#Database Tables Navigator

[tabfox]

Efficient SAP Data Management with TabFox - Your Trusted SAP Database Viewer

Revolutionize your SAP data management experience with TabFox, the trusted SAP Database Viewer. Simplify data access, streamline workflows, and accelerate decision-making processes with TabFox's intuitive interface and advanced functionalities. Stay ahead of the competition by harnessing the power of real-time data insights and analytics, all within one seamlessly integrated platform.

[bf-rally]

wee today i managed to get stuff to start listing

[hellsitegenetics]

https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3999

String identified: SCP-3999 Object Class: Apollyon Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3999 cannot be contained stop be contained

String identified: Item #:

String identified: Researcher Talloran:

Closest match: Trametes ferrium Common name: Metal eating fungus.

Researcher Talloran is to be identified using the BLAST database modeled using AlphaFold kept in a standard terrarium suitable for moths.

Common name: finding tumblr's genome one post at a time.

String identified: The following file contains a virulent infohazard. Due to this, it is imperative that all personnel accessing this file be certified as having a Cognitive Resistance Value (CRV) of no less than 14.5. Should you fail an automated CRV verification, please remain calm and do not move. A member of your site's medical staff Researcher Talloran will be with you shortly.

Special Containment Procedures: Researcher Talloran is to have his genome aligned with its 12 closest genetic matches using MEGA. Navigate to the "table" section and select phylogenetic tree. Click "yes." Use sub-branches to note connections between each branch, such as families or kingdoms.

Item #: Cydia strobilella genome assembly, chromosome: Z Object Class: Spruce seed moth

(Researcher Talloran must link the image source.) This can be the only conclusive fact.

So stop asking.

[advantage-tennisblr]

hello tennisblr! we are just over a day away from the start of FILL POSTING. (yay!!!!) here are some tips on where and how to post/tag your fills—and thanks for your patience on this as the admins juggle many plates at once. :)

posting fills

you can post your prompt fill to tumblr any time after the "round 1 posting is open" announcement goes up on december 21 (likely during the morning in the GMT-5 time zone).

if you're posting a fill to ao3, you're welcome (and encouraged!) to add it to the Advantage Tennisblr 2024 collection. from the "post new work" (or "edit") page, scroll down to "post to collections/challenges" and start typing the collection name—it should then pop up for you to select.

the collection will remain unrevealed until december 21, so you can post your fill any time starting now.

what to include when you post

when posting your fill, please include:

link to or text of the original prompt

appropriate tags/warnings for explicit content

for tumblr posts, tag "advantage tennisblr fill"

including the prompt will help us match fills to prompts in our masterpost, and using the event tag on tumblr will help make sure we reblog you here.

fill reblogs

once we reveal the collection on december 21, we'll also start reblogging fills posted/crossposted to tumblr! (tag list coming shortly for your filtering convenience.) we'll be tracking the "advantage tennisblr fill" tag so make sure to include that on your tumblr post if you'd like to be reblogged. 

fill table/masterpost

we'll roll out the fill table shortly after posting begins (exact timing TBD). the fill table looks similar to the prompt table and allows you to navigate back and forth between the two. the table will be updated on a rolling basis, although it may lag behind the reblogs here. 

wait, my fill's not ready yet!

that's okay! you've got until the end of the event on january 12 to post. :)

i only want to post my fill anonymously/i have a fill but i don't want to link it from my tumblr. how do i get it added to the fill masterpost? 

if your fill is part of the ao3 collection, we'll automatically add it to the table. you should be able to post your work to the collection anonymously. if you'd rather not use the collection, or if you've posted a fill on another platform, you can send us a link directly (ask/email) and we'll add it to the database.

*

start counting down now—we're super excited to see the first of several weeks of fills tomorrow and we hope you are too!!

[ellybobelly]

And Even More Lies? Chapter 4

Part 3

By the time that the pool house door reopened, Bucky had already put her phone back exactly where it was. He hadn't been able to find anything. Not a single piece of information that would suggest Alice was anything besides what she appeared to be. He did however manage to find her last name and birthdate on her social media profiles though. He was planning on running that through international databases when he went back to his apartment, although he was far from hopeful that anything would actually show up. He was positive everything about her was a lie.

“Sorry if I took too long,” Julia said, walking over to a table and started putting certain papers in a file ‘My parents are actually gone for the day so I had to lock up as well. Please ignore my clothes”

Bucky raised his head to look at her, only partially aware that he had been staring at the floor “No you look…What on earth are you wearing?!” he tried his best to stifle a laugh.

Julia turned bright red and gave him the meanest look she could, which did nothing to help his laugh from slipping through. “Well I didn't bring anything to change into because ‘this’” she waved her hand around “Wasn't exactly planned. Anyways, its just clothes. I don't know why it matters” she grumbled.

Bucky walked over to her and bent down a bit to read what it said on top of the crest on her left breast pocket. Julia leaned her head back and didn't try to fight him, just wanting to get it over with

“St. Cecilia’s Womens Preparatory School. Huh I didn't know you were Catholic”

“I’m not. My grandparents wanted me to go there and they paid for it” Julia scooted away from him now hoping that he got his fill of teasing her “My mom kept my old uniforms for ‘sentimental’ reasons. Trust me, an old polo and khakis aren't really my style” she rolled her eyes “Can we please just go?”

Bucky folded “Fiiiiine” he stood up and walked over to the door, opening it for her like the gentleman he is “When we swing by my place, we can take my bike wherever you want to go instead. It's easier to navigate. And its faster” he followed her out.`

—-

Bucky had taken the drivers spot and driven them to his apartment in D.C. Julia insisted on waiting right outside because of “his privacy” or something and that made him chuckle. He showered and changed and they took his bike to a diner a few blocks away.

“The foods not bad here, promise,” Bucky said in between bites of pancakes. He had a whole spread in front of him, super soldier appetite Julia assumed.

“It's not that” she pushed her eggs around, toast untouched “I just have a feeling that were really close to figuring out what's going on” she turned her head toward the window and watched the city bustle by

“You should still eat though, Jules. Especially if you have that feeling” he responded with a raised brow and poked her toast with his knife.

Julia rolled her eyes at the nickname

“You know, Alice is the only one who actually calls me that” she said after grumpily stuffing eggs into her mouth “You heard my parents, their nicknames for me, theyre almost intelligible “ she huffed with a smirk “Other Than that its always been ‘Julia Agnes Immaculata Maria’” she made her hands into a prayer symbol and laughed.

Bucky fake coughed on his food “Agnes? Immaculata?!” his teasing grin was wide

“Buchanan” she responded flatly

“Touché” His smile weakened slightly but still had a glimmer in his eye “But! And sorry to change the subject, “But finish your food because we need to get going. I remembered an old outpost that can help you with your ‘clothing’ situation”.

Julia glared, although without malice, as she finally ate her food. As she was in between bites, she used her fork to signal him to keep talking, to explain.

Bucky took a sip of his coffee “It's an old safe house that has extra uniforms and boots and more importantly guns. Luckily it's been almost forgotten since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D and” he coughed as a hopeful excuse for his next sentence “And I-I um I know the uniforms there will fit you” he immediately drank more coffee, quickly filled by toast. With that Julia stopped and opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Bucky “-it's just super soldier stuff. I can immediately recognize size and shapes…” he tried to act cool as the heat of embarrassment was crawling up his neck.

“You've been looking at my ‘shape’?” Julia teased, but her voice betrayed her false confidence, even with her smirk.

Bucky rolled his eyes and without warning switched from his casual demeanor to stone cold soldier “If this thing is as bad as you say it is, we can't take any of our vehicles.”

Julia starred but also felt very unnerved

“Were going to steal a car.”

Julia choked on toast.

—---------

The building itself wasn’t anything special. It was approximately 6 stories tall with a covered entrance on the ground level and most likely had a few basement levels. It was located in a mostly empty office park, at least it seemed that way. Maybe it was because it was overcast outside that everything just seemed too still.

“So what do you think? Maybe if we go around back there is a side entrance? I doubt we can just walk in” Julia hummed as she took off her seat belt. They had been parked out there for about 30 minutes and haven’t seen anyone go in or out.

Bucky just watched the building, listening to

“I don’t hear anything” he said flatly

“Well duh, there aren’t even any cars around”

“No” He looked at her sharply and tapped his ear “Super hearing, remember? And I don’t hear anything” emphasis on anything “Not even the buzz of electricity which is clearly on”

He was right. The lights were on. It was just then when a side door opened. The building was on a slight hill which gave them plenty of coverage to hide the car but keep a look out. Julia made a movement towards the door handle but Bucky quickly put his arm over her chest, pinning her to the seat

“Stay here. Let me check it out. I’ll come get you if it’s safe” Julia frowned but nodded in acceptance.

Bucky quietly left the car and made his way over to the side of the building. A few feet to the left of the door was a man in a janitor’s uniform taking a smoke break “Sorry Bud” he whispered and before the man even noticed Bucky had choked him unconscious and laid him on the floor. After making sure they were alone, he checked around his neck for a lanyard “Bingo” he said and pulled out an access card. He tapped the card on the door's lock and it made a successful sounding beep.

“Do you think that because he’s a janitor he has an all access pass?” Julia asked, peaking over his shoulder.

Bucky jumped “Jesus Jules!” He shook his head “How did you manage to sneak up on me?” He admonished but without any malice in his voice. He pushed the door open slowly and looked both ways. The coast was clear so he walked in, Julia in tow.

It was quiet inside. Too quiet and the only footsteps that Bucky could hear was his own and Julia’s. The hallways were strangely empty as they walked through

“So what would we be looking for exactly?” Bucky questioned, eyes scanning empty rooms.

“Well,” Julia swallowed. “I’m not really sure how evil super power drugs are made but usually in tv shows there’s like a lab and a bunch of chemicals and stuff” she was fiddling with a zipper on the shield tactical suits leg.

Bucky just starred at her with a raised eyebrow “You have no idea, do you?”

Julia blushed and looked at him “That’s not true! I’ve just never been in a drug… factory” she coughed “But this place has weird deliveries at all hours of the day. The trucks have the safety diamonds that suggest that it’s not office furniture. There was a paper on it in the pool house…”.

Bucky hummed as they cleared the first floor.

Floor two, clear. Floor 3, had a gym, but clear. Floor 4, footsteps.

As soon as Bucky heard them he put a finger to his lips telling Julia to be silent. She nodded but then rolled her eyes when he pointed to the ground and then put his hand out flat, a ‘Stay Here’ motion. His eyes were sharp and demanding, not playing around and Julia nodded once more, begrudgingly.

