#nimble-classifed

[txttletale]

i've gotten asks a few times on like 'how to do ''fantasy races'' without. like. just making race science true in the world'. and i think there's three approaches. the first is harkening back to tolkein and making it clear through framing device or format/tonal cues that you are writing in a mythic register--that you are writing about a world where the basic premises of positivism and empiricism simply aren't true. a world where 'biology' is like, not necessarily a salient premise--where there are things that just cannot be understood. (that's not to say that tolkein's orcs werent v. racialised in v. nasty ways--but it wasn't race science in the way a lot of more modern fantasy is.)

the second way i think is to go and actually understand the history of 'race' as a concept. 'race' has not always existed--it was an ideological invention birthed from / alongisde the enlightmenent and imposed onto populations through military force. in real life, it's less helpful to conceive of 'race' as an attribute someone has and and more as a relationship they have to society. so if you want to actually include scientific racism in your story as an element of your worldbuilding and not something decalred epistemologically true you should be thinking about why these people have been racialized and under what hegemonic paradigm--who, in-universe, invented & enforces the racial classification system that distinguishes between 'human' and 'orc' as taxonomic characters?

the third and final way is to simply think of the traits you understand as belonging to ''fantasy races'' (say, pointy ears and exceptional nimbleness and hundred-year lifespans for elves) as instead just being... more variations in the way people can be. like, in the real world, we do not consider 'tall people' or 'blonde people' or 'myopic people' a different species. in a world where sometimes people have wings or pointed ears or green skin, why should that be different? you've just introduced new types of variation within the population of people--you've just expanded the meaning of human. and of course, right, you can still roughly group these features, or note that some of them are more frequent in some ethnic groups--in much the same way as saying 'on average, people in sweden are taller, paler, and more likely to be blonde and blue-eyed', you can say 'people in these forests tend to be shorter and live longer and have pointed ears'--without having a hard taxonomy that classifies all these attributes as metaphysically different Types Of Person

obviously these are all very different approaches--and there are probably other ways to handle this too! i just get this question a lot whenever i do Orc Discourse and finally felt like getting these thoughts out. there are so so so many places we can take fantasy--let's move the horizon beyond 'magical race science' and imagine genuinely new worlds

[munson-blurbs]

Living After Midnight (Failed Rockstar!Eddie x Motel Worker!Reader)

♫ Summary: Eddie asked you on a date. Maybe. Possibly. But you definitely accepted. (5.6k words)

♫ CW: slowburn, strangers-to-lovers, angst, anxiety, parental conflict, poverty, mentions of sex, Reader wears a miniskirt, drinking, tipsiness, idiots in love, eventual smut (18+ only, minors DNI)

♫ Divider credit to @hellfire--cult

chapter ten: this foolish lover's game

“I’m telling you: it’s a date.”

Nora flicked through the items on the clearance rack, searching for something in your size. She pulled out a floral shirt, wrinkled her nose, and promptly put it back. 

“It’s 1993. A guy and a girl can hang out without it being something romantic,” you retorted, trying to ignore the fuzziness that filled your head at the potential classification of your upcoming night out with Eddie as a ‘date.’

“Very true. But that’s not the case here.” Nora sighed at the limited clothing choices and at your stubbornness. She stalked over to a rack of regularly-priced skirts, evidently on a mission. “And you know it, too, which is why you asked me to help you choose a new outfit.”

You had done that, though you definitely regretted it now. It had been so long since you’d actually gone out with friends that you really did need new clothes, but you had no idea where to start. 

Enter Nora: best friend extraordinaire. She was just as great at finding clothes that flatter your figure as she was at being a study buddy. Her opinion mattered to you; it was necessary, especially considering the way you currently teemed with self-doubt. 

She plucked a denim miniskirt from the lineup and held it against your waist. “Go try this on,” she said. You reached for the price tag, almost certain that it was out of budget, but she clamped her hand over yours. “My treat. Now, go.”

There was no arguing with her, not while she was shooing you into the dressing room. She clasped your shoulders as she steered you towards a curtain, yanked it open, and shoved you inside. “I’ll wait here,” she said.

You closed the curtain once again, unbuttoning your shorts and letting them fall to the thin carpet below you. 

The skirt hung on its hanger, buttons all along the front, and it was impossible not to imagine Eddie being the one undoing them. His nimble fingers would dance across the seam as he positioned himself between your legs. You could practically feel his hands as they crept further upwards towards that dangerously sensitive part of you—

“Can we stop by the food court when you’re done? I’m dying for one of those cinnamon pretzels.”

The sound of Nora’s voice instantly cooled your heating skin. “Y-Yeah, sure,” you stammered. 

Focus on that, you silently reprimanded yourself. Focus on Auntie Anne’s or Orange Julius or Panda Express—not Eddie tracing his tongue along your inner thighs. 

You stepped into the skirt, warding off any lingering Eddie-related thoughts. Monday night would be like hanging out with Nora or Ben. There was no need to worry about your hair, or your clothes, or your makeup. Eddie was a friend, and only a friend, despite what absurdities your other friends planted in your head. 

With the last button fastened, you allowed yourself to glance at your reflection in the mirror. The denim hugged your curves delicately, providing just a hint of what laid beneath without giving too much away. It looked odd paired with the old t-shirt you’d thrown on this morning, but the right top would make a world of difference. 

Nora clapped her hands together the moment you opened the curtain. Her brown eyes lit up, and a soft squeal of excitement emanated from her throat. 

“You’re gonna have Eddie eating out the palm of your hand,” she declared, reaching out to give you a little spin. 

You gently pulled away from her as though it would offset the fluttering low in your stomach. “I told you, it’s—”

“Yeah, I know. Just two friends going to the bar, pretending they don’t wanna bone each other.” Nora rolled her eyes, already sick of the will they-won’t they song-and-dance. 

You ducked back into the fitting room to change out of the skirt. “He doesn’t wanna bone me.”

“But you wanna bone him?” 

It came out as a question, but you knew she meant as a statement. 

“First of all, stop saying ‘bone.’” You hissed, tugging your shorts back over your legs. “Second, Eddie and I are friends, and he’s taking me out for graduation. End of story.”

Nora’s sigh was audible from the other side of the curtain. “Not ‘end of story.’ You didn’t answer my question. Do you wanna b—have sex with Eddie?”

Your hesitation was enough of an answer for her, and though you couldn’t see her face, you were certain she was grinning when she announced, “I knew it!”

“It’s not like that,” you protested. The fitting room was suddenly far too crowded and depleted of oxygen despite you being its only occupant. You threaded the teeth into your shorts zipper and grabbed the skirt, now heavy in your hand. “Yeah, he’s pretty cute, but—”

“But nothing. C’mon, just admit it: you like Eddie.” You could detect a hint of exasperation in her tone. Frustration, even, or confusion as to why you continually denied yourself life’s small pleasures. 

You couldn’t answer that, either. 

Protest died with the subtle twitch of your lips that gave away the truth. You hated your tells, the ones that swiftly uncovered the feelings you worked diligently to stifle. And you knew that if Nora kept pressing you about this crush, you would eventually break down and divulge it all. 

Not just your burgeoning romantic feelings towards Eddie. Not the way you told bad jokes just to see his lopsided smile and the nose crinkle that often accompanied it. Not the multiple occasions when you caught yourself staring at the muscles in his arms and ached to kiss right along the hardened edge of his biceps. 

Once you said those thoughts out loud, gave them the weight of spoken words, they became real. Able to hurt you when he inevitably didn’t reciprocate them. 

And that terrified you. 

“You have a big ol’ crush on him,” Nora continued, “and he has one on you.”

“He doesn’t have a crush on me,” you mumbled, purposely averting your gaze from hers.

Through peripheral vision, you could see her raise one brow. “Says who?”

Says the song lyrics about his ex-girlfriend. But that was too much to explain, so you slapped on a tight smile and shook the thought away. “Never mind. Let’s just pay for this.”

Nora swiped her credit card with an ease that only comes with the luxury of not having to worry about paying the water bill. She never had to dip into her own savings to keep the lights on. Buying her friend a miniskirt for a maybe-date wasn’t going to affect her grocery budget. 

“I have the perfect pair of Docs to go with this. You can borrow them,” she said, pointedly adding “for your date.” She was either oblivious or didn’t care that the cashier was eavesdropping on your conversation. 

“Not a date.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Nora plucked the bagged skirt from the cashier, flashed her a grateful smile, and shoved it in your direction. “Just answer one question for me—are you gonna wear lace panties underneath this, or cotton?” 

When you once again failed to look at her, her grin widened.  

“That’s what I thought.”

On Monday evening, you found yourself poised in front of the mirror, still fogged from your shower. The inky blue sky leaked into your room through the time-worn blinds, the sun almost fully faded into nighttime, which meant that Eddie would be knocking on your door at any moment. 

