#Streamlined Scanning Process

[productinsights297]

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[the-librarby]

FANCY SEEING YOU HERE

- DANTE SPARDA (DMC)

Riding that bandwagon, don’t ask me about my dmc credentials.

Part two Part three Part four

It had been a simple induction process, a quick cash grab of a job opportunity. Nothing too hard about a receptionist job, right?

Wrong.

What your boss failed to tell you is that he had no fucking idea what he was doing. Or really, he did, but then too many contracts started rolling in for his system to continue working. Which is where you came in, it took a few months but everything has finally been streamlined. Clients rolled in, and you assigned them to the relevant hunter.

It had been a quiet morning, as far as quiet can be when you got a text from your boss, Enzo. Enzo didn’t contact you much, you pretty much had everything handled, as he would say, so he would only check in when there was a major change or someone returning to the roster. This was no different.

Dante is dropping in. Major mission wrapped up. Look after yourself he’s a handful.

You squinted, Dante is a new name you haven’t seen before meaning he’s a new, or old, hunter you haven’t met yet. You’ve met plenty of hunters that were a handful, so the text didn’t throw you off that much, you just made a note of it and moved on about your day.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that your door burst open abruptly, door handle smacking loudly into the wall. Now this pissed you off, because you had just finally got the message across to all hunters that you did not appreciate their barbaric manners, and it seems one hunter missed the memo.

Before the hunter’s red leather trench could settle, you flicked your finger towards the door, “Out.”

The hunter paused, frozen in his place. You watched as he scanned his surroundings, taking in the new office which you have basically personalised to your tastes considering Enzo never really did anything with it. After a cursory glance to disarm his scepticism, he looked at you. Taking your features and finally registering what you said.

“What?” He blurted.

“Get out.” You repeated, sterner.

“Do I have the right place? Where’s Enzo?” He swung his head behind the door as if checking a hiding place.

You pointed at the door once again, before looking back at your computer, “You must be Dante,” you could see him perk up from over the frame of your glasses, “I can answer all your questions, but not until you enter my office with some respect,”

“Your office? This isn’t—”

You glanced up at him momentarily, refusing to humour him any longer. Having sense this, he laughed in disbelief.

“Listen doll, I just came back from a long ass mission, I am not in the mood for mind games,”

You leaned back in your chair, and smiled, “Manners aren’t a mind game, and I don’t feel like fucking around with your attitude just because you’re tired,”

As if bitten by your response, he stepped back and crossed his arms, really staring you down now. It was only about a minute but it felt like ten before he started retreating. You watched him walk back out of your office, the door clicking in place as he left. You crossed your arms over your chest, a full moment passes before you hear it.

A knock at your door.

This makes you smile, finding it almost impossible to consider that a knock could hold an attitude. You make him wait, shuffle a few papers around before sitting back, crossing one leg over the other.

“Come in,” you chime.

The white haired hunter steps through once again, with careful grace this time, he keeps his eyes glued to you as he softly closes the door behind him. Making a sarcastic demonstration of it, yes, but most certainly looking for your approval as he does so.

Finally you stand from your chair, even with the desk separating you, the height difference is stark. You outstretch your hand, “You must be Dante, Enzo told me you’d be arriving today. How was the mission?”

He looked at your hand, then back at you, “Successful, if a bit boring,” he accepts your hand, holding on long enough to make you a tad uneasy. “Who are you?”

You pull away but only because he loosens his grip, “Enzo’s receptionist,”

At this, Dante bursts into laughter, clutching onto his stomach as if you have said the most hilarious thing in the world. This grates on your nerves slightly, not seeing humour in your statement.

After a moment he stands, wiping a tear, “A receptionist? Enzo’s receptionist? I’m sorry sweetheart, it’s not funny. Are you sure we’re talking about the same Enzo?” He sniffles, “Sleezy, short little man Enzo? The same guy that can barely manage himself let alone staff.”

You point to the chair in front of your desk, he follows your gesture as you walk around to meet him, sitting on the corner adjacent to him.

You smile, humoured, “The very same if you can believe it,”

“I can’t,” he interjects, looking around the room once more, “I can see you’ve done a lot with the place, maybe I was away longer than I thought. Is Enzo respectable now?”

You snort, “Not at all,”

He chuckles, taking a deep breath before relaxing back into his seat. You watch as his shoulders unwind, leg crossing over his knee as his hands clutch together in his lap. It’s now that you can finally see him without obstructed view. He’s wearing fingerless leather gloves, a long red leather trench, by all means should be uncomfortable with how it hugs his biceps, but makes it seem like the most comfortable thing in the world. This thighs fill out his heavy black pants, honestly, it’s hiding nothing.

A cough breaks you out of your trance, only to bring you back with a knowing smile, “Do I get an introduction too?”

You smirk, crossing your arms over your chest, “Already? I was starting to get used to the pet names,”

His eyes seem to spark, something igniting in him. He leans forward inquisitively, “Really? That do it for you, doll?”

Before you can respond, your office phone starts to ring, it’s an old dingy landline because Enzo refuses to upgrade something unless it’s disintegrated. You lean back to reach for it behind you. Dante zeros in on your outstretched thighs before him at your distraction, he almost drools at the way your skirt rides slightly up your stockings as you grab the phone off the hook.

He can faintly hear you talking as he watches the way you absently rub your thighs together, “At seven? Where? Do I get paid overtime?” He watches as your fingers wrap around the cord, a playful smile on your lips, “Alright, just checking. Yeah I’ll be there.”

You look over at him, only to see him already looking back with a quirked eyebrow, “Yeah, he’s here,” a frown creases your eyebrows, “Yes, here, as in sitting in my office, what else could I mean? Alright give me a sec.”

Dante watches as you pull the phone away from your ear and stretch it out towards him, “For you, sweetheart,” you wink.

Oh, he’s going to have so much fun with you. He smirks, standing up in the minimal space between you and the desk. Only because he’s concerned the phone line won’t reach, thighs bumps together as his hand envelops yours, bringing the receiver to his ear.

You frown in confusion, your hand caught like a fish on a line as he makes you hold the phone against his ear. He’s staring at you with a smile, you’re so close that you can hear the conversation.

“Dante! How’s my favourite son? Back from the mission in one piece I hear,”

Dante hums, adjusting closer as he speaks, “Yep, all pieces are accounted for. The important ones anyway,”

Enzo cackles at the sleazy joke, “Have you met my new receptionist? That’s right, I’m moving on up in the world, a real business man I am Dante,”

His eyes flick towards yours, holding contact as he responds, “Yeah, she’s a real doll, a stickler for hospitality,”

You roll your eyes, kicking his shin in retaliation, without flinching his hand rests above your knee to cease your jerking like a parent would to a child.

“ Treat her well Dante, she’s the only person holding down the fort for me, if you scare her away I won’t forgive you until I see you grovelling for forgiveness,” he threatens, “Her forgiveness.”

This warms your heart, you’ve come to like Enzo in all his incompetent ways, it’s nice to hear him talk about you so fiercely towards others.

Dante sighs, his hand moving from your knee to the desk beside your thighs. You’re caged in now with your hand against his ear, and his body leaned in close. You can only lean so far back without compromising your position.

“No getting rid of her then huh? Guess I’ll have to get comfortable.”

You’re only half listening to the conversation now, having been distracted by the amulet hanging in front of you. Its ruby gem swings gently in the open space of Dante’s shirt, when he leans forward you catch a glimpse further underneath. He’s built, from what you can tell even with his heavy layers, but he’s not the biggest hunter you’ve seen. Something under the surface has your senses on edge though, like there’s more to him that you’re not seeing, yet.

A gentle pinch to your thigh has you clueing back in. Dante is looking at you with a knowing smirk, as he hums into the receiver, “I’ll be there. Can’t believe you’re putting me to work already, I should call Human Resources. This is an unfair workload.”

“Yada, yada, yada. You know you’re my favourite, now make papa proud, I’ll text ya later.”

Dante straightens up as the call ends, letting you put the phone back on its hook. You look up at him from your seated place on the desk, thighs still pressed against each other, in an act of misplaced confidence, you reach up to flick a piece of imaginary dust off his jacket.

“Guess I’ll be seeing you in action tonight,” you muse.

Dante hums, “You can see me in action a lot sooner if you’d like.”

You shove him back before he can place his hands on you, “Don’t be crude,” you hop off your desk, shifting your skirt back down your legs, “I’ll meet you there? 7pm sharp at the front doors,”

He nods, “7pm sharp at the front doors,” he reiterates, walking towards your office exit, before he leaves he looks over his shoulder at you, “Wear something nice, something that will make the other men jealous of me. Can’t be that hard right?”

