#Innovation in Data Handling

[rajaniesh]

Unleashing the full Power of Data Mesh with Databricks Lakehouse for Modern Enterprises

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[beesmygod]

ed zitron, a tech beat reporter, wrote an article about a recent paper that came out from goldman-sachs calling AI, in nicer terms, a grift. it is a really interesting article; hearing criticism from people who are not ignorant of the tech and have no reason to mince words is refreshing. it also brings up points and asks the right questions:

if AI is going to be a trillion dollar investment, what trillion dollar problem is it solving?

what does it mean when people say that AI will "get better"? what does that look like and how would it even be achieved? the article makes a point to debunk talking points about how all tech is misunderstood at first by pointing out that the tech it gets compared to the most, the internet and smartphones, were both created over the course of decades with roadmaps and clear goals. AI does not have this.

the american power grid straight up cannot handle the load required to run AI because it has not been meaningfully developed in decades. how are they going to overcome this hurdle (they aren't)?

people who are losing their jobs to this tech aren't being "replaced". they're just getting a taste of how little their managers care about their craft and how little they think of their consumer base. ai is not capable of replacing humans and there's no indication they ever will because...

all of these models use the same training data so now they're all giving the same wrong answers in the same voice. without massive and i mean EXPONENTIALLY MASSIVE troves of data to work with, they are pretty much as a standstill for any innovation they're imagining in their heads

[mhorkya]

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[farmerstrend]

Hass Avocado Production in Kenya: A Comprehensive SWOT Analysis for 2025

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[romerona]

Ethera Operation!!

You're the government’s best hacker, but that doesn’t mean you were prepared to be thrown into a fighter jet.

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Awkward!Hacker! FemReader

Part I

This was never supposed to happen. Your role in this operation was simple—deliver the program, ensure it reached the right hands, and let the professionals handle the breaching.

And then, of course, reality decided to light that plan on fire.

The program—codenamed Ethera—was yours. You built it from scratch with encryption so advanced that even the most elite cyber operatives couldn’t crack it without your input. A next-generation adaptive, self-learning decryption software, an intrusion system designed to override and manipulate high-security military networks, Ethera was intended to be both a weapon and a shield, capable of infiltrating enemy systems while protecting your own from counterattacks in real-time. A ghost in the machine. A digital predator. A weapon in the form of pure code. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could disable fleets, and ground aircraft, and turn classified intelligence into an open book. Governments would kill for it. Nations could fall because of it.

Not that you ever meant to, of course. It started as a little experimental security measure program, something to protect high-level data from cyberattacks, not become the ultimate hacking tool. But innovation has a funny way of attracting the wrong kind of attention, and before you knew it, Ethera had become one, if not the most classified, high-risk program in modern times. Tier One asset or so the Secret Service called it.

It was too powerful, too dangerous—so secret that only a select few even knew of its existence, and even fewer could comprehend how it worked.

And therein lay the problem. You were the only person who could properly operate it.

Which was so unfair.

Because it wasn’t supposed to be your problem. You were just the creator, the brain behind the code, the one who spent way too many sleepless nights debugging this monstrosity. Your job was supposed to end at development. But no. Now, because of some bureaucratic nonsense and the fact that no one else could run it without accidentally bricking an entire system, you had been promoted—scratch that, forcibly conscripted—into field duty.

And your mission? To install it in an enemy satellite.

A literal, orbiting, high-security, military-grade satellite, may you add.

God. Why? Why was your country always at war with others? Why couldn’t world leaders just, you know, go to therapy like normal people? Why did everything have to escalate to international cyber warfare?

Which is how you ended up here.

At Top Gun. The last place in the world you wanted to be.

You weren’t built for this. You thrive in sipping coffee in a cosy little office and handling cyber threats from a safe, grounded location. You weren’t meant to be standing in the halls of an elite fighter pilot training program, surrounded by the best aviators in the world—people who thought breaking the sound barrier was a casual Wednesday.

It wasn’t the high-tech cyberwarfare department of the Pentagon, nor some dimly lit black ops facility where hackers in hoodies clacked away at keyboards. No. It was Top Gun. A place where pilots use G-forces like a personal amusement park ride.

You weren’t a soldier, you weren’t a spy, you got queasy in elevators, you got dizzy when you stood too fast, hell, you weren’t even good at keeping your phone screen from cracking.

... And now you were sweating.

You swallowed hard as Admiral Solomon "Warlock" Bates led you through the halls of the naval base, your heels clacking on the polished floors as you wiped your forehead. You're nervous, too damn nervous and this damned weather did not help.

"Relax, Miss," Warlock muttered in that calm, authoritative way of his. "They're just pilots."

Just pilots.

Right. And a nuclear warhead was just a firework.

And now, somehow, you were supposed to explain—loosely explain, because God help you, the full details were above even their clearance level—how Ethera, your elegant, lethal, unstoppable digital masterpiece, was about to be injected into an enemy satellite as part of a classified mission.

This was going to be a disaster.

You had barely made it through the doors of the briefing room when you felt it—every single eye in the room locking onto you.

It wasn’t just the number of them that got you, it was the intensity. These were Top Gun pilots, the best of the best, and they radiated the kind of confidence you could only dream of having. Meanwhile, you felt like a stray kitten wandering into a lion’s den.

Your hands tightened around the tablet clutched to your chest. It was your lifeline, holding every critical detail of Ethera, the program that had dragged you into this utterly ridiculous situation. If you could’ve melted into the walls, you absolutely would have. But there was no escaping this.

You just had to keep it together long enough to survive this briefing.

So, you inhaled deeply, squared your shoulders, and forced your heels forward, trying to project confidence—chin up, back straight, eyes locked onto Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson, who you’d been introduced to earlier that day.

And then, of course, you dropped the damn tablet.

Not a graceful drop. Not the kind of gentle slip where you could scoop it back up and act like nothing happened. No, this was a full-on, physics-defying fumble. The tablet flipped out of your arms, ricocheted off your knee, and skidded across the floor to the feet of one of the pilots.

Silence.

Pure, excruciating silence.

You didn’t even have the nerve to look up right away, too busy contemplating whether it was physically possible to disintegrate on command. But when you finally did glance up—because, you know, social convention demanded it—you were met with a sight that somehow made this entire disaster worse.

Because the person crouching down to pick up your poor, abused tablet was freaking hot.

Tall, broad-shouldered, with a head of golden curls that practically begged to be tousled by the wind, and, oh, yeah—a moustache that somehow worked way too well on him.

He turned the tablet over in his hands, inspecting it with an amused little smirk before handing it over to you. "You, uh… need this?"

Oh, great. His voice is hot too.

You grabbed it back, praying he couldn't see how your hands were shaking. “Nope. Just thought I’d test gravity real quick.”

A few chuckles rippled through the room, and his smirk deepened like he was enjoying this way too much. You, on the other hand, wanted to launch yourself into the sun.

With what little dignity you had left, you forced a quick, tight-lipped smile at him before turning on your heel and continuing forward, clutching your tablet like it was a life raft in the middle of the worst social shipwreck imaginable.

At the front of the room, Vice Admiral Beau Cyclone Simpson stood with the kind of posture that said he had zero time for nonsense, waiting for the room to settle. You barely had time to take a deep breath before his voice cut through the air.

“Alright, listen up.” His tone was crisp, commanding, and impossible to ignore. “This is Dr Y/N L/N. Everything she is about to tell you is highly classified. What you hear in this briefing does not leave this room. Understood?”

A chorus of nods. "Yes, sir."

You barely resisted the urge to physically cringe as every pilot in the room turned to stare at you—some with confusion, others with barely concealed amusement, and a few with the sharp assessing glances of people who had no clue what they were supposed to do with you.

You cleared your throat, squared your shoulders, and did your best to channel even an ounce of the confidence you usually had when you were coding at 3 AM in a secure, pilot-free lab—where the only judgment you faced was from coffee cups and the occasional system error.

As you reached the podium, you forced what you hoped was a composed smile. “Uh… hi, nice to meet you all.”

Solid. Real professional.

You glanced up just long enough to take in the mix of expressions in the room—some mildly interested, some unreadable, and one particular moustached pilot who still had the faintest trace of amusement on his face.

Nope. Not looking at him.

You exhaled slowly, centering yourself. Stay focused. Stay professional. You weren’t just here because of Ethera—you were Ethera. The only one who truly understood it. The only one who could execute this mission.