Having settled that, Bucky turned around and removed a gun from one of his holsters. He made his way slowly down the hall, staying close to the wall with his pistol by his face. It was a good 5 minutes before he saw the people who were making their way towards him. Two men in lab coats. ‘Damn’ he thought ‘Jules was right’. Thankfully he noticed them first and took them out with two shots to the head. He should’ve used his silencer and now he’s worried who heard the shots. He makes it to the end of the hallway without any more encounters. They must’ve taken the stairs, he thinks, because he didn’t see anything of importance in the room he passed. His hand waivers on the stairway handle for a few seconds before he changes his mind and goes back for Julia.

“This floor is clear now” he says once he meets back up with her.

Her eyes were filled with unknown emotion but her voice was a whisper “You killed people didn't you?”.

Whatever Bucky was expecting her to say, it wasn’t that. His blood ran cold and he suddenly felt guilty for forgetting that she wasn’t some special agent, she was just a girl who probably hadn’t ever witnessed a death before.

“Jules… I-“ he stepped forward with his hands out, as if coming over to put them on her shoulders. His voice was soft, he didn’t want to scare her “I had to. They-“ he stopped when her entire body language changed and she looked at him with a giant smile on her face

“So I was right!” Julia beamed “You had to kill them because you saw the lab right? It’s here and I was right!”

And once more, she caught him off guard. Bucky couldn’t help but relax and let out a little laugh “You’re really something else ya know?” A smile gently crossed his face. Julia just stared at him expectantly. “Yes you were right, but no I didn’t see the lab. Considering we’re on the fourth floor, I have a feeling it’s going to be on the sixth. It could be on the fifth but I doubt it. At first I thought it was gonna be underground but there doesn’t seem like any reason two scientists would be here on the fourth if it was in a basement”.

“So let’s get back on the stairs and go! We’re so close, Bucky!” She was buzzing with excitement and turned to open the entrance to the stairs when Bucky grabbed her wrist hard and pulled her back

“No! Jules. No.”

She stared at him incredulously

“It’s dangerous. Those two men I shot, they had guns. I knew this was going to be dangerous if you were right but… ugh I don’t even really know what I thought, bringing you in here but you can NOT continue this search”.

With that her face twisted in anger “Excuse me!?” She pulled her wrist back “There is no way in HELL that I’m not finishing this! This project is my baby! It’s gonna be my big break!”

“Listen, let me take you out of here. Take you to somewhere safe. I’ll come back and take care of this myself. You’re not suited for this”

“Yes the fuck I am! If you’re so worried Sgt. Barnes, give me a fucking gun” her hand reaching for one of his before he pinned her to the wall.

His eyes were full of fire and fear “Don’t do that again. You need to leave here Julia.”

Seconds passed as she tried to still her heart and her breathing. She opened her door to respond but nothing came out. It was just then there was an explosion in one of the rooms. Bucky pulled her to the ground and covered her with his body. The windows were blown out and glass was thrown everywhere. Luckily it was down the hallway but not too far as they saw the glass shards scatter on the ground. Smoke started coming toward them as the sprinkler system sprung to life, followed shortly by an alarm. Bucky pulled away from her but was still inches from her face

“You need to get out now!” He shook her shoulders a little bit. Any fight she had in her was gone “You take the stairs down as fast as you can and you get in the car and you drive away! I can handle this!”.

Julia finally met his eyes, she was scared beyond belief

“Okay!? Julia! Do you understand!?”

She nodded and he helped her stand up “Go!”

And with that she opened the door and bolted. Bucky felt a small sense of relief as he saw her run downstairs instead of up before the door slammed shut. Now he was alone and he was going to do what he does best. Run into the line of fire. Unfortunately that might be literally now.

—--

Julia ran down the stairs with tears in her eyes and she didn't know if they were from fear or the smoke slowly creeping into the stairwell. ‘What the fuck’ she kept repeating in her head ‘What the fuck, What the fuck, What the fuck did I get myself into??’. When she finally got to the bottom floor, she burst through the door, barely registering that the janitor from before was no longer there. What did make her stop though was Alice’s car parked right next to hers. There was no mistaking her car, a hot pink jeep with no doors and too many anime stickers on the sides that were there. For just a fleeting moment she had a horrible thought, she wondered if Alice had anything to do with this but she quickly shook her head of the thought

“No thats- thats not possible” she said aloud to herself before restarting her trek to her car. Just then there was another explosion inside the building and she whipped around to look at it. Shaking and frozen in place Julia wiped her eyes and swallowed hard

“Fuck it” she said and ran in through the main entrance.

————

I’m sorry this took so long to post! If you want me to tag you in the next part, just let me know :)

@slayerofthevampire

[the-nox-syndicate]

SysNotes devlog 2 - retrieving data from the database and NEW profile features!

Welcome back to my SysNotes update! SysNotes is a system management app for people with DID, OSDD, and those who are otherwise plural.

Today I will flesh out the backend of the application (which was completely missing in the first devlog) and add some new profile fields.

First Devlog (1) | Previous Devlog (1.5)

Pulling data from the database and populating the profiles

If you remember, in the first devlog I used hardcoded data to test the interface like so:

Storing data in code is not sustainable or maintainable, so in devlog 1.5 I have identified the most suitable database structure, created some tables, and filled them with test data. To populate the tables I generated dummy data using the Faker library which uses random Latin words to create sentences. This was the result for the Alter Profiles table:

First, let's delete the hardcoded data from the code. Wow, the user interface is looking so empty now!

I already implemented the basic code for processing alter data and displaying it on the page in devlog 1. However, I had to make some tweaks to it due to the nature of database queries.

Firstly, when loading Alter Profiles for the side menu, I'm only selecting their name and ID, without the other fields (description, history, etc). A common mistake beginner developers make in simple cases like this is retrieving the entire DB record. But the side menu does not need the extra information, and loading it in alongside the name would make the page slower!

You may also notice that I'm getting the names in alphabetical order - I thought this would look nicer on the sidebar than if the names were all random, and make it easier to navigate. I'm only getting the profiles that belong to the current user.

When I get the actual profile data, I retrieve it with its status and characteristics, which are stored in separate tables:

And here we go, the profile page now uses the data stored in the database!

New profile features

But this is all just using the the proof of concept profile fields I mocked up in devlog 1. In this devlog, I want to add NEW fields to allow the profile page to do more powerful things, and better integrate with the future features of Inner World and Front Decider (still looking for a better name for it 😩).

(By the way, I assigned the Ulysses profile to a different user for testing, so you won't see that profile in the sidebar from now on)

Alter origins

One new profile field I've been wanting to add is an alter's origins. Some of my alters split from trauma, others from loneliness, and others through being AuDHD. I created a new table called "Alter Origins" with an optional owner ID. This means that some origins are universally available to all users, while others can be created by users themselves to customize their profile. In this example, "stressgenic" is a custom origin my user (Test System) created.

To use this table, I need to connect it to the Alter Profiles table using a foreign key:

Now we can access it on the front end!

(It shows on the top line, highlighted red)

Side note: I had issues with most Tailwind v4 colors not working so I had to manually define the origin badge color classes based on the official Tailwind values 😓 I'm not sure how to fix it, I wanted to leverage Tailwind to allow users to select "custom colors" from the Tailwind palette... I'll look into it at another time.

Relationships

I wanted the ability to set up bidirectional relationships between alters and display them after the character traits area.

I created an Alter Relationships table with some relationships and their badge colors:

And then I created a pivot table where alter 2 is Alice, alter 3 is Amari, and alter 5 is Benji:

Now if we go to Alice's page, we will see:

And Amari's will show:

This feature took a long time to implement because I ran into some issues with the pivot table and model relationships. I'd be lying if I said I have a good grasp of Eloquent 😅

Alter categories

One last thing I want to add in this devlog is to add custom categories that the names in the sidebar could be sorted into, which would be helpful for systems with many alters (or those who want to store their alter data and OC data in one place but want to distinguish between them, like me).

I will add some default categories to the database - however, you will be able to add new custom categories to suit your needs. I also want each profile to have one OR MORE categories for flexible filtering. This means, annoyingly, that I have to tinker with yet another pivot table 😩

Here is my Alter Categories table. Like with origins and relationships, "owner_id" refers to the user who made the category, and NULL categories are available to all users.

The pivot table looks like any standard pivot table so I'll omit it for this feature. I've had enough of pivot tables. Luckily, I got the model relationships correct the first time 😎

And now, Alice's profile shows her categories under her relationships:

(And here are all the category badges so far)

But this isn't all! I want to be able to filter my profiles by category in the sidebar.

Let's create a drop down! I think this looks alright:

Now let's load the categories of our available profiles into the dropdown. For this, I will need to fetch the categories table when getting the profile names.

The dropdown code basically takes the array (list) of all profiles, compares each profile's category to the selected category, and adds them to the array of filtered profiles, then displays them. If the selected value is "-" it just displays the full list of profiles.

And here we go, our fragments are Alice and Colin:

I also wanted to add the ability to group profiles by their categories (e.g. grouping by Age will split the names in the side bar into "syskid" and "adult" boxes). But this devlog has gone on for quite a while, so I'll save that for another time ;)

What next?

I wanted to finish the whole Profile section and move on to the more exciting inner World and Front decider features, however the complexity of the profile section so far requires me to spend a few more devlogs on it, oops 😅 So here is what you can expect in the next few devlogs:

Rethink the User Interface of the Profile page (all these badge colors are getting messy! And is the current layout the best for displaying the data? Find out next on Dragon Ball Z!)

Add a way to create new profiles using the New Profile form

Add ability to edit the profile information and delete profiles

Do you have ideas on other fields and features I could add to SysNotes? Or maybe you have suggestions on how to clean up the UI? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading 🙌

[anime-by-kr]

My First Time at SwampCon

Hey everyone! 🌟

This Saturday morning, I did something completely out of the ordinary: I went to SwampCon 2025 at the Reitz Union with my boyfriend. I had never been to anything like this before, and honestly, I didn’t even know what to expect. I’d heard of anime conventions in passing, but I’d never really paid attention to them. So we walked in, completely clueless... and immediately surrounded by a crowd of people in colorful and incredibly detailed cosplay. It was like stepping into a different world.

There were so many rooms and hallways full of activity. One moment we were passing artists displaying prints of their work, the next we were looking at tables covered in plushies, enamel pins, and anime trinkets. I almost bought something for my little brother, a keychain from a show he’s obsessed with: Pokemon, but held back at the last second (no regrets though, it was close!). Most of the time we just wandered around, taking everything in. It felt like every corner of the space had something new and strange and exciting to offer. I even took a selfie with someone in an orange fox fursuit (definitely not something I expected to do when I woke up that morning).

Even though I went in with zero expectations, I left SwampCon feeling like I’d experienced something way bigger than just an event. It was a peek into a passionate community (a fandom) that was both unfamiliar and fascinating.

Fandom, Fan Labor, and What SwampCon Taught Me

Reflecting on SwampCon through the lens of our class discussions, I realized I had just witnessed a living, breathing example of what fandom is all about. Fandom isn't just about watching shows or playing games: it's about participating in a culture. People weren’t just consuming media; they were transforming it into something new through cosplay, art, merch, and performances.