The hem of your black fitted t-shirt met the waist of your skirt, the slightest gap between the two fabrics. It wasn’t scandalous by any stretch of the imagination, but it still conveyed one message: you wanted Eddie to look at you. Wanted him to notice your soft skin the way you noticed his flexing muscles, with awe and more lust than you cared to admit. 

Did it all reek of desperation? What if Eddie was wearing the sweatpants he’d donned to remove the wallpaper? Just the possibility of him looking at your own outfit, at the effort you put into your appearance, and realizing you’d interpreted a friendly gesture as a date had you cringing. 

No, this was a bad idea. You had to back out, now. Claim that you weren’t feeling well, maybe even take some ibuprofen in front of him, and promise a raincheck. You did feel the familiar throbbing that accompanied a tension headache, so it wasn’t a total lie—

Knock knock. 

Sweat overrode the antiperspirant you’d lathered on, flooding you with a nervous heat. You frantically wiped your slick palms on the bed sheet like a cat at its scratching post and opened the door. 

Eddie's eyes widened and his tongue brushed over his lower lip. There was no hiding the way his gaze dropped to your exposed thighs, drinking in every ounce of visible skin as though it was the only sustenance he’d ever need. His stare was hungry, if only for a moment, before his words broke the trance. 

“You look…good. Pretty.” He swallowed thickly and forced himself to meet your eyes. “Sorry…just not used to seeing you all dressed up.”

Pretty. Eddie Munson thought you were pretty. The notion sent serotonin surging through you, a soft giggle passing through your lips. It was embarrassing, this schoolgirl crush, the way a simple word from him rendered you pathetically speechless.

A barrage of compliments perched themselves on your tongue, waiting to be untethered. He looked good, too; beyond that, he looked handsome. His cream colored shirt was baggy around his torso but clung to his biceps, drawing your attention to the vein that ran up his forearm. 

You willed yourself to say something, anything, to reciprocate his kind words.   

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, mirroring your nervous energy as he gently rocked from the heel to the toe of his Reeboks. “We should get going,” he said.

Opportunity slipped from your grasp; anything you said now would seem like pity. Your only response was a nod as you locked the door and started towards the lobby.

Pretty. Pretty. Pretty.

Mom stood behind the desk, flipping through the check-in sheets with the  cap end of a pen clenched between her teeth. She looked up, blinking in rapid succession when she saw you and Eddie approaching. You weren’t sure what surprised her more: you going out, or the man accompanying you.

“Well, don’t you two look nice!” She grinned, though the smile didn’t quite reach her tired eyes. “What’s the occasion?”

“Just getting a drink,” you said as casually as you could. “Celebrating my—the wallpaper.” It was a lame finish, one that Mom didn’t quite believe, but she lacked the energy to push further. 

Guilt panged in your chest, not just at the lie, but because part of you felt like you were taking advantage of her exhaustion. You couldn’t tell her the real reason for the celebration; bile rose in your throat at the thought. Instead, you smiled and promised to be home before the start of your shift. 

“I’ll make sure she behaves,” Eddie added with a mischievous edge, not sexual in nature but still had your stomach doing somersaults. “I know she can be quite the troublemaker.”

Mom laughed at this, so pure and genuine that you were half-tempted to ask Eddie if you could stay here and talk with her all night. Maybe he could break the news to her, since they seemed to get on well enough.

You felt her watch as Eddie opened the door for you and gave the tiniest bow to let you pass, though you didn’t dare look back at her. Not because she wouldn’t approve—just the opposite. Looking at your mother would confirm what you already knew deep down: she’d be beaming at the sight of you going on a date. 

If that’s what this was. 

Eddie shuffled to walk right by your side, sneakers scuffing against the broken pavement. A flicker of hope ignited within you that he would do something to confirm that this was, in fact, a romantic endeavor and not just two friends getting a drink. Perhaps an arm slung over your shoulder or a hand laced with yours. 

There was only the gentle brush of his fingers against yours, knuckles grazing one another as they nearly slotted together. It was taunting, the way they could be a perfect fit if given the chance. 

You almost went for it, almost grabbed hold of his hand yourself, but fear had you in its own grasp. Even if the benefit outweighed the risk, you couldn’t stop picturing him tugging his hand away from yours in a humiliating show of rejection. 

“You okay? You’re not, like, mad at me again, are you?” Concern creased Eddie’s brows, and your heavy heart realized that the last time you were this quiet around him was after the argument. 

“Not at all. Sorry.” You shot him a reassuring smile. “Just lost in my own thoughts.” You sent up a silent prayer that he wouldn’t ask you to elaborate on those thoughts. 

Luckily, he just tilted his head towards you, his eyes taking on an even more doe-like quality than usual. “That’s the problem with you smart people: you’re always thinking too much.”

You laughed as you nudged him, your right shoulder colliding with his left. He stumbled slightly, quickly catching himself before he could fully lose his balance. 

“Hey!” He yelped, rubbing his upper arm. The muscles beneath it flexed at his touch. “Don’t damage the merchandise.”

“I wouldn’t dare. I…” You shook your nerves loose and faced him, speaking before you fully lost yourself in his full, waiting lips. “I’d never damage merchandise as priceless as you.”

Eddie stopped in his tracks, the compliment seemingly rebooting his brain. Was it too forward? No, it couldn’t have been; he’d called you pretty just moments before. And it wasn’t as if you’d been forward enough to say he was sexy (though he was) or accidentally emasculated him by pointing out how adorable his soft dimples were (another fact). 

His exhale was a disbelieving chuckle. “I, uh, don’t think anyone’s called me ‘priceless’ before. ‘Worthless,’ maybe, but…” He trailed off in an attempt to contain it as a lighthearted joke, but it was anchored by an undeniable truth. 

If you could, you would wash away the ego-marring stains left behind by those who hurt him. Scrub and scrub until it was once again pristine as though they’d never been tarnished by self-doubt. 

“Priceless.” You said it definitively, leaving no room for further argument. 

Eddie ducked behind his hair, letting the curly locks dangle over his mouth to mask his flustered smile. You were willing to bet that a blush was spreading across the apples of his cheeks. 

Curiosity loosened your inhibitions enough for you to reach out and tuck a few strands behind his ear. Sure enough, a delicate pink tinged his skin. You wanted to kiss it until your lips grew swollen from where his stubble scratched them raw.

Doing that would require something far more potent than inquisitiveness. 

There was a decent crowd that night, not as packed as the weekend would have been, but there were enough people that only one empty stool remained in front of the bar. Eddie gestured to it, offering you the seat just as he had on the subway last week. 

You tucked the denim fabric of your skirt behind your thighs as you sat. Eddie watched every movement, an unreadable desire darkening his expression, as if he wished it were his fingers on your skin. 

Your smile seemed to snap him from his trance. He waved down the bartender, who held up her forefinger to signal she would be right over. 

A shadow draped over you as you scanned the liquor-cluttered shelves, bathing you in a welcoming darkness. Protection. Eddie’s arms framed your torso, his hands planted firmly on the bartop. And when you lightly grasped his wrist, your thumb rubbing against the soft hairs on his arm, you could have sworn you felt the tension leave his body in one swift exhale.

“What are you gonna get?” The grainy pop music playing from the speakers and a cacophony of neighboring conversations muffled his voice, and he had to shout just to be heard. 

“A vodka tonic.” Simple, classic, and most importantly—not expensive. Though you probably should let him be the judge of that, considering it was his treat. “If that’s okay?”

Eddie laughed softly and nodded. “It’s your night, Heiress.” The tip of his tongue swiped over his lower lip. 

He ordered your drink first, then placed his order for whatever beer was on tap before declining to open a tab. Your chest went slightly concave; you should have followed his lead and ordered the cheaper option. 

As if sensing your guilt, Eddie pulled back enough to look you in the eye. “It’s your night,” he repeated, grabbing your short, stout glass and placing it in your hand. He raised his own taller mug, proposing a toast. “To a badass future social worker and all of the lives she’s gonna change. For the better,” he added quickly. 

Before he could clink his glass to yours, you locked eyes with him. The brown eyes that steeled themselves against you the night he first checked into the motel were now pillow-soft, beckoning you to fall. He may not have even been aware of it himself. 

“To the coolest rockstar I know,” you said, allowing the lips of your glasses to touch. “And the second-coolest guest to ever stay at the motel.”

Eddie raised a brow. “Second?”

“You really think you’re cooler than Phyllis?”

“Touché.” He relented with a smirk, taking a swig of his drink that left a foamy mustache on his upper lip. Without a second thought, he licked it away. 

The movement enraptured you: his tongue swiping over his skin, leaving no residue in its wake. That same tongue that peeked out from his mouth when he was focused, a simple muscle, but it held your attention for a beat too long. 

“Are you…” Eddie gestured towards your vodka tonic, and you realized you hadn’t even taken a sip. 

Cheers to embarrassing yourself ten minutes into the date. Non-date. Whatever it was. 