With another tap on your tablet, the slide shifted to a blacked-out, redacted briefing—only the necessary information was visible. A sleek 3D-rendered model of the enemy satellite appeared on the screen, rotating slowly. Most of its details were blurred or omitted entirely.

“This is Blackstar, a highly classified enemy satellite that has been operating in a low-Earth orbit over restricted airspace.” Your voice remained even, and steady, but the weight of what you were revealing sent a shiver down your spine. “Its existence has remained off the radar—literally and figuratively—until recently, when intelligence confirmed that it has been intercepting our encrypted communications, rerouting information, altering intelligence, and in some cases—fabricating entire communications.”

Someone exhaled sharply. Another shifted in their seat.

“So they’re feeding us bad intel?” one of them with big glasses and blonde hair asked, voice sceptical but sharp.

“That’s the theory,” you confirmed. “And given how quickly our ops have been compromised recently, it’s working.”

You tapped again, shifting to the next slide. The silent infiltration diagram appeared—an intricate web of glowing red lines showing Etherea’s integration process, slowly wrapping around the satellite’s systems like a virus embedding itself into a host.

“This is where Ethera comes in,” you said, shifting to a slide that displayed a cascading string of code, flickering across the screen. “Unlike traditional cyberweapons, Ethera doesn’t just break into a system. It integrates—restructuring security protocols as if it was always meant to be there. It’s undetectable, untraceable, and once inside, it grants us complete control of the Blackstar and won’t even register it as a breach.”

“So we’re not just hacking it," The only female pilot of the team said, arms crossed as she studied the data. “We’re hijacking it.”

“Exactly,” You nodded with a grin.

You switched to the next slide—a detailed radar map displaying the satellite’s location over international waters.

“This is the target area,” you continued after a deep breath. “It’s flying low-altitude reconnaissance patterns, which means it’s using ground relays for some of its communication. That gives us a small window to infiltrate and shut it down.”

The next slide appeared—a pair of unidentified fighter aircraft, patrolling the vicinity.

“And this is the problem,” you said grimly. “This satellite isn’t unguarded.”

A murmur rippled through the room as the pilots took in the fifth-generation stealth fighters displayed on the screen.

“We don’t know who they belong to,” you admitted. “What we do know is that they’re operating with highly classified tech—possibly experimental—and have been seen running defence patterns around the satellite’s flight path.”

Cyclone stepped forward then, arms crossed, his voice sharp and authoritative. “Which means your job is twofold. You will escort Dr L/N’s aircraft to the infiltration zone, ensuring Ethera is successfully deployed. If we are engaged, your priority remains protecting the package and ensuring a safe return.”

Oh, fantastic, you could not only feel your heartbeat in your toes, you were now officially the package.

You cleared your throat, tapping the screen again. Ethera’s interface expanded, displaying a cascade of sleek code.

“Once I’m in range,” you continued, “Ethera will lock onto the satellite’s frequency and begin infiltration. From that point, it’ll take approximately fifty-eight seconds to bypass security and assume control."

Silence settled over the room like a thick cloud, the weight of their stares pressing down on you. You could feel them analyzing, calculating, probably questioning who in their right mind thought putting you—a hacker, a tech specialist, someone whose idea of adrenaline was passing cars on the highway—into a fighter jet was a good idea.

Finally, one of the pilots—tall, broad-shouldered, blonde, and very clearly one of the cocky ones—tilted his head, arms crossed over his chest in a way that screamed too much confidence.

“So, let me get this straight.” His voice was smooth, and confident, with just the right amount of teasing. “You, Doctor—our very classified, very important tech specialist—have to be in the air, in a plane, during a mission that has a high probability of turning into a dogfight… just so you can press a button?”

Your stomach twisted at the mention of being airborne.

“Well…” You gulped, very much aware of how absolutely insane this sounded when put like that. “It’s… more than just that, but, yeah, essentially.”

A slow grin spread across his face, far too entertained by your predicament.

“Oh,” he drawled, “this is gonna be fun.”

Before you could fully process how much you already hated this, Cyclone—who had been watching the exchange with his signature unamused glare—stepped forward, cutting through the tension with his sharp, no-nonsense voice.

“This is a classified operation,” he stated, sharp and authoritative. “Not a joyride.”

The blonde’s smirk faded slightly as he straightened, and the rest of the pilots quickly fell in line.

Silence lingered for a moment longer before Vice Admiral Beau Cyclone Simpson let out a slow breath and straightened. His sharp gaze swept over the room before he nodded once.

“All right. That’s enough.” His tone was firm, the kind that left no room for argument. “We’ve got work to do. The mission will take place in a few weeks' time, once we’ve run full assessments, completed necessary preparations, and designated a lead for this operation.”

There was a slight shift in the room. Some of the pilots exchanged glances, the weight of the upcoming mission finally settling in. Others, mainly the cocky ones, looked as though they were already imagining themselves in the cockpit.

“Dismissed,” Cyclone finished.

The pilots stood, murmuring amongst themselves as they filed out of the room, the blonde one still wearing a smug grin as he passed you making you frown and turn away, your gaze then briefly met the eyes of the moustached pilot.

You hadn’t meant to look, but the moment your eyes connected, something flickered in his expression. Amusement? Curiosity? You weren’t sure, and frankly, you didn’t want to know.

So you did the only logical thing and immediately looked away and turned to gather your things. You needed to get out of here, to find some space to breathe before your brain short-circuited from stress—

“Doctor, Stay for a moment.”

You tightened your grip on your tablet and turned back to Cyclone, who was watching you with that unreadable, vaguely disapproving expression that all high-ranking officers seemed to have perfected. “Uh… yes, sir?”

Once the last pilot was out the door, Cyclone exhaled sharply and crossed his arms.

“You realize,” he said, “that you’re going to have to actually fly, correct?”

You swallowed. “I—well, technically, I’ll just be a passenger.”

His stare didn’t waver.

“Doctor,” he said, tone flat, “I’ve read your file. I know you requested to be driven here instead of taking a military transport plane. You also took a ferry across the bay instead of a helicopter. And I know that you chose to work remotely for three years to avoid getting on a plane.”

You felt heat rise to your cheeks. “That… could mean anything.”

“It means you do not like flying, am I correct?”

Your fingers tightened around the tablet as you tried to find a way—any way—out of this. “Sir, with all due respect, I don’t need to fly the plane. I just need to be in it long enough to deploy Ethera—”

Cyclone cut you off with a sharp look. “And what happens if something goes wrong, Doctor? If the aircraft takes damage? If you have to eject mid-flight? If you lose comms and have to rely on emergency protocols?”

You swallowed hard, your stomach twisting at the very thought of ejecting from a jet.

Cyclone sighed, rubbing his temple as if this entire conversation was giving him a migraine. “We cannot afford to have you panicking mid-mission. If this is going to work, you need to be prepared. That’s why, starting next week you will train with the pilots on aerial procedures and undergoing mandatory training in our flight simulation program.”

Your stomach dropped. “I—wait, what? That’s not necessary—”

“It’s absolutely necessary,” Cyclone cut in, his tone sharp. “If you can’t handle a simulated flight, you become a liability—not just to yourself, but to the pilots escorting you. And in case I need to remind you, Doctor, this mission is classified at the highest level. If you panic mid-air, it won’t just be your life at risk. It’ll be theirs. And it’ll be national security at stake.”

You inhaled sharply. No pressure. None at all.

Cyclone watched you for a moment before speaking again, his tone slightly softer but still firm. “You’re the only one who can do this, Doctor. That means you need to be ready.”

You exhaled slowly, pressing your lips together before nodding stiffly. “Understood, sir.”

Cyclone gave a small nod of approval. “Good. Dismissed.”

You turned and walked out, shoulders tense, fully aware that in three days' time, you were going to be strapped into a high-speed, fighter jet. And knowing your luck?

You were definitely going to puke.

Part 2???

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Palantir’s NHS-stealing Big Lie

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TUCSON (Mar 9-10), then SAN FRANCISCO (Mar 13), Anaheim, and more!

Capitalism's Big Lie in four words: "There is no alternative." Looters use this lie for cover, insisting that they're hard-nosed grownups living in the reality of human nature, incentives, and facts (which don't care about your feelings).

The point of "there is no alternative" is to extinguish the innovative imagination. "There is no alternative" is really "stop trying to think of alternatives, dammit." But there are always alternatives, and the only reason to demand that they be excluded from consideration is that these alternatives are manifestly superior to the looter's supposed inevitability.

