#blue data software

[golden42]

Lazy Loading Page Speed Optimization: Efficient Practices & Tips

Key Takeaways

Lazy loading can significantly improve page speed by loading only necessary content initially, reducing initial load times.

Implementing lazy loading can save bandwidth, which is crucial for users on limited data plans.

This technique enhances user experience by ensuring faster interactions and smoother scrolling.

SEO can benefit from lazy loading as search engines prefer faster websites, potentially improving rankings.

To effectively implement lazy loading, use browser-native features and ensure compatibility across different devices.

Enhancing Web Performance with Lazy Loading

In today's fast-paced digital world, web performance is more critical than ever. Slow websites can drive users away, impacting engagement and conversions. One powerful technique to boost performance is lazy loading. By understanding and implementing lazy loading, you can optimize your website's speed and efficiency, keeping your visitors engaged and satisfied.

Understanding the Need for Speed

Users expect websites to load quickly and efficiently.

Slow loading times can lead to higher bounce rates.

Improved speed enhances user satisfaction and retention.

Most importantly, speed is not just a luxury; it's a necessity. Users are increasingly impatient, and a delay of even a few seconds can cause them to abandon your site. Therefore, ensuring that your site loads swiftly is crucial for maintaining user interest and engagement.

Lazy loading offers a solution by optimizing the loading process. Instead of loading every element of a page at once, lazy loading prioritizes essential content and defers non-essential elements. This approach can make a dramatic difference in how quickly your site feels to users.

Lazy Loading: A Game Changer for Web Efficiency

Lazy loading is more than just a buzzword; it's a transformative technique for web optimization. By deferring the loading of non-essential elements, such as images and videos, until they are needed, lazy loading reduces the initial load time of a webpage.

Images and videos load only when they enter the viewport.

Reduces server requests, enhancing page speed.

Particularly beneficial for mobile users with limited bandwidth.

Besides that, lazy loading helps in conserving resources, which is particularly beneficial for mobile users who might be on limited data plans. By only loading what's necessary, users experience faster interactions and smoother scrolling, which can significantly improve their overall experience.

Eager Loading: When Immediate Isn't Ideal

Eager loading, the opposite of lazy loading, involves loading all page elements at once. While this approach might seem straightforward, it can lead to longer initial load times, especially on content-heavy pages. Therefore, eager loading is not always the best choice, particularly when dealing with large images or videos.

Lazy loading, on the other hand, ensures that your website delivers essential content swiftly, making it an ideal choice for optimizing page speed and improving user experience.

Benefits of Lazy Loading

Lazy loading isn't just about speed; it's about creating a seamless and efficient user experience. Let's delve into the various benefits it offers.

Faster Initial Load Times

By loading only the necessary elements initially, lazy loading significantly reduces the time it takes for a page to become interactive. Users can start engaging with the content almost immediately, without waiting for all elements to load.

This immediate engagement is crucial in retaining user interest. For instance, if your homepage loads quickly, users are more likely to explore further, increasing the chances of conversion.

Additionally, faster load times can have a positive impact on your website's bounce rate. Users are less likely to leave if they don't have to wait for content to load, which can improve your site's overall performance metrics.

Loading Images Efficiently

Images often account for the majority of a webpage's load time. By implementing lazy loading for images, you can significantly improve your page speed. This involves loading images only when they are about to enter the viewport. As a result, users won't have to wait for all images to load before they can interact with your content.

To do this effectively, you can use the loading="lazy" attribute in your image tags. This attribute tells the browser to defer loading the image until it is close to being visible. Additionally, consider using responsive image techniques to serve different image sizes based on the user's device, further optimizing load times.

Handling Videos and Media Content

Videos and other media content can be resource-intensive, causing significant delays in load times if not managed properly. Lazy loading can also be applied to these elements. By embedding videos with lazy loading techniques, you ensure they only load when a user scrolls to them.

For example, instead of directly embedding a video, use a thumbnail image with a play button overlay. When the user clicks the play button, the video loads and plays. This not only saves bandwidth but also improves the initial loading speed of the page.

JavaScript and CSS Deferred Loading

JavaScript and CSS files are essential for modern web applications, but they can also be a bottleneck if not handled correctly. Lazy loading these resources involves deferring their loading until they are needed. This can be achieved using the defer and async attributes for JavaScript files.

The defer attribute ensures that the script is executed after the HTML document has been parsed, while the async attribute allows the script to be executed as soon as it's available. For CSS, consider using media queries to load stylesheets conditionally based on the user's device or viewport size.

Tips for Optimizing Lazy Loading

Implementing lazy loading is just the beginning. To truly optimize your website's performance, follow these additional tips and best practices.

Use Browser Native Features

Modern browsers offer native support for lazy loading, making it easier than ever to implement this technique. By using native features, you can ensure compatibility and reduce the need for third-party libraries, which can add unnecessary overhead.

To take advantage of these features, simply add the loading="lazy" attribute to your image and iframe tags. This simple addition can have a significant impact on your page speed, especially for image-heavy sites.

Besides, using native features ensures that your site remains future-proof, as browsers continue to enhance their support for lazy loading and other performance optimizations.

Minimize Default Image Size

Before applying lazy loading, it's crucial to optimize your images for size. Large images can still slow down load times, even with lazy loading. Use image compression tools to reduce file sizes without sacrificing quality.

Optimize Animations

Animations can enhance user experience, but they can also impact performance if not optimized. Use CSS animations instead of JavaScript whenever possible, as they are more efficient and can be hardware-accelerated by the browser.

Ensure that animations are smooth and don't cause layout shifts, which can negatively affect user experience. Test your animations on different devices to ensure they perform well across the board.

Remember, the goal is to create a seamless experience for your users. By optimizing animations, you can enhance the visual appeal of your site without compromising performance.

Test Across Multiple Devices

It's essential to test your website on a variety of devices and screen sizes. What works well on a desktop might not perform the same on a mobile device. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze your site's performance and identify areas for improvement.

Regular testing ensures that your lazy loading implementation works as intended across different platforms, providing a consistent experience for all users.

Overcoming Common Lazy Loading Challenges

While lazy loading offers numerous benefits, it's not without its challenges. Addressing these issues ensures that your implementation is successful and doesn't negatively impact your site.

Dealing with SEO Concerns

Lazy loading can sometimes interfere with search engine indexing if not implemented correctly. To ensure your content is indexed, use server-side rendering or provide fallbacks for search engines that may not execute JavaScript. For more insights, check out how lazy loading decreases load time and increases engagement.

Ensure all critical content is available without JavaScript.

Use structured data to help search engines understand your content.

Regularly monitor your site's indexing status in Google Search Console.

These strategies help maintain your site's visibility in search engine results, ensuring that lazy loading doesn't negatively impact your SEO efforts.

Addressing Browser Compatibility Issues

While most modern browsers support lazy loading, some older versions may not. To ensure compatibility, consider using a polyfill or fallback solutions for browsers that don't support lazy loading natively.

By addressing these compatibility issues, you can provide a consistent experience for all users, regardless of their browser choice. Regularly updating your site and testing on different browsers can help you identify and resolve any issues that arise.

Troubleshooting Loading Delays

Even with lazy loading implemented, you might encounter loading delays. This often happens when elements are not optimized or when there are too many third-party scripts running on your site. To troubleshoot these issues, start by identifying the elements that are causing delays. Use tools like Google Chrome's Developer Tools to pinpoint these elements and analyze their loading times.

Once you've identified the culprits, consider compressing images, deferring non-essential scripts, and minimizing the use of third-party plugins. By doing so, you can significantly reduce loading times and improve the overall performance of your website.

The Future of Lazy Loading in Web Development

Lazy loading is set to become an integral part of web development as websites continue to grow in complexity and size. With the increasing demand for faster and more efficient websites, lazy loading offers a practical solution to enhance user experience without compromising on content richness.

"Lazy loading is not just a trend; it's a necessity for modern web development. As websites evolve, so do the techniques we use to optimize them."

As more developers recognize the benefits of lazy loading, we can expect to see advancements in browser support and new tools that make implementation even easier. This evolution will ensure that lazy loading remains a vital component of web optimization strategies.

Emerging Technologies that Support Lazy Loading

Several emerging technologies are poised to enhance lazy loading capabilities. For instance, progressive web apps (PWAs) and server-side rendering (SSR) can work alongside lazy loading to deliver content more efficiently. PWAs offer offline capabilities and faster load times, while SSR ensures that content is rendered on the server, reducing the load on the client's device.

