#benefits of tech-enabled

[sirrista]

Tech-enabled Financial Services Solutions in Asia

As a leading provider of tech-enabled financial services solutions in Asia, Sirrista empowers financial institutions with comprehensive expertise, tailored solutions, cutting-edge technologies, seamless integration, regulatory compliance, and ongoing support. By partnering with us, financial institutions can navigate the complexities of digital transformation, achieve financial transformation, and deliver enhanced customer experiences.

[reasonsforhope]

Scientists have developed a new solar-powered system to convert saltwater into fresh drinking water which they say could help reduce dangerous the risk of waterborne diseases like cholera.

Via tests in rural communities, they showed that the process is more than 20% cheaper than traditional methods and can be deployed in rural locations around the globe.

Building on existing processes that convert saline groundwater to freshwater, the researchers from King’s College London, in collaboration with MIT and the Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energy Systems, created a new system that produced consistent levels of water using solar power, and reported it in a paper published recently in Nature Water.

It works through a process called electrodialysis which separates the salt using a set of specialized membranes that channel salt ions into a stream of brine, leaving the water fresh and drinkable. By flexibly adjusting the voltage and the rate at which salt water flowed through the system, the researchers developed a system that adjusts to variable sunshine while not compromising on the amount of fresh drinking water produced.

Using data first gathered in the village of Chelleru near Hyderabad in India, and then recreating these conditions of the village in New Mexico, the team successfully converted up to 10 cubic meters, or several bathtubs worth of fresh drinking water. This was enough for 3,000 people a day with the process continuing to run regardless of variable solar power caused by cloud coverage and rain.

[Note: Not sure what metric they're using to calculate daily water needs here. Presumably this is drinking water only.]

Dr. Wei He from the Department of Engineering at King’s College London believes the new technology could bring massive benefits to rural communities, not only increasing the supply of drinking water but also bringing health benefits.

“By offering a cheap, eco-friendly alternative that can be operated off the grid, our technology enables communities to tap into alternative water sources (such as deep aquifers or saline water) to address water scarcity and contamination in traditional water supplies,” said He.

“This technology can expand water sources available to communities beyond traditional ones and by providing water from uncontaminated saline sources, may help combat water scarcity or unexpected emergencies when conventional water supplies are disrupted, for example like the recent cholera outbreaks in Zambia.”

In the global rural population, 1.6 billion people face water scarcity, many of whom are reliant on stressed reserves of groundwater lying beneath the Earth’s surface.

However, worldwide 56% of groundwater is saline and unsuitable for consumption. This issue is particularly prevalent in India, where 60% of the land harbors undrinkable saline water. Consequently, there is a pressing need for efficient desalination methods to create fresh drinking water cheaply, and at scale.

Traditional desalination technology has relied either on costly batteries in off-grid systems or a grid system to supply the energy necessary to remove salt from the water. In developing countries’ rural areas, however, grid infrastructure can be unreliable and is largely reliant on fossil fuels...

“By removing the need for a grid system entirely and cutting reliance on battery tech by 92%, our system can provide reliable access to safe drinking water, entirely emission-free, onsite, and at a discount of roughly 22% to the people who need it compared to traditional methods,” He said.

The system also has the potential to be used outside of developing areas, particularly in agriculture where climate change is leading to unstable reserves of fresh water for irrigation.

The team plans to scale up the availability of the technology across India through collaboration with local partners. Beyond this, a team from MIT also plans to create a start-up to commercialize and fund the technology.

“While the US and UK have more stable, diversified grids than most countries, they still rely on fossil fuels. By removing fossil fuels from the equation for energy-hungry sectors like agriculture, we can help accelerate the transition to Net Zero,” He said.

-via Good News Network, April 2, 2024

[askablindperson]

In what way does alt text serve as an accessibility tool for blind people? Do you use text to speech? I'm having trouble imagining that. I suppose I'm in general not understanding how a blind person might use Tumblr, but I'm particularly interested in the function of alt text.

In short, yes. We use text to speech (among other access technology like braille displays) very frequently to navigate online spaces. Text to speech software specifically designed for blind people are called screen readers, and when use on computers, they enable us to navigate the entire interface using the keyboard instead of the mouse And hear everything on screen, as long as those things are accessible. The same applies for touchscreens on smart phones and tablets, just instead of using keyboard commands, it alters the way touch affect the screen so we hear what we touch before anything actually gets activated. That part is hard to explain via text, but you should be able to find many videos online of blind people demonstrating how they use their phones.

As you may be able to guess, images are not exactly going to be accessible for text to speech software. Blindness screen readers are getting better and better at incorporating OCR (optical character recognition) software to help pick up text in images, and rudimentary AI driven Image descriptions, but they are still nowhere near enough for us to get an accurate understanding of what is in an image the majority of the time without a human made description.

Now I’m not exactly a programmer so the terminology I use might get kind of wonky here, but when you use the alt text feature, the text you write as an image description effectively gets sort of embedded onto the image itself. That way, when a screen reader lands on that image, Instead of having to employ artificial intelligences to make mediocre guesses, it will read out exactly the text you wrote in the alt text section.

Not only that, but the majority of blind people are not completely blind, and usually still have at least some amount of residual vision. So there are many blind people who may not have access to a screen reader, but who may struggle to visually interpret what is in an image without being able to click the alt text button and read a description. Plus, it benefits folks with visual processing disorders as well, where their visual acuity might be fine, but their brain’s ability to interpret what they are seeing is not. Being able to click the alt text icon in the corner of an image and read a text description Can help that person better interpret what they are seeing in the image, too.

Granted, in most cases, typing out an image description in the body of the post instead of in the alt text section often works just as well, so that is also an option. But there are many other posts in my image descriptions tag that go over the pros and cons of that, so I won’t digress into it here.

Utilizing alt text or any kind of image description on all of your social media posts that contain images is single-handedly one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to directly help blind people, even if you don’t know any blind people, and even if you think no blind people would be following you. There are more of us than you might think, and we have just as many varied interests and hobbies and beliefs as everyone else, so where there are people, there will also be blind people. We don’t only hang out in spaces to talk exclusively about blindness, we also hang out in fashion Facebook groups and tech subreddits and political Twitter hashtags and gaming related discord servers and on and on and on. Even if you don’t think a blind person would follow you, You can’t know that for sure, and adding image descriptions is one of the most effective ways to accommodate us even if you don’t know we’re there.

I hope this helps give you a clearer understanding of just how important alt text and image descriptions as a whole are for blind accessibility, and how we make use of those tools when they are available.

[nasa]

For the Benefit of All: Assistive Tech Developed from NASA Tech

What do modern cochlear implants and robotic gloves have in common? They were derived from NASA technology. We’ve made it easier to find and use our patented inventions that could help create products that enhance life for people with disabilities.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which highlights the contributions of American workers with disabilities – many of whom use assistive technology on the job. Take a look at these assistive technologies that are NASA spinoffs.

Low-Vision Headsets

The Joint Optical Reflective Display (JORDY) device is a headset that uses NASA image processing and head-mounted display technology to enable people with low vision to read and write. JORDY enhances individuals’ remaining sight by magnifying objects up to 50 times and allowing them to change contrast, brightness, and display modes. JORDY's name was inspired by Geordi La Forge, a blind character from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” whose futuristic visor enabled him to see.

Cochlear Implants

Work that led to the modern cochlear implant was patented by a NASA engineer in the 1970s. Following three failed corrective surgeries, Adam Kissiah combined his NASA electronics know-how with research in the Kennedy Space Center technical library to build his own solution for people with severe-to-profound hearing loss who receive little or no benefit from hearing aids. Several companies now make the devices, which have been implanted in hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

Robotic Gloves

Ironhand, from Swedish company Bioservo Technologies, is the world’s first industrial-strength robotic glove for factory workers and others who perform repetitive manual tasks. It helps prevent stress injuries but has been especially warmly received by workers with preexisting hand injuries and conditions. The glove is based on a suite of patents for the technology developed by NASA and General Motors to build the hands of the Robonaut 2 humanoid robotic astronaut.

Smart Glasses

Neurofeedback technology NASA originally developed to improve pilots’ attention has been the basis for products aimed at helping people manage attention disorders without medication. The devices measure brainwave output to gauge attention levels according to the “engagement index” a NASA engineer created. Then, they show the results to users, helping them learn to voluntarily control their degree of concentration. One such device is a pair of smart glasses from Narbis, whose lenses darken as attention wanes.

Anti-Gravity Treadmills

A NASA scientist who developed ways to use air pressure to simulate gravity for astronauts exercising in space had the idea to apply the concept for the opposite effect on Earth. After licensing his technology, Alter-G Inc. developed its anti-gravity G-Trainer treadmill, which lets users offload some or all of their weight while exercising. The treadmills can help people recover from athletic or brain injuries, and they allow a safe exercise regimen for others with long-term conditions such as arthritis.

Wireless Muscle Sensors

Some of the most exciting assistive technologies to spin off may be yet to come. Delsys Inc. developed electromyographic technology to help NASA understand the effects of long-term weightlessness on astronauts’ muscles and movements. Electromyography detects and analyzes electrical signals emitted when motor nerves trigger movement. Among the company’s customers are physical therapists developing exercise routines to help patients recover from injuries. But some researchers are using the technology to attempt recoveries that once seemed impossible, such as helping paralyzed patients regain movement, letting laryngectomy patients speak, and outfitting amputees with artificial limbs that work like the real thing.  

To further enhance the lives of people with disabilities, NASA has identified a selection of patented technologies created for space missions that could spur the next generation of assistive technology here on Earth.

Want to learn more about assistive technologies already in action? Check out NASA Spinoff to find products and services that wouldn’t exist without space exploration.   

