#Bay Area Circuits

[bayareacircuitsusa]

The Role of Quick Turn PCB Fabrication in Prototype Development

In the tech world, time is invaluable, especially in product development. Quick turn PCB fabrication significantly accelerates the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs), reducing the process from weeks to mere days or hours. This rapid production is crucial for prototype development, enabling faster design, testing, and market entry.

Quick turn PCB fabrication is a game-changer, allowing businesses to stay competitive by swiftly testing and refining PCB layout designs. It also benefits small-scale manufacturers and hobbyists who need small quantities without the constraints of traditional minimum order requirements.

Importantly, this fast-paced process maintains high quality and precision, minimizing errors and rework. Quick turn PCB fabrication ensures that prototypes meet exact specifications, facilitating quick detection and correction of any issues.

Bay Area Circuits (BAC) exemplifies excellence in quick turn PCB fabrication, offering high-quality, precision-engineered PCBs with rapid turnaround times. Their advanced technology and skilled team ensure reliable and accurate results, making them a top choice for businesses seeking to accelerate their prototype development. Contact BAC for exceptional PCB fabrication services.

Originally Published at- https://bayareacircuits.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-role-of-quick-turn-pcb-fabrication.html 

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

The Life Cycle of a TARDIS

How TARDISes are born, grow, and die.

🌤️ The Birth of a TARDIS

From a Seedling/Sapling

In one version, TARDISes aren't built—they're grown from seeds and/or saplings. The process begins in the Time Travel Capsule Growth Foundry (AKA a TARDIS Shipyard, the Gallifrey Black Hold Shipyard, or the "Womb").

They're put into Dimensionally Transcendental Cradles (AKA Ubbo-Sathla, or maybe Hyperlooms). This is deliberately within an area of null space, where the normal laws of physics don't apply. This is needed to nurture the TARDIS as it begins to grow because the process has to be non-linear.

(Some sources place the Foundry on Gallifrey next to the Caldera, while others say it's located away from Gallifrey to avoid the time pollution, but it's probably the former.)

And Then There's Block Transfer Computations

Some sources claim that TARDISes are actually created by block transfer computations. Put simply, BTC is a concept that allows very clever people to create objects and events in spacetime using pure mathematics.

If this is the right version, a spacetime event is created by using BTC, and then put in a Dimensionally Transcendental Cradle, which turns the event into a viable time capsule like a little spacetime microwave.

Or Maybe Both?

That's not to say a seed couldn't BE this initial spacetime event, or that perhaps BTC are applied to the seed while in the cradles to create sentience, but eh. 🤷

🍼The Growth of a TARDIS

However they start, as they grow, they're embedded with a Protyon Core/Unit, which is programmed with 'greyprints', which are like the blueprints of a house. These greyprints establish all the specifications the TARDIS needs, including essential rooms, etc. The TARDIS then begins to grow using these greyprints.

After ten years in the cradle growing, a TARDIS is moved to a Solar Workshop, where Time Lords implant exitonic circuits. These exitonic circuits are designated XX or XY, depending on what gender was given to the TARDIS in its greyprint, and also add other features like the temporal drive and chameleon circuits.

Once this process is complete, the TARDIS is considered to be fully working. It's taken to a Berthing Bay in the Dry Dimension Dockyard Cradle and registered, given a unique code. Then, it's ready to bond with a Time Lord.

💀 The Death of a TARDIS

A TARDIS has an estimated lifespan of a few thousand years, but on Gallifrey, TARDISes are like smartphones - every time a new one comes out, you'll trade in the old one. It's expected that if the pilot is upgrading or their TARDIS is otherwise dying, they will put their TARDIS 'to sleep'. This is usually achieved by having a healthy TARDIS help the dying TARDIS into the heart of a star, which allows it to get to the TARDIS Graveyard outside of space and time.

However, some TARDISes are left to decay and die from entropy. Once it's dying, a TARDIS still capable of spacetime flight will go to the TARDIS Graveyard on its own. If it can't, it will attempt to 'call out' to any pilots who have previously symbiotically linked to them for help. If no one answers, the TARDIS will die very slowly, potentially in a near-death state for thousands of years.

🪸 Footnote: A Piece of Coral

It's extremely likely that the piece of coral given to Tentoo by Ten is from the TARDIS' Protyon Unit - you can grow a new TARDIS from a sample of a female TARDIS Protyon Unit, because it contains all the instructions for growth (the greyprints). However, this process will take thousands of years, because the growing TARDIS will have to rely on a nearby Time Lord's artron biofield. In essence, it has to use the Time Lord as a source of energy. This can of course be accelerated by a cradle or some wibbly-wobbly science stuff.

Once it's grown, it will be different to a normal TARDIS, because it hasn't had the exitonic circuits implanted. Without these, the TARDIS will not have the chameleon circuit (it will appear as a featureless metal cylinder), have no gender, and cannot time travel. However, making these exitonic circuits away from Gallifrey is achievable by a Time Lord, even on a rudimentary, technologically limited planet, but it'll take a bit of time.

Gallifreyan TARDIS Biology for Tuesday by GIL

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[lost-decade]

Mick/Esteban/Pierre

Le Mans weirdness with rancid vibes. I have no excuses for this, blame @freeuselandonorris for encouraging it.

(also have never written these drivers before and have no idea what I'm doing, so please be nice)

~

It's all over before 10pm, Nico climbing out of the car and a lot of heads in hands, the mood further dejected after the retirement of the sister car less than an hour earlier. Mick pats Nico on the shoulder, hugs the mechanics, but his imposter syndrome still bites hard. This isn't his home, really. He wants it to be, however temporarily that is.

Mick hates that sense of things interrupted, unfinished. Like his F1 career, or that time when he'd just turned fourteen and his dad walked in on him, hand down his joggers and the shrill fake moans of a girl getting railed, tinny from the speaker on his phone; pleasure turned to shame within seconds, fumbling with sticky fingers to close the Pornhub window.

He doesn't want to talk to anyone for a bit, and there's a little time before they'll debrief so he disappears to the motorhome with the intention of getting changed. His blood feels full of restless energy, thrumming beneath his skin with nowhere to go.

Esteban is there, waiting for him, loitering near the door, jacket zipped up high against the unseasonably chill temperature. There's moisture in the air, clouds low and close, obscuring the stars along with the kick of light from the circuit. The Ferris wheel turns somewhere in the distance. Mick can hear the grunt of the cars on the track and he craves something he can't put his finger on, an ugly thirst, a vicious desire that he has no place pushing onto Este.

*

"Let me make you feel better," Esteban says when the door is closed behind them. Mick takes his cap off and tosses it onto the table, closing his eyes and pressing the heels of his hands against his eyelids, exhaling slowly. He can feel Esteban's fingertips at his waist. They know how to touch each other. It's been a while now, this. Them. Never discussed but always there, taken for granted almost, even with girlfriends who've come and gone.

It's been the two of them and it's been sweet, but tonight Mick feels like his sharp edges are too jagged to be smoothed, like all they'll do is cut. Este would let him be like that, lay himself open for whatever Mick wants. He opens his eyes, takes a deep breath and tries to shake those thoughts off. His hand finds Este's jaw, thumb pressing into the divot in his chin, holding him in place before he leans in, opening his mouth for a kiss.

*

Este is on his knees, drool spooling from his stretched lips down onto his t-shirt, adoring and ever giving. Mick thinks he might love him a little bit, but then he always thinks these thoughts when he's getting his dick sucked. He spreads his legs wider, close but distracted, leans his head back against the sofa cushions, his hand resting lightly on Esteban's head. Este swallows and almost there, Mick thinks. The knock on the door holds his orgasm at bay.

Ignore it, he mouths, sitting forward as Este pulls back, wiping his mouth, looking around wondering where he can hide.

The knuckles at the door are insistent. "Mick, it's Pierre."

"Don't go anywhere," Mick says, tucking himself back into his fireproofs, leaving the arms of his racesuit dangling around his waist as if they might obscure his erection. He opens the door a sliver.

Pierre looks up at him earnestly from the step, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. He's been flirting with Mick since he got here a couple of days ago, casual little looks and lingering touches, praise. Mick is immune to a lot of things, but praise isn't one of them. Even if he suspects Pierre was only doing it to piss Este off. Well.

*

When the two of them walk through into the living area, Este is sitting on the sofa scrolling through his phone, shoulder turned away from them.

Pierre looks between the two of them, bounces on his heels, and Mick can't shake the feeling of being in the middle of a game he doesn't know all the rules of.

He doesn't like it. He's been powerless about enough things in his life.

"I just wanted to check you're o―” Pierre begins.

Mick raises his palm, as if he can push the bullshit back. "Este?" Esteban looks up from his phone, his eyes meeting Mick's. Mick searches his face, unsure even what he's expecting to find. Discomfort, maybe. A sign that he wants to leave. Esteban’s gaze flicks to Pierre and then back again, and Mick thinks he sees anything for you, even this.

"You can kiss him, if you want to," Esteban addresses Pierre, nonchalantly. Mick is mine to share, not yours to take.

Mick crowds Pierre back against the door, dick twitching in his underwear as he slips his tongue into his mouth. He hasn't kissed another guy except for Este. Other stuff, yeah. But kissing is just for Este. It feels like a betrayal, it makes him throb and leak. Pierre kisses sloppily, like he can't get enough, hands grabbing at Mick's arse trying to pull him closer.

When they break the kiss and Mick glances over at Esteban he's undone the buttons on his jeans, the ridge of his cotton covered cock visibly bursting out. Mick turns back to Pierre, traces a finger over his slick lips. “Now you can go and kiss your teammate.”

[newpathwrites]

Arms Wide Open - Chapter 1

Gods, you touched him - nobody ever did that.  He struggled to appropriately respond, stumbling over his words.  “No, no… there’s no need…” he replied.  Was his voice really high right now?  “I’ve had plenty of near misses with this one…” he gestured toward Grogu.  “So it was my pleasure…”

Pleasure!!??  What a dumb and awkward thing to say…

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

Summary: Din didn’t see you coming, or… one fateful trip to the market and a platonic night together changes everything.

Notes: This fic was unexpectedly inspired by the opening scenes of “Anyone but You” - I loved the sweet, companionable dynamic featured in that first night together and imagined Din meeting someone who brought out the lighter side of his personality.  I do not take it on the circuitous route taken in the movie, though.  Din and reader will get their shit together a whole lot quicker here.

Warnings: Language.

Word count: 1.3k

Read on AO3

________________________________________

You had to go… like really bad.

Your first day of work in the field office on Nevarro had gone quite well, but there had been one teensy little problem.  You had no clue where to find the freaking fresher and nobody around after lunchtime to ask.  So you held it.  All day.

There wasn’t even enough time to run home to your small cabin on the outskirts of town when you finally left in the early evening.  Your bladder was about to burst at the seams.

You looked around as you exited the building for any establishment likely to have customer facilities before running across the street to a small indoor market as quickly as your feet could carry you, praying to the Maker that you could manage to hold it for just a few more minutes.

Upon entering, you grabbed the first item within your line of sight, a small loaf of bread, and booked it to the checkout line…

…which traversed the entire length of the store.

Kriff.  

Time to resort to begging.

“Excuse me, sir?” you attempted, approaching the cashier who was busy with a customer.  “May I use your fresher?  I promise I’ll buy this.  I just really have to go… like immediately.”

He didn’t even look in your direction.  “You pay first, then you get to use the fresher.”