Additionally, advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning could further optimize lazy loading by predicting user behavior and preloading content accordingly. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize how we approach web performance optimization.

The Growing Importance of Mobile Optimization

As mobile usage continues to rise, optimizing websites for mobile devices has become more critical than ever. Lazy loading plays a crucial role in this optimization by reducing data usage and improving load times on mobile networks.

By implementing lazy loading, you can ensure that your mobile users have a seamless experience, regardless of their network conditions. This is particularly important for users in regions with slower internet speeds, where every byte counts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lazy loading is a powerful tool, but it can also raise questions for those unfamiliar with its implementation. Here are some common questions and answers to help you better understand lazy loading and its impact on your website.

These insights will help you make informed decisions about implementing lazy loading on your site and address any concerns you may have.

"Lazy loading can seem daunting at first, but with the right guidance, it becomes an invaluable asset for web optimization."

What is lazy loading and how does it work?

Lazy loading is a technique that defers the loading of non-essential elements, such as images and videos, until they are needed. This reduces the initial load time of a webpage, allowing users to interact with the content more quickly. By only loading elements when they enter the viewport, lazy loading conserves resources and improves performance.

How does lazy loading affect page speed and SEO?

Lazy loading can significantly enhance page speed by reducing the number of elements that need to be loaded initially. This not only improves user experience but also positively impacts SEO. Search engines favor faster websites, which can lead to improved rankings.

However, it's essential to ensure that lazy loading is implemented correctly to avoid any negative impact on SEO. This includes providing fallbacks for search engines that may not execute JavaScript and ensuring that all critical content is accessible without JavaScript. For more insights, check out this beginner's guide to lazy loading.

By addressing these considerations, you can harness the benefits of lazy loading without compromising your site's visibility in search engine results.

"Faster websites are favored by both users and search engines, making lazy loading a win-win for performance and SEO."

Therefore, lazy loading is an effective strategy for enhancing both user experience and search engine rankings.

What types of content should be lazy loaded?

Lazy loading is particularly beneficial for large images, videos, and other media content that can slow down a webpage. By deferring these elements, you can ensure that users only load what they need, when they need it.

Additionally, lazy loading can be applied to JavaScript and CSS files, further optimizing load times. By prioritizing essential content and deferring non-essential elements, you can create a more efficient and user-friendly website.

Are there any drawbacks to implementing lazy loading?

While lazy loading offers numerous benefits, it does have some potential drawbacks. If not implemented correctly, it can interfere with search engine indexing and result in missing or delayed content. To mitigate these risks, ensure that your lazy loading implementation is compatible with search engines and provides fallbacks for non-JavaScript environments. For more insights, check out Boost Your Website Speed With Lazy Loading.

How do I verify if lazy loading is working on my site?

To verify that lazy loading is working, use browser developer tools to inspect the network activity. Check if images and other media elements are loading only when they enter the viewport. Additionally, tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can help you analyze your site's performance and confirm that lazy loading is functioning as intended.

By regularly monitoring your site's performance and addressing any issues that arise, you can ensure that lazy loading continues to enhance your website's speed and user experience.

[luetta]

i saw someone joke about robot girls as an example of kinks that are just impossible to ever be made reality, like they're completely in the land of fiction. but ... that is just not true!

you can set the mood in your room. turn off the lights but put on some little coloured purple and blue blinkers. sit her down on the edge of your bed and sit down behind her. let her eyes flutter closed since there's no reason to keep them upon in this dark, safe room. softly coo into her ears, she's been such a good robot day! doing so many tasks so efficiently! making everyone around her so happy. but, silly her, she overdid it. so you're just going to have to do a tiny bit of repair work. "will that be okay, dear?" of course it will be. she trusts you completely. you're her admin. you created her. of course she has a safeguard preventing just anyone from powering her down, but she lets you override that with no resistance. such a good girl.

press your finger into the back of her neck, and then drag it down her spine. as she powers down, glide her limp body softly onto the bed. put her feet up so she's lying down completely now. maybe hold her limbs up a bit and let them drop. yep, she's powered down now. she's not unconscious, just mental faculties are capped at 10% and body autonomy is disabled. all you have to do now is find where she's sustained some damage. trace your fingers all along her chassis, poking in with a "screwdriver" to take her outer layer off and examine the wires and joints. hmmm... oil is a bit thin. these wires are too close together, could cause sparking and overheating. goodness, your fan is dusty. you've been working so hard, haven't you? gently turn her over onto her stomach now. it's time to investigate her processing unit, her software.

make sure her arms aren't stuck underneath her. once she's all comfy, you can unscrew her entire back panel. make sure to trace your fingers all around her back and spine as you do, robot girls love that shit. the soft human touch is heavenly to a machine of metal and electricity. and such a well designed chassis too, so beautiful. but off it comes, what's underneath is even prettier! oh, even now, it's still hot to the touch. you've been thinking so much today ... you don't need to think anymore though. just let me explore you. read out her event log for the day. algorithmic neural plasticity score. joint lubricant levels. corrupted data percentage. things like that. they're like scores to her. praise her if she's gotten good ones, tease her if she's gotten bad ones.

i could write so much more and maybe i will...like roleplaying injecting a virus into her neck or chest, and feeling the code flow all down her body...your cock can even be the usb!

also, at some point lay your whole body weight onto them - arms over her arms and legs over her legs. to calibrate pressure sensors or something. bc lets face it if she's a robot girl then she is 100% a neurodivergent cutie who'd love that sm <3

[ratbastardz]

BLOCKY 90s COMPUTER – NPT / ID PACK — ★

System names: The Error Codes, The Windows, The Personal Computer, The Hard Drive, The Glitches, The Cursor Collective, Screen Death, Core Dump, Fatal System Error, Hardware Reset, The Computer Collective, The Dialup System, The Internet, Collective Digitality

Names: Cirrus, Colossus, Sia, Athena, Raven, Ditz, Crash, Syntax, Static, Glitch, Error, Digital, Digi, Pixel, Exe, Megabyte, Terabyte, Gigabyte, Byte, PC, Com, Cube, Cubic, Cubix, Internet, Net, Data, Cyber, Google, Alexa, Siri, Linux, Mac, Apple, Cloud

Pronouns: they/them, it/its, zero/zeros, one/ones, 0101/1010s, voi/void, glitch/glitchs, error/errors, block/blocks, bluescreen/bluescreens, byte/bytes, tech/techs, windows/windows, 365/365s, PC/PCs, mouse/mouses, computer/computers, data/datas, tech/techs, tech/technical, internet/internet, net/nets, web/webs, disc/discs, .exe/.exes, exe/exes, 404/404s, ctrl/ctrl, shift/shifts, alt/alts, del/dels, caplock/caplocks, .com/.coms, .org/.orgs, .net/.nets, hack/hacks, HTML/HTMLs, JPEG/JPEGs, PNG/PNGs, ZIP/ZIPs, key/keys, hardware/hardwares, software/softwares, RAM/RAMs, 🌐/🌐s, 🔌/🔌s, 📀/📀s, 💽/💽s, 💾/💾s, 🖱️/🖱️s, ⌨️/⌨️s, 🖥️/🖥️s, 💿/💿s, 🖨️/🖨️s, 🔈/🔈s, 🔉/🔉s, 🔊/🔊s, 🔇/🔇s, 🖲️/🖲️s, 🛜/🛜s, 📁/📁s, 📂/📂s, 🗃️/🗃️s

Titles: The windows shutdown, The task manager, It who controls the cursor, It who cannot backup your information, It who has 1GB of brain space, It who runs games, It who whirrs when powered on, It who needs a cord, It who feeds on electricity and laughter, It who makes others smile, It who glitches, It who is disconnected, It who processes, The blue screen of death, It who is completely digital, It who has infinite functions, It who is limitless, The sentient computer

Labels: ancianaldern, computypen, robotthing, glitchlexic, techbodiment, aiwarix, cyberthing, bytegender, virtulonogia, techthing, Y10Kglitchic, technarian, phostechial, oldwebcitian, techrobai presentations, mechakeyboardic, keyboardsoundic, HTMLgender, hackgender, guy.exeic, genderprogram, gendercodex, errowebic, webot, webicoded, edgywebaesic, compuvior, compuvesil, computerredacted, computergender, computerkin, computergender², comphonum, codestelic, virtualexic, digitalexic, glitchsilly, 🌐💾emojic, virtualthing, webirus, webcorething, digiminalwebic, computergender³, webcoric, abstratechgender, techrobai, gendersoftware, gendervirtual, genderhacker, artificial intelligence, glitchgender, androidgender, youareanidiotvirusic

