#there isn't any one fixed way of freeing someone from the virus

[chipistrate]

What if Cassie gets back and stays with 3 star fam for a bit after the Scooper ending, but she's already infected with the Vanni virus, so everyone watches as she slowly loses control of her own body and keeps trying to hurt the others when she doesn't want to and the Mimic tries to communicate with her and tell her to go back to the Pizzaplex, all while Cassie is trying so hard to keep it all down and ignore it in a futile attempt at keeping control over herself

[agenericarcadebot]

[Out of Character Pinned Post!]

[the old one didn't explain much]

"What is this blog about?"

This is a roleplay/ask blog for Ruin in my AU! He's silly with some dark lore, identity issues, and fully innocent unlike in the show. This blog is also a game of choices, and all actions have consequences, whether good ones or bad. The story will progress with or without input through what I call "events", which are things that happen around Ruin that cause him to post the things he does. He's very vague and gives little to no detail on what goes on, but you can always ask him to elaborate.

(more below the cut ↓)

"Are non-sams roleplay blogs allowed to interact?"

Yes, always! Sams is all about dimensions and Ruin himself isn't even from the main dimension. Roleplay blogs of any kind are allowed, just keep in mind that you don't actually appear in the main dimension (aside from special cases, such as @blip-cluster needing to communicate through the cabinets)

Ruin is always looking for more friends or people to talk to.

"Will there be a way to sort through posts?"

Yes, soon. I'm thinking of tags to better categorize his posts. This was originally supposed to be anonymous so I didn't want to add any tags or anything that would give me away, but I've told pretty much anyone who keeps up with this blog who I am, so you can easily search through things soon.

"Magic anon?"

Absolutely. Torture him if you'd like. I mean with. With fun things don't pull an Eclipse—

"What does the colored text mean?"

The colored text is based on his eyes. He's still a fusion of Sun and Moon, but... Well... I think that's a question for him.

Blue text is for his blue eye, usually tied to fear or stress, and isn't "Ruin is sad so he's speaking in blue text."

Red text is for his red eye, usually tied to extreme emotions or heavy stress, and isn't "Ruin is angry so he's speaking in red text."

Green text is for the virus. Does it show up? Possibly in the future. It's up to the players to figure it out.

"What about names and pronouns?"

This is a bit tricky as the name will likely change over the course of the blog, and pronouns are up for debate as well. But currently the character goes by "Ruin", and uses any pronouns he's assigned. He typically uses he/they, so anything else would probably surprise him, but he wouldn't stop you.

"Who is Egg?"

Egg is Ruin's plush. It was originally supposed to have a proper name, butttt I got a bit bored of needing "names that mean something for the lore", and decided eggs would be funny since it's my comfort meal.

Egg was originally a Moon plush but its head got torn off by a raccoon that a magic anon summoned. He found an extra Sun plush that was already quite worn down and wouldn't be missed as well as a small doll hat, and someone stitched it back together for him.

Feel free to ask Egg questions, it's Ruin's favorite plush, and I assure you that he'd love talking about the little stories he's made up for Egg.

(And maybe there's secret Egg lore, I'll never tell.)

"What's the lore like?"

Well, buckle up, and I'll tell you the story.

Ruin was infested with the virus for the longest time, and when confronted by Moon with the cure, he was fully cured. He was shoved to the side and took to life in the arcade, fixing cabinets and getting better by the day, singing and performing to a crowd of nobody but himself in his room during his free time, and avoiding the cabinets that "smiled at him"

He eventually made the blog as a sort of escape, where he met his friends @eclipseoftheapocalypse and @eclipse-cluster, and eventually @blip-cluster as well. He also encountered some magic anons which summoned plushies of Sun, Moon, and his friends. Moon eventually became Egg as mentioned previously.

His mood only gets worse as time goes on, but the reason why is a reason the players will have to find out for themselves. There are many things that contribute to it, not just Moon's distrust.

"Admit it. You named the blog after a reference."

Yeah and what're you gonna do about it? Get a snack at 4am, probably.

Ruin's blog name, "agenericarcadebot", is a reference to the store in GASA4 (Get a Snack at 4AM, a game on Roblox. Absolutely recommend it), which is named "A Generic Convenience Store." I thought it would be funny. Also he's self-deprecating, so it fit.

(Special thank-you to my friends who are currently keeping this blog alive. I have so many plans for him and you guys keeping up with it makes me happy. I was scared you guys would get bored with it the second it was no longer anonymous, but seeing you guys' reactions to things he says makes me happy. I made this blog so I could see people smile, that's the whole reason, I made this blog so people who like Ruin could interact with him and have a good time. I'm glad that the original purpose wasn't retconned the second I revealed myself. So thank you, and I love you.)