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[nohoperadio]

I want there to be a website similar to Genius, for annotating song lyrics (and poems and public domain texts and whatever else you want to do with that tech), but instead of each song having one page that just shows the "consensus" annotations, each user would have their own personal page for each song they annotate. So I would have my page with my annotations about Source Decay by the Mountain Goats and you would have your page for yours, and there'd be no such thing as the page for Source Decay by the Mountain Goats that just houses the top-voted contributions (or however it works on Genius, I think it's slightly more complicated but w/e). (Actually there would be a version of "the page" for each song but it wouldn't work like Genius, more on this in a sec.)

Genius is often very good at providing the kind of basic factual information that can't possibly be controversial (the song mentions a town, the annotation mentions that the songwriter lived in that town briefly during 2008, whatever), and it's often very good as a place to collect quotes from interviews of what the band has to say about each song, but on the whole Genius is not as fun to browse as it should be, and I think that's largely because the wiki-like structure prevents it from channeling more than a small portion of the passion and interpretive creativity of, say, songmeanings.com, a once-active site that Genius largely killed and replaced, but it still exists and if you check out old comment sections you can find a lot more rambling and theorycrafting (and crucially, a lot more bad ideas, which are vitally important to any kind of interesting conversation about art).

You will find some of that more speculative stuff on Genius, it's not just for factual background, but the fact that space is inherently limited and everyone's annotation is in competition with everyone else's does not make this impulse thrive. The least weird contributions tend to win out. If you want to add your idea about a particular line, but someone else has already annotated it, your options are: a) "propose an edit" to their annotation that incorporates your own ideas (awkward!), b) try to write your own annotation and have it displace theirs entirely as the thing that comes up when you click the line (you'll feel like a dick even if you're successful at this), or c) leave your thoughts as a "comment" on their annotation (Genius hides the comments by default and doesn't make the button to open them at all conspicuous, but even if that weren't the case your "comment" would still be lower in the hierarchy than their "annotation", and implicitly framed as a reply to the latter).

In my vision nobody's annotation would compete with anyone else's, the annotations are (what they mostly are when made in physical books remember!) more for the writer's benefit than for any other reader, and unconstrained by the responsibility implied in the wiki-ish project of contributing to a public resource you would be free to pursue whatever interpretive rabbit holes strike your fancy, fill each page dissecting evidence for how this record that definitely wasn't intended as a concept album is actually a concept album, fill them with entirely personal connections like how this line reminds you of a weird thing you saw in your Grandma's attic when you were ten, do whatever you want. Other people can come and leave comments on your stuff appreciating your brilliance/sending you death threats if you choose to enable that option, the way I'm imagining it this would actually be a big part of the life of the site and if all went to plan it would actually feel something akin to a social media site some of the time, but that side of it would be secondary to the main goal of each user having a place to house their own thoughts about songs in an organized, presentable, public way.

The site should make it easy to discover the annotation pages of other users writing about stuff you're interested in, the "main page" for each band and then each song would be a sort of hub for accessing other people's pages who have made annotations for that. If it had any substantial userbase this might benefit from some mechanism whereby the community identifies people who are writing particularly interesting stuff and makes those people a bit more visible, although I'd want this to be more subtle than a list ordered by likes/upvotes/whatever, and I'd want there to be some way to show off the range of different ways of using the site, with some people being more diaristic/personal on there, some people doing something like real scholarship (perhaps sometimes on a more ambitious scale than actually-existing Genuis allows for), some people might be doing something more spiritually akin to fanfiction.

I know that this site would be fascinating for (at least) me to browse if it existed and was active; I'm unsure whether there'd be enough interest to make it active. I think it's possible. There's a bunch of you guys I'd like to follow on there if it existed and if you were doing it.

[mariacallous]

In March 2007, Google’s then senior executive in charge of acquisitions, David Drummond, emailed the company’s board of directors a case for buying DoubleClick. It was an obscure software developer that helped websites sell ads. But it had about 60 percent market share and could accelerate Google’s growth while keeping rivals at bay. A “Microsoft-owned DoubleClick represents a major competitive threat,” court papers show Drummond writing.

Three weeks later, on Friday the 13th, Google announced the acquisition of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. The US Department of Justice and 17 states including California and Colorado now allege that the day marked the beginning of Google’s unchecked dominance in online ads—and all the trouble that comes with it.

The government contends that controlling DoubleClick enabled Google to corner websites into doing business with its other services. That has resulted in Google allegedly monopolizing three big links of a vital digital advertising supply chain, which funnels over $12 billion in annual revenue to websites and apps in the US alone.

It’s a big amount. But a government expert estimates in court filings that if Google were not allegedly destroying its competition illegally, those publishers would be receiving up to an additional hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Starved of that potential funding, “publishers are pushed to put more ads on their websites, to put more content behind costly paywalls, or to cease business altogether,” the government alleges. It all adds up to a subpar experience on the web for consumers, Colorado attorney general Phil Weiser says.

“Google is able to extract hiked-up costs, and those are passed on to consumers,” he alleges. “The overall outcome we want is for consumers to have more access to content supported by advertising revenue and for people who are seeking advertising not to have to pay inflated costs.”

Google disputes the accusations.

Starting today, both sides’ arguments will be put to the test in what’s expected to be a weekslong trial before US district judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia. The government wants her to find that Google has violated federal antitrust law and then issue orders that restore competition. In a best-case scenario, according to several Google critics and experts in online ads who spoke with WIRED, internet users could find themselves more pleasantly informed and entertained.

It could take years for the ad market to shake out, says Adam Heimlich, a longtime digital ad executive who’s extensively researched Google. But over time, fresh competition could lower supply chain fees and increase innovation. That would drive “better monetization of websites and better quality of websites,” says Heimlich, who now runs AI software developer Chalice Custom Algorithms.

Tim Vanderhook, CEO of ad-buying software developer Viant Technology, which both competes and partners with Google, believes that consumers would encounter a greater variety of ads, fewer creepy ads, and pages less cluttered with ads. “A substantially improved browsing experience,” he says.

Of course, all depends on the outcome of the case. Over the past year, Google lost its two other antitrust trials—concerning illegal search and mobile app store monopolies. Though the verdicts are under appeal, they’ve made the company’s critics optimistic about the ad tech trial.

Google argues that it faces fierce competition from Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and others. It further contends that customers benefited from each of the acquisitions, contracts, and features that the government is challenging. “Google has designed a set of products that work efficiently with each other and attract a valuable customer base,” the company’s attorneys wrote in a 359-page rebuttal.

For years, Google publicly has maintained that its ad tech projects wouldn’t harm clients or competition. “We will be able to help publishers and advertisers generate more revenue, which will fuel the creation of even more rich and diverse content on the internet,” Drummond testified in 2007 to US senators concerned about the DoubleClick deal’s impact on competition and privacy. US antitrust regulators at the time cleared the purchase. But at least one of them, in hindsight, has said he should have blocked it.

Deep Control

The Justice Department alleges that acquiring DoubleClick gave Google “a pool of captive publishers that now had fewer alternatives and faced substantial switching costs associated with changing to another publisher ad server.” The global market share of Google’s tool for publishers is now 91 percent, according to court papers. The company holds similar control over ad exchanges that broker deals (around 70 percent) and tools used by advertisers (85 percent), the court filings say.

Google’s dominance, the government argues, has “impaired the ability of publishers and advertisers to choose the ad tech tools they would prefer to use and diminished the number and quality of viable options available to them.”

The government alleges that Google staff spoke internally about how they have been earning an unfair portion of what advertisers spend on advertising, to the tune of over a third of every $1 spent in some cases.

Some of Google’s competitors want the tech giant to be broken up into multiple independent companies, so each of its advertising services competes on its own merits without the benefit of one pumping up another. The rivals also support rules that would bar Google from preferencing its own services. “What all in the industry are looking for is fair competition,” Viant’s Vanderhook says.

If Google ad tech alternatives win more business, not everyone is so sure that the users will notice a difference. “We’re talking about moving from the NYSE to Nasdaq,” Ari Paparo, a former DoubleClick and Google executive who now runs the media company Marketecture, tells WIRED. The technology behind the scenes may shift, but the experience for investors—or in this case, internet surfers—doesn’t.

Some advertising experts predict that if Google is broken up, users’ experiences would get even worse. Andrey Meshkov, chief technology officer of ad-block developer AdGuard, expects increasingly invasive tracking as competition intensifies. Products also may cost more because companies need to not only hire additional help to run ads but also buy more ads to achieve the same goals. “So the ad clutter is going to get worse,” Beth Egan, an ad executive turned Syracuse University associate professor, told reporters in a recent call arranged by a Google-funded advocacy group.

But Dina Srinivasan, a former ad executive who as an antitrust scholar wrote a Stanford Technology Law Review paper on Google’s dominance, says advertisers would end up paying lower fees, and the savings would be passed on to their customers. That future would mark an end to the spell Google allegedly cast with its DoubleClick deal. And it could happen even if Google wins in Virginia. A trial in a similar lawsuit filed by Texas, 15 other states, and Puerto Rico is scheduled for March.

[librarycards]

The narrative surrounding AI is that people will be “left behind” unless they adopt it ASAP. How is AI going to revolutionize education? How is it going to transform agriculture? How is it going to make logistics a million times smarter? Almost every sector is being faced with the proposition that they should jump on the AI train or risk getting left behind.

To my frustration, rather than having concerted, critical, and honest conversations around who benefits from this technology—and why and how—we’ve been sold the idea that it’s inevitable, and we better figure out how to make use of it, to deal with it as best we can.

I could see some approaches to AI being more punitive, like “I will do this and this if you use AI” [...] [but] I really wanted to approach my students as empowered agents of their own learning and to express to them, in the best way that I could at the time, what my reservations are. Not just with the tool in a technical sense and how it, as many people have confirmed, is much more like a stochastic parrot than it is something that learns or that is cognitive.

