize our sleep environments for optimal rest and rejuvenation. By integrating advanced technology into our bedrooms, smart sleep sensors provide valuable insights into our sleep patterns, helping us…

[foone]

Now I'm imagining a totally different version of that mini-story shitpost (I'd call it a ficlet if it was more serious), where it's a story about a floret elaborately planning an escape, but with a twist.

(mini-hdg fic follows. No sex, but this an inherently dubcon/noncon setting and there are some very minor references to that)

They figured out how to bypass some restrictions on the matter compiler by asking for things with components that could be reused. They've hidden tools inside some of their plushies, pushed to the back so their owner won't accidentally notice them.

Finally, it's time. The door to her quarters falls quickly from the acid attack (she's been doing hidden chemistry for Weeks). The ion storm will blind some of the sensors, so they only need a little extra help to not notice a DIY escape pod falling out of an auxiliary cargo bay.

The escape pod soft-lands (well, mostly. It hit a few tree branches on the way down) on the nearby habitable planet, and the door pops up. A floret in some brightly colored doll clothes resewn into hiking gear pops out. She holds up a sensor with a little screen on it, and it shows one big blue dot. Suddenly the dot grows, the screen's image is swamped out, and then it returns: nothing. No dots. The Cembroides has jumped out of the system. She's free without anyone noticing. She tosses aside the sensor she rigged out of a hair cutting machine, grabs some supplies from the pod, and hikes north.

A few kilometers later she finds a clearing with a small log cabin recently built in it. She opens the door without knocking, and says "Did you miss me?"

Her owner puts aside her book. "Of course I did little one! I was worried when your pod came down in the dense forest, but I see you made it safely here."

The floret smiles. "I wasn't worried! I used some hoverunits from an old medi-bed design, so my pod was slowed down enough that I just got jostled a bit. The real trick was figuring out how I could make the pod smart enough to land me near the cabin but not so smart that it'll discover what I'm doing and alert the Cembroides AI... I ended up with a nano-computer out of a dining tray wired into the thrusters. It thinks it's keeping my lunch warm, not flying a spaceship!"

Her owner beams an expression of leafy pride at her. "That's all very interesting, and I look forward to reading your report on it. But for now, come cuddle with mommy, and drink up. You've been hiking through the forest, you need hydration and nutrients now, little one."

The floret jumps into her vines, literally, and buries her face in the leaves of her owner. "it was a lot of fun! I've got some great ideas for the next time, too". She yawns, and cuddles closer, her eyes slowly closing. "But for now I think I'll rest..."

A distance away in the alien jungle, a small creature scurries out of the abandoned escape pod, as the discarded sensor loudly beeps an alert as one of the Cembroides' shuttles makes an FTL jump back into the system.

Back at the cabin, the Affini gently pats the head of their floret. You gotta make sure your pets have plenty of enrichment, you know? And sometimes that means letting them "escape", just so they can have the enjoyment of figuring out their escape plan.

The shuttle sets down besides the cabin, and the Affini carries her sleeping pet out to it, pausing only to activate a system to reclaim the cabin back into biomass for the forest to use. The shuttle takes off silently, and the sound of birds and other forest wildlife slowly returns, as the cabin slowly melts like a sand castle at high tide.

That sensor by the pod beeps again as the shuttle jumps out to meet up with the Cembroides, and something not entirely unlike a deer darts off into the denser forest in fright.

[itsohh]

QWERTY Part 6

A/N: Female reader, nothing like dusting off the ol darft and actually editing.

Summary: Things start to collapse for you and Vladimir and he sends you out to tie up a loose end.

Warnings: Canon typical violence

Word count: 2817

AO3 Masterlist Part 5 Part 7

It wasn't often that you had time to rest. Even back when Vladimir was in prison there was always something to do. By no means were you as creative and ambitious as he was but you could certainly carry out his instructions. You were an extension of his will and even when he sat in the gulag you felt that extension more than anything. Even if you didn't carry out his will you knew someone else would. At least by obeying him you stayed in his good grace and kept your life. 

When you finally woke it wasn't a natural wake. The sound of your now again shared bedroom door opened and Vladimir stood there eyes on you. A deep sleep wasn’t something you could ever afford to have around Vladimir. There was always that reminder in the back of your head, that concern that he would find out. A concern that he wouldn’t deem you necessary or obsolete. Normally he was a man who liked to have a person touch to his kills but you wouldn’t put it past him silently killing you in your sleep. 

Perhaps he would call it a gift, birthed by whatever sentimentality he could have. It was something that you tried not to but ended up thinking about often, how he would dispose of you. Would he bring you close, cup your face and hold you in his arms? Would the dagger that he wrought be swift and pierce your body with ease? Would the look on his face be apologetic as your life faded from your eyes forever? You tried not to think about it, tried not to imagine it but with rather little success. 

Right away you knew he was there to speak business, what little relaxation you saw behind his eyes on occasion was nowhere to be seen. 

His posture was straight and his suit was tidy. You could deduct he had been up for a while and left you to sleep. A small kindness or perhaps he just knew the conditions that people worked best in. It was always impossible to know but most likely the latter. “Vlad.” You sat up in the bed, the sheet barely covered your naked form and he slipped into the room fully. The door closed behind him with a small click and he finally spoke his mind. 

“Milena has an island that she spends most of her time at. Are you familiar with it?” The mention of Milena soured your mood slightly but you didn't let it show. She was always a threat to your position. She was smart, did her job well and was overall an asset to Vladimir. Must to your distaste the pair of you had worked practically hand in hand during the time that Vladimir was in prison, you couldn’t deny you wouldn’t have been able to do nearly as much without her. Despite all your skills, she easily outshone you when it came to bookkeeping. She worked with money well. Yet you had something she didn't, the ability to get dirty. 

She was a clean and precise woman and despite all of her attempts at replacing you as his companion, Vladimir seemed disinterested at the prospect. 

“I am.” You slipped out of the bed and moved to your set of draws. Vladimir placed a tablet on top of the draws and you leaned over it to look at it. There on the screen was a blue diagram, it reminded you a lot of a ship's radar only it took up the entire screen and didn’t constantly ping everything. What had been pinged was shown as a red dot.

“An unidentified vessel triggered one of the underwater sensors.” His voice didn’t seem rather concerned about the woman, rather he sounded annoyed. Perhaps a little frustrated. It made sense, he was never very fond of defence or having to baby anyone. Sure the woman had decent security but there was already so much going on, you wouldn’t put it past Vladimir to make sure she had the weakest of men. If anyone had a since ounce of competence they were most likely under his command. Yes, she was important and held invaluable data but at the end of the day, in Vladmirs eyes she was simply a disposable object.

You cocked a brow as you gathered your underwear and started to put it on. His eyes bore into you but not with any kind of lust. He was a weapon first and a man second. 

“You want me to go there with backup?” 

“No.” He picked up the bra that you had picked out and replaced it with a sports bra that had been neatly folded next to it. He certainly wanted you to do something physical. “If she's speaking I want you to go there and silence her.” 

“Permanently?” 

“Da.” There was a stern look in his eyes and you didn’t argue with him. It made no sense to. His word was always final and unless you had a logical reason or thought, your input would do little to sway him. It would only either annoy him or piss him off. Vladimir didn’t like being questioned. Wherever you did so, you normally had to phrase it in a way that made it seem educational, like you were trying to learn from him. 

There wasn’t a logical reason to keep the woman alive. With the SAS breathing down your backs, Vladimir didn’t have time to deal with anything. If she was taken hostage or captured there was quite a lot she could reveal. It was simply more efficient to take her out of the picture. 

Your hands went to pull out some clothes. Instead of a suit like so often he wore, you pulled out a black t-shirt and a black pair of pants. It was practical clothing, something you were rather used to wearing. 

“When do I leave?” You slipped into the pants with ease.

“The moment you're dressed, the heli is already set up with everything you'll need.” You knew what that included, guns technology and your escape route.

There was a scowl that was on his face. “This came at a rather unfortunate timing. Your second objective is to put down whoever got to her.” He tilted his head with a hiss. “If they're any good they would have left by the time you arrive.” Your words caught on to his, unfortunate timing? Did something happen while you were asleep? Had Andrei failed?

“Timings off?” You asked the moment your head popped through the hole in your shirt. 

“Yes.” Vladimir didn’t explain anything more at your prompt. He handed you your watch and you put it on before you grabbed your boots. 

—

PULTIS ISLAND 2023

The heli was loud, even though you landed on the other side of the island you knew right away it would alert whoever was there. If the sound didn’t alert them it was most likely they would have some type of watch out. Perhaps even a sensor checking for any reinforcements. Milena most certainly would have her own but if they took down her original guard you highly doubted that her B team reinforcements would do her any good. You hopped out of the helicopter and landed feet-first on the wet grass. 

Your rifle fitted nicely on your back and when you started to walk the heli started to rise up again. It wouldn’t stay there on the ground waiting for you, it was too dangerous. It would be a sitting duck, no, instead it would either find a nearby area to land off the island or the more likely situation, circle in the air waiting for you. Unlike the island's infiltrators, you didn’t need to take over the entire island, you didn’t even need to get close to her. All you needed was a line of sight. 

Silently you double-checked your gear, triple-checked if you counted your checks in the heli. You had radio contact with it and you wouldn't risk anything happening to it. It was your only reliable way off the island. Your only reliable lifeline, you knew that she would have a few boats but there was always the possibility that the infiltrators had slit the fuel tanks or even remove the batteries. The possibility of them being rendered inoperable was something taken into consideration. Alarms blared as you approached the side of the cliff. They were almost frustrating loud, they did their job at alerting everyone and if for some reason they didn’t have a lookout, it would mask the sound of your heli. 

The cliff edge was your destination, you didn’t need to go any further. It looked over the entire compound. It showed all the corpses that lay hidden away, only visible from the high vantage point. Most of them looked like they were sleeping, the kills had been quick and clean. Done without much resistance. It was then that you realized they had infiltrated the island still in stealth. Milena had been completely unaware of their arrival despite that their vessel had been pinged. Vladimir was the one to have the security measure, not Milena. Your mind wandered to the man, he could have easily alerted her and had her extract earlier before they arrived but instead left her there. 

Was she bait? Did he have that much faith in your ability? Or had he planned for her to get killed all along? You couldn’t help but feel like you were missing a lot of his puzzle. It was one thing not to care about the woman but deliberately ensure her downfall? She had pissed him off somehow. Your eyes continued to look over the compound. Not only did the vantage point look over all the outside, but it also gave you a perfect view into the main building. The large glass windows insured that.

You lay down on the ground and set the sniper rifle up. It didn’t lean directly on the grass, the stand connected to it was pulled into place and you used that to lean on. Through the scope, you got a better look at the facility, they really had taken everyone out with stealth. It made you wonder what ended up triggering the alarms. Whoever had taken over were professionals, they had done a good job. You knew the most likely suspects, the people you had been dealing with since Vladimir left prison. SAS. The possibility of it being Americans wasn’t put past you but in the end, it mattered little to Vladimir which meant it meant little to you. 

A breath left your lips and you readjusted your scope and you tried to banish the thought of Vladimir from your mind. Wherever he breathed down your neck, you couldn’t help the anxiety that would spike deep down in your core. Working alone was something you excelled at, but that didn’t mean you didn’t mean you couldn’t work well with a team. It was that you didn’t have to worry about your back, when you were alone there wasn’t any fear that you would be betrayed. You could always rely on yourself. Even though you tried not to think about him, you couldn’t help but wonder if he knew that about you. Even after everything the pair of you had been through, you couldn’t ever quite trust the man completely. You couldn’t trust anyone completely. Perhaps Vladimir felt the same.

The wind died down a little and you took a few deep breaths to focus yourself. The alarms came to an end and you wondered if Milena had turned them off or the infiltrators did. Without the overwhelming sound, something piqued your interest. Your ears could hear a faint buzzing sound. You frowned and pulled back from your scope to look up. 

