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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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How lock-in hurts design

Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

If you've ever read about design, you've probably encountered the idea of "paving the desire path." A "desire path" is an erosion path created by people departing from the official walkway and taking their own route. The story goes that smart campus planners don't fight the desire paths laid down by students; they pave them, formalizing the route that their constituents have voted for with their feet.

Desire paths aren't always great (Wikipedia notes that "desire paths sometimes cut through sensitive habitats and exclusion zones, threatening wildlife and park security"), but in the context of design, a desire path is a way that users communicate with designers, creating a feedback loop between those two groups. The designers make a product, the users use it in ways that surprise the designer, and the designer integrates all that into a new revision of the product.

This method is widely heralded as a means of "co-innovating" between users and companies. Designers who practice the method are lauded for their humility, their willingness to learn from their users. Tech history is strewn with examples of successful paved desire-paths.

Take John Deere. While today the company is notorious for its war on its customers (via its opposition to right to repair), Deere was once a leader in co-innovation, dispatching roving field engineers to visit farms and learn how farmers had modified their tractors. The best of these modifications would then be worked into the next round of tractor designs, in a virtuous cycle:

https://securityledger.com/2019/03/opinion-my-grandfathers-john-deere-would-support-our-right-to-repair/

But this pattern is even more pronounced in the digital world, because it's much easier to update a digital service than it is to update all the tractors in the field, especially if that service is cloud-based, meaning you can modify the back-end everyone is instantly updated. The most celebrated example of this co-creation is Twitter, whose users created a host of its core features.

Retweets, for example, were a user creation. Users who saw something they liked on the service would type "RT" and paste the text and the link into a new tweet composition window. Same for quote-tweets: users copied the URL for a tweet and pasted it in below their own commentary. Twitter designers observed this user innovation and formalized it, turning it into part of Twitter's core feature-set.

Companies are obsessed with discovering digital desire paths. They pay fortunes for analytics software to produce maps of how their users interact with their services, run focus groups, even embed sneaky screen-recording software into their web-pages:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-dark-side-of-replay-sessions-that-record-your-every-move-online/

This relentless surveillance of users is pursued in the name of making things better for them: let us spy on you and we'll figure out where your pain-points and friction are coming from, and remove those. We all win!

But this impulse is a world apart from the humility and respect implied by co-innovation. The constant, nonconsensual observation of users has more to do with controlling users than learning from them.

That is, after all, the ethos of modern technology: the more control a company can exert over its users ,the more value it can transfer from those users to its shareholders. That's the key to enshittification, the ubiquitous platform decay that has degraded virtually all the technology we use, making it worse every day:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

When you are seeking to control users, the desire paths they create are all too frequently a means to wrestling control back from you. Take advertising: every time a service makes its ads more obnoxious and invasive, it creates an incentive for its users to search for "how do I install an ad-blocker":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

More than half of all web-users have installed ad-blockers. It's the largest consumer boycott in human history:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

But zero app users have installed ad-blockers, because reverse-engineering an app requires that you bypass its encryption, triggering liability under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This law provides for a $500,000 fine and a 5-year prison sentence for "circumvention" of access controls:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

Beyond that, modifying an app creates liability under copyright, trademark, patent, trade secrets, noncompete, nondisclosure and so on. It's what Jay Freeman calls "felony contempt of business model":

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

This is why services are so horny to drive you to install their app rather using their websites: they are trying to get you to do something that, given your druthers, you would prefer not to do. They want to force you to exit through the gift shop, you want to carve a desire path straight to the parking lot. Apps let them mobilize the law to literally criminalize those desire paths.

An app is just a web-page wrapped in enough IP to make it a felony to block ads in it (or do anything else that wrestles value back from a company). Apps are web-pages where everything not forbidden is mandatory.

Seen in this light, an app is a way to wage war on desire paths, to abandon the cooperative model for co-innovation in favor of the adversarial model of user control and extraction.

Corporate apologists like to claim that the proliferation of apps proves that users like them. Neoliberal economists love the idea that business as usual represents a "revealed preference." This is an intellectually unserious tautology: "you do this, so you must like it":

https://boingboing.net/2024/01/22/hp-ceo-says-customers-are-a-bad-investment-unless-they-can-be-made-to-buy-companys-drm-ink-cartridges.html

Calling an action where no alternatives are permissible a "preference" or a "choice" is a cheap trick – especially when considered against the "preferences" that reveal themselves when a real choice is possible. Take commercial surveillance: when Apple gave Ios users a choice about being spied on – a one-click opt of of app-based surveillance – 96% of users choice no spying:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

But then Apple started spying on those very same users that had opted out of spying by Facebook and other Apple competitors:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Neoclassical economists aren't just obsessed with revealed preferences – they also love to bandy about the idea of "moral hazard": economic arrangements that tempt people to be dishonest. This is typically applied to the public ("consumers" in the contemptuous parlance of econospeak). But apps are pure moral hazard – for corporations. The ability to prohibit desire paths – and literally imprison rivals who help your users thwart those prohibitions – is too tempting for companies to resist.

The fact that the majority of web users block ads reveals a strong preference for not being spied on ("users just want relevant ads" is such an obvious lie that doesn't merit any serious discussion):

https://www.iccl.ie/news/82-of-the-irish-public-wants-big-techs-toxic-algorithms-switched-off/

Giant companies attained their scale by learning from their users, not by thwarting them. The person using technology always knows something about what they need to do and how they want to do it that the designers can never anticipate. This is especially true of people who are unlike those designers – people who live on the other side of the world, or the other side of the economic divide, or whose bodies don't work the way that the designers' bodies do:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/20/benevolent-dictators/#felony-contempt-of-business-model

Apps – and other technologies that are locked down so their users can be locked in – are the height of technological arrogance. They embody a belief that users are to be told, not heard. If a user wants to do something that the designer didn't anticipate, that's the user's fault:

https://www.wired.com/2010/06/iphone-4-holding-it-wrong/

Corporate enthusiasm for prohibiting you from reconfiguring the tools you use to suit your needs is a declaration of the end of history. "Sure," John Deere execs say, "we once learned from farmers by observing how they modified their tractors. But today's farmers are so much stupider and we are so much smarter that we have nothing to learn from them anymore."

Spying on your users to control them is a poor substitute asking your users their permission to learn from them. Without technological self-determination, preferences can't be revealed. Without the right to seize the means of computation, the desire paths never emerge, leaving designers in the dark about what users really want.

Our policymakers swear loyalty to "innovation" but when corporations ask for the right to decide who can innovate and how, they fall all over themselves to create laws that let companies punish users for the crime of contempt of business-model.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/24/everything-not-mandatory/#is-prohibited

Image: Belem (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desire_path_%2819811581366%29.jpg

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

#pluralistic #desire paths #design #drm #everything not mandatory is prohibited #apps #ip #innovation #user innovation #technological self-determination #john deere #twitter #felony contempt of business model

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debtofdeception-if · 4 months ago

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Debt of Deception

Demo

If you’re curious about who the teen pregnancy route is available to, here is a post that explains it.

Genre: Gritty crime/action thriller/slice-of-life.

💰play as a stay-at-home parent that gets entangled in a life of crime!

💰Inspired by the TV show Good Girls, and a little bit of Breaking Bad.

Summary: Life used to be about toddler tantrums and sleepless nights. Now, it’s about dodging bullets and prison bars—thanks to your charming spouse.

It all started when you were almost finished preparing dinner, as you did every night, when your spouse stumbled through the door, bloody and bruised—with a revelation that would shatter your world. Their hidden gambling addiction has racked up a staggering debt, but that’s not even the worst part. They owe half a million dollars to MC-14, one of the most ruthless gangs in the city. You have 8 months to gather the money, or your family will pay the ultimate price.

Thrown into a deadly game you never asked to play, you’re forced to make impossible choices to survive. Can you protect your family? Can your marriage survive this betrayal? Do you even want it to? Will you come out of this situation as the person you always thought you were, or will this dark world you’ve been thrust into reveal who you really are?

💰Customize your character; their name, gender, sexuality, physical appearance, personality, background, choose how birth affected your character mentally and physically, IF they gave birth. and so much more. Customization matters!

💰Choose your character's age; you can be in your early 20s or 30s. Were you a teen parent or not?

💰 Customize your 5 year old child.

💰Determine who you were before you became a parent, how you feel about parenthood and suburban life in general.

💰Do jobs for a criminal organization in order to pay back your spouse's debt, whether you succeed or fail is on you.

💰Determine what kind of relationship you have with your spouse and child.

💰You may have to be a stay-at-home parent but you can choose why you decided to stay home.

💰Get a divorce or try to fix your marriage? It's your choice.

💰Try to manage a double life.

💰Drama, chaos, and more drama.

💰Determine how you feel about the life of crime.

💰Determine what kind of parent you are.

💰Try to revive your broken marriage with your spouse or possibly romance the ruthless leader of MC-14. Maybe even get yourself involved in a messy love triangle….oof, or have some hookups along the way.

💰Try to manage your expenses, pay your bills on time, and for the love of god, don't lose the house!

💰Alaric/Alara Coleman- The Spouse 💍

Age: 21 or 30 (Depends on the MC’s age).

Occupation: A software engineer at Cordovian Technologies. If you choose the teen parent route, the story will delve into how A secured this position at a young age and manages to support a family of three on a single income.

Description:

The love of your life, your best friend, the one person you always felt you could trust without question. There was never a secret between you two… or so you thought. You and A were high school sweethearts, and from the moment you met, you felt something inexplicably special. Smart, funny, goofy, and effortlessly charming, A had a way of making everyone feel at ease, their infectious laughter always filling the room. The A you knew was capable and reliable—loyal to a fault, always showing up when needed. They never broke a promise, and their word was unshakeable. It seemed like A could do no wrong—excelling in every area, from academics to extracurriculars. They were the golden child, the kind of person everyone admired. Yet, in the quiet moments, you couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe no one, not even A, could truly be that perfect… Maybe you were right.

Tropes: High School sweethearts, golden retriever, soulmates.

Red Flags : Deceptive, prideful, egotistical, self-destructive.

Green Flags: Protective, intelligent, self-sacrificing.

Physical Description:

Male A: A stands at 5’9” with a lean, subtly athletic build. His short, wavy dark blonde hair is styled in a textured crop, he has light blue eyes and light freckles that dot only his face. He has fair skin , and his style leans toward a sporty, preppy aesthetic.

Female A: A stands at 5’6” with a lean, subtly athletic build. Her shoulder length, wavy dark blonde hair is styled in beach waves, complementing her sharp blue eyes and light freckles that dot only her face. Her fair skin has a natural, youthful tone, and her style leans toward a preppy aesthetic.

💰Victor/Victoria Delgado- The Leader 💀

Age: 35.

Occupation: Leader of the MC-14 gang.