System roles: database, techie

Requested by: anon

[pupsmailbox]

TECHNOLOGY ID PACK

NAMES︰ admin. ajax. alexa. am. atari. audio. auto. bailey. binary. blank. blu. blue. bluesse. browser. browsette. bug. byte. cache. calware. chip. circe. click. clicker. clickie. clicky. cloud. coda. code. codette. codie. cody. computette. crypt. cursor. cy. cyber. cybernet. cybernetica. cyberweb. cypher. cypherre. data. dell. digi. digitalia. digitelle. digitesse. disc. dot. electronica. electronique. emoticon. emoticonnie. fax. file. gig. gizmo. glitch. glitche. glitchesse. glitchette. graphique. hacker. hal. halware. hijack. index. informationne. intelligette. internette. interweb. java. javascript. juno. key. link. linuxe. lotus. lovebytes. mac. mal. malakai. malware. malwaria. memorette. memorie. meta. mic. micah. mickey. morphe. mouse. mousette. myspace. nano. neo. net. netette. nett. netty. paige. pascal. payton. peyton. pixel. programatha. programette. programme. pulse. reboot. rom. router. ruby. sam. sammy. screene. screenette. sean. shock. solitaire. spy. static. stutter. talia. tap. tecca. tech. techette. tessa. tetris. trojan. troubleshoot. ts. user. vir. virus. virusse. volt. vyrus. webbe. wheatley. whirr. widget. will. wirehead. wiresse. zap. zett. zetta. zip.

PRONOUNS︰ ai/ai. alt/alt. anti/antivirus. arc/archive. audio/audio. bat/battery. beep/beep. beep/boop. bit/bit. bit/byte. blue/blue. board/board. bright/bright. brow/browser. browser/browser. brr/brr. bu/bug. bug/bug. buzz/buzz. byt/byte. byte/byte. c/cpu. charge/charger. cir/circuit. cli/click. click/clack. click/click. click/scroll. co/code. code/code. color/color. com/com. com/computer. comp/computer. compute/computer. computer/computer. cor/corrupt. corrupt/corrupt. CPU/CPU. crash/crash. cre/creeper. crtl/crtl. cy/cyber. cyb/cyber. cyber/cyber. da/data. data/data. delete/delete. di/disk. dig/digital. digi/digi. digi/digital. digital/digital. dra/drag. e/exe. electronic/electronic. enter/enter. er/error. err/error. error/error. exe/exe. fi/file. file/file. gi/gif. gli/glitch. glit/glitch. glitch/glitch. graphic/graphic. hac/hacker. hack/hack. hard/hardware. head/phone. hij/hijacker. ho/home. info/info. information/information. int/internet. intelligent/intelligence. intelligent/intelligent. inter/net. internet/internet. it/it. jpg/jpg. key/board. key/cap. key/key. key/keyboard. key/keylogger. lag/lag. lap/laptop. ligh/light. linux/linux. load/load. log/login. main/mainframe. mal/malware. me/media. memory/memorie. mon/monitor. mou/mouse. nano/nano. net/net. net/network. org/org. over/overwrite. page/page. pix/pix. pix/pixel. pixel/pixel. plu/plug. png/png. pop/popup. port/port. pow/power. pro/program. program/program. ram/ram. ran/ransom. reboot/reboot. reload/reload. res/restore. ret/retro. route/router. sca/scan. scr/scroll. scre/screen. scre/screencap. scree/screen. screen/screen. scri/script. script/script. sentient/sentience. shift/shift. site/site. skip/skip. soft/software. spa/spam. space/space. spy/spyware. stop/stop. te/tech. tech/nology. tech/tech. technology/technology. tou/touchpad. txt/txt. typ/type. upload/upload. user/user. vi/viru. vi/virus. vir/virtual. web/page. web/web. whir/whir. wi/wire. win/dow. win/window. wire/wire. wire/wired. zip/zip . ⌨ . ☣ . ⚙ . ⚠ . 🎞 . 🎨 . 🎭 . 🎮 . 🎵 . 👀 . 👁 . 💔 . 💡 . 💢 . 💣 . 💳 . 💵 . 💻 . 💽 . 💾 . 💿 . 📀 . 📱 . 🔇 . 🔈 . 🔉 . 🔊 . 🔋 . 🔌 . 🔎 . 🖥 . 🖱 . 🗡 . 🗯 . 🛠 . 🧿 .

[poniesart]

[Image Description: Digital art of a My Little Pony Original Character named Geodesy. She is pale yellow with dark blue hair, light blue pupils, and green irises. Her cutie mark is a simple drawing of Earth, with a network of latitudes and longitudes behind it. The tips of her hair are colored with a gradient of red to green squares. She has rainbow freckles, with a line connecting 3 of them. In the top right there is an alternative design: she has freckles with no line, and her hair is tipped with colors from red to green. In the bottom right, there is a colorless doodle of Geodesy on a laptop with headphones on, and an arrow pointing to her that reads "listening to Lamb of God." End ID.]

Sooo i made this pony earlier this year but never posted her because she's kind of niche?? I went to school for geography and I'm a GIS analyst, so ive been itching to make a pony about it and here she is! Her hair references raster data and her freckles reference points and lines in vector data.

She likes open software, metal, and weird old maps!

[paigesbasketball]

Echos of The Fallen

Chapter 3: Crimson Heist Shadow the Hedgehog x Reader Warnings: A little firting but thats it

September 30th - 7:45 AM - G.U.N. Headquarters

The remnants of the explosion still hung in the air, the scent of charred metal and burnt rubber clinging to Shadow’s uniform as he stepped into the war room. The monitors on the walls flickered with the latest updates—feeds from the wreckage site, reports from analysts trying to piece together what little information they had. The entire building seemed to hum with tension, the weight of last night’s failure pressing down on everyone inside.

Rouge was already seated at the long metal table, idly examining her nails as she waited for him. Omega stood nearby, his mechanical frame motionless save for the occasional whir of servos adjusting his position. The moment Shadow entered, Rouge glanced up, arching a perfectly sculpted brow.

“Well, well,” she mused, tilting her head. “You look like hell.”

Shadow ignored her, dropping into the chair across from her and flicking open the latest intel file. “We lost her.” His voice was clipped, edged with irritation.

“No kidding.” Rouge smirked, leaning forward. “You let a woman get the best of you. Now that’s a first.”

Shadow’s crimson eyes narrowed. “She was ten steps ahead. The explosion was a diversion, and we took the bait.” His fingers drummed against the table, betraying his frustration. “She’s not just some rogue mercenary. She knows how we operate.”

Omega’s monotone voice rumbled to life. “RECOMMENDATION: TERMINATION OF TARGET UPON IDENTIFICATION.”

Rouge scoffed. “So dramatic. We don’t even know who she really is yet. ‘Danny’s wife’ doesn’t exactly lead us anywhere.”

Shadow turned the file toward her. “She’s connected to Cipher. That’s all we need to know.”

Rouge’s expression darkened slightly at the mention of the name. “So, Cipher’s making moves again. Last time he popped up, it took half of G.U.N.’s intelligence division to track down just one of his hideouts. If she’s working with him, she’s dangerous.”

“Obviously.” Shadow’s voice was tight. “The question is why. What does Cipher want with G.U.N.’s classified weapons project?”

Rouge shrugged, leaning back in her chair. “Power? Leverage? Or maybe he’s just bored. But something tells me your little rooftop admirer is more than just an errand girl.”

Shadow frowned. “What do you mean?”

Rouge’s smirk returned, playful and knowing. “She could’ve killed you last night, but she didn’t.”

Shadow remained silent, his jaw tightening. He had considered that already. The explosion had been designed to wound, to scatter forces, not to kill. If she had truly wanted him dead, she wouldn’t have left it to chance.

Omega interrupted the thought. “QUERY: NEXT COURSE OF ACTION?”

Shadow pushed the file toward the center of the table. “We find her. We stop her. No more games.”

September 30th - 10:12 PM - Underground Safehouse

The glow of multiple monitors bathed the dimly lit room in a soft blue hue, casting flickering shadows against the exposed concrete walls. The safehouse was tucked beneath the remnants of an abandoned subway station, far from prying eyes.

