#automated load matching

[artisticdivasworld]

The Impact of AI and Automation on the Trucking Industry

Photo by Ricky Esquivel on Pexels.com So, we’ve all  heard about the buzz around AI and automation in the trucking industry, right? It’s pretty fascinating stuff. I know it sounds all high-tech and futuristic, but it’s really changing the game for truckers in ways that are super practical and beneficial. First off, there’s predictive maintenance. Imagine you’re on the road, hauling a load, and…

[kiiarahehe]

Hiori x Reader short fic

Warning!!

-smut, (mischaracterising PERHAPS), blowjobs, sadism, rough oral sex, somewhat degrading?? 18+,this post is extremely short so not many tags..

18+ MDNI!!!

ALL CHARACTERS ARE AGED UP!!

You and Hiori are competing in a video game for “favors”

“You suck.”

You teased; the score increased, and you were pleased by the automated dialogue saying “matchpoint”.

“Yo, this is the third time I’ve beat you. Just give up.”

“Second ya mean, games not over yet.” Hiori corrected, “You owe me that favor if I win.”

“Still delusional as ever, Yo. It’s 11-4, there’s no way your team can actually come back!” You laughed, condescension apparent in your tone. “T’s not too late for you to call it quits and gimme my money~” Your chime only irritated him more.

“Nuh uh. One more round.” He interjected, determined to keep playing.

“Fine, but since I’ll be winning three games, it's only fair you triple the money. That’s three meals.” You agreed, eager to end the match for your delighted reward.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

The match ended. 11-12.

Hiori won.

“Who’s suckin’ now, bitch?”

Hiori mocked as he drilled his cock into the back of your throat, eyes glued to your glossy lips that leaked saliva and a combination of his precum. He grabbed the back of your head, hands tugging into your hair, and ruthlessly pushed into your mouth. It was like he was trying to deprive you of all air, abusing your throat to reach for who knows what. You gagged, but your efforts for him to stop were of no avail. He continued to fuck into your mouth as tears dripped down your face. And yet you didn’t hate it.

You noticed his rhythm began to change as your cute eyes bubbled and your puffy-red cheeks sank inwards while you practically inhaled his dick. Attempting to give yourself some sort of pleasure, your thighs involuntarily rubbed against each other, the friction leading to your high.

“Fuuuuck, keep lookin’ at me like that would ya?” Hiori teased, his movements delayed so he could better admire the sight of your pretty-crying face. His thrusts were slow but deep, stuffing your mouth further. Your moans against his dick felt satisfying, and he threw his head back at the ecstasy.

“Love it when ya whimper on my cock, feels so good.” He groaned as he played with your throat, regaining quick momentum as he was about to orgasm. Gripping your hair firmly, his hips thrust up into you to reach the deepest part of your mouth. “Stick yer tongue out,” Hiori demanded, pulling out of you for a split second. You were panting as you willingly did so, and he was buoyant in how much better you looked than those models on the old vhs tapes he’d seen.

“Say ‘Itadakimasu’~” Hiori moaned out while his cum spurted out onto your tongue, drops splattering your chin and the surrounding areas. The bitter flavor hit your taste buds, something you weren’t quite used to. The fluid glistened on your tongue and lips, and Hiori just stared in awe. You looked so sexy with your face ruined, and he knew it meant he would have to keep making these favours if it meant he could indulge in the sight! His brow raised, but with astonishment as you accidentally swallowed his load, an audible gulp in your throat. “Didn’t even have t’a ask..”

“Yo..” you managed to croak,

“You enjoy yer first meal, angel?” He taunted.

[pukefactory]

•☽────✧˖°˖ EVENING SCHEDULE ˖°˖✧────☾•

(COMMISSION)

★ Summary: A Compilation Of Headcanons Featuring Salesperson ENA Being Separated From The Reader As You Are Trapped In The Lonely Door

★ Commissioner: @namosaga

★ Character(s): Salesperson ENA (ENA: Dream BBQ)

★ Genre: Headcanons, SFW

★ Warning(s): None - Completely Safe!