Description:

V Delgado is a gang leader who embodies cold ruthlessness. From birth, they were immersed in a world of crime, violence, and destruction, which forged them into the stoic, calculating figure they are today. With an enigmatic allure and an icy demeanor, V is a master of control—of others and of themselves. Words are unnecessary to them; actions speak louder, and they lead with unflinching efficiency. Brutality is second nature, and they waste no time or energy on hesitation. Their rise to power came through a mix of cunning and raw force, and they will go to any lengths to maintain their dominance. V isn’t a person to be admired, but something about their very presence pulls at you. They are a living, breathing reminder that not all paths to power are clean—and yet, you can’t help but wonder if, maybe, you could get lost in their darkness.

Tropes: Corruption, enemies to lovers, mama I'm in love with a criminal, dark romance, forbidden.

Red Flags: Possessive, controlling, domineering, dangerous, emotionally detached, unpredictable.

Green Flags: They….like puppies, jk. Determined, strong, resilient, very protective and loyal to those who earn their trust and loyalty (which is very few).

Physical Description:

Male V: Standing at a commanding 6’4”, V Delgado carries a powerful, muscular build. He has an olive skin tone. His short, straight dark brown hair is kept in a no-nonsense buzz cut, matching the sharp intensity of his hazel eyes—eyes that hold a calculating, unnerving depth. A prominent scar runs from the corner of his mouth, slashing upward to his ear. His right arm is covered in a detailed sleeve tattoo of a serpent. V’s wardrobe leans toward practicality—subdued, simple outfits that blend into the background. His nice clothes, always at risk of becoming bloodied or torn, are too inconvenient for him to care about; function always comes before appearance.

Female V:Standing at a commanding 5’11”, V Delgado carries an athletic, hourglass build.She has an olive skin tone. Her waist length, straight dark brown hair is kept in a loose style, her hazel eyes hold a calculating, unnerving depth. A prominent scar runs from the corner of her mouth, slashing upward to her ear, a constant reminder of past conflicts. Her right arm is covered in a detailed sleeve tattoo of a serpent, symbolizing her cunning and dangerous nature. Female V’s wardrobe, unlike male V, tends to be elegant, fashionable, sleek, and refined.

💰Renay Bueller-The Bestie 🫂

Age: 21, or 30 (Depends on the MC’s age).

Occupation: If Renay is 21, she’s currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in graphic design at the University of Ridgepoint. If she’s 30, she works as a graphic designer at Horizon Design Studio.

Description: Renay Bueller is your sharp-witted and fiercely confident friend who thrives on making her presence known. Her quick tongue and sassy demeanor never miss a beat, and she’s always ready with a perfectly timed comeback that leaves no room for hesitation. Renay is unapologetically bold in everything she does, embracing her individuality with a flair that’s both magnetic and unshakeable. Her charm lies in her unfiltered honesty and the playful, yet unapologetic, attitude she brings to every conversation.

Physical Description: Renay has curly red hair that falls just above her shoulder. Standing tall, her frame is full and curvy, embodying a blend of strength and softness. She has light green eyes and a tan skin tone. She typically wears bold prints and bright colors, which reflect her bold and loud personality.

💰Haruki “Haru” Kim- The Jokester 🎭*Possible hookup option*

Age: 20.

Occupation: Works as a goon for the MC-14 gang.

Description: Haru Kim is a volatile and unpredictable henchman, known for his chaotic nature and love of causing mayhem. A fearless jokester with a creative streak, Haru thrives on bending the rules, often disregarding orders and pushing boundaries. Recently, he’s been testing V’s patience with his disobedience, straining the once-solid respect between them. Despite this, V remembers the time Haru saved their life, holding it in high regard. However, there’s a limit to how much disrespect and insubordination V is willing to tolerate before they must make a choice about Haru’s future in the gang.

Physical Description: Haru is of Asian descent, standing at a short height with a lanky frame. His platinum blonde hair is styled in a messy, short cut, often looking deliberately unkempt. He has dark eyes. His fashion leans toward grunge, favoring oversized, worn-in pieces—ripped jeans, band tees, and leather jackets—reflecting his rebellious nature. His overall appearance gives off a carefree, slightly disheveled vibe, perfectly complementing his chaotic personality.

💰Jacob Johnson- The Muscle 💪 *Possible hookup option*

Age: 27.

Occupation: Works as a goon for the MC-14 gang.

Description: Jacob is impulsive and quick-tempered, often letting his emotions drive his actions. Fiercely protective of their gang leader, V, Jacob is known for his intimidating presence and a deep sense of loyalty. He thrives in combat, showcasing impressive skills in a fight, but his reckless tendencies can sometimes jeopardize carefully laid plans. His unwavering loyalty is both a strength and a flaw, as he often charges into dangerous situations without fully considering the consequences.

Physical Description: Jacob is of African American descent, with closely cropped black hair in a buzz cut and intense dark brown eyes. Standing tall with a muscular build, his presence is commanding and his physique speaks to years of physical training and strength.

💰Kenny Lockwood-The Veteran 🪖

Age: 52.

Occupation: MC-14 gang’s second in command.

Description: Kenny is a stoic and disciplined individual, harboring a dark past known only to V. With a background in combat and tactical expertise, he is stealthy and calculated in his actions. Though he often butts heads with the younger, more reckless members of the gang, his experience and steady demeanor make him V’s most trusted and reliable confidant.

Physical Description: Kenny is an older man with a grizzled appearance and a bald head. He dresses in an unassuming, practical manner, blending into his surroundings. Of average height and build, his grey eyes carry a quiet intensity that hints at the depth of his experience.

💰Lauren/Lorenzo Esposito- The Fiancé 💔

Age: 30.

Occupation: Nepo baby.

Description: L. Esposito is V’s fiancé—a calculated arrangement orchestrated by their parents to cement loyalty and strengthen the alliance between the MC-14 and Hollowed Saints gangs. While V agreed to the engagement stoically and without hesitation, seeing it as a strategic move for the business, L’s feelings are far from transactional. Cunning, charming, and adept at reading people, L is a master of manipulation when needed. Yet beneath their calculated exterior lies a flicker of compassion and a surprising romantic streak. They genuinely crave a deeper connection with V and are determined to claim that love—no matter who stands in their way. Watch your back.

Physical Description: L. Esposito has sleek, dark brown hair that falls neatly into place, complementing their warm, light brown eyes that always seem to be calculating their next move. Slightly below average in height with a petite, lithe frame, they exude confidence that makes them seem larger than life. Their impeccable sense of style gravitates toward high-end designer clothing—tailored to perfection, whether in sharp suits or sophisticated casual wear. Female L favors bold makeup, often sporting a sultry smokey eye paired with a classic red lip, embodying elegance with an edge.

💰PTA Demons 👿- A clique of has-beens who peaked in high school and made your freshman year a living hell. Now they’re attending PTA meetings—proof that parenting should require a license. *Will encounter them the most if you choose to attend PTA meetings*

• Amanda Willmont- The “HBIC” 👑

Age: 25, or 34 (depends on MC’s age).

Occupation: Nurse for Redwood Medical.

Description: Amanda Willmont is a former high school queen bee who never quite moved past her glory days. Beneath her deceptively sweet demeanor lies a sharp, catty edge. She’s fiercely competitive, a master of passive-aggressive jabs, and always seems determined to undercut whatever I do, as though winning petty battles is her life’s purpose.

Physical Description: Amanda has long, luscious blonde locks that cascade down her back. Her petite frame stands at a striking, model-like height. She’s always impeccably dressed in preppy ensembles, with pink as her signature color—a hue that dominates her wardrobe. Flawless makeup is her armor, and she never steps outside without every detail meticulously in place.

🧸 Child: Emily Willmont.

• Senae Zitkala- The Follower 📱*Possible hookup option*

Age: 25, or 34 (depends on the MC’s age).

Occupation: Blogger.

Description: Senae Zitkala is a timid and impressionable individual who clings to Amanda’s every word, eager to please. Easily swayed by others, Senae’s insecurity often leads her to seek validation through drama and gossip.

Physical Description: Senae has a medium brown complexion and long, sleek black hair. Her style is refined and reminiscent of old-money elegance, favoring timeless and polished attire. Short in stature with a willowy, graceful build.

🧸 Child: Isi Zitkala

• Dan Meadows- The Ex Jock 🏈

Age: 25, or 34 (depends on MC’s age).

Occupation: Briar Prep football coach

Description: Dan Meadows is a cocky, self-assured jock with a penchant for arrogance and an air of entitlement. Quick to brag about his accomplishments, he thrives on attention and often dismisses the opinions of others. Though confident in his physical prowess, he has a tendency to be air-headed.

Physical Description: Dan is tall and well-built with a lean, athletic physique. His caramel brown hair is often tousled in a carefree manner, complementing his striking green eyes and fair skin. He gravitates toward a sporty, casual style—think fitted tees, joggers, and clean sneakers.

🧸 Child: Kyler Meadows.

💰Jimmy/Jain Lockwood 👮-An FBI agent who also happens to be a ghost from your past—one you wish had stayed buried.

Age: 25, or 34 (depends on MC’s age).

Occupation: FBI agent.

*Serious trigger warnings with this one*

Description: J Lockwood is the FBI agent assigned to a case that entails investigating MC-14. But J is more than just an investigator—they’re a ghost from your past, the embodiment of everything you’ve tried to leave behind. On the surface, J is charming, polite, and socially adept, seamlessly fitting into any environment. Their easy smile and confident demeanor mask a darker truth: a relentless, obsessive manipulator who bends reality to fit their desires. Beneath the polished exterior lies a dangerous fixation—J has convinced themselves that your rejection is merely a challenge to conquer. Where others see professionalism, you see the chilling glint of possession in their eyes. And all you’ve ever wanted is to be free of them.

Physical Description: J Lockwood stands slightly taller than average, with a commanding presence that naturally draws attention. Their thick, jet-black hair is neatly styled, a sharp contrast to their ice-blue eyes that seem to pierce through anyone they meet. J’s pale skin hints at long hours spent under artificial lights rather than in the sun. Their athletic build, honed through discipline and physical rigor, is evident in their poised stance and confident movements. Everything about their appearance suggests control—but it’s the chilling intensity behind those eyes that’s impossible to ignore.

💰Monica Delgado- The Matriarch 👸

Age: 62.

Occupation: Retired.

Description: Monica Delgado is warm, nurturing, and deeply affectionate toward those she holds close, embodying a protective and compassionate mother figure. However, in public and professional settings, she transforms into a fierce and authoritative presence, displaying a cutthroat demeanor that commands respect and fear.

Physical Description: Monica Delgado is a petite woman with an average build. She has dark brown hair interwoven with elegant grey streaks that frame her face. She has hazel eyes, and an olive skin tone. She has a shorter stature.

💰Frank Delgado- The Patriarch 🤴

Age: 62.

Occupation: Retired.

Description: Frank Delgado is a disciplined and calculating man who approaches both his criminal organization and family life with a cold, businesslike mindset. Emotionally detached and lacking empathy, he views emotional bonds as a weakness and struggles to connect with his child. His pragmatic and methodical approach to life has shaped V, who inherited many of his traits, including his reserved demeanor and analytical mindset.