“Please,” you begged, crossing your legs in a vain attempt to keep the urine at bay.

He simply pointed behind him to a sign which read ‘Fresher for Paying Customers Only’.

“Damn it!” you exclaimed in frustration, then muttering to yourself under your breath.  “I’m going to wet my pants.  And then I’ll have to walk all the way home like that.  Fuck!”

“She’s with me,” you heard a distinctly staticy male voice say somewhere behind you.  “I’ll buy the bread, too.  Let her go to the fresher.”

You turned to see what stranger had intervened on your behalf.  

A Mandalorian - decked out in full armor and faceless, metal visage with a small, green child in his arms.  You’d never expected such a contradictory sight, but who were you to question it?  This man just saved your dignity.

The young cashier, suddenly alert and attentive, subtly bowed in the man’s direction.  “Of course, Mr. Djarin.  I didn’t know she was with you.”  The teenager finally looked at you and thrust a key in your face.  “Go ahead, ma’am.”

You took it without ceremony despite your annoyance with the boy, and even as you rushed to the back of the store, you took a moment to mouth a sincere ‘thank you’ to the mysterious man who subtly nodded back in recognition of your gratitude.

________________________________________

Damned Grogu’s cute face.  Nobody could resist it - not even the teenage attendant behind the register who offered the child free samples of those kriffing blue cookies.

Din didn’t dare refuse.  If he did, the treat would find its way into Grogu’s mouth instead by way of the force which he still preferred his son not use around aruetti.

As they sat at a small table in the dining area of the store, Din’s thoughts turned back to you - the desperate woman he’d never seen before begging to use the fresher.  Did you not know about the public facilities right in the center of town?  What were you even doing here in Nevarro?  It wasn’t exactly a bustling tourist destination.  

Perhaps he needed to do some sleuthing, make sure you weren’t a threat.  

It couldn’t possibly be that he just wanted to know more about you… your age… marital status… No, of course not.  He was just Nevarro’s sworn protector… It was his job… obviously…

The fact that you were both beautiful and appeared appropriately middle aged like himself had absolutely nothing to do with it.

“Mister… Djarin…?”

Din was startled out of his musings by your voice and looked up to see your lovely face beaming at him.

“Thank you again for your help,” you started, taking one of his gloved hands in yours for a moment before letting go.  “Stars, I’m so embarrassed… But please, let me pay for your groceries.  You can even keep the bread - I didn’t even need it.”

Gods, you touched him - nobody ever did that.  He struggled to appropriately respond, stumbling over his words.  “No, no… there’s no need…” he replied.  Was his voice really high right now?  “I’ve had plenty of near misses with this one…” he gestured toward Grogu.  “So it was my pleasure…”

Pleasure!!??  What a dumb and awkward thing to say…

To his great embarrassment (and relief), you laughed.  “I suppose it’s not every day you get to save a grown woman from wetting her pants.”  Ah, so you were funny, too… not that he was keeping track of your attractive qualities…

Grogu, bless him, intervened then to save his father’s dignity, reaching out to you with a cookie in hand.

“Why, thank you, little one.  I would love a cookie.”  You took it from him and placed it in your pocket.  “I’m not hungry right now, but this will be a very fine dessert after my dinner tonight.”  

Good with kids - check… and smart enough not to actually eat something that had been in Grogu’s grubby hands.

The child made a series of hand gestures in response, and Din was forced to translate.  “He says ‘you’re welcome’ and…”  A sigh emanated from the vocoder.  “... he wants to know where you came from…  Grogu, she doesn’t even know us.  We shouldn’t ask personal questions.”  Says the man who wanted to investigate your background.

Din looked back up at you apologetically before adding, “I’m sorry - he’s very curious.  You don’t have to answer that.”  But he hoped you would.

You smiled - and stars, he might die if this conversation didn’t end soon.  He was getting redder and redder under the visor.

“Well, Grogu, it’s very nice to meet you.  I am new here, just started a job directing the agricultural field office - see if we can get more vegetation growing so that Nevarro never goes hungry for healthy produce.”  So you were smart, too… check…  “Today was my first day, and silly person that I am, I let everyone go early to enjoy the pleasant weather before they could show me where the fresher was located…”  And kind… another check… not that he was counting or anything.

Grogu gave her a toothy grin in response - he found this woman quite nice and funny.

“They’re uhmmm…” Din started. Why was he struggling so much to speak?  “They’re in the building next to the magistrate’s office - public facilities…”

“Oh!” you exclaimed, knocking yourself lightly on the forehead.  “That makes a lot of sense.  Thank you.”

He cleared his throat awkwardly.  “You’re welcome…”

You stared back at him serenely for just a moment, sparking his heart rate, before holding out your hand.  “I’m Flora… nickname…”

Din’s hand moved to take yours of its own accord, and he responded dumbly, “Din… real name…”  Maker…

Grogu looked up at him through scrunched eyes for a moment before bursting into a delightful fit of childish giggles, and you couldn’t help following suit.  Din finally gave in, allowing himself to take this all as lightly as you were, despite his humiliation with the entire interaction, chuckling softly under the helmet.

Din didn’t have many light moments like this.  Could he have more?

“Din… and Grogu…” you said as you regained your composure.  “It was very nice to meet you.  Thank you again for helping me out.  I hope we run into each other… often.”  Well, that sounded promising… and terrifying…

He didn’t trust himself to say anything more, so he simply nodded as you turned away and walked out the door.

The moment you were out of sight, Grogu began furiously signing in his direction.

Din sighed - Grogu was too insightful for his own good.  “Yes, kid, I like her…  No, we can’t follow her - that’s creepy…  Yes, I know I do that all the time, but those are bounties - not innocent women… Stars… ok, fine…”

________________________________________

Next chapter

[coyotetatertot]

Promotional for Tate's company in my interp of A Better World AU.

FULL TEXT BENEATH THE CUT‼️‼️

God, I love exploring what he can do if he hadn't suffered through his father abandoning them and then YEARS of caretaker burnout as he tried in vain to heal his dad. What if he hadn't learned to fear his intellect and skill. What if Appalachia hadn't been cut out of him by being raised in the Bay Area. What if his abilities and cultural identity were both nurtured and encouraged by loving parents and a strong educational support system. What then. 👁️

I think he definitely still has his issues, because public figures often do lol. Fame causes so many problems. But fuck if I don't wanna let this lil scruffy genius out of his mental cage of repression, burnout, and depression. I think he's wild, enthusiastic, and has so much heart and spirit underneath all those layers of bullshit. 30 years of suffering and he is in his 30s, the divergence of the AU puts him on a radically different path from childhood and that makes him a TOTALLY new person.

On the highest peaks in the world, the strongest tethers aren't your rope, but the emotional ties which unite your climbing team and keep you connected to those waiting for you back home. Whether it's by blood or by choice, Tater Higgs McGucket understands the importance of family. Son of revolutionary inventor and co-founder of the Institute of Oddology Fiddleford Hadron McGucket, Tate describes his father as his closest friend, collaborator, and mentor. In collaboration with family friend and other co-founder of the Institute Stanford ("Ford") Pines, the three first designed their renowned supplemental oxygen delivery system after an expedition studying anomalies in the Himalayas.

"Our investigation took us to Camp 1 of Manaslu," Tate described in an exclusive interview with Mountaineering Monthly last week, "And I was shocked by the amount of traffic. This was some of the roughest terrain on the planet, but we saw more people out there than on some of my hiking trips back home in Oregon. . . Ford was our interpreter, and after talking with the locals, we realized that there were all these companies selling tickets to the top — with sherpas puttin' themselves on the line just to ferry tourists to the summit."

The influx of inexperienced climbers has had disastrous consequences, as Tate witnessed firsthand. "A lot of these people, they're physically and mentally capable of makin' that kinda climb, but maybe they don't follow best practice. You can summit without any oxygen, if ya stop and acclimatize along the way. But that takes a while, so it can be really temptin' to ignore your body and throw an oxygen bandaid at the problem. But then you're puttin' yourself in an emergency situation if it fails. While we were there, one of those climbers ran out, and a sherpa had to run more oxygen up there. I told him there was a storm a-comin', but he went up anyway. And we ended up losin' 'em both."

Tate's growing twang was underscored by a nervous bouncing of his leg, and he took a moment to collect himself before resuming the interview.

"Dad and I had a look at these open circuit breathing apparatuses. While they were reliable, we saw they were plum wasteful. Knew we could make somethin' better. There's a growin' culture of risk-takin' 'round them mountains. And maybe we cain't stop the industry that's causin' these problems, but we can at least make it safer for them climbers. 'Cuz at the end of the day, regardless of what ya think about these people? With an accident like that, there’s people left behind that're a-hurtin' somethin' fierce. Partners, friends, kids without parents. I mean, just the thought of losin' my dad like that is enough to break my heart — but that's reality, for both the families of that climber and the sherpa who died tryin' to save him. . . Naw, I reckon we can do better."

That was how the youngest McGucket, who had become a household name in the 1990s for his work in designing personal computers with his father's company, first ventured into the world of alpinism. But what he hadn't expected was to fall in love during the process.

"I always needed nature," he explained, "I get overstimulated awfully easy, and so I go out there to clear my head. Been hikin' and fishin' since I was a kid. . . And so, after workin' with climbers to test this equipment — I saw a lot of them eight-thousanders up close, right? And one day, I just knew I had to see it from the top."

But having become familiar with the dangers involved, Tate knew that preparing himself for such a climb would be no easy task.

Luckily, he found a trainer in Ford's twin brother, Stanley Pines.

“Stanley is a stand-up guy. Real old school. Throws a hell of a punch, catches a hell of a catfish.” Tate said of his mentor, “He’s a fighter. So I knew I needed him, because all it takes is one slip up or act of god for these expeditions to turn life-or-death. And he’s been great. Neither of us knew much about rock climbin’ or mountaineering before all this. But we’ve learned together. And having summited a few eight-thousanders now, I can tell ya, I wouldn’t be here without his help.”

Also aiding in his expeditions were his prototype real-time weather and vital monitoring systems, which have since become standard issue in all McGucket brand protective wear. But Tate is most proud of his high-frequency beacon system, which allows climbers to communicate with their partners and first responders — even from inside perilous crevasses.

"The danger of avalanche or serac collapse is real. There are times when your life just ain’t in your own hands. Our systems allow climbers to communicate when they’re entering or exiting a perilous area, and can send out an SOS. They’re also constantly pinging, so in the event somethin’ does happen, they’ll help your climbing partners or first responders find you.”

But high altitudes aren’t the only place you’ll find the twin peaks of McGucket Mountaineering. Tate’s inventions have seen heavy use by first responders of all stripes, from firefighters to wilderness search and rescue — and he has recently signed a contract to manufacture respirators for medical use.

"At the end of the day, it’s all about making it home safely.” Tate concluded, “You gotta prioritize what matters most. You can do incredible things in this world, but none of it matters if you can’t share them with the people who love you.”

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Monterey Bay Aquarium 07-09-24, Pt. 1

It was good to get out, away from "here" at last. Haven't left the Bay Area bubble in five or six years, so it was a definite occasion, a proper Day Out. The drive took a couple of hours each way, and it was nice not to be the one doing the driving; it gave me time to just take in the scenery.

The mountains here are unique...they don't look like the Rockies. I love their huge rolling, stacked-up hills and contours of the (mostly) grass and patches of scrub and trees. And when you see sand dunes appear on the opposite side of the road, you know you're getting close.