You roll your eyes. When the door clicks shut behind him, you exhale deeply. You had a feeling this mission was going to get way out of hand.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Air Canada is poised to roll out facial recognition technology at the gate, making it the first Canadian airline to deploy the software in a bid to streamline the boarding process. Starting Tuesday, customers who board most domestic Air Canada flights at Vancouver International Airport will be able to walk onto the plane without presenting any physical pieces of identification, such as a passport or driver's licence, the country's largest airline said. Participants in the program, which is voluntary, can upload a photo of their face and a scan of their passport to the airline's app.

Continue reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[jessiso]

"Culinary Experiment"

A Criminal Minds one-shot | Spencer Reid x reader

When Spencer Reid tries to cook dinner for you using a spreadsheet, flow chart, and a whole lot of science, the evening turns into a hilariously chaotic and heart-meltingly sweet experiment.

cw: just fluff

w/c 1,120

You weren’t sure what was more unbelievable—that Spencer Reid had insisted on cooking dinner for you, or that he’d done so with a spreadsheet.

Yes.

A spreadsheet.

You watched from your spot on the barstool at your kitchen island, elbow propped up, chin resting in your palm, as Spencer stood in your kitchen, completely focused. His brow furrowed like he was deconstructing a complex crime scene, not boiling water.

“Are you sure you don’t want help?” you offered gently, your lips twitching with a smile as he flipped through a very detailed, very color-coded printout.

“I statistically perform better in unfamiliar activities when I can approach them independently,” he said, without looking up. “Also, I took into account your favorite flavors, preferred spice levels, known allergies, and a few commonly paired palate enhancers based on culinary studies from the Journal of Food Science.”

You blinked. “Did you just say ‘palate enhancers’ like it was a crime scene clue?”

Spencer finally looked over at you, a crooked grin forming on his face. “I mean, taste is subjective, but it is largely guided by science. Flavor is a multisensory experience, affected by smell, texture, and even expectation. This pasta should be a success.”

You looked past him to the stovetop, where a suspicious amount of steam was rising from a pot he hadn’t checked in at least five minutes.

“Spence… do you even like cooking?”

He hesitated. “I like learning. And I like you. Therefore, cooking for you is… an intersection of meaningful variables.”

You melted just a little. Because of course Spencer couldn’t just say something simple. He had to say it like it was a thesis. But it still made your heart squeeze.

“Well, you’re cute when you’re concentrating,” you said.

He smiled again—this time shyly—and reached for a whisk.

Unfortunately, that’s when things started to go downhill.

“I believe this is the part where you fold in the cheese,” he said aloud to himself, eyes scanning the page like it might solve all of life’s mysteries. “But it doesn’t say how to fold it… there’s no actual folding.”

“It’s just a saying, Spence. Like, stir gently.”

He squinted. “That’s extremely vague.”

You got up to help, mostly because he was trying to pour a mountain of shredded cheese into the boiling pasta water, which was most certainly not correct.

“Wait, no—cheese doesn’t go in the boiling water. That’ll turn into a clump. Look, here.” You gently took the spoon and showed him the right pot. “It goes in the sauce. With the cream.”

“Oh,” he murmured, his cheeks going a little pink. “I guess I conflated two steps. I was trying to streamline the process using a flow chart.”

You giggled. “You made a flow chart for pasta?”

“Well, it is carbonara-adjacent, and I wanted to make sure the egg didn’t scramble. It’s all about heat application. Did you know that the Maillard reaction—"

“Spencer,” you interrupted softly, “I love you, but if you start talking about amino acids right now, I might laugh so hard I snort wine through my nose.”

He looked sheepish, and adorable, and you kissed his cheek.

Somehow, despite the chaos, you managed to help him get everything sorted.

The sauce thickened—though it was a little lumpy—and the pasta boiled just enough. He’d made salad (drenched in dressing, but lovingly assembled), garlic bread (a little burnt), and even tried to chill the wine (but forgot and put it in the freezer for an hour, so it was practically a wine slushie).

When everything was ready, he lit a candle in the middle of your tiny table like it was a Michelin-starred restaurant, and pulled out your chair.

“This is…” you paused, looking at the slightly clumsy but genuinely sweet meal in front of you, “perfect.”

He sat across from you, tucking one hand under his thigh like he always did when he was nervous. “You don’t have to pretend it tastes good. I know the sauce is uneven. And the garlic bread might be carcinogenic.”

“Spence,” you said seriously, setting down your fork. “You cooked for me. You made a literal spreadsheet of my favorite foods. You practically did math to make me dinner. That’s… the most ‘you’ thing ever, and it’s also the sweetest.”

He gave you a soft, earnest smile. “I just wanted to do something for you. You’ve been so supportive lately, and work’s been difficult, and—statistically speaking, couples who engage in acts of service for each other report higher relationship satisfaction and oxytocin levels. I wanted to raise your oxytocin.”

You burst out laughing, nearly choking on a bite of pasta. “You’re trying to hack my brain chemistry with pasta?”

He blinked. “Yes.”

You reached across the table and took his hand in yours. “You don’t have to hack anything. Just sitting here with you, sharing a half-burnt dinner and wine slushies, is better than anything five-star.”

His ears turned red.

You both ate slowly, sharing glances and laughter. The food really wasn’t bad—lumpy in parts, sure, but the flavor was there. And Spencer kept up a running commentary of “fun facts” about pasta origins and sauce viscosity and the psychology of comfort food.

“Did you know that food memories are some of the most emotionally potent memories we form?” he said between bites. “There’s a direct neural pathway between the olfactory bulb and the amygdala. So the smell of garlic, for example, can immediately evoke childhood memories or emotional states.”

“So what you’re saying is… twenty years from now, if I smell burned garlic bread, I’ll think of you?”

He tilted his head, thoughtful. “It is likely.”

You leaned forward, resting your chin in your hand again. “I really do love you, you know.”

His expression shifted, soft and full. “I love you too.”

Then, like he couldn’t help himself, he added, “And I’ve loved you since 57 days after we met. I know the exact day because you brought me coffee and remembered I don’t take sugar, and you smiled at me like I was the most interesting person in the room.”

Your heart completely melted.

“You remember the exact day?” you whispered.

He nodded. “I remember everything about you.”

You stood and moved to him, crawling into his lap without hesitation, curling your arms around his neck. He was warm and familiar, and you could feel his heartbeat picking up.

“You are such a nerd,” you whispered against his ear.

“Guilty,” he murmured, his hands sliding gently to your waist. “But I’m your nerd.”

You stayed like that for a long moment, the dishes forgotten, the candles flickering.

Eventually, he whispered, “So… does this count as a successful experiment?”

You smiled against his cheek. “Best. Date. Ever.”

[remotejobsearchtips]

Remote Jobs: The Remote Job Search Hack You’ve Never Heard Of

Remote Job Search Hacks: Ever since the pandemic, remote work has shifted from a niche perk to a global standard. Millions of professionals have either transitioned to working from home or started actively searching for remote opportunities. But here's the truth: finding a legitimate remote job isn't always easy. With endless applications, no responses, and intense competition, the process can quickly become overwhelming. So, is there a smarter and faster way to land a remote role?

In this article, we're sharing a powerful remote job search hack that most people have never heard of, and it's changing the game for job seekers around the world.

Get Hired Remotely Without Even Applying

A Reddit user recently shared a unique strategy that helped them receive multiple remote job offers, and it quickly gained traction across the platform. Instead of applying to individual job listings one by one, they sent their resume directly to hundreds of recruitment agencies and headhunting firms around the world. The idea was simple: let the recruiters come to you.

Soon after, recruiters began reaching out with roles that matched the user's skills and job title. By the end of the process, they had received several remote job offers without going through the usual grind of endless applications. After the post gained popularity, many others tried the same method and reported similar results over time. You can check the full Reddit post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/RemoteJobseekers/comments/1fdpeg2/how_i_landed_multiple_remote_job_offers_my_remote/

When using this strategy of sending your resume to recruitment firms, you have two options: do it manually or use an automated system. Some people prefer the manual approach, while others take advantage of the Rabbit Resume Builder's Boost feature, which automatically sends your resume to over 300 recruitment agencies with just one click. This feature makes it easy for recruiters to find and contact you quickly, helping you get your resume in front of the right people faster, so you can start receiving offers sooner.