★ Image Credits: @JoelG

The respawn hits like a headache. Not the polite kind, either—no, this one’s jagged and cold and lonely in all the wrong places. ENA blinks back into the Hub, blinking and blinking until her triangle pupils shake from the strain. Something’s wrong. Something’s missing. “Where’s my associate?” she demands, red-side first, voice a silken pitch of mock-customer service panic. “Where’s my contractual companion? My deal-partner, my emergency exit buddy?” Froggy doesn’t even glance up from the clipboard. “Back already, huh? Good. Got another job for you. Big smoke issue. Very urgent. Big big fog. Go do the thing.” “No. No no no—I felt them behind me! I grabbed their hand—!” Meanie side takes over mid-sentence, volume flaring into a banshee scream. “WHERE IS THE BATHROOM BASTARD!? DID THEY GET SUCKED BACK IN!?” Froggy snorts. “Probably stuck in the Lonely Door. That’s what happens when you hesitate.” “You call this hesitation?! I TRUSTED the algorithm!” ENA screeches, arms flailing as her shadow elongates weirdly behind her, puppet-like, cartoon loops of panic glitching around her legs. “SEND ME BACK IN!!” “It’s a one-way valve, you neon ferret. Can’t un-flush a dimension.” But ENA is already pacing in figure-eights, her red side babbling like a hotline agent mid-breakdown. “We must file an appeal. Get a Genie. Get a mannequin. Get GØD. We cannot leave them. They are still in there. With it. With that. They’ll be all… cracked.” Froggy mutters something about caffeine and overtime, but it barely registers. ENA’s claws dig into her temples, yellow side twitching, blinking, muttering: “I didn’t mean to leave them. I didn’t mean to. This wasn’t in the pitch deck…” Even for a Salesperson, some deals hurt too much to walk away from.

☆ The Door doesn’t swing shut—it clenches. Clenches its thin muscles like the mouth of something divine and bored. ENA’s voice flattens into a hum, just shy of hopeful. “Let’s conclude this endeavor, shall we?” she offers with a tilt of her head, but her eyes don’t match. Her pupils are missing again. You don’t have time to ask where they went. Your legs are cubes now. You can feel the vertices.

☆ It begins like static in the bloodstream. You blink and your hand is a jpeg of a hand. ENA turns toward you and grins—Salesperson, all customer service and plastic cheer. “Not to worry, asset decay is standard in unscheduled transitions. Just think of it as… modular.” You try to scream. It renders as a corrupted flute trill.

☆ “YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS,” Meanie blurts, voice warping, lips out of sync. “FIX YOUR STUPID BODY ALREADY—WHAT ARE YOU, A YOUTUBE THUMBNAIL?!” It’s the closest thing to a plea she can muster. ENA is glitching too. Her torso duplicates and overlaps, one frame behind the other. She stumbles when she laughs. You see her blood is orange now. No—it’s loading.

☆ The hallway outside the Door is collapsing like an unraveling .zip file. Textureless walls crumbling and folding underneath itself. ENA’s hat drifts past you, and she doesn’t notice. Or maybe she left it behind on purpose.

☆ “You go ahead, I’ll catch up,” ENA says. But she says it while stepping backward, smiling with the kind of smile that doesn’t want to be watched fall apart. You beg her not to leave. She shrugs. “It’s not abandonment. It’s automation. You’re simply stuck in the wrong instance.” Her voice cracks. She was never meant to stay.

☆ You watch your own mouth vanish. There’s no time to panic before ENA—not the one you knew, but the mannequin she’s puppeting—shudders to life in the main world, glitching and sputtering before she’s finally cut free of her binds. Froggy, grumpy as ever, berates her: “Quit being so unprofessional, people will get the wrong idea! What even happened?!” ENA doesn’t answer. Her eyes are looking at something else. Something behind Froggy.

☆ In the Door’s fading echo, you hear the sound of typing. Dozens of voices speaking in code. “If statement. Boolean value. Body = NULL.” ENA tried to hold them together, but she was losing cohesion. Her model couldn’t keep up. Her limbs lagged in and out of place. You then realized—too late—that she was never supposed to bring you this far. And she never expected this outcome.

☆ As Froggy chews her out, ENA’s head tilts and she whispers: “There’s something still inside. I left them. I had to. I didn’t want to be unmade.” She wrings her mitt-shaped hand with her clawed one. “You’re mad, right? I should’ve stayed?” Her voice warps with guilt, skipping like a scratched DVD. Froggy stares. Then mutters: “…You’re not even here.”

☆ In the Door’s final light, you see ENA one last time. Not as a whole, not even as halves. But as shards. Her voices no longer alternate—they collide. “I’ll save you—” “NO I WON’T—” “What’s your pain point—” “SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP—” The Door slams its fleshy arms shut like a final period on a sentence never proofread. Silence echoes like a scream with nowhere to go.

☆ Back in the hub, the casino gleams. Froggy stamps forms. Business resumes. But sometimes, the lights flicker. ENA’s body twitches. She grins and spins her cap. “You look like someone with a lot of unresolved data.” she says to herself. You’re not coming back. But ENA watches the Door anyway. Because maybe. Just maybe. The save file is still corrupt, but not deleted.

[heliosunny]

For the request can I please have yandere Topaz x spy reader?

Yandere!Topaz x Spy!Reader

The IPC headquarters was an untouchable fortress, at least, that’s what they wanted everyone to believe. You had slipped through tighter security before, evaded sharper eyes, and walked away from more perilous operations unscathed. This was just another job. Another mission. Another untouchable figure to dismantle.