The vodka’s bitterness and the bubbles from the tonic water seeped into your tongue. You savored the burn as you swallowed. It had been so long since you’d had a drink, and just the first taste had you buzzing. If you didn’t pace yourself properly, you’d be tipsy far too soon. 

The sound system crackled and microphone feedback shot through the bar. You and Eddie winced in unison, each taking a gulp of your drinks. 

A man in his mid-thirties, balding with a goatee, stood at a makeshift stage at the back of the bar. “Welcome to Music Mondays here at The Brink. That’s right…it’s karaoke night!”

There was a smattering of applause that didn’t  match the emcee’s enthusiasm, but he remained undeterred. 

“Sign up here with your name and your song, and we’ll get started in a few minutes. Drink that liquid courage and come on down!” The microphone screeched once more as he slid it back into the stand. 

You turned to Eddie, your eyes wide with mischief. “You’re gonna do it, right?”

Eddie scoffed. “Fuck, no. I’m not getting up there and making a fool of myself.”

“But it’s my night,” you reminded him. “You said so yourself.”

He looked poised to argue, one hand gripped tightly around the mug’s handle, his mouth ready to say no. But then you batted your eyelashes and pouted, all in jest. A dramatic showing that you didn’t expect would convince him. 

A wry smile betrayed his tough exterior as his thumb ghosted your lower lip. Lightning crackled at his touch, soft as it was, illuminating your bones and surging through your veins. When he pulled back, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat, a light red stain tinged his skin. If he noticed it, he made no attempt to wipe it off. 

“It is your night,” he mused, gaze flickering to your mouth before promptly returning to your eyes. When you lit up in anticipation of him conceding, he couldn’t help but grin back. “One song. And I’m choosing it.”

You couldn’t argue with him, not when his touch still lingered on your lip. He disappeared for a moment to add his name to the list. As soon as he was out of sight, you took a much larger gulp of your drink. A trickle escaped out of the corner of your mouth, and you haphazardly swiped at it with the back of your hand, lest it ruin the shirt you’d picked out especially for the date. 

This isn’t a date. The reminder was as harsh as the vodka itself. You lifted the glass once more and drained it until the half-melted ice cubes clicked against your teeth. Whatever this evening was, you needed to relax. Enjoy Eddie’s company without reading too much into his every move. 

You turned your attention to the TV mounted above the shelves, engrossing yourself in the scrolling closed captions. A weatherman announced that this summer was going to be a ‘scorcher,’ and though he said it with a plastic grin, you inwardly cringed at the impact the air conditioning would have on the electric bill. 

“I’m up third.” Eddie’s voice broke in, turning the upcoming weather into a distant memory. He raised his brows when he saw your glass, now empty on the sticky bartop. “You finished that already?”

“Mhm.” Your smile was sloppier than you intended, your head starting to float from your neck as tipsiness crept in. 

Eddie breathed out, shaking his head with a glimmer of a smirk. You couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or impressed, and you didn’t have time to ask before he waved over the bartender. “Just water, please.” He nodded his thanks when she slid it over. “Drink,” he said to you, and you dutifully obliged. 

“What song did you pick out?” Something that is supposed to be screamed more than sung, you assumed. 

He just shook his head again and swallowed more beer. “It’s a surprise.” His eyes twinkled when he said it, and you wondered if his choice erred more on the side of Madonna than Metallica. 

A woman got up on stage and began her rousing rendition of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. 

Peppy? Upbeat? A great way to kick off karaoke night? Absolutely. 

On-key? Not even close. 

“If you ever start a new band, you should ask her to join.” You chinpointed towards the woman currently butchering the Cyndi Lauper classic. “She’s got that star power, I think.”

Eddie snorted but composed himself quickly to play into your joke. “I’m worried she’d outshine me.” He widened his eyes in faux concern. “Go solo and leave me behind, y’know?”  

“She’ll probably steal all of your groupies, too,” you added, tutting as if to say, what a shame. 

“Even you?”

You cocked your brow. “Who said I’m your groupie?”

He leaned his elbow against the bar, mouth slackjaw at your rejection. Disbelieving laughter left his throat in a huff. 

“I take you out, treat you to the best watered-down drink this city has to offer, and this is the thanks I get?” His curls brushed against his cheeks when he shook his head. “Who would you be a groupie for? Wait, no; lemme guess.” He tapped his finger to his chin. “New Kids on the Block? Boyz II Men?”

“I think I’d die if Joey McIntyre so much as looked at me.” You hadn’t meant to say that aloud. The watered-down or not, the alcohol was certainly turning sober thoughts into tipsy words. 

Eddie chugged half of the beer, watching as the woman on stage finished her song and left with a triumphant bow. “Pretty sure your shitty taste in music is what plays at the gates of Hell,” he said to you. 

Your response was a mere flick of your middle finger. 

A man in a suit took the stage next, loosening his tie as he positioned himself behind the microphone. A group of similarly-dressed men started hooting and hollering obnoxiously the moment the opening chords to Don’t Stop Believin’ blared through the sound system.

You looked back to Eddie. If he was nervous about singing karaoke, he didn’t show it. His shoulders were relaxed, his posture much less tense than on the walk to the bar. Maybe the alcohol loosened him up as it had you. 

“What about you?” You asked. “Whose groupie would you be?”

“Easy,” he said, not missing a beat. “Joan Jett. Total badass, killer musician, and hot as hell.” He nodded to confirm his choice before leaning in and loudly whispering. “Bad Reputation was basically my secret anthem in high school.”

You laughed. “Did you imagine it playing in the background when you walked down the halls?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Eddie grinned and polished off his beer. 

His confession warmed you—or maybe that was just the vodka working its way through your bloodstream. Regardless, you were intrigued by the glimpse into his past and found yourself hungry for more. 

“Can I ask you a non-groupie related question?”

“Shoot.”

Your tongue was heavy, the resulting slurring softening your words. “If your hometown is so shitty, why are you trying to go back?”

He loosened a chuckle, glancing at the shelves of booze before looking back to you. “My uncle still lives there. He, ah, he raised me after my dad split and my mom…y’know.” Eddie cleared his throat and managed a small smile. “Why? You want me to stick around?” 

The hair on his forearm tickled when he slid it over to nudge you, his pinky finger overlapping yours. 

Of course you wanted him to stick around. You’d smear honey all over the motel’s siding to lure more bees, tempt them to build their nests among the sticky sweetness, just so he would have a reason to stay. 

The man on stage belted out his final “don’t stop believin’” as his buddies enveloped him in drunken hugs. 

“All right!” The emcee bleated into the microphone. “Next up, we have…” He checked the sign-up sheet. “…Eddie! Let’s give him a hand, folks.”

A smattering of applause echoed throughout the room, the excitement of karaoke night already dwindling. If Eddie noticed, he didn’t show it. 

“This one’s for you, Heiress.” He winked and sprinted towards the stage. 

Eddie pressed his foot on the microphone stand, adjusting it so it was level with his lips. His fingers curled around its neck, dramatically tugging it closer as the instrumentals piped through the sound system.

Well, since my baby left me Well, I found a new place to dwell Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street At Heartbreak Hotel

His hips swung back and forth, the gyrations not quite as precise as Elvis’s, but he still snapped them in time with the staccato guitar chords. The right heel of his sneakers tapped the floor as he continued, voice dipping into his lower register.

Where I'll be, I'll be so lonely, baby  Well, I'm so lonely  I'll be so lonely, I could die

Free hand pressed to his heart, Eddie leaned in your direction and tilted the mic stand while he sang. The movements were reminiscent of how a man would dance with someone he loved, impassioned yet graceful. Charisma oozed from every pore, his natural command of the stage an enduring reminder of his brief foray into rock stardom.   

The other patrons faded into the background as his eyes fixed on you, a personal serenade rather than karaoke night amongst a sea of drunks. Easiness weaved through each note he sang, his body loosening and his lips curving into a smile when you let out a vodka-fueled whoop of admiration. 

Now, the bellhop's tears keep flowin'  And the desk clerk's dressed in black  Well, they've been so long on Lonely Street  Well, they'll never, they'll never look back

Eddie pointed to you when he referenced the desk clerk, the crowd following his every move. The heat of their stares only exacerbated the warmth that the alcohol already sent coursing through you, but you felt no need to hide. The rich timbre of his voice was a magnetic pull, drawing you in until it echoed deep in your bones. 

Although it's always crowded  But you still can find some room  For broken hearted lovers  To cry there in their gloom  Where they get so, they get so lonely, baby  Well, they're so lonely  They'll be so lonely, they could die

He ended the song with one final swing of his hips, one foot turned inward in an Elvis-esque pose. If anyone else applauded for him, it couldn’t be heard over the sound of your cheers. 

He made a beeline for you. “Did that live up to your expectations?” Sweat dripped from his flushed forehead and down his temples. 

“Exceeded them, actually.” 

The bartender slid over two shot glasses filled with amber liquid. “On the house,” she explained when you and Eddie looked at her in confusion. 