Physical Description: Frank Delgado is a tall, distinguished man with an imposing presence. Despite his age, he maintains a fit physique. He has a full head of grey hair that matches his well-groomed grey mustache and beard. His olive skin tone and light brown eyes hint at a steely, calculating nature.

💰Sarah Coleman- The Loving Mother 🤱

Age: 54.

Occupation: Retired.

Description: Sarah Coleman radiates warmth and positivity wherever she goes. With an optimistic outlook, she sees challenges as opportunities and believes in the inherent good in people. Her kindness is evident in the small, thoughtful gestures she offers to friends and strangers alike. Always supportive, Sarah has a natural talent for listening and uplifting those around her, often placing the needs of others before her own. She approaches life with a gentle resilience, driven by her desire to make the world a little brighter for everyone she encounters.

Physical Description: Sarah Coleman has short blonde hair styled in a pixie cut that frames her face. She has blue and a dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Standing shorter than average, she has a lithe frame.

💰Daniel Coleman- The Loving Father 👨‍🍼

Age: 54.

Occupation: Retired.

Description: Daniel Coleman is charismatic and has a playful, and lighthearted demeanor. He has an easy going nature and sharp sense of humor making him effortlessly likable, often lightening tense situations with a well-timed joke or witty comment.

Physical Description: Daniel Coleman has greying sandy blonde hair. He has dark blue eyes that often gleam with humor and warmth. He Stands at an average height, and carries a slightly chubbier build.

💰Mandy (last name depending on MC)- Mommy Dearest ⛓️‍💥

Age: 57

Occupation: Retired

Born In Poverty Background Description: Mandy is a person who has a rough and harsh demeanor, often resorting to verbally or physically aggressive behaviors to gain control. She’s impulsive, and quick to lash out at others, especially when things don’t go her way. She tends to use her aggression to intimidate and belittle those she deems as beneath her. She is crude and trashy and ever since you can remember, her abusiveness has made you feel nothing but emotional and physical pain, constantly creating a toxic environment that you couldn’t wait to escape from.

High Middle Class Background Description: Mandy has always been someone who placed immense value on appearances and status. She’s condescending and dismissive of others, always believing her way is the best way. She has a controlling nature that makes her prone to micromanaging situations and people, especially when things don’t go according to her standards. She’s a perfectionist and that drives her to be harsh, particularly with those who fail to meet her expectations. She has always been image obsessed and is only worried about how people will perceive her life, never caring about how you’ve felt. You couldn’t wait to escape the suffocating and cold environment that she created.

Physical Description: *partly depends on the MC* Mandy has a voluptuous body type, and she stands at a height that is a little taller than average.

💰Bill (last name depending on MC)- The Pawn ♟️*pretty much stays the same regardless of background*

Age: 57

Occupation: Retired

Description: Bill is a passive, mild-mannered man who has always avoided conflict and tends to put others’ needs before his own, driven by a deep desire to please those around him. He is emotionally withdrawn, and rarely expresses his true feelings for fear of upsetting the balance of his relationships, especially with his wife, Mandy. Though he secretly has always supported you, he was too afraid to stand up to Mandy’s controlling nature. He never wanted to disown you.

Physical Description:*Partly depends on the MC* Bill is of average height with a lanky, slightly awkward frame. He has wire-framed glasses, and a receding hairline.

*MC was disowned by their parents, the reason depends on your MC and choices.*

💰Cian Murphy-Leader of the rival biker gang 🏍️ *Possible hookup option*

Age: 25

Occupation: Leader of the Eastside Marauders biker gang.

Description: Cian Murphy is the charismatic and ruthless leader of the Eastside Marauders, a rival biker gang to MC-14. With a mix of cocky confidence and a seductive charm, he commands respect and loyalty from his crew. Cian’s ambition drives him to constantly expand his territory, but his temper can ignite in an instant, especially when betrayed. Though vengeful, he holds onto a strong sense of morality, often struggling with the darker side of his actions. His loyalty to his gang and close allies is unwavering, but the weight of his leadership sometimes leaves him questioning the cost of his ambitions.

Physical description: Cian stands just above average height, with chin-length, wavy auburn hair. He has a lean build. His style consists of traditional biker clothing—leather jackets, worn jeans, and boots—complete with a few personalized touches.

💰Your Child 🧸

Age: 5.

Occupation: Just starting kindergarten.

Description: Your child is a joyful little bundle of light, with an innocence that shines through in everything they do. They’re courageous, never shying away from new challenges, and show a surprising level of smarts for someone so young. It’s clear they have a bright future ahead!

This game is 18+

⚠️Content Warnings: This story has very dark and mature themes such as violence, gang activity, trauma, childbirth, sexual content (optional explicit), unhealthy relationship dynamics, profanity, alcohol, and drug use, struggles with mental health, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, self harm, unhealthy coping mechanisms, misogyny/sexism, homophobia, transphobia, cheating/affair? sexual harassment/sexual assault (based on a choice, so don't worry it'll be avoidable and nongraphic. This is NOT done by any RO or by the MC), harassment, mentions of abortion, the MC can be a very flawed and morally grey character depending on player choices, I'll continue to add more if I notice more, or if something is brought to my attention.

Note: I do not condone any of these behaviors; they are solely included to illustrate the moral shortcomings of certain characters, including the MC, depending on player choices.

This is my first IF, so I'm kind of nervous 😅.

#interactive fiction #interactive novel #choicescript #choice of games #hosted games #debt of deception #DOD #if: intro #if: wip #cyoa #if #if intro #if wip

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ecrivainsolitaire · 5 months ago

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A summary of the Chinese AI situation, for the uninitiated.

These are scores on different tests that are designed to see how accurate a Large Language Model is in different areas of knowledge. As you know, OpenAI is partners with Microsoft, so these are the scores for ChatGPT and Copilot. DeepSeek is the Chinese model that got released a week ago. The rest are open source models, which means everyone is free to use them as they please, including the average Tumblr user. You can run them from the servers of the companies that made them for a subscription, or you can download them to install locally on your own computer. However, the computer requirements so far are so high that only a few people currently have the machines at home required to run it.

Yes, this is why AI uses so much electricity. As with any technology, the early models are highly inefficient. Think how a Ford T needed a long chimney to get rid of a ton of black smoke, which was unused petrol. Over the next hundred years combustion engines have become much more efficient, but they still waste a lot of energy, which is why we need to move towards renewable electricity and sustainable battery technology. But that's a topic for another day.

As you can see from the scores, are around the same accuracy. These tests are in constant evolution as well: as soon as they start becoming obsolete, new ones are released to adjust for a more complicated benchmark. The new models are trained using different machine learning techniques, and in theory, the goal is to make them faster and more efficient so they can operate with less power, much like modern cars use way less energy and produce far less pollution than the Ford T.

However, computing power requirements kept scaling up, so you're either tied to the subscription or forced to pay for a latest gen PC, which is why NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and all the other chip companies were investing hard on much more powerful GPUs and NPUs. For now all we need to know about those is that they're expensive, use a lot of electricity, and are required to operate the bots at superhuman speed (literally, all those clickbait posts about how AI was secretly 150 Indian men in a trenchcoat were nonsense).

Because the chip companies have been working hard on making big, bulky, powerful chips with massive fans that are up to the task, their stock value was skyrocketing, and because of that, everyone started to use AI as a marketing trend. See, marketing people are not smart, and they don't understand computers. Furthermore, marketing people think you're stupid, and because of their biased frame of reference, they think you're two snores short of brain-dead. The entire point of their existence is to turn tall tales into capital. So they don't know or care about what AI is or what it's useful for. They just saw Number Go Up for the AI companies and decided "AI is a magic cow we can milk forever". Sometimes it's not even AI, they just use old software and rebrand it, much like convection ovens became air fryers.

Well, now we're up to date. So what did DepSeek release that did a 9/11 on NVIDIA stock prices and popped the AI bubble?

Oh, I would not want to be an OpenAI investor right now either. A token is basically one Unicode character (it's more complicated than that but you can google that on your own time). That cost means you could input the entire works of Stephen King for under a dollar. Yes, including electricity costs. DeepSeek has jumped from a Ford T to a Subaru in terms of pollution and water use.

The issue here is not only input cost, though; all that data needs to be available live, in the RAM; this is why you need powerful, expensive chips in order to-

Holy shit.

I'm not going to detail all the numbers but I'm going to focus on the chip required: an RTX 3090. This is a gaming GPU that came out as the top of the line, the stuff South Korean LoL players buy…

Or they did, in September 2020. We're currently two generations ahead, on the RTX 5090.

What this is telling all those people who just sold their high-end gaming rig to be able to afford a machine that can run the latest ChatGPT locally, is that the person who bought it from them can run something basically just as powerful on their old one.

Which means that all those GPUs and NPUs that are being made, and all those deals Microsoft signed to have control of the AI market, have just lost a lot of their pulling power.

Well, I mean, the ChatGPT subscription is 20 bucks a month, surely the Chinese are charging a fortune for-

Oh. So it's free for everyone and you can use it or modify it however you want, no subscription, no unpayable electric bill, no handing Microsoft all of your private data, you can just run it on a relatively inexpensive PC. You could probably even run it on a phone in a couple years.

Oh, if only China had massive phone manufacturers that have a foot in the market everywhere except the US because the president had a tantrum eight years ago.

So… yeah, China just destabilised the global economy with a torrent file.

#valid ai criticism #ai #llms #DeepSeek #ai bubble #ChatGPT #google gemini #claude ai #this is gonna be the dotcom bubble again #hope you don't have stock on anything tech related #computer literacy #tech literacy

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paper-mario-wiki · 9 months ago

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wait so how did you get a "boring" office job? did you have to go to college or did you just apply for basic stuff and work your way up from there?

it was 100% through connections.

i mean, i actually GOT the job and have been able to KEEP the job because i'm smart and capable and good at doing things and have made the company a lot of money, but if i didn't know the right people i would not have even had a chance at it, and it would be disingenuous of me to pretend otherwise.

most of the moment-to-moment skills i use for clerical work (the majority of my job) i gained in highschool through my fascination with computers + all of the programming and software classes i took.

the business and accounting classes i took in university primed me for a basic understanding of how to run a company (or at least how to manage one, as my exact title is "Business Manager"), and all of my anthropology and sociology studies have given me a pretty keen insight for communication, which comes in major handy in a corporate setting. i was able to latch onto Corpo Speak pretty quickly, which has proven to be an indispensable skill (if a bit soul-sucking to utilize).

i got this job after receiving 0 work or callbacks from Indeed after applying to dozens of jobs over several months, which is a very difficult idea to reconcile with for me. i feel like im pretty capable, but apparently people whose job it is to give other people jobs don't agree. in spite of this, in 2 years ive generated hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue for the company that decided to hire me because the owner saw me down on my luck and wanted to give me a break.

so i have to wonder, are we stupid, or are the companies stupid?

it's the companies. ive seen it firsthand. with this job, i go to business events and meet some of the most gullible people ive ever come across, and they're all CEOs.

they're so ravenously shortsighted with regards to their quarterly profit margins that they'd chase a 5 dollar bill the wind blew off a cliff for their shareholders. or more accurately, they'd push one of their minimum wage workers off the cliff to grab it.

because of that shortsightedness, conditions are getting worse, employment terms are becoming shorter, companies are shuttering left and right, pays are stagnant or lowering, and the growing number of people this inhuman greed affects are becoming more and more restless.

if you can't get a job in 2024, there's a very good chance it's not your fault. you shouldn't give up (unfortunately for now we still need to earn money to live in society), but try not to forget that.