Beyond that, there is the larger “assemblage” of AI that enables these systems to run in the first place. Since I’m an environmental studies professor, it became clear that a lot of those pieces were an entire material world of energy, water, and other resources; of labor undervalued and exploited. And there’s the racialized and encoded assumptions that emanate through the texts upon which these chatbots are trained.

[attollogame]

hi! i went to look for physical descriptions of the ROs but the link isn’t working. is there an alternative link?

No but I can help you here!

Pariah

Pariah is 5’5” with an athletic build to their body, mostly honed from all of the physical exertion their night job requires. Most often they wear riding gear (leather jacket, cargo pants, biker boots; basically attire appropriate for someone who rides high-speeds on a motorcycle) with a black motorcycle helmet that has red lights within it. The helmet is modified to allow Pariah to discern things at night, and also to withstand Pariah’s own powered abilities. Pariah also carries two sickles strapped at their waist. Their powered ability is shadow manipulation.

Without the helmet, they have short cut curly brown hair, tanned skin, brown eyes, and a scar on their chin. Here’s an excellent visual of them drawn by the talented @phanosis !

Vasilisa

Vasilisa stands at about 5’11” with another athletic build to her body, again honed by her career as a detective for the C.A.P.D. She usually wears a white dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves, black jeans, timberland boots (closest I can describe them) and on occasion will have a black blazer on. Very often seen with a coffee in hand because her sleep schedule is as atrocious as anyone’s in Attollo. Her powered ability is emotion manipulation. 

Vasilisa has blonde hair she keeps tied back, pale skin, and blue eyes. She has a beauty spot under her one eye. Here’s an excellent visual of her drawn by the talented @exotic-inquiry !

Suha

Suha stands at 5’8” with a softer build. Her employment as a judge for the Crowes Court and her role in her own fashion business often keeps her quite preoccupied and on the go. Suha is a Muslim, and therefore wears a hijab. Her role in fashion means she dresses incredibly well, often preferring higher-brand clothes lines that are both comfortable and befitting of her personality. She prefers lighter colored clothes, as it contrasts the gloom of Attollo, even though her personality itself is quite serious. Suha’s powered ability is botakinesis, or plant manipulation. 

Suha wears cat-eyed glasses and has dark skin and brown eyes. Here’s a stunning drawing of her done by the talented @artsyaprilmr !

Operator

Operator stands at 5’7” and has a very lean build coming from his amazing ability to forget to eat half the time. He’s rarely seen without his black face mask and blue tech glasses, which enable him to see the ongoing of the city even when mobile. He usually wears a black turtleneck and black jeans, as well as sneakers that should really be changed in at some point. He does wear gloves as well when outside of his dwelling in the Under City. Operator’s powered ability is tech manipulation… among other things.

He has auburn curly hair and blue eyes beneath the glasses, as well as pale skin. @exotic-inquiry also did some lovely art of him (he is a little guy) !

Sysba

Because Sysba is gender selectable, their appearance does tend to change depending on which you select, although not by much. Overall, though, Sysba is a very flamboyant being that dresses in a way they feel expresses themself best. They stand at 6’ all forms, with a toned form they somehow managed to retain despite their disastrous eating habits. They prefer colours like red, black, or white for what they wear, and they prefer fabrics like satin, velvet, or silk. Sysba often wears heels for the benefit of standing an extra few inches above everyone else. They also indulge with a lot of jewellery, including necklaces, earrings, nose rings, etc. Because they are an entity, their powers extend far beyond what most do; shape shifting, manipulation, and power absorption are a few of their abilities. If they could get out of Attollo, they would be travelling quite swiftly too. 

In all forms, their hair is black, their eyes are black, and their skin is a very sickly pale color. In male form, Sysba has short cut hair, in female form it comes in the form of a bob cut, and in the non binary form it’s short cut as well. The very talented @retconomics has art of them here, @phanosis was generous enough to draw them in their more ‘natural’ form, and @redjack even kindly made a 3d model!

DW

Standing at 6’4” with a more built tone, one could say, due to his line of work (you don’t run a criminal organization without some intimidation on the side). Dreamwalker dresses very business-like in all aspects of his arrival, including in the dreams (although he did play dress up for those because it was fun for him). He prefers dark dress shirts, dress pants, and well-polished dress shoes. He wears a signet ring on his right hand. His powered ability includes dream manipulation and an ability to directly harm a sleeping individual through their dream, as seen with MC. He usually warps his features in dreams to make him indiscernible. On occasion, he wears a red scarf when not wearing a high collared shirt. 

Dreamwalker has dark brown, almost black hair with a slight curl to it. His eyes are a glowing gold with no discernible pupil unless you’re very close, in which case you will see it as a darker yellow color. He has a notable scar on his neck from a knife wound, and dark skin. The talented @bleruh drew art of him here (check out their operator as well!), as did @retconomics here and @/kill-a13 here among many others :)

[inksandpensblog]

The Chosen One, magic systems, and the writing flaw that somehow hasn't caused AvA any problems yet despite being a notorious immersion-breaker

Limitations breed creativity. Specifically, limitations in a magic system (or powers system, same narrative function) breed creative and innovative implementation of said magic.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is oft cited as one of the best and most readily-available examples of how limitations can benefit the possibilities and intrigue of a hard magic system. Each of the four represented elements (or four "powersets") has inherent limitations, which benders must devise ways to work around or compensate for.

I haven't seen Mob Psycho 100 brought up as often, in regard to how it portrays psychic powers as a magic system, so I might be going out on a limb, here. But I believe that mp100 is a good portrayal of how limitations can benefit the portrayal of a soft magic system.

Specifically, it shows how limitations don't have to come from within the system itself.

Psychic powers don't seem to have limitations in and of themselves, aside from potency, as we see across the series that one can use them to do pretty much anything; it's even stated that some psychics don't understand how their own powers work, only having some idea of What they Can Do with them.

What this means for the magic system, is that the capabilities of any particular psychic will often come down to what the psychic is smart enough to Figure Out how to do, or what the psychic is Personally Comfortable doing.

Thus, limitations are placed on the magic by the characters themselves, whether consciously or not (a conscious limitation would be a character choosing not to use their powers in a certain way; an unconscious limitation would be a character simply never having it cross their mind that they could use their powers in a certain way. In a well-written character, such unconscious limitations may be traced back to the character's worldview or biases, or a lack of knowledge or expertise on their part, or some other trait inherent to the character). Two examples of the limitations Mob himself faces are his self-discipline (refusing on a moral basis to use his powers in certain situations) and his physical condition (he's fully capable of psychically-enabled superspeed but refrains because it "makes [him] nauseous").

(It should be noted that A:TLA also imposes character-centric limitations on its magic, but I choose not to highlight them for the sake of the contrast between examples, so they won't be conflated with limitations originating from the system itself.)

Now that I've established a precedent for this post, let's talk about Chosen:

Chosen has an ever-growing laundry list of powers. Pyrokinetics and laser-eyes are brought up most often, but he also has cryokinesis, as well as some amount of influence over wind and electricity, if his ability to conjure storms is any indication. Plus there's the rippling golden shockwaves he uses to force the virus out of hiding on the computer, not to mention the vacuum-punch of coalescing wind and light that he's so far used only three times across the entire series (and all in relatively quick succession, to boot), and that's not even considering his ability to manifest portals at will (which seems to be an active development, considering he had to blast the first one into existence kamehameha-style rather than simply lighting it up), and then there's the typical superstrength that most of noogai's handdrawns seem to possess, plus extremely strong resistance against Dark's vira-tech...the list goes on. Some people [read: me] even consider his mouth a power, albeit jokingly. (Not his ability to eat things that aren't food, as non-powered sticks have done so as well; specifically his mouth. Though, since eating non-food items doesn't seem to affect him in any way, maybe it still counts. I wonder, if Chosen were to eat all the League champion data, would he gain their collective abilities as Purple did? Or would the data simply be gone, unless he decides to regurgitate it as projectiles?)

Wow, that's quite the ranged powerset! So, what limitations does he have to keep it interesting?

Well, he can't fly without his pyrokinesis. (Except for when he can. Granted, this is rare, and seems to only happen when he's using his storm-powers.)

He's not invulnerable against the glitch-attacks shot at him by the Rocket mercenaries. (Until he is. Do we actually know when he stopped glitching?)

The electro-dart he was hit with had him down for the count. (Until it didn't. We never actually see him pull it free from his arm, do we?)

Huh, that's...not many limitations being dictated by the powerset itself. What about character limitations?

Um...he has abysmal aim? (I've seen my friend @k1ttyadventurer mention this, but I have yet to find specific examples.)

He gets overwhelmed when fighting multiple opponents at once? (Considering the potency and diversity of his powers, this mostly sticks out as an odd weakness for someone like him to have. Especially after seeing how some other sticks fare against multiple opponents.)

He doesn't watch his back, leaving him vulnerable to sneak attacks? (This is the one weakness that I've been able to find him consistently demonstrating myself, and I can point to multiple fights where it has cost him.)

He tries to refrain from harming other stickfigures? At least, to a point? (This is partially conjecture on my part, but I invite you to consider why "being overwhelmed when fighting multiple opponents" would even be on this tentative list otherwise. Some of my friends have also headcanoned that Chosen tries to scale his strength and fighting prowess to match that of his opponents, but I haven't tried to find evidence for this idea in canon.)

Poor communication? (We haven't seen what influence this may have on his power use, if any.)

...well.

That's...not much to go by.

It's hard to really define any limitations that The Chosen One might be working within.

In fact, the easiest limitations to identify are the ones he has forced upon him by others, rather than any that can be sourced from the magic system or from his own character.

The ball and chain, which disable all but the weakest of his pyrokinesis and also hinder his range of motion.