You shouldn’t. The TV set that broadcasted the news showed that it was nearly nine o’clock and you were already tipsy from the one drink. Adding a shot—and subsequently mixing liquor—was a recipe for disaster. 

“You don’t have to drink it if you don’t wanna,” Eddie said. “I’ll take them both.”

With a shake of your head, you took the glass nearest you and downed it, the whiskey burning stronger than you had anticipated. Tears reflexively welled in your eyes, leaving you clinging to the hope that you had blinked them away before Eddie could notice.

He let out a soft, low whistle. “Well, okay then.” His own shot disappeared past his grimacing lips.

A familiar synthesized beat replaced the idle hum of conversation as a middle-aged woman began her song. Eddie threw back his head when he heard it, groaning as though the ‘80s hit left him in agony.

“You’re such a music snob,” you lamented, reaching out with both of your hands to grab onto his. If this is what liquid courage felt like, you were more than happy to ride that wave. “There’s more to life than heavy metal.”

“I just sang Elvis!” He protested, but his efforts were all in vain as you hopped off of the barstool and led him away from your empty shot glasses. “Heiress…” His tone was a warning, one that you promptly ignored.

You let your gaze meet his, the vodka-and-whiskey combination working overtime to stifle your nerves. 

“Dance with me.”

Eddie laughed. “You’re tipsy.”

“I’m tipsy and I want you to dance with me.” 

“You wanna dance, huh?” He laughed again when you nodded. “All right; let’s dance.” 

Eddie’s hands slid down to your wrists and adjusted your arms so they draped over his shoulders, his curls tickling your fingers when they clasped behind his neck. He hesitated for a second before letting his own fingertips rest on your waist, careful to avoid dipping below the small of your back.

Watching, I keep waiting, still anticipating love  Never hesitating to become the fated ones  

The current performer was marginally better than the first two, but her voice wasn’t nearly as polished as Eddie’s. She kept getting too close to the mic, the lyrics muffled each time her purple-lipsticked mouth grazed the cover. 

You inched forward, your chest against Eddie’s as the two of you swayed in tandem. His fingers flexed before tugging you closer, evidence that you weren’t the only one affected by the shot. 

“Can’t remember the last time I heard this song,” he mused wistfully. “Probably my senior prom. The last one, anyway.”

“You had more than one senior prom?”

His cheeks, already pinkened from the liquor, flushed a deeper shade of red. “Yeah, it, uh, took me a few tries to graduate,” Eddie admitted. “But I did it.” A sheepish smile still held a twinge of pride. 

“You did it.”

“Yeah.” One arm reached back to grasp your hand and twirl you around, and you breathed an audible sigh of relief when the room didn’t spin with you. “But tonight,” he grinned, “is all about you.” 

You. Not the motel or its crumbling financial infrastructure. Not the guests or your parents. Not school or exams or term papers. Just you. 

An involuntary giggle wriggled its way up and you ducked your head to hide it, your forehead brushing against Eddie’s lips. Did he purse them slightly in a hint of a kiss, or was that a figment of your imagination?

Turning and returning to some secret place inside  Watching in slow motion as you turn my way and say  Take my breath away

“You okay?” Eddie asked, a smile in his voice.

“Mhm. Just happy.”

“Yeah? Good.” His forefinger tucked under your chin and tilted it upwards, granting him a better look at you. The tip of his tongue parted his lips and swiped over the whiskey-scented residue. “You deserve to be happy.”

You did deserve to be happy. You deserved joyful moments in your life, people who surrounded you in sunshine even when rain poured.

My love, take my breath away  My love, take my breath away

You deserved Eddie.

Standing before you, his eyes never strayed from your form, flicking from your face to where his hands gripped your waist. His chest rose and fell in time with the music. 

“I…” You swallowed your fear, already tempered by tipsiness, curling your fingers into the back of his ribbed t-shirt collar. 

Desire rippled down your spine and you leaned in to close that godforsaken gap, already tasting him on your tongue. 

But not before he pulled away. 

--

taglist:

@theintimatewriter @mandyjo8719 @storiesbyrhi @lady-munson @moonmark98

@squidscottjeans @therealbaberuthless @emxxblog @munson-mjstan @loves0phelia

@kthomps914 @aysheashea @munsonsbtch @mmunson86 @b-irock

@ginasellsbooks @erinekc @the-unforgivenn @dashingdeb16 @micheledawn1975

@yujyujj @eddies-acousticguitar @daisy-munson @kellsck @foreveranexpatsposts

@mykuup @chatteringfox @feelinglikeineedlotsofnaps @sapphire4082 @katethetank

@sidthedollface2 @eddies-stinky-battle-jacket @mysteris-things @mrsjellymunson @josephquinnsfreckles

@the-disaster-in-waiting @eddielowe @hugdealer @rip-quizilla @munson-girl

@fishwithtitz @costellation-hunter @cloudroomblog @emsgoodthinkin

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Karen Thompson for Abortion, Every Day:

Earlier this year Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed into law SB 276, a first-of-its-kind legislation classifying mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances. The drugs, commonly used to perform medication abortions, are responsible for 63% of abortions in the US. As a result of this new law, mere possession of mifepristone and misoprostol without a prescription in Louisiana can result in fines of up to $5,000 or “imprisonment of no more than five years with or without hard labor.”  We know what happens now: The outcome of this new layer of criminalization is entirely foreseeable. By putting the pills on a drug registry with special access rules, providers are no longer able to easily prescribe the pills and the ability of OB/GYNs to nimbly provide needed—and even emergency—health care if a woman is miscarrying is chilled. In Louisiana’s telling, mife and miso are the new heroin and medication abortion care puts pregnant people’s lives in jeopardy, not their own dangerous law. The lack of situational awareness around the law would be comical if the inevitable devastation of its effects wasn’t so horrifying. 

This is true even for people who are not using the drugs to end their pregnancies, but for the myriad other health issues the drugs treat—from softening the cervix for an endometrial biopsy to the insertion of IUDs. But the massive burden SB 276 places on pregnant people—particularly those seeking to self-manage their own abortions—is disastrous. By reclassifying a safe, effective, regulated drug used for a broad range of healthcare purposes into a dangerous controlled substance whose distribution and use can be entered and tracked in a state database, Louisiana, as one local health care provider noted, would “effectively be creating a database of every woman who is prescribed mifepristone and misoprostol, regardless of the reason, truly monitoring women and their pregnancies. That should be unimaginable in America.”

Such policing is not only very much imaginable in America, but has been the country’s sad truth for decades. Before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, state surveillance and criminalization of women during pregnancy and around their pregnancy outcomes—based on their alleged drug use, in particular—was the daily truth for countless women and other people who can become pregnant. A past truth is simply devolving into a dystopian present.  To be clear, classifying drugs in light of their potential harms is not a new thing. One of the most infamous classification tools, the Controlled Substances Act, has been in place since the 1970s, when President Nixon signed it into law. The CSA became the enforcing mechanism for Nixon’s “War on Drugs,” and gave both the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration power to determine which substances were fit for medical use. Such regulation can serve a useful purpose; the CSA is itself the legislative grandchild of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which required food and drug manufacturers to clearly label any product that contained dangerous substances, including morphine and opium, drugs often included in everyday products from soft drinks to teething medicines. 

But SB 276 is not trying to protect babies. As John Erhlichman, one of Richard Nixon’s Watergate co-conspirators, bluntly stated in 1994: “[w]e knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the [Vietnam] war or blacks, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could . . . vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”  Once again, government actors are lying about drugs to criminalize women’s access to and control over their own social and bodily autonomy. Louisiana’s law unmasks in broad daylight what so many people and communities living with the consequences of bad drug policy have long known: the “war on drugs” is a political invention to construct fiscal and social power over individuals and communities, not to provide much needed public health services. 

[...] By criminalizing possession of abortion medication, the Venn diagram of overlap between the “war on drugs” and the war on reproductive freedom has, once again, become a perfect circle. The efforts to control reproduction and drugs are rooted in the same forms of bigotry: controlling women’s behavior and liberties rather than providing actionable solutions to satisfy public health needs. 

Karen Thompson writes for Abortion, Every Day the impacts of criminalization of abortion medication as the new era of the War on Drugs takes shape in the post-Roe era.

[sebastianandpainterkisser4]

Z-13 - New codename: "The Saboteur", previous codename "Handy Man", real name “Sebastian Solace", is to be KILLED ON SIGHT without hesitation. Z-13 is incredibly dangerous; caution is required if encountered. Despite his size, Z-13 is incredibly nimble, allowing him to quickly outmaneuver and flank operatives. It should also be noted that Z-13 is currently in possession of our experimental portable SCRAMBLER, meaning that any and all CCTV, radios and other communications equipment will be rendered offline within a ██ by ██ stud radius of his presence. Operatives must conduct a communications check with HQ every 5 minutes, to ensure they are not within range of the SCRAMBLER. If HQ cannot be reached, operatives should remain on high alert for a possible ambush whilst attempting to check in as often as possible.