Right now, there's an attempt underway to loot the NHS, the UK's single most beloved institution. The NHS has been under sustained assault for decades – budget cuts, overt and stealth privatisation, etc. But one of its crown jewels has been stubbournly resistant to being auctioned off: patient data. Not that HMG hasn't repeatedly tried to flog patient data – it's just that the public won't stand for it:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/21/nhs-data-platform-may-be-undermined-by-lack-of-public-trust-warn-campaigners

Patients – quite reasonably – do not trust the private sector to handle their sensitive medical records.

Now, this presents a real conundrum, because NHS patient data, taken as a whole, holds untold medical insights. The UK is a large and diverse country and those records in aggregate can help researchers understand the efficacy of various medicines and other interventions. Leaving that data inert and unanalysed will cost lives: in the UK, and all over the world.

For years, the stock answer to "how do we do science on NHS records without violating patient privacy?" has been "just anonymise the data." The claim is that if you replace patient names with random numbers, you can release the data to research partners without compromising patient privacy, because no one will be able to turn those numbers back into names.

It would be great if this were true, but it isn't. In theory and in practice, it is surprisingly easy to "re-identify" individuals in anonymous data-sets. To take an obvious example: we know which two dates former PM Tony Blair was given a specific treatment for a cardiac emergency, because this happened while he was in office. We also know Blair's date of birth. Check any trove of NHS data that records a person who matches those three facts and you've found Tony Blair – and all the private data contained alongside those public facts is now in the public domain, forever.

Not everyone has Tony Blair's reidentification hooks, but everyone has data in some kind of database, and those databases are continually being breached, leaked or intentionally released. A breach from a taxi service like Addison-Lee or Uber, or from Transport for London, will reveal the journeys that immediately preceded each prescription at each clinic or hospital in an "anonymous" NHS dataset, which can then be cross-referenced to databases of home addresses and workplaces. In an eyeblink, millions of Britons' records of receiving treatment for STIs or cancer can be connected with named individuals – again, forever.

Re-identification attacks are now considered inevitable; security researchers have made a sport out of seeing how little additional information they need to re-identify individuals in anonymised data-sets. A surprising number of people in any large data-set can be re-identified based on a single characteristic in the data-set.

Given all this, anonymous NHS data releases should have been ruled out years ago. Instead, NHS records are to be handed over to the US military surveillance company Palantir, a notorious human-rights abuser and supplier to the world's most disgusting authoritarian regimes. Palantir – founded by the far-right Trump bagman Peter Thiel – takes its name from the evil wizard Sauron's all-seeing orb in Lord of the Rings ("Sauron, are we the baddies?"):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/01/the-palantir-will-see-you-now/#public-private-partnership

The argument for turning over Britons' most sensitive personal data to an offshore war-crimes company is "there is no alternative." The UK needs the medical insights in those NHS records, and this is the only way to get at them.

As with every instance of "there is no alternative," this turns out to be a lie. What's more, the alternative is vastly superior to this chumocratic sell-out, was Made in Britain, and is the envy of medical researchers the world 'round. That alternative is "trusted research environments." In a new article for the Good Law Project, I describe these nigh-miraculous tools for privacy-preserving, best-of-breed medical research:

https://goodlawproject.org/cory-doctorow-health-data-it-isnt-just-palantir-or-bust/

At the outset of the covid pandemic Oxford's Ben Goldacre and his colleagues set out to perform realtime analysis of the data flooding into NHS trusts up and down the country, in order to learn more about this new disease. To do so, they created Opensafely, an open-source database that was tied into each NHS trust's own patient record systems:

https://timharford.com/2022/07/how-to-save-more-lives-and-avoid-a-privacy-apocalypse/

Opensafely has its own database query language, built on SQL, but tailored to medical research. Researchers write programs in this language to extract aggregate data from each NHS trust's servers, posing medical questions of the data without ever directly touching it. These programs are published in advance on a git server, and are preflighted on synthetic NHS data on a test server. Once the program is approved, it is sent to the main Opensafely server, which then farms out parts of the query to each NHS trust, packages up the results, and publishes them to a public repository.

This is better than "the best of both worlds." This public scientific process, with peer review and disclosure built in, allows for frequent, complex analysis of NHS data without giving a single third party access to a a single patient record, ever. Opensafely was wildly successful: in just months, Opensafely collaborators published sixty blockbuster papers in Nature – science that shaped the world's response to the pandemic.

Opensafely was so successful that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care commissioned a review of the programme with an eye to expanding it to serve as the nation's default way of conducting research on medical data:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-broader-safer-using-health-data-for-research-and-analysis/better-broader-safer-using-health-data-for-research-and-analysis

This approach is cheaper, safer, and more effective than handing hundreds of millions of pounds to Palantir and hoping they will manage the impossible: anonymising data well enough that it is never re-identified. Trusted Research Environments have been endorsed by national associations of doctors and researchers as the superior alternative to giving the NHS's data to Peter Thiel or any other sharp operator seeking a public contract.

As a lifelong privacy campaigner, I find this approach nothing short of inspiring. I would love for there to be a way for publishers and researchers to glean privacy-preserving insights from public library checkouts (such a system would prove an important counter to Amazon's proprietary god's-eye view of reading habits); or BBC podcasts or streaming video viewership.

You see, there is an alternative. We don't have to choose between science and privacy, or the public interest and private gain. There's always an alternative – if there wasn't, the other side wouldn't have to continuously repeat the lie that no alternative is possible.

Name your price for 18 of my DRM-free ebooks and support the Electronic Frontier Foundation with the Humble Cory Doctorow Bundle.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/08/the-fire-of-orodruin/#are-we-the-baddies

Image: Gage Skidmore (modified) https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Thiel_(51876933345).jpg

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

[rahuratna]

Synopsis: As the new research assistant to the Astrum Unit, you have a rather embarrassing secret. You're a superfan of the renowned team now based in the Forbidden Lands.

About to come face to face with your idols, it's up to you to prove your worth (before Athos sniffs out your Olivia figurine collection or Erik drags you straight into the jaws of a monster). [GN Reader character]

Genres: Humour, fluff, crack.

Dividers by: @saradika-graphics

(Wrote this silly little fic in between getting work done. Have some Astrum Unit shenanigans!)

PART 1

The airship arrived during the season of Plenty.

Feet planted on the deck, overalls dampened by the light showers that blew in periodically from the coast, your grip on the handrails grew white-knuckled.

You were here, finally!

Below you, the desert vista brushed edges with sweeping grasslands, the majestic arch of the Wind's Gasp growing more visible through the haze.

The airship was heading for the Base Camp of the Windward Plains, where you would be tasked to assist the research team of the Astrum Unit.

Recent events, including connections with various settlements throughout the area, and the appearance of stronger tempered monsters, had allowed for the researchers here to sink greater footholds into understanding the complex ecosystems and fine balances maintained in the Forbidden Lands.

As such, a greater workforce was needed to handle the growing influx of samples, the cataloguing, to bolster the field teams and to process the huge amounts of data.

Your own specialty was scientific illustration. It had been something of a risk, choosing to hone your skills in this area. Back home, the ecological research centre prized analytics and novel scientific methods. Your illustrations were the kind more favoured in the field, and those selected to pioneer such efforts in unchartered lands were the best of the best.

In spite of it all, you'd been selected for this expedition. You had lived for this moment, for being here, on the deck of this airship, shifting your weight from one foot to the other in anticipation so severe you thought you'd felt a wave of nausea coming on.

There was something else driving your burning ambition, you see.

You were, undeniably, an absolute fan of the fabled Astrum Unit and their exploits, which had traveled back to you in your dusty little loft at the academy.

You'd spent the last few years poring over the monthly gazettes, the new research breakthroughs that came from the Forbidden Lands, the engineering marvels and innovations, the brand new materials and animal parts, the plethora of new data that your colleagues fluttered over like excited hummingbirds.

But you'd known about the Astrum Unit's members from before the expedition. You'd seen brilliant, eccentric Erik's star rise, the illustrious (and thrilling) career of Captain Olivia and her palico, Athos, the steady path that Werner forged for himself, an engineering attack dog set upon each new puzzle with unerring focus.

You had a collection of all of their exploits pasted across one of your walls, along with the small figurines you'd custom carved from ironwood, each with their own distinctive set of clothing or armour.