There in the sky was a military-grade drone in the sky. You thought back to the last time you were on the island. Milena loved to brag about the security features that she had. Or in her words explain how her operations work. Everything was always meticulously thought out and planned to a picture-perfect situation. You, of course, could see the faults in her setup. Small oversights made but her lack of experience in combat. She could only see as far as her plans would go, never in the field. A lot of the information she had shared you had silently scoffed at and shoved to the back of your mind. Yet you knew one thing for certain, she never mentioned such a drone. You tilt your head and lift your gun. 

The drone fell from the sky and crumbled on the ground. It was a necessary precaution to destroy it. On one hand, if it hadn’t already seen you, its destruction would have alerted them to your presence but if you left it there was a high chance it would constantly spot and ping you. A risk far worse than the prior possibility.

Back in position, you looked through the scope. It showed you the inside of the building with ease, its magnification allowed you to see every detail as if you were inside it yourself. Perhaps even better than that. There you could see two figures standing in her bunker. Its inclusion had something that she had raved about and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the open door. She had called it the most secure place in the world. What good it did her. She was there by them completely exposed. Your brows furrowed and you could tell right away that they were interrogating her. 

Without access to their coms, you were unable to know what they were saying but both figures straightened up and you watched them close a laptop. Milena jumped up after them and you could tell by her posture that she was screaming at them. 

If they were leaving her, then they got everything they needed. She had talked. Vladmirs words echoed in your head. Once again you took into consideration the wind once again and took a deep breath. 

A single shot was all it took. It flew through the air and curved through the glass. Even if it was bulletproof, it was rendered useless against the anti-material rifle, if it could puncture through steel it could puncture through glass. The glass shattered all over the ground a moment before the bullet found its mark in the centre of her head. Both men jumped to the side under cover. Milena’s body fell to the ground and slumped partially on the chair she had just been previously on. Her final resting spot.

Your primary objective had been completed and yet you hesitated to move on to the second objective. By shooting Milena, you had most certainly given away your position. Even though you had counted two men, the presence of the drone told you that it was highly probable that they weren’t the only people in their team. With the element of stealth, you could have most likely taken them out but now that your position was revealed the only thing you had was range. Yet one lucky shot was all it would take from them. You didn’t know their set-up either. You were good, really good but you wouldn’t put it past them counter-sniping you. 

You picked up your rifle and slung it over your back before you silently walked away from the edge of the cliff. “Extraction.” You called through your coms to the heli without another glance behind you. Despite Vladimir's hopes, you didn’t attempt to carry out his second objective. 

—

MEDITERRANEAN SEA 2023

“She broke.” You spoke into the com through the heli. It had a far further range than the one you had on your direct person.

“How quickly?” Vladimars voice was slightly distorted by the distance but you could still hear his voice clearly. 

“Too quickly. I don't know what they said to her but she had already caved by the time I arrived.”

“Who was it?”

“Certainly wasn't Shadows. The kills were clean and precise. They came in quietly and executed without a trace.” 

“141 then.”

“St. Petersburg will most likely be compromised. Did you want me there to secure it?” 

“No. Andrei had control. We have more important matters to conduct?” 

“The dam?” You asked knowing the line was secure. 

“Net. That is already being handled, you are to be with me in London.”

Perhaps six years ago when you first started working for him those words would have shook you to your core. They would have crumbled your heart at the thought of such a widespread pure mass of death. Yet after so long you had learnt to be numb to such a feeling. Shoved deep down they were irrelevant to your objectives.  

“Is there heli going there now?”

“Yes, but we still have some preparation to do.”

[hurtspideyparker]

Tony Stark and PTSD

Tony didn't develop PTSD when he came back from Afghanistan because he knew he'd get out. He was able to save himself, use his intellect and resources to build the iron suit and escape. Yes he was tortured, and feared for his life, but he had an escape plan; Tony left the cave hopeful for the future, with extraordinary ideas and a revelation. For him, that was enough.

In the battle of New York Tony didn't have an escape plan. Even with his fancy Iron Man suit he was left alone in space to die- no amount of the money, brains or power he possesses would be enough to get him out of there.

It terrified him. To think that with everything he is, he wouldn't be enough to save his own life.

So while his thoughts in Afghanistan were that he would out-smart all these men because he's Tony freaking Stark, his thoughts in New York were that in the end he was helpless. That loss of control, the spark of real and imminent death, is what follows Tony home and gives him PTSD.

The idea that at any moment he could face something beyond the planet and anything he's ever known, that being the smartest and richest man on Earth just wouldn't be enough. Tony is mortal- even he can't cure that.

This is why we see him depend so heavily on the suits as a coping mechanism. He is all too aware of his own flesh and becomes obsessed with his armor; making it stronger, more plentiful, a cocoon. It is a part of him, and he's trying desperately to catch up to all things extraterrestrial he just learned about.

He puts sensors under his skin so the armor can always find him. When he's scared, even in his sleep, his instinct is to call the suit.

Which is why being forced away from it is so important for his recovery. He has to relearn that Iron Man isn't the suit, it's him. He'd be dead if he didn't program Jarvis smart enough to save his life without being told, like in IM3 when he's drowning and Jarvis pulls him out of the rubble by controlling the hand of the suit. Or when he fights the superpowered soldiers with just his wits and some kitchen appliances. Then finally marching into a heavily guarded facility with his Home Depot weapons.

It's not that he's beaten mortality, it's that he's broken from the need to constantly protect himself from it.

[earth-64]

Wake Up Call - Nintendo Alarmo

All through Summer 2024 the Nintendo fandom had been in a fervor. The Nintendo Switch’s reign had eclipsed its seven year apex: the time had come for a new flagship piece of hardware to take its place. The stage seemed to be set: the game releases were thinning, the Nintendo Directs sparse, and the major game releases clearly smaller, outsourced, and not the main focus of development. Nintendo had already acknowledged the new machine’s existence with an assurance of it being announced within the fiscal year, followed by a continuous promise below each and every announcement stream that there “will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during [...] these presentations.”

As the dog days passed by, during the fleeting few weeks of Fall that still existed between the ever widening record-high Summers and devastating Winter storms, it seemed undeniable that the stage was being set. Nintendo filed new patents for motion sensor technology. Word got out that they were filming a commercial for a new piece of hardware. They flew out content creators to demo something kept under wraps. And on October 9th, 2024, fans awoke to a flurry of notifications, an early morning unheralded announcement shaking the very foundations of what was thought possible for the gaming giant: 

Alarmo.

Nintendo’s smart alarm clock. A touchscreen device with a sleek interface, loaded with 35 themes inspired by 5 games (and more to come), and a $100 price tag. Their patented motion sensing technology made for a hands-free experience. Set the alarm once and from then on, each and every morning, your eyes would flutter open to a jazzy Mario tune, and your triumphant rise from bed would be rewarded with a victory jingle, a “Lets-A-Go!”, and a shot of nostalgic dopamine. 

But is nostalgic the right word? The motion sensor only works with a very specific set-up: most notably being limited to one person, a small bed, and a room that will remain otherwise empty through the night. No spouses, no pets, no roommates. It was clear this was intended for a child’s room. So no, it wasn’t nostalgic. At least not yet. It was designed to create new nostalgia.

Nintendo Alarmo, along with the similarly aimed Pokemon Sleep, are part of Nintendo’s long-running obsession with intentionally forming habits and responses. From the scheduled broadcasts of the Satellaview to the daily-task centric Animal Crossing series, and especially the predatory practices of their mobile game releases, Nintendo had a penchant for designing parasites that attached themselves to your waking (and non-waking) cycle. 

Today I’ll be sharing excerpts from interviews with people who received Alarmos as children, and uncover the shocking effects of waking each morning to a pavlovian coin-get jingle. But first, speaking of coin-getting, a word from today’s sponsor: LoanFast. Is payday just a—

God what a waste of time. Shit’s always so negative these days. These nostalgia-grab video essays used to be pleasant. Here’s an old-school animated movie you haven’t seen since the DVD bargain bin! Top ten cartoons of the 2010s! The misunderstood genius of the Wii U! But nah, now time has crept past the optimistic millennials. We’re struggling to find the diamonds in the rough patch that was the 2020s, to salvage anything from that fucking trash heap of a decade. God, no wait. Now I sound like them. I grew up with that age of media. I love that age of media. It’s just so easy to let the zeitgeist of doomerism– Okay stop. It’s way too easy to let these things override my brain. I had to mentally backspace the phrase “easily impressionable” right there too. I watch these videos with their big words and their gloomy ways of lookin at life and I feel it all start to seep into me. 

Millennials will convince you that the 00s were the peak of human creation. That the 10s were the last big push of creativity. But that's just not true! My cartoons were way better! Our video games are just objectively cooler and bigger! Adults get stuck on trying to make fun of my generation for the same few bullshit things, if I hear one more Skibidi Rizz I’m gonna– Shouldn’t think like that. I’m 24 now. That’s an adult. I’m an adult. I keep saying that and it doesn’t sound any more true. It happened so fast. It took so much time but it happened so fast. I was just a kid, playing Super Mario Odyssey on an old LCD, and then I was a teenager and a lot happened, so much happened, and now I’m an adult playing Super Mario Odyssey on an old LCD and nothing happens, nothing ever happens. I am an adult and it is Christmas Eve and I am alone.

It was Christmas Eve then too. Back when Christmas felt like Christmas. I was 12 years old when I got the Nintendo Alarmo. December 24th, 2024 when I tore open my first present of the year. It was tradition to get one present the night before, usually something to pass the time until I was more tired than I was excited for the next morning. You wouldn’t think a clock would keep me busy but I spent the whole evening fiddling with the options, looking at every theme, resetting the time to hear the top-of-the-hour jingles for each game. I remember dad helping me put in the wi-fi password, I remember mom’s hurried trip to whatever convenience store was still open on the holiday because the damned thing didn’t come with an AC adapter. She brought back a package of Reese’s and one of those juice drinks with a plastic toy on it. It was… a Spongebob one? Yeah, and I set it on the shelf and it fell off during all the unwrapping the next day and it rolled underneath the shelf and it was down there for months and I’m remembering every single time I was sitting on the floor playing Mario and Luigi Brothership after getting it the next day and every single time I could see the Spongebob juice topper below the tv smiling at me and I never thought to get it I never put any thought into it being there it was just there until a day my mom must have swept and it wasn’t there and I didn’t think about it not being there. Until right now. 

Why didn’t that thing come with an AC adapter, god that’s so stupid.

I think about all that and I don’t think about everything that happened afterwards. I’m 12 years old and it’s Christmas Eve 2024 and I’m getting the Nintendo Alarmo and now I’m 24 years old and it’s Christmas Eve 2036 and I look over at the window sill next to my bed and the Nintendo Alarmo is still there, still ticking. The AC adapter has been replaced a couple times and it’s a bit dinged up but it’s still ticking. So much happened all the while that clock kept ticking. I’m still ticking. I’ve gotten so worked up over this fucking video and I’ve been scrolling my home page this whole time. I try to actually read the titles my eyes are glossing over: “The Untold Story of Minecraft’s 1.50 Disaster”, “What Went Wrong With Forza 2030”, “Does Sony Regret Dropping Out of Consoles?” and I almost click the last one to see which retired executive guy they’re interviewing and personifying the whole company onto this time and I stop myself. It just takes one god damn clickbait title to manufacture curiosity like that and I’ll be watching another two hour video about job layoffs and feeling like shit again. I’m so sick of feeling like shit. It’s getting harder and harder to find content that makes me feel good. 

I decide to just turn the damn thing off. I sit there in the dark for a minute, as a dim light comes from across the room: it's 11:00pm and my Nintendo Alarmo is displaying a top-of-the-hour animation. Mario runs into view, bumps a block 11 times. I hear the little coin-collection jingle 11 times, and then the screen defaults back to its calmer darker state. 

I google for a day calculator on my phone and punch in that Christmas Eve and this one. 