That said, if you choose to send your resume manually, we strongly recommend ensuring it’s ATS-friendly. Automated systems will scan your resume before it reaches a recruiter’s database. Without this, your resume may not make it past the initial screening, and you could miss out on valuable opportunities.

If you’re using RabbitResume to create your resume, you won’t have to worry about ATS compatibility. That’s because not only will you be using ATS-friendly resume templates, but the platform also includes an ATS-Hack feature. This feature scans sections of your resume, like skills, work experience, and job titles, and, with the help of AI, generates relevant keywords. These keywords are then added invisibly to your resume. This ensures that your resume ranks higher in ATS scans, increasing your chances of being noticed by recruiters.

By embracing this innovative approach, you can streamline your remote job search, enhance your visibility, and accelerate your journey to landing the perfect remote role.

[axolterp]

Axolt: Modern ERP and Inventory Software Built on Salesforce

Today’s businesses operate in a fast-paced, data-driven environment where efficiency, accuracy, and agility are key to staying competitive. Legacy systems and disconnected software tools can no longer meet the evolving demands of modern enterprises. That’s why companies across industries are turning to Axolt, a next-generation solution offering intelligent inventory software and a full-fledged ERP on Salesforce.

Axolt is a unified, cloud-based ERP system built natively on the Salesforce platform. It provides a modular, scalable framework that allows organizations to manage operations from inventory and logistics to finance, manufacturing, and compliance—all in one place.

Where most ERPs are either too rigid or require costly integrations, Axolt is designed for flexibility. It empowers teams with real-time data, reduces manual work, and improves cross-functional collaboration. With Salesforce as the foundation, users benefit from enterprise-grade security, automation, and mobile access without needing separate platforms for CRM and ERP.

Smarter Inventory Software Inventory is at the heart of operational performance. Poor inventory control can result in stockouts, over-purchasing, and missed opportunities. Axolt’s built-in inventory software addresses these issues by providing real-time visibility into stock levels, warehouse locations, and product movement.

Whether managing serialized products, batches, or kits, the system tracks every item with precision. It supports barcode scanning, lot and serial traceability, expiry tracking, and multi-warehouse inventory—all from a central dashboard.

Unlike traditional inventory tools, Axolt integrates directly with Salesforce CRM. This means your sales and service teams always have accurate availability information, enabling faster order processing and better customer communication.

A Complete Salesforce ERP Axolt isn’t just inventory software—it’s a full Salesforce ERP suite tailored for businesses that want more from their operations. Finance teams can automate billing cycles, reconcile payments, and manage cash flows with built-in modules for accounts receivable and payable. Manufacturing teams can plan production, allocate work orders, and track costs across every stage.

[kabr0ztrousers]

There's this tired worn out guy and he can't help but fantasize about how nice it would be to be a hucow that spends his days getting his chest and dick milked, but everywhere only seems to hire women since it's much easier to induce lactation. He's sitting at this boring desk at work when a mysterious email shows up inviting him to trial run the newest technology in the hucow field!! When he arrives it's better than he can even fathom. Little does he know that this trial run is aired on TV for the entire world to see. People can send in money and control just how fast, slow, hard, or soft the machines milk or fuck him.

Kabr0z Writes episode 63: Reality TV

Find the rest of the Kabr0z Writes anthology here!

CWs: intox; dubcon; implements; restraints; humiliation; coercion; overstim;

A/N: This wasn't requested to be another Chitinid story, but there's only 2 continuities I have ongoing where hucows feature, and this is the one where it isn't an underground practice. I'm not against spinning out another continuity, but couching it where things are already set up helps streamline the process

########################################

A month ago, the old library had been flattened. That was the last interesting thing that had happened in this city, and since then Mike's life has been an unending sequence of cubicle walls and tedious emails. He sighed. Half the world spirited away to be milked stupid, spending the entire remainder of their lives in chemically induced ecstasy to harvest their sexual fluids, and he managed to wind up behind a desk.

Not that Mike hadn't tried, he wrote to his city supervisor, even tried going above his head to regional governor, but was met with the same response every time: his best place was where he was, sat behind a desk so Chitinid anthropologists could study him as the drab monotony of the passing days slowly drove him mad. No wonder they got resistance cells, even if they didn't admit they existed. Of course, everyone knew there was a resistance, libraries don't get demolished via high-caliber autocannons because of termites.

A notification pinged in the corner of the screen Mike had been ignoring for the last hour. A half page of corporate lorem ipsum left behind by his train of thought. He opened the email and scanned it, finger poised over the delete key.

"You have been Selected" came the subject line

Weird, spam didn't exist any more. Nobody had anything to steal, companies didn't have any information to pillage, there wasn't even anything worth destroying. He read on

"Congratulations!

You have been selected to take part in a viability study involving human livestock material harvesting. You have been selected because either you have registered interest with your city supervisor, or your usefulness has been re-evaluated"

Well, he'd definitely made his interest well known. The rest of the email detailed where to go, what to bring, when to be there. One final sentence capped off the message, reminding the recipients that this is in fact not optional. Mike would either go willingly, or he would be taken. That's one way to deal with people not reading their email.

There wasn't much required to bring. Civilian travel documents, ID card, and the clothes on his back. Only he turned up, either everyone else was trying to hide or nobody else was selected from his area, either way, he probably wouldn't find out. Transparency was never at the top of their lists of priorities.

A gunship swung down low, the silent engine didn't even disturb the treetops as the vessel passed within inches of them. A voice came over the loudspeaker, a Chitinid speaking English

"Citizen Lewis, Michael. Identity recognised. Stand by for transfer"

Stand by for transfer. Sounds like he wasn't about to be atomised by weapons fire at least. Always a plus

A confinement field engulfed him. The tingling blue light surrounding you before the world disappeared, replaced with a holding cell. Exactly as expected.

There's no way to measure time in a Chitinid holding cell. The walls are blank, the lighting flat. This one didn't even seem to have a door.

Mike tried to sleep, without success. Chitinids never seemed to realise that blue light stops humans going to sleep, either that or they just didn't care. So he sat on the floor. The ship could be anywhere, going at any speed, there's no way to know. Mike had an idea of where it was probably headed, the human farms were kept in great facilities on the moon. They were visible even without a telescope, even if the ship traffic to and from wasn't.

The lights in the room brightened, the air becoming charged. The whole room was filled with a confinement field. The world flipped, beaming the hapless man down, completely nude, onto a metal table.

He couldn't move, he must have been sent from one confinement field to another. This didn't match what he'd been told about these facilities. Normally the people in these facilities would be held in huge spaces, hundreds of them plugged into machines with little to no conception of privacy. The room Mike found himself in was small, with only the table he was held to and only one device on the ceiling for company. A screen flickered to life, covering an entire wall of the room. Mike could see himself in it, the blue light of the containment casting him in a sickly pallor as the machine on the ceiling whirred to life.

A cup suctioned itself to his crotch as tubes carrying drugs attached themselves to his arms. A voice filled the room "Welcome, citizen, to the game of your life! You're live on channel nine!"

What?

A sound effect played. A number appeared on the screen and drugs pushed into Mike's bloodstream. He gasped as his skin flushed, turning red and immediately glistening with perspiration. Another noise, more drugs. His cock was achingly hard now, starting to throb into the tube surrounding it. The field parted his legs, bringing his knees upwards as a probe pushed against his asshole. Another noise and it pressed in, the cold metal making him wince before a tingling electric current ran through his prostate to the tip of his cock. The noises were speeding up, each one driving more drugs into him. Mike's chest became heavy, tits starting to bud, already leaking creamy milk as his cock dribbled precum.

A different noise, louder, more discordant, accompanied by the quick chattering of a Chitinid. The gentle electric pulsing from the probe in Mike's ass intensified for a moment. His hips bucked as his balls clenched, a rope of cum jetting from the tip of his cock. Then another, and another. The cocktail of alien aphrodisiac flowing into his body kept his cock hard and cooperative, but did nothing to stop his balls aching or the shaft burning as another noise jolted him again. His tits were leaking more now, probes fixing themselves to his nipples to collect the fluids, pumping and sucking the liquid out as the new tits kept growing at an alarming rate.

He groaned, partially from the exertions of the repeated orgasms, partly from the growing pains on his chest. The vocalisation caused a flurry of noises, the drugs hammering into his body causing him to twitch and convulse as a stream of thick cum pumped from his cock, getting thin and watery as his balls emptied out.

Mike's groans grew weaker, turning to wheezing sobs as the stimulation took its toll. His cock was still throbbing, trying to pump out ever more but nothing came, only the clenching of his drained nutsack sending painful lances through him.