Kiddo's mom found an all-day parking garage, and Monterey has an old-fashioned Trolley bus that goes around in a circuit and picks people up and drops them at the Aquarium.

We got to the Aquarium sometime between 12:30 and 1pm, and gravitated toward the Kelp Forest, naturally. It's just so magnificent. We got there just before they were going to do the feeding, and I was able to get a couple of shots from the side (it was packed!), but mostly just got to look.

And I have to say a big number of the photos were just un-salvagable, because the light was just too low, and the autofocus was not cooperating at all. The shutter was having to stay open too long, and I am no longer as steady as I used to be holding the camera. There was a fair amount of being jostled and walked-in-front-of, and that kind of general photographic frustration, of course. Had to jockey for position on a lot of the more popular exhibits.

Since we got there past lunchtime we went to the little cafe and kiddo's mom got us all lunch. Let's just say the prices were eye-popping for this old guy who got everybody in because of his food-stamp EBT. That part, btw, went amazingly smoothly, it took less than a minute to get things squared away and we were inside. Very glad that the Aquarium is participating in the Museums for All program!

And the place seemed a lot bigger since 2013, but maybe it's just I'm a lot older. I definitely had to find a bench and sit down a few times, and by the end of the day my feet were screamin' at me, and I'm sore this morning, but It was worth it!

Spent most of the day today sippin' my coffee and going through the photos and short video clips I was able to get; we'll see if tumblr cooperates on the videos. lulz.

Things are in chronological order, for the most part.

Starting in the second photo, you can see the guy in the scuba suit feeding the fish on the far right side.

They had two "Sea Pens" this time, but they were both closed up.

I love anemones. Can ya tell?

Wow...only 1 video upload per post? See what I mean about tumblr cooperating on the vids? They definitely aren't! I'll have to make separate posts, which is ridiculous...these are just little clips, most of them less than 30 seconds. sigh.

Look for the rest of the posts about the day...I'll just number them.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

9 phenomena NASA astronauts will encounter at Moon's south pole

NASA's Artemis campaign will send the first woman and the first person of color to the moon's south polar region, marking humanity's first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years.

Here are some out-of-this-world phenomena Artemis astronauts will experience:

1. A hovering sun and giant shadows

Near the moon's South Pole, astronauts will see dramatic shadows that are 25 to 50 times longer than the objects casting them. Why? Because the sun strikes the surface there at a low angle, hanging just a few degrees above the horizon. As a result, astronauts won't see the sun rise and set. Instead, they'll watch it hover near the horizon as it moves horizontally across the sky.

2. Sticky, razor-sharp dust ...

The lunar dust, called regolith, that coats the moon's surface looks fine and soft like baking powder. But looks can be deceiving. Lunar regolith is formed when meteoroids hit the moon's surface, melting and shattering rocks into tiny, sharp pieces. The moon doesn't have moving water or wind to smooth out the regolith grains, so they stay sharp and scratchy, posing a risk to astronauts and their equipment.

3. ... that's charged with static electricity

Because the moon has no atmosphere to speak of, its surface is exposed to plasma and radiation from the sun. As a result, static electricity builds up on the surface, as it does when you shuffle your feet against a carpeted floor. When you then touch something, you transfer that charge via a small shock. On the moon, this transfer can short-circuit electronics. Moon dust also can make its way into astronaut living quarters, as the static electricity causes it to easily stick to spacesuits. NASA has developed methods to keep the dust at bay using resistant textiles, filters, and a shield that employs an electric field to remove dust from surfaces.

4. A new sense of lightness

In 1972, Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke hammered a core tube into the moon's surface until it met a rock and wouldn't go any farther. Then the hammer flew from his hand. He made four attempts to pick it up by bending down and leaning to reach for it. He gave up and returned to the rover to get tongs to finally pick up the hammer successfully.

Artemis moonwalkers will have a bounce to their step as they traverse the lunar surface. This is because gravity won't pull them down as forcefully as it does on Earth. The moon is only a quarter of Earth's size, with six times less gravity. Simple activities, like swinging a rock hammer to chip off samples, will feel different. While a hammer will feel lighter to hold, its inertia won't change, leading to a strange sensation for astronauts. Lower gravity has perks, too. Astronauts won't be weighed down by their hefty spacesuits as much as they would be on Earth. Plus, bouncing on the moon is just plain fun.

5. A waxing crescent … Earth?

When Artemis astronauts look at the sky from the moon, they'll see their home planet shining back at them. Just like Earthlings see different phases of the moon throughout a month, astronauts will see an ever-shifting Earth. Earth phases occur opposite to moon phases: When Earth experiences a new moon, a full Earth is visible from the moon.

6. An itty-bitty horizon

Because the moon is smaller than Earth, its horizon will look shorter and closer. To someone standing on a level Earth surface, the horizon is 3 miles away, but to astronauts on the moon, it'll be only 1.5 miles away, making their surroundings seem confined.

7. Out-of-this-world temperatures

Because sunlight at the moon's South Pole skims the surface horizontally, it brushes crater rims, but doesn't always reach their floors. Some deep craters haven't seen the light of day for billions of years, so temperatures there can dip to minus 334 F. That's nearly three times colder than the lowest temperature recorded in Antarctica. At the other extreme, areas in direct sunlight, such as crater rims, can reach temperatures of 130 F.

8. An inky-black sky

The moon, unlike Earth, doesn't have a thick atmosphere to scatter blue light, so the daytime sky is black. Astronauts will see a stark contrast between the dark sky and the bright ground.

9. A rugged terrain

Artemis moonwalkers will find a rugged landscape that takes skill to traverse. The moon has mountains, valleys, and canyons, but its most notable feature for astronauts on the surface may be its millions of craters. Near the South Pole, gaping craters and long shadows will make it difficult for astronauts to navigate. But, with training and special gear, astronauts will be prepared to meet the challenge.

TOP IMAGE: This graphic shows maximum summer and winter temperatures near the lunar South Pole. Purple, blue, and green identify cold regions, while yellow to red signify warmer ones. The graphic incorporates 10 years of data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), which has been orbiting the Moon since 2009. Credit: NASA/LRO Diviner Seasonal Polar Data

LOWER IMAGE: This dust particle came from a lunar regolith sample brought to Earth in 1969 by Apollo 11 astronauts. The particle is about 25 microns across, less than the width of an average human hair. The image was taken with a scanning electron microscope. Credit: NASA/Sarah Noble

[remyfire]

Ship: Sidney Freedman/Sam Pak

Note: This is a birthday gift for my dear friend Rosie, because nothing says happy birthday better than middle-aged men in love 💞

When the balcony door opens behind Sidney, the music from the rambunctious jazz band swells, and he takes a deep breath through his nose as he fights not to look. He doesn't know if he could stand it if he worked himself up this far, then turned and found disappointment in the eyes of someone who's practically a stranger now. "You made it." Though it's been three years since Sidney last felt his touch, the melodic lilt of Sam Pak's voice feels like a caress across bare skin. Despite the nerves, Sidney can't hold back his smile. He even tips his head down like a schoolboy as though trying to hide his pleasure at being found. "I certainly did." When a shorter, broader body slips into the space next to him on the empty balcony, Sam's shirt brushes Sidney's bare arm beneath his rolled-up sleeves and sparks a circuit of lights that illuminate his veins. "And so did you."

1955, the Bay Area. Sidney Freedman takes a leap of faith. Sam Pak meets him there with open arms.

[charango69]

**Disclaimer:** The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The characters portrayed in this story may have been misrepresented or altered to fit the narrative and should not be taken as an accurate depiction of real individuals. This work is purely for entertainment purposes and does not intend to harm or defame any person or group. Reader discretion is advised.

The Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore was buzzing with anticipation. The night race under the dazzling city lights was always a spectacle, and the drivers were ready to push their limits. One driver, Sergio Perez, had been looking forward to this weekend, but fate had other plans.

**Pit Wall Radio:** "Checo, you've run wide in sector three. How's the car? Can you confirm damage?"

**Sergio Perez:** *breathing heavily* "Yes, I've hit the barriers. Rear left feels off, and I think the gearbox is done. Bringing it back to the pits."

The tension was palpable as Perez maneuvered his car back to the pit lane. The team swarmed around the car, assessing the damage. Team Principal Christian Horner looked on, concern etched across his face.



**Christian Horner:** "What's the status, guys?"

**Lead Mechanic:** "Rear left suspension is damaged, and the gearbox took a significant hit. We're going to need a gearbox change."

Christian Horner nodded, his face set in a grim expression. A gearbox change would trigger a five-place grid penalty, a heavy blow for Perez, especially given his recent form and his strong record at Singapore.

**Christian Horner:** "Alright, let's get to work. We need to have the car ready for qualifying."

The mechanics sprang into action, working with precision and speed. Perez climbed out of the car, pulling off his helmet and running a hand through his hair, visibly frustrated.

**Sergio Perez:** "Damn it, I can't believe this happened now. We were looking so good."

**Christian Horner:** *placing a reassuring hand on Perez's shoulder* "I know, Checo. It's a tough break, but we'll handle it. You've been in great form, and we can still salvage a good result. Focus on qualifying, and we'll take it from

As the mechanics continued their work, Perez took a seat in the garage, watching the activity around his car. He knew that starting five places down from wherever he qualified would make the race an uphill battle, but he had faced adversity before and come out stronger.

**Max Verstappen:** *walking over to Perez* "Tough luck, mate. But if anyone can make up those places, it's you."

**Sergio Perez:** *smiling faintly* "Thanks, Max. Just need to keep my head down and push." **Narrator:**

The hours passed quickly, and soon it was time for qualifying. Sergio Perez sat in his car, helmet on, trying to calm his racing thoughts. He knew that every lap mattered, especially with the impending grid penalty.  The session was grueling. Perez pushed his car to the limit, but the frustration was evident. He managed to qualify in P8, which meant he would start the race from P13 after the penalty. The weight of disappointment hung heavily on his shoulders as he walked back to the team garage.

Sergio Perez:** *muttering to himself* "P13... This is going to be a nightmare. I can't believe it."

As Perez walked through the paddock, he took a detour to clear his mind. In a quiet corner, he noticed a small statue partially hidden behind a stack of tires. It was a peculiar object, resembling a demon with an unsettling grin. Intrigued, he reached out and picked it up.

**Sergio Perez:** *examining the statue* "What on earth is this? Looks ancient.

Just as he turned the statue in his hands, a sudden gust of wind howled through the paddock, sending a shiver down his spine. The wind seemed to whisper his name.

**Ethereal Voice:** "Checo... Checooo..." **

Perez spun around, eyes scanning the dimly lit area. There was no one in sight. His heart pounded as he took a step forward, still clutching the statue. Suddenly, a dense cloud of black smoke swirled before him, coalescing into a towering figure with malevolent eyes and an aura of dark power. Perez's grip on the statue tightened as the figure spoke, its voice deep and resonant.

**Pazuzu:** "I am Pazuzu, Checo. I bring you great power, but you must allow me inside to make you a great champion."



Perez's heart raced, his mind struggling to process what was happening. The figure before him was both terrifying and mesmerizing, its presence commanding his attention.

**Sergio Perez:** *voice trembling* "What do you mean, 'allow you inside'?"

**Pazuzu:** "I can grant you the strength, skill, and fortune needed to dominate the track. But you must accept me into your soul. Only then can you achieve the greatness you seek."