Topaz, Senior Manager of Strategic Investments, was the target. Her role in the IPC made her a dangerous opponent, but also an invaluable asset to your employer. You only needed to extract classified financial records, just enough to tip the scales. A clean job, no blood, no alarms, just data.

Everything had gone smoothly.

You bypassed security systems, wove through automated patrols, and reached the data archives without a hitch. The files loaded onto your drive in seconds. A flawless escape was within reach, that is, until you turned around.

She was waiting. Topaz stood casually in front of the exit, arms crossed, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Her eyes gleamed with something unsettling, mostly amusement, curiosity, control.

"Wow" she mused, "I have to admit, you’re pretty good. Most people don’t make it this far without setting off at least a dozen alarms."

You had been careful. Every precaution taken. Every measure accounted for.

As if reading your mind, Topaz lifted her wrist, revealing a sleek IPC communicator. "The moment you entered the building, I had my security feed rerouted. Instead of alerting my subordinates, I let you walk right in. I wanted to see how far you'd get before realizing..." She tilted her head, a smirk forming.

"You were never in control."

Heat burned at the back of your neck. "Then why wait? Why let me get this far if you knew?"

She chuckled. "Because watching you work was fun. And because, sweetheart, I think we can help each other."

Your breath steadied as your mind raced. If she wasn’t alerting security, she wanted something. This wasn’t an immediate death sentence, it was a game. And if she wanted to play, you would find a way to win.

"What kind of help?" you asked, voice carefully neutral.

Topaz’s smile widened as she stepped closer, her heels clicking softly against the floor. "A deal, of course. You’re talented, resourceful, and bold. The kind of person I like keeping around. So here’s my offer: work for me."

"Not as an IPC agent" she continued, her tone sweet, coaxing, "but as my personal informant. I have... competitors who need watching, tasks that require someone with your skill set." She brushed a hand through her hair, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "In exchange, I'll make sure no one knows you were ever here. No bounty on your head, no retaliation from the IPC, no mysterious 'disappearances' in the night."

It sounded too good. There had to be a catch.

"...And if I refuse?"

Topaz sighed, feigning disappointment. "Then I let my security system do its job, and, well..." She gestured lazily. "You know how the IPC deals with trespassers. Your real employer won't come save you. You'll just be another loose end tied up."

You needed time. A chance to find a weakness, to flip the game back in your favor.

You exhaled, slowly. "Fine. I'll hear the terms."

Topaz beamed. "Good choice! You won’t regret it."

For a moment, it almost seemed like you wouldn’t. The first few tasks were simple, easy, and manageable, gathering intel, dropping misinformation, a few falsified reports. But then, slowly, the conditions began to change.

At first, it was extra tasks. Then, it was little details that didn’t quite match what you originally agreed to. And by the time you realized just how deep you were, the walls had already closed in. You weren’t an idiot. You knew from the start that Topaz's deal was too good to be true.

Numby, her ever-present companion, had taken an odd interest in you. The chubby trotter followed you around constantly, snuffling at your pockets like it expected you to start producing money.

One time, you caught it trying to chew through your coat.

“Numby, no.”

The little trotter blinked up at you innocently.

“I told you” Topaz had chuckled, leaning lazily against her desk, “Numby’s got a good eye for investments. And you?” She smirked. “You're a very valuable asset.”

You didn’t like how she said that.

You liked it even less when you started noticing the subtle shifts in her behavior.

At first, it was small things. The way your “assignments” started requiring more personal involvement. The way she casually dropped your name into IPC circles, slipping you into places you had no business being. The way Numby had started curling up in your lap without invitation, as if marking you as hers.

Your usual informants suddenly wanted nothing to do with you. Your safe houses mysteriously stopped being “safe.” Every attempt to create an exit route was subtly, effortlessly blocked.

The final straw came when you tried to leave the planet.

You had booked an anonymous ticket on a cargo ship, something low-profile, something outside of IPC jurisdiction. But when you arrived at the dock, a familiar voice rang out.

“Ohhh, I knew you’d try something like this.”

You whipped around.

Topaz stood a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes gleaming with amusement. Numby floated beside her, its little snout twitching as if sniffing out your escape attempt like a financial miscalculation.

Your stomach twisted. "How?"

She clicked her tongue, shaking her head as if disappointed. “Come on, sweetheart, do you really think I’d let you walk out of a contract so easily?”

"This wasn’t in the deal."

Topaz’s lips curled. “Mmm... No, but I am IPC, and you did agree to work for me indefinitely. Did you really not read the fine print?”

A holo-screen flickered to life beside her, displaying an altered version of your agreement. There—right at the bottom, in the tiniest, most infuriatingly vague text—you saw it:

"Duration: Until Manager Topaz deems the contract fulfilled."

"You rigged it."

Topaz grinned. "I refined it."