#anon

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user211201 · 1 year ago

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Chronivac Coworkers

--- Originally posted on 2022-09-19 by davidrodge ---

You sit down at your desk and rub your eyes. Another day of paper pushing and number crunching to get through. It wasn’t like you had done anything particularly interesting the previous night. You had stayed up a little later playing some mediocre matches of online gaming - but when I guess when you get to be around 40, your body constantly feels like it’s been dragged behind a car down the high way. Not that you didn’t take care of yourself, in fact you’d say you looked pretty good for your age…

You stretch in your seat, and reach for your coffee as your computer powers on. The few windows illuminating the office show the first few morning beams of scorching July sunlight. Behind you, the door opens and your Coworker David strides in.

“Morning Adam!” He says in a strangely cheerful voice. You put your coffee down from your lips and give him a stare. Normally David was about 20 minutes later than he already was, and usually he walked into the office with the same enthusiasm you’d see in a man walking towards a guillotine.

“Morning Davo,” you say, typing in your far too long corporate password. “You seem less Zombie-like today, what are you so excited about?”

David Smiled as he sat down in his chair opposite from yours. You were techniqually Davids senior Manager, but the two of you had developed a decent friendship between Friday drinking and the occasional tennis match.

“Oh Nothing Adam, I just got to the top of the waitlist for this super cool Software, and I was finally able to download it!”

You nodded, half listening as you began logging into all your engineering system.

“Very Interesting, what’s the program called? Is it like a Gaming platform?” David opened up his laptop and started to type furiously.

“No it’s not a game at all, It’s an app called the Chronivac. It’s supposed to be a reality altering software. I had a friend in the UK that sent me the information for it, He said that it completely changed his life.”

You paused from your coffee long enough to lean over and roll your eyes at him.

“I hope you didn’t have to pay any money for it.” You moaned, “This Job doesn’t pay you enough for you to be wasting your time on Overseas Scams.”

David was absolutely transfixed on his laptop. A wide, slightly crazed looking grin spreading over his face.

“It actually ended up costing me thousands of dollars,” he said, now in a far quieter voice, “but it was completely worth it.”

“THousands Of DoLLARS!” You exploded, immediately turning the heads of the fellow desk jockeys nearby,

“SHut UP man,” David hissed, half closing his laptop defensively. You simmered as the both of you waited for the rest of your colleagues to return back to their work. David narrowed his Eyes at you, smile creeping back onto his face.

“It wasn’t a waste of money and I can prove it too you. Just let me find your profile really quick.”

“Wait, this thing has a profile for me on it?” You said, now even more concerned then before. “David, This seems like some really dangerous software And I definitely thing that you shou-“

Davids Computer cut you off with a cheerful beep, and immediately you felt a strange sensation course through your body.

“What the hell!” You shout as you start the world around you starts to grow. You feel a strange tightening sensation in your body, as you glance downward. Your clothing seemed to liquify, shifting from a smart suit and dress shirt into a casual tee. In shock you glance at the bay window and catch a reflection of yourself. There you were…. Or rather, there you were 20 years ago! You lift your hands up too your face and feel your skin. Wrinkle free, young, and real!

“ there’s no way this is real,” you say in a whisper. This has to be a dream you think, as you continue to explore your now unfamiliar body.

David leaned over the edge of his desk beaming,

“ See I told you man! This program is incredible!” He looked you over, seeming to be proud of his work. “Dang it’s crazy what taking 20 years off a man can do!”

You take a brief pause from reveling at your new found youth.

“ this is incredible David! How is this even possible?!”

“It’s the chronivac man! Like I said it’s freaking amazing and can change anything!” The wild grin still fresh on his face.

You stand up, coursing with a newfound energy.

“WE HAVE TO TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THIS!” You say ecstatically. The grin drops from David’s face.

“What?”

You begin to jog away from the desks, heading straight for the break room where you knew, most of your coworkers would still be gathered.

“We can change anything with this! This is going to be the coolest thing any of these morons have ever heard about!”

“Wait! No stop! Aww shit-“ you hear David shout as you continued running. You barely processed his voice or cared. You felt so alive! The excitement in your chest was all you could feel or even think of right now. You slid around the corner, breaking into a sprint down the hallway. You could hardly wait to introduce your new younger self to your coworkers and tell them about this amazing new device.

“GUYS, YOU WOULDNT BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO-“

Suddenly your voice catches In your throat, as your mouth dries out In an instant. You keep running, starting to trip over yourself on the concrete floor.

“ what the” you gasp through a dry mouth. Your tongue feels like a pillow in your mouth as you tumble to the floor. You are vaguely aware of the sight of your hands, which appear to be changing color and texture. Your vision fades with the sight of your fingers turning bright blue and seeming to collapse in on themselves.

You can’t seem to find your voice, or be able to move as you feel yourself shrinking. You feel an indescribable softening sensation on all sides as you slide to a stop. Suddenly, it’s over as quickly as it started, and there you lay on the floor. Your brain slows down, filled only with the most basic thoughts now.

“ what….. happened…” you think to yourself with great effort. Your aware of footsteps coming towards you from your position on the floor.

“ Sorry about that man, I just couldn’t have you sharing my new toy with the rest of the world. It’s kind of like a private club, ya know?

….David? You think through fuzzy thoughts.

“ I’m still learning how to use the program haha, but you did turn out to be a nice pair of underwear Adam.”

You feel your now small form being lifted from the floor, then shoved into a pocket. David’s pocket.

“Don’t worry man, we’ll get you sorted out. I think you’ll make a really good practice for me before I start changing myself.”

You couldn’t respond at all, but felt almost at home In the musky warm pocket you were haphazardly shoved into.

….so … nice… you find yourself thinking. You try to shake the fuzz out of your primitive mind. Trying to remember anything besides the new world you found yourself in. You faintly hear David through his clothing.

“ alright, I think the first thing we should do is get you home so we can have some fun.” You feel yourself being lifted from his pocket and placed back on the ground. You felt a longing to be back in the warm musky dark.

“this time however, I think we’ll turn your awareness off.”

David smiled punching his new specifications into the chronivac program. Adam wouldn’t remember any of what just happened, and also be open to his suggestions. The underwear on the pavement started to expand, shifting and changing until Adam once again stood in front of him with a slightly dazed look on his face.

“is it weird that that kind of turned me on…” David muttered to himself.

“Dave… what the hell is going on? Adam said In a bewildered voice. His voice echoed in the parking garage that they now stood in. David smiled, and typed into the chronivac.

“you were about to give me a ride home, remember big guy?”

Adam, still looking confused, but seemingly unaware of the last 20 minutes of his life shrugged and fished for his car keys.

“Alright man but don’t judge about the mess in my car.” He smiled and clicked his horn. The two of you walked over to the old SUV Adam drove and stepped inside, scooting aside the old take out bags and random junk. Adam sheepishly got In and fastened his seatbelt.

“Thanks for taking me home man, I wasn’t feeling the best.” David said hiding a smile while still typing in his computer. Adam started the car and began to pull out of the parking lot.

“no problem man, it’s been a boring day for me anyway.”

I’m sure it was… David thought pulling up Adams profile again. David pulled up Adams profile. He continued to explore it as they got on the highway - passing the braves stadium. Now it was time to really see what this program could do. He clicked on the occupation section and replaced senior engineer with Uber driver and hit enter. The cars interior suddenly shifted, quickly becoming neater and tidier. An Uber sticker appeared on the windshield. David smiled and Adam glanced over at him.

“Hey you owe me tho David,” he smiled “I could be making money right now instead of driving your ass around.”

“for sure man, I’ll make it up to you.” David grinned. He clicked onto Adams body specifications.

Alright let’s slide that age way down… maybe 22? He looked good like that, but let’s pump up his muscle mass by 80 pounds and increase his attractiveness level. David pulled open Adams identity profile and messed around with a few things. Instead of being a work friend, Adams new relationship to David was a complete stranger. David deleted Adams previous educational experience tab and input college fraternity brother into his profile. He dropped the IQ level down to one of the lower settings. It might be nice for Adam to worry about less right? He input “easygoing” into his profile. He hit shuffle on race, just for some added fun and eagerly hit enter.

the change was immediate. Adam shifted in his seat, losing a few inches of height but gaining a ridiculous amount of mass everywhere. His legs filled in his pants so quickly David thought they might burst. His arms ballooned outwards and his face shifted to a cocky smirk. His pecs jutted out against his shirt, bouncing with the cars motion. The clothes he previously wore liquified and stretched tight against his body - becoming a simple tee shirt and short shorts. His hair styled itself into a skin fade, and a tan crept over his body. A backwards cap materialized on his head, and a stud In his ear as he glanced over at David.

“What? You like what you see man haha?”

The new Adam raised his arm and flexed his now massive bicep.

You both laughed as you felt a mixture of pride and arousal. Adam put a beefy arm on the dash of his car and started typing into the gps, stopping at an intersection .

“Where was it you said you wanted to be dropped off again sir?”

David rattled off his address, trying to hide the growing… excitement that was beginning to show In his crotch. The new Adam glanced down and smirked at David, but continued driving. David smiled, reviewing Adams profile again.

“ So what do you have going on in your life… Adam right?” David asked, trying for conversation with his previous boss.

“We’ll I’m just chilling at the university right now…” Adam said with a dull laugh, “spending a lot of time at the gym and with the boys right now.”

David nodded absentmindedly, sliding Adams sexuality to nearly 100 Percent gay. Just to see what would happen. He slid the Libido curser to high and glanced back up at Adam. A distracted look now plastered on his face, one hand on the wheel, one hand now migrating down to his shorts.

“… and you know… spending time… with the boys.”

David could barely contain his excitement as the two pulled up to his house. Adam threw the vehicle in park and shifted his Adonis frame in his seat to face David.

“Hey man, don’t even worry about the ride today, it was nice meeting you. I’ll void the bill In the app.” He said with a smile. David met his gaze and blushed. Oh my god, was he flexing?

“Oh that’s really too nice of you man, there’s really no need.” David stuttered

Adam smiled and bit his lip, he hopped out of the car to get David’s door.

“No I insist. I Really enjoyed being your driver today.”

David stepped out of the car, amazed by what he had been able to do to his friend. The new Adam held out his hand for a solid high five. He winked and said,

“Message me if you ever need a ride again bro.” With that, he strutted back to his car, then got in and sped down the road - blasting music.