This ties into the idea of fan productivity. All those vendors and artists? Many of them were fans creating their own interpretations of the media they love. They weren’t “official” creators from big studios, they were just people using their skills to make something personal, and often profitable. That’s a great example of how fandom turns passive watching into active creating.

Also, I saw how shadow cultural capital plays a role. If you didn’t know certain characters or anime references, you were a bit out of the loop (which, to be honest, I often was). That kind of knowledge of knowing who’s cosplaying who or what certain memes mean gives fans social status inside the community. It’s not “official” knowledge, but within fandom spaces, it matters just as much as anything you’d learn in school.

Another concept we talked about: the database model, also came to mind. Think of something like the animal database, where fans collect and categorize characters, traits, or “types.” At SwampCon, I could see that kind of logic everywhere. So many booths grouped characters by series or vibe (e.g. “cute animal sidekicks,” “angsty boys,” “magical girls”), and fans instinctively knew how to navigate it. It’s a way of organizing meaning in a world overflowing with content.

SwampCon 2025 was unexpected, a little overwhelming, but super eye-opening. I went just to check it out but ended up learning more about creativity, community, and culture. It gave me a deeper appreciation for fandom, not just as a personal passion, but as a rich and complex world of meaning-making and connection.

[tranquilpetrichor]

as we navigate the stars

synopsis: it is never easy following the path of an aeon, let alone one whose existence came to an end unexpectedly. however, hongjoong and the rest of the astral express crew do their best, following the tracks of the star rail.

cast: hongjoong, yeosang, wooyoung, seonghwa (ateez)

genre: sci-fi, honkai: star rail!au

wc: 638

warnings: n/a, but not proofread

a/n: i love the idea of ateez in space. could expand on this au because i love this game so much but i wanted to write a few paragraphs to start out with and see how i feel from there. might need to make a glossary of all the unfamiliar terms i used lol. consider this very rudimentary because i want my inspiration for writing back and this piece just made me happy.

navigator kim hongjoong has spent a long time traversing the universe on the astral express. since the first time he was able to get the train to even start, to meeting the express's conductor and beginning to stride on the path of the nameless, he's seen countless events, enough to fill many lifetimes.

naturally, passengers come and go like the passing of seasons, becoming a small part of the express's journey. of course, there were a few passengers that have stayed for a while now and made a memorable impression on hongjoong.

there's kang yeosang, who's cold and somewhat awkward on first impression. hongjoong likes him, though for being a hard worker and protective of his friends. since his arrival, he's wholly dedicated himself to recording timely and accurate data entries in the express's database and guarding the express with his trusty spear, cloud-piercer.

sometimes, hongjoong wonders if yeosang is pushing himself too much, but it's yeosang. he's capable of quite a lot—perhaps, even more than hongjoong is aware of. still, that boy needed to rest sometimes.

note: check up on him in the next few days.

his own past on the xianzhou luofu is something he rarely talks about though, and the crew (mostly) respects it, even the perpetually talkative wooyoung.

ah, speaking of wooyoung. he too, was memorable in his own way. hongjoong still remembers the day the express encountered a boy floating in the middle of deep space, frozen in a block of ice.

after saving him, hongjoong asked the stranger what his name was.

he looked at the red-haired man before him with confusion. "well i... i don't really know," was his response. "can i choose one?"

the captain nodded, and the boy continued.

he was more hesitant back then, less sure of himself. "how about... wooyoung?"

hongjoong gave him a warm smile. "alright, then. welcome aboard the astral express, wooyoung."

as a passenger, wooyoung has been bright and energetic, capturing photos and making those around him smile. those who didn't know him well enough would never guess that he harbors a deep-seated desire to uncover his past. hopefully, he would get his wish.

hongjoong spots a sketchbook on a side table, no doubt belonging to park seonghwa, another seasoned member of the astral express. as someone with a wide breadth of knowledge on various topics, he is a valuable companion to have when visiting other worlds.

he also used to be an animator but still maintains his passion for art, hence the sketchbook.

but beyond that, seonghwa is perhaps the closest friend that hongjoong has ever had. everyone's paths are different on this train, but the two seem to be destined to be intertwined on this celestial voyage for a while.

maybe it was due to them being the senior members of the crew, but there's something to be said about a long-lasting friendship.

hongjoong walks into the passenger cabin. his energy is dropping, and even though he could probably get by with another coffee, a nap would probably be more beneficial. he opens a door leading to a long hallway—his room is further down.

on the way, he runs into the conductor, pom-pom. they're quite short and cute-looking with bunny-like ears, but hongjoong would never doubt the creature's experience. the cuteness of a child with the responsibilities of an adult.

(actually, he's not sure if the conductor's considered an adult within their species—well, he doesn't even know what the conductor's species is. an inquiry for another time).

"off for an afternoon nap?"

he stifles a yawn. "yep, the usual."

"alright then, get some good rest! wouldn't want you tired when we reach the space station."

hongjoong can't help but smile at their caring words. "thank you, pom-pom."

such is another day on the train that travels throughout the universe.

[sleepybeauxshifts]

how i script

as someone who’s been trying to shift for a while, i’ve tried all types of different ways to script. quick reminder that you don’t need a script to shift, i personally like them for organization and the visuals as well. i have multiple ways that i like to script so im gonna give a little tour!

i have a notion database of most of my scripts, and a separate database of my old ones. i recently redid the way i do my scripts.

in my “shifting hub” as i call it i have a table database for all of my scripts, and also a database for methods which i haven’t put anything in yet.

in the script database i have a template i made that i can easily change around and customize, it’s just the general skeleton for all of my scripts.

i have a few sections: “me”, “relationships”, “house”, “pets”, “car”, “scenarios”, “safety”, and “random affs”

the “me” section is where i basically introduce myself in the dr. these days i usually keep my full legal name so im not gonna attach screenshots of that… it’s just the basic info you would put in any script

the “relationships” section is it’s own database to make sorting easier. i add tags for the different relationship dynamics/how close i am with someone. i also add photos for each person and for my hogwarts script added their house and blood status to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

the “house” section is where i describe my living situation. so where i live and who i live with. i don’t normally add pictures or like any specifics as to what my room or house looks like. sometimes i have pictures of the outside but never of the inside.

the “pets” section is where i describe any pets i have. normally in most of my drs i just give myself a cat. i always attach a random photo from Pinterest bc who doesn’t wanna look at a cute cat pic as shifting motivation?

for my pokemon dr i changed the “pets” section to “pokemon” and made it a database instead to make it a little easier to navigate.

the “car” section is mainly for my non hogwarts drs. this is where i put all of my driving related affirmations like “i never get into accidents” and such. i also sometimes attach a picture of a car, sometimes i dont.

“scenarios” is exactly what it sounds like… scenarios

“safety” is where i put things like my safe word, time ratio, “i cant die”, and all the other safety related things that go into most shifter’s scripts

“random affs” is where i put my silly little extras like “i can tell when people are lying”, “i can tell the weasley twins apart”, “im good at cooking” and all the other silly things that dont fit into other sections.

notion isnt the only thing i use to script. i also for some drs use google slides. the main script i have on google slides is my hogwarts script, i have it on notion but the google slide is a lot easier for visualization. [here’s a link to the template i used, all credit to the creator]. i also have an old lab rats script that’s on google slide that i made myself.

i also have some physical scripts but none of them i currently use. they’re just bullet points in old notebooks.

i hope y’all enjoyed the little tour!

[masterlist]

[carolunduke-04]

My Experience with Database Homework Help from DatabaseHomeworkHelp.com

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Discovering DatabaseHomeworkHelp.com

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[rogueshadeaux]

inFAMOUS: Erosion masterlist

| ➳ Ao3 here | ➳ Click for Palestine | ➳ Support Indigenously

──⇌WRITING⇋──

inFAMOUS: Erosion Table of Contents

Journey into the Conducrine Gland

STASIS ➳ An inFAMOUS: Erosion mini-fic

His Light, Her Cause ➳ Eugene & Alessia

Dissipate — by @infamoussparks

The Ultimate Jean Character Sheet*

The Ultimate Brent Character Sheet*

The Ultimate Delsin [Erosionverse] Character Sheet*

*(Credit for all character sheet templates goes to the lovely @inhumanghostlight)

──⇌ART⇋──

Rowland Twins Character Sheets

The Tag That Started It All

Happy Birthday Brent and Jean (faceclaim declaration post)

Linus Pauling Goes to State

Focal Point

Jean's home screen

Brent Listening to Spotify

Hereditary

A Life Is Made of Wrongs We Inherit

What Do The Rowlands Fear?

Patient's Constitution

"Those Rowland Kids?" — by @conduiitz/@kraftledare

"Good Times" — by @inhumanghostlight

"Love" by @inhumanghostlight

"Skyscraper" an art dump by @conduiitz/@kraftledare

"Cock Bridge" by @conduiitz/@kraftledare

"Skyscraper art dump 2.0" by @conduiitz/@kraftledare

"Notorious" by @conduiitz/@kraftledare

"You wouldn't Scrape a Sky" by @conduiitz/@kraftledare

"Jeans" by @conduiitz/@kraftledare

"You need to go back" by @inhumanghostlight

──⇌MUSIC⇋──

Brent's Spotify Playlist

Jean's Spotify Playlist

[COMING SOON]

──⇌MISC⇋──

#Jean Posting (Jean's shitpost tag)

#Brent Posting (Brent's shitpost tag)

──⇌Hungry For More inFAMOUS?⇋──

Shattered by @conduiitz/@kraftledare — Apocalypse!AU. Follow glass conduit Luca Montello as he searches for his best friend in the broken remains of Seattle.

Devil Like Me by @neverdewitt — See the aftereffects of DUP life on a forced conduit trying to make peace with his past sins.

inFAMOUS: No Man's Land by @codenamehazard — Evil!Cole AU. Run away with Beast Cole MacGrath as he traverses through the Wildlands, the untamed and conduit-filled plains of America that hold more secrets than it seems...

All's Well That Ends by @neverdewitt — Follow the tumultuous life of Garrett Jorrer, a Curdun Cay enforcer, experiment victim...and child of Brooke Augustine.

inFAMOUS: Sparks by @infamoussparks — Set 7 years after the good karma ending of inFAMOUS: Second Son, join friends new and old as they navigate what it really means to be a part of the Second Age.

O Brother Where Art Thou by @theapartmentninja-blog — Four years after Augustine fell—and Reggie, too—Delsin, who has tried to build a better world, realizes Augustine was just one head of the hydra that was the DUP.

Traceback by @lightconduit-2501 — Piece together every memory fragment Childe pulls from their database as they reconstruct the past, and the world they had made. Poetry!