You had managed to dig through the academy archives to find prototypes of Werner's earliest projects, Erik's masterful bound presentations of endemic life and pieces of Olivia's favoured training dummy (which was more scrap metal than monster-shaped, as expected of something that had been repeatedly smacked with a huge hammer). 

Of course, little of that cherished collection of items had made it onto the airship with you. They were safely locked away with the rest of your possessions back home (except for your precious figurines which had made the journey in your backpack).

Besides, you had so many new memories to make (and the fact that you wouldn't want your new comrades to think you too weird or obsessive, haha).

A shout from up on the prow caught your attention, and you rushed forward, eager for your first glimpse of the camp you'd been longing to see.

The airship pulled slowly into the dock, sinking until the deck was on level with a sloping gang plank. You gawped at the sheer scale of the camp, which had been steadily expanding over the past few years. It was certainly a lot larger than you seen in those early (amateurishly) sketched illustrations.

You got behind a large barrel and started to help push it out, availing yourself to the crew members and palico teams offloading the cargo into the waiting area.

Once the airship had been fully divested of its cargo, and your belongings were safely carried off deck, you tugged on the straps of your backpack and started to make your way towards the most nerve-wracking objective thus far; meeting the rest of your team.

You had no aspirations of making the acquaintances of the revered leaders today. They'd probably be out on important missions and business. You'd settle for meeting the rest of the research team. Hopefully, there'd be others as green as you clearly were.

You soon found yourself outside the Astrum main tent, which was simple in design and feature. Looking around, you couldn't spot anyone of note.

There was a research station set up nearby, devoid of personnel, and you decided to pitch your belongings there and wait for direction.

You really were itching to get to work, so out came your art supplies, the stack of sketchbooks with custom-made stain-proof and water-proof covers, the grids for proportion, the various tools for preparing your drawing implements. You'd also brought along several scientific journals and reference books as a guideline for your future work.

Scattered over the research table were various objects, small jars of preserved specimens, plants growing in small wooden troughs, larger bones and what appeared to be an interesting collection of animal teeth.

Among them was a Quematrice feather, the outstanding quality of the specimen immediately catching your eye.

What colour! And what form!

You just had to make a sketch. Maybe add more details later.

Occupied as you became with your current task, it did come as something of a surprise when a voice spoke up behind you.

"Wow! You're really skilled! And so quick at getting down the basics too."

Smiling sheepishly, you added a last touch before setting aside the sketchbook.

"Oh, I've had a lot of practice. Spent the last few years - "

Your voice died in your throat.

Standing before you, in a worn coat with pockets that could probably contain an entire ecosystem, was none other than THE Erik of the Astrum Unit.

Silvery hair cascaded forward over one eye, his elfish visage gave him a deceptively boyish charm, one that you knew all too well hid a razor sharp intellect and an analytic ability far beyond the norm. 

Seeing your dumbfounded expression, his eyes curved upward cheerfully and he gave a small wave.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm from the Astrum Unit."

He leaned towards you conspiratorially.

"I don't know why, but sometimes the newer teams coming in think I'm some kind of weirdo trying to sell them insect repellent."

He spread his hands and shrugged.

"I mean, I'd sell you something, sure. But you can bet it would attract every bug in the area so I can observe their mating habits!"

With that ... concerning pronouncement, accompanied by a small giggle, he promptly turned and bustled over to the research station, exclaiming in delight when he saw that you'd set up already.

Re-discovering your ability to move, you followed him in a half-daze.

Erik! Erik? It was him! It was really him!

You couldn't lose this opportunity to actually unstick your tongue from the roof of your mouth and make a good impression -

Erik was still rambling.

" - and I was just telling Olivia that I need to get out in the field soon to observe more of the Doshaguma herd, because they're already showing signs of competing for the alpha position, and - "

Just name-dropping Olivia so casually!

You nearly choked on your own saliva. Mind scrambling to piece together the information he'd just provided you with, you interjected hesitantly.

"Ah ... you're going into the field soon? For observation?"

"Yeah! If Olivia allows me."

He turned hurriedly and ... was he stuttering? Was he trying to explain himself to you?

"I mean ... not that I need Olivia's explicit permission or anything, haha. It's just a formality. There are other hunters who could accompany me. You know. For safety. And - "

"What's this about other hunters, Erik?"

Erik glanced past you and blanched a little, ruffling his hair with a nervous hand.

"Ah, Olivia! Didn't expect you so soon! I was just telling - "

His words were rapidly vanishing into the depths of the cosmos as you took a moment to absorb what he'd just uttered.

Olivia? Olivia? Was he -

No. No, it couldn't be. If you turned around now -

And doing exactly that, you came face to face with an imposing pair of buckles over white and green armour, those particular shades ingrained in your mind from the sheer number of times you'd re-painted your dozen small Olivia figurines.

Your eyes tracked upward and -

Holy mother of Khezu, what a woman.

Tall, statuesque, blonde hair flicked out in signature rakish style above the simple silver hoops in each ear, Olivia was every bit the charismatic figure you'd imagined, and more.

Her pale, sea-green gaze flicked over you with curiosity, sharp, observant, assessing. She offered a small nod of greeting which you, somehow, shakily returned.

And now she was holding out her hand for you to shake!

No. No, you couldn't let yourself be reduced to a quivering spectator between the two collosi of your dreaming world.

Straightening your back, you took her hand, some unacknowledged part of your brain screaming that you'd never wash that particular appendage again.

Her grip was powerful enough to fling you across the breadth of the camp. Probably.

"Olivia, of the Astrum Unit. That there's Erik, our Head Researcher."

Oh boy, if only they knew how much you knew. Best not to speculate.

You cleared your throat, voice emerging slightly hoarse.

"Um, I do know who you are, Captain. The honour's all mine."

She waved you off, seemingly unconcerned with the title.

"Just Olivia will do. And you are?"

You introduced yourself, internally cringing at how stilted your speech emerged.

" ... and I'm here to assist the Astrum Unit with my particular skill set, scientific illustration."

Erik danced into your view, shaking something in front of Olivia's face. She leaned back and squinted at it and -

Wait, was that your sketch? WHEN DID HE -

He shot you a sunny smile.

"Oh, your drawing was so great that I just decided to borrow it. That's not a problem, right? Look, Olivia! This is the kind of detail I've been looking for!"

She took the sketch from his hand and - oh goodness, was Olivia looking over your work and nodding in approval?

Glancing up at you, she offered a small smile which punched the breath right out of your chest harder than a Gravios blast.

"I guess it is as Erik says. You're certainly talented, and I'm sure his research team will benefit from your skills."

She rolled up the paper and whacked him smartly over the head with it, ignoring his plaintive protest.

"Just keep an eye on him. He tends to run off at times and if he does, just report to me and Athos."

Erik huffed ruefully.

"They don't even know who Athos is!"

"Oh, of course I know who Athos is!" you blurted out, "That's Captain Olivia's most trusted partner."

Panic immediately rose in your chest as they both stared at you.

Oh no. Now you'd gone and done it. They'd think you were some kind of crazy-

Olivia's expression suddenly morphed to something much warmer, and she looked you over as if re-forming an opinion.

"You're absolutely right. Not everyone refers to Athos as my partner, but once they see her in action, it's usually a wake-up call."

You had somehow managed to make a good impression with that statement, but you were aware that it all came down  to how well you knew Astrum Unit. Olivia had met with Athos in the early days of her career and they'd been inseparable ever since.

Olivia paused and looked around, brow furrowing.

"Speaking of which, where's - "

"There she is!"

Erik pointed in the direction of the research station. Near your belongings was none other than Athos the palico, resplendent white fur gleaming in the dim lamplight within the cavern, nose glued to ... your backpack?

And ... oh Raving Rathalos, was she focusing on the pocket where you'd kept the only portable items in your collection, the small figurines of Erik, Olivia, Werner and Athos herself?

Hurrying over, you stopped before her, bowing awkwardly in greeting. She stopped her examination, clear, curious eyes taking in your form. You felt sweat break out along your brow. There was something about her gaze that felt like she could plumb the depths of your soul.

After a few moments, she bowed slightly back, responding in the muted mewl of Lynian.

"Well met, mew recruit."

She left your backpack alone, scampering over to Olivia's side.

You breathed a sigh of relief.

Olivia smiled down at Athos before turning briskly to you.

"How do you feel about hitting the ground running? We've got a survey in the plains tomorrow. There've been sightings of a tempered Rathian. Erik, you should be able to observe the Doshaguma herd while I observe you."