4,383 days. If you take into the fact that after the Animal Crossing theme releases I swapped to that for Halloween and Christmas mornings, that’s 22 Animal Crossing mornings, and 4,360 Super Mario mornings, and 1 Mario Kart morning that I hated. Who the fuck wants to wake up to tires screeching? And the “FIRST PLACE VICTORY!” out-of-bed message was a bit patronizing even for me. But yeah, 4,360 Super Mario wake up calls. 4,360 times I have heard the Super Mario Bros. theme song as the very first sound of the day. Through thick and thin, from one side of the country to the other, through every school morning from 2024 onward and every single day of every job I’ve worked, it's remained constant. A morning without that jingle is just not conceivable to me, it's as natural a part of life as anything else. As sure as I’ll eat food and as sure as I’ll take a crap and as sure as I’ll turn my computer on and as sure as I’ll sleep again the next night is as sure as I will hear that jingle. Speaking of, sleep.

I brush my teeth with Scooby Doo bubblegum toothpaste and a toothbrush that I avoid looking too closely at because its got Spongebob on it and I’m too tired to let myself start back down that path of thinking about the things I took for granted. I can feel on my teeth that the brush is awfully frayed. I’ve been putting off buying a new one for months. I don’t know why. I could just grab one at the store and swap it out and it would make me feel so much better and be so much better for me, but I just don’t do it, I just never think to get it while I’m there and that just happens everyday and I blink and it's been months and my toothbrush is still frayed. 4,360 times. 4,360 times. 

I catch my brain multi-track drifting and decide I can’t sleep without a distraction. I open Youtube on my phone and start scrolling for something to play while I sleep. I crawl into bed and I just barely remember it's Christmas tomorrow. I grab the Nintendo Alarmo and thumb through the settings, swiping through menus. 

When I wake up tomorrow I’ll think that maybe I was just too tired, maybe I just got other shit on my mind, and that maybe these old LCD touchscreens are just over-sensitive pieces of shit or that maybe just maybe I am. But tomorrow my eyes will open at the time they’re used to opening anyway and I’ll be ready to hear the special Animal Crossing Toy Day Jingle that I was so certain I set it to, and I’ll hear the horrible screeching of tires on pavement and something will snap in me and I’ll hear the “FIRST PLACE VICTORY” and think about the empty platitudes and the 12 years I can barely remember and the four thousand wake-up calls that accompanied me as I kept sleep-walking through them and I’ll wake up and something will shatter and I’ll spend Christmas morning cleaning up the shards. 

[bloorpeon]

Quiet And Small

A small story based on @energ00n’s Apprentice AU!

I’m so sorry for how messy and all over the place it is, this is my first time writing in months and I just needed to get the words out. Full explanation for everything at the end, thank you so much if you read it, I love you.

Following Dustmark, a quiet and distant street rat from the Dead End, who has found herself as the newest apprentice to Alpha Trion. It’s a nice setup, a place to sleep, food, a shower, and even things to read!

The only issue? She’s illiterate.

The Hall was quiet, but the shuffle of afts on seats and the tapping of datapads filled the silence. Though nothing was ever, truly, quiet, not for Dustmark. The minibot outlier heard everything within fifteen (15) miles, and if it wasn’t for her lucky audial additions that let her dim her audio sensors significantly, she’d be crying from the noise of Iacon.

But that wasn’t her only issue, the sound was only one form of sensitivity. She was sensitive in every sense, and on top of it all, her processor ran miles in milliseconds. She could think fast, and she was smart.

But she couldn’t read.

The datapad she was given sat on the floor in front of her. While her classmates and fellow apprentices sat at their desks, reading their latest assignment, Dustmark was huddled up under her desk. She couldn’t read her assignment, had no clue what it said, nor what it wanted to teach her.

So there it sat, illuminated, but unused.

She never slept in class, she always paid attention when her Prime spoke, and took notes by drawing pictures. But at the end of the day, how could the student of an archivist thrive if she couldn’t understand a thing?

Despite her speech impediment, she aced all the vocal assignments, reciting stories or dates, descriptions or names, poems and the likes. But her written assignments remained blank, and she was at the bottom of the class. Both in height and in grade.

Dustmark had only resided at the temple for a week, but she was already listening to her fellow apprentices talk about how soon she would likely be kicked out. And truthfully, she was fine with it. The prime lifestyle was enjoyed while she had the chance, but returning to the Dead End wasn’t the end of the world.

The next morning she sat in the dining hall with the other apprentices, all from their own Primes. While most usually sat with their own, some other the other students were mixed in at the tables. The only available seat today was next to a pair of mechs, she had heard about them, Orion Pax and D-16. From what she knew, Orion Pax was a troublemaker who snuck into the restricted area of the archives. D-16 seemed to be the calmer, rule following kind. Prima and Megatronus, what a strange pair.

Her audial levels were low, but still enough to listen to the ones next to her. Through the bits and pieces of the conversation that she did listen to, she heard something interesting from Orion Pax.

“I found something new in the archives!”

“You’ve been in the archives so many times, how could you have possibly found anything new?”

“No idea, but I did! Theres a hologram table in there, I couldn’t find what goes into it, but I’m totally checking it out next time!”

“You’re going to get yourself caught if you use it!”

“Maybe, but think of all the information on it!”

The archives, she had been in there a few times, but only for a quick look. But the term “hologram table” sounded familiar, she’d seen Alpha Trion use one before, but only with the other Primes. Though she did spot what he plugged in, a chip of some sort. Hm.

The rest of the day went the same as usual. A long instruction session from her Prime, taking notes with her little doodles, and then sitting beneath the desk with her empty datapad. She sat alone at dinner, and once the temple had grown quiet, she made her move.

The dorm building for Alpha Trion’s apprentices was fairly close to the archives, so it made for a quick run. Dustmark had put rubber on the bottom of her pedes, allowing her to run silently while keeping grip. She punched in the code for the main archives room and quietly made her way inside.

The room was massive, filled from floor to ceiling with books, pages, and datapads. Shelves on shelves of knowledge and information, all of which she couldn’t access.

She ran the entirety of the room three times before stopping, the hologram table was nowhere to be found. Then she had a thought, if the table wasn’t in the main room, then it must be in a further room. The restriction section.

You know, for a room called “The Restricted Section”, you’d think there would be better security. But a few crossed wires later and the door slid open with ease.

Though they never tell you about the silent alarm.

The restricted section felt like it was freezing, but the distraction of the table was enough for her to forget the temperature. She found a shelf full of the data chips, she picked one at random and plugged it in. The table lit up immediately, reading the chip before playing the media.

It was a tad bit loud, but the double doors should be plenty to stop the sound from getting out. Her servos wrapped around her arms, rubbing them as she shivered from the temperature. The video played, and not only was it a voice, but it had pictures! She could watch and listen, finally able to learn in a way she could understand.

She huffed out in excitement, a cloud of her breath forming. Was it getting colder in here? She didn’t care, she was too exhilarated to care! She could learn!

Dustmark was able to watch four more videos before a heavy weight fell upon her shoulders. It was warm, a welcomed sensation to combat the freezing temperature of the room. The video ended and Dustmark turned around, looking up at the silhouette behind her.

There stood Alpha Trion, and as Dustmark softly grabbed at the fabric around her shoulders, she realized it was his cape. Her audials fell as she looked down, she was in trouble and she knew it.

“You seem cold.” He said, his low and rough voice echoed throughout the room. His servos were held behind his back, standing tall. Dustmark slowly looked up, covering herself more with the cape, nodding.

“I had assumed you would’ve taken the bait, but not so soon. I figured young Orion Pax would’ve gotten here before you did.” He continued, now walking past her and taking out the data chips she been watching. The minibot only watched in silence.

Alpha Trion seemed to notice her hesitation, but he didn’t speak about it. He simply grabbed the stack of chips she had collected, putting them back in order, and returned them to the shelf. “I have a few questions to ask of you, young one.”

Dustmark nodded, she remained where she was, but she continued to follow him with her gaze. That seemed to be enough for him as he continued to speak.

“Is there a reason as to why you do not complete your assignments?” He asked, Dustmark nodded.

“Is it the same reason as to why you have been watching videos in a freezing room for two hours?”

She nodded.

“I see. Now I have a final question for you…” Alpha Trion approached her, falling to a knee in front of the minibot. Dustmark watched him with soft, yet nervous optics.

“Dustmark, are you illiterate?”

The question was expected, but it still felt shameful to admit. The Dead End is fairly illiterate as a whole, so everyone assumes. But in Iacon? No one is illiterate here, this is the city for the intellectual and well educated, not for Empties like Dustmark.

She could only look down at the floor in a wave of shame, nodding softly. Alpha Trion hummed, nodding as well as he stood up. “Thank you for your honesty, Dustmark. Come along, it is late and you should’ve been in recharge a long time ago.”

Alpha Trion had walked Dustmark all the way back to her room, she gave him back his cape before he left. Unsure of what was to come, Dustmark climbed into her berth, sliding under her thick covers, and falling into recharge.

Come morning, she had fully expected to be awoken to find that she was being taken back to the Dead End. But there was no one at her door, no note, nothing. It felt wrong to put on her garment, but she did anyway, wearing it with a form of shame as she made her way to the dining hall.

She ate, listened to gossip, and made her way to her morning class. It was a warm day, welcomed after her long night in the freezing room, and the classroom was quiet as usual. She found her seat, but paused before sitting down, gaze stuck on the desk.

On the surface was a red datapad, there was a cord attached to the top of it, upon closer inspection they turned out to be audialplugs. As Alpha Trion approached his podium, Dustmark took her seat, tapping the screen to turn it on.

There were pictures on the screen, instructing her to place one of the plugs in her audial. As she did so, she heard a computerized voice come from it. Watching the screen, the voice seemed to be reading the words on her assignment, lighting up the read word as it went through each sentence.

A smile tugged at her derma as she looked up at her Prime. He was watching her as Dustmark grabbed the datapad and hugged it.

——————

A month had passed since she was given her new datapad, Dustmark was finally keeping up with her classmates. She found that she could select from answers on the assignments, instead of writing them out, which helped her when it came to turning in work. It didn’t take long for her to rise through the ranks, now being one of, if not the first to turn in work.

She had started learning how to read on her own, and after class, Alpha Trion teaches her how to write.

Soon they’ll be allowed to start using the Archives on their own, but Dustmark had already found her own way in. She started to like that Orion Pax guy, he seems to know his way around the vent systems. But she’s not too sure about that D-16 guy, seems like a snitch.

Either way, everything seems like it’s finally starting to go her way. She may never be a Prime, but this was still this best thing to ever happen to her.

—— END ——

If you made it this far, thanks! Is it shitty? Yea a lil bit, I’ve been in a creative funk for a hot minute so this was me trying to get into it again.

I wrote 2 other versions of this story but I just wasn’t feeling it, so I finally just sat down and decided to write. So if you’re wondering why it’s a lil bit everywhere or seems to be kinda chaotic, then that’s why!

Out of all of my OC’s, I really wanted to write Dusty in this au the most. She’s a very complicated character, but I actually had to change her up a lot to fit within the AU! I wanted to write a whole lot more, I’m talking multi chapters, but this was just for me to kinda throw it out and figure out what Dusty’s place in this story would be.

Originally I had planned for her to be an apprentice of Solus, but after bouncing it around, I figured Alpha Trion would’ve been way better. Dustmark is incredibly curious by nature, the only thing that stops her is that she’s illiterate. You might be thinking “if she’s illiterate then why put her with the archivists????” Well you see, it’s really the only place she fits in a natural way

I don’t believe AT would deny someone the chance to go through a Prime apprenticeship just because they can’t read or write, nah, he’d likely find a way to help them!

This probably isn’t canon for me, more just a rough draft, if I do decide to write a multi chapter thing for this then it would go in a different direction.

Uhhhhhh if you have any questions then you’re more than welcome to send me an ask or comment! All the love to Ene for their amazing AU, it’s so silly and sweet!

[darkmaga-returns]

A recent article in The Defender reported a new capability of wireless devices: seeing and hearing, even without cameras or microphones:

“It’s about following the waves as they go outward from the transmitter and seeing when they bounce, get slowed down or get absorbed. You can, with sufficient computing power, draw a 3D image of what is inside the beam and then proceed to identify it.”