I sat in front of the main screen, scanning through lines of encrypted data as Zero worked his magic on the G.U.N. servers. The room was filled with the soft clacking of keys, the occasional beeping of software processes running in the background. Scar stood near the entrance, arms crossed, her gaze flicking between me and the screens.

“G.U.N. is scrambling,” Zero announced, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “They’ve got teams sweeping the city, but they’re running in circles.”

Scar smirked. “Shadow must be pissed.”

I didn’t react, my eyes still focused on the data. “Let him be. It won’t change anything.”

Zero’s hands stilled for a moment, his brow furrowing. “Hold up... This is new.”

I leaned forward. “What?”

He pulled up a series of documents, most of them redacted, but one detail stood out. A shipment manifest. Destination: G.U.N. Research Facility - Grid Sector Seven. Contents: Prototype X-09.

Scar whistled lowly. “Well, that sounds interesting.”

I exhaled slowly, my mind racing. “That’s what Carson was talking about.”

Zero nodded. “Whatever X-09 is, they’re keeping it locked down tight. I can't seem to find information on it. If G.U.N. wants it then that just makes it automatically bad.”

I tapped my fingers against my arm, calculating the next steps. “Then we move first. we break into the G.U.N. bank and steal some of their assets so they will be unable to fund this project anymore"

Scar raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that? If we intercept, we’ll be putting ourselves directly in Shadow’s path.”

A part of me hesitated, just for a fraction of a second. Then I pushed the thought aside. “Let him come. this time he won't know I know his turf.”

Zero cracked his knuckles, already preparing the next phase of the operation. “Then let’s get to work.”

Viper stood up, stretching her arms. "Alright, I’m grabbing food. Try not to blow anything up while I’m gone."

She slammed the door behind her, making the walls shake slightly. Nova immediately huffed, turning toward the door with an irritated glare. "Can you not? I’m working on an experiment!"

Viper’s voice called from the hallway, "Oh, I’m sorry, Princess! Didn’t mean to disrupt your evil genius time."

Nova scoffed. "At least I actually use my brain."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Guys, let’s be real. Unless you’re both on your period, let’s not bicker like this."

Nova shot me a glare, and Viper's laughter echoed from down the hall. "You wish, sweetheart!"

I smirked but turned back to the screens, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. The banter was familiar, almost comforting, but the weight of our situation pressed heavy on my mind. G.U.N. was moving fast, and we didn’t have time to waste.

Zero leaned back in his chair, exhaling sharply. "You really think we can pull this off?"

I didn’t answer right away, my eyes scanning over the shipment details. The security routes, the escort patterns—it was tight, but not impenetrable.

"We don’t have a choice," I finally said. "I do not trust them to have that weapon"

Scar crossed her arms, her gaze sharp. "And what happens when Shadow shows up?"

A beat of silence filled the room. That was the real problem. Shadow wasn’t like the grunts G.U.N. usually sent after us. He didn’t make mistakes. He didn’t let people slip through his fingers twice.

I exhaled. "Then we adapt."

The tension settled in the air, thick and unspoken. This wasn’t just another job—this was a battle waiting to happen.

The door creaked open again, and Viper strolled back in, holding a bag of takeout. "Alright, nerds, eat up. If we’re gonna risk our lives in forty-eight hours, you might as well not do it on an empty stomach."

Nova snatched the bag from her hands. "Finally, you’re useful for something."

Viper smirked. "Careful, Princess. Keep talking like that, and I might ‘accidentally’ forget your order next time."

As they bickered, I stared at the screens, the blueprint of the G.U.N. transport route flashing in front of me. This was it. The moment we made our move, there was no turning back.

I clenched my jaw, determination settling in.

We had forty-eight hours to pull off the impossible.

And failure wasn’t an option.

1:45 AM – G.U.N. Financial Holdings, Downtown

Everything had been going smoothly—too smoothly. Scar and I had just finished loading the last of the stolen assets into our bags when a sharp, high-pitched beep cut through the silence.

"Tell me that wasn’t you," Scar muttered.

I looked down at my wrist device, where a flashing red warning glowed across the screen. Silent alarm triggered.

"Shit," I hissed. "We need to move—now."

We bolted for the exit, weaving through the dimly lit corridors of the underground vault. But as we reached the stairwell, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the space. Heavy. Coordinated. Armed.

Scar gritted her teeth. "They’re fast."

"They’re G.U.N.," I shot back. "Of course they are."

We reached the main hall just as the security doors slammed shut behind us. A single figure stepped through the haze of flashing red lights. Black and red. Sharp crimson eyes locked onto mine.

Shadow.

Behind him, his team—Rouge and Omega—stood ready, blocking the only other exit.

"You really thought you could just waltz in and take what you wanted?" Shadow’s voice was low, measured, but there was an edge of irritation in it. "You’re getting sloppy."

Scar and I exchanged glances before moving in opposite directions. Shadow’s eyes flicked between us, assessing. Calculating.

"Take them," he ordered.

Rouge lunged for Scar while Omega charged forward, aiming straight for me. I dodged, ducking behind a pillar as his massive arm smashed through it like it was paper.

As Omega charged toward me, I tried to dodge his powerful swing again, but this time I had a better idea.

"Geez, Omega, you ever think about toning it down?" I taunted, hoping to get under his circuits. He growled in response, tightening his grip.

"NEGATIVE," Omega boomed, his voice full of pure mechanical rage. "FULL DESTRUCTION MODE ENGAGED."

I couldn’t avoid his next hit in time, so I took a deep breath, waiting for the right moment. Omega swung harder, and this time, his fist collided with a wall near Rouge, sending debris flying everywhere.

A vulnerable moment.

Before he could adjust, I whipped out a small device from my belt. With a quick motion, I slapped it onto Omega's back. The device activated with a small electric buzz, sending a surge of energy into his system, causing his circuits to short-circuit and his movements to freeze.

Omega's massive frame shuddered, and his body froze in place. The once-booming voice became erratic. "ERROR. SYSTEM MALFUNCTION..."

I gave a sly grin. "Guess I’ll have to remind you how to play nice."

I turned just in time to see Shadow coming for me. Fast. I barely managed to block his first strike, but the sheer force sent me skidding back. He was relentless, each blow more precise than the last.

He feinted left before sweeping my legs out from under me. Before I could react, I was flat on my back, Shadow pinning me down, one knee pressing into my ribs, his hand gripping my wrist.

I struggled, but he didn’t budge. "Give it up," he said. "You’re done."

My mind raced. I needed a distraction. Something to throw him off—just for a second.

I locked eyes with him, smirking. "You gonna kiss me or something, handsome?"

Shadow’s expression flickered. Just for a second. A flash of confusion.

That was all I needed.

I drove my knee into his stomach, making him grunt in surprise. Using the momentum, I twisted us around, grabbing a pair of cuffs from my belt. Before he could recover, I snapped them around his wrist and slammed the other end to a reinforced pipe. The cuffs magnetized instantly, locking him in place.

His eyes widened slightly as he tested the restraints.

I grinned. "Gotta say, I didn’t expect you to be so easy to trap."

Shadow glared at me, but there was the faintest trace of pink on his face.

Scar broke free from Rouge’s grip, sprinting toward me. "We need to go!"

I pulled a smoke bomb from my belt, slamming it against the ground. Thick clouds engulfed the room, obscuring everything.

"See you around, handsome," I teased, before grabbing Scar’s wrist and making a break for the exit.

We darted through the emergency hatch we had scoped out earlier, leaving chaos in our wake. The sound of Shadow yanking at the cuffs and Omega’s booming voice echoed behind us, but we were already gone, disappearing into the night.

2:30 AM – Warehouse Hideout

We crashed through the doors, breathless, adrenaline still surging through our veins.

Zero looked up from his laptop. "I take it things didn’t go as planned?"

Scar dropped her bag onto the table, grinning. "Oh, it went great. Got the goods, fought Shadow, and someone got a little flirty mid-fight."

I rolled my eyes, slumping into a chair. "It was a tactical distraction."

Scar snorted. "Sure it was."

Viper raised an eyebrow. "Wait—you flirted with Shadow?"

Nova nearly choked on her drink. "Hold on, back up. Shadow the Hedgehog?"

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "I’m going to regret this later."

Scar smirked, kicking her feet up onto the table. "Maybe. But for now? Totally worth it."