After feigning the effects of anesthesia, Z-13 pretended to succumb and woke up unguarded during transport. He killed Elite Guardsman ██████, acquiring his high clearance keycard, and proceeded to release as many monsters as possible from their containment cells, causing a site-wide lockdown.

Before stealing and reconfiguring the experimental SCRAMBLER, CCTV captured Z-13 trading stolen items for research findings from EXP-P expedition party members. His exact motivations remain unknown, but encrypted radio broadcasts to Innovation Inc, Bloxtop, Deluge Labs, and Pinewood suggest he is gathering confidential Urbanshade information to leverage a way out with a rival organization. Although uncertain if he continues to trade with incoming parties, it is highly probable.

In early 2015, Z-13 was selected to be part of an experiment to give humans gills, using DNA strands from an blue whale, █████████, a sea snake, a great white shark, a female anglerfish, a silver spinyfin, and a mantis shrimp. Whilst the experimentation was a success and Z-13 gained the ability to breathe underwater, the obvious visual and bodily side effects left much to be desired. These side effects were quickly ironed out and refined on future test subjects, and the gill procedure was quickly applied to all the Guardsmen working at the Blacksite. The initial periods following the experimentation are the optimal times to reverse physical side effects, but it was not deemed necessary for Z-13 due to his LR-P status. His monstrous appearance, characteristics, and abilities led to his classification as Z-13. After this experiment, seeing no further use for him in human testing, Z-13 was assigned to underwater equipment maintenance.

In late 2015, it was discovered that Z-13 had not killed the nine individuals he was accused of, and that an innocent man had been wrongfully sentenced to death. Despite this revelation, it was decided not to inform Z-13 or release him to the public, as he was legally declared deceased. At this stage, reversing the mutations was no longer feasible, as the opportunity to do that had long passed. However, his rank was changed to MR-P, providing him with better living conditions and access to recreational programs available to MR-P's.

Under no circumstances can Z-13 be allowed to leave the Blacksite alive. If any operative is to encounter Z-13, they must abandon their previous objectives and, as Mr. Shade himself stated, "Shred their mags until their trigger-fingers bleeds."

[reasoningdaily]

ScienceAlert: FDA to Finally Outlaw Soda Ingredient Prohibited Around The World

An ingredient once commonly used in citrus-flavored sodas to keep the tangy taste mixed thoroughly through the beverage could finally be banned for good across the US.

The FDA proposed in November to revoke the registration of a modified vegetable oil known as BVO in the wake of recent toxicology studies that make it difficult to support its ongoing use.

"The proposed action is an example of how the agency monitors emerging evidence and, as needed, conducts scientific research to investigate safety related questions, and takes regulatory action when the science does not support the continued safe use of additives in foods," James Jones, FDA deputy commissioner for human foods, explained when announcing the proposal.

BVO, or brominated vegetable oil, has been used as an emulsifying agent since the 1930s to ensure citrus flavoring agents don't float to the top of sodas. Sticking a dozen bromine atoms to a triglyceride creates a dense oil that floats evenly throughout water when mixed with less dense fats.

Yet that's not BVO's only trick. Animal studies have strongly implied the compound can slowly build up in our fat tissues. With bromine's potential ability to prevent iodine from doing its all-important work inside the thyroid, health authorities around the world have been suspicious of the emulsifier's risks for decades.

In fact, BVO is already banned in many countries, including India, Japan, and nations of the European Union, and was outlawed in the state of California in October 2022 with legislation due to take effect in 2027.

Yet the FDA has been slow to convince. In the 1950s, the agency regarded the ingredient as generally recognized as safe (GRAS); an official classification afforded items that have either been appropriately tested or – for ingredients in common use prior to 1958 – don't appear to be harmful.

That changed the following decade when questions were raised over its possible toxicity, prompting the FDA to overturn its GRAS classification for BVO and temporarily limit its use to relatively small concentrations of no more than 15 parts per million exclusively in citrus-flavored drinks.

Data on the risks posed by even these small amounts of BVO over time hasn't been easy to collect, relying heavily on long-term studies that re-evaluate health effects in a significantly-sized sample of people. Yet the evidence has been slowly mounting.

A UK study in the 1970s found bromine was building up in human tissues, with animal studies linking high concentrations of BVO with heart and behavioral problems.

It's taken time, and a number of further studies, but on the back of more recent animal studies based on relative concentrations of BVO humans are likely to ingest, the FDA is finally convinced there is sufficient evidence to ban its use altogether.

Most major soda drink companies are fortunately ahead of the game. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. have been phasing the ingredient out of their products over the past decade.

"Over the years many beverage makers reformulated their products to replace BVO with an alternative ingredient, and today, few beverages in the US contain BVO," said Jones.

The ban could be a sign of more things to come, with Jones announcing the agency is reviewing regulations that authorize the use of certain food additives, with a view to automatically prohibit the approval of any food coloring agents found to cause cancer in humans or animals, making for a more nimble bureaucratic process.

A final call on the FDA's reclassification of BVO still needs to go through a lengthy review process that will take time to complete.

With suitable alternatives to BVO already being used to make citrus drinks around the world taste tangy down to the very last drop, the ingredient isn't likely to be missed.

[generalgardenergarden]

My... failed? I guess I'm not as nimble as I used to be. My name is Walter C. Dornez, butler of the Hellsing family and former Master Vampire Hunter!

History

Walter C. Dornez is the butler of the Hellsing family and a former Master Vampire Hunter. When he was young, he fought Millennium alongside Alucard and was much more vulgar than he is in the present. Walter eventually betrays Integra and the Hellsing Organization and trades his humanity for vampire power in hopes of fulfilling his lifelong dream of defeating and destroying the vampire he once fought.

Name: Walter C. Dornez

Verse: Hellsing

Male gender

Age: 69 years

Classification: Member of Hellsing, Butler, Former Master Vampire Hunter, Member of Millenium and Artificial Vampire

Powers and stats

Name: Walter C. Dornez

Tier: 8-B | 8-A

Powers and Abilities:

Superhuman Physical Abilities, Martial Arts, Weapon Mastery, String Manipulation (He can use his strings to tear his opponent apart or even cut through large structures with ease), Force Field Creation (He can create a shield of strings to defend himself), Regeneration Denial (High-Low, completely ripped Alucard apart without him being able to regenerate) and Body Puppetry (He can put his strings inside people to control them and make them fight for him). Fear Manipulation Resistance (He was Unaffected by Alucard's presence causing fear to everyone around him)

Intelligence: Prodigy. As a former Master Vampire Hunter, Walter is extremely well versed in the supernatural and can cut through the undead with ease despite his aging body. He is privy to all the secrets of Hellsing and is a skilled actor and liar, orchestrating the attack on the Hellsing family and masking his betrayal until the moment he brazenly admitted it to his master and Alucard himself. In addition, he is also a skilled gunsmith, crafting custom firearms that became weapons of choice for both Alucard and Seras Victoria, each one tuned to perfectly match the attributes of its wielder. After being rejuvenated, he showed even more skill with his cables, forming shields strong enough to stop Alucard's bullets, dragging Luke Valentine and the Hound of the Baskervilles around like a puppet. and slowing its descent by sticking its cables into the surrounding infrastructure. With these techniques he gave Alucard a great deal of trouble despite the rapidly deteriorating condition of his body.

Weaknesses: When he is a vampire he is vulnerable to sunlight, silver and blessed weapons.

Notable Attacks/Techniques:

Wire Shield: Walter forms a web of wire mesh that is strong enough to completely nullify Alucard's Casull rounds.

Wire Marionette: Walter inserts his wires into another living being, allowing him to control their bodies like a puppet to use against his main target.