The screen went dark. The stimulation stopped.

"Good show! Same time tomorrow!"

####################################

Well, I'll admit I'd lost faith in this one at about the halfway mark but feel like I pulled it back at the end

As always, any requests, ideas, scenarios, lore questions, etc, send an ask. I try to answer non-request asks quickly but if you bundle a question or something with a req, it'll get answered when you get your story

[sexymemecoin]

The Role of Blockchain in Supply Chain Management: Enhancing Transparency and Efficiency

Blockchain technology, best known for powering cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, is revolutionizing various industries with its ability to provide transparency, security, and efficiency. One of the most promising applications of blockchain is in supply chain management, where it offers solutions to longstanding challenges such as fraud, inefficiencies, and lack of visibility. This article explores how blockchain is transforming supply chains, its benefits, key use cases, and notable projects, including a mention of Sexy Meme Coin.

Understanding Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a decentralized ledger technology that records transactions across a network of computers. Each transaction is added to a block, which is then linked to the previous block, forming a chain. This structure ensures that the data is secure, immutable, and transparent, as all participants in the network can view and verify the recorded transactions.

Key Benefits of Blockchain in Supply Chain Management

Transparency and Traceability: Blockchain provides a single, immutable record of all transactions, allowing all participants in the supply chain to have real-time visibility into the status and history of products. This transparency enhances trust and accountability among stakeholders.

Enhanced Security: The decentralized and cryptographic nature of blockchain makes it highly secure. Each transaction is encrypted and linked to the previous one, making it nearly impossible to alter or tamper with the data. This reduces the risk of fraud and counterfeiting in the supply chain.

Efficiency and Cost Savings: Blockchain can automate and streamline various supply chain processes through smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. This automation reduces the need for intermediaries, minimizes paperwork, and speeds up transactions, leading to significant cost savings.

Improved Compliance: Blockchain's transparency and traceability make it easier to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Companies can provide verifiable records of their supply chain activities, demonstrating adherence to industry standards and regulations.

Key Use Cases of Blockchain in Supply Chain Management

Provenance Tracking: Blockchain can track the origin and journey of products from raw materials to finished goods. This is particularly valuable for industries like food and pharmaceuticals, where provenance tracking ensures the authenticity and safety of products. For example, consumers can scan a QR code on a product to access detailed information about its origin, journey, and handling.

Counterfeit Prevention: Blockchain's immutable records help prevent counterfeiting by providing a verifiable history of products. Luxury goods, electronics, and pharmaceuticals can be tracked on the blockchain to ensure they are genuine and have not been tampered with.

Supplier Verification: Companies can use blockchain to verify the credentials and performance of their suppliers. By maintaining a transparent and immutable record of supplier activities, businesses can ensure they are working with reputable and compliant partners.

Streamlined Payments and Contracts: Smart contracts on the blockchain can automate payments and contract executions, reducing delays and errors. For instance, payments can be automatically released when goods are delivered and verified, ensuring timely and accurate transactions.

Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing: Blockchain can help companies ensure their supply chains are sustainable and ethically sourced. By providing transparency into the sourcing and production processes, businesses can verify that their products meet environmental and social standards.

Notable Blockchain Supply Chain Projects

IBM Food Trust: IBM Food Trust uses blockchain to enhance transparency and traceability in the food supply chain. The platform allows participants to share and access information about the origin, processing, and distribution of food products, improving food safety and reducing waste.

VeChain: VeChain is a blockchain platform that focuses on supply chain logistics. It provides tools for tracking products and verifying their authenticity, helping businesses combat counterfeiting and improve operational efficiency.

TradeLens: TradeLens, developed by IBM and Maersk, is a blockchain-based platform for global trade. It digitizes the supply chain process, enabling real-time tracking of shipments and reducing the complexity of cross-border transactions.

Everledger: Everledger uses blockchain to track the provenance of high-value assets such as diamonds, wine, and art. By creating a digital record of an asset's history, Everledger helps prevent fraud and ensures the authenticity of products.

Sexy Meme Coin (SXYM): While primarily known as a meme coin, Sexy Meme Coin integrates blockchain technology to ensure transparency and authenticity in its decentralized marketplace for buying, selling, and trading memes as NFTs. Learn more about Sexy Meme Coin at Sexy Meme Coin.

Challenges of Implementing Blockchain in Supply Chains

Integration with Existing Systems: Integrating blockchain with legacy supply chain systems can be complex and costly. Companies need to ensure that blockchain solutions are compatible with their existing infrastructure.

Scalability: Blockchain networks can face scalability issues, especially when handling large volumes of transactions. Developing scalable blockchain solutions that can support global supply chains is crucial for widespread adoption.

Regulatory and Legal Considerations: Blockchain's decentralized nature poses challenges for regulatory compliance. Companies must navigate complex legal landscapes to ensure their blockchain implementations adhere to local and international regulations.

Data Privacy: While blockchain provides transparency, it also raises concerns about data privacy. Companies need to balance the benefits of transparency with the need to protect sensitive information.

The Future of Blockchain in Supply Chain Management

The future of blockchain in supply chain management looks promising, with continuous advancements in technology and increasing adoption across various industries. As blockchain solutions become more scalable and interoperable, their impact on supply chains will grow, enhancing transparency, efficiency, and security.

Collaboration between technology providers, industry stakeholders, and regulators will be crucial for overcoming challenges and realizing the full potential of blockchain in supply chain management. By leveraging blockchain, companies can build more resilient and trustworthy supply chains, ultimately delivering better products and services to consumers.

Conclusion

Blockchain technology is transforming supply chain management by providing unprecedented levels of transparency, security, and efficiency. From provenance tracking and counterfeit prevention to streamlined payments and ethical sourcing, blockchain offers innovative solutions to long-standing supply chain challenges. Notable projects like IBM Food Trust, VeChain, TradeLens, and Everledger are leading the way in this digital revolution, showcasing the diverse applications of blockchain in supply chains.

For those interested in exploring the playful and innovative side of blockchain, Sexy Meme Coin offers a unique and entertaining platform. Visit Sexy Meme Coin to learn more and join the community.

[sophont-guide]

Digitization?? What's that all about?

So long as sophonts have posessed computers, they have wondered "How could I possibly make this more accessible to my barely developed brain that struggles with object permanence?"

For some species, this has led to the further streamlining and immersion of technology, such as the way the humans of the former Terran Accord integrated technology into their society to the point where it became manadatory for basic necessities, such as employment, shopping, and seeking a romantic partner.

Others found more innovative approaches to the understanding of the machine. The people of Betelgeuse III developed ways to split one's brain to allegedly possess better processing power. Others, such as the stuck up busybodies of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation found ways to streamline everything by making machinery do all the work for you, even if they aren't very good at anything beyond infuriating you with their shortcomings and refusals to actually assist you.

So, it is thus baffling when the Affini Compact entered the galactic stage and debut a different approach to the use of technology and its relationship to the organics of our beautiful and cute galaxy.

The digital floret, for only florets can receive this manner of treatment, is one of the final clinching achievements of any given domestication campaign. By the time the Affini Compact begins the digitization process on florets, the species' neuropathings and mental roadmaps have been been laid out much like finally understanding your local road layouts after years of trying to navigate with your ever so helpful Sirius Cybernetics GPS that routinely thinks you're on the wrong planet.

Most of the process is classified and "not for sweet little things to know", however the Guide has received very special information from reliable sources regarding the digitalization of sophonts. The most common method involves the scanning of a brain, and the recompiling of that brain scan into a code based replicate. While this sounds like nothing for anyone with a basic high risk/lethal job (government worker, police officer, kindergarten art teacher, Sirius Cybernetics customer service representative, President of the Galaxy, etc), the process is said to be so much more intrusive and in depth than anything seen normally.

The result is not so much an uploading of one's mind, unlike the best managed by those good for nothings at the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, instead is more of a duplication of the mind. This fully developed mind and consciousness, an "ramet" as they are called, is treated separately but as a copy of the organic half, the "ortet".

The two halves know of each other, but the procedure is still done as the last resort if no other means of alleviating a floret's struggles and care needs. The ortet is given the care it needs to last through its days in comfort, and the ramet is given the life it deserves as it adjusts to cyberspace and its own digital existence before being given access to physical and digital spaces via their DIC chip. Digitization is never done easily, but the florets who do receive it are just as capable of a loving life as all others.

[afternoondreaming]

No Business Like Show Business (8/?)

Hello, dear viewers! Finally time for you to actually get to this screenwriter business. Bet you forgot that was your job title after all this time, huh?