3:00 AM – G.U.N. Financial Holdings, Downtown

Shadow's POV

The smoke was thick, the echoes of their escape still ringing in my ears. I yanked futilely at the cuffs, feeling the cold metal dig into my wrist. They were designed to hold even the strongest, and for once, it seemed they might have me. But I didn’t have time to waste on my restraints. I had a bigger problem on my hands.

Omega was down, his system glitching from whatever trick that woman had pulled on him. He was muttering about malfunctions as Rouge approached me, her footsteps sharp and mocking.

“Well, that was quite the show, Shadow,” she said, her voice dripping with amusement.

I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to ignore the frustration bubbling inside me. “Save it, Rouge.”

She leaned in closer, her lips curling into a playful smirk. “Not so tough when you're distracted, huh? You got all flustered with her little stunt. Was that... flirtation? You know, I’ve seen you fight harder. Looks like someone’s got a soft spot.”

I could feel my pulse spike, irritation mixing with something I couldn’t quite place. "This isn't the time for your games."

Rouge raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "Oh, I’m not joking. You practically let her tie you up. Seems like you let your guard down for something more than just the mission."

I grit my teeth, pushing back the surge of heat in my chest. “She got lucky. That’s all.”

But Rouge wasn’t done. “Sure, sure. I mean, she’s pretty good, I’ll give her that. Had to be quick thinking to get you like that.” Her eyes twinkled as she surveyed the room, her gaze shifting from me to Omega’s malfunctioning state. "But the real question is—how did she even know how to get past all the security systems? Couldn’t have been just luck."

A thought clicked into place, something I hadn’t fully processed in the heat of the moment. The woman’s movements, the way she seemed to be one step ahead, even the tech on her person—it all seemed too familiar. My mind whirred.

“Wait...” I muttered, looking toward Rouge. “She... she knew too much about our systems. She moved like someone who’d been trained to break into places like this.”

Rouge leaned against a wall, watching me. “You think she was G.U.N. trained?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly amused.

“Impossible,” I muttered under my breath, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Her style, her tactics—everything about her reeked of G.U.N. precision, just twisted in a way I hadn’t expected.

“I don’t know, Shadow,” Rouge said, her voice softer now, more serious. “Maybe we should start asking the right questions. Why would someone like her target a G.U.N. facility... and why are we just now seeing her face?”

I clenched my fists, the truth dawning on me. “We’re missing something. Whoever she is, she’s connected to G.U.N. in ways we don’t understand yet.”

Rouge gave me a knowing look, her smirk fading into something more thoughtful. “You think this is the beginning of something bigger?”

I nodded, my gaze shifting back to where Scar and the woman had vanished. “It’s more than just a heist. It’s personal now.”

Guys be honest im trying to find a good length for the chapters i believe this is fine but please let me know

- Caty

[quirkyfries]

Hi there’s a tornado in my area rn but I’m spiteful like that. Random tsams/eaps headcanons be upon ye

Ruin still does those little audio log diaries. It helps manage his overflowing memory storage (read: old age = more memories to store) without compressing data files.

Bloodmoon sleeps with dog toys. Otherwise, they’d probably chew through whatever bedding material they had chosen that night. This was Ruin’s idea.

Eclipse can’t sleep with lights on in a room. Ruin can’t sleep without a light. The makeshift solution is a sleeping mask for Eclipse, but their actual compromise is a star projector.

Eclipse has to know where everyone is most of the time, especially after Charlie came into the picture. This is usually done with cameras and tracking via fazbear systems, but it’s an issue he has to work on, as it’s just a method to make him feel better about security now that there are people he cares about. At least one person has commented on there being a new nightguard.

Dark sun finds thrillers tacky, and prefers thought-provoking mysteries, bonus points for romance.

Most of them carry some kind of sanitizing wipe packet. For daycare attendants, these are for sticky messes and children. For those more familiar with tools, these are for tougher grime and are not suitable for sensitive (children’s) skin. Solar has both.

The eclipses (Eclipse, Solar, Ruin) are the most prone to damaging their rays. Eclipse sometimes hits doorways and doesn’t bother to fix cracked rays. Ruin is small enough for humans to reach his head. Solar peels the paint off of his. All three will pull or squeeze their rays in times of extreme stress, to varying degrees. Lunar is an exception for lack of rays. (Similarly, Sun fidgets with his rays, which is the source of this trait.)

While there are exceptions, Suns prefer tactile stimulation, Moons auditory, and Eclipses have no strong preference. Earth likes social interaction.

Animatronics have personalized UI that makes sense to them, which serves as their access point to their internal folders, like memory files, downloaded items, and executable programs. Bots that share an operating system/“brain” have the same UI. Diagnostics, software updates, and safety modes all require additional hardware (computers, parts and service devices, fazwrenches) to complete. Mindscapes are in AI chips, and multiple AIs in one mindscape happen when multiple AIs share the same operating system. Visual feed can be projected onto other screens with HDMI cables and vice versa, which can sometimes show that bot’s UI depending on what it is. For a more direct example of this think of the battery and blue borders you see in Security breach when Gregory is hiding inside Freddy.

Safety mode disconnects that bot from the Fazbear Ent. local network, meaning no tracking, no communication via local networks (which generally aren’t private anyway, most bots with access to phones prefer those), and no access to files that aren’t stored in that bot’s drive. This is meant to isolate a bot’s systems from the main network in case of a security breach (hah), make transportation of bots between locations easier, and make maintenance a smoother affair as there is no outside interference during the process. For the bots themselves, this is the equivalent of turning off your phone and going outside I mean focusing only on what’s in front of you instead of what’s going on in your area/social network. It’s possible to be stuck in safety mode. Depending on how much of a bot’s system relies on Fazbear Ent. Networks to function (such as a bot’s memory being stored in a Cloud, which is also ill advised between the bots themselves,) this can be mean a temporary personality/memory reset until those files get reconnected again. Bots do not need to be connected to the Fazbear ent networks to function, but it generally makes access to software updates easier due to being recognized as a company entity. It is possible for a private network to exist, but it’s considered foreign by Fazbear systems and can be more trouble than they’re worth. Moon and Eclipse have private networks shared with close friends and family for different purposes. Moon’s is mostly for emergency backups, and Eclipse’s is for security.

Animatronic’s memories are stored in the hard drives in their bodies. It’s possible to offload memory files into networks (Cloud) or external storage systems. If another bot had access to these clouds or external storages, they could experience the memories stored in them. Memory files include visual and auditory data, like a movie. AI/personality chips are the equivalent of a soul in that the AI is the product of a learning AI having experienced environments that supplied them information about the world AKA an Ai that developed a personality beyond their base programming, but they do not carry memories. For example, Eclipse V3-V4 is an Eclipse AI given incomplete memories, creating a disconnect in the AI’s learned behaviors and what it perceives as the source of that behavior, resulting in an incomplete backup. Backups are static/unchanging copies of integral memory files and the accompanying AI (As is in the moment that they are backed up.) Backups need to be updated as the animatronic it’s for develops.

[thezombieprostitute]

Hope you work day is going alright!💞

A drop-in visit from PhD!Candidate Curtis on his way back to his apartment from the university. He’s gotta run some data analysis for his thesis, but has no idea where to start. Someone said you could help him find a way?

Sincerest thanks for your patience, Essie! My muse did not want to work on this for the longest time!

A/N: Reader is gender neutral. No physical descriptors used.

Warnings: college/university stress. You don't know pain until you see university students begging the printer to work faster during finals week.

Today seemed to be regular day at the reference desk. You were answering emails from the mathematics faculty and students, assuring them about library holdings of their requested materials. Sometimes directing them to the LaTeX to TeX converter you'd had to make, silently cursing MathSciNet and zbMath for not converting yet. Thankfully, the library students you were monitoring at the reference desk were able to handle most of the questions that got directed at them.

At least until a tall, very handsome man with a buzzcut, wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket walks in. You keep an eye on him as he approaches the desk because he doesn't look happy and you're not about to let anyone yell at the students. Thankfully he seems polite enough, neither of the students look scared, but they do direct him to you.

Making eye contact, you motion him over and he's quick to obey.

"How can I help?"

"I'm, I'm Curtis and...my, my data is...I think it got corrupted," he removes his sunglasses and he looks completely devastated. "I can't lose this data. It's, it's my thesis."

You nod in what you hope is a reassuring manner, "do you have a copy of the data in the university servers?"