[streets-of-stellarosa]

Dryad

Classification: Fae Average Height: 4'11" Build: Bipedal, digitigrade Diet: Carnivore Innate Magic: Plant manipulation Life Expectancy: 236 years

"A tree frog that traces its origins to modern day Achaelos, the dryad is often mistaken for a plant of some sort due to the foliage that grows from their bodies. This, however, is an extension of their innate ability to manipulate and accelerate the growth of plants. Though small and relatively frail, dryads are quick and nimble, possessing the jumping and climbing abilities of their ancestors." --Dr. Agnolo Giordano, Othyrian Royal Order of Medicine

[figmentglobal]

10 GST Compliance Solutions Every Indian Business Needs

Navigating the complexities of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compliance can be a daunting task for many Indian businesses. Since its implementation in 2017, GST has revolutionized the Indian tax system, aiming to simplify tax administration and eliminate tax flows. However, ensuring GST compliance is a big challenge for companies across the country. In this article, we take an in-depth look at 10 GST compliance solutions that every Indian business should adopt for smooth operation and compliance.

i]. Strong accounting software

For businesses to successfully manage their GST compliance, investing in robust accounting software is key. Modern accounting software has features specifically designed to meet GST requirements, such as automatic tax calculation, GST billing and return filing

ii]. Regular GST training for employees

Ensuring that your employees are fully informed about GST laws is crucial for compliance. Providing regular GST training to your employees will give them the ability to navigate their GST-related tasks more effectively, reducing the risk of errors and non-compliance.

iii]. Fair distribution of goods and services

Proper classification of goods and services according to GST value is important to avoid penalties and lawsuits. Companies can invest time and resources to properly categorize their supply chain to determine the appropriate GST rate for them.

iv]. Timely filing of GST returns

It is not conceivable for companies to file a GST return within the stipulated time frame. Filing late can result in costly fees and compliance issues. Implementing a system to ensure timely filing of GST returns will help businesses avoid such consequences.

v]. Regular GST audit

Regular GST audits help businesses quickly identify any discrepancies or non-compliance issues. By proactively using such information, companies can avoid penalties and maintain clean compliance records.

vi]. Compliance with e-invoicing requirements

With the implementation of e-invoicing under GST rules, businesses need to ensure compliance with electronic invoicing standards. Install e-invoicing solutions that seamlessly integrate with accounting software to streamline invoicing processes and ensure compliance.

vii]. Contacting GST consultants

Seeking professional guidance from GST consultants can provide businesses with valuable insight and assistance in navigating complex GST regulations. Consultants can provide customized solutions to address specific compliance challenges faced by businesses.

viii]. Connection with GSTN Portal

Connecting your accounting software to the GSTN portal facilitates easy data transfer and simplifies the process of filing a GST return. This integration ensures consistency and reduces the manual effort required for compliance tasks.

xi]. Compliance with Input Tax Credit (ITC) rules

It is important for companies to understand and comply with Investment Tax Credit (ITC) rules to improve their tax compensation. By applying for and implementing ITC effectively, companies can reduce their tax burden by ensuring compliance with GST rules.

x]. Adoption of GST compliance automation tools

The implementation of GST compliance automation tools can significantly simplify the compliance process and reduce the burden on businesses. These tools automate various GST-related tasks, such as return filing, reconciliation and compliance monitoring, saving time and resources.

Conclusion

Ensuring GST compliance is essential for any Indian business to operate legally and successfully. By implementing the 10 GST compliance solutions outlined in this article, businesses can reduce compliance risk, avoid penalties and optimize their tax system Technical recognition, currency investing in training and employee orientation is an important step towards achieving smooth GST compliance. Stay nimble, stay compliant and thrive in the dynamic Indian tax environment.

[airsoftaction]

GOOD GEAR TO GO – HAZARD4 SIDEWINDER

As the guys prepare to kit up to head out to Germany it made us realise that there’s one piece of kit that Bill has used constantly since he got it in 2015 both in-game and for EDC, and that’s the SIDEWINDER SLING PACK from HAZARD4. He told us... “A good few years ago I came across some great gear from US brand HAZARD4; the name is inspired by a standard threat-classification index: ‘1’ low, ‘2 & 3’ moderate, and ‘4’ deadly, and their gear is designed to be the last line of defence for its owner when things turn bad . Their parent company, Civilian Lab, has great experience in manufacturing top quality outdoor adventure, extreme sport, and travel gear in innovative configurations and forms, and as with many manufacturers these days the tactical community has lapped up their output. "Originally called the SWITCHBACK, the SIDEWINDER updates this classic EDC-design, and now this quality sling-pack has generous size to accommodate laptops in its padded retainer, yet is nimble enough to be rotated from back to chest. Common to all HAZARD4 sling-packs, such as the EVAC™ series, this ability gives on-the-go access to frequently used gear while carrying heavier loads on the back the rest of the time. It's also more secure in crowds and tight spaces since you can keep it in sight and access the entire pack close to your body, and an included but removable stabilizer strap keeps the bag from sliding forward. "The generously padded and ventilated main shoulder strap is also ergonomically cut for hours of comfortable wear per day, and it is covered in modular (MOLLE compatible) webbing to attach pouches for phones and the like at hand's reach. Generous side modular webbing provides lots of expansion options and the thermoformed best-in-class moulded back panel provides variable rigidity, air ventilation, and a durable surface. A drop-down fast access gear organizer can also hold an iPad-sized tablet like a shelf and the main compartment is lined in fuzzy loop for attaching hook-backing dividers, patches or HAZARD4 holsters. "Now I am going to put in a word of warning here that HAZARD4 gear is not the cheapest in the world, but it works very well indeed, is massively innovative, and makes use of the best design and components married up with superb construction methods. This little pack has travelled the airsoft world with me over the past nine years and has stood up to the abuse I’ve given it both when playing OPFOR roles and travelling internationally… and it’s all set again to head to IWA with me… again! "Mine originally came from www.military1st.co.uk and it has been a worthwhile companion for a considerable time, so although it wasn’t the cheapest bit of kit I’ve ever bought, you really are getting your money’s worth!" Read the full article

[sahani55rishav]

Cloud Solutions and Its Uses in Modern Computing

Cloud arrangements, otherwise called distributed computing or cloud administrations, convey IT assets on request over the Web. Cloud specialist organizations such Amazon Web Administrations, Microsoft Purplish blue and Google Cloud Solutions can convey everything from applications to server farms on a compensation for-use premise to their supporters. With cloud arrangements, IT assets can increase or down rapidly to satisfy business needs. Cloud arrangements empower fast admittance to adaptable and minimal expense IT assets without huge forthright interests in equipment or tedious establishment and upkeep. Organizations can arrangement the very type and size of figuring assets they need to control another drive or work their IT divisions all the more effectively.

Who is utilizing distributed computing?

Associations of each and every sort, size, and industry are involving the cloud for a wide assortment of purpose cases, for example, information reinforcement, fiasco recuperation, email, virtual work areas, programming improvement and testing, huge information investigation, and client confronting web applications. For instance, medical organizations are involving the cloud to foster more customized therapies for patients. Monetary administrations organizations are utilizing the cloud to control ongoing extortion discovery and anticipation. Furthermore, computer game producers are utilizing the cloud to convey web-based games to a huge number of players all over the planet.

Most cloud arrangements fall into three classifications: Framework as-a-Administration (IaaS), Stage as-a-Administration (PaaS), and Programming as-a-Administration (SaaS). IaaS permits organizations to lease their IT framework from a cloud supplier basically. PaaS supplies an on-request climate for programming improvement. SaaS conveys applications over the Web. Organizations of all sizes use cloud answers for lessen equipment, programming and IT support costs. As cloud computing solutions develop past IaaS, PaaS and SaaS contributions, undertakings are depending on the cloud for programming characterized innovation. Server farm assets — including figure, stockpiling and organization assets — can be virtualized and midway oversaw as programming characterized pools. Cloud suppliers are currently offering pre-constructed cloud arrangements with the nimbleness to convey disconnected, programming characterized assets to jobs depending on the situation.

Cloud arrangements give advantageous, on-request admittance to shared pools of IT assets, assisting organizations with further developing productivity, diminish expenses and rebalance capital and working costs. Numerous organizations embrace a combination of public, private and mixture cloud arrangements. OpenStack is a product characterized foundation for growing new business jobs, for DevOps drives, or for changing customary server farms to a confidential cloud.

What is Cloud Continuum and How Organizations Can Use it?

Change is steady. That is the reason numerous associations are reconsidering their plans of action by moving to the cloud. Some are moving to improve and once again designing information work. Also, others essentially need to save expenses and lift effectiveness.

No matter what their goals, each association is relocating while the business needs are consistently evolving. Furthermore, the juice merits the press — many are acknowledging amazing outcomes from cloud movement.

Despite the fact that cloud has been at the center of attention for a really long time, the pandemic has given the genuinely necessary lift to cloud reception. Presently, the cloud isn’t just about on-request figuring power and capacity, as it was during the pre-pandemic time frame.

All things considered, it’s a creative stage for finding open doors and choices for meeting the always changing requirements of the business. Besides, the cloud is at this point not a solitary, static, siloed innovation. All things considered, it’s a powerful continuum of capacities and elements, named as ‘Cloud Continuum.’

How Cloud Continuum Advantages Organizations?

A new worldwide review of around 4,000 business and IT pioneers by Accenture saw that as around 12–15% of respondents are profiting from their proceeded with cloud commitment. These organizations are acquiring an edge even in the midst of the worldwide emergency as they embrace the cloud as a creative stage for finding better approaches for working.

Associations working in this Cloud Continuum are named as Continuum Contenders as they are utilizing cloud as siloed, conveyed objective yet as a consistent working model. The proceeded with cloud commitment changes the manner in which organizations draw in with clients, representatives, and accomplices, create and convey their items and administrations, and work their IT frameworks. More or less, the Cloud Continuum is rethinking the manner in which organizations work.