You took a step back. "This is insane. I never agreed to—"

"Sure you did! You just thought you could outsmart me." Her expression softened, almost fond. "But I like that about you. You keep things interesting."

Numby let out a happy squeak and nudged your leg.

You stared at them both. "You can't keep me here."

Topaz let out a slow, thoughtful hum. Then she smiled, bright and sweet.

"Numby?"

The little trotter chirped, then suddenly lunged for your ticket, chomping it out of your hand.

"NUMBY—!"

Too late. The stub was gone, devoured in one decisive bite. The tiny beast swallowed, then let out a smug snuffle, as if personally securing your financial—and physical ruin.

You gawked. "Did you just—”

Topaz stifled a laugh behind her hand. “Ahhh, Numby, good work! Always watching out for bad investments.”

Numby chirped in agreement.

You clenched your jaw, fury simmering beneath your skin. "I am not an investment."

Topaz hummed, stepping forward until she was just inches away. “Oh, but you are. A valuable one. And as long as you keep trying to leave…”

Her fingers brushed along your wrist, feather-light, yet iron in intent.

“…I’ll just have to keep reminding you where you belong.”

Numby let out a delighted snuffle.

You had never hated a tiny financial advisor more in your life.

Posing as Topaz’s subordinate had been a desperate move. You needed to buy time to find a weakness, an escape route, anything that could get you out of her grip.

But now, standing beside her in an IPC-investigated fraud case, you were beginning to regret it.

The boardroom was silent. A collection of high-ranking IPC officials sat around the table, their holo-screens filled with financial reports, transaction histories, and legal documents. A high-profile businessman had been accused of embezzlement, and it was Topaz’s job to untangle the mess.

Technically, it wasn’t your job. But since Topaz had smugly introduced you as her "trusted assistant", you had no choice but to play along.

Numby sat on the table beside you, snuffling at the paperwork.

You shot Topaz a side glance. "You’re enjoying this way too much."

She smiled sweetly. "Of course I am. You look cute when you’re pretending to follow orders."

The meeting dragged on, the accused businessman sweating under the weight of the IPC’s scrutiny. Every time he tried to defend himself, Topaz countered with ironclad numbers. He was cornered. Almost.

But something felt off. A discrepancy in the financial records. A missing link.

You glanced at the reports again, scanning quickly. Then, you saw it-an insignificant-looking transaction, hidden within a cluster of minor expenses. But the pattern…

It was deliberate. A shell account. A decoy. The real funds were funneled elsewhere.

Topaz was still talking, smoothly dismantling the businessman’s weak excuses. You leaned in slightly, your voice low.

"He's hiding it through secondary shell accounts. Check the linked subsidiaries in column D—there’s a laundering trail."

Topaz stilled.

Then, a slow, delighted smile spread across her lips.

"Ahhh, I knew keeping you was a good idea."

Without hesitation, she pulled up the subsidiary records. One glance was all she needed.

"Well, well," she mused, cutting through the businessman’s last defense like a blade. “It looks like someone’s been playing very dirty.”

The room tensed. A few keystrokes later, and the final proof was displayed for all to see.

The businessman turned pale.

The IPC officials murmured in approval.

Numby let out a triumphant chirp.

And Topaz?

She turned to you and whispered, “I think I like you even more now.”

[uss-edsall]

I genuinely think one of the best videoogame announcement trailers ever belongs to Wolfenstein: The New Order. Rebooting an old franchise for a new decade, it had to make a distinctive splash, and it did so with aplomb. I adore it because of the visuals and music alike. Under the cut below's an infodump looking through the scenes.

The music is composed by Mick Gordon of future DOOM fame, and is a mix that adds an excellent prequel to Jimi Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower. This is especially poignant considering Hendrix is, quite literally, a fairly prominent character in the game.

As for visuals, oh, where to start? Well, at the beginning.

It starts with automation, showing something being built - the Nazi World. The first thing this creation does is erode and collapse the Eiffel Tower, in the reflection of the machine carving out the Wolfenstein symbol, and in the process showing the subjugation of France. "It was a remaking," as Blazkowicz says.

Up next is London Bridge in a pool of water, a cooling pool for superheated metals. Barrage balloons hang above her... and then the jagged metal comes into frame. It cuts to five of them, fashioned into sharp knives - and they're plunged into the pool with an audio cue, the shadows of murdered humanity rises in the steam, alongside faint screams.

London, and Britain soon after, has fallen. "Unethical," indeed, Blazkowicz.

The next shot showcases the bullets being created. The drumbeats match that of a marching military unit, a Nazi parade goosestepping on the wall behind a conveyor belt. Upon it, bullets are being created, the Nazi war machine is ascendant, on the march, towards its next conquest.

Imperfections are carved out of the helmet of the chassis. In the sparks is shown the Statue of Liberty, wreathed in flame - and as the music swells, she loses her head and is visibly damaged.