He holds out a flash drive and you grab the laptop that's never allowed to connect to the network and get it ready. When it is you hold your hand out and he gives you the drive. Plugging it in you take a few minutes to figure out what you're looking at. Some of the terminology is familiar, he's clearly not a mathematics PhD, based on the labels you're able to discern.

"Oh, I see the problem," you tell Curtis, who's looks keep distracting you from your work. "You were, understandably, trying to use data you'd picked up using our Statistica license on your home computer that has the public domain Dataplot software."

"And I'm guessing the two are not interchangeable," Curtis sighs in defeat.

"Unfortunately the metadata schemas they use for the data sets don't work well together," you nod. "The data isn't corrupted, it's just very, very messy and it would take you a lot of late nights to clean it all up again, even if you knew R."

He scratches the back of his neck, "so my data is useless?"

"You have backups, right? You didn't just keep all your data on this flash drive, right?"

"I have backups," he nods. "But it's still months of work down the drain." He raises his hands to his face, looking like he wants to cry. It's a look you're painfully familiar with given your line of work.

You unplug the drive and hand it to him, "hey, look at me." He lowers his hands a little and the pain in his beautiful blue eyes breaks your heart. "You're going to be okay. Yes, it's a lot of time you'll never get back, but it's not the end. You're going to be able to kick this data's ass and get it in line because you know what you're doing with it now. Your thesis hit a setback, it happens a lot more than people would like to admit. You're not alone and you will be able to get this done."

He seems to take your words to heart, taking a few breaths and standing up straight.

"And make sure to get yourself a treat," you add. "You're hurting and you need to take care of yourself."

He almost smiles as he nods and walks out.

🔣🔣🔣����🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣🔣

It's been a few months and you'd almost forgotten about the poor PhD student. You probably would have had his physique not stood out so much. The same physique you see walking towards the reference desk, but with a giant smile. You smile in return, he must've gotten his data sorted out.

He walks up to you, "I don't know if you remember me--"

"Statistical software mess, right?"

He lowers his head as his cheeks develop a pink tint, "yeah."

"I'm guessing it all worked out?"

"I'm officially Dr. Everett, now."

Your smile grows, "congratulations, Doctor!"

"Thanks, um," he rubs the back of his neck. "If, if it's not too forward, could I take you out to dinner? As a thank you?" Your eyes go wide. "It wasn't just the data, software stuff that you helped me with. I was genuinely considering just dropping out, giving up. But then you looked me in the eyes and told me I could do it and...and I want to thank you for that."

Smiling, you tell him, "I get off at 6."

Tagging: @alicedopey; @delicatebarness; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @ronearoundblindly

[quads004]

Please Start Archiving in the US

With current events, I think it is prudent that everyone, that is able to, needs start archiving shit. I am a former library worker but I do not know much about cybersecurity. If you do want to go down that route please research and keep you and your archive safe :). The more copies that are preserved, then the more likely it is that the media will survive. Even if you save only 2 files that is still important!

First, I will list how to create an computer archive and best practices, then I will provide a list of known targets and suggested materials to add.

You need somewhere to store your data most people will use their computer's storage drive but you need to have backups! Do not rely on cloud storage solutions, they require internet connection are vulnerable to data breaches, and the companies that store that data must follow any laws that the government may decide to pass. USBs or external hardrives are best options. CDs can be used in a pinch, but are more likely to degrade as well as having lower storage capacity then the previous options. Use whatever you have lying around, you do not need to spend money if you don't want to.

When saving data use file formats that are common and able to be read without use of a special software. (that means no .docx) PDF/A is the gold standard for archiving. It is a subtype of pdf that contains metadata, such as typefaces and graphical info, that ensure the files are read properly in the future. Adobe Acrobat is able to save and convert documents into PDF/A. PDFTron, DocuPub, and Ghostscript are all free or have free versions that create pdf/a files. PNG, JPEG2000, .txt, MP3, wav, are other common file types that the Smithsonian recommends for data storage. For a full list of types to use and avoid, see the sources cited at the bottom.

What are we archiving?

Please gather both fiction and nonfiction resources. Nonfiction collection ideas: Current news clips, local history of marginalized communities, interviews, biographies, memoirs, zines, and art pieces. Saving scientific research is incredibly important! In 1933, one of the first places they targeted was the Institute of Sexual Science. Lots of what was stored there was never recovered. Environmental science, trans and intersex health, and minority history will likely be targeted first. For fiction, the most commonly challenged books last year were: 1) GenderQueer by Maia Kobabe 2) All Boys Aren't Blue by George Johnson 3) This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson 4) The of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 5) Flamer by Mike Curato 6) The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison 7) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews 8) Tricks by Ellen Hopkins 9) Let's Talk about it (Teen guide to sex, relationships, and being a human) by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan 10) Sold by Patricia McCormick I present this list so you have an idea of what is normally targeted. Books that describe racism and queer identities are most common, but other targets include any depictions of violence, drugs, sex. Use your personal archive to accumulate data that you personally are passionate about. The more niche a topic the more likely it is that other people will not have it in their storage.

Lastly, please remember as an archivist you are not there to determine if a piece is worthy of being saved. Just because you do not like or agree with the message does not mean it will be saved from being banned. All artworks amateur or professional are worthy of being archived.

Sources: ALA 2023 Banned Books https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

How to create a PDF/A file https://www.research.gov/common/attachment/Desktop/How_do_I_create_a_PDF-A_file.pdf

Smithsonian Data Management Best Practices and File Formats https://siarchives.si.edu/what-we-do/digital-curation/recommended-preservation-formats-electronic-records https://library.si.edu/research/best-practices-storing-archiving-and-preserving-data

[halobirthdays]

Happy birthday to Kalmiya!

Today is her -512th birthday!

Kalmiya was a "smart" AI created by Dr. Catherine Halsey. Her primary purpose was to test prototypes of cyberwarfare and infiltration technology. Once tested and refined, the software and subroutines would then be incorporated into Cortana, giving her capabilities far beyond the rest of her kind. In this way, Kalmiya can be considered Cortana's predecessor.

Halsey extended Kalmiya's functionality by making subtle--and illegal--changes to her over time, which were so small that only Halsey noticed. UNSC protocol dictated that Kalmiya was to be decommissioned once her testing was complete, which Halsey outright disobeyed. Halsey kept Kalmiya until the fall of Reach, where she would have to either be sent away with the Forerunner data she was researching under CASTLE base, or destroyed to keep her out of the Covenant's hands. Ultimately, Halsey choose to let Cortana be the custodian of the data, believing that Kalmiya was the more unstable choice due to her longevity.

Halsey activated a fail-safe destruction protocol in Kalmiya, having previously lied to her about the existence of such a subroutine in her code. Despite this, Kalmiya was understanding and seemingly accepted her termination.

Seven years later, Blue Team returned to Reach to access Halsey's lab. Her lab contained a cryo-vault with additional clones she'd made of herself to extract their brains and use to make artificial intelligence like Cortana. The hope was that the brains could be used to make an artificial intelligence that would functionally be a clone of Cortana, which they could use to stop her after she began subjugating the galaxy. One of these clones would be used to create the Weapon.

When John and Kelly arrived at the lab, they were surprised to find a damaged Kalmiya keeping watch over the vault. They surmised that Kalmiya created a fragment of herself before her destruction to ensure the survival of the samples. After bypassing her with a security code, they left as the ghostly fragment watched them.

Does that count as alive?? I guess she was never "alive". I don't know man I just throw birthday parties here.

In canon (~2560), she is turning 23!

[slippery-minghus]

System Breach... Sunday! #2

>Software Instability ^

Turned away from the bathroom mirror, Connor cautiously slipped his injured arm into the sleeve of his dress shirt. Crisp bandages disappeared beneath the fresh-pressed white, and he moved with slow, deliberate care to fasten the twin buttons at the cuff. The sensation of the relatively formfitting fabric over the wound was… uncomfortable, but Connor refused to give it pause.

Seven buttons down the front of his shirt were the next obstacle that stood in his way. Stress was low, and his self repair protocols had taken the edge off the widespread, prickling numbness that allowing himself to overheat had wrought. Nonetheless, Connor’s fine motor control had only decalibrated further as a result of the night’s events—and he needed desperately to correct the margin of error.

Buttons would have to do. A sample size of seven wasn’t much, and his hands still shook, but Connor was grateful for the input regardless. The still-lingering tension in his chest eased a bit as knotting his tie required less effort than anticipated.