The Box, which dilutes his potency to ten percent and even turns his own powers against him, all while trapping him in a confined space.

I don't think many would disagree with the assessment that The Box is the first time that we really see Chosen try to work around or compensate for the limits of his powers. But I think it only fair to keep in mind that these are unique, situational limitations, brought on by factors completely out of his control, namely the environment he has found himself in; if he were to leave the simulated art program, or if an ally of his were to gain control of its toolbar, these limitations would no longer be a factor.

And so, I put these questions to all of you:

what limitations do Chosen's powers have?

are they in any way influenced by character limitations he may possess?

how on ethernet has Alan managed to avoid the "Why Don't They Just" plothole for so long when he's created a character with seemingly limitless abilities?

if you don't, in fact, think that Alan has avoided this plothole and you have found yourself asking Why Doesn't Chosen Just, what answers have you tried to fill in the gap with? (Can be Doylist or Watsonian, but please specify to avoid confusion.)

if the magic is undefined enough to be feasibly capable of anything, how has Alan avoided the Harry Potter Film trap of all Chosen's fights turning into vague light-shows in which all attacks look the same and the system holds no actual sway over the outcome of the combat?

what does all this mean for Second, whose only limitations so far seem to be the need of a tool for his powers to be channeled through (the pencil, Dark's console, debatably the art program, debatably Alan's pc), a simple Lack Of Awareness/Connection, and his own creativity?

I'll also link this essay, which spurred me to gather my thoughts on this topic as it's something I've thought about on and off for a while now.

Have at it, folks o7

[robfinancialtip]

Welcome to Woof Wisdom, where we dive into loving your dog. Today, we're spotlighting the Halo Collar 3, the tech that's changing the game and understanding our furry friends.

Joined by Anna, a gold concierge with Halo, viewers are introduced to the friendly support system available for any questions or concerns regarding the Halo Collar. From addressing common inquiries to discussing the collar's features, Anna provides valuable insights into how this innovative tool benefits both dogs and their owners.

The conversation covers various aspects of the Halo Collar, including its suitability for all breeds and sizes, the importance of dog behavior and training, and the flexibility of its subscription plans. Anna clarifies misconceptions about static feedback, emphasizing its gentle nature and customizable settings for optimal training outcomes.

Furthermore, the video explores how the Halo Collar enhances dog safety and containment, thanks to its GPS-enabled tracking and customizable training options with the Halo Beacon. Anna also discusses the Halo Collar's long battery life and addresses frequently asked questions to ensure viewers have all the information they need.

[maypop-the-dragon]

PSA: Free Software

Reading this may really save your time, privacy, and money! Reblog or share to spread awareness!

Folks often use software that’s expensive and sometimes even inferior because they don’t know there are alternatives. So to those unfamiliar: basically, free and open-source (FOSS) or "libre" software is free to use and anyone can access the original code to make their own version or work on fixing problems.

That does not mean anyone can randomly add a virus and give it to everyone—any respectable libre project has checks in place to make sure changes to the official version are good! Libre software is typically developed by communities who really care about the quality of the software as a goal in itself.

There are libre alternatives to many well-known programs that do everything an average user needs (find out more under the cut!) for free with no DRM, license keys, or subscriptions.

Using libre software when possible is an easy way to fight against and free yourself from corporate greed while actually being more convenient in many cases! If you need an app to do something, perhaps try searching online for things like:

foss [whatever it is]

libre [whatever it is]

open source [whatever it is]

Feel free to recommend more libre software in the tags, replies, comments, or whatever you freaks like to do!

Some Libre Software I Personally Enjoy…

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is an office suite, much like Microsoft Office. It includes equivalents for apps like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, which can view and edit files created for those apps.

I can't say I've used it much myself yet. I do not personally like using office software except when I have to for school.

OpenShot

OpenShot Video Editor is, as the name suggests, a video editing program. It has industry-standard features like splicing, layering, transitions, and greenscreen.

I've only made one video with it so far, but I'm already very happy with it. I had already paid for a video editor (Cyberlink PowerDirector Pro), but I needed to reinstall it and I didn't remember how. Out of desperation, I searched up "FOSS video editor" and I'm so glad I did. There's no launcher, there's no promotion of other apps and asset packs—it's just a video editor with a normal installer.

GIMP

GNU Image Manipulation Program is an image editor, much like Photoshop. Originally created for Linux but also available for Windows and MacOS, it provides plenty of functionality for editing images. It is a bit unintuitive to learn at first, though.

I've used it to create and modify images for years, including logos, really bad traceover art, and Minecraft textures. It doesn't have certain advanced tech like AI paint-in, but it has served my purposes well and it might just work for yours!

(Be sure to go to Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Colors. I have no idea why that's not enabled by default.)

Audacity

Audacity is an audio editing program. It can record, load, splice, and layer audio files and apply effects to them.

Audacity is another program I've used for a long time. It is not designed to compose music, but it is great for podcasts, simple edits, and loading legacy MS Paint to hear cool noises.

7-Zip

7-Zip is a file manager and archive tool. It supports many archive types including ZIP, RAR, TAR, and its own format, 7Z. It can view and modify the contents of archives, encrypt and decrypt archives, and all that good stuff.

Personally, I use 7-Zip to look inside JAR files for Minecraft reasons. I must admit that its UI is ugly.

Firefox

Firefox is an internet browser, much like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. While browsers are free, many of them include tracking or other anti-consumer practices. For example, Google plans to release an update to Chromium (the base that most browsers are built from these days) that makes ad blockers less effective by removing the APIs they currently rely on.

Aside from fighting monopolies, benefits include: support for animated themes (the one in the picture is Purple Night Theme), good ad blockers forever, an (albeit hidden) compact UI option (available on about:config), and a cute fox icon.

uBlock Origin

As far as I know, uBlock Origin is one of the best ad blockers there is.

I was on a sketchy website with my brother, and he was using Opera GX's ad blocker. Much of the time when he clicked on anything, it would take us to a random sponsored page. I suggested that he try uBlock Origin, and with uBlock Origin, that didn't happen anymore.

Linux

Linux is a kernel, but the term is often used to refer to operating systems (much like Windows or MacOS) built on it. There are many different Linux-based operating systems (or "distros") to choose from, but apps made for Linux usually work on most popular distros. You can also use many normally Windows-only apps on Linux through compatibility layers like WINE.

I don't have all four of these, so the images are from Wikipedia. I tried to show a variety of Linux distros made for different kinds of users.

If you want to replace your operating system, I recommend being very careful because you can end up breaking things. Many computer manufacturers don't care about supporting Linux, meaning that things may not work (Nvidia graphic cards notoriously have issues on Linux, for example).

Personally, I tried installing Pop!_OS on a laptop, and the sound output mysteriously doesn't work. I may try switching to Arch Linux, since it is extremely customizable and I might be able to experiment until I find a configuration where the audio works.

Many Linux distros offer "Live USB" functionality, which works as both a demo and an installer. You should thoroughly test your distro on a Live USB session before you actually install it to be absolutely sure that everything works. Even if it seems fine, you should probably look into dual-booting with your existing operating system, just in case you need it for some reason.

Happy computering!

[so-much-for-subtlety]

Speaking of advertising in 2015 I worked at a tech startup advertising startup that used cookies (digital ones) to track individuals (doesn’t matter if you used a VPN) and they had a way to “inject” ads right into videos bypassing adblockers. It was very creepy tbh. The company was bought by Google and we all got two years of pay before being let go. I honestly hate it. So yes. Advertising executives are scum.

It has changed a lot over the past decade, but there used to be a perception that tech companies were generally progressive and for the benefit of their users. Google used to have “don’t be evil” as the core of their employee code of conduct but they officially dropped that in 2018 (which coincidentally was the same year that GDPR became enforceable and gave people in EU countries some decent rights for privacy).

In the United States we just don’t have equivalent federal legislation to protect citizens (California, Virginia, and Colorado do have some state-level protections).

the bottom line is that tech companies are owned and operated by extremely wealthy individuals who have a vested interest in being able to profit though digital tracking and advertising.

We’re entering the 4th era of digital surveillance:

1st era was IP address tracking (VPNs provided protection for this)

2nd era was cookies and ‘super cookies’ (a range of techniques that serve the same purpose as cookies but are harder to clear from your browser)

3rd era is fingerprinting - possible since 2005 but I think became common in practice only since ~2015 and is a method which uses a bunch of metadata and pinpoints you as an individual based on your unique set of attributes.

I think that a lot of people are still under the misconception that using Chrome incognito mode gives you some privacy

Google's Chrome browser does not provide protection against trackers or fingerprinters in Incognito Mode.

4th era is coming soon and enabled by similar technology that enable LLM and will be able to identify you by the unique way you interact with technology (e.g. the style/tone of my writing in this post has characteristics that are unique to me, and also very hard for me to avoid!).

the 4th era for me is horrifying- imagine your employer being able to take a sample of your writing (from emails or company chat) and be able to identify content you’ve posted online that you thought you were posting anonymously?

—

btw, if anyone is curious about seeing where you stand in terms of digital fingerprinting here are some online tools you can use to get an idea - both are free, no login/signup and take just a few seconds to run:

[eretzyisrael]

Good News From Israel

In the 21st Jul 24 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

Even the loss of limbs cannot defeat the Israeli spirit.

Israeli computer-brain interface breakthrough could restore the power of speech.

An Israeli surgical device can transform the lives of millions of heart patients.

Israeli tech enables those with impaired speech to access the Internet.

An Israeli food additive makes cooking oil safe for re-use.

The FBI used Israeli tech to access cellphone of would-be assassin.

In the latest EU Horizon investment round, the 3rd most funds went to Israel.

A Haredi community hosted 180 secular Nova survivors for Shabbat.