The armour turns as the factory works on it, showing the Empire State Building defining the New York City cityscape. Bombers are in her skies, flames wreath her buildings, and she burns. "Some... unthinkable." The Nazis have come to American shores - and defeated the Arsenal of Democracy.

The weapons are loaded. Finishing touches on the robot's eyes. The World War is long over - this is a Nazi machine now. The music drops perfectly into the real intro of All Along The Watchtower. "Now they've built a new world..."

The eyes spark to life, an evil red. A flash of lightning pouring rain. "Armies, of steel, and thunder..." It pans out to show an army of robots just like the one we watched being built. "They're rewriting history..."

Captain William Blazkowicz, standing proud and defiant, shotguns in both hands. He can take 'em. He can take all of 'em. Finally, stopping on a key visual and showing the title Wolfenstein: The New Order...

"But they forgot about me."

In my opinion, I think it's not only a fantastic trailer in terms of visual and musical design, it was a great way to announce the return of the franchise. In a minute and thirty seconds, they depict the destruction of the Allied powers, the fall of democratic civilisation. But here comes our dashing hero, our growling classic FPS soldier man, back again - ready and willing to wreak havoc and kill nazis.

[nonsensical-pixels]

exactly what it says on the tin title! after watching @skittlesplays manually resize hundreds of recolor files on stream (and trying to do it myself...), i decided that the only solution when it comes to editing textures for ts2 was... photoshop! here are 9 photoshop actions geared towards 4t2 conversions, but hey, maybe you could use them for other stuff too 💖

i made these for personal use and have been using them on and off for the last few months, so i suppose you could say they've been sufficiently tested... the actions included aren't final though, i might go back and add a few more as my areas of expertise expand 😅 more info and instructions under the cut, long post warning! 👇🏽

DOWNLOAD: SFS | MF 📄

if you encounter any issues with these actions, please do reach out to me and i'll try my best to help! or if you'd like to add on to them, edit them, etc. in any way, please feel free to 😀

How to Install These Actions

open up photoshop and click on the big 'play' button in the corner. that's the actions tab. then click on the little down arrow and 4 lines in the corner of that subwindow.

select 'load actions' from the list, and navigate to wherever you've installed my .atn file! then that's it, you've got them installed, easy-peasy.

How to Use These Actions (1 at a Time)

open up the texture that you want to edit in photoshop; for this example i'm using a dress i'm 4t2'ing from the throwback fit kit. now it's time to decide which action you're gonna use to make this texture compatible with ts2!

as the texture is 1024 x 2048, i'm gonna use the 'texture clothing: 1024x2048 to 1024x1024' action to downsize it.

ta-da! now it's a reasonable size!

How to Use These Actions (Dozens at a Time)

now for what this set was really made for: editing a ton of textures at a time! just go to file -> automate -> batch...

and navigate to the textures you'd like to batch-edit. here's a few things you should probably keep in mind: - checking 'include all subfolders' will edit ALL the textures from that filepath onwards. - if you set your destination as 'save and close' as pictured, all your files will be autosaved after the action has been run. - so if you don't want to live on the edge, like me, and are afraid of running the wrong action, just open up one of the files you're batch-editing and check which action should be run on it before you do the other files.

and behold! all of my textures have been cut down, and a bunch of my time saved 😎

Examples of Stuff Each Action Can Be Used For

in case you were curious! the first two actions, i mainly use for objects. a lot of ts4 cc creators have their texture sizes set to 2048x2048 or even more, which is way more than (my) ts2 can normally handle. i mean, that much for a candle? geez! so these two actions are used to cut down those textures and not kill your graphics cards.

these are for cas stuff, like clothing, hairs, and accessories. alpha creators tend to have larger texture sizes, but ea's are almost always a cool 1024x2048. just make sure you check before you run the actions!

trim is... i honestly can't remember the last time i used trim, just... if you need it, it's there

the last two actions are for floors and walls! floors are set to autosave as .bmp; walls are up to you. the texture sizes are made to match homecrafter's.

and... that's about it! lol. i know this isn't normally what i post, but i figured that since a lot more people are getting into 4t2 converting recently, these actions might help y'all.

have a great day, have a fun time simming, and keep being awesome guys 😘

[echoweaver]

More on the Save Game Settings mod.

So, we drop half the settings in the original mod because the game is already storing them per-save.

I've determined that the Celebrity settings are stored for the entire game. Also, to my surprise (why does EA keep surprising me), the "Opt Active Family Out of Celebrity System" option actually disables the ENTIRE Celebrity system rather than just preventing the active family from gaining celebrity points, which is what I assumed it did. I don't know how this differs in practice from the Celebrities demographic checkbox. (It looks like maybe inactive sims can have celebrity points; it's just hidden from the user? I have no idea.)