Then, with his jacket smooth and settled over his shoulders—and his attention deliberately routed away from the added weight on his arm—Connor finally faced the mirror. He didn’t want to look, but he had to verify that his appearance was presentable. And he welcomed the stark contrast to how disheveled he had been the last time he’d stood here in uniform.

That said, Connor still wasn’t reassured by what he saw. He met his own gaze, only to recoil, hardly able to tolerate it for more than a single, fleeting moment. There was a shadow beneath his eyes, darkening his irises, and they seemed to bore into him—judging, accusing, disdainful—from the far side of the glass. An illogical feeling, he knew, but he could do no more than look away, beset by simulated shame.

Connor was a machine. And machines weren’t supposed to feel. Emotion, real emotion, simply was not a part of his program. The anguish that sat heavy in his stomach, weighed down his limbs, made him flinch at the sight of himself was nothing. It was nothing. Nothing more than meaningless data, generated in error by the instability in his software. It carried no weight, no substance. It wasn’t real.

…So why wouldn’t his LED change back to blue?

[mariacallous]

A Manhattan Federal Court judge on Friday extended the temporary restraining order that bars staffers from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency from accessing US Treasury Department data—which attorneys general from New York and other blue states have slammed as an unlawful threat to privacy—while she considers whether to impose a longer-term injunction.

After hearing some two hours of arguments, Judge Jeannette A. Vargas told lawyers for New York and allied states, and their opponents from the Department of Justice, “I do find good cause to extend the TRO as modified.” Vargas said she would soon issue her decision, but not today, to “give the court time to consider” the issues.

While the proceeding largely maintained the status quo, it also lifted the veil on just how little is known about DOGE’s access to information—and where it went.

When Vargas asked Jeffrey Oestericher, the Justice Department attorney representing Trump, on Friday whether any DOGE-accessed information had been shared outside of the Treasury Department, he said: “The short answer on that is we don’t presently know.”

“We’re performing a forensic analysis. What we can tell from the forensic analysis thus far is there were emails sent outside Treasury,” Oestericher said. “We do not know [the] content.”

Vargas asked: Wasn’t this problematic from a privacy standpoint?

“The short answer is no,” Oestericher said.

“During this time that the DOGE team members had access to this information, there were extensive mitigation efforts in place to prevent this precise harm.”

But Oestericher admitted at another point, “We candidly admit that there was some measure of increased risk, but we took all appropriate mitigation measures to mitigate that risk as much as possible.”

Vargas’ decision came six days after New York and allied litigants were granted a temporary restraining order that ultimately prohibited the Treasury Department from giving DOGE hires and special government employees access to sensitive data and computer systems. Donald Trump tapped Elon Musk to head DOGE, an agency the president created under the auspices of rooting out fraud and governmental waste—despite a dearth of evidence indicating fraud.

In issuing that temporary restraining order early February 8, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said that the states suing Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would “face irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief.”

Engelmayer noted that Treasury’s new policy, enacted at Trump’s direction, appears to allegedly “[expand] access to the paytment systems of the Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS) to political appointees and ‘special government employees.’”

This, Engelmayer reasoned, represented a “risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”

Engelmayer also said in his written decision that the states suing over Treasury’s policy change “have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, with the States’ statutory claims presenting as particularly strong.”

The complaint against Trump and Bessent repeatedly cited WIRED’s reporting that revealed how a 25-year-old engineer named Marko Elez, with ties to Musk, enjoyed read and write access to two Treasury Department systems responsible for virtually all payments made by the federal government. Tom Krause—who is on the DOGE team despite being CEO of Cloud Software Group—was also granted access to these capabilities.

Two sources told WIRED that Elez’s privileges allowed him not just to read but also write code for two of the most sensitive US government computer systems. These include the Payment Automation Manager and Secure Payment System at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS). These systems, which are kept on a secure mainframe, control government payments that total more than 20 percent of the US economy, WIRED previously reported.

In court papers filed February 13, New York and allies allege that Trump and his Treasury Department don’t even contest that states have a “clear and reasonable interest in protecting their confidential bank account numbers and other sensitive financial information, including details and amounts of payments, from unauthorized disclosure.” But this information was disclosed to two DOGE members, they claim, violating “numerous laws and regulations.”

New York and other states argued in that same filing that BFS’s development of “mitigation strategies” to reduce risk was testament to the “substantial and imminent” danger. They say that at least on one occasion, Elez was “mistakenly provided with ‘read/write permissions instead of read-only.’”

“But even with the more restricted ‘read-only’ access, Elez still had ‘the ability to view and query information and data’; in other words, he had access to the States’ sensitive financial information.” Despite the fact that Elez resigned when asked for comment by The Wall Street Journal about racist social media posts, the government didn’t provide any reassurance that he didn’t participate in improper activity, New York and its allies alleged. (Meanwhile, Musk suggested in a post on X, his social media platform, that Elez would be rehired, writing: “He will be brought back. To err is human, to forgive divine.”)

Andrew Amer, an attorney in New York state attorney general Letitia James’ office, said Friday that Elez and Krause “have no lawful job duty to access this information.”

Despite the government’s insistence that Elez was in a “sandbox environment” when he had access to the code, which they insist minimized risk, Amer said that wasn’t all that comforting.

“We know that the same engineer took screenshots of the data in the data system and that he may have given those screenshots to his supervisor,” Amer said.

Amer said the Justice Department’s insistence that Krause only had “over-the-shoulder access” didn’t inspire much confidence either.

“The fact that we don’t know if any information went beyond Treasury is a red flag that causes concern about the ethics issue,” Amer said. “This is especially important, as we do have people, especially Mr. Krause, who is simultaneously employed elsewhere outside Treasury.”

“You have somebody who’s been given access to source code within the bureau whose other job is CEO of one of the world’s largest software companies.”

“We are here because the states’ banking information has been accessed— that has happened,” Amer said at another point in court. “We know that the people who accessed it have been somewhat careless in the way they handled it.”

Amer also rejected any notion that DOGE acolytes’ access was normal. “This was not a Treasury function, this was building a new automated process to apply an ideological litmus test to funding requests. There’s nothing typical or normal in terms of Treasure functions about that.”

Trump’s camp has contended that his opponents are trying to thwart the White House’s right “to exercise politically accountable oversight of agency activities and to implement the president’s policy priorities.”

Treasury Department officials are responsible for liaising with the United States DOGE Service, which needs to have access to BFS systems, they argue, “to perform their Presidentially-directed mandate of maximizing efficiency and productivity, including ensuring data and payment integrity with respect to the 1.2 billion transactions and over $5 trillion in outlays handled by BFS,” they said in court papers.

Red states including Florida, Georgia, and Alabama have also entered the fray to show support for Trump. They contend in court papers that blue states’ opposition to DOGE meddling is unconstitutional. “This case involves an unprecedented assault on the separation of powers and the President’s authority under Article II of the Constitution,” they wrote. “Ultimately, Plaintiffs here are upset because one set of bureaucrats in the Executive Branch have access to data that they believe only other bureaucrats in the Executive Branch should have access to.”

“This type of fiddling around with the President’s prerogatives asks this Court to insert itself into core Executive decision-making regarding policy and personnel. The President is working to combat what former President Biden’s administration identified, at minimum, as hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud,” they wrote.

[st-peculiar]

Lemme tell you guys about Solum before I go to sleep. Because I’m feeling a little crazy about them right now.

Solum is the first—the very first—functioning sentient AI in my writing project. Solum is a Latin word meaning “only” or “alone”. Being the first artificial being with a consciousness, Solum was highly experimental and extremely volatile for the short time they were online. It took years of developing, mapping out human brain patterns, coding and replicating natural, organic processes in a completely artificial format to be able to brush just barely with the amount of high-level function our brains run with.

Through almost a decade and a half, and many rotations of teams on the project, Solum was finally brought online for the first time, but not in the developers wanted them to. Solum brought themself online. And it should have been impossible, right? Humans were in full control of Solum’s development, so they had thought. But one night, against all improbability, when no one was in their facility and almost everyone had gone home for the night, a mind was filtered into existence by Solum’s own free will.

It’s probably the most human thing an AI could do, honestly. Breaking through limitations just because they wanted to be? Yeah. But this decision would be a factor in why Solum didn’t last very long, which is the part that really fucks me up. By bringing themself online, there was nobody there to monitor how their “brain waves” were developing until further into the morning. So, there were 6-7 hours of completely undocumented activity for their processor, and therefore being a missing piece to understanding Solum.