Read More: Good News From Israel

This week's edition includes Israeli innovations that reveal the early signs of life-threatening diseases; also, that locked-in patients can be given the ability to speak; that the voice-impaired can gain the freedom of the Internet; and that intellectually disadvantaged students can obtain university degrees.

It reveals that Jerusalem's Jews and Arabs can sing together; that Arabs from Morocco want to see the real Israel; and that there are many nations of the world that support Israel's fight against terrorism. This newsletter also reveals the amazing spirit of Israelis, determined to continue to rebuild their lives and benefit society, even after the devastating events of Oct 7.

Among the many Israeli technical breakthroughs, the US has again used Israeli security technology to reveal the secrets of a would-be assassin's cellphone. And the massive European funding for Israeli startups reveals just how much the world needs Israeli technology.

Finally, as the International Court of Justice bleats that Israel cannot occupy its own land, archaeologists reveal and display thousands of Jewish relics proving the Biblical bond between the Jewish people and all of the Land of Israel.

 (NEXT NEWSLETTER - 4th AUG)

[your7oxygen]

3D Printing in Architecture

3D printing, once a novelty in the tech world, has now firmly established itself as a game-changer in various industries, including architecture. The ability to create intricate models, prototypes, and even full-scale structures has opened up new possibilities for architects, engineers, and builders. In this blog post, we'll explore how 3D printing is revolutionizing architecture, from design concepts to construction practices.

Design Innovation

One of the most significant impacts of 3D printing in architecture is the freedom it provides in design. Traditional methods often limit architects to certain shapes and structures due to material and construction constraints. However, with 3D printing, these limitations are lifted. Architects can now experiment with complex geometries and organic forms that were previously impossible or too costly to achieve. This has led to a surge in innovative designs, pushing the boundaries of what architecture can be.

Prototyping and Modeling

Before the advent of 3D printing, creating detailed architectural models was a time-consuming and expensive process. With 3D printing, architects can quickly produce accurate scale models of their designs, allowing for better visualization and refinement. This rapid prototyping capability enables architects to identify potential issues early in the design process, saving time and resources in the long run. Additionally, clients can better understand the architect's vision through tangible models, leading to more effective communication and collaboration.

Sustainability and Efficiency

3D printing also offers significant benefits in terms of sustainability and construction efficiency. Traditional construction methods often generate a considerable amount of waste due to material overuse and mistakes. In contrast, 3D printing uses only the necessary amount of material, significantly reducing waste. Additionally, many 3D printing materials can be recycled or are made from sustainable resources, making this technology more environmentally friendly.

Moreover, 3D printing can streamline the construction process. Structures can be printed on-site, reducing the need for transportation and minimizing the carbon footprint associated with moving materials and equipment. This method also allows for faster construction times, which is particularly beneficial for large-scale projects or emergency housing needs.

Cost-Effective Construction

The cost of building with traditional methods can be prohibitive, especially for complex or custom designs. 3D printing offers a more cost-effective alternative by reducing labor costs and material waste. The precision of 3D printing ensures that only the exact amount of material needed is used, which not only lowers costs but also increases the structural integrity of the building. For developing countries or regions with limited resources, 3D printing presents a viable solution for affordable housing and infrastructure.

Challenges and Future Prospects

While 3D printing in architecture holds great promise, it is not without challenges. The technology is still relatively new, and large-scale 3D printing for buildings requires further development. Issues such as material limitations, regulatory hurdles, and the need for skilled operators must be addressed. However, ongoing research and innovation in the field are likely to overcome these challenges in the coming years.

[hellotherekenobi]

Smile for the Cameras.

Summary: you’ve been dating Eddie Munson for a while now, happily in secret so that the two of you can have some privacy, but now you want him to meet the family and it turns out they have a secret of their own.

A/N: this one goes out to my enabler @megmeg-chan but this time I have wrapped it up in a nice bow and delicately place it on your doorstep before knocking and running down the driveway like a madman.

Word Count: 7k

CW/TW: Byers!Reader/fem!Reader; Bob lives AU; multiple POV; mentions of drugs; season four, volume two didn’t happen.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Here’s the thing—plain and simple—there aren’t a lot of good guys in Hawkins. Sure, there are your brothers, Will and Jonathan, but they’re family. There are also Will’s friends who, admittedly, are a lot of fun. Oh, and Steve... he’s a good guy, too...

Well. All right. There are a few nice guys in Hawkins, but they aren’t the majority. You’re happy to know that your mother has herself a good guy who really cares about her but, as your brothers will agree, you knew he was the best of the best from the moment you first met him.

Bob immediately hit it off with Will, which you’ve always been grateful for. After so many bad things have happened in Hawkins, it’s about time your brother gets some normality back in his life. Wholesome normality, too. Jonathan was a little more standoffish but he caved in pretty quickly when Bob mentioned how much he likes The Clash.

You, being the eldest, and also the closest with your mom, were ready to tear him to shreds if he so much as belittled her, but he was making you laugh within five minutes and offering a ride out to Scoops for ice cream so, yeah, you liked him from the start.

Now, you get to call him your dad.

Not all children get to see their parents get married, and you’re happy to be one of the few. Jonathan bought a new camera for the day and all of the pictures were either put into a scrapbook or framed around the house, which Will helped out with glee.

There’s a big one in the living room of the five of you, all wide smiles and arms around each other. Looking at that picture makes this place feel like home.

It’s as much of a benefit to your mother as it is to your brothers. You as well. Lonnie was a real jerk. It didn’t take a scientist to figure that out. He was hardly around and that was always bad for the boys, seeing as they grew up without a positive father figure. You’ve inherited some of your mom’s rage, so you never played the role of respectful daughter to Lonnie.

When he left, you thought ‘good riddance.’ When you saw how much it hurt your mom and your brothers, you thought of how easy it might be to get away with murder.

With Bob, you only think about how happy he makes everyone. It’s a big contrast and something your family had to warm up to, but he’s so naturally caring that it didn’t take too long.

The only thing that you’re still struggling to adapt to is Bob’s tech-savvy side. He works at Radio Shack and, you’ll admit, at first you didn’t think he’d be as good of a technician as he is, but every now and then he’ll bring work home and you get to see him tinker away at things with your own eyes.

All of that stuff goes over your head. About the only thing you know when it comes to electronics is the switch for the television set and what button to press to delete the footage Jonathan sneakily records with his video camera when you’re a groggy mess in the morning just trying to brush your teeth.

The day Bob put cameras up at the house, you knew you were screwed.

“It’s so we can catch the burglars,” he said, halfway up a ladder and screwing a dome into the side of the house.

The only burglary that’s happened here was from the drunk guy who nabbed the electric mixer during the garage sale, and your mom chased him down the driveway with Jonathan’s old baseball bat.

“We’ve got locks,” you said.

He had chuckled and went off on a tech spiel about how ‘we’re diving into a new age,’ and what exactly the cameras could do but, if you’re honest, you weren’t paying attention much to the specifics of it all. The minute Bob talks shop, you hear white noise.

Granted, he always tries to explain things in simple terms for you and for that you’re thankful. He simply continues to prove how much of a good guy he is.

But you’ve got a good guy, too, and you think he’s pretty fantastic. Not that many people will agree with you but, to each of them, you think that they’ll never know just how fantastic Eddie Munson is. They’re missing out big time.

Your family is missing out, too, since you’ve been keeping your relationship with him a secret. The thing is, you like having something for yourself. Growing up with two younger brothers in a small town doesn’t give you a lot of privacy.

You’ve shared one bathroom your whole life. You take the smaller portion for dinner (when your mom’s not looking.) You cancel plans to look after Will on late nights. So, yeah, you’re going to have something for yourself for a change and you’re going to enjoy it.

In so many words...

The first time Eddie tapped on your bedroom window, you opened it with an infernal glare that would put the name ‘Hellfire’ to shame, berating him for waking you up and for being at your house in the first place. Does he not understand the meaning of a secret relationship?

But he flashed you a toothy grin, said he missed you, and when he gave you those damn dark brown puppy dog eyes, you had begrudgingly let him in. For. One. Night. Only. Which turned into two, then three, then five, then... well, you’ve lost count at this point.

The thing you hadn’t realized at the start is how clingy Eddie is. He’s got to be around you three times a day like he’s your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When he laid his head in your lap on the third night he snuck in through your bedroom window and practically sobbed when you carded your fingers through his hair, you knew that the sweet Eddie Munson is touch-starved.

So—with the backbone of a chocolate éclair—you let Eddie stay the night pretty often. He rocks up at the same time, so, after a while, you don’t wait for the tap on the window, you just keep it open and hug him tight when he’s got his footing. Then you talk with each other until one of you falls asleep, waking up the next morning with tangled limbs and that gorgeous, messy bed hair that he’s never understood why you like so much.

It baffles you that he doesn’t realize just how pretty he is. Anytime you tell him, he jokingly asks if you’re only with him because of his looks, and you tell him every time that you’re with him because of who he is. But, also, because he’s too handsome to resist.

If you didn’t want to hold onto this secrecy for a little bit longer, you’d be parading him throughout the streets. ‘Look at my boyfriend. Look at how well my boyfriend plays the guitar. Look at how my boyfriend looks at me.’ He’s so not ready for that.

But the two of you can’t hide forever and you know it, even more, when he’s resting against the headboard of your bed, finger twirling a strand of his hair as he thinks in silence. He always scrunches his nose up when he’s deep in thought and it’s the cutest thing.

Seriously, how is it fair that he can be both adorable and attractive?

“Stop that,” you say, reaching over to tap the finger in his hair. “You’ll grow bald.”

He smiles, bringing his hand down to instead rest on your arm which is wrapped around him.

“What are you thinking about?”

“What?” He chuckles.