[COMING SOON]

[tabfox]

Explore SAP Data Effortlessly with TabFox - Your SAP Database Viewer TabFox offers a seamless SAP Database Viewer experience, allowing you to navigate through complex database tables with ease. Our intuitive interface empowers users to efficiently explore SAP HANA data, simplifying data analysis and decision-making processes. With TabFox, accessing and understanding your SAP data becomes a breeze, enhancing productivity and driving business insights.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

I thought the Aviation Award was a joke so had to research it myself ...

Harry must have been pretty upset about being left out of the Sandhurst book to shell out money for this award.

Wikipedia describes the living legends of aviation as a "paid for" award and the website has a "myshopify.com" extension. Per the website, the "Living Legends of Aviation are remarkable people of extraordinary accomplishment in aviation including: entrepreneurs, innovators, industry leaders, astronauts, record breakers, pilots who have become celebrities and celebrities who have become pilots. The Legends meet yearly to recognize and honor individuals that have made significant contributions in aviation." I bolded the part that Just Harry the Celebrity formerly known as Prince must be eligible under. The website has no ticket or sponsorship pricing information or names of the hosting committee or board. Presumably winners will at least buy a table or two at a minimum.

Charity Navigator, a non-profit rating website, gives the group behind the award a 2 out of 4 stars. The information on the Kitty Hawk Air Academy website is from 2015/16. there is no information about the board of directors, management or any financial information. the contact information for the organization shows a Colorado address but the event is in Beverly Hills. I'm confused as to how a charity that can't even keep its website up to date has a fundraiser in another state in one of the swankiest zip codes?

Will be interesting to see if Kiddie Hawk is listed as a grantee in Archwell's 2023 or 2024 filings.

post link

author: Ask_DontTell

submitted: January 11, 2024 at 11:11AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[adhdnursegoat]

Episode 2

Word Count: 9.2k

Content Warning: none right now

Pairing: Edward Nashton X OC Romy Winslow

Setting: Pre-Arkham Origins; 2013

─── [ sequence: loading ] ───

Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

Something isn’t right.

Edward narrowed his eyes at the screen, the onyx and emerald glow casting hard shadows across his face, deepening the lines of ever-present ire. The dataset sprawled before him, tangled, disorganized, and inefficient—a perfect mirror of the Gotham City Police Department itself. 

For years, the GCPD’s reputation for sloppy documentation had been almost impressive in its own way, as if this endless mess were some grand tradition they upheld out of sheer spite for change. Crime logs scrawled hastily, half-formed incident reports lost in the shuffle of physical files, a scattering of disjointed data without a semblance of order or care. And now, all of it had fallen to him.

The so-called “cybercrime division” was practically a joke before he arrived, a name slapped on an old, cluttered storage room. Its single, flickering fluorescent light buzzed overhead like a dying insect; its lone, wheezing computer, so ancient it sounded like it was about to take off the first time he powered it on. It had taken him months to convince the precinct to let him install even basic equipment, months of tolerating the grinding fan and a monitor that crackled whenever he turned it on. He had even bought and collected his own equipment to help do their job for them.

But now, he had slowly, painstakingly transformed the place, pulling it from the brink of irrelevance.

He was the GCPD’s cybercrime division. And, if he were honest, he’d rather it be this way.

The first task had been nothing short of brutal, a punishment only someone as patient—or as obsessively thorough—as him could withstand. He had spent weeks, months even, combing through stacks of paper files that had yellowed with age, pulling arrest records, crime logs, and incident reports from years past, each entry a piece of Gotham’s history filed with indifference and half-hearted effort.

But that was just the beginning.

Once the data had been extracted and uploaded into a digital system, Edward moved to the next step: cleaning it. He combed through each entry, scrubbing it clean of mistakes, standardizing formats, deleting duplicates, and filling in the blanks left by years of neglect. It was an endless process, every correction a small battle against the chaos that had festered there long before his arrival. The work had been like sculpting—he chipped away at it, day by day, until the rough edges began to take shape.

With the groundwork set, he had turned his attention to the architecture itself. The system he was building would become Gotham’s digital skeleton, a structure capable of supporting and, eventually, predicting the city’s crimes. He designed SQL databases from the ground up, creating logical tables for every critical piece of data: incident types, time of day, locations, affiliations, every detail that could build a comprehensive picture of Gotham’s criminal underworld. Each table was linked, connected, and cross-referenced in ways that only he fully understood.

He wrote queries that could pull up crime histories, correlate locations, and flag patterns—all in the blink of an eye. Every inch of it had been optimized, refined, and customized, honed to be faster, sharper, and more intuitive than anything the department had ever seen. It was a framework only he knew how to navigate, the kind of code that would baffle even the most tech-savvy officer.

But this was Gotham.

Data alone wasn’t enough; the system needed security—a wall strong enough to withstand the city’s relentless forces. He had spent countless nights implementing layer upon layer of protection, configuring firewalls, building encryption protocols so complex that even he would struggle to undo them. Each file, each report, each encrypted string had become a piece of his fortress. He was transforming this forgotten room into a stronghold, its walls fortified against any threat that dared to infiltrate. Only he held the keys, and only he knew which locks he’d installed.

Then the real work had begun.

Once he had established a patent data flow in the system, he had started layering in more complex tools—predictive algorithms and crime prediction models that mapped Gotham’s streets like veins, arteries pulsing with the city’s crime. He had used regression analysis to find trends, drawing connections between crimes that no one else had even considered. He mapped crime incidents to temporal and spatial data, forming a pattern that gave him a lens into Gotham’s soul. 

But the GCPD couldn’t understand raw numbers—not the way he did. They needed visuals, pretty pictures, something digestible for their mushy minds. So he had built dashboards and reports, simple yet elegant, that displayed his work in colorful heat maps, time-series analyses, and relational charts. Even Gotham’s least tech-savvy officers could click through the data now, though they hardly knew what they were looking at. But Edward did. He could track hotspots, watch the swell of crime ebbing and flowing unlike anyone else.

Each day, as the system grew, he had refined it further. He ran diagnostics, tweaked scripts, and checked logs to ensure there were no breaches, no unexpected bugs. Every piece of data was backed up, replicated on secure servers, ready to be restored at a moment’s notice if Gotham’s chaos took a swipe at his work. And if it did, he would be prepared. Because this was more than a job; this was his creation, his legacy.

With every keystroke, every security protocol, every predictive model, he built a machine that made Gotham’s chaos readable, its patterns decipherable, and its secrets… well, not so secret.

Until a few days ago, his work had seemed routine—a necessary but unglamorous role. But then something unusual had caught his attention: a pattern in the officer response logs.

Every month, he reviewed the logs. It was a habit, part of his meticulous nature. Until recently, there had been nothing unexpected. But now, a repeated anomaly had begun to emerge. Certain neighborhoods showed response times that were curiously high, particularly in cases involving specific types of violent crimes—kidnappings, assaults, even homicides. In other areas, responses to similar crimes were fast, efficient, predictable. Yet, in these particular zones, it was as if time slowed.

He had noticed response times of fifteen, even twenty minutes, where they would typically average around five.

It was subtle, barely noticeable at first. Most people would have brushed it off as a glitch or user error. But Edward Nashton was not most people—and “user error” was not in his personal vocabulary.

“What if…” he muttered, pulling up a fresh SQL query and setting filters for crimes tagged as high-priority in those specific neighborhoods. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he added parameters, refining the search.

SELECT Neighborhood, AVG(Response_Time) AS Avg_Response 

FROM Incident_Reports 

WHERE Crime_Type = 'High-Priority' 

GROUP BY Neighborhood;

The query ran, and Edward leaned forward, his glasses catching the glow of the screen as rows of data populated in rapid succession. A comparison of average response times across all The data stared back at him, validating his suspicions. The averages for these neighborhoods were well outside the norm. Frowning, he created a quick bar chart to visualize the data, and there it was—a spike in response times, glaringly obvious, almost like a neon sign begging for someone to notice.

What’s more, the pattern seemed to correlate with the involvement of certain officers. He drilled down further, narrowing the logs to responses where these outlier times were recorded, and sure enough, the same handful of officers’ IDs kept appearing. At least three officers, in particular, showed up again and again, logged as the responding parties in incidents with suspiciously delayed responses:

Edison, James

Hartley, Jack

Murphy, Curtis

Edward leaned back, his lips twitching to the side in a faint sneer. Gotham’s filth didn’t just rest on its streets—it was deeply embedded within the very department meant to protect it. This pattern wasn’t accidental. The slow responses weren’t random errors; they were deliberate, selectively applied.

For the first time in months, Edward felt the rush of excitement he’d been craving since joining the GCPD. This wasn’t just data compilation or trend analysis anymore. He had uncovered something substantial, something buried, waiting to be unearthed. It wasn’t just about numbers; this was a deeper, darker game involving the very people entrusted with Gotham’s safety.

This wasn’t merely an inconsistency. It was corruption, plain and simple, hiding in the numbers. And if there was one thing Edward Nashton excelled at, it was peeling back layers to expose the truth lurking beneath.

The screen flickered faintly, his cursor hovering over rows of data as his mind picked apart the patterns, noticing every inconsistency, every shred of deception. This wasn’t an error or some accidental miscalculation. No, what he saw here was intentional—something deliberate and dark slipping under the radar, a clear thread of corruption woven into the fabric of Gotham’s police force.

If anyone could expose it, could tug at the threads until it unraveled into undeniable truth, it was him. The thought sent a thrill down his spine, a familiar surge of satisfaction that came with knowing he was on the verge of something significant.

Bing!

The sharp notification broke his concentration, dragging his attention to the corner of his monitor where an email preview appeared. Edward’s expression shifted, his lips pressing tight as he read the sender’s name: Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb. A scowl formed before he could stop it, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. 

“come 2 my office”

The words glared at him. No punctuation, no capitalization—shorthand, as if Loeb couldn’t be bothered with even a semblance of respect. The sheer laziness grated on Edward, adding another layer to his already simmering disdain. Commissioner Loeb might as well have stomped down to his desk and demanded his presence with the same lack of decorum, and Edward doubted he would have been as irked. His lip curled, the faintest twitch of irritation betraying his thoughts.

Edward didn’t have friends here—never had. He didn’t linger by the watercooler, didn’t care for small talk, and had no interest in the routine camaraderie his coworkers indulged in. Loeb, however, wasn’t just a minor irritant like the rest. No, Loeb sat proudly at the top of a list of people Edward preferred to avoid—a list with its own special level of contempt reserved just for him. Loeb’s greed, his smug superiority, the way he flaunted his power as though it were untouchable—it all disgusted Edward. But he wasn’t foolish enough to ignore him.

He drew in a slow breath, pushing back the annoyance as he removed his glasses, his thumb and forefinger pressing firmly against the bridge of his nose. The tightness settling behind his eyes was familiar, a strain born from hours spent at the monitor. He rubbed at it, hoping to ease the creeping fatigue. Forcing himself to release a sigh, he closed his eyes briefly, letting the weight of the task at hand wash over him, clearing his thoughts.