David stood on the edge of the driveway. Clutching his lap top and trying to calm himself. He began to stride into his house, weighing his options. People had warned him, that the chronivacs power could really go to your head if you didn’t have a handle on it. He unlocked the door and paced into his living room. David hadn’t thought much about it, but man had he really surprised himself. In the space of 1 hour he had changed his boss into a horny college himbo without so much as a blink.

He through himself onto the couch and started up at the ceiling. David smiled, thinking of the limitless possibilities that now awaited him. He could literally become whatever he wanted to. Could change the world in whatever way he wanted. The possibilities were so endless p, he had no idea what to do.

After a moment of watching the rotating fan David grinned. He didn’t know all the things he wanted to change, but he did know what he wanted right now. He pulled his laptop back up and fired up the chronivac. Adams profile still displayed on screen. David clicked into Adams relationship status and began clicking around. It took a second to find the option, “willing to sleep with any man.” But David aggressively slammed the enter button and pulled out his phone, finding an Uber text string with the new Adam.

“Thanks again for the free ride today man. Was wondering if you wanted to ride anything else tonight? 😘🍆”

He waited breathlessly for a moment before three dots appeared on his screen, and then a message. Apparently a picture the new Adam had taken at the gym.

“on my way back big guy”

David slammed his laptop closed and ran to change into some more relaxed clothes. That was enough messing with the chronivac for the day. It was amazing what a horny stud he had been able to change his boss into. And ridiculous how quickly David had fallen for him.

David wrestled with his tie and glanced out the bedroom window as a car raced up. The new and improved Adam jumped out and started sauntering towards the door, already removing his shirt. David could only stares as he felt himself begin to go hard. He and Adam were going to have a lot of fun tonight.

#male transformation #reality change #jock tf #male tf #muscle #chronivac #dumbing down #tf story #age regression #inanimate tf #straight to gay

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savvyhrms025 · 7 days ago

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Every month's tension ends - when payroll software takes over the responsibility of salary

Now salary calculations do not become a headache

It is very important to pay the employees on time and correctly in any office. But when things like holidays, overtime, tax deductions, bonuses are added, then this work becomes very complicated. Employees may become irate over even a minor error.. In such a situation, payroll software becomes a silent working companion, which makes the whole process easy without any mistakes.

Get rid of mistakes

When we prepare salaries manually, small mistakes are bound to happen. Sometimes overtime is not added, and other times more tax is subtracted. In such a situation, employees start questioning and trust starts wavering. But payroll software keeps a complete record of everything, that too without any error.

Rules and regulations are also followed

Every few months, some new tax rule or employee law changes. It is not easy to understand and implement it correctly. But payroll software automatically updates itself as per the new rules and keeps you worry-free.

Saves time and effort

Imagine, a task that used to take hours earlier can now be completed in a few minutes. No more long Excel sheets, no more worrying about the calculator. Payroll software saves your valuable time and lets you use it for other important tasks.

Employees stay happy too

Everyone wants to get their salary slip or leave details without any hassle. Payroll software lets employees view everything on their own portal. This increases transparency and trust.

Conclusion

Every office wants its team to be happy and work to run smoothly. Payroll software is a strong step in this direction. It not only makes work easier, but also improves the office environment – and in the end, that is what matters most.

#best payroll software #smart pay software

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savvyhrms8 · 12 days ago

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Best Payroll Software in India: Salary Management Made Easy

While working in any office or company, one thing is most important – getting a salary on time and correctly. But imagine how much hassle it can be if the monthly salary calculation, tax deduction, and report making is done manually. This is where payroll software helps – a tool that makes the whole job accurate and easy.

Calculation of salary without errors

The biggest advantage of payroll software is that it automatically adds and subtracts all the figures. How many days worked, how much tax will be deducted, how much PF will go – it calculates everything automatically. This neither leads to errors nor there is a need to check again and again.

No tension of legal rules

There are many rules related to salary in our country – sometimes PF updates, sometimes new income tax rules. A good payroll software understands all this in advance and updates itself as soon as the rules change. This saves you from getting into any trouble.

Employees' trust remains intact

Imagine how an employee would feel if the salary comes on time every month and the salary slip is available in one click? Obviously, it would feel good. This trust and transparency is the hallmark of a good company, and payroll software is very useful in maintaining this trust.

Making reports also becomes easy

Payroll does not just work to pay salaries, but it also makes the entire reporting easy. Monthly expenses, tax calculation, and what to pay – everything is clearly visible in one place, which also makes decision making easy.

Conclusion

In today's fast-paced world, no one wants to work in the old way. Payroll software is such a solution that takes care of all the work related to salary in a jiffy. No hassle, no mistake – just accurate and timely work. This is the reason why every company has started adopting it now.

#smart payroll software #smart pay system

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pennyblossom-meta · 1 month ago

Note

Do you believe L would prefer to be with someone who is smart academic wise or some other brainy smart or would he not mind someone who is “average” but has something outside of academics they may excel at? (history, cooking, art, baking, sports etc)

Hi there anon! Thanks for question. I've actually theorised about this exact topic a couple of times before, and I might actually have an unorthodox opinion about it. But before I start my analysis, I would like to refer you to a few metas that I personally find extremely compelling and which have also shaped my view of L.

Toxic love, by @lunalit-river

An analysis on L's monster speech by lux-mea-lex (lots of great metas in their livejournal)

A short interpretation of the monster speech by @lawlightautismtruther (also check the debate on that one, it's very interesting to see the different opinions across the fandom)

How L and Light judge each other and other people

Just about most of @my-one-true-l 's metas about L, like this one and this one about L's flaws.

@43501 has a great meta about L in a relationship which I agree with wholeheartedly.

Apologies in advance for the length in this rant of mine. I like to analyse L from different angles, as you might've guessed 😛

Short answer:

I think L would appreciate someone who makes an effort to meet him where he's at and accepts him for who he is. Someone he can have a conversation with, but is ultimately kind and trustworthy. These two qualities would be to L like a lifeline, because it's something he's missing on an intimate level. While Watari is loyal to him and cares about his well being, these are different types of relationships.

>>>>>Long answer under the cut

So, one of the things I find that helps me when looking at L from this romantic perspective is to search for clues across canon (manga, anime) and the expanded universe (L:CtW, LA:BB, drama, Spiraling Trap, etc) that explain what's going on in his head and, most importantly, what makes him interested in people.

As per your question:

Let's approach this in two parts. If we were analysing this from a relationship POV, whether romantic or platonic, I can see two major interpretations:

(Chapter 20: First move) Here's a screenshot of L losing a tennis match to Light. Makes him less daunting, doesn't it? To know even L can lose at not-so-mundane-but-still-quite-normal things he's supposed to be great at.

01: The intellectual allure vs a supportive SO

There's oceans of difference between being a genius and someone who can give L support and companionship, despite not speaking the same "language". This would not be too dissimilar to couples with wildly different career paths (ex: a nurse and a software developer) who meet halfway and actively choose to understand each other. It has to do with common goals and values, your life project together.

Love is something you choose every day. Staying in a long-term relationship is choosing to be vulnerable and to share your life with someone you find kinship with. Unorthodox L may be, but as Fu Takahashi (who plays L in the 2020 musical) said:

(...) despite his superficial image as a smart guy who hates losing, he actually feels lonely and needs affection, I imagine (...) He tries to control his emotions, like the feelings towards his parents, or romantic feelings; that’s why he is sort of dependent on games or battles of the mind.

The above quote is super important, in my opinion, considering how difficult it is to pin down L's true personality. If we go by Spiraling Trap terms, he falls for a main character who pays attention to his (dessert) needs and makes him feel 'seen'. Taken cared of. Someone who is genuinely kind to him and wants to do him a good turn because they care about him. We can extrapolate that this is, perhaps, due to his isolationist tendencies and lack of meaningful contact with the sort who take time to want to know the true L and what he likes. To that kind of person, L isn't just the world's greatest detective or a machine, lacking human emotion --- that person acknowledges that he has feelings, likes and dislikes, and isn't malicious towards him.

Consider that L lies a lot. He'd lie twice saying "good morning" if it suited him, which makes for an unhealthy dynamic. However, for those he truly cares about, I believe he would be far more careful to safeguard the few genuine connections he has in life and thus try to curb some bad behaviours to the best of his ability.

I believe @43501 put it best when they mentioned how L would prefer an [educated, clever partner] but that he'd be drawn to people who are [interesting and offbeat]. I would argue this doesn't mean a double PhD level of intelligence, but rather someone who is curious about the world, who talks to him like an equal (i.e., not as if he's superior or inferior to them). There would need to be something to that person that made them unique to L --- but uniqueness in the context of someone who suppresses their emotions so strongly, and would find themselves to be starving for affection once they found that source of comfort and support, I believe that uniqueness could be kindness.

Accept the man despite his quirks and flaws, in all his intensity, and I believe it would be impossible for L to be indifferent to that kind of genuine devotion. After all, he's been without all his life and likely never thought he'd find it. It's possible that, in his loneliness, a part of him even thought himself to be above such things, but what a tumble it would be, for L to find that he's a man dying of thirst.

...

Now, in manga canon (and throughout the source material closest to it), L and Light find a degree of interest in each other for how similar they are in intellect. This creates a connection, even respect between the two, allowing them to see beyond each other's mask. It's thrilling, a cat and mouse game which they arguably become addicted to. Once L dies, Light even muses how Near is lacking by comparison, undeserving.

However, if we go by what V13:HTR says regarding their relationship, then L does think quite poorly of Light beyond their matching intellect. This is more or less explicit in a couple of scenes in the manga and anime where L muses about how much Light talks, how cheesy he is with his faux morality, putting up an act.

No matter L's interest in the game with Light, he doesn't trust him. Trust is paramount to build a healthy relationship. Theirs would be a toxic, petty relationship standing on foundations of distrust, and a thirst for constant competition.

From this perspective, L arguably wouldn't be in love, but stuck in an addictive powerplay. Very engaging to read about; certainly challenging (and interesting!) to write — but not so good to live through. The best case scenario I can see for such a relationship would be something like the series Vicious with Sir Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi, in which they settle into a constant clash of snark.

I talk here about the prospect of L being 'out of balance' emotionally, which makes him dive into games of the mind to distract himself from his burdens.

02. Appreciation for another type of individual, the average...Sam?

(Chapter 21: Duplicity) Added this one here because this exchange always makes me chuckle.

I'd like to focus on the 2015 drama to establish a parallel with this 'average' Sam concept.

In this adaptation, Light is far more 'normal' than in any other. He diverges from his original canon self in various ways, though the most interesting for me was how the drama tried to show what Light, as a regular young adult, could be if he wasn't an extreme genius, a perfect guy in the eyes of society --- and how this shift would contrast with L.

Drama Light:

Goes to concerts

Is a fanboy

Is clumsy

Gets bullied

He's not the perfect guy with an immaculate reputation. It brings him further down to the ground, like us common mortals.