“You get this adorable crease right here—” you poke between his eyebrows, “when you think too hard.”

Eddie smiles. “You stare at me that much?”

“With a face like yours, yeah,”

Quiet moments like these have always been your favorite, whether or not that’s in your bedroom. When you can be with Eddie, just the two of you, everything else stands still.

You’ve been to his trailer plenty of times and you’ve met Wayne on many occasions as well. He’s been very supportive of your relationship with Eddie, having once said that he’s glad Eddie has someone who can ‘deal with his quirks.’ Truthfully, you admire those quirks of his.

When Eddie’s smile turns mischievous, you already know what he’s going to do before he does it. Yet, you’re still not quick enough to stop him from tickling you and burying his face in your neck, blowing raspberries on your skin.

You let out a short squeak, slapping his arm and pushing him off of you when you feel his lips curl against your neck.

“Stop!” You try to whisper but can’t help from laughing. “We’ve got to be—”

“Quiet, I know,” he nods, his smile an inch smaller.

It’s not the ideal relationship, you know that, having to hide all the time. The veil will lift sooner or later. It just turns out that he’s wanted it sooner since that fault in his smile can only mean one thing.

“I’m going to tell them soon,” you say. “I’m just figuring out how.”

“Well,” he absentmindedly traces circles on your skin. “I was actually wondering if you could ask your dad something for me,”

“Oh?”

“I only get paid so much for my gigs and I’m kinda running on empty right now, so I was hoping your dad would have a spot free at his job?”

“You wanna work with my dad?” You ask, sitting up.

He nods his head, a crease again at his forehead. “I know a thing or two about fixing things and, I mean, Radio Shack ain’t that bad a place to work in. At least, until I can find something stable.”

“Like he wouldn’t offer you full-time right off the bat,” you chuckle, playfully hitting his arm.

“Well, I don’t know,” he beams.

You tap your finger against your chin, feigning consideration, then dip forward to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“I think that’s a great idea,” you say.

“Yeah?” He smiles.

“Yeah, and maybe you could...” you shrug your shoulders, “come for dinner. Get to know him a bit.”

Eddie lights up, his smile warm and soft. “I’d love that,”

Truly, there’s nothing you’d love more than for your parents to finally meet your boyfriend and, hopefully, approve of him. You don’t have any worries that they’ll kick him out, but you can’t help but feel like something will go wrong.

Everything will be okay as long as you don’t mention that you’ve been sneaking Eddie in through the window almost every night. After all, how would they ever know unless you say something?

─────── ⋯ ───────

Sometimes, this house feels like chaos.

It’s one thing to be late for school—and work—but it’s another thing for the power to be out, so no one is ready to leave. Joyce had woken up to the neighbor’s car backfiring and when she saw the alarm clock on her bedside table flashing at her, she had hit a sleepy Bob on the chest and scrambled out of bed.

After grabbing whatever is closest to dress herself with, she’s barrelling down the hallway, slapping a hand onto each door she passes, swinging it open, and calling inside for her kids to wake up. But when she reaches your door, she finds that it’s locked.

“Hey,” she hits the door once, “come on, we’re late.”

She’s happy to hear a ‘be right there!’ from inside the room, so she spins around and tucks in Jonathan’s shirt when he practically trips through his doorway and then gives Will a kiss on the cheek when he steps out of his room.

Bob’s struggling to get his tie on straight when Joyce walks into the living room and she gives him a sympathetic smile, reaching out to tighten it for him.

“How do you still manage to look so beautiful when you’ve just woken up?” He asks, grinning ear to ear.

“Oh, Bob,” Joyce smiles, flattening his shirt collar.

“I can drive the kids to school,”

“No, that’s okay. I can do it.”

“I can drive them on my way to work. It’ll be easier. Plus, I get to spend some time with them.”

It never amazes Joyce how after three years, Bob still wants to be as close to her kids as possible. The truly beautiful thing about that is how they want to be just as close to him as well.

“It’ll be great,” he smiles, giving her a quick kiss and scooping the car keys off of the coffee table.

He jingles them in his hand as he calls out to the family that he’ll be their driver for the morning, patting Will on the back who’s been scooping papers and books into his backpack.

“Here, mom,” Jonathan says beside Joyce, handing her an overspilling mug of coffee.

“Oh, Jonathan, thank you,” she smiles, pulling him to her to plant a big kiss on his cheek.

He chuckles, craning his face away from her with a loud ‘mom!’ which she laughs at. When he’s jogging over to the front door, another one of Joyce’s kids creeps up beside her and she tries not to spill even more coffee onto the floor.

“Hey, Jonathan!” You call and he spins around. “I’m taking the car this morning, okay?”

“No, I’m driving,” Bob smiles, jingling the car keys again. “I’ll finish an hour early and pick you up from work.”

Jonathan snickers. “You can’t always be the driver,”

“Hey,” you put your hands on your hips. “I bought that car, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just go,”

Being a big family of five, there are only three cars shared between you all. Joyce has her car, Bob has his, and you had bought a car in your senior year of high school which was passed down onto Jonathan after you graduated, now that he’s in his senior year.

Every so often, driving arrangements change. Sometimes Joyce will drive everyone, sometimes you would take the boys to school, and sometimes Bob will drive the whole lot. Exactly what he’s doing this morning. Good timing, too, as Joyce has plans in the afternoon.

The great thing, which is as much of a relief as it is appreciated, is how no one complains. The only time Joyce has ever heard an argument about who gets the car you bought is when Jonathan has a date with Nancy and you have other plans. But fights never get out of hand around here, thankfully.

“Look at you,” Joyce tsks, placing a hand on your cheek. “Did you not get any sleep last night?”

“Oh, yeah,” you say, rubbing your eye with the back of your hand. “I guess work is just wearing me out.”

“Maybe you should call in sick?”

“Next time,” you smile.

She rubs your back, giving you that motherly smile she knows she’s adopted over the years.

When Will finally has his backpack sorted, he calls out a goodbye and races over to Jonathan who gives him a one-armed hug, walking out of the door together. Another relief, knowing that everyone is so close with each other. Even more so because of all of the strange things going on in Hawkins.

“Hey, mom, I want to ask you something,” you say, stepping in front of her.

“Okay,” she looks down at her watch. “Just don’t be too late.”

“I won’t. The thing is... I’ve been seeing this guy and I was wondering if maybe he could come over for dinner so that everyone can meet him?”

The mug almost slips from Joyce’s hands when you say that and she reminds herself to act calm.

“Huh?” She speaks, shrugging a shoulder and putting on a casual face. “Oh, yeah. That’s fine. Whatever you want, sweetie.”

“You sure?”

The look you give her makes Joyce thinks she’s caught but she keeps playing it cool, hoping that you won’t poke around. You’ve never been one to let things go easily. She supposes you get that from her.

“Of course. I’d love to meet him.”

“Great, me too,” you smile, giving her a quick hug.

With a goodbye, you’re out the door where Bob is still waiting, sending Joyce a wink which she nods to and then he’s gone.

Honestly, Joyce already knows you have a boyfriend. There isn’t a lot that hides under her nose, especially in her home, but she’s got to give credit where credit is due and thank Bob for installing all those cameras around the house.

It’s how they found out in the first place. Bob was in his study, pouring over all the security footage like he does every night after work. The kids were either watching TV or in bed—which you were, seeing as you were so eager to go to sleep.

He waved her in with a ‘Joyce, honeybun, I think you need to see this,’ when she came to ask if he wanted anything, and she stood beside him as he rewinded the footage and pointed at the figure creeping along the back of the house.

“Is that a burglar?” She gasped, leaning forward to squint at the screen as if she could make out who it was.

“I don’t think so,”

“Why is he climbing in our window?”

“Honey, that is our daughter’s window,”

It only took her three seconds of scrunching up her eyes at Bob who gave her a knowing look for her to understand what was going on, all the dots connecting in her head.

“She has a boyfriend!?” She practically screamed, quickly lowering her voice when she remembered the study door was wide open. “And she didn’t tell me?”

“It’s okay,”

“Bob, she’s got a boyfriend—” and then within another breath, she smiled excitedly. “This is so great!”

After all the horrible things Hawkins has to offer had happened, really throwing hands at her family, Joyce was over the moon with joy when she found out about your secret relationship.

It’s hard to go back to a routine when you’ve faced demogorgons on the weekend, especially when they were so close to hurting them—her boy, Will, and Bob as well. So, to know that you were acting like a regular teenager made her the happiest she’s been since she said ‘I do.’

To think, her child, regular at last.

She and Bob had both agreed to not say a word. If you were keeping the relationship a secret, it had to be for a good reason, and they knew that, in time, you’d eventually tell them.

But it would get a little hard to keep a poker face when she’d hear your bedroom window slide open, or that time he had tripped on his way in and landed on the floor loudly, or when she had caught you on your way back to bed with a glass of water, shutting the door when she approached and noticing the leather jacket that was caught in between it.

There isn’t anything wrong with leather jackets and, truly, she’s had a thing for guys in leather before, but she just hopes that whoever this guy is—as all she’s ever seen of him is from the security footage, so she’s only made out long hair and dirty shoes—that he’s not some kind of delinquent.

Now, she’s going to find out just who your mystery boyfriend is and she hopes he likes chicken because that’s all she’s got in the fridge.

─────── ⋯ ───────

When you tell Eddie that your mom is more than happy to have him over for dinner, he smiles wider than the day you told him that you had listened to Iron Maiden. But when you say that she is happy for it to happen the same night, his face drops like a ton of bricks.

“Tonight?” He asks, fiddling with his rings. “Like in... five hours?”

“Yeah,” you chuckle, pulling him in by the vest to wrap your arms around him. “Is that too fast?”

“No, I just...”

“What?”

“I was going to buy some nice clothes...”