Perez hesitated, the weight of the decision pressing down on him. He had always prided himself on his hard work and determination, but the lure of instant greatness was tempting. The memory of his frustrating qualifying session flashed through his mind, amplifying his desire for redemption.

**Sergio Perez:** *nervously* "And what will happen to me if I accept? What will you do?"

**Pazuzu:** "I will amplify your abilities, sharpen your instincts, and guide your path to victory. But you must trust me completely, Checo. There is always a price for power, but the rewards will far outweigh the costs."

The words echoed in Perez's mind. He could almost feel the power radiating from Pazuzu, promising success and glory. But a part of him remained wary, questioning the true cost of such a bargain.

**Sergio Perez:** *taking a deep breath* "If I accept, will I still be myself? Will I have control?"

**Pazuzu:** *smirking* "You will be more than yourself, Checo. You will be enhanced, a force to be reckoned with. Control will be yours, guided by my wisdom and power."

Perez looked down at the statue in his hand, feeling its cold, ancient surface. The temptation was immense. He had worked tirelessly his entire career, and now, here was an opportunity to elevate himself to an entirely new level.

**Sergio Perez:** *voice firming* "Alright, Pazuzu. I accept. Make me the champion I know I can be."

As soon as the words left his lips, the black smoke surged forward, enveloping him in a swirling vortex. Perez felt an intense heat and energy coursing through his body, like a thousand lightning strikes iigniting every nerve. His vision blurred, and he could hear the deep, resonant laughter of Pazuzu echoing in his mind.

**Pazuzu:** "Welcome to greatness, Checo."

Perez's senses sharpened almost instantly. Colors seemed more vivid, sounds clearer, and he felt a newfound strength in his muscles. It was as if he had been reborn, every fiber of his being enhanced by the dark entity now within him.

**Sergio Perez:** *breathing heavily* "What... what is this power?"

**Pazuzu:** "It is the beginning of your transformation. Use it wisely, and you will achieve the glory you desire."

The chapter ends with the song "Tu y Yo Somos Uno Mismo By Timbiriche" which symbolizes the union between Checo and the evil Pazuzu.

To be continued.....

[formulaonedirection]

hiiii, I am travelling to Singapore for the Grand Prix this year and was wondering if you had any recs of things I should do while I’m there? 🩷

helloooooo omg how fun!! I love the Singapore GP it's really fun and it's such an accessible circuit. Tbh I'm the worst person to ask because a) i love niche boring stuff b) the only things my friends and I do in Singapore is eat and hang out because that IS the national past time but let me see hmmmm

I'll just recommend some stuff that's not like. Gardens by the Bay. Sentosa. Universal Studios. The Zoo. All VERY nice places tbh and highly recommend but these are just some tiny Nadia-based reccs that you might not get from a google-able list I guess?? If you're here for a short time and you're only at the Marina Bay Sands/CBD area that's totally fine but just know that that IS the most expensive area of Singapore.

Well if you're here for a while and you're a history person I'd recommend going to the National Museum and then right down the road from there is Peranakan Museum which is tiny but fun. The National Museum is one of my favourite buildings in Singapore I just think it's so beautiful. And if you REALLY like history and museums I'd super recommend the Asian Civilisations Museum which is criminally underrated imo. If you're staying near the circuit the National Gallery is literally right there you can even pop in in the morning before the race, there's some really good local and southeast asian art in there if that's your thing.

My personal favourite place to have a wander is the Botanic Gardens. If you're a picnic person just grab some bits and bobs from Cluny Court (Plain Vanilla cupcakes are soooo good. And there's another really good bakery on the second floor) and have a nice picnic and stroll in the garden. It's pretty massive so make sure you know what you're getting into. Do NOT go on a weekend. That's crucial.

The whole Kampong Glame/Arab Street/Haji Lane is a vibe 100%. Get some boba from PlayMade, get some teh sarbat from the old man that's been serving tea there forever. There's this really good burger place like right near the mosque it's called Mahmud's Tandoor I'm obsessed with it. DO NOT let the Turkish restaurants hassle you be strong! There's some thrift stores there too but it's mostly like really good food, really nice art. The Malay Cultural Centre is like a really nice space too if you need a break.

If you want local food I'd rather you go to Maxwell's then Lau Pa Sat I actually HATE Lau Pa Sat it's theeee definition of a tourist trap. Newton Food Centre which is where they filmed that scene in Crazy Rich Asians is like fine too if you're looking for local food. If you want LOCAL LOCAL come to Al Azhar at Bukit Timah because I'm literally telling people that the steamboat fish that's there is Michellin star good. That's also a good frog porridge place down the road if you're feeling adventurous.

And my last recc is the Tiong Bahru area which is the area I used to work at. If you want cute little souvenirs or local bits and bobs there's a very cute store called Cat Socrates that I buy everything from. The Plain Vanilla there is also BEAUTIFUL it's my favourite cafe to work at. There's also like beautiful street art all along the whole area so it's just nice to walk around cause it's all just nice shophouses and art. And then there's Tiong Bahru Market which has some of the best local food. Go in the morning for this.

If you want like fancy food recs that aren't local food but are like actually good and not a scam, my personal favs are Miznon on Stanley Street, Ms Maria and Mr Singh, Five Oars Coffee Roasters on Upper East Coast. Oooh if you go to Neptune on East Coast Road you can see the pretty Peranakan buildings.

UHM YEAH! Singapore is really beautiful but VERY warm please bring sunscreen. PLEASEEEE venture outside the circuit area if you have the time because while that area is gorgeous I just think places like Haji Lane, or Tiong Bahru, or Bukit Timah, or East Coast Road are just so much more local. (Any Singaporeans reading this you know what I mean la. Nice Local. I'm not gonna recommend them to go to the coffee shop downstairs your house k)

[viridescent-lance]

TOA Anniversary Munday!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

tagging whoever wants to do this!

Name: Pat Gem! Patrick is the full name but Pat is what I go by most often in this group.

Pronouns: he/they

Birthday (no year): September 15! Same as my beloved kitty Cassie.

Where are you from? What is your time zone?: I'm from California, PST! I was born in the Bay Area, moved to Alabama where I spent ten years as a kid, and moved back to California. That's the truncated version.

Roleplay experience: I started roleplaying on the Warrior Cats Forums in like...2010, I think? I also did private Skype rps with my best friend at the time. This lasted for 3-4 years until both fizzled out around the same time. I have some experience doing group nuzlocke rp on the nuzforums, but that also didn't last as long as I'd like. Other than some ttrpgs, I had a dry spell, and in 2019 I joined a Friends at the Table tumblr RP that would change my life. There I met Maddie and some other friends, and while the rp wasn't super active after I joined it, Maddie and I started doing rp ourselves! Finally, in late 2021, Lucius invited Maddie to TOA and I also got the invite and tagged along.

Got any pets?: Yep! Cassie and Oreo, my beloveds! Both cats, Cassie is the one with a hairdo and she's almost 4, Oreo's a year and a half and a tuxy baby.

Favorite time of year: I love when it is nice and cool but not too cold. Fall is my favorite season, personally, but really I especially enjoy not sweating to death.

Some interests and things you like: I'm a huge Pokemon fan, which I'll elaborate on later. Here though I'll say that I have a huge interest in competitive Pokemon, both singles and the official VGC circuit. I'm a big TTRPG guy! I have a lot of systems and games I like but I'll single out Fall of Magic, Jenna Moran games, the Forged in the Dark system, the Belonging Outside Belonging system, and It's Been A Long Long Time! I have an interest in speedrunning, I watch a lot of videos about it and it's fun. I love Discworld, the Terry Pratchett series. Tales of Vesperia is a game of all time. Yuri Lowell your problems disorders. Ace Attorney helped mold me as a person. Warrior cats will forever live in my heart. Bionicle also helped make me the guy I am today. 999 is a visual novel of all time. Play it and do not look it up. I actually have a huge interest in media analysis, it's something I really really enjoy talking about and researching. Splatoon my beloved. Octopath Traveler 1 and 2! I love birds and bats and lots of animals! Okay I'm running out of steam and also this is very long so I'll just stop here but there's definitely things I am forgetting.

Some funfacts & trivia about you: - I'm a library and women's and gender studies student, and hope to some day work as a librarian! For now, I'm an afterschool program associate, and I love working with the kids. - I have met Nancy Pelosi while wearing a Pokemon button up. - I've survived a tornado that started above my house. - I have finished 34 nuzlockes. - Marth was one of my first smash mains but I didn't get into Fire Emblem for years. - I have the cilantro soap gene but I like the taste of soap. - I'm physically disabled and use a cane irl! - My girlfriend used to have me blocked on Twitter. - I've made it to playoffs every single Pokemon draft league I've been in but never made it past semifinals - I was very isolated as a kid and rarely left the house. As a result, I learned my vocabulary mostly from books, as well as how I talk and emote from books and shows. I've been told I talk and act like a cartoon character, which I suppose is fair!

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play?: I play a bunch of Splatoon, probably one of the main games I play! It's very fun, and I'm a Sploosh/Custom Jr/Tentatek triple threat main who constantly hovers around S. Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 have me grabbed so hard. I am hopelessly a Pokemon guy. I play nuzlockes, casually, and competitively, and I have almost every single Pokemon and its learnset and viable competitive learnsets memorized. I am very normal about it. I also really love the Zero Escape series. I've been playing the warrior cats procgen sim ClanGen recently. I used to play a bunch of No Man's Sky, want to get back into that soon. Honestly I struggle to consistently play and finish games, and I've been trying to work on that.

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Bug; Flygon. Yes, you can combine these two to get the logical conclusion: Flygon should have been a Bug/Dragon type! It's based off the life cycle of a lacewing!!

How did you get into Fire Emblem?: I've got two stories here, one of how I almost got into Fire Emblem and how it got on my radar, and the other being how I finally got into it for real. So, in 9th grade, I had a crush on a boy who played Awakening at lunch every day. I'd talk with him and he actually offered to buy me Awakening, but I, one of the only poor kids in a rich school, was flabbergasted he would spent 40 dollars on me and felt guilty and was like are you sure? And he was like well okay if you don't want me to. I kind of wish I'd taken him up on the offer because he sucked as a person and his family was super rich but oh well. I then played the hell out of the demo. Flash forward to 2019. I'm scrolling twitter and see a friend of mine is streaming Fire Emblem Three Houses. I've seen it before, and it seems pretty fun. A lot of my friends like Fire Emblem. I watch the stream and fall in love with the characters and style of the game, and I impulse buy Three Houses. I then tell Maddie and sell them on Three Houses. Thus, it begun...

What Fire Emblem games have you played?: This is a fun and complicated question for me to answer because if you count me backseating Maddie, it's some of fe4, most of fe7, fe8, fe9, fe10, over half of fe13, some fe14, fe15, and fe16. If it's just me, that shrinks down to some fe7 and fe8, some fe9, over half of fe13, some fe15, and some fe16. I was an active participant in watching the games so it feels like a smidgen of playing them but not quite?

First Fire Emblem game: Either the Awakening demo or Three Houses.