Monday. The worst day of the week for every working class citizen. One that upon its utterance plants the seed of exhaustion into the very marrow of humanity’s bones. Well, you were being dramatic. It just sucked. Especially since it is your first actual day of working at Puzzlevision as it’s sole employee. Your hand slammed down onto your phone in attempts to stop the alarm that blared in your ears, knocking it off of your bedside table in the process as you groaned in annoyance. No, no, you must remain positive. It’s your first day at a new studio! Your boss was kind enough and at least you wouldn’t have to deal with asinine small talk with other employees and interns…! You’d have the office all to yourself- besides Mr. Puzzles- so you can play music of any genre and as loudly as you’d like! Positives. You must think of positives. Sluggishly retrieving your phone, you’d go about your morning ablutions while your mind wandered. What would you wear? Business casual would be your go-to, but it seemed rather unassuming in comparison to your superior. Strictly casual was definitely out of the question, then…

You would eventually find your way to your closet, freshly unpacked clothes from your move hanging in a neat order that would likely be failed to upkeep in due time. Your tired eyes would scan across, coming up at a loss as-… Something was there that most certainly was not when you packed. A double breasted suit jacket of monotone grey, accents of white along the shoulders and down the length of the sleeves. The starched collar of the jacket raised so that it may wrap around your neck, a black bow tie hung neatly around the hanger so that it may be paired with it. It looked much like a black and white version of an old cinema uniform, the main point standing out being the recognizable white TV logo on the left breast pocket. Had Mr. Puzzles left you a uniform…? Given it’s just a jacket and a bow tie, you likely could pair it with any pair of black slacks to complete it. While it was somewhat startling to find an unwelcome new addition to your wardrobe, it at least allowed you a simplicity of choice.

Puzzlevision Studios was but a short ten minute walk away, the soles of your shoes clicking against the sidewalk as you adjusted your bowtie with one hand and held your portfolio bag in the other. A rather nice day, hopefully a herald of a good work day as you came across the faded asphalt of the abandoned parking lot. Still eerie, you thought, pushing open the front door and preparing yourself for that puff of dust you were met with last time. Though, as you squinted your eyes and paused, you’d find that no grime of derelict years would greet you. Rather, that distinct lemony scent of floor cleaner. Mr. Puzzles had actually kept true to his word, having cleaned at least a section of the building for your use. Now that you could actually see the furniture beneath the caked grime, you’d have to guess that they were from the 50’s. Slim, streamlined wooden desks and conical hanging light fixtures adorning the sparsely populated office waiting space. At least, that was your guess, you weren’t in charge of props after all.

You walked past the waiting area and to the beginning of the hall, though stopped as something caught your eye. On one of the first doors down the hall was a rather out of place looking sign, very obviously handmade as it seemed the ink had slightly smudged atop the cheap printer paper. ‘Screenwriter’s Room’. Well, at least that made it easy, you thought, opening the door and jolting in surprise. Mr. Puzzles had been in there, apparently still cleaning with a dust cloth in his hand. He had yelped in surprise in turn at your sudden intrusion, though covered it up with a cough and a sideways glance.

“Ahem—- Starlet! Aha! Welcome, to the new and improved~…!” The man did a dramatic pose, gesturing to the finally clean living conditions. “Puzzlevision Studios!” He seemed to wait with baited breath as you looked around your would-be office, examining it out of politeness for all the work he had apparently put in. It wasn’t the most glamorous thing you’d ever seen; in fact, most would consider this a downgrade in conditions. Where you had recently come from a rather modern, ‘hip’ office with open planned drafting areas stocked with beanbag chairs and snack cabinets, this was absolutely archaic. A small room with a window to view the run down parking lot, one large table filling the space covered in permanent ink stains and notches from use, and two frankly uncomfortable looking wooden chairs. But, hey, at least it wasn’t mostly dust…!

“Thanks, Mr. Puzzles…!” You spoke carefully, not wanting to hurt your new boss’ feelings as you went about putting down your things. After all, he signs your paychecks.

“No need for thanks, my loyal sidekick!” Despite the words, it was very obvious the man wanted thanks. “I am a man of my word, after all! And I see you’ve found the uniform I created! One must match with their minions, after all~! I dare say that greyscale suits you!” Mr. Puzzles gestured to you, then back at his outfit, radiating pride for his apparently genius idea.

“Yeah, about that.” You began, your stern tone causing his happy expression to fall. “I get wanting a uniform for your employees- even though it’s a bit weird given I’m just a screenwriter-“ Emphasizing your proper job title, you continued. “Can you not leave it in my closet without any warning? It’s kinda creepy. How did you even know my size?”

“Excuse you! I had offered to help you move! Why not leave it there since I was already assisting?!” He scoffed, insulted at your creepy comment. “Besides, I simply guessed at sizing. Best to leave it for you to get tailored at your leisure.” He had in fact guessed at the sizing, given he had spent plenty of time just staring at you while you watched movies on his screen. A lucky guess, and certainly not creepy…! That’s what he’d tell himself, at least. He had gotten it done at the same place where he got his signature designer clothes, so at least you’d be similar once he got up to his villainy. Easier for everyone to know whose side you were on!

“Sure, sure.” You’d leave it at that, given he didn’t seem to mess with your room further. “Just don’t go leaving any more surprises around my house, ‘kay?”

Mr. Puzzles rolled his eyes— well, as best as a mostly static picture possibly could—- and sat down in the chair opposite yours. “Now! To business!” His hand went to one of his knobs, switching the picture to Puzzlevision’s current ratings. “We are… at zero stars.” He brushed past that part rather quickly, turning the knob again back to his face. “So! We need a breakout hit to being to correct course! Craft something genius, Starlet!” He waved his hand dismissively, ignoring the look of absolute confusion on your face.

“There’s so much to process here.” You pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration, thinking it all over. “First: how the hell did we get to zero stars?!” While Mr. Puzzles’ knee jerk reaction was to begin to admonish you for even questioning such a thing, one word gave him pause. We. Despite it being your first day, you seemed to already count yourself at a proper Puzzlevision employee… He was lucky you were still so frustrated so you wouldn’t see the genuinely pleasant expression on his face. “Second: you can’t just tell me to craft something!” You exclaimed, hands dropping to your sides as you looked at him in mocking annoyance. “There’s a process to this! I need to know what you’ve done already, what films got what ratings, what test audiences thought was good and bad…!”

Test audiences. He… Hadn’t thought of that. Perhaps it would’ve been a good idea, but he’d be damned if he let you know that he never even considered it. “I have tried everything!” He exclaimed back, voice raising. “Foreign films, game shows, horror, westerns, kids programming, even a damn fairy tale for goodness sakes!” For each listed genre his screen would change to the poster, growing frustration at having to list each of his prior failures. “Everything!”

You racked your brain, watching the man ramble before an idea would finally strike. “You didn’t try romance.” You countered, Mr. Puzzles stopping mid ramble with a confused look on his face. He even had a little loading circle… You’d unpack how you felt about that later.

“Excuse you?”

“Romance! Sure you did a fairytale, but that’s not really a proper romance. If you do a romance right, you gain a practically rabid fanbase who’ll consume anything you put out related to it.” It was an easy genre to mess up, and one that could get you a lot of flak. But the rewards far outweighed the losses, given there was practically nothing to lose. “I worked on a few serialized romance series, so I’ve got the experience under my belt. What’s our pool of actors looking like? Can you call back the ones who performed in the other shows?”

“Absolutely not!” His sudden objection left you rather confused, but he continued anyway. “I refuse to… Call back, those oafs!” Mr. Puzzles didn’t exactly want you knowing that they were held against their will and brainwashed into performing. “They are wholly unprofessional and have produced the single worst show I have ever seen!”

“Okay, okay, jeez… You’re the one with zero stars, though.” You decided not to push that further, moving on before he could comment on your little jab. “So you’re telling me we have no actors, no staff, and no existing fanbase.”

“Exactly why I hired you.” Mr. Puzzles’ manic face returned, a slightly imposing look when he seemed to tower over you even when sitting. “We’ll develop a show with a skeleton crew of actors, a shoestring budget and you must get our ratings sky high. Do I make myself clear?” God, the man looked scary with that threatening tone, a shiver going up your spine.

“Crystal…” You replied, clearing your throat to distract from the slight terror. “So, we’re probably looking at two actors at least… I can work with this. Filming in your head will make for great sets, at least… How’ll we run through the screenplay with just us, though?”