Both L and Light found solace and appreciation in the differences of their mindset. A more 'average' Light still managed to connect with L, leading to this scene:

If we consider the drama and then extrapolate a few conclusions from these interactions, we can argue that an 'average' but grounding presence in L's life would do him good. An uber genius might be able to follow L's thought process more easily, but they can still become an issue or more easily turn on him for the intellectual competition and to surpass the world's greatest detective.

...

TLDR; I would argue that an average individual would still be a perfect match for L, perhaps far more than an incredible genius. L would value kindness and care far more than super intellect, especially if he was on the receiving end of this kind of genuine connection.

#death note #l lawliet #death note meta #light yagami #watari #l lawliet x oc #l lawliet x reader #l lawliet meta #anon ask

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why-the-heck-not · 11 months ago

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it's the year 2037 and a new month is ahead of you!! Time to spend 90% of ur paycheck today for all the subscription services that are pretty much necessary now (Your bank takes "payment fee" out of everything bill u pay, so u gotta pay some bucks extra for each) !! Your grocery store has a membership card that u have to pay for, if you want to even get inside. No way to get any movies/tv-shows/music without streaming services. The appliances in ur home are subscription-based usage fee (under the guise of "well, the software updates, u gotta pay and also have no option to opt out"), and most of the things you own, you basically just rent & never have the chance of ever paying enough to actually own them. You missed a payment and ur smart-fridge stopped working. You're trying to find a not-smart, non-AI fridge, but those are super expensive, and only for the rich who claim moral superiority over regular ppl bc "they don't use any of that brain-rotting AI-technology". You're trying to choose whether to use your coffee machine or your microwave for the month bc you can't afford to pay for both of those subscription fees this month. You've already used your monthly picture limit in your phone, and would have to update your subscription package for a more expensive one, if you wanted to take more

#hello im stressed and annoyed today #july 2024 #2024

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mostlysignssomeportents · 11 months ago

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Why is this Canadian university scared of you seeing its Privacy Impact Assessment?

I'm coming to DEFCON! On Aug 9, I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On Aug 10, I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

Barbra Streisand is famous for many things: her exciting performances on the big screen, the small screen, and the stage; her Grammy-winning career as a musician (she's a certified EGOT!); and for all the times she's had to correct people who've added an extra vowel to the spelling of her first name (I can relate!).

But a thousand years from now, her legacy is likely to be linguistic, rather than artistic. The "Streisand Effect" – coined by Mike Masnick – describes what happens when someone tries to suppress a piece of information, only to have that act of attempted suppression backfire by inciting vastly more interest in the subject:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

The term dates to 2003, when Streisand sued the website Pictopia and its proprietors for $50m for reproducing an image from the publicly available California Coastal Records Project (which produces a timeseries of photos of the California coastline in order to track coastal erosion). The image ("Image 3850") incidentally captured the roofs of Streisand's rather amazing coastal compound, which upset Streisand.

But here's the thing: before Streisand's lawsuit, Image 3850 had only been viewed six times. After she filed the case, another 420,000 people downloaded that image. Not only did Streisand lose her suit (disastrously so – she was ordered to pay the defendants' lawyers $177,000 in fees), but she catastrophically failed in her goal of keeping this boring, obscure photo from being seen:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

Streisand has since called the suit "a mistake." On the one hand, that is very obviously true, but on the other hand, it's still admirable, given how many other failed litigants went to their graves insisting that their foolish and expensive legal gambit was, in fact, very smart and we are all very stupid for failing to understand that.

Which brings me to Ian Linkletter and the Canadian Privacy Library. Linkletter is the librarian and founder of the nonprofit Canadian Privacy Library, a newish online library that collects and organizes privacy-related documents from Canadian public institutions. Linkletter kicked off the project with the goal of collecting the Privacy Impact Assessments from every public university in Canada, starting in his home province of BC.

These PIAs are a legal requirement whenever a public university procures a piece of software, and they're no joke. Ed-tech vendors are pretty goddamned cavalier when it comes to student privacy, as Linkletter knows well. Back in 2020, Linkletter was an ed-tech specialist for the University of British Columbia, where he was called upon to assess Proctorio, a "remote invigilation" tool that monitored remote students while they sat exams.

This is a nightmare category of software, a mix of high-tech phrenology (vendors claim that they can tell when students are cheating by using "AI" to analyze their faces); arrogant techno-sadism (vendors requires students – including those sharing one-room apartments with "essential worker" parents on night shifts who sleep during the day – to pan their cameras around to prove that they are alone); digital racism (products are so bad at recognizing Black faces that some students have had to sit exams with multiple task-lights shining directly onto their faces); and bullshit (vendors routinely lie about their tools' capabilities and efficacy).

Worst: remote invigilation is grounded in the pedagogically bankrupt idea that learning is best (or even plausibly) assessed through high-stakes testing. The kind of person who wants to use these tools generally has no idea how learning works and thinks of students as presumptively guilty cheats. They monitor test-taking students in realtime, and have been known to jiggle test-takers' cursors impatiently when students think too long about their answers. Remote invigilation also captures the eye-movements of test-takers, flagging people who look away from the screen while thinking for potential cheating. No wonder that many students who sit exams under these conditions find themselves so anxious that they vomit or experience diarrhea, carefully staring directly into the camera as they shit themselves or vomit down their shirts, lest they be penalized for looking away or visiting the toilet.

Linkletter quickly realized that Proctorio is a worst-in-class example of a dreadful category. The public-facing materials the company provided about its products were flatly contradicted by the materials they provided to educators, where all the really nasty stuff was buried. The company – whose business exploded during the covid lockdowns – is helmed by CEO Mike Olsen, a nasty piece of work who once doxed a child who criticized him in an online forum:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/01/bossware/#moral-exemplar

Proctorio's products are shrouded in secrecy. In 2020, for reasons never explained, all the (terrible, outraged) reviews of its browser plugin disappeared from the Chrome store:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/04/hypervigilance/#radical-transparency

Linkletter tweeted his alarming findings, publishing links to the unlisted, but publicly available Youtube videos where Proctorio explained how its products really worked. Proctorio then sued Linkletter, for copyright infringement.

Proctorio's argument is that by linking to materials that they published on Youtube with permissions that let anyone with the link see them, Linkletter infringed upon their copyright. When Linkletter discovered that these videos already had publicly available links, indexed by Google, in the documentation produced by other Proctorio customers for students and teachers, Proctorio doubled down and argued that by collecting these publicly available links to publicly available videos, Linkletter had still somehow infringed on their copyright.

Luckily for Linkletter, BC has an anti-SLAPP law that is supposed to protect whistleblowers facing legal retaliation for publishing protected speech related to matters of public interest (like whether BC's flagship university has bought a defective and harmful product that its students will be forced to use). Unluckily for Linkletter, the law is brand new, lacks jurisprudence, and the courts have decided that he can't use a SLAPP defense and his case must go to trial:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/20/links-arent-performances/#free-ian-linkletter

Linkletter could have let that experience frighten him away from the kind of principled advocacy that riles up deep-pocketed, thin-skinned bullies. Instead, he doubled down, founding the Canadian Privacy Library, with the goal of using Freedom of Information requests to catalog all of Canada's post-secondary institutions' privacy assessments. Given how many bodies he found buried in Proctorio's back yard, this feels like the kind of thing that should be made more visible to Canadians.

There are 25 public universities in BC, and Linkletter FOI'ed them all. Eleven provided their PIAs. Eight sent him an estimate of what it would cost them (and thus what they would charge) to assemble these docs for him. Six requested extensions.

One of them threatened to sue.

Langara College is a 19,000-student spinout of Vancouver Community College whose motto is Eruditio Libertas Est ("Knowledge is Freedom"). Linkletter got their 2019 PIA for Microsoft's Office 365 when he FOI'ed the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (universities often recycle one another's privacy impact assessments, which is fine).

That's where the trouble started. In June, Langara sent Linkletter a letter demanding that he remove their Office 365 PIA; the letter CC'ed two partners in a law firm, and accused Linkletter of copyright infringement. But that's not how copyright – or public records – work. As Linkletter writes, the PIA is "a public record lawfully obtained through an FOI request" – it is neither exempted from disclosure, nor is it confidential:

https://www.privacylibrary.ca/legal-threat/

Langara claims that in making their mandatory Privacy Impact Assessment for Office 365 available, Linkletter has exposed them to "heightened risks of data breaches and privacy incidents," they provided no evidence to support this assertion.

I think they're full of shit, but you don't have to take my word for it. After initially removing the PIA, Linkletter restored it, and you can read it for yourself:

https://www.privacylibrary.ca/langara-college-privacy-impact-assessments/

I read it. It is pretty goddamned anodyne – about as exciting as looking at the roof of Barbra Streisand's mansion.

Sometimes, where there's smoke, there's only Streisand – a person who has foolishly decided to use the law to bully a weaker stranger out of disclosing some innocuous and publicly available fact about themselves. But sometimes, where there's smoke, there's fire. A lot of people who read my work are much more familiar with ed-tech, privacy, and pedagogy than I am. If that's you, maybe you want to peruse the Langara PIA to see if they are hiding something because they're exposing their students to privacy risks and don't want that fact to get out.

There are plenty of potential privacy risks in Office 365! The cloud version of Microsoft Office contains a "bossware" mode that allows bosses to monitor their workers' keystrokes for spelling, content, and accuracy, and produce neat charts of which employees are least "productive." The joke's on the boss, though: Office 365 also has a tool that lets you compare your department's usage of Office 365 to your competitors, which is another way of saying that Microsoft is gathering your trade secrets and handing it out to your direct competitors:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

So, yeah, there are lots of "features" in Office 365 that could give rise to privacy threats when it is used at a university. One hopes that Langara correctly assessed these risks and accounted for them in its PIA, which would mean that they are bullying Linkletter out of reflex, rather than to cover up wrongdoing. But there's only one way to find out: go through the doc that Linkletter has restored to public view.

Linkletter has excellent pro bono representation from Norton Rose Fulbright, a large and powerful law-firm that is handling his Proctorio case. Linkletter writes, "they have put this public college on notice that any proceeding is liable to be dismissed pursuant to the Protection of Public Participation Act, BC’s anti-SLAPP legislation."

Langara has now found themselves at the bottom of a hole, and if they're smart, they'll stop digging.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/01/eruditio-libertas-est/#streisand-v-linkletter

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

Langara College (modified) https://langara.ca/

Fair use (parody) https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1104

Fair dealing (parody) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1468015

#pluralistic #streisand effect #privacy impact assessment #canada #ian linkletter #Canadian Privacy Library #canpoli #foi #pia #Langara College #libraries #glam #Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act #fippa #slapp #anti-slapp #langara college #bullies

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maddie-dog-story-blog · 7 months ago

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The Baby Doctor

Reposting this because it seems to have disappeared from this blog for some reason! Enjoy!

This wasn't supposed to happen! She was never supposed to be here. She was a smart, intelligent, capable woman. She had graduated from medical school for God's sake. But, she had pissed off the wrong nurse. Now, here she was, helplessly her diapers for the entertainment of the whole labor and delivery night shift.