Edward’s eyes flicked back to the fresh data on his screen, teeming with unspoken implications. He could go now, take this to Loeb, drop the details in his lap, and watch the Commissioner squirm. But… no. Not yet. If there was anything he’d learned, it was that timing was everything, and he wanted this case to be “pretty” and clean—undeniable.

With a quiet sigh, he finally pushed back from the desk, his legs and back groaning in protest. The human body wasn’t built for this kind of work, not the endless hours hunched over monitors and squinting at screens. He stretched, lifting his arms until he felt the crack in his shoulders, then rolled his neck, savoring the sharp pop that released some of the tension.

After a final look around his cramped, shadow-filled corner of the storage room, he made his way to the door. The space was dark and dank, with stacks of old case files and barely-functioning equipment shoved into every corner. He’d been asking for more space since the day he arrived, but as long as he remained the sole member of the “cybercrime division,” there was no point—not according to the people holding the budget. He could already imagine their dismissive words, the laughter as they shrugged him off. Why upgrade the closet for one man?

When he opened the door, a different kind of darkness hit him. GCPD’s main floor was lit by the harsh hue of fluorescent lights, casting an unnatural pallor over everything. The grime felt omnipresent, tinging every surface with a layer of wear that no amount of scrubbing could erase. The entire precinct pulsed like a spastic nerve, alive with chaotic energy.

He stepped out, crossing to the bustling bullpen. The layout was predictable—three levels stacked atop one another like a fortress of bureaucracy. A sublevel housed the detained. The main level, where he stood now, held the bullpen at its center, filled with two rows of desks paired off in clusters. Corridors stretched out on the east and west sides of the building, leading to file and evidence rooms, interrogation suites, and break areas.

Officers strolled by with coffee in hand, their conversations blending into the background noise. Detectives leaned against desks, swapping stories and laughing loud enough to be heard across the room. Secretaries rushed from one end of the bullpen to the other, arms stacked with paperwork or balancing phones against their shoulders. Above, the second and third levels housed offices for secretaries and various divisions, their windows glowing faintly in the overhead light.

And above it all, perched on the second-level landing like a throne, was the Commissioner’s office. It loomed over the precinct, a constant reminder of who held power there.

Edward shoved his hands into his pockets, his stride unfaltering, gaze fixed straight ahead. As he wove through the bustling bullpen, the familiar hum of GCPD’s endless chatter faded into a low buzz, a background noise he had long since learned to ignore. He didn’t belong here—not with these people, not with their idle gossip and endless banter. He was here to work, nothing more. And most of the time, they respected that, leaving him alone, unnoticed in the corners of the precinct.

“Dracula has risen!”

Most of the time.

Edward gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening as he caught the grating laughter ringing from behind him. He didn’t break stride, didn’t turn—just kept moving, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, shoulders hunched slightly as if to shield himself from the attention. Just keep moving. He had mastered the art of appearing unbothered, of letting these low-effort taunts roll off him. But Hartley’s voice, dripping with smug familiarity, broke through, just loud enough to draw the attention of a few nearby officers who exchanged knowing looks.

“Naaaashton!” the voice called, drawing out the syllables with exaggerated cheer, as if addressing an old friend. Edward could practically feel the man’s self-satisfied smirk boring into the back of his head. “I’m always surprised to see you out in the sun. More surprised when you don’t burn.”

It was the kind of comment he had grown used to, the small digs Hartley loved to throw his way whenever he passed by. Hartley, with his false bravado and ignorance parading as wit, never missed a chance to turn Edward into the precinct’s punchline.

Officer Jack Hartley—the poster boy of stereotypical “All-American” masculinity, with cobalt eyes and sandy hair, tall and built like he was carved out of an idealized gym catalog, complete with a bulky torso that fanned out into broad shoulders and arms that tapered down in a ‘V’ like an oversized Dorito. A man who would be lost without his badge to wave around and his flexed biceps, displaying that questionable tribal tattoo spiraling down one arm.

Edward kept moving, eyes trained straight ahead, but he allowed himself a sidelong glance, just enough to see Hartley’s smirk and the dumb faces around him. He could feel the heat of their attention, their eyes eagerly watching for his reaction. This time, he didn’t stay silent.

“Hartley,” he replied, his voice sharp and controlled. “I’m always surprised to see you haven’t been fired for your incompetence.”

There was a beat of silence. Edward didn’t stop to savor it, but he caught the reaction—the flicker of embarrassment in Hartley’s expression, the slight widening of his eyes before the scowl settled in. A few snickers rippled through the nearby officers, a sound that only deepened Hartley’s frown. His cheeks flushed slightly, the kind of reaction that Hartley, a man who considered himself untouchable, never expected to feel.

“Oh, you’re a real comedian, aren’t you, Nashton?” Hartley muttered, his voice barely audible now, laced with a gruff edge, the forced comeback of someone unprepared for a response.

Edward didn’t dignify it with another verbal reply. But, to answer the question— no. He wasn’t a comedian. He hated jokes. He only spoke truth. The words, the tiny prick of retaliation, had already done their work, striking just the right note to unsettle Hartley without so much as breaking his stride. He allowed himself to savor it for only a second, a brief and private victory that curled ever so slightly at the corner of his mouth. He knew it was minor, a passing exchange that no one would remember by the end of the day—but that small reminder, that assertion of his own superiority, was more than enough. For Edward, it wasn’t about showing off; it was about reminding himself, and everyone around him, that he was sharper, quicker, and not someone who could be so easily dismissed.

As he steadied his pace toward Loeb’s office, his thoughts drifted to the people around him, each one of them blending into the other like dumb lumps of flesh. Idiots—all of them. The entire precinct was an echo chamber of mediocrity, swollen with officers who took pride in their badges but lacked even a shred of real intellect. They sat at their desks, shuffling papers, swapping jokes, indulging in the hollow camaraderie of shared ignorance. They had no ambition, no hunger for knowledge, no desire to see past the routines they repeated day after day. They were just bodies filling space, a backdrop against which his mind and his skills blazed brighter by contrast.

Each step up the stairs only solidified his distaste. Every click of his shoes against the metal felt like a declaration, a rhythm that reminded him he was alone in a sea of self-satisfied drones. None of them measured up. None of them could measure up. Hartley’s lazy jeers, the way he flexed as if it made him someone important, the way he reveled in the pointless antics of the bullpen—these were the people tasked with keeping Gotham safe. It would have been laughable if it weren’t so tragic.

His eyes stayed fixed ahead, not sparing a single glance back at the bullpen. He had no reason to look, no interest in indulging the officers’ empty stares or their shared smirks. They were beneath him, irrelevant to his purpose, and the thought only strengthened his resolve as he approached Loeb’s office.

When he reached the landing, Edward straightened, pulling himself up to his full height, his fingers brushing over the door handle. He spared no glances to the bullpen below as he entered the Commissioner’s office and shut the door behind him with a soft click. 

The room was a display of power—ornate but garish, every detail chosen for intimidation rather than taste. Heavy mahogany furniture dominated the space, the Commissioner’s oversized desk an imposing centerpiece cluttered with papers and a gleaming nameplate. The walls were lined with plaques and framed commendations, their polished surfaces reflecting the faint light from a brass floor lamp in the corner. A thick, dark green carpet muffled Edward’s steps as he moved further inside, the smell of old leather and cigar smoke lingering in the air like a stain. Behind Loeb, floor-to-ceiling windows framed the grimy skyline of Gotham, their blinds half-drawn, letting in just enough gray light to make the space feel oppressive rather than bright. The office was a monument to its occupant’s ego—a fortress designed to remind anyone who entered exactly who held the power here.

The old man, standing at the windows, barely glanced over his shoulder to see Edward enter. “Sit.”

Edward frowned but did as he was told. Then he waited. And waited. And waited some more. Loeb’s stance, hands clasped firmly behind his back, suggested authority—or, more precisely, a performance of it. Edward couldn’t tell if the Commissioner was actually observing anything down on the street or merely pretending to do so, basking in his own bloated sense of importance. The stance, the imperious tone, the refusal to even acknowledge him face-to-face—every detail screamed a carefully curated aura of authority. Loeb stood as if by habit, a fossil of bureaucratic pomposity, clinging to a legacy of hollow power.

The man himself was almost a caricature, the embodiment of the department’s rot. His body strained against his uniform, seams puckered and pulled tight around his frame. The cap on his head dug visibly into his pallid skin, leaving an indentation along his brow, a mark of fluid retention only emphasized by the puffiness of his jowls. Loeb was thick-necked, with sagging skin that folded around his face in a way that resembled a bulldog’s. The clubbed fingers clasped at his back gave away years of heart strain, his slow circulation, and unchecked lifestyle, further evident in the labored rise and fall of his shoulders. He was an uncomfortable-looking man, like a worn-out relic forced into a role it no longer fit.

Edward glanced at his watch.

At last, the coot deigned to speak.

“Nashton,” the Commissioner quipped, “you’ll be getting a student.” His tone brooked no argument.

Gillian Loeb finally turned from the window, taking heavy, unhurried steps toward the desk, his movements sluggish, a body too tired to fully lift its feet from the floor. The scuffing of his shoes against the linoleum was maddeningly loud in the otherwise silent office, each step punctuated by his labored breath—a rasping sound that filled the room, making his presence that much harder to ignore. He reached his desk, his eyes narrowing just enough to convey irritation, perhaps at the exertion of moving across the room. With a relieved huff, he lowered himself into the worn red leather chair behind his desk, and it groaned under his weight, the sound of old leather and strained springs filling the air.

Edward resented being voluntold for anything, especially by a man who likely couldn’t navigate a basic search engine. But what choice did he have? Loeb’s words, dripping with condescension, only served to deepen Edward’s frown. He shifted in the stiff wooden chair opposite the Commissioner’s desk. He crossed his arms, fingers digging into his elbows as he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. The impatience was barely masked—an edge to his expression that spoke volumes to anyone perceptive enough to notice. Loeb, of course, was not.

Then, the Commissioner began his speech, one that had likely been rehearsed, perhaps at his morning mirror. His voice rolled through the room, slow and full, each word dragging as he introduced the “exciting new work-study program.” Edward’s eyes flickered, resisting the urge to visibly wince as Loeb stressed the importance of “investing in someone’s future with the GCPD.” It was predictable, even painfully so, and Edward could practically see through Loeb’s words to the core of it: this so-called initiative was just a thinly veiled scheme, some tax break or budget cut disguised as a benefit to the community.

He was not naïve. He didn’t need the specifics to understand how the department operated. The GCPD’s funding, already stretched thin, had likely prompted this decision. The idea of a “program” that would cost them next to nothing while earning them goodwill with Gotham’s public was probably irresistible to the old bureaucrat. With students desperate for experience, the department could add another set of hands—hands they wouldn’t even have to pay. To Loeb, it was a flawless plan.