[lucidd0n]

I was looking for some help getting out of bed this morning and discovered this. It wasn't particularly what I was looking for but it certainly helped.

I hope the impact it has on you is as positive as it had on me.

TW: mentions s*c*d*

Image ID below the cut.

This is my first time writing an Image ID, please feel free to leave feedback in the comments. Thank you.

I love you.

[Start ID: A watercolor-like blue poster with a total of four drawings of brown owls, all sitting on their own branches. The top half of the poster has two owls (one pictured above the other, the one on top has its head tilted to the right and it's right foot raised off the branch its sitting on and the one on bottom has its head tilted to the left, both feet planted) on the left of the poster, text to the right of them. The bottom half of the poster has the other two owls (again, one pictured above the other, the one on top has its "eyebrows" raised and its wings spread to represent surprise and the one on bottom is relaxed, its wings at its sides [as are the wings of both drawings above]) on the right of the poster, text to the left of them.

The text from the top of the page to the bottom is in caps, but I've changed it to lowercase as well as made some grammarical fixes to make it easier to read and changed some harsh wording.

The first two paragraphs are positioned beside the first owl pictured and read as follows:

"I don't like the phrase "a cry for help." I just don't like how it sounds. When someone says to me "I'm thinking about suicide, I have a plan, I just need a reason not to do it," the last thing I see is helplessness.

I think: Your depression has been eating you up for years. It's called you ugly, stupid, pathetic, and a failure, for so long you've forgotten that it's wrong. You don't see any good in yourself, and you don't have any hope."

The following two paragraphs are positioned to the right of the second owl pictured and read as follows:

"But still, here you are: you came over to me, knocked on my door, and said, "Hey! Staying alive is really hard right now! Can you give me something to fight with? I don't care if it's just a stick! Give me a stick so I can stay alive!"

How is that helpless? I think that's incredible. You're like a soldier: you're trapped behind enemy lines, your weapon has been taken away, you're out of ammo, you're malnourished, and probably caught some kind of virus that's making you hallucinate giant spiders!"

The two paragraphs following are to the left of the first owl (the surprised one) on the bottom half of the poster:

"And you're still going, "Give me a stick! I'm trying not to die out here!"

"A cry for help" makes it sound like I'm supposed to take pity on you, but you don't need my pity. This isn't pathetic. This is the will to survive. This is how humans lived long enough to become the dominant species."

The last three paragraphs are next to the last owl (the one that appears relaxed) and reads as follows:

"With little hope, running on nothing now, you're ready to get back up and try again with what I can give you.

All I'm doing is handing out sticks.

You're the one staying alive." End ID]

This is the first time I've done an Image ID, please comment whatever feedback you may have.

Should I have quoted it word for word? Should I have included the watermark on the left? Is there a better way to TW for the mention of suicide? Etc.

Thank you.

I love you.

[masterdinesh2]

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[yandere-daydreams]

Your boss' Ayato has been acting strange, lately.

It's probably just a standard malfunction, all things considered. Despite everything you've told her about recommended pairings and luxury models, she refuses to buy a Thoma, and there's only so much you can do on your own to maintain a droid known for needing frequent and intensive repairs, especially considering you're taking care of him on top of your normal responsibilities as her assistant. She says that he works well enough, that as a member of the Shogunate Collection, he's usually more capable than you, but for as much as you'd like to have one less thing to worry about, you just can't seem to believe her. Not after the way you've seen him act, you mean.

He's way too friendly with other people, for one thing. All Teyvat androids are programmed to prefer their user, to always only ever want to be around their user, but he always seems just a little too happy to be just a little too close to you - even if that usually just means he'll choose to sit closer to you than your boss, or when she has a business trip he can't be brought along for, he'll ask to be left with you rather than whining and pleading for user to stay. He retains information about you, your hometown and your favorite foods and how you take your coffee, and while you'd normally brush it off as a excess of space on his memory card, you can't say you've ever seen him pay any mind to such little things when it comes to your boss, when it comes to her habits and discretions. You'll have to check on his preprogrammed preferences, when you have a few minutes to spare. He might be confused about who his primary user is - or worse, be unable to discern a primary user at all.

On that note, his standard safeguards might not be running correctly, either. It's nothing extreme, he's never acted inappropriately or... uh, exposed himself in public, but you've lost count of how many times he's caught you alone, how many times he's asked if you're 'in need of assistance' in that smooth, polite tone he's so fond of, despite the fact that most androids are unable to proposition anyone without the expressed permission of their user. While your boss isn't exactly not generous, you doubt Ayato is something she'd be willing to share. For the sake of professionalism, if nothing else.