It has been the third week of Dr. Bun's residency. She was on the tail end of a horrendous on-call shift. She was working through her charts and, in her delirium, got sloppy in her attention to detail. She accidentally ordered that one of her patients should be given a deadly amount of pain killers to deal with post-delivery pain.

Luckily for her patient, the doctor supervising the young doctor did not trust her yet. He caught her mistake, fixed it, then tracked down Dr. Bun to give her some aggressive constructive criticism. That's where Dr. Bun fucked up.

Rather then owning her mistake and promising to do better, Dr. Bun deflected the blame onto the nursing staff. Specifically, she alleged the nurse treating the patient, Nurse Angela, must have got in the system and messed up the order. Dr. Bun's supervisor was skeptical, but chose to trust his newest charge. He let the resident off with a warning and went to give the nurse a piece of his mind.

Unfortunately for Dr. Bun, the software the hospital used to treat patients kept careful record of precisely who made what orders. Fortunately for the girl, however, her supervisor had no idea that software has that capability. Nurse Angela, in the other hand, was very aware of it.

A couple of days later, when Dr. Bun was back in the hospital changing into her scrubs for the shift, Nurse Angela walked into the room holding two things--a print out from the record keeping software pinning the deadly medication order on Dr. Bun and a bulky, white adult diaper.

"Dr. Bun, I have a bone to pick with you. You pinned a potentially deadly mistake on me when, both you and I know I had nothing to do with it," Nurse Angela said. "That sort of dishonest, manipulative behavior is something I'd expect from a naughty toddler, not a doctor."

Dr. Bun began to feel upset at being challenged so directly by a person she considered beneath her.

"I didn't lie! You must have screwed up my orders, nurse," Dr. Bun, spitting out the word nurse as if it was the worst epithet imaginable.

Nurse Angela just calming walked up to the young, arrogant doctor and handed her the print out of the record confirming Dr. Bun's mistake.

"That is not what this says. Did you know dishonesty is a fireable offense at this hospital? One that the hospital reports to the medical board as well as any future employers?" Nurse Angela asked rhetorically. The older nurse smiled as the young woman's face dropped.

"I… uh… I'm so sorry! I'll do anything to make this up to you! Anything, just, please, don't tell anyone!" The resident pleaded.

The nurse's grin widened, becoming predatory. She motioned with the white, fluffy object in her other hand.

"Well, like I said Doctor, you've been acting more like a toddler than the responsible adult you are supposed to be. I think you need a reminder of that at all times from now on. Until I decide otherwise, if you want to keep your job here, you will wear and use one of these at all times when you are at work. The hospital's bathrooms are off limits to you, and, like the naughty toddler you are, you are not allowed to change yourself. If you want your wet or messy butt changed, you will have to track down one of the nurses in my labor and delivery unit and convince them to change you, understood?"

The young woman had no idea how to respond to that. Her eyes darted between the document in her hand and the bulky adult diaper being held by the nurse. Thoughts of being fired and her career being ruined darted through her head. She couldn't afford to pay back her student loans if she wasn't working as a doctor.

Backed into a corner, Dr. Bun did the only thing she could. She accepted Nurse Angela's offer.

Dr. Bun immediately found herself changed into the first of what would be many diapers by the nurse in the locker room. The next few weeks were full of humiliation and torment for the doctor as she adjusted to her knew position as the nursing units pet toddler, but, eventually her work days fell into a comfortable pattern.

She would use the restroom just prior to leaving work to minimize the risk of messy 'accidents.' She'd report to work where one of the nurses would help her get dressed for her shift. Then, she would proceed with her day as normal, seeking out a nurse for a change when she felt her diaper get too full.

Yes, it was humiliating to have the waistband of her scrubs pulled back or her crotch squeezed by another woman to have her diaper checked. Yes, it sucked laying on a locker room bench while her ass was wiped by someone she considered her subordinate. However, the human mind was resilient and could get used to anything once it happened enough.

Plus, her new situation has some benefits. She was getting praised by her supervisors for how well she worked with the nursing staff. Plus, not having to run to the bathroom all the time gave her more freedom to care for her patients. After a month as the hospital's diapered doctor, Dr. Bun would actually describe things as going well.

Nurse Angela was happy to see Dr. Bun's turn around, but noticed she was starting to get cocky again. The positive reviews from her supervisors lead her to once again become increasingly condescending towards the nursing staff. So, to remind the young doctor of her position, the nurse made Dr. Bun another offer she couldn't refuse.

That's how the young, professional woman with a medical degree found herself here. Nurse Angela has thrown a special, team building party at her home for all of her fellow labor and delivery nurses. The young doctor was also invited as entertainment.

When Dr. Bun arrived, she was stripped of her adult clothes. She was diapered, put in an childish shirt with padded mittens, and had a pacifier slipped in her mouth. She was instructed she was nothing more than a baby for the evening, not allowed to speak, walk, or care for herself in anyway. Worst of all, a suppository was shoved up her cute little bottom.

A baby blanket was laid in the middle of Nurse Angela's living room and she was instructed to stay on it. As her co-workers arrived and began to surround her, cooing at her like she was an actual baby, the babified doctor's stomach began to rumble and cramp. Once the last guest arrived, she couldn't take it anymore. Tears of embarrassment running down her face, Dr. Bun got onto all fours, sticking her diapered ass into the air as a wet fart escaped her butt cheeks.

Nurse Angela looked down and smiled. She drew everyone's attention to the scene. "Look everyone, I think the baby's about to make a stinky for us!"

Dr. Bun's coworkers laughed as they watched her lose control. Closing her eyes and grunting loudly, Dr. Bun pushed out a huge load of crap into her bulky diaper. She closed her eyes as she did it, pretending she was anywhere but here. While she had messed herself before, and many of these women had in fact changed one of her messy diapers, it had never been so public and so humiliated. The nurses cheered the doctor on as she debased herself like an infant for enjoyment.

When the doctor was finished, Nurse Angela beant down and whispered in her ear. "Remember doctor, no matter how good you are at your job or how many accolades you receive, to us, you will never be more than a stupid, untrustworthy little baby. Now sit in your mess and play with your toys. It's going to be a long night."

Dr. Bun could only do as she was told, suck on her pacifier and cry as she came to terms with the fact that she'd be these nurses plaything for the rest of her life.

#The baby doctor #ab/dl kink #ab/dl story time #ab/dl diaper #diaper stories #ab/dl caption #diaper regression #humiliation kink #ab/dl babygirl #ab/dl mommy #cg/l little #cg/l kink

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undercvrfan444 · 5 months ago

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Warnings! stalking, AFAB, creep satoru behavior, knifes, drugging, kidnapping kinda, manipulation, 18+ mentioned

WC - 3k (light work)

An - So I kinda hate this but it’s my first time ever writing something like this so be kind!

Two weeks. That’s how long it had been since you’d had your encounter with Satoru. The man’s words occupied your mind like flies stuck in a honey trap.

Life after meeting Satoru and embarrassing yourself to high heavens had started to look up. Business was successful as ever, your wounds were healing beautifully, it felt as though everything was going your way!

As a matter of fact, your business has had so much growth that you’d be forced to close shop after being open for a few hours from simply not being able to keep up with orders. People seemed to flood into your bakery like never before but you just blamed it on having awesome food of course.

Another perfect example, would be how creepy men that used to harass you ceased to exist! It was strange undoubtedly how blessings were coming into your life left and right, but who were you to question things.

With the strange timing of it all you had taken advantage of the positivity. Why not allow yourself to feel safe. Possibly a little…too safe.

Things you used to worry about no longer occupied your mind. You stopped paying attention to sketchy cars, dangerous parts of town, and you even fell asleep at night with your front door unlocked.

While you reveled in the blissful peace of being secure, Satoru on the other hand was Enraged. Yes. He loved seeing his dove prance around feeling safe and benefiting from all the work he does behind the scenes, having said that it angered him at how gullible you were. Just because a few things in your life go good you decide to give up on basic instincts? Oh Dove, don’t you know that’s how pretty girls like you get taken advantage of? Women are kidnapped and killed daily because of the same things you do, it’s only a matter of time until a pretty bird like you would learn from your mistakes.

He couldn’t truly be angry with his beautiful bird, because after all he is the one that decided to spoil you this way. It was just hard to watch his bird stretch her wings and fly without worrying about the world around her.

He’d just have to teach you a lesson.

Thankfully for Satoru, he’d been smart and installed a software bug on your phone that would send all of your information to his computer. All your texts, social media posts, and even the intimate photos you banished to your hidden folder were sent straight into his hands.

His favorite thing, however, was the beautifully hidden cameras littered all over your little house. In your kitchen, bedroom, laundry room, and all over your precious bakery. He might be fucked in the head but he’d at least allow you some privacy in the bathroom.

When Satoru wasn’t torturing some poor jockey that was sent by another group, or doing god knows what sick shit his job called for, the man was watching you.

For him it was like a tv show. Multiple monitor screens filled a room with live video footage of your house like a personal movie room. He would sit for hours in this room just listening to your sweet voice talk to yourself about whatever was relevant that day.

You had mentioned a few days ago to one of your girlfriends, that you were going to town today to take some well deserved time off. You’d been working so hard lately you felt like it wouldn’t hurt to spend some money on things you’ve been putting off.

Finally arriving at your destination, a bustling and busy strip mall that offered nothing but the best fashion brands the modern world had to offer, you parked your car towards the back of lot. Slinging your purse over your shoulder and locking your car before entering the commotion.

After shopping for a few hours, you left a boutique with a small bag hanging from your wrist. A collection of bags all shapes and sizes bit into the soft skin of your arms leaving sensitive lines in their wake.

Both energy and money running low, you make your way to the parking area. Satoru clicks his tongue as he watches you with your headphones in, ignoring your surroundings. Inevitably sealing your own fate. He would definitely be having a nice firm talking with his sweet girl about her silly behavior. A black SUV turns into the parking lot pulling up right beside you. Quickly a man in all black steps out from the car, clamping a hand over your mouth with a small towel that takes your breath the moment you inhale the chemicals laced through the fabric.

You struggle for a few seconds before your eyes roll back in your head and your body goes limp. The brutish man is gentle with your body as he climbs back into the car and they speed off. While Satoru wanted to scare you, he didn’t want any men other than him to rough you up and ruin those tender features of yours. He hated having to treat his sweet baby so harshly, but he couldn’t ignore how childish you’ve become over that past few weeks. Why couldn’t you be a good girl for your ‘Toru so he didn’t have to scare you?

Once the car made it back to the mansion you’d previously visited, Satoru wasted no time in bringing you down a few levels to a secluded area in his house. He knew no matter what you wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon because he himself infused the chemicals with the rag. While you slept softly in his arms, Satoru laid your body on a large table that sat in the middle of a cold room. Normally places like these would be reserved specially for stupid men that thought it a good idea to meddle in things they had no business in.