You feel your heart do the running man in your chest with how he wants to make a good first impression on your parents, but you know it’s not needed.

“Eddie, if you just be yourself, they’ll love you.”

He grins at that, pulling you in close to kiss you. His lips taste like the strawberries you both shared for lunch, though you had wanted him to eat an actual meal. When it’s not particularly busy at work, you eat lunch with him in the staff room, even though he stops by almost every day to say hello.

There were a few times when you had to hide him behind the counter when your dad gave you a surprise visit, offering a bag full of lunch he had bought on his way over. The little stinker Munson would pinch your thighs for fun and once you had kneed him directly in the chest, slamming him back against the shelving and having to play off his groan as you accidentally knocked your knee.

Eddie can’t help it. He loves to have fun and by any means possible, really. You just know that after tonight when you both don’t have to sneak around anymore, he’ll be twelve times more sprightly.

“How’s your campaign?” You ask, reaching over to grab the package of Cheez Balls he had brought with him.

“Good,” he nods, diving a hand into the tin as soon as you open it. “Will’s a really smart kid.”

“Yeah, I saw him throw some character sketches into his bag before we left this morning. He loves those sessions with you.”

That’s how you first met Eddie, through your baby brother’s fixation with Dungeons and Dragons. He was so happy to know that there was a club going on at high school, having feared that everyone would have grown out of it by now, and so joining Hellfire is one of the best things that’s happened to him recently.

You’re always going to be extremely thankful to Eddie for taking in your brother like he has. You’ve always looked out for him and this year has been the first that you haven’t had anything strange happen, so he’s getting the chance to be a normal teenager.

Really, in a way, Will is the one to thank for you getting with Eddie. When you had picked up your brother from a session one night, Eddie had walked him out to the car and instantly you were in love.

All Eddie has ever done since the start is shown in many different ways how much he cares for everyone and how big a heart he has. If that isn’t attractive, you don’t know what is.

Oh, wait a minute. His rings...

He pipes up, “Do you think it’ll be weird?”

You’re thrown out of your thoughts by his question but you don’t exactly know what he means.

“What will?” You ask, popping a cheese ball into your mouth.

“The fact that Will is going to find out that his Dungeon Master is also his sister’s boyfriend.”

You shrug. “He’ll be fine with it. Might be a little surprised but I think he’s gonna love the fact that his favorite DM is with his favorite sister.”

Eddie laughs. “You’re his only sister.”

Furrowing your brows, you chew on another cheese ball. “What’s your point?”

He finds that even more fun but you just smile in victory at having made him laugh. He might love Metalica and Black Sabbath, but you’re always going to believe that his laugh is the best song in the world.

No band can beat that.

When Eddie eventually leaves with a kiss on the cheek and a wave goodbye, you count down the minutes until your shift is over. You spend the rest of it idly as it’s pretty quiet today until your dad picks you up an hour early from his job just as he promised.

When you arrive home—Jonathan and Will having been picked up by your mom—you walk into the house that smells of smoke and the sounds of frustrated murmurings.

“What’s going on?” You ask as you and your dad step into the kitchen after giving each other a look.

There’s a dark cloud hanging over in the room as your mom waves an oven mitt at the open oven. She spins around at the sound of your voice, flashing an anxious smile.

“I burnt some of the chicken,” she says, scratching her head.

“Oh, honey,” Bob coos, walking over to her and peering into the oven. “It doesn’t look too bad. There’s still more than enough for the six of us.”

“I still have to make a salad,”

“Okay, I’ll do it,” you say, shrugging your jacket off. “Let me get changed and I’ll make one.”

She breathes out a relieved ‘thank you,’ as you head to your bedroom and on the way, you bump into Jonathan who has got half of two shirts on; one sleeve on one arm and the other sleeve on the next.

“Hey,” he smiles, but quickly looks back down at the shirts. “Which one do you think is better?”

You furrow your brows, perplexed at what your brother is doing.

“Is Nancy coming over?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “No, I’m asking for you.”

Smiling, you can’t help but feel really happy about how much he cares. Despite being younger than you, he’s always acted like your big brother but, honestly, you don’t mind. He’s one of the best.

“Left,” you say, pointing at the shirt.

He nods. “I thought so too. Thanks,”

You chuckle as he dashes into his bedroom and you head into your bedroom, looking around for some clothes to wear for tonight. You’ve never been too fussed over how you look but tonight is kinda a big deal and you want to look your best.

When you’re straightening your clothes in the mirror, someone knocks at your door and you turn to see Will in one of Bob’s old button-down shirts.

“Don’t you look handsome?” You say, and he smiles wide.

“You look great,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to tonight.”

“Yeah, me too. He’s a pretty big deal to me.”

“How long have you been seeing him?”

Now, Will is a smart kid. If you tell him the truth, two things are going to happen; first, he’s going to ask you why you’ve been keeping it a secret for so long and second, he’s going to do the math and realize you’ve had a boyfriend around the time you met Eddie.

He’s going to find out soon, anyway, about who you’re dating, but until that actually happens, you’re keeping up with the routine.

“Just a little while,” you shrug. “I really like him, though, so I want you all to meet him.”

“I’m sure he’s great,”

You walk over to him and kiss his forehead. “So are you.”

Will smiles, quickly leaving the room after telling you that you should wear the new perfume you bought recently and you take him up on his offer, spraying yourself a couple times before walking into the kitchen to help your mom by preparing a salad.

Bob has cut up the chicken onto a platter while Jonathan set the table, and Will helps him with the last few items before you hand him the bowl to take with him.

The sound of an engine grows nearer outside, accompanied by blaring music from a stereo, which is quickly shut off as lights begin to pull into the driveway.

Will and Jonathan are leaping over to the couch against the window, nudging open the blinds to get a peek at who’s arrived.

“He’s here!” Will calls out, watching the headlights turn off.

“He drives a van,” Jonathan says, looking at you over his shoulder. “Strike one.”

“Stop,” you say, smacking your hand against his arm.

Both he and Will chuckle—not out of mockery but by your reaction—and then Will’s gasping as he shoves the blinds closed, eyes straight at the front door when there’s a knock against the wood.

“Okay,” your mom says, walking into the living room and waving her hands. “Nobody panic. Just calm down.”

“We’re not the ones panicking, mom,” Jonathan smiles.

Your mom lets out a breathless chuckle as Bob steps beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“It’s going to be fine,” he looks over at you. “Want me to get the door?”

“No, I’ll get it,”

With a quick prepared breath, you spin on your heel and walk over to the front door, wrapping your fingers around the handle and pulling it open and you see your beautiful boyfriend standing on the doorstep with a black shirt and one of his more stable jackets.

Even without buying any new clothes, he’s put a lot of effort into his appearance. His shoes are sturdier than the white Reeboks he usually wears, so you think he might have gotten them from his uncle. But he still has the chain attached to the loops of his jeans and it makes you smile.

“Hey,” you say.

“Hi,” he grins.

For just a few seconds, that becomes a moment just for the two of you, then you’re stepping to the side so that he can come in, and your family are almost circling him the moment he does.

“Hello,” your mom beams, approaching him with your dad still beside her.

“I’m Eddie,” he says, stretching out a hand to shake your mom’s hand, who does so a little too eagerly. “These are for you.”

He’s bought a bouquet of flowers with him, all pretty colors of pinks and yellows, and you think that’s where his money went into. Your mom takes the flowers happily, smiling up at Bob who looks just as gleeful.

“Thank you, Eddie. They’re lovely,”

“I’m Bob,” your dad says, shaking Eddie’s hand. “And that right over there is the man of the house,”

There’s a chuckle from Jonathan when Bob points a finger at him, but he seems especially stiff when giving Eddie a nod in acknowledgement. Will, on the other hand, is standing there with an agape expression, looking completely shocked.

“Hey, Will the Wise,” Eddie grins, reaching over to mess up your brother’s hair.

He’s quick to fix it and though the room goes silent for a moment, he’s breaking out into a confused but excited grin which eases your worries. For a moment, you thought he went lifeless on you.

“You’re the boyfriend,” Will says.

“Do you know each other?” Your mom inquires, looking between the two of them.

“Yeah, we play Dungeons and Dragons together,”

Your mom beams a hundred voltages brighter at that, though her eyes are about as wide as saucers.

“The Hellfire Club?” She asks.

Eddie smiles, rocking on his heels. “Yeah, every Wednesday night.”

You know your mom is already won over by Eddie the second she realizes that he’s the guy who Will’s been talking about excitedly over breakfast. Since he joined the club with his friends, he’s been wearing the Hellfire shirt around the house like it’s attached to him. You’ve even seen him sleep in it.

“Come, sit down,” your mom waves her hands. “Let’s eat.”

She’s content staring at the flowers when she walks into the kitchen and everyone begins to follow. Eddie sneaks an arm around your waist, smiling at you.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve used the door,” he mutters.

You roll your eyes, shushing him and heading over to the table. Eddie’s on the move before a hand grabs his shoulder and he’s turning around to meet the stern gaze of your brother.

“Hey, man,” he says. “Long time, no see.”

Jonathan smiles only for a moment, something extremely short-lived.

“That was a one-time thing,” he grunts. “You better not have been giving any weed to my sister—”

“No way, she doesn’t touch the stuff. Don’t worry, I’d never pressure her into anything she didn’t want.”

“You better not, and this stays between us.”

“Sure,” Eddie nods. “My lips are sealed between you, me, and purple palm tree delight,”

He lets out a humorous chuckle at Jonathan’s deadpan stare before heading over to the dining room to see all the food laid out on the table. You’re smiling at him happily, patting the chair next to you, and he almost skips over to sit beside you.

Your mom apologizes about the lack of dinner but Eddie’s shaking his head, telling her that it’s more than enough and it’s much better than the canned food he’s so used to having.