And, even if you can't really chalk it up to a glitch or a virus or anything more than your own overactive paranoia, he's really starting to creep you out. It's something about his eyes, how long it takes him to remember to blink, or how meticulous he is when he talks to you, how much care he seems to put into each word, how much thought seems to go into every little motion, every little brush of his fingertips against your thigh. It's unnerving. It's not scary, but you don't like it. That's all. You really, really don't like it.

But, it's just a few malfunctions, a bad line of code that you could probably fix with a couple of phone calls and a few minutes of free time. That's what you keep telling yourself, at least. That it's just a malfunction. That it's nothing.

It's nothing - up until the moment there's a cop standing at your door in the middle of the night, explaining that there was a tragic accident, that your employer was found dead at the foot of the tallest staircase in her penthouse and, with no next of kin or special request from her family, her companion droid has asked to be given to you - because he knows that she would've wanted to give one final gift to her favorite assistant. You don't say anything, not that night, not as Ayato makes himself comfortable in your cramped apartment, not as he purrs out terms of endearment you never heard him use with his previous user - no official reassignment needed.

You don't say anything, but you feel like you should tell someone that your new Ayato has been acting very, very strange, lately.

[punkscowardschampions]

Buster & Rio

Buster: I miss you Rio: Guarantee I miss you more Buster: State your case then Rio: 😍😍 Buster: That's a strong introduction, how are you gonna follow it through? Rio: 🤤🤤 Buster: I like the thread of your argument, I can't lie, but I still miss you more Buster: 'Cause a girl was flirting with me in the gym and after telling her all the ways she doesn't compare to you, how incomparable you are was, and is, all I could think about Rio: As much as I probably shouldn't encourage you to be rude to random girls Rio: I love that you do so Buster: She embarrassed herself long before I embarrassed her, reckoning she had a chance Rio: I know what you mean Rio: the stalker has been getting inventive today Buster: Tell me Rio: We're doing this whole project in comp sci about viruses and shit Rio: and they've sent a meant-to-be-creepy spam type email Rio: it's got attachments but Rio: I've not looked yet Buster: Send it to me, I'll open it for you Rio: I know it's unlikely they're that smart Rio: but what if it does have some computer-killing 👾 attached? Buster: Smart enough that we haven't worked out who they are yet Buster: but if it's a virus, I'll buy another laptop Rio: it seems ridiculous Rio: this proves it has to be someone at school now, at least Rio: it's not like I've posted about my fucking homework anywhere Buster: How big's that class? Buster: Can discount my sister and your brother already, like Rio: Don't Rio: you're about the only person I've not thought it could be at my craziest Rio: probably about 30 odd though, standard Buster: Baby, they're the crazy one and I'm not letting them drive you even slightly close to the edge Buster: Who do you know and who don't you, percentage wise? Rio: I thought I knew everyone in this school, this town Rio: you'd think if someone was as creepy as this, anyway, that you'd know, they'd fucking stick out a bit but no Buster: It ain't a film, there's no creepy music playing to give it away Rio: if it was, it'd be dragging Rio: time for the resolve and happy ending Buster: Yeah, I know Buster: You wanna try calling that helpline again? Rio: Maybe Rio: I just wanna talk to you Rio: that's more helpful Buster: It's the least bullshit lead we've had for ages, I'll find a way to narrow it down more somehow Buster: We've got an obsession with you in common, it'll be me who figures it out if any cunt can Rio: Yours is the only one I need Buster: If you need to stay here for a while I'll sort it with my parents, yours, school, whoever Buster: You know that Rio: I know Rio: it's more and more tempting to not leave every time I go Buster: I just want you to be able to take an actual deep fucking breath Buster: Like you said, the amount of time this has been going on is ridiculous Rio: I can forget about it, most of the time Rio: but it's when something new happens, unexpected Buster: I'll kill him when we work out who it is Buster: 'Til then, stay with me Buster: He never does fuck all when you're here Rio: At least that's quick Rio: too nice if anything, babe Rio: always say that about you Buster: It don't have to be quick or nice Buster: Don't underestimate me, babe Rio: 🤤🤤 I rest my case Buster: I love you, that rests mine Buster: I'd do anything for you Rio: I love you so much Rio: I'd definitely be crazy without you, stalker or otherwise Buster: There's a fair chance I'd be stalking you too if things were any different between us Buster: I'd leave better presents