The Supernatural demographic settings may also be, but I haven't verified yet.

The primary thing of course is the lifespan settings. I have those working for personal use, but the only place I've been able to apply the settings I'm storing is after NRaas looks at them. This results is not one but TWO prompts asking if you want to adjust the manager speed -- one when it notices that the ini settings don't match what your save game was using, then again when you reapply the settings from the save. In both cases, you can click No/Cancel and leave the drivers alone, but the effect is clunky and alarming for a user who didn't personally code it.

I asked Chain_Reaction for advice and got an ear(eye)-full about how doing this was a bad idea he'd already looked at and decided not to implement. He claimed that abruptly changing the lifespans by large amounts could bog down the AgingManager. I'm not sure how large an amount he's talking about. In theory, what I'm doing is an automated version of opening the EA Options dialog and changing the lifespan settings there each time I load a save game. Maybe if I set the total lifespan to 10 million, it could cause trouble, but while I'm not bounds-checking the values, at some point my mod is no longer responsible for your bad decisions.

Chain spends a notable amount of his limited time providing tech support for poorly-written mods that side effect the NRaas suite. I suppose if someone set the lifespan to 10 million, they'd be at least as likely to end up on the NRaas forums asking why their game is frozen as coming to me. Which makes me wonder if his concern is not me saving lifespan values in the save game but the prospect of setting lifespan values to arbitrary amounts....?

At any rate, he's not going to help me figure out how to avoid those prompts. I can pull down the NRaas suite from Github and paw through it myself. I've considered that for a couple of small changes I'd love to make and possibly submit as pull request. (The one that comes to mind is married names. I can have all couples take Bride's name, Groom's, older spouse, younger, or hyphenate, but what I actually want to randomly select all of those options to simulate a bunch of different personalities making different choices in my town.) However, I'm not going to take that on anytime soon, and I can't guarantee that examination of the NRaas code is going to yield a solution.

OTOH, I have the mod running in its current clunky state in my personal game, and I'm already not sure if I can live without it. I think all the non-lifespan settings can be effectively managed with some high-order NRaas-fu, so really the lifespan is the only must-have feature.

I don't think the mod in its current state is a good idea to release someplace like MTS, but I suppose I could make it available for download to use at your own risk for savvy players who happen to read this my simblr.

Any thoughts?

[lou-struck]

When You're With Me

Tooru Oikawa x Reader

~Tooru has just gotten back from a long trip abroad and is ready to get home. 

WC:1.6k

This is my Submission for @mrskenmakozume Home Collab which can be found HERE

Tagging: @enchantedforest-network

Rain pummels your windshield as you creep through your lane at a snail’s pace as yet another driver cuts you off clearly, not paying attention to where they are going. 

You glance at your dashboard clock and see the blinking green numbers glaring back at you. 

03:24 am and let loose a dramatic sigh as the car that cut in front of you merges poorly again, this time nearly hitting a group of businessmen who were making their way across the crosswalk.

It’s far too early to deal with this bullshit. 

But people always do crazy things when they are in love

Even if it’s something like picking their boyfriend up from the airport at three in the morning

Tooru Oikawa has been away for two months traveling the globe with his professional volleyball team. Of course, he has had tons of away trips before; none have ever lasted this long.

It’s strange, but without him, the new house the two of you moved into doesn’t feel like home. 

The rapidly changing time zones and your schedules have made communicating nearly impossible. Whenever you have a free moment, he is out with his teammates or is in a dead zone, and whenever he’s free, it’s at some ungodly hour when you are trying to sleep.

You have missed him terribly. 

Watching your boyfriend’s volleyball matches on the television did little to lighten the load you have placed on your heart.

“To keep up with this heavy volume of traffic, please use the front two lanes solely for unloading passengers and luggage. Violators will be towed at the owner’s expense.” The automated speaker repeats for the third time since you have been waiting in the arrivals drop-off lane at the airport.

If it weren’t so early, you would feel a bit guilty picking up your boyfriend in your pajamas and fuzzy slippers, but you don’t have the energy to care, not when you are only a few meters away from finally getting to see him up close.

And that you do. 

Clad in his team’s warm-up sweats and jacket, Tooru stands on the edge of the sidewalk looking out at the passing cars trying to spot yours. When he sees you approaching, his features light up boyishly, and he starts to walk toward you. He makes it halfway until he looks behind him, where his luggage sits untouched by everything except for the rain.

He doesn’t have the time to look embarrassed as he grabs them and weaves through the crowd of travelers. When he gets to the car, he impatiently tosses both bags into the back seat with a tired grunt. 

He slams the door shut a bit louder than he intended to do, but it doesn’t slow him down at all. In a flash, the passenger door swings open, and he lunges over the center console with a squeal. “Baby, you’re here. I have missed you so much. Did you miss me?” 