It acts like radar or sonar, but besides giving you a visual without any video or camera, it also can give you sound.

“transforms smart devices into advanced virtual sensors”

“we could pick up breathing, monitor sleeping, detect a fall, recognize gait patterns, and even pick up sound without a microphone.”

But the worst part is that you do not need to own smart devices like a cellphone or a screen TV, because your residence can theoretically be hit with radiofrequency/microwaves from the outside — in order for strangers to be able to see and hear what is going on inside of your home. This type of thing results in a complete loss of privacy.

[skwxang1437]

𝐎𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑

───│↬𝐁𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 out a sigh of relief after a long day at work. Finally finishing his work, he puts his hand above a sensor at the door of his home. The sensor scanned his palm before lighting up green and opening the door for the hero.

The man goes in, he kneels down to take off his shoes, a practice of habit that sticks to him as the years go by. He puts his shoes on the rack before stepping onto the wooden floor.

He then heard the tv playing making him walk towards the living room. As he reached, he saw a woman sitting down on the couch as she folded clothes on her lap while listening to the news at the tv. Ben walked towards her, making the woman look up.

"You're early." The hero bends down to plant a kiss on her forehead, "Got off work early, wanted to spend time with you and smart pea. What about you? You're early too." The woman—who we know as Eva hums, "I decided to get off work early too. We've been busy because of work. I wanted to spend time with my spouse and son."

Ben then sat beside Eva as he let his gaze settle on the tv in front of them while the ravenette continued to fold the clothes. " Speaking of our son, where is Ken anyways?" He asked, not looking away from the electronic devices. "I suppose he's with Devin. The two will be home soon, we'll just wait."

"How long since we took Devin in?"

"5 or 6 months."

(A/N: Ben and Eva had adopted or taken Devin in, Kevin's son. Ever since the fight, Kevin was locked up in confinement while Gwen traveled around to find an antidote. Since both parents are absent and Devin being a minor, the two decided to take care of him.)

Eva stopped folding as she began to think, "Do you think it's okay to hand Ken the Chrono Spanner suit? He's been using it a lot lately." The hero looked at his wife before gently putting his hand on her back, "Ken knows how to take care of himself. I trust him he'll know what to do. Besides he's like he's awesome dad, he takes it from me."

The woman playfully rolled her eyes, as she watched as her husband took some of the clothes and folded them, "You're so full of yourself, peabrain." The other laughs, "Right back at you, smart girl."

The two then heard the door opening and turned their heads, "私たちは帰ってきた!" A voice said, a pair of feet can be heard marching towards the room that the couples are in. A head pops out from the hallway, "Mama, papa. You two are early."

Ken bounces towards his parents, jumping towards them and embracing them as he wraps his hands around their necks. Ben patted his back, "Yep we are." The boy unwrapped his hand off his father and hugged his mother.

Someone also came in, "Hey there, Devin." Ben greets as the Levin boy walks towards the family, letting the Omnitrix user put his hand on his head and ruffling his hair, "Hello there, Devin." Eva greets as the boy walks towards her as she pats his head.

Kevin had considered his cousin and best friend's family as his own, since his parents are busy on their own way. Despite being their nephew, he was treated as their son, so he was grateful for his aunt and uncle to look after him, when his parents can't.

"You three go freshen up while I go set the table up."

"Sure, love." "Okay, mom." "We'll do, auntie."

The family of four had eaten dinner and talked about their day earning some laughs, after that they had cleaned the table, before they all retired to their room.

"Hey Devin, I suddenly have the urge to use the suit." Ken exclaimed as he stared at the ceiling, the two were at Devin's room, as the Tennyson boy wanted to sleep in the same room as him as sleep over. "Go back to sleep, Ken." The Levin kid grumbles, the ocean eyes boy day up from his futon and looks at the bed beside him, "I still have the urge to do so."

"Just do what you do, I wanna sleep." The other said before drifting off to sleep. Ken at his cousin for a few seconds before scrambling to his feet towards his room. He quietly closed his door before walking towards his closet and opening it. He took the Spanner suit out and carefully put it in.

"Okay let's do this." With that he disappeared.

Meanwhile in another universe, "Mom would never let me wear the spanner suit!" Ken yelled out as he lays on the couch, his sister sitting beside him, busy with her phone, "Maybe because the last time you wore it, you almost ruined the past."

He glared at Glen before letting out a loud whine, "It's so boring I wish there was something exciting happening!" Glen rolled her eyes, "You just wish—"

"Ack!"

The two siblings jumped and looked over where the voice came from. The two see a mysterious person wearing the spanner suit similar to ken's, the only difference is this spanner had an ocean colored theme,rather than the typical green one.

The mysterious person rubbed his head before looking up to see kids his age looking at him in shock and silence, "Hi?" before the girl shouts horrified, "Mom! Dad! There's a stranger in our living room!" The guy looks alarmed and hurriedly stands up and waves his hand around, "Wait I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"Hey get away from my sister!" Ken shouts as he slams his hand on his Omnitrix, transforming into diamondhead. A crystal blade formed in his hand before pointing it at the stranger who remained standing and not moving.

Rushed footsteps came in, then two adults showed up, "What's going on!" The woman who had similar hair color with the man and children and had purple eyes shouted looking towards the commotion. "Who are you!" Ben who entered the same with the woman shouts as he grabs Glen and hides her behind him.

"I swear I didn't want to hurt anyone! I just came in an accident!" The mysterious boy said as he raised both his arms up in surrender. "How do we know you're not lying?" Ken said as he pushed the crystal blade while the other backed away.

"Ken, let him explain." The purple eyes boy looks at his mother and at the guy before hesitantly lowering the blade and transforms back.

"Now start talking."

"So let me get this straight." Ben rubbed his head as he sat on the couch with his family while the spanner guy sat on a different chair. "You're from another world? You accidentally teleported here cause you weren't aware in which universe you will go." The boy nods.

"Ben, I know that the multiverse exists, but I'm still worried." Jen exclaimed as she glanced towards the stranger who was sitting awkwardly, with his hands on his lap. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"Well I am a variant of one of your children." The mysterious person answered, the parents perked up and looked at their kids, "Which one?" Spanner looked at Ken and pointed at him. "Wait does that mean you're also Ken?" Glen exclaimed, making him nod while Ken looked shocked.

The family looked at each other and back at the boy, "Prove it." He flinched and sweated, "Ah right." Slowly he puts his hand on his helmet as the Tennysons leaned closer and anticipated, as he lifts up the mask, they are all shocked to see a copy paste of Ken, same face but different.

"Ken?" Jen speaks out, as the other Ken looked nervous, "Yeah I'm also Ken. But you can call me Yves so you won't confuse us." The two adults snap out of their shock, Ben said first, "Does that mean you're our son then?" Yves shakes his head, "Only your son."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I am ken yes, but y'know a different universe so my origin would be different. I'm only Ben Tennyson's son and also an only child." Glen blinks and squints her eyes, "Wait do you mean I don't exist in your world?" The other Ken nods, while her brother Snickers makes her give him a stink eye.

"Wait what did you mean by only Ben's son?" The female Omnitrix wielder asks, "I meant that I have a different mother. To be honest Miss Tennyson I never met you." They all understood what he meant, Yves' turn to ask, "What's your full name? Since I wanna know the people in this dimension."

"Well my name is Jenny Jane Tennyson." The purple eyes woman said, "And I'm the wielder of the second Omnitrix." The other looked at him surprised, "A second Omnitrix exists in this universe? How awesome is that!" He awed, Jen smiled seeing the boy smile as he really looked like her son.

"What about you guys?"

"Glenda Tennyson."

"Kenny Tennyson."

"You don't need to know mine since you already know." Ben said as he smiled smugly as he leaned back on the couch, Yves smiled at him innocently, "I know, Mr. Benjamin Kirby Tennyson." The others laughed at the hero's expression who deadpans at the smiling boy.

"He seems to be the better version of you." The brunette girl whispered to her brother who side eyes her, while she smirks at him tauntly, "Shut up."

"Oh, so we have different full names." The ocean theme kid said making the purple eyed boy look at him confused, "What do you mean? Kenny isn't your full name?" Yves shook his head, "Nope, my full name is Kenjiro Yves Tennyson, mostly people call me Ken."

They all sweatdrop at his name, "Wow your name sounds fancy and japanese?" Glen exclaimed, "Well my mom is japanese so yeah."

Suddenly Jen sits up making them look at her, "Seems like we have nothing to worry about. We'll go back to work, you kids stay here and look after Yves, okay?" She said looking at her two kids, "We will mom." The two answered simultaneously, "You kids have fun." The two adults excited the room, leaving the three teens behind.

The two then turned their attention at the other, "Y'know I'm kinda curious what your mom looks like." The girl said, Yves then grabbed his phone and opened it before showing his lock screen at the two who leaned forward.

The lock screen consists of three people, the kid in the middle obviously Ken, Ben on their right and a black haired woman at his left, their background was Disney land. It seems like the photo was just recent.

"Woah, that's your mom? She's really pretty." Glen praised as she studies the woman, "Thanks! Your mom is also pretty, I bet she's a kind person." The girl nods back agreeing. "I have a question, you're able to use the spanner suit. Won't your parents get mad?" Ken questioned as he looked at his other self with a raised eyebrow.

"They won't. They trust me to use it. As long as I am responsible enough to use it properly and not cause trouble, they'll be fine."

Ken pouts and furrows his brows, "That's not fair. Mom would kill me if I even used the suit." Yves smiled softly at his other self, "Maybe she's worried. That's our moms sometimes. Although my mom does get worried when I do somethings, she won't stop me unless it's serious. Your mom is a kind and strong woman, she just really loves you guys."

Ken blushed a bit embarrassed, "Thanks about that." Glen loudly sighs making the two ken look at her, "I wish you were my brother instead." She pointed at Yves, meanwhile the purple eyes boy glared at her, "Hey!"

Hours passed as the three all talked about their lives and universe while laughing along the way. Jenny comes home after her work, she went to the living room to check up on the teens, only to see them happily chatting, she crossed her arms and leaned on the doorway, watching them.

Glen and Ken would sometimes bicker during the conversation while Yves would be the composed and calm one to stop them from going further. Jen felt arms wrapped around her waist and a kiss on the side of her head, making her look back to see her husband.

"The kids are having fun." He comments as they both watch them. "I've been thinking, there's other worlds that we're not together." The woman trailed off but was cut off, "Even if we're not together in others, we're together here. That's what matters." Jen smiled at her husband.

"I'm also wondering who is Yves mom, cause I'm surprised that he's really behaved. I mean I can see he got some of your personality but is more mature and tamed, far from who you were when you were their age." The female alien hero laughs while the other hero pinches her, who yelps and slaps his hand.

"Anyways, kids! Dinner is ready!"

"Come on, Yves!"

"Thanks for the food, Mrs. Tennyson. That was very delicious." The ocean eyed boy bowed, while Jen waved him off, " I'm glad that you liked it." The boy walked towards the sink, making the woman raise an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm helping with the dishes." He answered, "You don't need to do that." She said, but he shook his head, "I insist." Jen sighed, "Fine and thank you. Also it's already past 7, won't your parents get worried?"

Yves looks surprised and looks at the clock hanging from the wall, "I never realized. I think they would."

"Mom!" Jen and Yves run towards the living room, they both stopped when a portal appeared making the family alarmed. Yves squints his eyes seeing two familiar silhouette from the portal.

Then two figures comes out the portal, another version of Ben Tennyson, accompanied by a woman who had black raven hair and blue eyes. "Ken? Are you there?" The woman called out, making Yves run towards them and jump to envelop them into a hug. "Mom! Dad! How'd you guys know I was here?"

"Well, when we woke up, we noticed you weren't in your room or Devin's, so we asked him, he said you use your spanner suit. At first we let you off since we'll know you'll handle yourself, but your mom got worried when we noticed you didn't come back after dinner. Which she tracks your location. So here we are."

Kenjiro laughs and looked at his mom who looked embarrassed and she coughs, "Your peabrain of a father wouldn't let me check on you. I was worried." She kneeled in front of him, putting her hand on his cheek while he leaned on his mother's touch.