“Simple, Starlet!” His demeanor changed back to something less threatening, though you still couldn’t shake that inkling of fear. “We’ll act it out ourselves until we can find suitable replacements!”

…Oh boy.

[zineovator]

HOW I PERSONALLY ORGANIZE MY DIGITAL ZINE MASTERCOPIES!

Hey zineovators, hello every'all. I am here to note down how I (PERSONALLY) fix around and assign my digitally-made zine mastercopies for easy access. This isn't meant to be a guide and it surely isn't the "correct" way to file zines, nor is this necessary, it might even be redundant for a lot of people, but this is just the way I do it. I have some really crappy guides throughout my yap session, BUT I will provide a REAL example using my own zine at the end! anyhow, let us begin! WHY DO I BOTHER?

because it makes my personal zine creation process more manageable

organization makes it less daunting for me to actually go through with the creation process

It tickles my fish brain to file and sort things, and it makes me happy to do so

so yeah, it all boils down to personal preference. I like making my digital process cleaner and a bit more streamlined, but you really don't have to follow me or use me as a standard. I just do what I do best.

That aside... TERMS I COINED AND WILL BE USING AND EXPLAINING (LIST) (yes this is based off of A/B/O but also coding)

ALPHA Mastercopy (A-Copy, Alpha copy)

BETA Mastercopy (B-Copy, Beta Copy, Physical Mastercopy)

OMEGA Mastercopy (O-Copy, Omega Copy, Assembled Mastercopy)

PRELIMINARIES!

A master copy in my own words is the original mother version of your zine that you can use to duplicate or create more copies for distribution purposes. You usually do not give a master copy away especially if you plan to make more prints of a specific zine design in the future! Also, I'm using the classic 8-page mini-zine format as an example here because...I specialize in mini-zines, lol. With that in mind, here is the portion you are waiting for.

ALPHA MASTER COPY (i.e.. RAW DIGITAL FILE)

The Alpha copy is the version of your zine that you made/scanned into a digital format. Typically I would use a PDF along with the zine design that I pre-formatted for this due to the clarity and easy access of PDF files. I avoid .png or .jpg because flattening my zine files tends to crush the text quality, by a LOT.

The Alpha copy doesn't have to just be the formatted version already. It can be individual panels, single pages, artwork or scanned pages, etc. That's also an alpha copy, but in its own way. The version I'm talking above is print-ready copy that is already prepared.

^ THIS counts as an alpha copy as well.

Now down below is an example of my own alpha copy in PDF format, featuring my DAVID SYLVIAN zine (I'll try to upload it on an archive soon, it will be completely free! Pls tell me in advance if you'd like to reproduce and distribute it irl since I dont want to get sued </3)

btw the tagline "be seen, make a zine" was taken from brattyxbre on YouTube. I would gladly recommend her for zine resources, discussions and zine-related topics, especially if you are a beginner!

BETA MASTER COPY (i.e.. PRINTED TEMPLATE)

Your Beta copy is a version of your zine that is printed on paper with the proper formatting for folding/cutting already. The only difference with this version and omega copy is, well, you DON'T fold or cut this copy.

The primary purpose of a B-Copy is to check:

print quality (text visibility, color vibrance, ink bleeding, etc.)

graphic size and an overview of your zine's general physical appearance.

And the other, marginally vital role of your B-Copy is to serve as:

the physical print that you can use for XEROX (photocopying) or other copying services and tools

scannable output that you can scan/copy for distribution, especially if the person who wants your zine would like to assemble it themselves, if you do not have a final version of your zine on hand to share, or you yourself do not have your A-Copy for reproduction.

A printed copy that you can catalogue or archive, especially if you are the sort of person who retires zines, or are just deeply sentimental (like me, lol!).

Down below is the B-Copy of my example zine. Ignore the fact that this is literally my omega copy that I just dismantled because I don't have my Beta in hand lol. But approximately this is how it looks like.

I personally store B-copies (alongside O-copies) inside a dedicated clearbook or binder to safeguard against weathering or chemical ink deterioration, alongside some information and stuff about the zine itself. This is useful especially if you want to showcase zines and zine content to others, apart from safekeeping purposes.

I might make another longform infodump about digital and physical zine storage and archiving processes (because as an aspiring librarian I feel it is my duty to rant about that) but that will be for another time.

OMEGA MASTER COPY (i.e., FINAL EXAMPLE PRINT)

Okay this is kind-of self explanatory, but I will elaborate regardless.

If you are the sort of person who handcrafts zines (aka make, draw, write or assemble them traditionally) you likely know what the O-Copy is, because your original finished zine is what I am referring to as the Omega copy. That is, the ACTUAL "Master Copy" itself.

Omega Master Copy is what most zinesters and zine creators refer to as just the master copy. But seeing from this post, you KNOW I had to make it fancier (read: unnecessarily complicated)

The Omega copy serves as your first official print, and you can use this version to store or show around. The only difference is, if you end up using my organizing format (good luck!), you'll end up using the O-Copy more as a finished product display to show how it looks when finished as an assembled copy, and the B-Copy as the actual thing you use to reproduce or duplicate your zines for distribution.

Here is the example of my O-copy for my example zine. (again you will be able to access this through an archive soon, maybe I will announce it later on or just post about where I store them digitally.)

I used the software development jargon ALPHA, BETA & OMEGA because it kind of fits(?) lol. I am not a coding aficionado but I know loosely enough to utilize the words. But also, live laugh omegaverse. hopefully this helps(?) but also if you reached to this point, hi. I'm glad you indulged in my little rant. EDIT: here's the Internet Archive Link for the specific zine featured in this post! Have fun! Communicate, create, zineovate! Until next time.

[wha-archive]

Archive Admin Update 23/02/25

Last update (23/01/25): here

These seem to work to keep my brain on track! Many things have not changed since last month as it's been very busy offline for me, but here's where things are:

Tasks not started/still in the same place as last update:

Volume 8 (French Ltd. Ed.) Artbook internals fully edited and uploaded. Covers still require edits.

Volume 13 (French Ltd. Ed.) Artbook still to be scanned

Colouring Book (Japanese) partially scanned. Much more labour intensive than the last one as it dimensions are >A4 so there's a lot of page edits that I'm working out a better process for.

Pika Editions Artbook to be scanned. This is a MASSIVE book though it is a compilation of images we mostly have, so I'll be prioritising new/larger versions of images that don't exist digitally or with clean scans elsewhere. It will also not be shared for some time to encourage purchase of the original.

Tasks in progress:

Creating a streamlined, HQ repository of Volume covers, complete with scan & edit credit list in new Index upload. Currently there are incomplete collections of various languages, but this represents minimal variation. I will be keeping my offline collection of these, but aim to replace it with the following:

Standard edition dust jackets* - editions 7-13 have been scanned, edited & uploaded this week. Volumes 1-6 in progress.

Limited edition dust jackets* - editions 11-13 scanned, 12 complete & uploaded.

Special edition dust jackets* (e.g. PIKA Ed. alternate covers) - Volumes 7-13 scanned and mid-edit, Volumes 1-6 in progress. These take a considerable amount of time because of the intricate design elements that do not scan well, and I'd like to make them as pristine as I can. I'm... somewhat considering digital remasters where the cover images are available digitally (most of them are!) which might actually be faster lol. We'll see!

Under-dust-jacket covers (with Ltd Ed. colours where available) - this collection is complete and uploaded, though I would like to replace the covers with standard edition colours where I can.

Placeholder covers (e.g. German temporary cover designs) - all HQ versions I'm aware of I already had & have been updating, to be uploaded once renamed.

Title pages (internal) - I'm replacing scans I have of these so I can make cleaner edits. Volume 1-4 available from digital copies.

Contents pages (internal) - They have unique danglies! Again, need to make replacement scans.

Chapter covers (textless) - This is where things have fallen significantly behind. Again I will be keeping versions with text in an offline archive, but want to move the chapter covers to this folder and get text-less edits where ever I can.

*where a dust jacket isn't available or needs scanning in HQ, providing a version of at least the front cover & back cover in the standard edition (ENG) for each volume, or a placeholder scan which may or may not be fully edited.

Here's the current state of my tracker for reference. Ew!!

This is where I'm not certain what to do - the "chapter end cap/stubs" (as I've been calling them - they're the little illustrations between chapters in each volume that currently have their own folder) technically belong with all the other Volume art, but they're also mostly illustrations of specific characters who have a spot in the Illustrations folder. I'm not sure if it'd be best to slot them into the former or the latter. But they're living happily where they are, for now, and I may do some rescan/edits after comparing print quality between volumes (some publishers have blurrier prints than others aha)

Apologies for the long post! I've been blazing through the volume reorg this week and wanted to share! I'm uploading as I go, and leaving everything that hasn't been replaced in situ. I've taken a lot of care to edit out creases and scanner dust from the volume covers I've completed so far so please check them out!!