Favorite Fire Emblem game: Shadows of Valentia, Sacred Stones, and the Tellius duology. Hard to specify a single favorite, especially depending on what we are defining favorite as.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 : Where do I begin. I mean Lukas is like, perhaps one of my strongest ones. Though I'm also smitten with Forsyth and attracted to Python despite him being terrible boyfriend material. Recently I have been making eyes at Legault in Blazing Blade, and also playing Fates for the first time had me really surprised at how much Setsuna charmed me. Uhhh lemme think also. Christ Kent your problems disorders bewitch me. Claude you are my everything I will do anything for you. Shamir also if we are talking 3h, what a gal. Ranulf my beloved, he's got things together and he's playful and teasing and just has a great personality. Also Titania...pretty and strong and cool and just a fantastic character who I would not object to kissing on the mouth. I think i might stop here because if I keep going I am going to just take you on a tour of my numerous Fire Emblem crush tastes.

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Panne; I'd also S support Libra or Say'ri. I need to mention that my first awakening playthrough was in 2020 though so if I'd gotten it in 2013 like I almost did I'd probably have gotten married to like...Libra if I waited that long, Chrom if I messed up and got automarried, or like. Stahl or something bc he's really nice and a knight. - Fates: I have not S supported anyone in Fates yet but Setsuna and Silas I am Looking. - Three Houses: I actually never have S supported anyone in Three Houses, as I never actually finished my personal playthrough! However, my big choices are Shamir and Claude, though w the latter I just pretend that's me bc I don't do teacher/student. - Engage: Not enough experience to say who I might S support. Will get back to you.

Favorite Fire Emblem class: Do laguz/taguel/manakete count. I'm also weak for archers I shan't lie.

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class?: Oh I know I'd be one of those frail little mages who has explosive firepower and waning physical ability. Honestly being that but on a wyvern would be fun. My good friend my mobility wyvern.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation?: Golden Deer 4ever baybee not even close.

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with?: I'll get back to this, I'm not sure if I have the info I need to make an informed choice. My first thought is that I would love to have Ike chilling with me though, Ike my good friend Ike.

How did you find TOA?: Lucius invited Maddie, and Maddie invited me! I was roleplaying Forsyth with Maddie's Python 1on1 at the time and the idea of a group RP was very appealing to me, despite me being swamped with work and school and health issues at the time. I'm so glad I made the leap!

Current TOA muses: Forsyth and Leanne!

Who was your first TOA muse? If you don’t have them anymore, could you see yourself picking them up again?: Forsyth! I don't see myself dropping him unless his narrative here is done, really.

Have you had any other TOA muses?: Oh Ranulf...I had a very fun time with him, but I just was not in the state to handle three muses and having two muses has been much more manageable, so he's probably not coming back for a while.

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards?: I tend to write very earnest characters, especially in a group RP setting. I've pushed my comfort zone before, but characters who express themselves very openly and intensely are my bread and butter. Characters who wear their hearts on their sleeves, for better or worse.

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most?: Hard to say, but honestly I really enjoy writing relationships, and the ways in which they shift and change over time. I really like character-focused writing the most, emotions and thoughts and such, and exploring the connections between characters! This feels like a silly answer, but it's what I'm feeling!

Favorite TOA-related memory: Oh man this is a hard one. Hard to choose so I'll just pick one that came to mind which is Leanne and Vaida's bizarre adventure in Queen's Compass. What a good event that was, blows a kiss to the sky for Zyra. I'm also a huge fan of everything involving Forsyth's Jugdral meddling and the narrative impact of his deaths in KKE. There are so many funny little experiences and memories that stick with me forever, really.

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔: Tee-oh-ay! Pronouncing it as a word is the same as Toa from Bionicle and to keep them distinct in my mind I sound it out.

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day that you’d like to share? 😉: The world if I could handle three muses...Legault scratching at my door. Ranulf also scratching at my door. Blows a kiss to the guys I would enjoy playing but don't have the time and energy for.

[duck7]

Greater Bay Area GT4 Cup 2023 Guia Circuit 🇲🇴

Greater Bay Area GT3 Cup 2023 Guia Circuit 🇲🇴

[annonniiiiieeeee]

can we hear a little more about usagi or maybe casey’s games?

Hers what I’m thinking so far but these can all change. It’s very fluid.

Usagi (70th games)

He’s 14 when he’s reaped. (I’m still picking his district)

I haven’t decided if he is a career or from the cattle district but either way he’s Camille’s with knives and swords.

Katsuichi coach’s him to be very demure. He plays into the fact that he’s a bunny (I’ve always found it funny that he is the only prey animal in his group. Katsuichi, Kitsune, Tomoe Ame, and Chizu are all predators in some form, and Gen is a rhino) during training and the interviews he looks like prey. He’s aloof in his interview and it gives this air of confidence. But he’s talking like all he’s going to do is run.

He in facets did not run. He takes that cornucopia by storm. No one knew how fast he was. Or how brutally efficient he was with a katana or wakizashi.

It’s one of the few years their is no career pack.

Usagi is still a samurai. He will fight to the death head on. But only if he’s challenged. Usagi is not actively hunting anyone. Once he claims the cornucopia he plans to put last everyone.

The gamemakers aren’t happy that he isn’t hunting the other kids. The force a few to run into him and force a confrontation.

They also spawn mutts. I think giant bay like creatures (to harken back to the bay ninjas in the comics) they swoop down on you and rip you apart. The spawn one right about Usagi and are shocked when he dispatches it.

His other tributes aren’t so luckily.

Casey (73rd games)

Casey is 13 when he is reaped

He is Cassandra’s son/little brother. She is also a victor and she had always worried about Casey being reaped so she tried to train him in advanced the best she could.

Casey is small. He’s thirteen and growing into himself. She strong but he can’t go toe to toe with an eighteen year old. Let alone a pack of them.

During training he shows off some skill with a spear. People know he’s related to Cassandra. He’s expected to have some skill. Cassandra’s weapon of choice was a spear. He wants to show that he has some skill so he’s not seen as an easy target, but he’s not showing how skilled he actually is.

Where Casey’s skill is the best is in trap building. He’s from district 3 the technology district. He’s smart and he knows how an electrical circuit runs.

When the game starts Casey runs for the woods but he doesn’t go far. He hides up in a tree not to far from the cornucopia and waits.

He waits out the blood bath and he waits till the careers go hunting. Then he’s working. He slinks back towards the cornucopia as it’s getting dark. They have left someone on guard but they aren’t paying to much attention. It’s been a long and stressful day and no one’s stupid enough to come back here this early.

He slides his way to the cornucopia and gets to work. He has to work fast and silently but he sets a trap in the cornucopia. He knows their is worrying some where and he’s able to use the electricity in the cornucopia (has to project that clock some how) to charge all the remaining weapons in the cornucopia.

He slips out just in time. Making it back to the woods. He doesn’t have to wait long before he hears a cannon. He knows he fried one of the careers.

The careers are panicking. Why did that tribute die when reaching for a weapon? Are the game makers killing them out right?

It forces them to leave the cornucopia. Something they wouldn’t normally do and take off for a different area. They think the game makers rigged the area. They leave quickly taking all they can carry but they also leave in a panic. They don’t pack they way they should.

Casey know has the whole cornucopia to himself. He has to be carful but he knows how to turn off his trap. The careers took off in a hurry leaving a lot of food. He had weapons, food, and water. Now he waits.

Most of the careers get taken out by the elements. They didn’t practice the survival skills. Careers always do poorly anytime they loss the cornucopia. Any other kid that tries making there way back to the cornucopia has a nasty surprise waiting for them.

There is one terrifying moment when Casey gets caught by someone. They tackle him down and almost kill him. Casey is able to get the kid off of him but it’s a close call and it’s the only up close bed personal kill Casey does for the whole game. He mostly outsmarts his competitors with different traps he sets up.

It is very different from the violent and bloody way Cassandra won. It’s probably why it worked. People were ready for a blood thirst child and got a mastermind instead.

[beardedmrbean]

Change may be in the offing in a city that's infamous for its homeless street camping and poop map.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Wednesday accused the homeless coalition of holding the city "hostage for decades." 

London made those comments while joining a crowd of more than 200 people who had gathered outside the federal courthouse to urge the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to cancel a federal judge’s order banning the city from clearing tent encampments until there are more shelter beds than homeless individuals.

"The homeless coalition has held San Francisco hostage for decades. It is time for their reign to end," Breed said, noting that the city has spent billions of dollars to help homeless people. 

People who want more tents cleared chanted "save our streets" while a smaller crowd of those supporting the injunction rallied on the sidewalk beside them, chanting "stop the sweeps." 

The downtown courthouse is near a Whole Foods Market store that closed in April, citing worker safety amid deteriorating street conditions. 

By San Francisco’s own estimates, there are more than 3,300 people sleeping in the city’s homeless shelters, with around 4,400 sleeping on the city’s streets on a given night. 

The order banning the city from clearing homeless encampments until there are more shelter beds available has drawn furious responses from city leaders. But attorneys for homeless residents who sued the city argued before the panel that the district court judge was correct and they intend to ask the same judge at a hearing Thursday to enforce the injunction.

"There are 3,000 shelter beds in the city for 7,000 or more unhoused people who are sleeping outside every night because they have no choice in the matter," said Zal Shroff, interim legal director at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, at Wednesday's rally.

It is unclear when the panel of Judges Patrick J. Bumatay, Roopali Desai and Lucy Koh will issue a decision. They sought clarifications from the other side on which enforcement actions were acceptable.

San Francisco officials say their encampment operations allow outreach workers to connect homeless people to services while cleaning areas soiled with trash, used needles, and spoiled food. Breed and others also say it's inhumane to allow unhygienic encampments to fester, scaring away customers and blocking sidewalks for people who use wheelchairs.

Advocates for homeless people say the encampment operations merely serve to harass homeless people as there are few services and appropriate shelter beds available. They say it's cruel and counterproductive to criminalize people for not having a place to live with affordable housing so scarce.

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2023 Day 6- Android/Robot/Cyborg- Part 1

How many star trek references can I squeeze into this? Because I was practically raised on Star Trek Next Generation with Jean-Luc Picard. And I tried REALLY hard not to make this a Data fanfic. I really did. But I just...it could not be helped. Because as I was writing this all I heard was Brent Spiner's voice as Data whenever Oliver's dialog came up. But I obviously had way too much fun with this anyway. Part 1 is SFW, part 2 will be NSFW, just, heads up.

As always thanks to @borealwrites for their Monster March 2023 prompt list. And of course thanks to @catbatart for their's too in years past. Enjoy.

Monster March Day 6- Robot/Android/Cyborg

Aftermarket Attachments

Part 1

Recalibration 

Oliver walked purposefully towards what he assumed was a crewman for the Skylight. The ship that was docked just outside matched the description he had looked up and it was docked at the correct docking station in the skyport. He needed to get another job on another ship and to see this pop up only minutes ago, he jumped at the chance to apply because if he had to weather one more prank- short circuiting his own circuitry he was going to power down for good. And he wasn’t surprised when he and about a thousand others applied for the 4 open positions. But he hoped that himself being an android would not be met with a bias. Thinking that he was something to be exploited and abused. But judging from the comments based on the sellers and from former crew members, he would be lucky to get a spot on this ship. 

“Hello, I’m Oliver, I’d like to apply to the cargo hold assistant.” He said as he handed in his resume on a standard data pad to the person who seemed to be in charge from the way they were directing what should go where into the cargo hold while also dealing with the various “customers” who came to accept their shipments while others were coming to send shipments as well, all of them in various areas of the loading bay with their cargo, leaving just her to coordinate from where she was. 