Cloud Arrangements

Whether you need to modernize your application portfolio comprehensively, carry cutting edge administration to your industry, or upgrade a solitary innovation, Prophet Cloud Framework (OCI) consolidates in excess of 100 cloud administrations with driving industry-explicit SaaS on a solitary, worldwide cloud stage, aws managed services. Get a kick off on building and moving your responsibilities with many reference models, outlines, plan examples, and best practices, and straightforwardly send completely computerized arrangements onto your OCI climate.

[greedskill]

Netflix acquires Seattle-based cozy games developer Spry Fox

Netflix has acquired Spry Fox, a Seattle-based independent gaming studio focused on cozy games, the streaming giant announced on Monday in a blog post. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Spry Fox is now Netflix’s sixth in-house games studio

Amir Rahimi, the VP of game studios at Netflix, said in the blog entry that the procurement will assist Netflix with speeding up its imaginative advancement in another well-known classification.

“Our games process has just barely started, yet I’m glad for the primary work we’ve been doing to work out our in-house imaginative limit with the goal that we can convey the insight of the most ideal game — including no advertisements and no in-application buys — to our individuals as a component of their participation,” Rahimi said in the blog entry.

Also Read: Which shows are better than Squid Game?

Agile Fox was established in 2010 by David Edery and Daniel Cook. The games studio is known for famous titles like “Triple Town,” “Alphabear” and “Comfortable Woods.”

“At the point when David and I established Nimble Fox quite a while back, our objective was to make were kind, imaginative individuals could make wonderful, unique games in a strong climate that gave joy to individuals who played them,” said Daniel Cook, fellow benefactor of Agile Fox, in a similar blog entry. “After numerous sincere discussions, we are totally amped up for joining Netflix as an in-house game studio and building astounding games together.”

[bitcofun]

Source: Polkadot The designers of the Polkadot blockchain have actually launched a brand-new roadmap which leads the way for a variety of significant modifications to its operations in the coming months. Rob Habermeier, Polkadot's co-founder, stated in a declaration that Parity Technologies, the entity behind the blockchain, has actually established a variety of services developed to improve Polkadot's operations." These bridge a variety of classifications: parachain scalability, parachain advancement, relay-chain governance, cross-chain interaction, common-good parachains, bridging to other environments, and staking. We've been hard at work on providing the code for these functions and upgrades and anticipate having them accepted by the Polkadot neighborhood," Habermeier stated. The blockchain's co-founder discusses the scheduled adjustments will allow Polkadot to broaden or obtain the following capabilities: Parathreads/ Next-Generation Scheduling Parathreads are pay-as-you-go parachains which enable to begin a blockchain with the ease of starting a clever agreement. Parity Technologies approximate that parathreads will be prepared for launch in between the very first and 2nd quarter of 2023. XCMv3 Polkadot's cross-consensus messaging (XCM), a universal language created for cross-chain interaction that can be run inside or outside the blockchain's community, will have its 3rd significant release up until completion of 2022. FRAME: Weights V2 Weights, the system by which Substrate deals and actions are determined versus block capability, will be upgraded to their 2nd variation which will present an idea of multi-dimensional weights. These "procedure not just execution time however likewise the quantity of state accessed by a specific operation," according to Habermeier who states the brand-new variation is to be prepared to utilize by mid-October 2022. Governance Overhaul Polkadot's governance system is anticipated to develop with a nimble upgrade that will eliminate the council and technical committees, presents the Polkadot Fellowship, along with relocation every choice in Polkadot to referendums by the blockchain's neighborhood. The brand-new system is to be released at the start of the 4th quarter of 2022 following a vote by the neighborhood and approval by token holders. Collectives Parachain The blockchain's Common Good Parachains group has actually been dealing with last screening for Polkadot Collectives, a brand-new parachain, with an approximated launch in October 2022. Bridge Hub Parity's bridges group has actually been working to establish a Polkadot< > Kusama bridge, with a bridge center created to act as message routing service within each network. Its launch is set up until completion of 2022. Nomination Pools & & Fast Unstake Polkadot is likewise continuing its march towards a future loaded with proof-of-stake blockchains, with Nomination swimming pools, which make it possible for users to permissionlessly establish "swimming pools" of stake which others can sign up with, belonging to these efforts." Nomination swimming pools will be contributed to Polkadot since the 0.9. 28 release, however with the default criteria, no swimming pools can be produced. When this runtime is enacted, a governance proposition can set the preliminary setups, such as the number of swimming pools can be produced, the number of members can sign up with, and so on," according to Habermeier. Staking Dashboard In addition to the deal with boosting the capabilities of the staking procedure itself, Polkadot's designers state they likewise acknowledge the requirement to make staking maximally available to end users and routine individuals. As part of these efforts, the Staking Dashboard is to leave its open beta soon, however it is feature-complete and can be currently utilized, the blockchain's co-founder stated. Disputes Slashing Polkadot's parachains procedure went live last December, and disagreements slashing is to be allowed up until completion of this year.

Owing to this, validators who "send void parachain blocks will be slashed for their whole stake, and validators which develop defective conflicts will be slashed for a percentage to dissuade spam," he stated. Read More

[bootstrapclassified-blog]

How to Start Up Bootstrap Classified Business

Bootstrap classified buy sell ads script is vital for new and private companies. In addition to other things, by and large, numerous organizations create and thrived using bootstrapping without access to long haul outside financing, over a five-year time frame (Winborg, 2009). Bootstrapping is a type of raising capital (cash) for the business. Numerous investigations showed the essential pretended by bootstrapping (Brush, N.M., Gatewood, Greene, and Hart, 2006). A substantial level of the organizations analyzed utilized bootstrapping to anchor assets. These organizations had diminished reliance on outside lenders for capital. The positive impact of bootstrapping was shown the utilization of a few sorts of bootstrapping techniques (Patel and Sohl, 2007).

Access to capital keeps on being tight. In a second from last quarter study of moneylenders (Phoenix Management Services, 2012), the dominant part of loan specialists recognized vulnerability as their central concern in regards to future financial development. Less idealism was appeared for chances of their borrowers, showing a slight pullback in their very own client development desires and a decrease in new capital ventures and procuring desires. Respondents were asked whether they intend to fix or keep up their credit structures i.e., insurance prerequisites ensure, advance rates, and advance contracts. As needs are, in every one of the four credit structures, 82 percent of moneylenders envision keeping up their advance structures in there in the close term, which demonstrated a slight move towards fixing advance principles. For the business person, utilization of bootstrapping strategies will keep on assuming an imperative job in subsidizing tasks.

Bootstrapping can be gathered into three sorts:

Cost-Reducing

Capital (Money)- Constrained

Hazard Reducing

Ten tried and broadly utilized bootstrap classified (Sherman, 2005) include:

As a business person, spare individual expenses by wearing various caps in dealing with the business.

Hardware and furniture do not need to be new, get or rent utilized resources in working the business. Additionally, be perceptive not the overpay for administration guarantees.

Utilize a huge organization to bring down expenses by sharing office space or subleasing. The attempt to gain admittance to meeting rooms, gathering administrations, and office gear, for example, duplicate machine, and so forth.

For momentary working capital, apply for a few charge cards on the double and utilize the unused acknowledge limit as a working credit extension.

For cheap HR, used the administrations of resigning officials that longing to remain occupied and stay "in the amusement" as tutors. The U.S. Independent venture Administration's Service Core of Retired Executive Program (SCORE) is an incredible hotspot for such experienced administrators. Also, procure understudies that will forfeit pay to pick up experience that can upgrade their future.

Keep up astounding client relations with key clients to urge them to pay early.

For greatest adaptability and cost controls, submit just too transient commitments and leases.

As a method for satisfying an agreement, have your real clients gain the hardware expected to meet the agreement and rent the gear.

Contingent upon state and government securities laws, utilize the organization's offers in lieu of money with your sellers (i.e., providers, proprietor, and so on.) and experts (i.e., legal counsellors, bookkeepers, authorities). Remember the weakening proportion you will surrender and recall set forth a stock buyback terms. The organization's offers are illiquid. Offer them a way to "reap" their venture with you. Think about the Sam Walton previous officials and office representatives moved toward becoming a multimillionaire with the startup of Walmart.

To procure and access key items and administrations use business bargain trades.

Business visionaries have an unequivocal intention in utilizing bootstrap classified buy sell ads script systems. The intentional decision of utilizing bootstrapping procedures can be seen in proactive routes from decrease dangers, confining costs, and financing business exercises. Such systems take into account business openings without the need to claim a sizable asset base and without the need to source outer financing. These strategies limit the requirement for money by acquiring assets at practically zero expense. Moreover, the utilization of assets can be gained without the requirement for bank financing. In general, business visionaries can use their social contacts to acquire free access to explicit assets.

The broadly acknowledged open source blogging stage, WordPress has just advanced as a site planning and improvement stage. The CMS additionally offers a variety of topics and formats as a front-end UI for the advancement of web applications. At the point when WordPress subject engineers consolidate Twitter's Bootstrap in their creation, they can get a very much coded, propelled, highlight stacked and tasteful WordPress topic that can be utilized in the WordPress site. Utilization of HTML5, CSS3, jQuery and JavaScript modules are an additional favourable position in their production of significant worth included highlights.