The two parents faced the other parents, "Thanks for looking after our son, we owe you." Inv!Ben said, while Eva bowed her head, "Yes, in exchange for looking after our son, you can contact us anytime." Jen walked towards them along with her family, " It's not a problem, he's a nice kid to be around with." She ruffles Yves' hair who smiles at her.

"My name's Jen." The second wielder lifts up her hand, "Eva, pleasure to meet you." The inventor accepts her hand.

The ravenette looks down to see Ken and Glen and waves at them, as they wave back at her. "It seems like you guys have to go." TSW!Ben said, " Yep we do." Hsi other self answered.

"We'll see each other soon, Ken and Glen!" Kenjiro said as he waves at them."Come back and visit us sometimes!" Glen yells, "I will." The portal then slowly closes as both families waves at each other, before the portal disappears.

--------------------------------------------------

So someone from Wattpad said something about Inv!Ken and TSW!Ken meeting, so this went to my mind. The Second Wielder universe belongs to @auspicious-lilana, go check her story. Thanking @feedback10 in Wattpad for suggesting this plot.

[hidefdoritos]

So, for Christmas break, I've been staying with a very considerate older couple. When I got here, I found out that they're also...comfortably wealthy. I wish I could have been live-blogging my stay here, but this summary post will have to suffice.

MOSS'S MUSINGS: HOUSEGUEST EDITION.

-Ask which dishes you are allowed to use. I didn't know this would even be a question--I grew up with one set of dishes--but it matters. The dishes we've been using are red with snowmen on them. Tonight I put my soup in a red bowl with Christmas trees around the edge. That was wrong and bad. I have been told that they "prefer I not use that" because it is "for special occasions," and was told to "set it aside so I can hand-wash it." Side note, rich people also own things that can't go in the dishwasher. Thankfully they told me about this ahead of time.

-In general, they make requests when they mean to give you instructions. "I'm having some ladies over tonight, so if you'd like to clean the bathroom, that would be fine." = I, Moss, need to clean the bathroom before I leave for work this morning. They're secret instructions--instructions in a suggestion-shaped suit. I like to think of it as a secret code that I'm very smart for solving. It helps me to not tear my hair out.

-House thing that shook me to the core: They have heat vents on the floors under the sinks! So you can wash your hands or wash dishes and your feets don't get cold!

-Speaking of heat: heated mattress pads exist! It's like a heating pad for your whole body. High settings are nice for muscle aches; low settings are so cozy to sleep on.

-Speaking of mattresses: The guest room has a Sleep Number mattress. I think it's a scam. It's a balloon under your mattress to adjust the firmness/softness. I am 240 lbs. If it isn't over half inflated, my butt's on the bedframe.

-They are weird about trash. All food waste is handled separately and taken straight to the bin in the garage so it doesn't smell. The kitchen trash can lid has a motion sensor. It's automatic. Scared the daylights out of me when I first walked past it to get water at night.

-Speaking of water, ask what water you should use. Tap is not acceptable to some! My hosts have a fridge dispenser. Unfortunately it dispenses cold water. I have worked around this by getting water in advance of my needs and letting it change toward room temp. Also, you can't put drinks on the furniture! Wood is different from the plastic-coated OSB furniture that I grew up with. I must remember now to use coasters because any spills or drips can leave white marks.

-When they start discussing money, try not to let your mouth drop open at the amount of zeroes. One host bought a new car and was bragging to me about how he only paid $28,000, and that was actually $5,000 off for having a certain type of credit card. I just worked the mental math for the discount percentage to keep my brain from exploding. $5k is more than I paid for my entire car. My family motto is "Buy used and drive it 'til the wheels fall off." I did not say so.

-Most importantly, they've been extremely kind and generous to me. They dropped my rent for the month down to almost nothing. They bought any groceries I expressed interest in. I'm going back to campus with some of the best homemade soup of my life, and a coupon for an oil change, and a new appreciation for dark chocolate almonds. When I got here, my hostess had set up a desk for my sewing machine in her sewing room (!! a whole room for sewing!!) and taught me to use a rotary cutter and an iron that's entirely too complex.

tl;dr rich-ish people are super weird about some things you wouldn't expect, and your head will explode a few times, but they're still people and my overall experience has been great.



[renaissanceofthearts]

NEO-JAPAN 1.0

"NEO-JAPAN is a harsh place for a child growing up.. theres gibble venders, 'prosties,' (you know curb walkers, fiddle contractors) and the assortments of thugs, blackmailers, back yard cooks , not to mention the life suckers."

"I had to get infared eyes to make sure the invisible pick pockets don't get ya when you're in city streets. these asshole are as silent as mice, and fingers like a 1500 century pianist."

"things dont get easier when you enter the center of the city, the overwhelming sense of movement is nothing get to use to. you can go from upper-tire high-class, to a guy running his finger through an old sardine can, missing teeth and looks like he's been run over by a bus, with sand paper wheels.."

getting by isn't easy and every time you think you have something, it spills away like rain through the storm drains. Neo- Japan, is the worst and best place to be."

"the authorities are not to laugh at, the basically run around in this thing, 'The Crowd Buster.' its comparable to a mini-tanker with legs, motion sensors, inferred cameras, taser the size of a cannon and fires 50 caliber rounds; its has a horn, with a pitch frequency sound so high and loud, it'll make your ears bleed. I swear the guy got too close and nearly shit his guts out. - it's something people don't forget. It patrols on a 24 hour cycle, in case the local mobs or large gangs get any smart ideas, on who in charge in the city."

"not to mention the 'HIGHWAY PROTAL,' they fly around in gravity paralleled 'NIGHT HAWKS," completely silent and have the speed and range thats unmatched to the normal vehicles on the city streets, it nearly never get old , you see these guy flying around in between towers, making it look easy. it make you dream like a kid, and thats they talk about, being a NIGHT HAWK pilot, I have to say - I always wanted to be one as well.

"above that you have the sub control vessels, impossible to hack, can take a rocket hit straight on and has a Barrier that deflect nearly all energy focused beams. these guys relay all the messages to through out the city, making sure things are under control. 'the eyes in the sky,' if you will...they call these "THE SCARABS", like the beatles. (not the band jack ass.) Do have any idea how many people try to hack and steal these things, you'll become a legend just for trying, there was one guy managed to hack one, but we'll get to that later."

"NEO- JAPAN, is out of control, til the second you see any of these guys in your district."

and they all get controlled by the central tower, "THE DIGITAL FORTRESS," this thing run off 10,000 ocean fans. they pretty much get energy from the constant ebb and flow of the ocean waves, this thing, other then the size is completely unknown, no one and I mean no gets in...

some guy tried to use cyborg insects, at attempt to get in, but was able to infiltrate the tower, the lasers surrounding the "DIGITAL FORTRESS", have unmatched accuracy. I've been told they can shoot a grain of sand out of the sky.

"THE INFILTRATOR - THE DUNG BEETLE."

"these guys are pretty sweet, they can fly, relay messages - via micro short wave speaker they also release a stinky gas, sleep gas and smoke screens, doesn't last every long but gets the job done, not to mention holographic maps of the local areas"

"At times when I dont get enough rest my 'INFA-EYES' get hazy, the synaptic connections get hyper stimulated, my vision hits like a tv inetween channels"... SFX(zzz,zzzt) [infrared eyes]

and ill run into one of 'her.' attitude and all, girls like this can be some of the most dangerous in NEO-JAPAN. they mean business, and the semi to prove it, they run in groups but mostly solitary, they're all connected through a wireless neuro-link, its pretty hi tech, even more hard to install..

you might find them with a "TX9" don't let the simplistic look fool you, it's ability to think, make choices is on par with humans, if not pushing the frontier on whats considered intelligence. These girls roam the city like an unnamed army of hit tech-kittens with 9 inch alumanitum claws, but dont ever call them that. (kittens)

just my luck, my vision comes clear and im being "TOMMY JONES'D"

" you better have something worth taking? or you might have a perma- black out, with those eye."

Zainda, dont joke around with that thing, I dont trust the gentle touch of your 'AUTOMATION HANDS, put that thing down...

"every time I see her, its like the rains falling, as if the storm follows her around, or perhaps she is the storm, just millimeters from firing that thing at anyone. ("DK3," it's a compact 25 round mag with a recall of a 9mm but hits like a 45mm, it's no joke.) i walk past, as she shows the typical smirk on her face."

"I decide to head out the city, to the outskirts for some materials, difficult to find, necessary for keep these eyes working smoothly."

End of part ONE. NEO-JAPAN.

*hope you like part one.*

"NEURO-LINK" EXPLANATION: ITS SOUND, not as simple as you may think, they pretty much replace the whole formal cortex, giving the the person faster reaction time, instant calculation ability, the only down side, you lose the sense of emotional range, a lot of the people who part take in the transplant went completely nuts, with out happiness and sorrow, you tend to lose a grasp on whats real, but for some strange reason woman take better to the transplant then men, why, who knows?"

chat gpt explanation:

The concept of a Neuro-Link involves high-tech brain interfaces that enable wireless communication with external devices. One prominent example is Neuralink, an American neurotechnology company focused on developing implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). These interfaces hold promise for restoring sensory and motor function and treating neurological disorders. Furthermore, Neuralink aims to create a generalized brain interface to restore autonomy for individuals with unmet medical needs and unlock human potential. Additionally, there are discussions around the technical complexities and requirements of such high bandwidth interfaces and brain-to-brain communication. However, it's important to note that while this technology holds significant potential, it also raises ethical and safety considerations

[lastimeexteriors-nebraska]

Can Skylights Help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?

If you've ever felt sluggish and unmotivated during the colder months, you're not alone. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects millions of people, making winter feel less like a festive wonderland and more like an energy-draining marathon. The culprit? A lack of sunlight. But here’s an interesting question—can skylights help?

The short answer? Yes, they can. But let’s talk about why.

Why Does Seasonal Affective Disorder Happen?

SAD isn't just a case of the "winter blues." It’s a legitimate mood disorder linked to changes in sunlight exposure. When the days get shorter and darker, your body produces more melatonin (which makes you sleepy) and less serotonin (which boosts mood). The result? You feel sluggish, moody, and maybe even a little down for no clear reason.

Traditional treatments include light therapy, vitamin D supplements, and—if necessary—medication. But there’s another way to combat the problem: maximizing natural light exposure in your home or workplace. And that’s where skylights come in.

Skylights: Your Secret Weapon Against SAD

More Natural Light, Less Artificial Dependency

Most homes and offices rely on artificial lighting, but let’s be honest—overhead lights don’t quite replicate the sun. Skylights flood spaces with natural daylight, keeping your body in sync with a healthier circadian rhythm.

A Mood-Boosting Game Changer

Exposure to sunlight triggers serotonin production, which can help improve focus and energy levels. Ever notice how you feel more awake on a bright, sunny day compared to a gloomy one? Skylights bring that energy indoors, giving you a natural pick-me-up throughout the day.

Better Sleep (And Who Doesn’t Want That?)

Since skylights increase daytime exposure to natural light, they can help regulate your sleep cycle. Your body gets the signal: "Okay, it’s daytime—stay alert." Then, as the sun sets, your melatonin production kicks in naturally, making it easier to fall asleep at night.

Energy Savings with a Side of Wellness

Sunlight isn’t just good for your health—it’s great for your electricity bill. More daylight means less reliance on artificial lighting, which can lower energy costs. So, while you’re brightening your space and boosting your mood, you’re also cutting down on utility expenses. Win-win.

Skylights vs. Traditional Windows: Is There a Difference?

You might be thinking, “I already have windows—why do I need skylights?” Good question.

While regular windows do provide sunlight, they don’t always maximize it. The position of skylights on the roof allows sunlight to enter from above, eliminating shadows and providing a more even distribution of light. Plus, for homes or offices where windows are limited (like interior rooms or basements), skylights offer a direct path to the sky.