though Rio: and I'd know it was you always Buster: 'Course Buster: I'd want you to know Rio: hence there's no world in which we ain't a thing Buster: [has bought her the most expensive and best ever anti virus software and all that jazz so sends her the deets like there you go] Rio: this really has everything Rio: thank you Buster: He ain't gonna be smart enough to get through that, I've been reading reviews since you told me Buster: And I have it too now so you don't have to worry about sending me whatever bullshit he does to you Rio: We can open it together then? Rio: [I think it shouldn't be camgirl moments but something @school to drive that home] Buster: Yeah, on the count of three Rio: [just some creeper shots all throughout the day up until that lesson] Rio: these are today, I'm 99% sure Rio: I swapped my bag Buster: Forget going there tomorrow, I'm booking you a flight here instead Buster: I'll think of a lie to tell my parents if you still don't want anyone else to know the truth Rio: there was always the possibility Rio: but now I know it's someone I really see in person Rio: every day Rio: jesus Buster: I meant what I said, I'm gonna find out who, whatever it takes Buster: I know it feels fucked, but it's good, that it's one of 30 classmates rather than the numbers of lads who watch your streams Rio: it's true Rio: but those lads could be anywhere in the world, not in the same room as me Buster: Which is why you shouldn't be in that room until we know which sick cunt it is Buster: Just give me some time, it's not like I don't have the money to throw at it Rio: I couldn't be there if I had to Rio: I don't even want to be here at home now Buster: How soon can you be at the airport? Rio: not for a while Rio: I mean, tonight, maybe Rio: what should I tell my mam? Buster: Tell her I'm having a breakdown, it wouldn't be the first time Buster: I'll trash the house for realism if it comes to it, like Rio: it'll keep her from being worried Rio: pissed off is fine, I'll deal with that when I can Buster: Exactly Buster: And Ava's at a friend's so I don't have to worry about scaring the shit out of her with my acting Buster: 'Cause it'd be stupid not to feed my parents the same lie Rio: You don't have to go that method Rio: but I wouldn't blame you Rio: I'm trying to keep my freak out internal because I'm looking after the twins and your sister is on her way Buster: I'm glad you're not on your own, even if the company is Nance Rio: I was kinda hoping someone took the homework too seriously and was pranking the whole class Rio: but nah, the email was more specific than I let on to her, of course Rio: even before the pictures Buster: 'Course you were Buster: He'd been quiet for a while Rio: really think he'd get bored at some point Rio: I never react, respond, everything they tell you Buster: Now isn't really the time for me to reiterate how stalkable you are again when I can do better with compliments Rio: the fact you can make me smile even at this time Buster: I can do better than that too, I'll make you forget about it Rio: yeah? Buster: Yeah Rio: I need that Rio: my head is all over the place Buster: You've got it, and whatever else you need Rio: I only feel really safe when I'm with you Buster: You are safe with me, but you won't have to leave until you're also safe everywhere else Buster: I'm gonna fix it Rio: yeah Buster: I know I've said it before but this time I swear Buster: He fucked up by giving us a decent clue Rio: it does narrow it down Rio: even if it isn't the class, and it's just the school in general Rio: that's the most we've ever had to go on Buster: Exactly Rio: but what do we do Rio: if we work it out Buster: I told you, I'll kill him Rio: so you're the only one that ends up in prison Buster: I'm not a fucking amateur, babe Rio: mm Rio: 🙄😏 Buster: Hilarious Buster: Nance will be a way more receptive audience though Rio: yeah, really in the mood for this study sesh now Buster: I can easily change hers if you wanna get out of it Rio: nah Rio: I need to keep things normal Rio: only just invited her over, it'd be weird to change my mind Buster: You can blame me for that as well, I don't give a shit Rio: I can't leave yet, like you said, distraction is probably a good thing Buster: Alright, what can I do to make it a more bearable one? Buster: [loads of her fave things getting delivered to this gaff like don't be scared to answer your door, look they are all from me, here's the order confirmations] Rio: I don't deserve you Buster: You don't deserve the bullshit he's putting you through, you've always deserved me Rio: I feel like I should just Rio: stop the streams Rio: I know you aren't meant to change your lifestyle and habits for them but it wouldn't have happened if I weren't doing that shit Rio: I know you aren't meant to change your lifestyle and habits for them but it wouldn't have happened if I weren't doing that shit Buster: Fuck that, we know he's from school Buster: Being able to see you every day pre-dates anything you've done online Buster: He could've