“Well hello Oliver, I’m Captain Leah of the Skylight, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled as she shook his hand and then took his offered data pad from him as Oliver didn’t think he had ever met a captain who wasn’t sitting down and barking orders. But here Leah was, sitting on a crate with a bottled drink on one side and her various other gadgets around her while her prehensile tail guarded the point of sale terminal and currency box. It's venomous spikes warding off anyone thinking of taking off with it. Captain Leah was a trigaxian! Or at least a trigaxian hybrid because she looked like a humanoid and trigaxian hybrid. He had only ever seen trigaxians as very fierce and brutal warriors. Who were the best hunters in the universe. But to see a female, especially a hybrid and one that was a captain and so…nice and sweet and even pleasant was quite the surprise. 

All while others seemed to work to get stuff off and get new cargo on as she took care of payments and pick ups and drop offs. And even Oliver could see other robots and androids, granted not as new as him, but they looked like they had been well cared for and maintained and were treated with courtesy. 

“So, Oliver, what’s your lift…oh I see you already put all of your specs and upgrades on your resume. That’s very convenient and helpful, thank you.” Leah thanked him as she took it from him and read it over. 

“So, Oliver. I see that you actually have a self-sustaining circuitry so you won’t need to charge?” Leah asked as she read it over. 

“Well I do require the occasional recalibration and updates to my software, otherwise, yes, I’m pretty self sufficient as far as energy supply goes.” Oliver answered. 

“Awesome. That will work out. And so what were you looking for in terms of payment?” Leah asked. 

“Credits for further upgrades and updates and operating systems and data bank storage.” Oliver answered. 

“And how many credits a week would you be needing to earn?” Leah asked. 

“Fifteen hundred.” Oliver answered, half expecting her to balk at such a number. But he was willing to accept half of that, just to get off his current vessel. But that was the standard rate, according to what he had looked up. 

“I can definitely do that. What will you need as far as personal quarters?” Leah asked. 

“Oh, a standard crew cabin will be perfectly adequate.” He answered. 

“Ok. Well, will you submit for a scan and inspection?” She asked hopefully. 

“Yes.” Oliver readily agreed. 

“And why are you leaving your last post?” Leah asked. 

“Exploitation and abuse in the form of hazing and pranks.” He answered. 

“Oh- on the Briggadeen, yikes. I can’t imagine. That captain and his crew are particularly rough. I’m so sorry. Well, hopefully here, you’ll fare better because there is a zero tolerance policy for that sort of thing on this ship.” Leah offered. 

“Well let's get you inspected, make sure you’re not carrying any secret malware or anything ok?” Leah offered. 

“Izzy, you’re in charge, I have to do an inspection of a potential new hire.” Leah said to another who nodded in understanding before she took over the other data pad from her before Leah let go of the terminal as well as the currency box before she slid from the crate and up to her full 7 foot height as Oliver realized just how statuesque she was. Like all those alien goddesses his old crew had claimed could be among the stars, and if he had been mortal, he was sure his heart would have been beating just as his fast as his circuitry currently was firing off at. 

“Follow me please.” Leah invited before Oliver followed her into the ship as she wound gracefully through the halls to engineering. 

“Miss Tabickti. I have a potential new hire, I need a diagnostic please.” Leah requested as her head looked up at the ceiling to a darker corner before a being slinked down from the ceiling, as Oliver hadn’t noticed was more or less a nest up there. It was quavorikian! They were masters at engineering and technology. But very secretive and elusive. 

“Hmm, O-Lite-775 model. In datastream aquamarine.” Tabi noted as she roamed all around him before two tiny little forehands emerged to inspect his form better looking at the wear and tear of this outer covering. 

“His name is Oliver and he’s on the Briggadeen right now. Please tell me we can find a way to get him off of that.” Leah offered. 

“Oh by the Six. You poor thing. Is that why you have all your hatches all practically glued shut?” Tabi asked. 

“Yes.” Oliver confirmed. 

“Well, in order to do a full inspection, I’m going to have to dissolve the glue.” Tabi informed him. 

“I’ll buy new locking hatches if the usual locking mechanisms are gummed up by the glue.” Leah offered which got Tabi to smile. 

“Oh, you shouldn’t need to…” Oliver began to argue with Leah. 

“Oliver. You just survived the last 16 months on one of the worst ships under one of the worst captains I know of. Let me guess, they thought short circuiting you would be funny?” Leah asked. 

“Yes.” Oliver confirmed sheepishly. 

“Well you have already had to pay a very high price to your physical person for that. On this ship, all forms of life, whether organic or artificial are seen as equals. Think of this as healthcare. And you are entitled to good healthcare.” Leah insisted and if Oliver could cry, he would be right about now. 

“Thank you.” He offered as Leah put his data pad down and pulled up another and began ordering new parts, and even new after market upgrades for him as she scanned his chip and automatically sent a “payment” to the captain of the Briggadeen for the safe and intact delivery of all of Oliver’s things. Because if that bastard respected one thing- it was money. And she added that she would be sending envoys to make sure that Oliver could collect his things in peace and without issue with an extra bribe before he readily and gladly sent over all of Oliver’s licenses before Leah blew out a breath of relief and hoped there wouldn’t be any further issue with Oliver’s transition. 

“Come in here please, disrobe for further inspection please.” Tabi invited before he went into a large cylinder that closed on him and was frosted over to preserve any “modesty” he may have which he gladly did before a series of gasses and various soaps were applied and a sponge was offered and Oliver tried not to moan to use it all over and practically went through a few gallons worth of special soaps and he nearly moaned in relief to feel so divinely clean again as he got to clean areas of himself he hadn’t been able to clean before. Then once that was done, Leah handed him a fresh and clean hospital gown to put on before they went any further. 

“Thank you.” He thanked her gratefully as he put it on.  

“You’re welcome. Feel better?” Leah asked. 

“Much.” Oliver answered. 

“Good, can you get on this table please Oliver?” Leah asked as she gestured to a special bed specifically made to cater to various robots, androids and cyborgs. 

“Now lets get this gunky glue off.” Tabi offered as she used special little q-tips and a special solution to dissolve the now hardened glue while Leah pulled up a special stool as did Tabi so they could go through him from head to toe thoroughly. 

Tabi and Leah must have spent the better part of an hour dissolving the glue and piece by piece, and hatch by hatch- to do what they could to both clean and fix as they went. And while usually, such a thing would make Oliver worry, he actually felt perfectly safe lying here and letting himself be so vulnerable. Because as far as first impressions went, he, despite being an android, had a sense that he was safe to do so with these two- obviously caring beings. 

Once they finally got everything squared away, that’s when Tabi hooked him up to various interfaces. 

“Oh my goodness they fragmented your hard drive! The whole thing! Those bastards. Why I oughta cram a lazer gun up their digestive holes and fire away and see how they like it.” Tabi growled dangerously. 

“We can defragment it and make sure that there’s no malware or ransomware.” Leah calmly instructed Tabi while she reassured Oliver with a soft pat on his shoulder.  

“Knowing the Briggadeen? I’ll bet you there’s at least two dozen of each.” Tabi snipped. 

“Poor Oliver, you probably couldn’t get a second of peace or rest because when they weren’t working you into bits, they were probably tormenting you. Thinking you were just some big toy to play with.” Leah consoled Oliver. 

“Yes.” Oliver confirmed. 

“Well you’re with us and on the Skylight now. So never again ok?” Leah offered. 

“You mean I’m hired?” Oliver asked. 

“Oh yeah. I couldn’t live with myself if I turned you back over to those brutes.” Leah reassured him. 

“Thank you Captain.” Oliver offered. 

“You’re welcome Ensign.” Leah grinned comfortingly before Tabi got all of the processes cued up to work simultaneously. 

“Ok, now, this will take a while to do, you could power down into sleep mode if you wanted to. Or do you want to stay awake?” Leah asked as Oliver hesitated to answer. 

“I promise, you’re safe here, no one will mess with you or do you any harm here.” Leah offered. 

“And her word is as good as latinum.” Tabi offered. 

“Thank you. So much. Yes, I will power down to sleep.” Oliver said before he allowed himself to fall asleep for the first time in over a year. 

Leah and Tabi then called in two more crew members to help them with Oliver’s rework and full inspection as they were gratefully able to use the hospital gown to get at everything before they noticed that his free will and free choice settings had been tampered with to make him more docile and compliant as those were the first settings to go back to factory reset and recalibration. So that he could comply or refuse as he pleased. 

Then- his new parts started to arrive in bundles as Thrunk practically did nothing but deliveries from the cargo bay to engineering as they went ahead and replaced all the worn out pieces of covering and not only defragmented his hard drive and databanks and cleared him of any malware and ransomware so that he was no longer harmful to himself or to others. 

Then they added more memory and more data banks and increased his data streaming ability and gave him every upgrade they could think of so that he’d feel like a whole new android when he would wake up. They added extra security features and heavy duty everything when they saw how even the shafts making up his limbs had hairline fractures from overuse and attempts to move more than he was originally designed to do and carry. But with the upgrades, now he was probably the strongest he could ever be, the safest he could ever be and able to be more than he might have felt he could be before. 

“Those sick bastards.” Leah nearly hurled as she cleaned out the dried out cum in the one hole those sick fucks could get to- where his genitalia, which was it’s own extra attachment- could be attached as she wondered what they must have done to it for him to not even have it attached anymore. 

“Give that to me, I’m gonna go file a report as if this was a rape case.” Sisti demanded before Leah gladly handed it over in some gauze she had been using to deep clean him. 

“Please do, I’ll sign off on it.” Leah offered. 

“Well, I’m sorry girls, I was trying to save for us to get a bonus, but Oliver…” Leah began to apologize. 

“Don’t you dare apologize. You pay us plenty. I’m just happy we could practically rescue him.” Tabickti insisted. 

“Agreed. And based on his past experiences, I think he’ll be happy to make it up to you ten or even a hundred fold. Cause we’ve needed something just like him for a while.” Sisti offered. 

“And like you said, this is his healthcare. You always remind us to practice self care. He hasn’t been able to practice it in a long time. So he’s overdue and he’s owed this. You always want us to start with our best feet forward. The least we can do is help him do the same.” Tabi urged her captain and friend. 

“Well, he’s going to need an escort to get the rest of his things.” Leah offered before all three other crew members immediately volunteered to do so. 

“Thank you.” Leah thanked them all and paused to give them all side hugs before they continued to get back to work on Oliver. 

“So which cabin are you gonna put him in?” Tabi asked. 

“I’ll let him pick his own cabin. There’s four to choose from still, and I want to make sure he fully integrates before I hire any others.” Leah offered. 

“Good call.” Sisti nodded in agreement. 

“Ok, and we’re done.” Tabi announced as the last of the processes ran and everything was installed, including all the current updates for all of his operating systems. 

“Ok, let's back up, give him some breathing room.” Leah urged before the others stepped back and she came over and tapped on his forehead three times in the center of his forehead to wake him up. 

Oliver’s eyes opened and he frowned when he did systems check to find…peace. Just…perfect calm, order, function and no alarms or warnings about anything. 

“Hello Ensign Oliver. How was your nap?” Leah asked. 

“Very well, what…what happened?” He asked as he continued to adjust to the changes.  

“Tabi will tell you all of that, why don’t you sit up. I have more crew members to introduce you to.” Leah said as she offered him her hand to help him sit up before her other hand gently went to his back to help him sit up as if he was any other organic life form. 