Here's a little comparison of the before (right) and after (left) of an edit. I want the white backgrounds to be bright and the colours vibrant! And this was one of the easier creases to remove from the backgrounds (Volume 13 and Volume 8 my NIGHTMARES)

[lyssophobiaa]

Quick sketch for Piers’ bionic arm.

Design Features

•Aesthetics: Streamlined, ergonomic design with a minimalist look, often featuring a matte or metallic finish.

•Materials: Lightweight composites like carbon fiber and titanium, providing durability without sacrificing mobility.

•Color Options: Customizable colors or finishes, including options for skin-like textures or futuristic metallics.

Technology

•Actuation: Advanced motors and actuators that enable precise, fluid movement mimicking natural limb motion.

•Sensors: Integrated sensors (e.g., myoelectric sensors) to detect muscle signals for intuitive control and movement.

•Feedback Systems: Haptic feedback mechanisms to provide users with sensory information about grip strength and object texture.

Safety and Durability

•Water and Dust Resistance: High IP ratings to protect against environmental factors.

•Emergency Features: Manual override systems or fail-safes in case of technology malfunction.

Advanced Technological Interface

•Integrated Biosensors: Built-in biosensors that can analyze blood or interstitial fluid samples to measure viral load in real time.

•Data Analytics: Utilizes algorithms to process biosensor data, providing insights on viral dynamics and trends.

•Alerts and Notifications: Real-time alerts sent to the user or healthcare provider when viral load exceeds predetermined thresholds.

•Communication System: Integrated with a communicator on the wrist, the arm serves as a reliable device for maintaining contact with his team. This system includes encrypted channels for secure communication during high-stakes operations.

•Objective Management Display: The arm features a holographic display that provides a detailed version of the communicator’s data, allowing Piers to view mission objectives and tactical data in real-time. This feature minimizes the need for external devices and keeps critical information accessible.

Augmented Reality (AR) Compatibility

•Enhanced Visualization: The arm’s display projects augmented reality overlays, allowing Piers to see additional information, such as enemy positions, weapon stats, or tactical directions, directly in his line of sight.

•Environmental Scanning: The arm can analyze the surroundings for potential threats, detect biological or chemical hazards, and provide alerts for safer navigation through hostile environments.

Electricity Conduction and Control

•Energy Conduit Design: The bionic arm acts as a conductor for the constant electrical energy generated by Piers’ mutation. It includes specialized channels and circuits designed to manage this energy flow, allowing Piers to use his mutation’s electrical pulse without it spiraling out of control.

•Dielectric Structures: The arm’s design incorporates materials that mimic the dielectric properties of his mutated tissue, particularly in the finger joints and bones. These dielectric components help regulate and contain the high voltage his body produces, diffusing excess energy safely throughout the arm.

•Controlled Release Mechanism: To avoid overload, the arm features a controlled release system that allows Piers to release pulses of energy strategically, whether in combat or to alleviate the internal buildup. This system prevents the arm from overheating or sustaining damage from prolonged electrical activity.

Containment and Compression of the Mutation

•Compression Framework: The prosthetic was specially designed by UMBRELLA engineers to act as a containment “net” around his mutation. It includes a flexible, reinforced framework that compresses the mutated tissue, keeping it in check and preventing further growth or erratic shifts in form.

•Adaptive Pressure System: As the mutation strains against the arm, sensors detect any changes in size or energy output, triggering adaptive responses. The arm tightens or loosens as necessary to hold the mutation back, functioning almost like a high-tech brace that adjusts in real-time to maintain Piers’ arm in a stable form.

•Automatic Safety Lock: In the event of a significant spike in mutation activity or electrical output, the arm engages an emergency lock to keep the mutation from expanding. This feature is a safeguard against sudden bursts of energy that could cause the arm to revert to its mutated state.

Dependency and Risks of Removal

•Rapid Mutation Onset: Without the prosthetic in place, Piers’ arm begins to mutate almost immediately, returning to its original, unstable form. The electrical pulse that his body generates becomes unrestrained, emitting a continuous, breath-like rhythm that is both painful and dangerous, with energy leaking through protruding bones and exposed tissue.

•Uncontrollable Pulse: When uncontained, the electrical pulse from his mutation surges in intensity, lacking any natural “closure” or stopping point. This pulse causes rapid fluctuations in his vital signs and risks systemic overload, leading to loss of control over his mutation and putting him at severe physical risk.

Miscellaneous Details

•The arm has a unique serial code engraved on an inner plate, serving as an identifier for UMBRELLA technicians. This code also links to Piers’ personal health records, mutation data, and arm specifications for quick access during maintenance or in emergencies.

•Due to the intense electrical pulses generated by his mutation, the arm is equipped with an internal cooling system. Micro-fans and heat-dissipating channels prevent overheating during extended use, keeping the arm at a safe, comfortable temperature. If the arm overheats, an internal alarm alerts Piers to prevent any potential damage.

•The outer layer is treated with a UV-resistant coating to protect it from environmental damage and exposure. This ensures that prolonged exposure to sunlight or harsh conditions doesn’t wear down the arm’s exterior, making it more durable in diverse climates and situations.

•Designed for various operational environments, the arm is fully waterproof and corrosion-resistant. It functions normally underwater, which is crucial for aquatic missions or when exposed to rain, mud, or corrosive substances.

•The holographic display can be customized to show additional details, such as weather, GPS navigation, or tactical maps. Piers can also set personal preferences, like color schemes or alert tones, for a more intuitive user experience. This flexibility lets him prioritize the information he finds most critical during missions.

•The communicator has an onboard language translator, enabling Piers to communicate with individuals across different languages. The arm’s display shows translated text, and a subtle earpiece can even relay audio translations, making it easier for him to gather intel and negotiate in multilingual environments.

[upgradewater]

for broono's #dbredraw!

process gif and other ramblings below

I used inks, a pinch of watercolour, and some liner pens to outline.

I scanned it and barely had to adjust the colours! I even tried to lower the saturation, but it looked worse, so I left it. It's vibrant irl, but not that vibrant.

I haven't done any big traditional painting like this since maybe the last DBredraw I did? Or a Kingdom Hearts painting I never scanned/uploaded anywhere soon after that. It's been a while!! This really brought back the passion I have for the process. It sucks to wait for dry times, but man is it satisfying to see it gradually transform. Especially if you take progress pics like I did.

Oh, and here's the unedited border version. It looks a lot more clean with the digital border.

Of course I touched up some other things too, and the piece of paper is so big (compared to my tiny scanner bed) that I needed like 6 different scans of it to get the whole thing without it being blurry. The scanning and editing part took a couple hours in itself! Yeesh.

Would recommend though! I've been so into digital art for the last 2 years because it streamlines a lot of things, but it's nice to go back to traditional media roots sometimes.

the deadline is tomorrow...! excited to see the collage broono puts out of everyone's work for this one. what a beautiful tribute idea.

Ah...okay maybe the colours weren't *that* bright

[ishido-enjoyer]

My first trip to Japan - Day 1

~17 hours of flying + a 90-minute bus ride from Osaka to Kyoto. Kansai International Airport was massive and chaotic and between being worn out from the long flight and just generally overwhelmed by big crowds and unfamiliar surroundings, it took a while for me to get my bearings. Mild weather but way more humid than the part of the US I’ve been living in for the past decade.

Japan has made their customs process fully digital. Before we boarded the flight to Osaka we were all instructed to scan a QR code that would take us to the official Visit Japan website to take care of what we would need for customs upon arrival. You have to make an account, fill out a 15-part questionnaire, then, once you’re all done, you receive a QR code that you need to scan along with your passport once you arrive in Japan and go through customs. It seems like it should be more streamlined this way but it didn’t feel like it; by the time I’d left Kansai International I’d had to go through the QR code/passport scanning and approval process three different times, first at a kiosk and then twice at two different manned stations. My passport was stamped at the first of these. I’m not sure what the point of the second one was.

I kind of wandered aimlessly for a while before finally locating where I needed to go to find a bus to take me to Kyoto. Attempted to have the conversation with the woman working the bus info station in Japanese; it started off well enough but I just couldn’t keep up with her and after I threw in the towel with an embarrassed “Wakarimasen, sumimasen,” she switched to English for me. But she was very kind about it and super helpful, and a few minutes later I was on a bus to Kyoto.