Standard WordPress topic, StrapPress subject, WP-Bootstrap classified ads script, Synapse Corporate Theme, Instyle, Responsive Portfolio topic, and so on are few of the WordPress topics and layouts made utilizing the Bootstrap system.

With the arrival of its new form, the clients of the structure have driven a stage ahead. The engineers of the structure have focussed on making the most recent rendition of the application available to the greatest number of clients with its extended functionalities. The new form has settled almost 100 bugs that existed in its past rendition, included new documentation with new routes, new slogan, new format and new text style, aside from utilizing another simple to utilize interface, including a couple of new highlights, expanded the adaptability and strength of their codes and has included, live precedents and walkthroughs.

The new highlights of the adaptation incorporate, dropdowns that underpin the submenus, utilization of table columns for orders, catches with square dimensions, Affix JavaScript module, routes and dropdowns with 'crippled' include, improved information office with prepended and attached help, lighter route as a matter of course with an alternative to obscure it, new text dimension and line stature, reliable network framework and some more.

What is a bootstrap classified business?

A generally safe method for developing your business to preserve cash and utilize different assets to help develop your business.

For what reason would somebody need to utilize a bootstrap business approach?

• If you have an extraordinary thought for a business and would prefer not to squander whenever kicking it off, however, don't have the cash to put resources into employing help or purchasing gear.

• If you as of now have obligation it is stupid to go up against any progressive money related duty and hazard placing yourself in a surprisingly more terrible position to the point where you couldn't recoup.

• If you would prefer not to go up against any accomplices or surrender value in your business. The purpose of beginning up a business is so you can have control of it so for what reason would you need to invest such energy and exertion into building a business and be compelled to reply to another person? In addition, suppose your business takes off and you have the achievement for what reason would you need to impart the slice of the benefit to a quiet accomplice who perhaps doesn't have indistinguishable energy from you.

• Know when to burn through cash and when to spare it. A ton of times you can settle on the wrong decision since you are attempting to moderate to make money, however, spend the money in the correct zones. For instance, while making a site for your business procure an expert or organization that can make, plan and get the achievement online that you require. Try not to endeavour something of this size except if you have the correct experience level for it.

• Since bootstrapping is a do-it-without anyone else's help business you risk being inferior contrasted with your opposition since they have more cash to put resources into advanced materials and item improvement that you may not. So dependable search for approaches to enhance what you are as of now doing with your business, everything necessary is one awful structure or terrible promoting advertisement and you could be enduring a greater set back than you had anticipated. An absence of polished methodology can have a negative impact on your business

Approaches to have achievement in your best bootstrap classified business:

1) Hard work - realize that time and exertion will be your greatest venture since you are preserving cash.

2) Place your business first - cut back wherever you can on close to home things to have more money available for your business.

3) Be arranged to do everything - from the cleaning, to calling clients, acquiring, shipping, passing out special material, to painting, and so on whatever you realize how to do and whatever you can figure out how to do.

4) Find approaches to create additional money without surrendering possession - search for supporters, advance installments, and possibly side occupations that you can finish rapidly for additional income for your new company.

5) Use every one of your assets - Find loved ones that will enable you to out. Motivate them to utilize their mastery for you.

[spoonyglitteraunt]

I have built up an entirely new classification system for pokemons since starting to play this game. No longer shall they be sorted into types, nah too easy, too boring, too predictable. From now on this shall be known as the Arceus scale of oh crap I’m fucked.

Gaze upon my sorting and weep (whether in joy or frustration is of your own choosing). - Friend shaped also known as the curious buggers that should perhaps learn some survival skills. Example: Aipom, Petilil, Magicarp If you get near them they will come see what you are doing, crowd around you and won’t even bugger off if you catch one of them, because they are just so damn curious. May in fact be so curious they get in your way. Cute to feed though.

- What do I see upon yonder- oh it’s gone. Or the I see your stealth, player, and raise you a very run away. Examples in this category are: Starly, Abra, and all the baby pre evolutions (which fair, I’d run away too if I was a harmless little babe) They will spot you the second you land in the area. Often before you spot them and make like a tree and leave. In a hurry. Good luck getting even near enough to throw one of the feather balls.

- Couldn’t care less. Examples: Shellos, Gastrodon These guys are perfectly happy to ignore you and let you go on your merry little way. If you attack or catch them they may react, but otherwise, have fun little player. You do you.

- Gotta catch them all. Examples: bloody freaking Cherrim You will have to catch them. You will curse your existence. They have better hiding skills than any superhero with invisibility powers. And they may or may not prove uncatchable even if you do track one down. Have fun playing the what am I doing with my life existential crisis roulette.

- Ready to throw down and start shit. Examples: Parras, Shinks These buggers will spot you the second you get near and when they do they are instantly ready to throw down. They are surprisingly nimble and will keep tracking you for quite a ways. Murder hornets having nothing on these babies. They will try to fuck you up. Even if you are beyond a doubt way out of their league. Honey badger may not care, but these guys certainly do. About your annihilation.

- Can you bloody not? Also the, oh it’s you again, category. Examples: Geodude, Zubat Any experienced pokemon player has at one point in time cursed these babies. Especially those who played the earlier gens where you had caves filled with them and every two steps was “SURPRISE, BABY!” They are much the same in this game. Bonus ugh points if it’s night time and they both exist in the same area. They will notice you, they will make a nuisance of themselves and you WILL curse their existence before long. Only saving grace is that they tend to be easy to walk away from even when spotted.

- Danger noodles and other malicious pasta Examples: gyrados, machamp, scyther They are a danger, but they are also noodly (in spirit not always shape), which means they are fairly easy to walk around if taken proper care. Not too bad in the grand scheme of things. Unless you run full on into them by accident, in which case hope you got a type advantage on you.

- Danger will Robinson. Also known as RUN AWAY!! Examples being: anything alpha really and some of the final evolutions It big, it stronk and it knows it. Ready to kick you into next week if you are foolish enough to come near. It doesn’t even wait for you to introduce yourself, it will let the energy wave blast thingy do the talking for it. You better sneak up on it and have a type advantage on your side. Only saving grace is that they don’t wander far, so running away is feasible. We suggest you learn the art of retreating quickly.

- And finally the best category of all The Himbo! Population: Bidoof. Too pure for this world, too dumb to care you may be a threat and will cheerfully and respectfully come see what you are doing. We truly do not deserve them.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Belly Tank Racer

The drop tank was designed to extend flying time by acting as a portable fuel cell that could be dropped once empty. That way, the pilot could more nimbly engage the enemy. They're also known as belly tanks or wing tanks depending on where they were attached to the plane. During WWII, they were available for the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, North American P51 Mustang, Northrop P-61 Black Widow, and other combat aircraft.

After the conflicts ended, thousands of the tanks languished in military surplus yards, and racers soon noticed. They snapped up the slickest shapes that would work the best as race machines. They were, and are, fast little suckers. Before WWII, streamliners ran just over 100 mph—today, more than 360 mph!

In early dry lakes racing, the Southern California Timing Association only recognized roadsters and coupes. They soon accepted streamliners because racers wanted to test new theories of aerodynamics. This morphed into many classes, and lakesters got their own game when they split from the streamliner class.

The attraction was that exposed-wheel lakesters were much easier to build than enclosed-wheel streamliners. The tank gave you the whole body, you could stuff bits of a Model T frame and a flathead motor inside and add Ford axles on both ends, and you were nearly done. That's what the builder of the first recognized postwar tank, Bill Burke, did.

Over the next 60 years, tankers went from junkyard bombs to finely crafted speed weapons. Flathead Fords were a classic source of power, but like every form of dry lakes racing, there are now broad classifications of engines sizes. What makes them interesting is that although they all have a vaguely familiar look, none is the same. This is a wide-open class that builders can interpret with some wild combinations. Don't think that just because it's a vintage style that it's a dying classification. At the 2016 SCTA Speed Week, 30 cars registered for the lakester class. It's a class where nothing is normal, and tanks and lakesters offer a hot-rodding history lesson. Here's a look at the racers from Speed Week 2016 and the cars that inspired them.

[kismetfakemon]

Name: Vulpix (Civiscian) Name Etymology: Portmanteau of Vulpes and Six Classification: Fox Pokemon Type: Bug Evolution Method: Evolves into Civiscian Ninetails at Level 30 Flavour Text: It is quite nimble and quiet, yet it is also a poor hunter. It quite enjoys Grass type Pokemon when it luckily traps one.

Name: Ninetales (Civiscian) Name Etymology: Portmanteau of Nine and Tales Classification: Fox Pokemon Type: Bug/Poison Evolution Method: Evolves from Civiscian Vulpix at Level 30 Flavour Text: It has become more adept at hunting. It leaves behind almost invisible webs coated with poison to catch Grass type Pokemon and devour them.