Another factor? Privacy. If you want more natural light in a bathroom or bedroom but don’t want to compromise on privacy, skylights are the perfect solution. You get all the benefits of sunlight without worrying about neighbors peeking in.

What Kind of Skylight Works Best?

Not all skylights are created equal. If you're considering installing one to help with SAD, here’s what to look for:

Fixed Skylights – These are stationary and ideal for maximizing sunlight in rooms where ventilation isn’t needed.

Ventilated Skylights – Great for areas like kitchens and bathrooms where airflow is important.

Tubular Skylights – A compact option that channels sunlight through a reflective tube—perfect for smaller spaces or hallways.

Smart Skylights – Some models come with built-in sensors that adjust to light levels or open for ventilation automatically. Fancy, but effective.

Placement Matters: Where Should You Install a Skylight?

If your goal is to fight off SAD, the placement of your skylight is just as important as the type you choose.

Living Rooms & Common Areas – These are high-traffic spaces where natural light can boost energy and mood throughout the day.

Home Offices – If you work from home, a skylight can reduce eye strain, improve focus, and help combat that mid-afternoon slump.

Bedrooms – Regulating your sleep-wake cycle is easier when your body gets natural daylight exposure in the morning.

Bathrooms – Sunlight and privacy? Yes, please. A skylight can brighten up the space without the need for extra lighting.

Can Skylights Really Make a Difference?

Absolutely. Studies have shown that increased exposure to natural light improves mood, productivity, and even cognitive function. Skylights aren’t a magic cure for SAD, but they’re an effective (and stylish) way to bring more sunlight into your daily routine.

If you’re dealing with seasonal gloom, installing a skylight could be one of the most practical changes you make. After all, why not let nature do some of the heavy lifting?

[cawdrec]

Best Wireless Mouse Options in 2025 for Every User Need

Introduction In 2025, the demand for a high-performance wireless mouse is stronger than ever. From office professionals to gamers, people are replacing traditional wired mice with wireless alternatives for their convenience, versatility, and ergonomic designs. Whether you're looking to declutter your desk or enhance productivity on the go, the latest wireless mouse options offer sleek designs, long battery life, and advanced functionality suited to every environment. Why Switch to a Wireless Mouse? Modern USB wireless mouse models provide seamless plug-and-play functionality, eliminating the need for tangled cords. A dual-mode wireless mouse gives you flexibility with Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless options. These mice support fast, stable connections and are perfect for multitasking professionals or students who need portable, responsive devices. Enhanced with smart sleep modes and efficient sensors, wireless technology has evolved to match—if not surpass—wired performance. Why Switch to a Wireless Mouse? Modern USB wireless mouse models provide seamless plug-and-play functionality, eliminating the need for tangled cords. A dual-mode wireless mouse gives you flexibility with Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless options. These mice support fast, stable connections and are perfect for multitasking professionals or students who need portable, responsive devices. Enhanced with smart sleep modes and efficient sensors, wireless technology has evolved to match—if not surpass—wired performance. Top Features to Consider Before Buying Before choosing a wireless mouse, consider these critical features: Ergonomic design: Choose a shape that reduces wrist fatigue for long-term use. Battery life: Opt for models with extended battery performance or rechargeable wireless mouse units. DPI sensitivity: For creatives and gamers, high DPI settings ensure faster response and more control. Connectivity: Whether it's Bluetooth, USB receiver, or dual-mode, compatibility with multiple devices is essential.

Operating system compatibility: Ensure the mouse works seamlessly with Windows, macOS, or even Chromebooks. Top picks include long battery life wireless mouse, wireless mouse compatible with Windows 11, and ergonomic wireless mouse models suited for daily use. Best Wireless Mouse by Category a. Best Overall Wireless Mouse in 2025 For users seeking balanced performance, portability, and comfort, the best overall choice combines premium materials with responsive tracking. These models often include quiet clicks, adjustable DPI, and dual connectivity. Top-rated choices on Amazon are often labeled as the best wireless mouse for laptop. b. Best Budget Wireless Mouse Affordable doesn't mean sacrificing quality. Best budget wireless mouse options come with solid build quality and essential features, ideal for students or casual users. When looking at the wireless mouse price, focus on brands that deliver consistency and comfort. c. Best Wireless Mouse for Office Work If you spend long hours working on spreadsheets or documents, a silent wireless mouse is a game-changer. Designed for quiet environments, these models reduce click noise while providing precision. The wireless mouse for office work category prioritizes comfort, DPI control, and quiet click wireless mouse technology. d. Best Wireless Mouse for Travel On-the-go users need lightweight and compact solutions. A compact wireless mouse slips easily into bags and is ideal for quick plug-and-play use. Whether you need a wireless mouse for travel or a lightweight wireless mouse for mobility, look for foldable designs, fast pairing, and USB-C charging compatibility. e. Best Wireless Mouse for Mac Users Apple enthusiasts require devices that match macOS aesthetics and functionality. A sleek Apple wireless mouse or a third-party wireless mouse for MacBook designed with

touch gestures and Bluetooth pairing ensures a seamless experience. Compatibility with macOS shortcuts is a must. f. Best Wireless Mouse for Gamers Performance is critical for gaming. A gaming wireless mouse offers high polling rates, customizable RGB lighting, and extra buttons for quick in-game actions. With precise tracking and rapid responsiveness, a wireless mouse for gaming and models featuring high DPI are essential for competitive players. Branded Wireless Mouse Reviews When it comes to trusted names in the industry, here are the top contenders: Logitech wireless mouse: Offers a wide range of devices, from ultra-portable to gaming-grade performance, known for reliability and software customization. Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse: Designed for office productivity, these combos integrate well with Windows environments. Apple wireless mouse: Stylish and optimized for macOS, these mice offer gesture support and long battery life. Compare based on features, design preferences, and budget to find the best match. Advanced & Niche Picks Looking for something tailored to your specific needs? Wireless mouse for graphic design: Look for ergonomic builds and precision tracking. Wireless mouse for small hands: Compact shapes designed for better grip and control. Wireless mouse with side buttons: Ideal for shortcuts, gaming, and productivity tools. Wireless vertical mouse: Encourages natural hand positioning to reduce strain. Wireless charging mouse pad: Power your mouse while keeping your desk neat. Rechargeable wireless mouse: Eco-friendly and cost-effective over time. Wireless mouse with nano receiver: Ideal for laptops with limited USB ports. These specialized options improve user experience and deliver high-value performance.

How to Choose the Right Wireless Mouse for You Start by identifying how you plan to use the mouse: Work: Prioritize silent clicks, battery life, and ergonomic comfort. Gaming: High DPI, fast response, and programmable buttons. Travel: Go for compact, lightweight, and durable builds. Mac/Windows compatibility: Ensure your device matches your OS. Special needs: Look for vertical mice or side buttons for improved comfort and functionality. Use this decision checklist to narrow your choices and buy with confidence. Where to Buy Trusted Wireless Mice Online Finding a reliable retailer is just as important as choosing the right product. Shop from trusted online stores like cawdrec.com to enjoy curated collections, competitive pricing, fast delivery, and excellent customer service. Always check product specifications, warranty information, and verified user reviews before purchasing. Conclusion The right wireless mouse transforms how you work, play, and connect with your digital world. Whether you're upgrading your home office, outfitting a gaming setup, or just looking for something travel-friendly, there's a perfect match waiting for you. Explore a wide variety of high-quality, USA-optimized models that prioritize performance, style, and comfort. Visit cawdrec.com to discover the latest and most trusted wireless mice in 2025—because every click should count. Read More

[dr-futbol-blog]

Sanctuary, Pt. 16

The next morning we find Weir being lead to the command room by McKay. He seems high-strung, almost manic. Weir can tell that despite acquiescing to let the matter be for the moment last night, he has done anything but.

Weir: Did you sleep last night? McKay: No.

Apparently he has been working to prove that Chaya is not who she claims to be all night. He told Sheppard that it would only be a matter of time until he does. He tries to do this by using the data from the new biometric sensors. But despite trying to prove it using science, it's still his intuition that's telling him things are not what they seem. He has a feeling.

It's also curious that Weir, who is a woman and hence supposed to be more in touch with intuition especially compared with rational-to-the-extreme science guy (she actually told him that he's not allowed to have intuition previously), senses nothing about her. As far as she's concerned, out of all the people involved it's McKay who is acting strangely and out of character.

McKay: Elizabeth, she's not what she seems to be. Weir: I sense nothing but a very honest and spiritual person. McKay: All right. There may be a way to find out. You're opening negotiations with her this morning, right? Okay, well, let me sit in. I'll pretend to be taking notes on the laptop when really I'll be scanning her for anomalies. Radiation, E.M. scans, energy signatures… That way if I am crazy, you and I are the only ones who need to know. Now, what's the harm? Weir: All right… but be discreet. McKay: I'm Mr. Discreet.

Notable is that McKay manages to talk her into something she hadn't originally intended to do. Both Sheppard and McKay are able to convince her to make calls against her better judgement.

McKay calls himself Mr. Discreet here, and called himself (not normally) Mr. Sensitive to Sheppard earlier. The fact that he did it twice might mean something. In The Shrine (S05E06), an episode that seems to purposefully call back to this one, he tells Keller "I'm not smart any more. Doctors are smart, so I'm… Mister now." He is a Doctor. He is not Mister. Of course Dr. Discreet and Dr. Sensitive wouldn't work in the context, as the designation would indicate superiority rather than being used in the sense of being the personification of of a quality like he does here. He's not normally Mr. Sensitive, he's Dr. Tactless--which is also the opposite of Mr. Discreet. He realizes himself that he is acting out of character here.

But at the same time, he is demoting himself. All throughout the episode we've seen McKay try to connect with Sheppard with little success and increasing desperation. Because McKay's intelligence likely isolated him from his peers from an early age, consciously or subconsciously he may have come to the conclusion that his intelligence (and education) is one of the things separating them, one of the insurmountable obstacles between them. In fact, his intelligence has likely kept him from forming connections with other people all his life (like he said to Grodin earlier, "Where did all of those Saturday nights go?").

In Brotherhood (S01E16) McKay gets real excited about the fact that Sheppard has taken the Mensa test and has apparently done well in it. It seems to mean a lot to him. Not because it's a formal acknowledgement of the Major's intelligence but because it means that they are on more of a level field. Yes, he will always be more intelligent, more educated, but because Sheppard has other qualities he does not possess, maybe they can meet each other as equals after all. Here, it's still one of the things between them. And he is doing his part in meeting Sheppard in the middle.

Even though Weir seems to be getting more concerned for McKay than their guest, she still trusts his judgement enough to let him sit in on the meeting. The meeting is on-going as we join them so we don't get to see what happened when McKay and Sheppard first met following their altercation, presumably at the meeting room. We don't know if he came in together with Chaya or they came separately. There are all kinds of tension brewing underneath that we never got to see. But perhaps symbolically, the scene starts with a view underneath the table, McKay's fiddling with his sensors. This shot is pretty suggestive, erotic even. There is something erotic hidden underneath the surface.

In the beginning, he told Sheppard that he's picking up everything but nothing was worth mentioning. Conversely to that, it seems like here he is picking up nothing and it's very, very significant. But what he is doing is feeling her out.

First, we only hear her voice and get a close-up shot of McKay. He's pretending to be taking notes, his attention entirely on this laptop. This is also significant in that in the beginning of the episode, we saw Sheppard very obviously try to not pay attention to McKay, to make it seem like he wasn't giving him any attention even when he was.

Chaya is once more talking about religion and spiritual beliefs. She's seated opposite to McKay with Weir and Sheppard seated at her sides. Both Chaya and Sheppard have crossed their hands on the table which means that one of them is mirroring the other. And It is Chaya that is mirroring Sheppard, not the other way around. You can see this in the fact that he fiddles with his thumbs, possibly seeking release for his nerves, and Chaya immediately does the exact same thing.

Chaya Sar is attracted to John Sheppard. Sheppard, however?

Was trying not to look at McKay here. While she's talking about their desire to grasp the divine, he's doing the same thing he was doing at the beginning of the episode. Almost turning his head to look at McKay and then stopping himself. He wants to look. His natural inclination is to look. He has to exert actual effort not to look.