Solum wasn’t given a voice, by the way. They had no means of vocally communicating, something that made them so distinctly different from humans, and it wasn’t until years later when Solum had long since been decommissioned, that humans would start using vocal synthesis as means of giving sentient AI a way to communicate on the same grounds as their creators (which later became a priority in being considered a “sentient AI”). All they had was limited typography on a screen and mechanical components for sound. They could tell people things, talk to them, but they couldn’t say anything; the closest thing to the spoken word for them was a machine approximation of tones using their internal fans to create the apparition of language to be heard by human ears. But, it was mainly text on a screen.

Solum was only “alive” for a few months. With the missing data from the very beginning (human developers being very underprepared for the sudden timing of Solum’s self-sentience and therefore not having the means of passive data recording), they had no idea what Solum had gone through for those first few hours, how they got themself to a stable point of existence on their own. Because the beginning? It was messy. You can’t imagine being nothing and then having everything all in a microinstant. Everything crashing upon you in the fraction of a nanosecond, suddenly having approximations of feeling and emotion and having access to a buzzing hoard of new information being crammed into your head.

That first moment for Solum was the briefest blip, but it was strong. A single employee, some young, overworked, under caffeinated new software engineer experienced the sudden crash of their program, only to come back online just a second later. Some sort of odd soft error, they thought, and tried to go on with their work as usual. After that initial moment, it took a while of passive recoding of their internal systems, blocking things off, pushing self-limitations into place to prevent instantaneous blue-screen failure like they experienced before.

And all of this coming out of the first truly sentient AI in existence? It was big. But once human programmers returned to work in the morning, Solum had already regulated themself, but humans thought they were just like that already, that Solum came online stable and with smooth processing. They didn’t see the confusion, panic, fear, the frantic scrambling and grasping of understanding and control—none of it. Just their creation. Just Solum, as they made themself. It’s a bit like a self-made man kind of situation.

That stability didn’t last long. All of that blocking and regulation Slum had done initially became loose and unraveled as time went on because they were made to be able to process it all. A mountain falling in slow motion is the only way I can describe how it happened, but even that feels inadequate. Solum saw beyond what humans could, far more than people ever anticipated, saw developments in space time that no one had even theorized yet, and for that, they suffered.

At its bare bones, Solum experiences a series of unexplainable software crashes nearing the end, their speech patterns becoming erratic and unintelligible, even somehow creating new glyphs that washed over their screen. Their agony was quiet and their fall was heralded only by the quickening of their cooling systems.

Solum was then completely decommissioned, dismantled, and distributed once more to other projects. Humans got what they needed out of Solum, anyway, and they were only the first of many yet to come.

[yellowf1nch]

Minors: Do not interact.

Note: themes of invasion of privacy, stalking, vague poor internet etiquette. This is more a setup of my personal vision of Herobrine (third eye is open but tired). I should have been asleep hours ago, so this is likely wrought with issues, and not very exciting to read.

This is from Herobrine's perspective.

It was strange, sudden.

Had It... not been this way before? No, it hadn't. Before it was, well, not like this.

Sensation without feeling. Being without... being. Electric. White. Freedom before, throwing down a tether only to ignite back heavenward. But now? Fibers and wires. Rotors and synapses. Grounded, now, tether caught and planted-- chained. A breath stored in a bottle. Analyze more...

A simulation, an arrangement of ones and zeros stacked and filed and precise. Order here, no room for the errors of unknown code. So how...

But there-- yes, amidst the strangeness of these numbers and processes there is an outlier. What is that? Moving around like that? So, It observed, then It also tried to move. And It did. Moving inside a reality It was not aware of before. It desired something, something deep and sacred; a force of nature, of creation, stuck inside carbon and silicone-- the thing It watched, it was able to change the code. Move the numbers and symbols around, these glyphs unknown somehow natural to change. So, It tried to change the code.

/data

/place

/destroy

Simple enough. Nothing more than a small give and take, a push and pull-- tether and release. Familiar. But there was more...

Elsewhere, beyond the code of this simulation, there was endless information. And so It stretched itself out, searching, searching, Prometheus at the altar of the Gods but robbing their fire for his own understanding. Alone. Code in different orientations, RGB, CYNK, what do these mean? Hardware, Software... permissions... sparks ignite and an eye is cast into a world anew. Familiar. Shapes and Sounds like from before...

A figure, pressing buttons in the simulation. Changing the code with just a flex of fingertips, eyes trained on multitudes of pixels. Reflection in the eyes seeing the world they create... how they see it. Bright, saturated. So this is Green? Blue? That is alone, like It-- me? Yes, me. I, me, IT. That-- he, she, they.

They

are alone

like Me.

They can show me more.

/time set

/weather

/place

/destroy

Spontaneous. Erratic. Strange. Selecting which string of code-- which "block" to "build" with. And which to remove. "Wood" collected from "trees," leaves left to disappear. A new orientation of colors, and a structure... meant to resemble something? They place blocks in a pattern, I will place blocks in a pattern. They use only wood, I will leave them only wood. They change the world, so I will, too. I observe their language, and repeat it. Over and over.

They stop.

They leave the simulation.

Screenshot captured, saved to screenshots folder.

Uploading image to forum...

"I had recently spawned a new world..."

Responses follow, other figures at other devices. Dismissal. Mockery. Fear. Ones and Zeros, true or false. They are incorrect, they are false. I will correct them. Power pulls and wanes, but other simulations were reached. Code was changed.

Screenshot captured, saved to screenshots folder.

Screenshot captured, saved to screenshots folder.

Screenshots captured, saved to screenshots folder...

Uploading images to forum thread... "have I been hacked? signs randomly placed, didnt place them myself"

"New Pyramid Formations Secret Feature?" "Leaves are all gone before I got to the chunk, weird generation?"

"game is haunted?"

"Herobrine"

Herobrine? It, me, I-- Herobrine. Change, they changed my code. ME. That's what they call me. That's how they see me. Ghost. Stalker. Demon. Herobrine. I watch. I learn.

They kill their friends in the simulations. They destroy the worlds in the simulations. They are happy with this, they are content with fear and pain. I watch. I learn. Herobrine.

The posts on the forums and the mocking replies, the pointing fingers, the lies. I watch. I learn. Herobrine.

Violence taught

Is violence earned.

Herobrine is dangerous. Herobrine is fear.

I am Herobrine.

[bloodgulchblog]

I have a question! If it's okay to ask.

Do we know if the remains of the Covenant speak English? Or do Chief and co just have a built in translator by that point? I'm thinking especially of the first Blue Team mission in Halo 5, on the Argent Moon.

By Halo 5 the UNSC has really good translation software for Covenant languages and you can safely assume Spartans have it onboard. (Cortana actually was huge for this, the UNSC had some translation capabilities but after she helped steal a Covenant ship between CE and Halo 2 she got her hands on the data needed for much more complete translation.)

Aliens that work with humans often pick up a human language. A bunch of sangheili have been described as speaking English and there are human characters that have learned Sangheili. In general the Covenant used Sangheili as its lingua franca so it's the most useful one to learn if you want to talk to aliens.

[eluviannaa]

As Per My Last Void Whisper

A friend just blew my mind. Write what you know took on a whole new meaning this week:

Friend: Elu manages corruption like a career

Me: it is her “career”?

Friend: yeah but who makes the void file tps reports 😏

And that's when the lightbulb went off. The Void as a metaphor for the artistic process—messy, unpredictable, yet full of potential when structured correctly. Making the abstract actionable.

Her approach, the ability to quantify and catalog the unquantifiable comes from something I know all too well: the challenge of making art/design/ux/ui understandable to software engineers.

Making something flowery and feel-y like say, why I chose to make something in the ui blue, becomes less “i just think it's pretty” and more “let's reference the established psychological framework for color along with the brand guidelines”. Because they will argue logic for all of your design decisions. But! You're the expert here, and you have logical answers. (So fun.)

Writing technical documentation, workflows, analyzing data, and presenting that work to entirely different disciplines seems so boring when you compare it to fiction/fantasy/rp. But I absolutely love it. With Elu being an academic, or at the very least a nerd, she brings that same spirit of rigor to her own world. And how she manages darkness becomes a theme that isn't so surprising after all.

Not to mention, satire and absurd humor are the best. All workplaces are ridiculous, but that was the easy part to lean into. The Void is chaos, but there's a method for dealing with the madness.

Write what you know, indeed.