She shot him a look that reminded you of a hawk pinning a rabbit to an empty mountainside. Erik grinned in return.

"It's not like I'd run off on you or anything!"

He tugged at your sleeve eagerly.

"Now's your chance to join us. Bring your special sketchpad. Who knows how much more could be accurately recorded if we have you along as illustrator!"

You let out a shaky breath.

"Of course I'll be there! You can count on me!"

Olivia nodded.

"Excellent. We'll re-group at the main entrance at first light tomorrow. Erik, get our newest recruit oriented. Get Fritz to set them up with a seikret and field pouch for their supplies, and brief them on researcher safety protocols in the - "

She cut off abruptly, eyes narrowing as Erik blinked innocently back at her.

"Actually, forget that. I'll get someone else to brief them on safety protocols in the field."

"I'm perfectly capable of that, you know!"

Ignoring him, Olivia placed her hands on her hips and addressed you again.

"We watch each other's backs out there, so look out for your teammates and mind their signals. Welcome to the Astrum Unit, new recruit."

If there was a backing track to your simple academic life, it was at this moment that it swelled to a deafening anthem of heroic exploits.

Here comes adventure! Here come the accolades! Here comes the chance to prove yourself to the very members you've idolized for goodness knows how long and -

A soft tap to your forehead brought you back to focus as Olivia lowered her hand, her expression a combination of amused and concerned.

"Hey, you okay? Looked like you were forgetting to breathe for a minute there."

Erik gave an enthusiastic nod.

"It's exciting, isn't it?"

Athos held out a furry paw.

"Hunting is like catnip, but don't get confused and try to catch your own tail, mewbie."

You adopted an expression of fierce focus.

"I'll do my best!"

[sunrisesinthesuburbs]

little by little project

there is something i had planned for march - international women’s day and women’s history month -, but life got in the way, so here I am, proposing this to you in april instead (which still works, given the state of the world).

we all know and are aware of the current trend of gender based violence and femicide, a cruel reminder of the inequality and discrimination all women face on a daily basis. it’s a systematic oppression, and it involves everyone of us.

for the entire month of april, if you donate to one of these five organizations (and send me proof of it!), I’ll write you a go ficlet / short one shot based off of a prompt of your own choosing! (i have some hard limits we can discuss in private, but i’ll write basically everything you want - every rating, every setting, canon or not, etc.). here are the options:

1. Sistah Space (based in the UK)

Sistah Space is a UK-based award-winning community-based charity focused on supporting women of African and Caribbean heritage who are affected by domestic and sexual abuse in the UK with one-on-one support, group counseling, help for survivors to understand their rights, and connecting them to services and support networks. The tragic death of Valerie Forde and her daughter perpretrated by Forde’s ex partner and the heavy criticism Metropolitan police faced after how the case was handled, led to Sistah Space advocating for Valerie's Law, a law that would mean mandatory cultural awareness training for the police and other agencies in the UK, with the aim of supporting Black women who are victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Here is where to donate to Sistah Space!

2. Kwanele South Africa (based in South Africa)

The rate of violence against women and girls in South Africa is among the highest in the world. The country’s rates of intimate partner violence are five times the global average and the country has the fourth-highest rate of interpersonal violence-related femicide in the world. Kwanele South Africa was founded by Leonora Tima in 2021, and its mission is to put an end to the country’s sad statistics by providing any survivor of GBV access to support and justice through innovative technology and data-informed reporting. Since its foundation, the organization has defended more than 200 cases of GBV in South Africa. Kwanele also provides access to sexual and reproductive healthcare for women survivors through access to abortion services and other services.

Here is where to donate to Kwanele South Africa!

3. Djirra (based in Australia)

Djirra is an Aboriginal community-managed organization that provides holistic, culturally sensitive, legal, and non-legal support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are experiencing or have experienced domestic or family abuse. Djirra was founded in 2002 by Antoinette Braybrook, and designs and delivers crucial early intervention and prevention programs based on community needs, as well as working towards reforming policies and laws to enhance access to justice, promote the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, and reduce their vulnerability to violence.

Here is where to donate to Djirra!

4. CADMI (based in Italy)

CADMI is the first ever Anti-Violence centre founded in Italy, back in 1986. Ever since then, it provides a shelter for all women who have been victim to all kind of abuse, whether it’s sexual, psychological, or even financial. Italy’s systemic issues with GBV is as tragic as it is well known: the ‘delitto d’onore’, a law that allowed weaker punishments for whoever killed their wives, sisters or daughters if caught in ‘carnal acts’, was only abolished in 1981; in the past two days, three young women have been victims of femiceds.

Here is where to donate to CADMI!

5. Sylvia Rivera Law Project (based in the US)

Transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization, including sexual assault and aggravated or simple assault, according to a new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) is an American organization that offers free legal services to the low-income trans, intersex and gender non-conforming community. SRLP programs include Legal Services, Impact Litigation, Movement Building, Public Education and Grassroots Fundraising. The charity operates as a collective with different teams running different parts of the organization. For example, the Direct Services Team runs the legal clinic and advocates for policy reform. SRLP also offers trainings and presentations to schools, community organizations, government agencies and others.

Here is where to donate to SRLP!

Why this?

Well, this specific fandom has gone through a lot of things, and I do believe the community handled it well, all things considered. Then again, victims support and advocacy should and needs to come before any fandom or anyone’s enjoyment.

That being said, this is a safe space, and it has always been. If we can do something, however small, to show support to something that really matters, I am 100% sure we will. This is what we do, and why I love this space.

If you are on board with this, DM me with proof of donation and your chosen prompt and I’ll do my best to do it before the end of May. All ficlets will be published on my AO3 account, in a collection that will be titled ‘little by little’.

i truly hope you like this! much love as always ❤️

[soulful-lving8]

8th house series (astrology)

Day 1

8th house is about transformation,rebirth, shedding old ways . 8th house is associated with the sign of Scorpio ♏ ruled by Pluto.

It's all about depth,mysteries, subconscious beliefs & drives,hidden truths.

It also governs emotional bonds, especially those formed through partnerships or marriage, intimacy.

it can also mean the qualities your future spouse will bring,the traits you'll seek out in a partner.your ideal spouse.

8th house is all about transformative experiences,spiritual experiences like major life changes,growth.

Finances ; 8th house governs finances,shared resources maybe between siblings or your spouse,joint assets, debt, inheritance.

Gemini in 8th house

Finances

You are highly adept at managing resources/financial matters; especially complex financial sceneries or shared resources

You always come up with innovative solutions to financial problems coz you have a quick mind, strong analytic skill,natural curiosity and intellectual strength

You have a very communicative nature,in finance you can negotiate successfully (innate gift of the salesman,gift of negotiation & persuasion). This ability is good for your personal finance and for business.

pov you can be a financial advisor.

Curiosity

Gemini's are curious & intellectual beings, in the 8th house this produces a person with a strong drive to know the unknown,your inquisitive nature in the 8th house is unafraid of depth, you'd love to delve into lifes mysteries,seeking to understand life's deeper truth.

You have an insatiable curiosity for metaphysical,human behavior, mysteries and spirituality.

This is your greatest strength so you know a lot.

You are continuously learning & growing,transforming, adaptable so you can change continuously,you thrive even in the midst of an upheaval.

You are excellent at navigating crisis. Gemini is the sign of adaptable communication in the 8th house gives you the ability to handle crisis&major life experiences.

You think quickly on your feet during challenges.you often appear calm/rational even in chaos cos you can quickly analyze a problem and come up with an innovative solution on the spot.

Power of speech

With your strong communication skills,you can convey your thoughts clearly & effectively.

This is a very valuable trait in both personal and professional settings no matter the problem or situation.

Deep connections

With Gemini in your 8th house you can form deep connections with ease.

You thrive on creating deep, meaningful relationships cos of your 8th house. You seek more than just surface level interactions & connection,you want to understand others on a deeper level,explore their thoughts,emotions & experience.

As a curious & communicative sign in the 8th house you can engage in deep conversations that Fosters intimacy & understanding .you can also navigate complex emotional situations.

You can form and maintain deep connections in both professional & personal settings.

You are logical

This is good & bad cos Gemini rules the intellect,which can create a conflict b/w logic &faith.

You are inherently rational, ie you rely on facts,data,concrete information , intellectual analysis; in the 8th house of spirituality,depth & metaphysics there can be struggles in fully embracing spiritual concepts.

You may question the unseen/intangible, anything not easily explained or proven through logical reasoning even though true.