Right now, however, he needed to make your kidnapping a little more convincing. Satoru knew he should be ashamed of himself for finding pleasure in tying you up. However…He knew how satisfying it would feel when you eventually come running back to his arms willfully. “I just don’t know what happend!” The older male could envision is all in his head.

“Satoru please, im so scared.”

“Satoru look at what they did to me!”

“Satoru thank you for saving me.”

A small blade pierced your skin with every racing thought in Satoru’s mind. The scarlet liquid that poured from your small cuts rolled down your legs caused the hair on Satoru’s arms to stand. After years of inflicting wounds on others, Satoru knew he would only lightly graze the outer layer of your supple skin, barely enough to leave a scar. His sweet dove could be tattered and beaten and Satoru would still get turned on. If you would have been smart and paid attention this never would’ve happened.

Knowing your body was his and his alone to do whatever he wanted with in the fragile state was thrilling. While Satoru would never overstep any boundaries, he sure as hell will enjoy pushing them to their limits.

Once Satoru finished roughing your skin with cuts and bruises he washed the knife off in an alcohol bath and discarded it somewhere on a countertop. With his work being done and you waking up soon he had to make sure to get you someplace to allow your kidnapping to look real.

It was easy to find some damp sketchy abandoned house to leave your sleeping body in. Beforehand the entire building had been swept and cleared of any threats so honestly you would be just fine. It wasn’t like Satoru would be very far away either.

The cold flood bit into your achy body as your eyelashes fluttered open. A strong stabbing pain radiated all through your head from where you’d hit it a few weeks ago. Looking around at your surroundings anxiety settled deep within your bones, where are you?

Very slowly you slid up to somewhat of a sitting position rummaging for your phone. A few feet away your cracked screen shined from the moonlight seeping in through the busted windows. A shithole. Thats all you could describe this house as.

Crawling the best you could to your phone, you turned it on. You didn’t have much battery left but what you did have you were frugal with. Opening your contacts you swiped through the names of who could come to your rescue.

Your parents lived hours away and would ask more questions than you had answers to so they were out. Your friends were probably asleep or busy with something so you couldn’t call them either. Much to your dismay Satoru was the only person you had left to call. It didn’t feel right calling him so late at night seeing as he’s really still a stranger to you no matter how kind he was when you’d met him.

With a shaky sigh you let your fingers dial his number and put the phone close to your ear, worried about the glass planting in your skin.

*Ring!* *Ring!* *Ri-!*

“Hello?”

The sound of a familiar voice alone was a breath of fresh air. “S-Satoru,“

Your words faltered as you attempted to stay calm. How don you even explain this situation? Satoru’s gentle “Y/n? What is it sweetheart?” broke you from your silence.

Knowing nothing else than to just explain the situation, you fell into a ramble. “I went out e-earlier today, and while I was out I think some man grabbed me because now i’m in some s-sketchy building. My phone is about to die and i’m in so much pain ‘Toru.” Your rushed and frantic words came clear through the phone, that sickly twisted part of Satoru fed off the terror in your voice.

He was quiet for a moment before talking just listening to your sniffles. By the sound of your voice it was clear his plan was falling into place. If you wouldn’t learn from this lesson he had plenty more he could use to make you rethink your lack of awareness.

“Do you know where you are sweetheart?” The sound of movement filled the damp room as you peered through a window.

You groaned subconsciously at the pain that just seemed to increase the longer you were awake. “I…I don’t know.” you murmured.

“That’s alright, stay wherever you are and be quiet. Send me your location and i’ll come find you.” Seconds later the phone is hung up after you drop a pin and he promises to be fast. Of course Satoru already knew where you were but he couldn’t make it seem like he arrived too fast.

Trying to stay awake felt impossible, your eyelids grew heavy with exhaustion. Sitting against a wall, you let your eyes fall close and pull your legs to your chest trying to stay warm. It was horrifying to know at any second someone could walk in and you’d be at their mercy. Dried blood stained your legs and arms in various ways. It disgusted you to think of what demented people would kidnap you and dump your body in some strange area of the city.

The sound of tires pulling up outside is lost on your ears. Blood pumping and rushing in smothering waves is the only sound occupying your mind.

Two cold hands slide over your face, slender fingers reaching past your hairline so he can tilt your head back. “Y/n, wake up sweetheart.” Groggily you come too, the comforting smell of citrus and woodsy air greeting your nose. Satoru pats your cheek a few times to get your attention. Your eyes open slowly, the man in front of you a mere blur other than his large frame.

“Toru?” is all you mutter before you feel a warm fabric drape your shoulders. Satoru lays his jacket over the exposed skin of your body and scoops you into his arms. Your eyes land on his forearms watching as the muscles flex with each movement he makes. “Hello dove.” He coos down into your forehead, pressing a kiss into your skin.

Cool night air swallowed your body the moment you were taken out of the house. Instinctively you sink into the warm embrace keeping you steady.

——

Satoru prayed you couldn’t feel the harsh thumping of his heart as he brought you into the house.

He had barely sat you down in his bed before you were whimpering in protest. “Mm mm. I wan’ get c-clean.” Sleep was evident in your words by the way you slurred your words lazily.

A grin spread over the white haired man’s face when seeing how whiny you were. Seeing the way your arms stretched to find his body sent a warm sensation through his stomach. Your fingers intertwined with his so he could lift you into his arms once more. “Then let’s get you clean sweetheart.”

Your legs trembled when Satoru sat you down on the cool tile. While waiting for his return you let your eyes roam your body in the mirror, taking in your disheveled appearance.

Nasty red cuts and purple bruises littered your skin making you cringe.

All throughout your childhood and into your adult years you struggled with self confidence. It seems every woman at some point in her life suffers the same fate. To say the sight was nauseating would be a gross understatement, so why on Earth would a man like Satoru pay you any heed?

He comes from a world where money practically grows on trees all around. Aphrodite herself must have had a hand in creating Satoru with the way he commands attention with his icy blue eyes and sharp features. As corny as it all sounds you truly don’t understand what he saw in you.

You have spent your whole life rising step by step in this world. Killing yourself academically to still be below someone, opening a bakery you can confidently call your own, and working to love yourself more each and every day. So why when you stood next to him did it feel as though you’d never accomplished anything in your life?

Fat globs of warm liquid slide down your cheeks. The warm drops fall onto your sweater leaving small dots when they hit. Maybe it was the fact that today was so traumatic for you, or possibly you were going to start your cycles soon. But an overwhelming sense of despair gripped your heart with an iron fist.

The sound of the bathroom door being opened shook you out of your trance. “I grabbed you a towel and one of my shirts for you to sleep in, I hope you don’t mind but I also-“

Satoru stepped into the bathroom hesitantly while holding a stack of clothes. His brows furrowing when he sees your tears. “Sweetheart, what’s with the tears? I hate seeing that beautiful face so upset.”

Once more today those slender fingers cupped your face. Looking up at Satoru it feels as though every layer of your skin has been peeled back and your soul exposed.

Thick tears collected in your lashes. A burning sensation crept up the column of your throat making it hard to speak.

“I feel so stupid”

“What for, Dove?”

You scoff as a pang of embarrassment rises in your chest. “I’m so embarrassed ‘Toru. Both times i’ve been around you have been disasters. The first time I literally ran head first into you and made a fool of myself! Now, I call you at some odd time of night begging you to come whisk me away from some strange crack house.” The longer you talked the harder it was to keep your emotions at bay.

“Oh sweetheart, I-“ You cut him off by shaking your head, looking down and holding onto his fingers where they rest on your face.

“You want to know the worst part? This is all my fault! I-I’ve been letting myself be a little lenient on what I steer clear from. Normally I would have known not to cross the road without thinking, and I never would have kept my headphones in If I thought for a second there was someone behind me.” Tears streamed quicker than Satoru could wipe them away, and honestly the man enjoyed it. If a few hiccups in the road was all it took for you to be bent and broken in his hands for shaping then he’d do it all over again.

“And I look so ugly ‘Toru. My skin is all ripped up and caked with dirt. I swear i’m not always this helpless.”

“I promise you Dove, not a single part of you is ugly. As for being silly there’s not much I can do for you sweet girl. You’re going to have to start being aware, I’d hate for whoever took you to come back for more. ” Satoru’s eyes drank you in similarly to how he’d consume a top shelf whiskey.

Purring in your ear he presses a small kiss to your neck. “That being said: One call and i’m there. I’ll give you the world at your feet if you so wanted it.”

Kiss after kiss turns into small nips. Seeing Satoru bent over yo in the mirror felt like a wet dream come true, muscles shining through his tight undershirt as he made off with your clothes.

Ever so softly you push at his shoulders, gasping when he bites hard on the area below your ear. “Oops, my fault.” Is Satoru’s response, real cheeky.

Watching the man in the mirror, he stands and backs away from You. Blue eyes shattered any defenses You might have had up in an instant, a newfound intensity behind him.

“Get in the shower Dove. I’m gonna get ready for bed so come out whenever you’re finished in here.”

For a moment you’re locked in place, only nodding in response until the door is shut. You loose a breath that honestly you didn’t know you had been holding in. Burning red tinged your cheeks while you undressed hastily, throwing your clothes wherever you could and getting in the already running shower.

The warm water soothed your achy muscles euphorically. You grabbed the first soap you could find and washed your body off, needing the dingy feeling gone. Your hair was next and it took you no time to get in and out of the shower, finally feeling clean after hours of being overwhelmed. Wrapping a towel around your body you tried to ignore the blooming bruise Satoru left on your neck and the way your skin was inflamed at the thought. A small pile of clothes that consisted of an old shirt and boxers was all Satoru left you. How gentlemanly. No pants? Really? Not that you were complaining though because his shirt reached mid thigh on you and you’d be able to go home and get properly dressed the next day.

Steam rolled out of the bathroom as you opened the door into an overly large bedroom. A huge california king sized bed sits in the middle of the room with matching end tables on both side. There were various decorations around the room and it was evident that someone at least lived in here.

“‘Toru?” You timidly mumble. Scanning the room he was no where to be found so you let your body rest on top of the covers for a second. Exhaustion hit you like a freight train, subsequently you sunk beneath the covers. Silk sheets and a thick white comforter molded around your body lulling you to sleep. You couldn’t quite put your finger on what felt wrong about the whole kidnapping issue, but you would leave those thoughts for another day when you weren’t so tired and warm.

The bedroom door opens softly and Satoru walks in. It feels like that’s all he’s done today, open some door for you and simply rescue you from whatever situation you found yourself in.

“‘Toru, thank you for all your help today.” The quiet words were loud in Satoru’s ears. Oh yeah, he’s got you right where he wants you.

Setting a water bottle down on the nightstand closest to you, he climbs into bed beside you. Your hands reach out to find him, skin on skin. His shirt has been discarded somewhere and he wore a low slung pair of sweatpants. Precisely, as if he’d practiced the motions, Satoru pulled you into his side and nudged your head below his pressing a few small kisses to your head.

“Anything for you sweetheart, don’t forget that.”

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