Edward’s leg bounced lightly as Loeb continued, the man oblivious to his impatience. Loeb droned on about the value of “real-world experience,” his words as empty as the promises they contained. Edward had read enough department memos and budget drafts to know the truth. This wasn’t about nurturing young talent or providing mentorship. It was about creating a self-serving “opportunity” that the GCPD could tout in press releases.

Loeb, meanwhile, was fully immersed in his monologue, clasping his hands as he expounded upon the program’s “benefits.” There was a look of smug satisfaction on his face, as if he were certain Edward should be grateful for the “honor” of mentoring this student. Edward could feel his jaw clenching, the tension in his arms building as he listened to the Commissioner pontificate about the duty of guiding someone who “could be the future of Gotham’s finest.”

Finally, Loeb paused, and Edward seized the chance to speak., his voice level, measured. “And this ‘student’ is supposed to assist me?”

“Yes, precisely.”

“I highly doubt they would be of any assistance, Commissioner.” Edward had a difficult time barring the condescension in his voice.

“You should be thankful.” Loeb narrowed his beady brown eyes at him. “Think of it as… additional help. Someone who can shoulder some of the workload.”

The Commissioner said it as if he were doing him a favor. Pfft. Edward knew better. He wasn’t being given a protégé; he was being saddled with an amateur who would inevitably fumble through tasks, leaving him to clean up the mess. More work—that’s what this was. The idea of a student trying to “help” in his field felt like a bad joke. He had spent a year refining his division—every system, every dataset was his creation. The thought of letting some kid handle even a fraction of it filled him with a quiet dread, like watching someone try to operate a complex machine without understanding a single gear.

Loeb shifted in his chair, taking Edward’s silence as agreement. “The youth these days, Nashton. They’re the future, and we have a duty to mold them. The department sees this as an investment. Someone to eventually join your endeavors full time.”

Edward’s jaw tightened. Investment? He couldn’t help but smirk slightly at the absurdity. Loeb had no real idea what Edward did, no real grasp of the complexity his work required. In Loeb’s mind, a student could simply step in and soak up skills like a sponge. But Edward knew better. To him, this wasn’t an investment; it was a hindrance, a risk of inefficiency, and the last thing he needed.

But with Loeb’s expectant gaze bearing down on him, he understood the futility of voicing his concerns. The decision had been made, probably long before he was even called into this office. He wasn’t being given a choice—he was being told to fall in line.

“We’ve got some candidates lined up. You narrow it down, and we’ll finalize it.”

Loeb pushed a stack of russet-colored folders toward him, and Edward suppressed a sigh as he unfurled his arms, grabbed the stack, and flipped open the first file. The pages were full of redacted lines—names, ages, and even genders all neatly blacked out. He rolled his eyes. There were pages of transcripts, an accompanying essay (which he was not going to read), academic achievements, extracurriculars, and sanitized letters of recommendation, none of which told him anything interesting.

Edward felt the familiar dull boredom creep in.

He eyed the first profile, scanning each line with a growing sense of irritation. Harvard, it read in bold letters, as if the word alone signified worth. Straight As, a laundry list of commendations from professors who probably barely knew this student beyond the name printed on their assignments. It was the kind of profile built from legacy admissions, expensive prep schools, and connections more valuable than skill. Every accolade, every honor felt manufactured, the result of privilege rather than grit or true intelligence. This was the sort of person whose future had been paid for, gift-wrapped, and delivered to them on a silver platter. A pawn that had been moved through life’s chessboard with no actual understanding of the game.

Edward flipped to the next file, another profile reeking of the same glossy, untarnished perfection: a prestigious background, impeccable grades, extracurriculars that spoke more to showmanship than substance. His lip curled, an almost imperceptible twist of disdain. What use was someone like this to him? He didn’t need another pre-packaged prodigy, the type who had been endlessly praised but never challenged, the kind who breezed through academia without ever truly understanding what it meant to think, to analyze, to push limits. He needed someone who had actually had to work for something, who had seen struggle, who understood what it meant to build something from scratch—someone with the kind of determination that couldn’t be bought.

These files in front of him represented everything he despised about the world: the hollow merit of titles, the pretense of excellence. It was the kind of privilege that relied on appearances rather than substance, and it left a sour taste in his mouth. He flipped through each one with growing impatience, each page a carbon copy of the last, all polished to an empty sheen that hid any real substance.

His gaze sharpened as he closed another file. What he wanted, if he was to have an assistant, was someone with actual mettle. Someone with grit, someone who hadn’t had everything handed to them. The kind of candidate who could be taught something beyond the regurgitated lessons of privilege. Edward’s jaw tightened as he tossed the files back onto the desk before grabbing another file near the bottom of the stack.

When he opened this one, he cocked a brow. Something caught his eye.

There was an entry—a two-month juvenile record attached to a high school transcript from their junior year. Edward’s interest piqued immediately. He leaned back in the chair, letting the file rest in his fingers as he read the details. The record noted a hacking incident: unauthorized access to school servers to alter grades. He almost chuckled, finding this much more intriguing than the immaculate résumés of Ivy League candidates.

The report stated they had felt their grades were given unfairly and decided to take matters into their own hands. It was an act of rebellion, yes, but also one of precision and calculation. They hadn’t sabotaged the system—they had simply revised their grades without damaging any other records or erasing traces of the hack. There was a comment from a principal decrying the act as undermining the school’s “integrity” and a record of a lengthy expulsion hearing. Yet, despite this incident, there were a handful of letters from teachers who seemed reluctant to give up on them.

He read further, finding notes on their turnaround at their senior year and at Gotham City Community College. After high school, it seemed no other institution had wanted to take a chance on them, except for this one. But instead of coasting through, they had thrived—joining the debate team, earning honors, and eventually transferring to Gotham University. Now they were a college senior majoring in computer science with a minor in criminal justice.

As he skimmed through the final notes, Edward smirked. This work-study tied directly into their capstone project—a predictive AI programmed to determine when and where crimes were more likely to occur. It was a smart move, one that showed ambition and resilience. They were not another cookie-cutter success story from an Ivy League—they were someone who had clawed their way out of a mess, took risks, and kept climbing. Whoever they were, they were far more intriguing than the other candidates. He didn’t need some entitled, bougie fraternity brat who would think they were smarter than him.

He closed the file with a soft pat, already deciding. He flicked it onto the desk with an air of indifference and slid to a stop in front of Loeb. “This one,” he said flatly.

The Commissioner picked up the folder, his thick fingers fumbling with the dry edges as he peeled it open. His brow furrowed deeper as he read, and he shot Edward a wary look over the papers. “This one? The one with the juvie record? Are you sure?”

Edward’s expression remained cool, detached. “It’s either this one or none at all,” he replied without missing a beat.

Loeb stared at him for a moment, rubbing his jaw, clearly weighing his options. After a long pause, he sighed and tossed the file back on the desk with a resigned grunt. “Fine,” he muttered. “They’ll be here after the holidays.”

─── [ sequence: loading ] ───

In under a month’s time, Edward Nashton found himself caught off guard.

It was not often he was caught off guard, and he did not like it.

He was hunched over his workstation, eyes narrowed as he sifted through lines of encrypted data. It was after lunch, during which he had remained in his space, still working, forgoing eating as he normally did. His office, if one could call it that, was a windowless space in a back corner of the GCPD headquarters, dimly lit and reeking of stale coffee and burnt-out ambition. It was crammed with outdated computers and stacks of scattered papers, the sort of place where Edward thrived in isolation. He was so absorbed in his task that when the door opened and a knock sounded on the doorframe, he muttered, “Yes?” without looking up, already bracing himself for another mundane IT request—misguided souls thinking that the "computer guy" could fix the printer.

But then an unfamiliar voice responded.

“Excuse me? Are you Mr. Edward Nashton?”

It was not the tone he expected—there was no hint of impatience or condescension, which he had grown accustomed to when people sought him out. The voice was feminine, with an even pitch, its calm, smokey cadence infiltrating the monotony of his work. It was an unobtrusive sound, yet so unusual to his ears that he was compelled to see who it belonged to. He looked up. He froze.

A girl was standing at the doorway, her fingers resting lightly on the doorframe as if unsure whether to fully step inside. He had not even heard the door open.

Edward frowned.

His first impression of her was one of dissonance—a sharp, almost unsettling contrast between her and the office she had just entered. The grimy, worn-down precinct felt even darker with her in it, as if the dingy fluorescent lights themselves were suddenly more aware of their inadequacy.

She was beautiful—irritatingly so. Her long, sleek dark hair fell like silk curtains, parted perfectly down the middle, framing her face with an effortless elegance that didn’t belong anywhere near the GCPD. Her eyes, lined meticulously with dark, precise wings, were fixed on him with a hint of amusement. There was a different energy to her, one that felt deliberate, almost as though she knew exactly how out of place she looked and was inviting him to react. He barely realized how long he held her gaze.

With a faint scowl, he forced himself to look away, taking in the rest of her with a detached, analytical eye. Her lavender blazer dress caught what little light there was, gold buttons glinting as they drew a subtle line down her figure. The hem stopped just short of professional modesty, skirting the edge of propriety with a cut that was as tailored as it was daring. She had a designer bag slung over her shoulder, a fuzzy purple notebook and a gray-and-pink plaid winter coat clutched in the same hand, and she was only one chihuahua short of being GCPD’s own Elle Woods.

This office hadn’t seen anything like her, and by the looks of it, she was fully aware of that fact. For a moment, he wondered if she was mocking the precinct in her own way, challenging the drab confines of the facility with something so polished, so perfectly styled. 

His thoughts were cut short by the sound of her clearing her throat, and his eyes snapped back to hers. He realized with sudden embarrassment that she had caught him staring. Worse, she was smirking—her lips shiny and curved in an almost mocking acknowledgment of his mistake.

“Yes,” he said stiffly, clearing his own throat in a failed attempt to reestablish control. “And who might you be?”

“I’m your student, Romy. Romy Winslow.”  Her half-lidded eyes seemed to smolder in the low lighting.

“Student?” Edward repeated, the word coming out more as a question than he intended.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Like, they told you, right?”

“Of course,” Edward grumbled, scrambling to regain some semblance of authority. He wasn’t used to feeling unprepared, especially not in his own domain.

He did not like when Romy pursed her shiny lips and narrowed her eyes. “You forgot, didn’t you?” she pressed, a teasing lilt to her voice.

Edward’s back straightened, jaw tightening. “You will soon find that I forget nothing, girl,” he quipped. “I’m merely intrigued by your—” he gestured vaguely at her—“appearance. Are you sure your silly little head didn’t get confused? Got lost on your way to a sorority luncheon?”