Conversation flows very smoothly when plates are filled up, and Eddie answers every question put to him by your parents and your brothers, though Will is mostly just giddily listening because here’s his hero with his big sister.

Eddie opens up about a lot of things, mainly his life with his uncle and how he got into music. It’s clearly a very interesting topic to your dad who leans into the discussion with a curious grin, nodding along to the origin of the name ‘Corroded Coffin.’

In turn, Bob talks about how he founded the Hawkins AV Club, saying that he could be a player in one of Eddie’s D&D sessions since he was nicknamed ‘Bob the Brain,’ but how Will is always telling him how embarrassing that would be.

It’s lovely when everyone at the table laughs, making the atmosphere feel really comfortable. They take a liking to Eddie right away and you feel so warm in the chest at the scene.

“So,” Bob passes the salad onto Joyce who scoops a pile into Eddie’s plate. “What kind of songs do you play?”

“We play a few covers,” Eddie replies. “But we’ve been working on some original music.”

“That’s cool,” Will smiles.

“And you play at the Hideout?” Joyce asks and when Eddie nods, she smiles. “We should come to see you play sometime.”

“Yeah!” Bob lights up. “A big family outing. We’ll be cheering for you in the crowd.”

Eddie chuckles, hiding half of his smile into the palm of his hand when he props his elbow onto the table.

“I didn’t know you listened to that kind of music, dad,” you say after taking a sip of your water.

“Yeah, of course. I was super into Led Zeppelin in my teens,”

He mimics an air guitar, smiling over at your mom who’s shaking her head with that face that both says ‘I love you’ and ‘you amaze me.’

“Nice,” Eddie says. “Do you play?”

“Oh, no. Not anymore.”

“You can jam with me one day. I have a gorgeous Warlock NJ you can use.”

You hum, turning to him. “I think that guitar gets more love than me sometimes.”

He scrunches up his nose, shaking his head as he reaches over to hold your hand, and you’re glad that he kept the rings on, too.

“You know,” Bob says, waving his fork around. “I’m actually a big Dio fan myself.”

Eddie furrows his brows for a moment, leaning in closer to the table. “How did you know I like Dio?”

“Because it’s on your vest—”

The second he says it, the room falls deadly silent. Everyone, including you, is sitting in their chairs confused, but only you, Eddie, and your dad know the reason.

Eddie isn’t wearing his Dio vest.

“Dad...?” You question, watching the way he sits frozen with a slightly open mouth.

“Hmm?” He hums, coming back to life, and shoving the piece of chicken on his fork right into his mouth.

You might have shaken the suspicion away if it weren’t for the guilty face your mom wears, who immediately starts stabbing the salad on her plate when you give her a look.

“Oh my gosh,” you breathe out. “They know.”

Somehow, your parents know that you’ve been sneaking Eddie in through your bedroom window nearly every night. But how could they have found out when you tried so hard to be careful about it?

Both you and Eddie took every precaution with the secrecy of it all. You would keep your door locked, Eddie would only come over on foot, not risking the sound of his van pulling up in the street, and he would leave only after the house was empty or while everyone was too busy at the front, usually resulting in Eddie jumping over the bushes in the backyard.

You are completely confused about where the two of you slipped up in all of this.

“All right,” your mom sighs, nodding at Bob and placing her hand on top of his. “Your father and I know about Eddie,”

“Wait, what?” Jonathan asks. “What’s going on?”

“Bob has the cameras and we—”

You groan. “Oh no,”

“We,” your mom emphasises, “just happened to stumble upon some footage of him climbing through the window and—”

“You did what?” Jonathan snaps, looking at Eddie.

He’s got that big brother look in his eye that warns Eddie to answer him very carefully and you tighten your hold of his hand, hoping that your younger brother doesn’t do anything rash like tackle Eddie over the dinner table.

Think about all the food that will be wasted.

“Okay, okay,” Bob extends his hands, gesturing for everyone to sit back in their chairs. “Clearly, there’s been some secrets in the family, but we want you to know that we aren’t mad at you.”

Joyce shakes her head with a sympathetic look on her face.

“You aren’t?” You ask, slowly relaxing after having tensed up at the bombshell that was dropped over dinner.

“No,” your mom shakes her head, face scrunched up. “I did a lot of sneaking around when I was your age.”

“We thought we’d let you tell us when you were ready,” Bob says.

As much as it is unbelievably understanding of them—though they’ve always been that way—you can’t help but feel embarrassed about it, especially of how it came out. You can’t believe you forgot all about the security cameras your dad installed. Sure, the tech side of it goes over your head but, hell, you thought you’d catch it.

Turns out, you and Eddie aren’t as sneaky as you thought you were.

“Well...” you let out a deep breath, still processing. “Thank you for trusting me.”

“Thank you for telling us,” Bob says.

It falls a little quiet after that with the exception of Jonathan’s knife scraping against the plate as he stares at Eddie while cutting into his chicken. Instead, you send Will a silly look when he catches your attention and he snickers.

“So,” Eddie pipes up, looking at your dad. “Would now be a bad time for me to ask if I could get some work experience with you?”

Bob perks up, mouth curved cheerfully. “Work with me?”

“Only if that’s okay. I’m just looking for a job right now and your daughter’s told me a lot about you,”

He looks ten times more happy than before, wearing a proud dad look on his face.

“Of course. I can always do with more workers. You know how to work electronics?”

“Just the basics, you know; toaster, VHS, and guitar amps, but I’m willing to learn and I’m great at fixing things.”

Bob chuckles. “You’re a clever guy, that’s good.”

When he’s too distracted by passing the food down to Will at the end of the table, you lean into Eddie’s side and whisper, “Told you.”

There was no doubt in your mind that your dad would take Eddie on to work with him at Radio Shack and now you get to visit him at his job for lunch instead of the other way around, though your dad will most likely join in as well.

Maybe Eddie will have to wear a dress shirt and tie just like your dad does. Hmm, that could be interesting.

It’s Will’s disgusted scoff that draws you out from your thinking, giving him a strange look until you realize that you and Eddie are huddled together at the table, hand in hand, and have been staring at each other for the past twenty seconds.

“Yeah,” Jonathan nods, pointing his pinky at Will. “Ew.”

You roll your eyes. “You’re one to talk,”

There are not enough fingers on your hand to count the times you’ve caught Jonathan sucking face with Nancy and the lipstick stains she leaves on his skin afterwards. If anything is disgusting, it’s that.

“Hey, Eds,” Bob speaks, and you get all giddy at the nickname. “Can you start Monday?”

“Yeah,” he nods excitedly. “Absolutely.”

“Great, this will be great,”

Not just that, you think, but this whole thing has been great. Your parents have welcomed Eddie with open arms, Jonathan seems to be on the fence but either way, you know he can tell you’re smitten, and Will is over the moon that the head of the Hellfire Club is eating dinner at his house.

Tonight could not have gone any smoother, in fact, you’re sure you’re going to hear only good things once Eddie leaves for the night—since there’s absolutely no way that he’s staying and if he tries, you’ll kick him in the shins.

Those flowers he bought for your mom are going to be displayed in a vase for weeks, or for as long as she can keep them alive, and you’re going to smile every time you see them.

Thank goodness you’re a Byers, Bob included.

“And hey,” your dad suddenly says, “maybe I can teach you a few things about security cameras.”

Well, choking on your chicken is the only bad thing to happen tonight. Otherwise, it’s the best night you’ve had in a long time.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taglist: @dameronology @overly-obsessed-with-you @doublesunsets @shadowhuntyi @munsonology @compassgenius @thefaeriemagic3

[oneirataxia-girl]

alvita’s endless ocs ⇝ an introduction

ft. Satomi Kurosawa (Spiderverse)

EDIT: as of 4/8/2024, Satomi’s star sign has been changed to Capricorn

Satomi Kurosawa is the daughter of Hanzo and Chihiro Kurosawa and heiress to the tech company KumoByte. Said to be exceptional in the field of computer science, the young woman has since disappeared from public view after a severe driving accident, a self-sentenced exile for her car spinning out of control when she was behind the wheel. During this banishment, a masked vigilante named Prowler successfully bypassed the security measures in the mansion, but Satomi managed to hack into his headgear and shut his tech off from within. Removing the helmet revealed a young boy whose name was Miles Morales, a teenager who had recently lost his father to the cartel lurking in the shadows of New York, and who wanted revenge on those who benefitted from the suffering of people like him -- those who were on the top rung of society, like Satomi. Surprised at the boy's proclamation, Satomi revealed the true reason she left society: she had suspicions that someone in her closest circles was leaking information to the cartel. The car crash was only the start, as Satomi believed that once the cartel got wind that she wasn't leaving the city, it was only a matter of time before they tried something else to get her out of the game and fought for her position as heiress. With similar objectives, Satomi offered her help to Miles, stating that her ability to hack into any digital database available would be useful if he wanted to do this without many noticing. Miles accepted her offer a few days later, and Satomi took on the persona of the Master of Spin, a digital figure that lurks between lines of code, waiting for its prey to wander in their spun trap. One particular night, Satomi was journaling her latest exploration into the web when the internet went out -- then came back on in seconds. Sensing something strange at work, she immediately started to look for the source of the blackout; only to be interrupted by her bodyguard Miguel O'Hara, and a few moments later, Miles in their encrypted chat. Her partner had found something... something that might be more dangerous than the sinister six that loomed over Satomi's home.

x

the enabler's call: @arrthurpendragon, @bibaybe, @daughter-of-melpomene, @auxiliarydetective, @starcrossedjedis, @fakedatings, @hiya-itsamber -- want to be added? shoot me an ask!!

bonus tagging @ariparri bc I think you said you wanted to be tagged in Satomi's intro? lemme know if you didn't and I'll take you off no problem <33