Yes, he might be feeling uncomfortable. There are a lot of things unspoken hanging in the air between them. But he's not turned away from McKay. In fact, he's facing McKay more than he is facing her.

Chaya tells them that she finds war disturbing where Sheppard, the man she called a warrior previously, admits that they do do that a lot. The first time that we see him look at McKay is when he, once more, defends McKay to her:

Chaya: Every soul in Proculus is free from the hatred and the anger the people from Earth seem to feel for each other. Sheppard: Come on. We're not all that bad. You know that.

This seems to directly reference what she had seen the previous night. Yes, they had been arguing but here they were, sitting together in peace and harmony--of a kind. Sheppard himself is certainly pretending like it was no big deal. But it's still notable that it's him and McKay that are the 'we' for him. He's not saying "you and I, Chaya, are not all that bad", he's saying "[despite what you saw last night] McKay and I are not all that bad," underlined by the glance he throws McKay's way as he says it. While she smiles at him and touches him (and note that he does not react to this touch in any way) as she concedes the point, she is starting to show her irritation at McKay. It seems as though their antagonism is mutual.

It's especially as Weir mentions the word "friends" that she expresses her annoyance, drawing in a long-suffering breath.

Weir: I'm talking about the friends we've met since coming here, like Teyla's people. Chaya: There are some among you—yourself included, Dr. Weir—that I know Athar would welcome with open arms… But there are others. Weir: I hand-picked every member of this expedition, and I know Teyla feels as confident about her own people. Chaya: I'm sure. Weir: At the end of the day, this is a matter of trust. Chaya: Yes. It is, Dr. Weir. Have your scans found anything yet, Dr. McKay?

When she says "welcome with open arms", Sheppard merely blinks at her. He does not smile, he does not nod, his expression is inscrutable. The thing is, Sheppard was never interested in finding sanctuary for himself. He is looking to save untold thousands, possibly millions of people in this galaxy. She seems to be saying that he would be among the chosen few, and that's just not at all what he has been looking for.

Seemingly caught red-handed, McKay is at a loss of words at first. This is also the first time we see Sheppard really look at McKay since the previous night. He is not happy. He feels betrayed.

But what's interesting is that he doesn't take this out on McKay, at all. And to his credit, McKay doesn't even attempt to conceal it. He admits openly that he was looking and has found nothing. And even so, it's Weir that Sheppard chooses to chew up about it:

Sheppard: What the hell is this? Weir: I'm sorry, Major. There was cause for legitimate concern as to— Chaya: Whether I was or not who I claimed to be. Weir: I'm sorry, Chaya. I honestly felt it would do no harm.

He's not taking it out on McKay, does not seem to think it's his fault. He seems to put all the blame on Weir. Like she's the one who has gone behind his back to have McKay do this. Yes, ultimately she is the one who makes the decisions. But both his behaviour the previous night and well before that when he wasn't treating McKay very fairly must be why he's redirecting his indignation to an easier target. In fact, he's again avoiding looking at McKay and gives both Weir and Chaya a betrayed look. The look he gave McKay earlier? That was a hurt.

McKay has had enough. He springs up and continues to boldly go where no man has gone before, at the truth of the matter:

McKay: Stop apologizing, Elizabeth! How did she know? Sheppard: McKay! McKay: She's an Ancient, Major. Sheppard: She's what? McKay: I'm right, aren't I? The perfect health, the energy weapon the fact that she has the gene… It's the only logical explanation.

A few notes: like he has done so many times previously even in this very same episode, Sheppard only says "McKay!" to communicate something more complex than the other man's name, and McKay once more seems to understand his meaning perfectly. And the way Sheppard says it is not not angry, not annoyed, not irritated, not betrayed; it sounds kind of like... scolding one's spouse at a dinner party for saying something slightly off-colour. It's so... familiar. Like he knows McKay is gonna McKay but he says it as a Pavlovian response anyway.

And also, how easily Sheppard just accepts McKay's assessment of the situation. He says, "She's an Ancient" and his response isn't "What are you talking about?". His response is "She is what?" Like, he doesn't quite understand what McKay is saying about her but he completely accepted the fact that what ever McKay is saying must be the truth. I mean, the man is even saying that it's a logical explanation, the only logical explanation, so of course he trusts McKay perfectly--he does not know how irrational McKay has been about the whole thing all along. He has been looking for something, anything, that he could pin on her. And even he seems surprised that he's stumbled on the truth.

Continued in Pt. 17

[wiredaughter]

×○×

@fluffyfebruary 28: the last time

When the mission in Crab Point goes sideways despite all the tech Kalmia developed to help her favourite agent, she decides it's the last time she sits an assignment out. When confronted with his mysterious past, Abe figures his present will do for now.

Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Go

mission fic ☆ hurt/comfort ☆ unreliable narrator ☆ plague of frogs ☆ prerelationship ☆ team bonding ☆ friendship ☆ 3003 words ☆ ao3

Abraham stirs in his tank. Is this how fish sleep? I move closer, already having let myself in it’s not like this is more of an invasion than before. And besides, we’re friends. We’re friendly. Apparently over my whole human supremacy over man(ure) made life, I’ve found he’s actually alright of a bloke. Now, his eyes move quite fast under his lids, and his lips part like he’s talking. I shrug, go back to the desk where I’m setting up shop, and review the equipment. I’m testing the earpiece when he jolts up; water clinging to his body like he’s an aquatic, very confused, venus being born.

Do fish dream? ‘Bad dream?’

He looks at me, blinking slowly and yes, I’m glad I’m here. And I’m glad he doesn’t loath me anymore, I suppose. ‘Why are you… why are you up?’

‘Michigan mission today, didn’t you hear? I’ll be damned if I let you go in as blind as you did in New Jersey.’

‘Are you coming?’

‘You should be so lucky. After that shitshow in North Carolina Manning agreed I was field rejected, officially. And good riddance, I can help from a distance.’

He gives me a look between annoyed and curious. We’re friendly, but I know he’d like me to be a tad braver. Whatever, the brave die out there enough to need a woman like me to try the smart approach. As I explain my gear; a portable motion sensor with adjustable range up to two miles, an aim stabiliser for the next time he’s running and shooting at the same time, long range incendiary bullets, I feel out of place in my sleepshorts and ratty jumper. I pass him my tea, which he sips as I fit the earphone on him.

‘Keep me updated, private betta.’

He nods with a small smile, and I figure we’re not too bad a team. When Liz comes to get him, she’s nice enough I hand her an aim adjuster of her own. Not that I think she’ll be shooting much, but it’s the thought that counts. I join them for the pre-mission meetup, and the looks I get are worth it to see O’Donnell of all people tear Manning a new one. I send a single rotor drone with them as they board the chopper, just in case, and go back to my laptop.

I scroll Stack Overflow boredly, taking note of the back and forth from the chopper where Abraham questions Johann’s ability to cope probably more than would be diplomatic, and they discuss this Temple of New Mysteries or whatever, and man am I glad I’m not there. I’m really glad I’m not there when the whir of the chopper stops so abruptly I’m checking my headset, and then there’s the commotion that precedes a hard landing. I’m yelling at Sapien who’s yelling at Roger, entirely ignoring me, before the transmission cuts off entirely.

I test my microphone Sapien, are you there, can you hear me? as I change screens, trying to boot up my drone to life. After long tense minutes, it responds, and the black on my screen lights up from the centre to show the inside of a helicopter that’s clearly crashed. An agent to my left asks if it’s a live feed and about the range of my signal. I run for Manning instead of answering. The truth is I’m piggybacking it off Abraham’s comms, but they don’t need to know that really. I find him with the official ground control people, saying something stupid about waiting around.

‘There’s no time for that!’ I could have, should have, changed out of my pyjamas, but hindsight is 20/20 as Manning pointed out. ‘They’ve crashed, you need to send help now!’

‘How do you know? Where are they?’

‘’I saw it, I swear, this is the last time you get me to stay behind on a mission!

He looks at me, calculating and annoyed, since it’s me who’s been insisting I can’t go out there even before I had to, but gets with the program quickly enough once I turn my laptop around to show them a birdview of the helicopter where it lays on the roof of some church.

‘We’re alerting the local authorities, can you get Kate on that? I think she was trying to make contact by radio.’

I blush, I didn’t give anyone else a headset, but it’s not like it’d be helpful now. I pull my earpiece off. ‘My connection broke off as they fell, we’ve only got visuals. You’ve got to send more agents!’

He gets on the phone with someone who won’t be fast enough, or helpful enough, as I drive my drone downwards. It’s still working, so it must mean Abraham is alright. Even with the earpiece fried, the comm in his belt is repeating my commands so he must be. I hover over the so-called temple where his signal is coming from whilst Manning tries to get me to do a perimeter search.

He quiets down when a rough looking Corrigan comes into view. She’s trying to get through a door, and hasn’t had the idea of shooting it down. I fly low to drive her back enough for me to blow it away, and still she’s sent back with the explosion. Someone swears behind me, but it’s for the better for the next moment the place is erupting in flames. A sort of presence comes out with the fire, making the images pixelate.

‘Was that Johann?’

‘Agent Kraus cannot die, is Kate alright?'

I roll my eyes, but I’m in control so it’s up to me to both stabilise my drone and put up with his protests as I fly it away from a coughing, apparently alive Corrigan and upwards as I try to get Abraham in the view. Manning is annoying, wanting me to circle back to the skeletons rising around her, and for a second I think he might try and wrestle the computer off my hands. I put the drone on autopilot so that it finds him, and argue if his local support is any good she should be alright.

We both shut up when we see Abraham, alive and hale, stumbling out of the building with Sherman. There’s an instant where I fear for Corrigan’s fate before Sherman is running towards her looking for all hell ready to do some mass cremation action. I deploy the second and last charge of explosives on the thick of it to give her time to make it and follow Abraham as he runs back inside. I put up with some verbal abuse about the frogs that were standing between the women and I actually didn’t notice, and wherever Roger might be; who'd I forgotten was on the mission too, as I follow Abraham through the halls of the rundown manor.

Manning stops trying to pull rank on me as he opens a door to a room where a satanic symbol shines on the candle light behind the framed picture of some ugly hermit. The image quality decreases gradually in a way I associate with the supernatural, and I see the motion detector go off furiously on his belt, but he ignores it, seemingly in a trance. I scan the room to see an even uglier cultist creeping behind him, and curse myself for spending my explosives on a door and some reanimated bones. He advances undeterred as I fly into his face, I try nudging Abraham’s back and I see him turning before my enemy is grabbing the drone and smashing it against a wall.

I yell, to no one and accomplishing nothing, try to get my drone to respond. It’s no use, the camera is cracked and it barely stirs as I will it to fly between Abraham and the harpoon that pierces through his chest just above his vest. I’m numb, I’m furious, I’m bereft. I throw my laptop back on the table, wind knocked out of me as I stare at Manning in horror.

‘You sent him there! You sent them all there! And you think just because you die easier–’

‘Look at that! He’s moving?’

Devon’s voice pulls me back to myself, where I’m advancing towards Manning, a broken mug held on my hand as a weapon. I take a deep breath and make myself look back at the screen where Abraham’s legs move sluggishly towards a window, dripping blood to the floor. As I hold my breath he falls back through it and, regaining my wits, I deploy the upper part of my drone to follow.

Manning sounds surprised as my screen changes from the cracked view of my drone to a lower quality, night vision feed. ‘What is that?’

‘I call it earth rover. What d’you think I do all day in the lab, just fuck around with distortion pedals and shit?’ He looks more impressed than irritated. ‘Don’t look at me, send for a medevac yesterday!’

I don’t waste my time trying to read his expression, but he stops trying to tell me what to do as my robot falls out of the window. I’ve still got no sound, so I can’t tell what all Abraham’s got to say to his would be murderer, and I’m too distraught at the weapon still lodged on his chest to do anything with my robot for an instant. Abraham shoots, catching the bastard at the top of my kill list on fire, but all he does is walk into the flames consuming the forest around them as Abraham falls to the ground.