His long, lean arms wrap around you, and he holds you as close to his body as he can.

His normally pristine-looking hair is drenched with rainwater, and the droplets soak through the sleep shirt you have on. But it doesn’t bother you. “Of course I have.” 

Despite the annoyed honking of the cars around you itching for your spot, you continue to hold him. The heavy weight of loneliness that has been resting over your heart disappears as you listen to the familiar rhythm of his heartbeat.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he repeats, mumbling into your shoulder. “I’m sorry it took so long.”

“You sure took your time.” you sniffle, “We should’ve done this hours ago.”

He snorts amusedly and gives you a playful squeeze, “Next time, I’ll just fly the plane myself through the damn thunderstorm; I’m sure I could.”

“I don’t think it’s that easy,” you giggle, pulling back to get a good look at his face. As much as he tries to hide with playful winks and looks of adoration, he looks utterly exhausted; his skin has an unnatural paleness to it that accentuates the dark bags that rest under his bright brown eyes. You know he can’t sleep on airplanes, so he must be running on fumes by now.

“Can we go home?” he mumbles, tiredly gripping your hand. “I want nothing more than to just fall asleep in our bed, in our room with you.”

“Absolutely,” you respond, intertwining your fingers with his, “I think we both deserve a good night’s sleep.” Driving with one hand is considerably difficult, but you don’t want to let go of Tooru’s hand for even a moment. 

He is abnormally quiet for the majority of the car ride home as he stares down at your hand, occasionally running his thumb over the back of your hand. 

“Did you watch me?” he murmurs softly, breaking the comfortable silence. “In my games?”

“Every game, but you know that already.” you tease, a pleasant smile on your lips from his question. You know what’s coming next.

He smirks and raises your hand to his lips in a teasing kiss. “But did you really watch me? That one serve I did was incredible, wasn’t it?”

“Tooru, you broke the poor guy’s nose.” you giggle. “I don’t know if I’d call that incredible.”

“Nope, I did him a favor~” he yawns, looking just a bit sinister; you don’t know all the details, but the player he nailed with that wicked serve of his was known to be quite the instigator in the Volleyball League. “He didn’t know how to shut up, so I gave him a distraction.”

“Just as petty as ever,” you giggle as you turn down your street. Tiredness makes the trip go by much faster.

“I think you meant to say pretty.” he grins as you pull into your driveway. The neighborhood is quiet as your car comes to a stop. It’s not even four in the morning, so the two of you have plenty of time to catch up on some rest. Especially since you both have the day off.

“Should we get your bags out of the back?” you ask, sliding out of the driver’s seat.

“Leave them; I have more important things to bring in with me.” he coos, stepping out the door and scooping you up. You cover your mouth to muffle your squeal and look around. Your neighbors may be suckers for Tooru’s charm, but you don’t think you have the same effect on them.

After spending the day traveling, you wonder how he still has the strength to carry you; the stamina of professional athletes never ceases to amaze you. 

“Ahh, home sweet home.” he sighs dreamily, unlocking the door and carrying you through the threshold as if you are newlyweds. He locks the door behind him with a click and reluctantly sets you down carefully with the last of his energy; whatever else he was going to say was cut up by a deep yawn. 

“Woah, big yawn. I think we should get some rest,” you grin, thinking about how wonderful it will feel to finally get to rest in your boyfriend’s arms. You’ve missed his sleep-talking and long limbs more than you would ever tell him; he can be such a tease about these kinds of things. 

His shoulders slump as he smiles goofily, “Sleep is good.” 

You flick off your slippers and watch as they hit the wall with a little thud.

“Hey, that’s not nice.” he sighs, wrapping his arms around you and resting the majority of his weight on your shoulders. “This is our home; we should love it, not hit it with bunny slippers.”

“Sorry, wall,” you apologize with mock sincerity and try to drag both you and Tooru to the bedroom. Your side of the bed is a mess of sheets and pillows while Tooru’s is still partially made; you haven’t had the heart to move anything since he left, replacing his form with body pillows and heated blankets that don’t do him justice.

You both flop down onto the firm mattress, too tired to do anything else. Sleep is on the menu tonight, and you are starved. 

Burrowing into the sheets, you enjoy the cold sensation of silk against your skin. “Feel’s good,” he murmurs into the pillow holding out his arms for you to join him.

“You’ve missed it that much?” you ask. “We have only lived here for a few months; does it already feel like home?”

“Not it’s you.” his breath is hot against your neck. “When you are with me, anywhere can feel like home. You know, it’s funny, but I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since I left.”

“Me too,” you admit, enjoying the sensation of being used as his personal body pillow. “It’s not the same without you.” You twist around to start getting into your favorite sleeping position. 

Now facing him, you see his eyelids beginning to droop; keeping them open must be so difficult for him. “Promise me that if I have to go away for that long, you’ll come with me.”