Your curious mind will drive you to explore this subjects but you may also struggle to accept fully your findings.

You need concrete proof,embrace the lessons,trust your intuition understand that trusting your Intuition is part of your life's purpose.

[velocitysedge-if]

"Velocity's Edge" dives into the riveting world of Formula 1, following the journey of you ,an enigmatic young driver, as they navigate the twists and turns of the racing circuit. Fueled by a mysterious past and an insatiable desire for victory, your rise to prominence is punctuated by intense rivalries, unexpected alliances, and a series of heart-pounding races that push both the limits of the track and the depths of your own character.

As the adrenaline-soaked story unfolds, secrets are unveiled, loyalties are tested, and the pursuit of the checkered flag takes on a life of its own, propelling the characters toward the finish line which is only the beginning of the ultimate race.

Demo

⚐ Customizable MC: choose your name, nickname, appearance, gender, and pronouns.

⚐ Romance: 5 males, 4 female, and 2 possible poly route.

⚐ If you don’t want romance, you could just make friends with everyone, or the opposite.

⚐ Win the race...that's all that matters.

Kieran "Kie" Patel

- Age: 27

- Nationality: British-Indian

- Role: Data Analyst

- Description: Kieran Patel is a brilliant British-Indian data analyst who plays a crucial role in analyzing race data and optimizing strategy for your racing team. His expertise lies in deciphering complex telemetry data and providing real-time insights to help the team make informed decisions during races. Kieran's calm demeanor and analytical mindset make him an asset in high-pressure situations. His unique perspective as a data-driven thinker often leads to innovative strategies that give his team a competitive edge.

Elena "El" Petrova

- Age: 25

- Nationality: Russian

- Role: Motorsport Journalist

- Description: Elena Petrova is a passionate and determined Russian motorsport journalist who covers Formula 1 races for a popular international publication. Armed with a deep knowledge of the sport and an insatiable curiosity, Elena strives to capture the human stories behind the races. She's always on the lookout for exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes glimpses that provide fans with a deeper understanding of the drivers and the sport. Elena's engaging storytelling style and dedication to her craft make her a respected voice in the motorsport journalism community.

Diego "Flash" Ramirez

- Age: 28

- Nationality: Spanish

- Role: Social Media Manager

- Description: Diego Ramirez is an energetic and creative Brazilian social media manager who handles the online presence of your racing team. He's a master of crafting engaging social media content that connects with fans on a personal level. Diego's enthusiasm and knack for viral marketing campaigns have significantly increased the team's online following. He's known for his quick wit, pop culture references, and ability to turn even the most mundane moments into captivating social media stories. Diego plays a vital role in shaping the team's image and engaging with fans worldwide.

Mia "Pitstop" Reynolds

- Age: 29

- Nationality: American

- Role: Chief Mechanic

- Description: Mia Reynolds is a skilled and resourceful American chief mechanic who oversees the pit crew for your racing team. She's known for her lightning-fast pit stops and impeccable attention to detail. Mia's journey to becoming a chief mechanic was marked by overcoming gender stereotypes and proving herself in a male-dominated environment. She has a no-nonsense attitude, a strong work ethic, and a deep passion for getting the team's cars back on track as quickly as possible during races.

Jean-Luc "JL" Dubois

- Age: 45

- Nationality: French

- Role: Veteran Commentator

- Description: Jean-Luc Dubois, commonly referred to as "JL," is a charismatic and knowledgeable French commentator who has been covering Formula 1 races for decades. With a distinctive voice and a knack for providing insightful analysis, JL has become a beloved figure among fans worldwide. He's known for his catchphrases and colorful storytelling that bring the excitement of the race to life. JL's passion for the sport is infectious, and his commentating style adds an extra layer of excitement and engagement for viewers tuning in to the races.

Alex "Ace" Walker

- Age: 28

- Nationality: British

- Role: Formula 1 Driver

- Description: Alex Walker is a talented and charismatic British Formula 1 driver known for his incredible racing instincts and daring overtakes. He comes from a modest background and had to fight his way up through the ranks to reach Formula 1. He's known for his quick wit, sense of humor, and unbreakable determination. Ace is deeply passionate about racing, always seeking the thrill of competition and constantly pushing his limits on the track. His signature move is a fearless dive into the inside line during tight corners, earning him the nickname "Ace" among fans and fellow racers.

Sofia "Slick" Martínez

- Age: 26

- Nationality: Spanish

- Role: Rival Formula 1 Driver

- Description: Sofia Martínez is a fierce and calculating Spanish driver who is considered one of the main rivals to Alex "Ace" Walker. She's known for her strategic racing style, which involves preserving tires and fuel to make a late-race surge. Slick comes from a family with a rich motorsport history, and she's determined to continue their legacy. Her quiet confidence and ability to remain composed under pressure often unnerve her competitors. While her relationship with Ace starts as a rivalry, it evolves into a complex dynamic as they gradually gain respect for each other's skills and determination.

Max "Maxy" Nguyen

- Age: 24

- Nationality: Vietnamese-American

- Role: Up-and-Coming Rookie Driver

- Description: Max Nguyen is a young and enthusiastic Vietnamese-American driver making his debut in the Formula 1 scene. He's known for his fearless approach to racing, often pushing the limits of his car's capabilities. His eagerness sometimes leads to impulsive decisions on the track, but his raw talent is undeniable. Nitro's bubbly personality and infectious energy make him a favorite among fans and media, and he quickly becomes a rising star in the sport.

Isabella "Izzy" Williams

- Age: 32

- Nationality: Australian

- Role: Team Principal

- Description: Isabella Williams is a former Formula 2 driver and Rally racer from Australia who retired due to a career-ending injury. After her retirement, she founded her own racing team, determined to lead it to victory. That team is yours. Izzy is known for her strategic thinking, meticulous attention to detail, and unyielding dedication to her team. She's a respected figure in the paddock, often navigating the challenges of team management in a male-dominated industry. Her strong leadership inspires her team to constantly strive for excellence.

Luca Moretti

- Age: 50

- Nationality: Italian

- Role: Veteran Race Engineer

- Description: Luca Moretti is a seasoned Italian race engineer with decades of experience in Formula 1. He's known for his encyclopedic knowledge of race tracks and car mechanics. His calm demeanor and deep understanding of the sport make him a highly sought-after engineer. Luca has worked with numerous legendary drivers over the years and now finds himself mentoring you as your race engineer. He often provides valuable guidance and insights both on and off the track.

____________________________________

Demo

ASKS WELCOME

tags: @interact-if

[zorakas]

Let's switch it up and do some villains!

✧ DZ | Zoroark | Dark type ✧

DZ, who’s real name is Daniel (last name Zane), is a zoroark who is as evil as evil comes. Despite being born into a good life, he was never really satisfied ever. He had decent parents who didnt mistreat him, he didn’t have any friends at school but not because of him it was just for lack of trying, his family was well off financially wise, etc. Life wasn’t a struggle for him, yet he was never satisfied. He discovered pretty early on that he was an ability user, and instead of embracing what he was, he rejected it. Even though he accepted the special ability he had, he refused to accept that he was one of those pokemon. There had been growing concerns and misinformation being spread about them, and he was in 100% agreement with the arguments against them. He believes they are scum of the earth, and don’t have any place among the rest of them. He refuses to acknowledge that he is one of them. Somehow, he managed to find his way into a job that he actually enjoyed. Bounty Hunting. Specifically, hunting mythical pokemon. He was an extremely good tracker, like scarily good at it, which made him one of the best on his team. Though what they were doing was clearly illegal, law enforcement refused to get involved with them, fearing what these people would do to them if they intervened. Due to this job, DZ was able to get quite a few connections with people in all kinds of different positions of power and authority, to the point he pretty much became untouchable. It was pretty well known to not mess with him, and never get in his way. Some time after Ace, Rose, and Luca escaped from him, he started freelancing doing odd jobs instead so he could focus on making their lives all a living hell. Some of these jobs included: assisting in arrests (mentioned in Kichiro's summary here) of ability users, assisting in kidnapping pokemon for Ryker Laboratories to use as test subjects, etc. Personality wise, he is very sly and pompous. He is also very smart and innovative, though he has his moments of being a dumbass. He enjoys inflicting pain on others, even if he gains nothing from it. He also has pretty bad anger issues, and tends to get pissed off pretty easily. He will never go by his actual name, and if anyone were to find out and bring it up he’d probably kill them on the spot. He despises his name, so that's why he goes by the abbreviation of it. His special ability is seemingly very broken. Essentially, he is an ability mimicker. He can, and will, use abilities that he shouldn't be able to use. However, he must have seen this ability in use before and understand it's function in order to use it. This ONLY applies to special abilities and NOT pokemon moves. He is still only able to use pokemon moves inside the parameters of what zoroarks can learn. His design consists of him having horns, however the one on the left side of his head has been broken off and leaves a small portion of the bottom left