I’ve been working on an NCVS system, but it’s rudimentary at best. That doesn’t stop Manning from admiring it as my robot crawls on Abraham’s chest to tell me what I already know. His pulse is rising and his respirations falling. I didn’t even write in an infrared sensor for his temperature. Instead of berating myself over that, I relay the information as I reiterate the need for medical support.

The mangy corpse of a dog comes into view, and the image is distorting again as something creeps closer to my camera and into Abraham, and it’s a bit much. I’m yelling and throwing my computer to the ground and being held like I’m an attack risk, did I try to attack someone? Devon is asking how to get the coordinates at the top of his lungs, but I can barely hear him because someone is shrieking like they’re dying. I’ve been drugged and I’ve done drugs, and that’s how I know I‘ve been sedated when my arms feel heavy and my hand drops a pen I didn’t realise I was holding and my knees give out, leaving me to hang on someone’s hold around my torso.

I wake up with a start. I’m not in the gulag for bad rebellious pseudo agents, and not in a hospital bed. Good. I’m thirsty, and my head feels heavy as I sit up on the visitor’s couch. I’m in a hospital room, just not mine.

‘Thanks for the air support.’

I startle at Corrigan’s voice. With my eyes glued to the bed, I didn’t notice her. She moves closer now, turns on the lights before handing me a glass of water. I smell it, unsure whether she’d need to use a ploy to drug me.

‘Don’t mention it.’ Talking feels so shit I’m drinking, uncaring of the consequences. ‘Could have done more, but all I had were two charges.’

She says something else, maybe about ergonomic design, maybe more gratitude, I don’t know. My ears ring when I get my feet to hold my weight up and stagger to the bed where Abraham lies. He’s breathing on his own, and his monitors look good. I sigh, lean my weight on the handrail.

‘Is Johann okay? Liz?’

‘They’re fine. We’ve got another containment suit for these cases. Roger is alright too, your tracker saved us time and casualties finding him.’

‘Okay.’

I don’t move my eyes from Abraham’s face. I want to ask, but I gather he’s stable and unconscious, and doubt she can tell me anything else. ‘Why am I here?’

‘I thought you should be. He was awake for a bit just as we got him into the chopper.’

‘I saw the harpoon go right through him.’

She says nothing, walks closer to stand next to me and I take a good look at her. She looks exhausted, her face is scrapped and she’s missing an earring. How long was I out, and did they just get here?

‘I didn’t think you could handle the work we do.’

My concern is quickly washed off by a rolling wave of hatred for her composure, the sure footing she holds, where I’m getting dizzy just standing here. I knew that. I know nobody thinks I’m cut out for this, but they can’t find anything else for me to do. And if I hadn’t wasted my weapons to keep her safe I could have saved Abraham and she wouldn’t be here giving me this smart holier than thou look.

‘When you ran in New Hanover…’

‘When I got thrown off a fourth floor in New Hanover! Into alligator infested waters, and then almost burnt to death! And…’

I’ve been stupid, and let go off the hospital bed to try for a fight stance that’s too much to ask of my depleted systems. The room spins as bile rises up my throat and she’s catching me before I hit the floor, pulling a chair closer to set me down and my attempt at a glare gets interrupted as there’s rustling from the bed and I turn my attention to Abraham.

‘You’ve proven me wrong. The others too.’

‘By trying to kill Manning with a piece of ceramic?’ My voice is an angry whisper and I don’t look at her as I drag my chair closer to a rousing Abraham. ‘Getting my drone thrashed on my first try?’

‘By caring.’

Her hand rests for a moment in my shoulder, and I shiver with something that’s not hatred nor desire. I don’t turn when she closes the door behind him, as I seem to have woken Abraham up with my outburst, eyes open just a millimetre on blue vertical lines.

‘Oy, fishface.’ His face scrunches and is that a bloody smile? I laugh, relieved. ‘Gave Corrigan a proper scare, you did.’

He hums, takes a deep breath. ‘I’m just me, aren’t I?’

‘Who else did you wanna be? Someone who doesn’t get almost killed for a living?’ I stand slowly. ‘Scoot over.’

He complies, leaving enough space for me to climb into the bed with him. I’m relieved beyond words he’s alright, even though I don’t understand this line of questioning. He’s Abraham, the nicest and hardest to kill agent around. He examines me now, and I feel newly selfconscious about my attire.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Let’s recap, who got got like Moby Dick?’ He lifts a slow hand to my wrist, checks my pulse. ‘It’s just a sedative. I kindof got freaked, frogs and explosions, and they got me good. I don’t think it’s entirely worn off.’

‘You walked around like this?’

‘Nope. Corrigan brought me, I think. Woke up just over there.’

‘She likes you.’

‘She thinks I’m useful.’ I correct. ‘Held some army of the undead off with a drone, probably got the coordinates for extraction. Devon was trying to make sense of my code when I went amok and got it like Joey Ramone.’

‘So your remote approach isn’t as safe as you thought?’

I flick his face with the blanket. ‘Arsehole. Just as well, I’m coming with next time.’

His face drops, he looks away and then at me. ‘Are you sure? The things we saw today… They changed the pilot, transformed him. I didn’t even know his name, and now he’s dead.’

‘Yesterday, I think. And you know my name.’ I look at the window, head movement enough to get me dizzy again and I press closer to him. ‘I’m not talking about playing berserker like Sherman, I can do other things. Establish a perimeter, monitor the situation. I don’t have to be in the middle of it. You know I like to be safe, I’d just like you to be, too.’

He nods, and we lie there. I count his breaths and offer him what’s left of my water. As he drinks, my eyes slide from his lips to his throat. He’s alive. He basically saved me in North Carolina, and I couldn’t do the same for him, but now I’ve got the chance to make that right. He gives me the glass and I set it on the nightstand as his gaze seems to wrap around my entire body.

‘Mad you went all hands on for a mission I worked in my jammies?’

‘You’re just you.’

‘Put some respect in the you.’ Automatic answer, automatic answers never work with him. ‘What’s all that? Had some near death experience and now you’re all Tila Tequila, are you?’

He shakes his head. Showoff. ‘It’s just like Liz said. We know where she came from,’ I cough something that may sound like family annihilator and earn a disapproving look. ‘We know where Johann came from, Roger, and even Hellboy. But I’m just… I think I saw something. What I am, or what I’ve been.’

I furrow my brows, past arson-murder humour. ‘Like what?’

‘I’m not sure. I was sure it mattered, then I woke up and you’re here. I don’t know who you are either, but if I can trust you I think I can trust myself.’

I want to ask him to back up, how come he doesn’t believe I’m just another victim of wrong place, wrong time; and why does he think he can trust me, but I reason this is friendship for him. Camaraderie, even. And still I’m stumped for an answer. I shrug.

‘Yeah, I think so.’

[manifestingnoobie]

My First High Stakes Success Story and Why Circumstances Don't Matter

The other day my cat vomited 5x with blood in a short span of time, and on top of that, him starting to behave differently just confirmed it for me.

ANYWAY, I took him to urgent care, lab, X-ray blah, they said it's a possible intestinal obstruction because a part of his small intestine was just enlarged.

It was an $8-9k estimate for surgery to remove the possible foreign object (given that I provided my cat has a history of eating things he shouldn't lmao).

They gave me an option to take him home and just hope he can poop it out and to have repeat imaging done the next morning to confirm if it really is an obstruction, if it's getting worse, etc.

So I took him home that night. Extremely stressed because even the diagnostics were expensive, so a surgery?? But I affirmed my usual blanket affirmations while falling asleep on top of just saying my cat is healthy, oh thank god his ultrasound is clear. Mind you, I am affirming yet still stressed as hell and wanna cry, I was so frustrated like how the hell does this happen, I been on a routine of affirming things going my way so wtf, but whatever, ignore, persist.

Next morning, checked the litter box and since it's a smart litter box it logs when my cat used it with weight sensors. No time stamps from overnight that he pooped.

I'm still stressed and shit, but still affirmed throughout the morning and drive back to the vet.

Eventually, although not mandatory and a nice to have in manifesting, I felt reassured and certain somehow.

There's no way he's gonna have to have surgery.

Congratulations, ____ is healthy and requires no surgery.

[My cat]'s ultrasound came out clear and requires no surgery.

It eventually came to a point that I even doubted he's gonna get surgery LOL. (I been affirming it's easy to assume in my favor nowadays).

I also find it crazy because I even imagined a male veterinarian that had come to see my cat and assigned a deep voice to him.

ANYWAY, it was a male vet with a deep voice and he was like "Good news, there's no reason for ___ to have surgery."

Now that I think about it, this is also my first overnight manifestation, gaah.

--------- WHAT I DID/THE TAKEAWAYS ---------

My cat didn't poop overnight and was still acting off, but did that stop me from affirming the opposite? I persisted despite what I saw in the 3D. The subconscious has no eyes. Literally those things could have been seen as evidence he has an obstruction when he hasn't pooped it out, but I chose to affirm against that and the subconscious still acted accordingly to conform to my desire.

I allowed myself to feel frustrated, stressed, worried, etc. But the key is in knowing those feelings don't matter!!!

I personally like affirming to sleep or doing SATs, so there's that. I also visualize because it's fun and gets my creative juices going. Funny I got a male vet like I visualized.

ANYWAY, HOPE THIS IS INSPIRING. 🫶🏻🙏🏻✌🏻

[souhaillaghchimdev]

Getting Started with Industrial Robotics Programming

Industrial robotics is a field where software engineering meets automation to drive manufacturing, assembly, and inspection processes. With the rise of Industry 4.0, the demand for skilled robotics programmers is rapidly increasing. This post introduces you to the fundamentals of industrial robotics programming and how you can get started in this exciting tech space.

What is Industrial Robotics Programming?

Industrial robotics programming involves creating software instructions for robots to perform tasks such as welding, picking and placing objects, painting, or quality inspection. These robots are typically used in factories and warehouses, and are often programmed using proprietary or standard languages tailored for automation tasks.

Popular Robotics Programming Languages

RAPID – Used for ABB robots.

KRL (KUKA Robot Language) – For KUKA industrial robots.

URScript – Used by Universal Robots.

Fanuc KAREL / Teach Pendant Programming

ROS (Robot Operating System) – Widely used open-source middleware for robotics.

Python and C++ – Common languages for simulation and integration with sensors and AI.

Key Components in Robotics Programming

Motion Control: Programming the path, speed, and precision of robot arms.

Sensor Integration: Use of cameras, force sensors, and proximity detectors for adaptive control.

PLC Communication: Integrating robots with Programmable Logic Controllers for factory automation.

Safety Protocols: Programming emergency stops, limit switches, and safe zones.

Human-Machine Interface (HMI): Designing interfaces for operators to control and monitor robots.

Sample URScript Code (Universal Robots)

# Move to position movej([1.0, -1.57, 1.57, -1.57, -1.57, 0.0], a=1.4, v=1.05) # Gripper control (example function call) set_digital_out(8, True) # Close gripper sleep(1) set_digital_out(8, False) # Open gripper

Software Tools You Can Use

RoboDK – Offline programming and simulation.

ROS + Gazebo – Open-source tools for simulation and robotic control.

ABB RobotStudio

Fanuc ROBOGUIDE

Siemens TIA Portal – For integration with industrial control systems.

Steps to Start Your Journey

Learn the basics of industrial robotics and automation.

Familiarize yourself with at least one brand of industrial robot (ABB, KUKA, UR, Fanuc).

Get comfortable with control systems and communication protocols (EtherCAT, PROFINET).

Practice with simulations before handling real robots.

Study safety standards (ISO 10218, ANSI/RIA R15.06).

Real-World Applications

Automated welding in car manufacturing.

High-speed pick and place in packaging.

Precision assembly of electronics.

Material handling and palletizing in warehouses.

Conclusion

Industrial robotics programming is a specialized yet rewarding field that bridges software with real-world mechanics. Whether you’re interested in working with physical robots or developing smart systems for factories, gaining skills in robotics programming can open up incredible career paths in manufacturing, automation, and AI-driven industries.