“So this is my Subcammander Sistictch…” Leah began as she introduced everyone else in there before directing his focus to Tabi who gave him a jist of what she had done before she and Leah walked him through what they had done to his form and his systems. 

“How much…how long..” Oliver couldn’t decide what to ask. 

“You don’t owe me anything and I will not contract you out to work for free. This is just normal and routine maintenance. And something I was happy to do. However, you did lowball yourself when we talked last. So insist on paying you 2500 credits a week. Because that’s the base pay here. I just hope you’ll forgive us if we took too many liberties with your coverings or your other systems or form.” Leah reassured him. 

“No such forgiveness is warranted, I am instead very grateful for…everything, all of it.” Oliver offered as he wanted to install tear ducts just so that he could emote from crying to show the organic life forms just how much this meant to him. But the looks Leah and the others gave him told him that they understood and sympathized and empathized with him. 

“You’re welcome. And just so you know, you could walk off the ship right now. And go to work at any other ship with any other crew right now if you wanted to. Even if you just wanted to try out for a few days or a week or however long you want it to be. I’m just sorry you weren’t properly cared for or maintained in the past. But I want you to know, that if you wish to stay. Expect the same level of care that you received today to be maintained ok?” Leah offered. 

“Understood Captain.” Oliver nodded, and if he could cry, he would be practically sobbing in gratitude right now.

“So, when can I start working?” Oliver asked. 

“As soon as you want. But these two will escort you back to the Brigadeen to collect any personal affects or anything that you may have left behind on that ship. And then once you are done with that, then you can pick out your cabin, there’s four to choose from. And then once you get settled, we’ll work out when and where your shifts on the ship will be ok?” Leah offered. 

“Yes Captain.” Oliver nodded. 

“Ok, first, get dressed in these. And then go, ok?” Leah offred as she handed him a set of the uniform, freshly cleaned and laundered to fit his already tall and broad 6 foot frame. 

“Yes, Captain.” Oliver nodded happily and stood up and took off his hospital gown before all four crewman immediately turned away from him. 

“Why do you turn around?” Oliver asked. 

“To preserve your modesty Oliver.” Leah answered. 

“Oh.” Oliver blinked and simply shrugged but had to stop and marvel at his new coverings. He looked better than he did when he first came out of his box! 

“You replaced my coverings!” Oliver cheered happily. 

“We did. You wore through the last set of limbs, especially the feet and palms of your hands and fingertips. I hope you don’t mind.” Tabi offered. 

“No, I’m eternally grateful for this. I look and…I feel…better than brand new!” Oliver marveled at himself. 

“And we noticed that parts of your anatomy were missing and not installed so we ordered replacements and they will be here tomorrow.” Leah supplied. 

“Oh, no need, Captain. The part of my anatomy that is not attached, is still in its case in my box.” Oliver supplied. 

“Well, it’s always a good idea to have a back up and spare anyway.” Tabi offered as she was already climbing back up into her nest in the corner.

“That is wise.” Oliver nodded. 

“I have finished dressing Captain, you may all turn around now if you wish.” Oliver invited before the three remaining crewman turned to face him again. 

“Now you look like the perfect ensign. When you come back we can get you synced with the ship and the rest of us, because we all have some cybernetics to a degree ok?” Leah praised.  

“Understood Captain.” He nodded. 

“Make an impression.” Leah urged the other two larger crewman, who were already gearing up and armoring up and if Oliver thought Leah was impressive, these were pretty close to being the alien warrior goddesses his last crew used to praise about conquering in their own way too. 

“Yes Ma’am.” They beamed happily. 

“And lets get you fitted out too.” Sisti urged as she put a utility tool belt around his waist and equipped him accordingly and then got him to put on some socks and shoes and other accessories before putting on a communicator as well before the three of them linked their own cybernetics up to him. 

“Ok, lets go.” Sisti insisted before the three of them walked together out of there before they escorted him to the Brigadeen to get the rest of his personal belongings while Leah went back to getting their other usual cargo sorted. 

They came back, not even a half hour later with a single box the size of a coffin, which Leah and the others recognized was probably his own box he was originally shipped out in, modified to be his “home box”. 

“Which quarters will be mine, Captain?” Oliver asked Leah. 

“Any of them that you want. I’m in the captain's quarters. There’s four other crew quarters open. Pick any one that you want.” Leah offered before she went back to reorganizing things in her cargo hold from getting supplies in all day. 

Oliver looked over the available crew cabins with Sesti and chose the one right across from the captain’s own quarters. 

It was clean, bare, with minimal furnishings, but still- remarkably clean. Oliver was relieved and grateful when the port to link with the ship was clean and undamaged. He was also delighted when the cabin was more than enough space to neatly store all the things he had accumulated over the years. And the ship’s databanks were filled with all sorts of interesting information. And music! So much music! Everything, for being a bit dated, was gorgeously and practically meticulously curated. He had really lucked out. Syncing with the ship was practically instantaneous, and from there, syncing with the other crew members and once he claimed his quarters, they seemed to change themselves slightly to be more suitable to an android and the shower was soon fitted out with new items to clean his exterior best and would not cause harm to his otherwise mechanical and digital nature. 

And the ship herself was something of a marvel. And seemed to have a personality and a consciousness of her own, a little quirky here and there, as many ships often did. But he mused he and the ship’s crew and Leah would get along very well as for the first time since his own unboxing, he actually felt he belonged where he was. 

He went back to the cargo hold and was happy to assist Captain Leah and the other crew members in moving the larger and heavier cargo where they wanted. Leah and her crew were so nice too. So polite, always saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and the tone of Leah’s voice was both authoritative but not harsh or domineering in the least. If anything, she was one of those authority figures who did the work right alongside others as a way of leading by example. Which Oliver profoundly respected and even admired. 

And while there were only a handful of other crew members. Everyone seemed to be getting along nicely, often joking and laughing while they worked and everyone else was happy to meet him and pleasant. How he had managed to luck out on this ship with this crew was practically a miracle. He appreciated that they all had cybernetics and thus, were in a way all connected to each other and to a degree, himself. So that everyone was, to a degree, a bit cyborg themselves. So him being an android was not an issue at all. They had many robots, and other artificial life forms. If anything, his upgrades and improvements were immediately recognized, praised and encouraged. He even got sent a series of catalogs that many of them used. And to a degree, Oliver almost felt like this was too good to be true. Because usually, the more crew members on a ship, the more potential for conflict. But, surprisingly, not here. And before he knew it, they were done, the cargo hold was full and secured and all payments were given in.  

“Ok, that’s it. We’re gonna spend the next couple of days in port and get more runs scheduled and then we’ll leave ok?” Leah announced as she immediately used the downpayment to pay them all right there and then. As Oliver was shocked to see he now had 2500 credits in additional to another 10,000 as a “sign on bonus” with no other small print infested with virus’ to read. He however was both the cargo hold assistant, but also simply assigned as a new crew member. He had no idea what he would ever want to spend that kind of credits on or where he would even go as many of the crew members were already eager to go into port to spend their hard earned credits on what they wanted or needed. 

Which just left Oliver to simply sit in his quarters and simply stare, rather blankly yet in shock that he was officially “off the clock” and wouldn’t have to check in for a shift until two whole days from now as he just replayed the events over in his memory, appreciating every detail of each interaction. 

‘Wait 14 days.’ The ship offered before Oliver remembered that he was synced to the ship and apparently the ship herself, had a consciousness that was capable of interacting with. 

“What?” Oliver asked. 

‘All of the organic life forms on this ship- are female. Despite their different species, they have all synchronized their reproductive cycles. This is the week where everyone gets along. In 12 days, the first will begin her reproductive cycles and then the others will follow. Many skirmishes and conflicts will happen. Do not be distressed. It will last 5-9 days. And then things will return to what they are now.’ The ship explained. 

“Oh.” Oliver nodded in understanding before there was a small beep that noted that he had a caller. 

“Enter.” Oliver said before the doors opened to reveal Leah there, still a stack of datapads in her arm before she gave him his original data pad back before she gave him an another one that was more or less for him to keep track of his shifts and training and even to send communications to whoever he wanted.

“So? How are you settling in?” Leah asked. 

“Very well. The room is quite clean and spacious.” Oliver praised. 

“Good. We like to keep a pretty clean and tight ship here. So, have you gone around and met the rest of the crew?” She asked. 

“I believe so.” Oliver nodded. 

“So real quick, I want to give you- a heads up.” Leah began. 

“Oh the ship already told me that all of the organic crew members are female and that they’ll all be going into a reproductive cycle in two weeks.” He supplied as Leah’s cheeks blushed but she couldn’t stop from giving the speakers in the ceiling a meaningful look. 

“Well, yes. Oliver, I wanted to warn you, that should you install your male genitalia for your form- you may be offered to partake in mating rituals with the other crew members. I wanted to let you know, that that is your choice, and that that is completely up to you. Do not feel that just because you’re the newest addition to the crew, in order to be well received among the crew that you have to partake in any of that. Because we’ve had other androids before feel compelled to comply. And I did not want you to feel that you should be compelled to do anything in your personal and private time when you are not working your shift, that you do not fully willingly and happily want to do. Ok? I like to think I run a pretty relaxed atmosphere, even while working. We transport cargo. We’re not on any life saving missions here or that we are transporting organs for organ transplants or stuff like that. But I do expect every crew member to do their part to help the ship run smoothly.” Leah gently warned him. 

“Oh. Is that why I’m one of the few male presenting crew members?” He asked. 

“Well it’s not that there is a bias against other organic life form crew members who chose to present as male or are simply born that way. Most of the organic male crew members never seem to last too long, Most don’t even last a full solar year.” Leah regretfully informed him. 

“Why?” Oliver asked with a tilt of his head. 

“Because, so far, most become overwhelmed by the various hormones and pheromones in the air and it can be very hard for them to function without kicking themselves into full mating mode and can’t or sometimes won’t break out of it. I have invested in every air filtration system possible and I do everything I can to keep the ship and especially the air as clean as I can. But there is only so much I can do to ensure the safety and security of my crew first and foremost and then of course my cargo. Which is why we have the extra open cabins, because I tried to hire more males who were very qualified and very driven. But the moment the ship left dock, it didn’t even take an hour before copulation between team members started and it didn’t end even after we docked again and it ended up causing a lot of complications and even damage to the ship.” Leah explained with an apologetic look. 

“Oh. I see. So you were hoping that because I’m an artificial and inorganic life form that I will not have the same pattern of behavior?” Oliver realized. 

“To a degree yes, but I wanted to make sure that you understood that you had that freedom to either engage or refrain at your preference and discretion, but that such activities while on shift are not acceptable behavior in general.” Leah confirmed. 

“Understood Captain.” Oliver answered. 

“If you have any other questions or concerns or requests, please don’t hesitate to ask ok? I may be the captain but I try my best to be reasonable and accommodating.” She invited before she left his quarters, leaving Oliver to simply stand there as his own artificial mind mulled and replayed that interaction back to make sure he understood the entire conversation. 

And once he had fully processed that, he decided to actually take out that particular attachment. It was still in its box, because he had never thought about attaching it before and then once he knew he could, he did not wish to for fear of what the others on his previous crews would have done to it. 

But he didn’t get it out of the box. Simply to make sure it was there. But, he didn’t bother to attach it to make sure it worked. Because he had no reason to think it wouldn’t. 