✧ Ryker | Lucario | Fighting/Steel type ✧

Ryker is the leading scientist at Ryker Labs, owned by him. Ryker Labs is a secret project hidden from the eye of the public. They steal pokemon children whom they believe would not be looked for or missed and run medicinal (drugs/pharmaceuticals) or genetic experiments on them against their will. The corrupt government is the only group to know about it's existence and whereabouts. They even give funds to them. He s often far too occupied with other business to come in contact with or on the subjects himself, as he has many employed scientists and guards who handle things behind the scenes. However, if there is something that cannot be handled without his assistance (i.e. repeated misbehavior from specific subjects, experimentation issues, data logging issues, etc.) he will step in when needed. That being said, though he is a very busy man, he does oversee the entire building, and he is properly respected as a boss and properly feared by the subjects beneath him. Every subject he deems to be unfit to continue testing with (for many reasons) are disposed of and never released to maintain the secrecy of the lab and keep word of the lab from reaching the ears of the general public. He uses Cinder as his scapegoat for disposal of these subjects, promising punishment in his refusals. Though he is not particularly inclined to bias towards certain subjects over others, he does specifically enjoy making Cinder's life a living hell in any way he can. He had to personally break his resolve upon Cinder coming to the lab, as Cinder spent every waking moment of his arrival doing anything he could to fight for his freedom (biting, kicking, scratching, yelling, etc.). Ryker's means to "break him" was to force Cinder into doing terrible things and if he refused he was subjected to tortuous punishments until he did what he was told. He has also manipulated and gaslit Cinder into believing that he deserves everything coming to him, that he is a terrible being, and many other things. His left eye has a scratch scar that he received from Cinder when he was first brought to the lab as a growlithe. It does not affect his eyesight. He will do anything to get what he wants done, and has no sense of good morals.

✧ Veronika | Gardevoir | Dark/Psychic type ✧

She is the leading scientist of experimentation at Ryker Labs. Despite being looked down on for being an ability user, Ryker saw her for her drive and talents and hired her on anyways. She is very unhinged and her experiments are far from humane. She finds much enjoyment in them. Often ends her days at work with her lab coat covered in blood. Despite her unhinged nature, she is a reliable employee and is very knowledgeable in her field, even at a younger age, which made her suited for the position she currently resides in. Is very obsessed with Cinder in a way that comes off as "yandere," but also sadistic in nature and enjoys seeing others, especially Cinder, in pain. She thinks of him as her own personal play thing that she can break over and over again. She has an intense bitemark scar on her right forearm from Cinder as a growlithe from before he was forcefully evolved into an arcanine.

[republicsecurity]

Standard Chastity/Underwear/Diaper Component of the Armor Suit

The Standard Chastity/Underwear/Diaper Component is an integral part of the advanced full-body armor suit worn by Cadets, Conscripts, Reservists and Intendurds in the Security Forces, Lifeguards, Paramedic Corps and Nursing Corps and training academies. This component is designed to ensure hygiene, control, and comfort for the wearer, whether used in conjunction with the full armor suit or as a standalone piece of equipment.

Design and Features

Material: Constructed from high-density, hypoallergenic synthetic fabrics, the component provides durability, flexibility, and breathability. The inner lining is coated with an antimicrobial layer to prevent infections and maintain cleanliness over extended periods.

Two-Chamber Design: The component features a specialized two-chamber design. One chamber securely encases the penis, while the other accommodates the scrotum, ensuring both are protected and kept in an optimal environment. This design helps in preventing chafing and maintaining hygiene, even during extended periods of use.

Chastity Mechanism: The chastity feature includes a secure, ergonomic cage designed to prevent unauthorized sexual activity. Made from lightweight, medical-grade polymers, it ensures comfort while maintaining strict control. The cage can be adjusted to fit various sizes and shapes, ensuring a snug but non-restrictive fit.

Waste Management: Integrated into the design is an advanced waste management system. This includes absorbent layers capable of handling urine and fecal matter, which are quickly wicked away to prevent discomfort and skin irritation. The component can be easily cleaned and sanitized, whether worn as part of the armor or independently.

Compatibility: The component seamlessly integrates with the full-body armor suit. Connection points allow for the automated removal and disposal of waste, managed by the suit’s internal systems. When worn independently, it functions efficiently, ensuring the wearer remains hygienic and comfortable.

Security and Monitoring: Equipped with biometric sensors, the component monitors the wearer’s physiological state, transmitting data to the suit’s central processing unit or an external monitoring system. This includes tracking hydration levels, waste excretion, arousal and other vital signs to ensure optimal health and performance.

Comfort and Fit: Designed for extended wear, the component features adjustable straps and a contoured design to prevent chafing and discomfort. The fit can be customized to each wearer, ensuring it remains secure without impeding movement or flexibility.

Usage and Maintenance

Usage: The Standard Chastity/Underwear/Diaper Component is designed for continuous use up to 7 days, with a standard operational period of 5 days. This duration ensures that cadets remain in peak condition during extended training exercises or deployments, without the need for frequent removal or maintenance.

Maintenance: Regular cleaning and sanitization are required to maintain its functionality and hygiene standards. The component can be detached from the suit and cleaned using standard military-grade cleaning agents. Replacement parts and servicing are available through authorized personnel and facilities.

The Standard Chastity/Underwear/Diaper Component exemplifies the blend of technological innovation and practical application, ensuring cadets maintain hygiene and comfort during their rigorous training and operational duties.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Spintronics memory innovation: A new perpendicular magnetized film

Long gone are the days where all our data could fit on a two-megabyte floppy disk. In today's information-based society, the increasing volume of information being handled demands that we switch to memory options with the lowest power consumption and highest capacity possible. Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) is part of the next generation of storage devices expected to meet these needs. Researchers at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR) investigated a cobalt-manganese-iron alloy thin film that demonstrates a high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA)—key aspects for fabricating MRAM devices using spintronics. The findings were published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials on November 13, 2024. "This is the first time a cobalt-manganese-iron alloy has strongly shown large PMA," says Professor Shigemi Mizukami (Tohoku University),

Read more.

[atangledfate]

(from sakuraandscales) Charmette to Kit She really should have asked her mom to give her his number sooner. But she had it now and that was what mattered, even if she was currently crouched behind some rubble while Adam handled those giant badniks. The bee HATED being useless right now...but she still had to test her new little defense method and those bots in particular may be a bit much. So...she chose to text her friend.

[Text] Kit? This you? It's Charmette.. I got your number from Mom. [Text] Ma and I are in your dimension for the whole weekend, I think I've managed to get close to your location or...where ever Surge is right now. [Text] But uh...my current chaperone and I are having a bit of a Death Crab delay. So if you hear a battle....that's probably us. Mind lending a hand?

The Fox hadn't been very social lately, in fact less so then normal. His obsession with drowning his Emotions rather then confront the truth was a powerful motivator. But that didn't make him callous or immune to there effects, as he had begun to realize that the drugs and hypnosis that Starline had used was starting to lose its effects. But he had no idea what narcotics Starline was injecting him with and any hope of finding out was lost when the bastard got buried under a mountain of steel.

He jumped when his burner phone went off, as it should have been impossible for anyone to track--- but seeing who messaged him it didn't shock him either. Charmette was resourceful and, her talent with software was probably unmatched. Funny enough that was something they had in common. He wasn't as skilled in mechanics as Tails was, but he was rather good with software, programming and data breaches. Perhaps intentionally so as it was a tad more useful to starline then building random devices. He also seemed to lack Tails innovation as he could enhance things but trying to build from scratch was alot harder.

" ... Surge... if you are not busy i require your assitance. Or rather Charmette does, it seems she's gotten herself in a pickle as they say... "

" and... why should i care? That girl has got to stop followin' us... she's gonna get hurt worse... "

" ... Because you get to bash a giant badnik... and i'm well aware how much you enjoy doing that..."