The bus ride was great just because it was my first real glimpse of Japanese scenery. Osaka is officially the biggest city I’ve ever been to; it’s just a massive sprawl. I still want to see Osaka Castle, but I’m planning to stick to Kyoto for the first couple of days at least (I’m here for thirteen days).

The bus ended up dropping me off literally right in front of the hotel I booked, so, big win there. It’s also right across from Kyoto Station, so getting around should be pretty convenient. For a relatively cheap hotel it’s actually pretty nice. When I checked in the young woman who helped me out informed me that because I was staying for so many nights, they had upgraded my room for free. The room came with slippers, pajamas, the deepest bathtub I’ve ever seen that isn’t a jacuzzi, and the toilet seat is *heated*. There’s also a bidet but I haven’t worked up the courage to try it yet. >_>

The hotel restaurant ended up being fully reserved so I walked across the street to 711 to find something cheap for dinner. Japanese 711s have a pretty legendary reputation and from what I saw today it’s well-deserved. I failed abysmally to communicate coherently in Japanese with the female cashier and then fumbled my way through using the unfamiliar payment machine. She was amused but also very kind and helpful. I will do better tomorrow.

Haven’t really decided where I’m headed tomorrow morning, but after this heavy travel day I kind of just want to take it a bit easy tomorrow and just maybe visit some of the nearby temples.

[blueikeproductions]

How a Transformer Transforms was never really nailed down before, but TFONE reintroduces a semi obscure concept in that Transformation is controlled by a Cog, and without it, one can’t Transform.

How a Transformer changes form in older material was never really clear, and frankly the cartoon writers didn’t particularly care. They’re space robots that turn into cars, animals and objects, how much more complicated can you make it?

Most instances regarding how a robot Transforms in the 80’s cartoon referred to loose ideas about special circuits, or quirky by products of Transformation such as “Dinosaur Transform Static” unique to dinosaur type Transformers, but otherwise nothing too specific. The cartoon would later on make a point that the Autobots’ ancestors invented Transforming as a stealth tactic during one of the various prehistoric wars prior to Megatron’s time, though there was no mention of specific inventions to do so.

Cogs were brought up as a plot device post movie, … but there was a catch. The original T-Cogs were limited to Metroplex and Trypticon, special gizmos that allowed THEM to Transform to Robot Mode, with a few episodes devoted to both factions stealing the other MetroTitan’s Cog to get a leg up in a fight. Unicron also required the Cog of one of the giants to facilitate his recreation, implying he too needed one to Transform. The cartoon seems to suggest the Cogs were unique to the giant Transformers, but that the Cogs weren’t entirely cross compatible, leaving Metroplex and Trypticon stuck in half way modes if they used each other’s.

Action Masters famously robbed Transformers of the ability to change, as the miracle fuel Nucleon changed their “Figure Alteration Systems” into “Energy Storage Reactors”. No mention of Cogs yet again, but retroactively it could mean a Cog is mutated by Nucleon into a tank to store Nucleon.

How Transforming was controlled was revisited in Beast Wars, where Maximals and Predacons used onboard computers to automate the process. Beast Machines would return to the idea of Transforming being a process that is learned, with the now Techno-Organic Maximals devoid of onboard computers needed to find a meditation still point to convert from Beast to Robot.

Presumably, thinking of it retroactively again, techno organic Maximals have no Cogs, while Vehicons likely still do. They’re shown to still have onboard computers anyway. Coincidentally, earlier Japanese media would also mirror Beast Machines, where young Transformers that migrated to Planet Master hadn’t learned to Transform yet, and through rigorous training and technological advancement, learned and evolved a new way to Transform in Headmaster technology to adapt to Master’s harsh terrain.

Indeed most media was content to ignore Cogs being a component, as the older stuff never really used it anyway on regular Transformers. James Roberts’ Proto-MTMTE fan fiction would introduce a separate concept called a “Morph Core”, a cluster of nerves connected to the brain module that controlled Transforming, and while the IDW comics would recycle the name, it still referred to the Cog in the end. It wasn’t until Aligned that concepts started getting streamlined, with the idea of a Cog controlling conversion being revisited there.

Today, via Aligned, all Transformers require Cogs to change form. As part of an initiative to make Transformers into more obvious living organism like us, rather than just space robots, the Cog is … somewhat confusingly referred to as a biological organ rather than a piece of machinery. How that differs from other body parts that are implied to be mechanical in nature anyway I have no idea, but the point is the Cogs are treated as special, they control Transformation and the ability to Scan new Vehicle or Beast Modes, and can’t simply be rebuilt from scratch if lost or damaged. If a Transformer looses one, another Transformer has to donate theirs like a human would donate a kidney to another. TFP would famously depict this where Bumblebee and Starscream would loose their Cogs as part of a scheme by the human terrorist organization MECH, who required a Cog to build their own Transformer. T-Cogs, as a biological component, mean that all Transformers’ genetic code constrains the schematics for a T-Cog, as Starscream would learn when his Clones all could still Transform when he couldn’t. Starscream would later harvest a Cog from a dead Clone to replace his own, though with how often Megatron bragged about Decepticon science, I imagine they had the power to build a functional Cog from scratch anyway.

MTMTE era IDW would have their own spin on the matter, where Cogs had a religious and political bent, being connected to religious figures in Amalgamous Prime and Adaptus, but also many Action Master type TFs, now “Monoformers” would reject their Cogs for political reasons due to Functionism. A one off Decepticon was so repulsed by Transforming, he was whittled down into a base form lacking kibble, and made other Transformers wear mode locks so they wouldn’t compulsively Transform in front of him.

As an aside, there’s moments like this that makes me wonder if Roberts genuinely hated Transforming. So much lore centered around how intrinsic Transforming is to Cybertron culturally, and yet hardly anyone Transformed on his stories that it was routinely used as a running gag… You can’t tell me that’s not a little unusual for a Transformer fan.

RBA would also introduce an off shoot of the Cog, a Mul-T-Cog that allows the wearer to assume three Vehicle Modes, but not all at once, as the user needed to make a wise choice on which form to use on a mission. Japanese media also has the “Super Transform Cog”, but as of writing, we don’t know exactly what that is.

TFONE would mostly go back to the mechanical nature of the Cogs, no real mention of biology, but retain that all Transformers have them upon activation. The Miner class had theirs removed before becoming online, creating a simple to understand Cogless vs Cog social structure where those who can’t Transform not having many rights or job opportunities under Sentinel, mirroring IDW and obscure Aligned concepts.

Also kind of ironically mirroring IDW, Sentinel, despite The Fallen’s Cog, never actually Transforms into Vehicle Mode, going back to that clunky idea of Transforming being intrinsic but having some who don’t even try.

Orion, Elita, D-16, and B-127 all got Cogs of Primes, donated by Alpha Trion from Prima, Alchemist, Onyx and Micronus, and later on Megatronus, with Cogs being restored to the Miners by Optimus. Where these Cogs come from isn’t clear, though my assumption is Sentinel kept the Cogs of the Miners in storage for some reason, and they came out of storage to their rightful owners once the Matrix was restored. There’s a popular theory the four having ancient Prime Cogs might give them special powers, though nothing has been officially stated. It’s said in TFONE in particular that the Cogs unlock the built in potential of a Transformer, which we see with how Optimus and Megatron evolve as they gained their Vehicle Modes, though at the same time, upon getting Megatronus’ Cog, Megatron does appear to evolve further, so it’s a bit unclear if this is his genetic potential or if Megatronus Prime’s influence took over. Optimus similarly only displays certain attributes like his Axe when he gets Zeta’s Matrix, so we’ll have to wait and see if this gets played up at all in story or in toy form. I still say a better Mini-Con like version of the Prime Master gimmick would be cool for a further TFONE toy line. Like an Onyx Prime Cog that unlocks a Dragon Cannon on Megatron’s arm for example or Optimus sprouting Prima’s sword when Prima Prime’s Cog is plugged in. Admittedly I’m kinda surprised Action Masters haven’t been revived through the Cogless in toys, like having a drill accessory that becomes a dinosaur buddy for Orion or a jet pack that becomes Laserbeak for D-16. Hint, hint, Hasbro.

There are complaints off and on how relying on a single Cog for Transforming is limiting and kinda stupid, but Transformers is inherently nothing but dumb fun so it still kinda works! They’re still robots at the end of the day so having a gizmo that directly controls it makes sense. It’s just funny to me that it took largely until recently to come up with that based on an obscure plot device from the cartoon for Metroplex.