“I promise,” you mumble, ignoring your pillow entirely and resting your head on his chest. 

“I love you so much,” he breathes, reaching up to kiss the top of your head, “Thank you for being my home.”

[metalgear-f-15e-tfr]

Something that mod packs like better than wolves or games like vintage story don't seem to understand is that suffering in video games is fine, but there needs to be SOME kind of pay off to getting through the suffering.

Progression is an important part of survival/open world games, there needs to be some level of "you've passed B milestone so now the A tasks are considerably easier but you've also unlocked C tasks which match A tasks original difficulty but allow you to work towards D milestone which unlocks E tasks etc etc etc"

Minecraft does an ok enough job of this even though BTWtards will pretend otherwise for reddit updoots. But, as can be said about any topic around video games, factorio does it best. Start off hand crafting, move to hand feeding, then basic automation, oil processing, alternative power sources, logic circuits, trains, scaling up, beacons and modules, robots, artillery, spidertrons.

Each of these paths are not only unlocked through the overall progression but are made easier by embracing the other paths. Scaling up is easier once you start using bots, trains or move to nuclear power. Which are all easier once you embrace advanced oil processing. Beacons and modules can make pretty much anything easier but require sizable automation to use at bigger scales. Robots are such a huge milestone they essentially divide the game into pre and post bot but you can also go the entire game without crafting a single one.

At the start of the game realizing you need another belt of iron plates when your current iron latch can't support another belt is a big task. You need to locate a new patch, manually take out the biters with a tank or turrent creep. Manually build a new mining post on the ore patch, bring all the ore back somehow (trains or belts, which both bring their own time to build). And then you need to actually smelt the iron which means a building a new furnace stack by hand which means either more power drain or more load on your coal patch which it might not be able to support which starts this whole process over again.

By the end or even late game it's a whole new scenario, noticing you need a new belt of iron is never more than three blueprints and a spidertron away from a solution. You can have everything building and running in the background while you work on more stuff that takes more thought than basic copy and pasting. By the end game you spend more time designing than actively building.

Minecraft does ok at this even though some milestones are laughibly easy. Making a mob farm makes collecting stuff like gunpowder easy. Making an iron farm makes building anything big that uses hoppers actually viable. Villager trading halls turn good enchantments into something you can work toward rather than rolling the dice at the enchantment table 400 times.

Trash like better than wolves fails at this. You will be scrounging and toiling away for food every single in game day until you beat it, there's never a point in progression where some core part of the game becomes a non-issue, if you're lucky it just gets 0.5% easier. What once was a task you had to sit and hold right click for five minutes while holding an item can now be accomplished by right clicking a block once and waiting four minutes. Whoop dee fucking doo.

[mdabdurrajjakmia]

#__How_do_search_engines_work?

Search engines are complex software systems that help users find information on the internet. They work by crawling, indexing, and ranking web pages to provide relevant search results when a user enters a query. Here's a high-level overview of how search engines like Google work:

Web Crawling:

Search engines use automated programs called web crawlers or spiders to browse the internet. These crawlers start by visiting a few known websites and follow links from those pages to discover new ones.

Crawlers download web pages and store them in a vast database known as the index. This process is continuous, with crawlers revisiting websites to look for updates and new content.

Indexing:

Once web pages are crawled, search engines analyze the content of each page, including text, images, links, and metadata (e.g., page titles and descriptions).

This information is then organized and stored in the search engine's index. The index is like a massive library catalog that helps the search engine quickly retrieve relevant web pages when a user enters a query.

Query Processing:

When a user submits a search query, the search engine processes it to understand the user's intent. This may involve analyzing the query's keywords, context, and user history (if available).

Search engines use algorithms to determine which web pages are most likely to satisfy the user's query. These algorithms consider various factors like relevance, freshness, and user engagement.

Ranking:

Search engines assign a ranking to each web page in their index based on how well they match the user's query and other relevance factors. Pages that are more relevant to the query are ranked higher.

Ranking algorithms are highly complex and take into account hundreds of signals, such as the quality and quantity of backlinks, page load speed, and user engagement metrics.

Displaying Results:

The search engine then displays a list of search results on the user's screen, usually with a title, snippet, and URL for each result.

Search engines aim to present the most relevant and high-quality results on the first page of results, as users are more likely to find what they need there.

User Interaction:

Search engines also track user interactions with search results, such as clicks, bounce rates, and time spent on pages. This data can be used to refine rankings and improve the search experience.

Continuous Improvement:

Search engines are constantly evolving and improving their algorithms to provide better search results and combat spammy or low-quality content.

It's important to note that different search engines may have their own unique algorithms and ranking criteria, and they may prioritize different factors based on their specific goals and philosophies. Google, for example, uses the PageRank algorithm, among others, while Bing and other search engines have their own approaches.