" NOW see you gotta lead with that shit Drippy... i am bored outta my mind over here! this is just what i need! "

Kit Sent the coordinates to Surge's phone and the Tenrec, gave a wistful Smile before she bolted across the old factory, and tore through the old bombed out city toward the big bot. Ripping and tearing through the old city like a bolt of lightning she came to a screeching halt overlooking the scene of the battle with her arms crossed!

" hah! look at that you losers can't even handle one lousy super badnik! come on do i gotta keep bailing you out honey pot! though i might be convinced to help if you ask real nice like! "

@sakuraandscales

[krunal-vyas]

Hire Dedicated Developers in India Smarter with AI

Hire dedicated developers in India smarter and faster with AI-powered solutions. As businesses worldwide turn to software development outsourcing, India remains a top destination for IT talent acquisition. However, finding the right developers can be challenging due to skill evaluation, remote team management, and hiring efficiency concerns. Fortunately, AI recruitment tools are revolutionizing the hiring process, making it seamless and effective.

In this blog, I will explore how AI-powered developer hiring is transforming the recruitment landscape and how businesses can leverage these tools to build top-notch offshore development teams.

Why Hire Dedicated Developers in India?

1) Cost-Effective Without Compromising Quality:

Hiring dedicated developers in India can reduce costs by up to 60% compared to hiring in the U.S., Europe, or Australia. This makes it a cost-effective solution for businesses seeking high-quality IT staffing solutions in India.

2) Access to a Vast Talent Pool:

India has a massive talent pool with millions of software engineers proficient in AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and other emerging technologies. This ensures companies can find dedicated software developers in India for any project requirement.

3) Time-Zone Advantage for 24/7 Productivity:

Indian developers work across different time zones, allowing continuous development cycles. This enhances productivity and ensures faster project completion.

4) Expertise in Emerging Technologies:

Indian developers are highly skilled in cutting-edge fields like AI, IoT, and cloud computing, making them invaluable for innovative projects.

Challenges in Hiring Dedicated Developers in India

1) Finding the Right Talent Efficiently:

Sorting through thousands of applications manually is time-consuming. AI-powered recruitment tools streamline the process by filtering candidates based on skill match and experience.

2) Evaluating Technical and Soft Skills:

Traditional hiring struggles to assess real-world coding abilities and soft skills like teamwork and communication. AI-driven hiring processes include coding assessments and behavioral analysis for better decision-making.

3) Overcoming Language and Cultural Barriers:

AI in HR and recruitment helps evaluate language proficiency and cultural adaptability, ensuring smooth collaboration within offshore development teams.

4) Managing Remote Teams Effectively:

AI-driven remote work management tools help businesses track performance, manage tasks, and ensure accountability.

How AI is Transforming Developer Hiring

1. AI-Powered Candidate Screening:

AI recruitment tools use resume parsing, skill-matching algorithms, and machine learning to shortlist the best candidates quickly.

2. AI-Driven Coding Assessments:

Developer assessment tools conduct real-time coding challenges to evaluate technical expertise, code efficiency, and problem-solving skills.

3. AI Chatbots for Initial Interviews:

AI chatbots handle initial screenings, assessing technical knowledge, communication skills, and cultural fit before human intervention.

4. Predictive Analytics for Hiring Success:

AI analyzes past hiring data and candidate work history to predict long-term success, improving recruitment accuracy.

5. AI in Background Verification:

AI-powered background checks ensure candidate authenticity, education verification, and fraud detection, reducing hiring risks.

Steps to Hire Dedicated Developers in India Smarter with AI

1. Define Job Roles and Key Skill Requirements:

Outline essential technical skills, experience levels, and project expectations to streamline recruitment.

2. Use AI-Based Hiring Platforms:

Leverage best AI hiring platforms like LinkedIn Talent Insightsand HireVue to source top developers.

3. Implement AI-Driven Skill Assessments:

AI-powered recruitment processes use coding tests and behavioral evaluations to assess real-world problem-solving abilities.

4. Conduct AI-Powered Video Interviews:

AI-driven interview tools analyze body language, sentiment, and communication skills for improved hiring accuracy.

5. Optimize Team Collaboration with AI Tools:

Remote work management tools like Trello, Asana, and Jira enhance productivity and ensure smooth collaboration.

Top AI-Powered Hiring Tools for Businesses

LinkedIn Talent Insights — AI-driven talent analytics

HackerRank — AI-powered coding assessments

HireVue — AI-driven video interview analysis

Pymetrics — AI-based behavioral and cognitive assessments

X0PA AI — AI-driven talent acquisition platform

Best Practices for Managing AI-Hired Developers in India

1. Establish Clear Communication Channels:

Use collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom for seamless communication.

2. Leverage AI-Driven Productivity Tracking:

Monitor performance using AI-powered tracking tools like Time Doctor and Hubstaff to optimize workflows.

3. Encourage Continuous Learning and Upskilling:

Provide access to AI-driven learning platforms like Coursera and Udemy to keep developers updated on industry trends.

4. Foster Cultural Alignment and Team Bonding:

Organize virtual team-building activities to enhance collaboration and engagement.

Future of AI in Developer Hiring

1) AI-Driven Automation for Faster Hiring:

AI will continue automating tedious recruitment tasks, improving efficiency and candidate experience.

2) AI and Blockchain for Transparent Recruitment:

Integrating AI with blockchain will enhance candidate verification and data security for trustworthy hiring processes.

3) AI’s Role in Enhancing Remote Work Efficiency:

AI-powered analytics and automation will further improve productivity within offshore development teams.

Conclusion:

AI revolutionizes the hiring of dedicated developers in India by automating candidate screening, coding assessments, and interview analysis. Businesses can leverage AI-powered tools to efficiently find, evaluate, and manage top-tier offshore developers, ensuring cost-effective and high-quality software development outsourcing.

Ready to hire dedicated developers in India using AI? iQlance offers cutting-edge AI-powered hiring solutions to help you find the best talent quickly and efficiently. Get in touch today!

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

AI helps distinguish dark matter from cosmic noise

Dark matter is the invisible force holding the universe together – or so we think. It makes up around 85% of all matter and around 27% of the universe’s contents, but since we can’t see it directly, we have to study its gravitational effects on galaxies and other cosmic structures. Despite decades of research, the true nature of dark matter remains one of science’s most elusive questions.

According to a leading theory, dark matter might be a type of particle that barely interacts with anything else, except through gravity. But some scientists believe these particles could occasionally interact with each other, a phenomenon known as self-interaction. Detecting such interactions would offer crucial clues about dark matter’s properties.

However, distinguishing the subtle signs of dark matter self-interactions from other cosmic effects, like those caused by active galactic nuclei (AGN) – the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies – has been a major challenge. AGN feedback can push matter around in ways that are similar to the effects of dark matter, making it difficult to tell the two apart.

In a significant step forward, astronomer David Harvey at EPFL’s  Laboratory of Astrophysics has developed a deep-learning algorithm that can untangle these complex signals. Their AI-based method is designed to differentiate between the effects of dark matter self-interactions and those of AGN feedback by analyzing images of galaxy clusters – vast collections of galaxies bound together by gravity. The innovation promises to greatly enhance the precision of dark matter studies.

Harvey trained a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) – a type of AI that is particularly good at recognizing patterns in images – with images from the BAHAMAS-SIDM project, which models galaxy clusters under different dark matter and AGN feedback scenarios. By being fed thousands of simulated galaxy cluster images, the CNN learned to distinguish between the signals caused by dark matter self-interactions and those caused by AGN feedback.

Among the various CNN architectures tested, the most complex - dubbed “Inception” – proved to also be the most accurate. The AI was trained on two primary dark matter scenarios, featuring different levels of self-interaction, and validated on additional models, including a more complex, velocity-dependent dark matter model.

Inceptionachieved an impressive accuracy of 80% under ideal conditions, effectively identifying whether galaxy clusters were influenced by self-interacting dark matter or AGN feedback. It maintained is high performance even when the researchers introduced realistic observational noise that mimics the kind of data we expect from future telescopes like Euclid.

What this means is that Inception – and the AI approach more generally – could prove incredibly useful for analyzing the massive amounts of data we collect from space. Moreover, the AI’s ability to handle unseen data indicates that it’s adaptable and reliable, making it a promising tool for future dark matter research.

AI-based approaches like Inception could significantly impact our understanding of what dark matter actually is. As new telescopes gather unprecedented amounts of data, this method will help scientists sift through it quickly and accurately, potentially revealing the true nature of dark matter.