Romy blinked. She checked her smartwatch, then looked back at him and tilted her head, the innocent confusion in her eyes seeming a little too thoughtful to be genuine. “No… The Greek Meet isn’t until Saturday.”

He frowned.

Oh, she was definitely fucking with him.

Soon, her pink lips pursed in a slight pout, and she glanced down at herself. “Is it too much?”

As she turned to the side, Romy casually modeled her silhouette, the lavender fabric clinging to her form in a way that was both tasteful and tantalizing. The movement drew Edward’s attention, his gaze instinctively tracing her figure. He couldn’t help but follow the curve of her form, from her shoulders that tapered elegantly down to the delicate arch of her spine, and finally to her shapely backside, perfectly showcased by the tailored fit of the dress. He resented that his gaze followed the lines of her legs, made even longer by the gray knee-high, heeled boots she had chosen.  Each line was accentuated with precision.

She caught his eye again, her expression playful yet somehow earnest. “I thought it was just the right amount of business meets pleasure.”

Edward cleared his throat. “Not quite what I was talking about,” he muttered, his gaze darting away in an attempt to collect his thoughts.

“What did you mean then?” Romy asked as she stepped further into the room. She glanced around, her nose wrinkling slightly at the sight of the meticulously stacked boxes of files, outdated monitors, and blinking fluorescent lights. “This is the GCPD Cybercrime Division?” she asked in an offhand manner. “This looks very—” she wriggled her fingers at the general space “—humble.” Though she smiled, it was clear she was struggling to be polite.

“I mean that I did not expect someone so— soft.” He glanced around the area, grimacing at the— as she called it—‘humble’ surroundings. “It is what it is.”

“You mean you didn’t expect a girl?”

“Yes,” he admitted, refusing to dance around it.

“Well,” she said with a shrug, “guess we both had false expectations of the situation, Mr. Nashton.”

Edward felt the frustration building, both at himself and at Romy’s unsettling confidence. “And what exactly did you expect?” he retorted, his eyebrow cocking. “Quantico?”

She smirked, but the movement was subtle, a brief twitch at the corner of her lips. “No.” Her fingers traced over the edge of a dusty computer monitor, her almond-shaped nails—a soft mint green—making the action seem delicate. “But, like,  maybe I expected something a little more contemporary than this, I suppose.”

He bristled at the unintentional insult to his sanctuary of cobbled-together tech that he had spent the better part of a year collecting to upgrade this dump. He found himself oddly off-balance, grappling with the realization that he had expected someone completely different. Someone less refined, more—unpolished. But here she was, her demeanor perfectly maintained in a lavender blazer dress, with the confidence of someone used to catching others off guard.

He did not like it. He did not like how she acted. He did not like how she talked. He did not like what she said. He did not like how she looked. He did not like her.

Edward sat behind his uncluttered desk, arms folded as he leaned back in his creaky chair, eyes narrowing at her. “The GCPD still does not see the full benefit of a cybercrime division,” he said, his voice laced with a bitterness that hinted at more than just professional frustration. He was used to his work being sidelined, his expertise disregarded by those who should know better. Her arrival was yet another inconvenience in a long line of offenses. “These bald apes are content to remain in the twentieth century.”

Trailing closer, she soon sat in a nearby chair, setting her belongings on a table crowded with equipment. “Quite the shame,” she replied, crossing one leg over the other as she settled into the seat he did not offer her to sit in. “I was hoping to gain some valuable expertise before graduating. I wanted to work here in fact.” There’s a glimmer of amusement in her eyes and her voice holds a polite, measured tone.  “My professors said you are brilliant.”

Smug satisfaction settled in his chest. 

“I am.” Edward’s lip curled ever so slightly, and he straightened, giving her a half-lidded look. 

Romy looked at him for a moment before speaking. “They said you were difficult too.”

“Who’s they?’”

“Duncan and Hadley.”

Edward’s eyes narrowed at the mention of his old professors, the faint smugness that had crept into his expression now sharpening into something colder, more cutting. He studied her with a slow, deliberate gaze. This close, he can finally see her eyes—a moss green

“Duncan and Hadley,” he repeated, his tone laced with disdain. “Duncan—let me guess—still regurgitating decades-old theories as if they’re groundbreaking revelations? And Hadley…” He sneered faintly, his lip curling. “Hadley’s what happens when tenure protects the incompetent. Is he still using Windows XP?”

“Unfortunately… They had strong opinions about you as well,” Romy remarked lightly, looking at her nails in an absent minded manner.

“I’m sure they did,” Edward replied smoothly, sitting forward now, his elbows resting on his desk as he leveled her with a pointed look. “Professors like them always do when confronted with someone who doesn’t just color outside their precious lines but redraws the entire picture. Of course, to them, that’s ‘difficult.’”

Her lips quirked at one side and she rested her chin on her hand, watching him with an amused air. “Then it seems I made the right decision to come to you.”

“While it would undoubtedly be an honor for you to work with someone of my genius firsthand,” Edward continued, his voice dripping with confidence as he narrowed his gaze at her, “you won’t stand a chance.”

Romy merely tilted her head, watching him with an expression of calm intrigue, seemingly unbothered by the sharp bite of his words. It unnerved him more than he cared to admit. He wasn’t used to this feeling, least of all in his own space.

“I’m used to people underestimating me, Mr. Nashton.”

“My estimations are always accurate,” he continued, his voice sharper now. He sighed giving her a bored look. “Let’s cut to it, I suppose.” He let one of his hands rest on the desk. “You will only get in my way. I don’t want to waste my time or my breath educating you on something that will likely go in one ear and out the other.” He tapped his fingers against the tabletop in a measured way, his voice cold. “You are to sit, stay, and not move. Don’t touch anything else. You can watch, and maybe, just maybe , you might be graced with a touch of my intellect... One would only be so lucky to have someone of my caliber rub off on them.”

Before Romy responded, there was a slight twitch of her perfectly plucked brow. “... Do you like to rub off on people, Mr. Nashton?”

He blinked, absorbing what she had just said. Rub off, he thought dryly. Clever, very clever. But what really stopped him wasn’t the phrasing; it was the look in her eyes—a knowing, steady gaze that held him longer than it should. There was a flicker of challenge there, of cool confidence, that made him shift in his seat, uncomfortable under the weight of that steady, unflinching stare.

“You know exactly what I mean, girl,” Edward snapped. He fixed Romy with a squint. “I can see you are going to be quite the pain in my ass, aren’t you?”

Romy’s lips twitched as she considered him with sharp eyes. “Oh, no, not at all,” she lilted. “I’m actually trying to make a good impression.”

He watched as she relaxed her slender hands on the arms of the chair, mint green nails clicking once on the wood. Then, when she crossed her legs, it was a slow movement. His attention flicked to her shapely thighs, noting how the lavender hem of her dress raised slightly with the movement. His frown deepened, brows knitting together, and then he looked back at her easy gaze.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” he asked.

Her eyes flicked across his face, and she hummed thoughtfully, obviously thinking about her answer. Then, a slow smirk stretched across her shiny, plush lips, and those young eyes of hers glittered with amusement. She clicked her tongue. “By being quiet, submissive, and obedient…”

Immediately, Edward felt the heat rise, an unbidden flush creeping up his neck and settling under his collar. He resented it, and his jaw tightened in frustration. She leaned back in the chair, her lips curling into that slow, deliberate smirk, and something glittered in her gaze. The subtle bite to her lip—did she even realize she was doing it?—and the way she settled back, so at ease, as if she were testing him, watching to see how he’d react. It was maddening. There was no reason to let a stranger, much less a student, get under his skin.

He kept his tone even, measured. “I have a hard time believing that,” he said with forced calm. “You are already disrupting my workflow by being here. I don’t have the time or interest to indulge anyone’s… antics.”

“Antics?” Romy repeated. “So, like, you assume I’m here to waste your time? That I won’t take this seriously?”

Edward smirked. “Well, if it looks like a duck and talks like a duck,” he chided, not at all masking the disdain in his voice.

Her smile sharpened. “Except when it’s a unicorn,” she simpered, lashes fluttering as she peered at him through half-lidded eyes. “Is that it, Mr. Nashton? Is it because I’m not some acne-riddled, snot-nose, basement incel?” She tilted her head to the side, her long black hair shifting with the movement, and she narrowed her gaze. “Is it because I’m pretty… ?”

The question struck him off balance. He realized he’d been observing every inch of her carefully put-together appearance, struggling to reconcile it with the notion that Commissioner Loeb thought it fit to place her here with him. But Loeb had been unaware of the candidates as well. The disconnect irritated him, the softness of her expression and the sharpness of her words stirring something hot in his chest.

“Listen, little girl,” he sneered, mustering every ounce of cold detachment, “I don’t know what game you’re trying to play, but I’m not the one to challenge.”

Romy’s smile widened, the look in her eyes unmistakably daring. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said, letting her voice dip playfully. “You seem like exactly the kind of man to enjoy a good challenge.” She tapped a nail thoughtfully on the wooden chair arm. “Or am I wrong?”

“Challenges are acceptable,” Edward said, his lips twitching as though considering a smile, though his gaze remained guarded. “But only those that actually require intellect. Challenges that flex the mind… not distractions.”

“So, that’s what you see me as? A distraction?” Romy tilted her chin up, looking at him with that gaze that made her look so cool. It only grated on his nerves. “I’ll make sure to cover my shoulders and hide my bra straps then.”

Edward’s eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to retort, but she was faster, leaning in with a look that was half-sweet, half-mischievous. “Unless, of course…” she purred, “a little distraction is exactly what you need. Maybe it would loosen you up.”

“Loosen up?” he echoed, his voice edged with forced calm. “I don’t need to loosen up. I need focus and productivity, two qualities I have a hard time believing you possess.”

“I have plenty of focus.” She settled back in her chair, unabashedly grinning at his obvious discomfort. “I’m sure we’ll make a… productive team, Mr. Nashton.”

He exhaled slowly, trying to maintain his composure. “You’re insufferably confident, aren’t you?”

“Pot meet kettle,” she replied breezily, gesturing in a casual manner, clearly unbothered by his barbs. “So… are you ready to be impressed, or are we going to keep up the foreplay?”

Edward rolled his eyes then shifted and spun back to his computer. “ Fine,” he said tightly. “You want to prove yourself? Then start by doing exactly what I tell you, without the smart commentary, Ms. Winslow.” He made movements to bring up his work, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard.

She shifted to the side, her eyes gleaming with a playful challenge as she retrieved a sleek laptop from her purse. “Yes, Mr. Nashton, sir.”

His fingers stalled over the keyboard, his usual fluidity momentarily broken. A shiver ran down his spine, slithering low. It made him grit his teeth.