The next day, it seemed Leah did nothing but hold other interviews before she finally picked three more crewman, filing through a near limitless supply of candidates and to his relief and delight, they were also kind and courteous to him. 

And when they all regathered to leave, he was happy to be used on the bridge, as he received training in all of the stations during his shift, which, for himself being an android was much easier for him to master as he quickly got certified and cleared. In fact over the next week, he had a shift in every area of the ship. From the med-bay to engineering to weapons to even cleaning and sanitation. He got to work with everyone on everything and once he was cleared and had worked and to a degree- inspected every inch of the ship he could, did he receive command codes so that, in the case of any other being incapacitated, he could step in and take over and take command of the ship and- follow the protocols or choose to ignore them if it meant saving the lives of his fellow crewmates. As even the captain, always chose the safety and wellbeing of her crew over the cargo. And he was happy when the ship carried special insurance both for the ship, the crew and himself. As such an insurance policy was used to bring him back to full working and functional order and then some. And much of Captain Leah’s overhead was used up in such insurances and “healthcare” of her crew, no matter who or what they were. Which he, again, was so grateful and relieved to have. 

[toxics-sims-adventures]

I made a tier list for what I think are the best worlds to reasonably start a horse ranch. The criteria took forever to test, so I limited myself to a central lot in each neighborhood of each world (to test if the horse will go to the farthest, out of the way lot on it's own or not) and only tested the "Go for an energetic Ride" interaction instead of clicking the ground everywhere to "Trot Here". I'm also cheating my horse's and sim's needs to full because tired horses will cancel the interaction faster. The criteria judged: Automatic pathing from going on an energetic ride, the world's theme and my capability to suspend my disbelief that someone would start a horse ranch in a suburb, and any glitches from my horse phasing through decor and lots during the "Go for a Ride" interaction. I spent three days on this for some reason. This is a cry for help.

Best in Show - Good pathing and thematically on point when it comes to horse ranching, even if it's not western themed. Henford-On-Bagley: Cottage style ranch is a yes. Finchwick's village isn't very big and the houses are blocked by stairs but I didn't expect the village center to be a good location for a horse ranch anyway. Old New Henford and the Bramblewood have a lot of dirt trails and the horse will go down many of them, even to some of the set dressing sheds. The Isle of Volpe Park is landlocked though, despite having numerous footpath bridges that lead away from the park. Moonwood Mills: (Forest, dirt paths, lots of room to run? Sounds perfect but now I have to test it.) STUNNING FLAWLESS IMMACULATE (why do i have post apocalyptic vibes, like a cross between silent hill and the last of us?) The horse will do a full circuit around Moonwood Mill and because it's designed with pathing for the werewolves to feral run, the horse has plenty of space and nature to do the same. Even with the grungy warehouse setdressing, the horse doesn't feel out of place. Post apocalyptic or workhorse ranches would fit in well here. Chestnut Ridge: literally made for the horses and thematically perfect for horse rides. I actually think (due to how the Sims 4 is structured to be so empty) that while this world also has a lot of set dressing, it's fitting for the wide stretches of fuckall to actually see or do when it's a horse trail.

Pretty Good - Good pathing and acceptable to see a horse trotting through the landscape Forgotten Hollow: Immaculate vibes for a headless horseman. And aside from Straud's graveyard and the coffin courtyard, the lots are entirely customizable without debug setdressing houses to shame you for style deviation. The world is very small but the pathing goes through the town square and a bit into the woods. Unless your starting point is Straud's mansion, your horse will mainly use the coffin road and the dirt paths through the trees before coming back. Brindleton Bay: Whiskerman's wharf has a route to let the horse wander from Catarina Lynx's house to Tail's End (which has a backdrop of old wooden fencing that feels very appropriate for a ranch) to Club Calico and back again, ignoring the Salty Paws Saloon and Ragdoll Refurb lots. Since the saloon is even farther on the pier and the Ragdoll Refurb is in a much more suburbia city like area, it felt fitting that a ranch wouldn't be in such places and the horse wouldn't go there. Sable Square has very wide brick roads in front of the vet/park and residential lots connected by a wide bridge. The pathing doesn't go through the dirt paths tho. Cavalier Cove has a decently long path through the beach areas but won't go to the Hound's Head lot unless you start there. Deadgrass Isle has good routing, not just pacing in front of the museum, the horse actually walks around on the dirt path to the lighthouse and goes into the cemetery. Sulani: Surprisingly good pathing (no attempts to go horse swimming) that goes throughout the Lani St. Taz island, and the lack of paved roads (and my increasingly beloathed sidewalks) feels more natural. Tropical horse ranch, anyone? The horse does avoid the northernmost lot because of the skinny stretch of sand linking it to the island but that would put the horse a bit too close to the water and possibly make it try to swim. Ohan'ali Town has a coastside path that is surprisingly long but the horse won't go up to the lot near the waterfalls. Mua Pel'am pathing goes from the volcanic lot to the little beach past the mystery cave and back again, which wasn't very surprising, Mua Pel'am is not a large neighborhood and one of the three lots is an empty island. (Honestly thought this entire world was going to be completely awful.) Copperdale: As an old refurbished Mining town it looks fitting for a horse to come through for decades challenges. The horse will go all the way around Copperdale High and up to the front of the auditorium, but it won't go to the track in the football field behind the high school. Around Prescott Square, the horse will go all around town, visitng all the lots including the Prescott household. Plumbite Cove is one part the Pier, one part cannery row, and most parts forested dirt roads. The pathing leads from the rental lot all the way to Totter Park, completely ignoring the LaSuli Point starter lot.

Okay - Pathing is acceptable but the theme isn't particularly welcoming in most of the world. Windenburg: Half of the map is city area and the horse does get around well but does not look thematically appropriate when trotting around the cafe and bars. All of the single lot neighborhoods don't allow great pathing, but for the Ruins and the Von Haunt Estate it's a little bit better than the horse pacing back and forth in front of one mansion. The Crumbling Isle and the Windslar neighborhoods are better placements for a horse ranch and have decent pathing through the area, though the Windslar's path has a very 'cottage roads' theme to it, it's not a sidewalk but a brick path leading from lot to lot. San Sequoia: The world feels a lot more like certain places in Monterey County than the inspiration of San Francisco, if considerably emptier, and I remember horses being rode through town the few times we went to those places as a kid. The world is HUGE and the horse trotting through Anchorpoint Wharf feels like a novel sight someone WOULD see in my experience, but not a great place to build a ranch. In Hopewell Hills, the horse will go through the park on automatic pathing.

Less than Ideal - Pathing isn't fabulous but it's got enough room to visit on horseback, the theme probably does not fit. Del Sol Valley: The theme is atrocious for a ranch. The pathing in Mirage Park is mostly the sidewalks but also surprisingly went behind the two lots across the street from Venessa Jeong's house but not behind hers. Starlight Boulevard is a city center that is not welcoming to a horse trotting around, the pathing is surprising as the horse actually walks in the street rather than the sidewalks though it does avoid walking near Studio BP and the stars walk. The Pinnacles has lots that are certainly big enough for some kind of Hollywood Ranch but the neighborhood pathing is stuck to the sidewalks despite the roads available, unless the horse is cutting through a street to reach another sidewalk or through the grass 'island' in front of Judith Ward's house. No pathing to the overlook behind her house either despite it having ramps instead of stairs. Glimmerbrook: I am not taking the horse to the magic realm. There's no sidewalks! :D But the horse only takes the paved road and ignores the dirt paths and all the lots unless it's the one you started from. A good place aesthetically for a horse ranch but not for gameplay. Evergreen Harbor: I can't suspend my disbelief that a suburb is a place for a ranch. Horse paths follow human sim paths. Won't go over the bridge in Port Promise unless you start at the Sterling household. Will walk all the way over to the Greenburg household. Grimms Quarry, the pathing is almost all sidewalks, the horse won't go near the apartments but will go to the quarry building. In Connifer Station the horse won't use the 'car' roads but will walk all around. Tartosa: Laurent Mansion is landlocked. Anything with stairs isn't pathable to a horse. I had hopes, Tartosa has long extinguished them. (Okay, Melancholy over.) I restarted at the Baia Dell'amore beach lot. There's a lot of area the horse WILL cover that isn't the Laurent mansion. Including the island linked by a stone bridge. It's a little weird looking because it's a Mediterranean city, so I don't think a ranch will fit in. In the Terra Amarosa Neighborhood, the horse would path from Via Romanza to the Markovic household and back, completely ignoring half the neighborhood, the waterfalls, and the Rifugio dei Pirati lot. No waterfall horse rides for us :(

Not Great - The pathing is stagnant or the world is too small. Willow Creek: The horse will just pace in front of the houses and look extremely out of place in almost all of the neighborhoods. The only place with decent pathing that doesn't look like a wayward cowboy is stalking your suburb is the park and it has decent pathing but little else. The sylvan glade has zero pathing for horses, my horse took two steps and the interaction cancelled. Good for screenshots, bad for gameplay. San Myshuno: Horses are not allowed inside of the apartment buildings, let alone the apartments themselves, limiting almost all residential options in the world. Makes sense, putting a horse in an elevator sounds like chaos. Limited pathing that isn't sidewalk and clip clop clipping on the paths in Uptown. The horse would go into some odd places further than expected but the world's neighborhoods are mostly too small for a decent run. The only exception is the San Myshuno park, which has a decently long trail for a horse. Changing the park's lot type to a residential would make this an okay place to build a ranch but thematically clash with all the little history signs littered through the landscape and set dressing garden. Strangerville: (God help me.) I'm not bothering to take the horse to the secret lab. The world is Western themed, but it is not Wild Western Country themed despite the cowboy hat and boots. Rusty Canyon is mostly desert cityscape and the pathing is strictly sidewalk bound, though it does go farther than I expected. The horse did not approach the crashed plane lot, so unless you start a ranch there, your horse will not automatically travel the dirt roads in that desert section. (The centralmost lot was the starter home across from the Sigworth household.) Shady Acres has TINY sidewalks and the horse will constantly swivel to avoid 'collision' with npcs and also plant decor, which at higher speeds looks like your horse is glitching out but isn't, and is primarily sidewalk bound despite the dirt paths other sims will travel along behind the houses. The only pathing off the sidewalk was the driveway up to the Roswell household.

Absolutely not - The pathing is awful. Oasis Springs: The automatic pathing is strictly stuck to the sidewalks and the horse mostly just paces in front of two or three homes going back and forth despite there being other areas that other sims will walk along. You can force the horse to go somewhere else but the world's neighborhoods also aren't big enough or detailed enough for better places to force the horse to go just to take screenshots. The park does not have a path to follow, the horse will just pace the front of the park and cross the street before turning right back around to pace in front of the park again. Newcrest: Same issues as Oasis Springs. Magnolia Promenade: The horse will only pace on the sidewalk along the sides of The Roadstead and JF&S Clothier shops, continuing down the sidewalk next to the set dressing garden, completely ignoring actually going into the park areas. Again, you can force the horse to go through the set dressing garden or over to the bistro tables for screenshots but it absolutely does not fit horses appropriately. Brightchester: No. Just. No. The town is all townhouses and university dorms. The pathing is all sidewalks. Don't build a ranch here. Mt Komorebi: Most of the hiking trails are inaccessible to horses due to being blocked by stairs as an entry. The horse is very out of place in the city areas. At the actual mountain the pathing won't go past the rental houses despite most of the hiking trails not being blocked by stairs as an entry.

Why did I willingly choose to do this