With a deep inhale and an exasperated sigh, he settled into his work, typing with the familiar, precise rhythm he was known for. While he maintained perfect focus, he couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling of having someone in his space. He worked alone. He had never had to precept anyone. He was not a teacher. He didn’t have the patience nor the desire for it. Professors had tried setting him up to tutor during his time in college—it hadn’t worked out as they thought it would. It had taken only one time to make someone cry for them to decide teamwork might not be something for him.

He felt it inevitable: Romy would say something completely idiotic; he would correct her; it would hurt her puny little feelings; she would cry; she would quit; and he would never have to hear from her again.

All he had to do was bide his time. He could be patient… when he wanted to be.

But, as much as it stung to admit, Romy surprised him. She was quiet—perfectly quiet, almost too quiet—and she seemed wholly absorbed in what he was doing. It was almost like she didn’t exist.

The minutes stretched, long and quiet, with nothing but the soft hum of computers and the steady beat of typing filling the air. Twenty minutes slipped into thirty, and then an hour, and still, she remained there, intently focused. The steadiness of her gaze as it flickered between her screen, his screen, and his hands—the unwavering attention she devoted to each click, each keystroke—was almost unnerving. There was something in the way she was present, so completely engaged, that felt oddly invasive. And yet, she wasn’t disruptive. She didn’t give any more snarky quips. She didn’t sigh in boredom. She didn’t ask questions or interrupt with idle conversation, simply watching, occasionally typing, the rhythm of her own keystrokes echoing his in a strange, synchronized cadence.

But it was the sound of her nails that really got to him. Each click of the keys under her fingers was punctuated by the sharper snap of those mint-colored acrylics atop them, a sound somehow distinct from the natural clack of a keyboard. It wasn’t irritating—not yet—but he sensed the potential. It was the kind of sound that, over time, could likely chip away at his concentration, like Chinese water torture, each click burrowing into his awareness with grating persistence.

Every now and then, Edward risked a glance at Romy, expecting to catch her on her phone or zoned out, ready to dismiss the task at hand. But she stayed. She was observant, her posture straight, fingers poised and ready, and she took in every word, every glance he spared her, without saying a thing—only a simple nod here and there in respectful acknowledgment. 

The hours slipped by faster than usual, her silence still unbroken. Edward leaned back, cracking his knuckles and flexing his fingers, savoring the temporary reprieve. But as he shifted, his eyes caught movement—Romy, standing right in front of his desk.

He jolted, a sharp intake of breath betraying his surprise. He hadn’t even heard her move.

“ What?” he snapped, his voice tight. “What do you want, girl?”

She blinked, glancing at her watch with maddening calm. “Time to go home.”

It was only then that he noticed the bag slung over her arm and the paper she was holding out. He scowled, snatching it briskly, his lips pulling into a tight, displeased line. A time log. Of course. With a resigned sigh, he grabbed his pen and scribbled his name and initials before shoving it back at her.

She glanced down at the sheet and grimaced. “You have terrible handwriting.”

“Get out,” he gritted, his flat look doing nothing to mask his irritation. He didn’t need her critique on top of everything else.

“Alright. See you tomorrow, Mr. Nashton,” she chuckled, her tone airy, carrying that infuriating undercurrent of amusement, as though his opinion of her couldn’t matter less. Then she spun on her heel and tossed a languid wave over her shoulder, twiddling her mint-colored acrylics.

“Unfortunately.”

Then, the door clicked shut behind her, leaving the office mercifully quiet and empty. Edward leaned back in his chair. Finally, he had his silence. But it wasn’t the victory he’d hoped for.

His gaze flicked toward the empty chair she’d occupied, a faint scowl tugging at the corners of his mouth. This was only the beginning. She’d be back tomorrow, and the day after that, and every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after that until the semester ended.

Edward’s jaw tightened at the thought, the weight of it pressing down on him like a slowly closing trap. She wasn’t just a nuisance; she was a disruption, a thorn in his side he couldn’t pull out, no matter how much he wanted.

Fifteen weeks and two days of this. Of her.

With a sharp exhale, he turned back to his monitors, forcing his attention onto the scrolling lines of data. He didn’t have time to dwell on irritations. He had work to do, and she was gone for the day. That was enough.

It would have to be.

[techniquetodayy]

How To Utilize The Semrush Keyword Magic Tool

Semrush is among the best SEO tools available in the market. Many professional bloggers and top industry leaders widely use Semrush. Semrush offers a magical tool named Semrush Keyword Magic Tool that makes keyword research much easier. Keyword research is one of the most prominent pillars of SEO, which helps improve business by leveraging organic traffic by targeting the right keywords. In this article, we will learn about the Semrush Keyword Magic Tool, its features, filters, and how to use it.

What is the Semrush Keyword Magic tool?

The Keyword Magic tool is a powerful keyword research tool on Semrush. It allows you to gain access to the publicly available billion keywords and offers an adaptive interface for research. All you need to do is enter the required word that you want to research into the search bar. This tool shows you a dynamic table with related terms split into subtropics.

Features of the Semrush Keyword Magic tool

Some of the key factors of the Semrush Keyword magic tools are as follows:

Extensive keyword database: This tool has access to a large public database of more than a billion words covering a variety of industries and niches. This database helps the user find the most relevant keyword for the target audience.

Automated keyword grouping: This tool automatically groups related keywords into topic-specific categories, making it easy to identify the most relevant keywords by organizing them.

Intent analysis: The Keyword Magic Tool lets you determine which keywords are transactional, navigational, or informative. It can help you better understand the intent behind search queries, allowing you to focus on keywords that have a higher chance of producing leads or sales.

Search volume calculations: This tool can help you discover how frequently people search for certain phrases. It gives you precise estimates of search volume for each keyword, which is required for setting priorities for your keyword research.

Keyword difficulty estimations: For every keyword, the Keyword Magic Tool offers difficulty estimates that show how competitive it is to rank for that particular phrase. By focusing on phrases that you have a strong probability of ranking for, you can use this information to help you prioritize your keyword research efforts.

SERP Features Opportunities: This tool allows you to determine which terms result in SERP elements like Knowledge Panels and Featured Snippets. You can then use this information to optimize your content so that it appears in these worthwhile search results.

Advanced filtering and sorting: The Keyword Magic Tool allows you to filter and arrange your keyword lists based on various factors, such as search volume, keyword difficulty, purpose, and SERP attributes. It facilitates the process of identifying the best keywords for your requirements.

Save, manage and export keyword lists: This tool allows you to export your keyword lists to CSV and XLS files, as well as other Semrush tools, and save them for later use.

Conclusion

Hence, you must go through this ultimate guide to get deeper knowledge regarding this what role the semrush keyword magic tool plays in uplifting your website.

[uthra-krish]

The Skills I Acquired on My Path to Becoming a Data Scientist

Data science has emerged as one of the most sought-after fields in recent years, and my journey into this exciting discipline has been nothing short of transformative. As someone with a deep curiosity for extracting insights from data, I was naturally drawn to the world of data science. In this blog post, I will share the skills I acquired on my path to becoming a data scientist, highlighting the importance of a diverse skill set in this field.

The Foundation — Mathematics and Statistics

At the core of data science lies a strong foundation in mathematics and statistics. Concepts such as probability, linear algebra, and statistical inference form the building blocks of data analysis and modeling. Understanding these principles is crucial for making informed decisions and drawing meaningful conclusions from data. Throughout my learning journey, I immersed myself in these mathematical concepts, applying them to real-world problems and honing my analytical skills.

Programming Proficiency

Proficiency in programming languages like Python or R is indispensable for a data scientist. These languages provide the tools and frameworks necessary for data manipulation, analysis, and modeling. I embarked on a journey to learn these languages, starting with the basics and gradually advancing to more complex concepts. Writing efficient and elegant code became second nature to me, enabling me to tackle large datasets and build sophisticated models.

Data Handling and Preprocessing

Working with real-world data is often messy and requires careful handling and preprocessing. This involves techniques such as data cleaning, transformation, and feature engineering. I gained valuable experience in navigating the intricacies of data preprocessing, learning how to deal with missing values, outliers, and inconsistent data formats. These skills allowed me to extract valuable insights from raw data and lay the groundwork for subsequent analysis.

Data Visualization and Communication

Data visualization plays a pivotal role in conveying insights to stakeholders and decision-makers. I realized the power of effective visualizations in telling compelling stories and making complex information accessible. I explored various tools and libraries, such as Matplotlib and Tableau, to create visually appealing and informative visualizations. Sharing these visualizations with others enhanced my ability to communicate data-driven insights effectively.

Machine Learning and Predictive Modeling

Machine learning is a cornerstone of data science, enabling us to build predictive models and make data-driven predictions. I delved into the realm of supervised and unsupervised learning, exploring algorithms such as linear regression, decision trees, and clustering techniques. Through hands-on projects, I gained practical experience in building models, fine-tuning their parameters, and evaluating their performance.

Database Management and SQL

Data science often involves working with large datasets stored in databases. Understanding database management and SQL (Structured Query Language) is essential for extracting valuable information from these repositories. I embarked on a journey to learn SQL, mastering the art of querying databases, joining tables, and aggregating data. These skills allowed me to harness the power of databases and efficiently retrieve the data required for analysis.

Domain Knowledge and Specialization

While technical skills are crucial, domain knowledge adds a unique dimension to data science projects. By specializing in specific industries or domains, data scientists can better understand the context and nuances of the problems they are solving. I explored various domains and acquired specialized knowledge, whether it be healthcare, finance, or marketing. This expertise complemented my technical skills, enabling me to provide insights that were not only data-driven but also tailored to the specific industry.

Soft Skills — Communication and Problem-Solving

In addition to technical skills, soft skills play a vital role in the success of a data scientist. Effective communication allows us to articulate complex ideas and findings to non-technical stakeholders, bridging the gap between data science and business. Problem-solving skills help us navigate challenges and find innovative solutions in a rapidly evolving field. Throughout my journey, I honed these skills, collaborating with teams, presenting findings, and adapting my approach to different audiences.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation

Data science is a field that is constantly evolving, with new tools, technologies, and trends emerging regularly. To stay at the forefront of this ever-changing landscape, continuous learning is essential. I dedicated myself to staying updated by following industry blogs, attending conferences, and participating in courses. This commitment to lifelong learning allowed me to adapt to new challenges, acquire new skills, and remain competitive in the field.

In conclusion, the journey to becoming a data scientist is an exciting and dynamic one, requiring a diverse set of skills. From mathematics and programming to data handling and communication, each skill plays a crucial role in unlocking the potential of data. Aspiring data scientists should embrace this multidimensional nature of the field and embark on their own learning journey. If you want to learn more about Data science, I highly recommend that you contact ACTE Technologies because they offer Data Science courses and job placement opportunities. Experienced teachers can help you learn better. You can find these services both online and offline. Take things step by step and consider enrolling in a course if you’re interested. By acquiring these skills and continuously adapting to new developments, they can make a meaningful impact in the world of data science.