known you since primary Rio: I guess Rio: but would he be bothered if there was less out there to stalk Buster: It's not your fault, Rio Buster: It can happen to anyone, you know that Rio: it's happening to me though Buster: Not 'cause of anything you've done Buster: Come on Rio: anyway Rio: I'm gonna enjoy all these treats Buster: Good Rio: how much should I bring? Rio: when I pack Buster: As much as you want, I'll send you money for if your cases are over the weight limit Rio: don't want it to look like I'm running away too hard but Buster: You're overthinking it, you never travel light anywhere, nobody'll notice Rio: I need options Buster: I'm not mad about it and I don't care if my parents are Rio: they're going to be Rio: you'll have to go to school, be 😇 to show I'm totally not a distraction Buster: You are, but I'll still go Buster: All that matters to me is that you feel safe Rio: I will do Rio: and I'll find ways to be useful to them as well as distracting to you Buster: Winning over Ava is basically the same thing as winning them over Buster: You've had loads of practice at that Rio: kids are easy Buster: She's easier than Grace, obviously Rio: wouldn't take much on Ava's part Rio: bless Buster: She'll be distracting at any rate Rio: I can take her to school and shit, free up some time for them Buster: Yeah, and once you've had some time, we can sort out getting your assignments and shit sent over Rio: I won't miss anything important Buster: It'll be fine Buster: I'll make sure it's fine, like Rio: I know you will Buster: You gonna facetime me into this study session or what then? Rio: depends Rio: are you going to be nice? Buster: To you Rio: well you're always nice to me Buster: Are you asking me to help Nance with her homework? Rio: how much do you think she'd appreciate that? Buster: She wouldn't, so of course I'll do it Rio: I can't with you two, honestly Buster: You love me, you don't even want her to come over Rio: I'm not getting in the middle of it Buster: You already are Rio: No I'm not, shh Buster: It's okay, I know you're on my side Rio: I love you more than anyone else in the world Rio: goes without saying Buster: I still really like hearing it Rio: You know you can hear it any time you want Buster: Is she there yet? Rio: nope, you remember how long that drive takes, even in an uber Buster: I'll call you then Rio: 🥰 Buster: [does obvs] Rio: I'll just be here counting down the minutes 'til you can hold me Buster: However long it feels, you'll be staying longer Rio: promise? Buster: I swear Rio: then I'm happy Buster: If you are, I am too Rio: I haven't even asked you how your days been Rio: I'm so rude Buster: Before and after I shot down gym girl there ain't much to report Rio: what did she look like? Buster: Every other girl in this postcode Rio: Blonde and skinny Buster: Yeah Rio: vaguely equine, dresses more like a nan than nan ever would Buster: I'll have to remember all that for the next one Rio: I can tell her myself if you like Buster: If you like Rio: Me? The jealous type? Buster: The jealous type and my type Rio: I better be Rio: only type Buster: You're the only one I've ever wanted or will ever want, you definitely don't need to add that to the list of shit that's worrying you right now Rio: I just like to hear it Buster: I'll tell you again then, I want you so much Rio: even without all this bullshit Rio: it's been too long Rio: I hate every second I'm not with you Buster: I know, me too Buster: I'm not gonna say he's done me a favour, but I am glad you're coming to stay Rio: I'll say it Rio: may as well get something good from it Buster: I'd rather you didn't have to deal with any of this bullshit, obviously Rio: of course Rio: I told you, I've never thought it was you, it's okay Buster: It's not okay that I haven't been able to do fuck all about this though Buster: I'm sorry Rio: Don't Buster: It's not good enough, I know that Buster: I'm gonna do better Rio: Stop it Buster: I mean it, Rio Rio: we've done everything we can Rio: it's not fair on me or you to act like we haven't Buster: I just hate this Rio: I know, baby Buster: You're the best thing that's happened to me, this shouldn't be happening to you Rio: It really could happen to anyone Rio: it's shit Rio: but you make me feel safe, that isn't nothing Buster: I'll calm down before you get here Buster: I swear Rio: you don't have to Rio: you can be mad, I am Rio: but you don't need to blame yourself, even if it's second to him, it's all on him Buster: I am angry but you've got the wrong twin if you reckon I'm willing to make any of this about me Buster: I'm here for you Rio: Trust me, I know Rio: she seems distracted herself recently Buster: Yeah? Rio: I'll try to work it out, not had time yet Rio: she won't say anything if you're on the phone though Buster: I don't have to be, if you wanna do some investigating Rio: I know you wanna know too Buster: I know if you get her started she'll talk about herself until you've gotten all of your own bullshit exists Rio: and you're a little nosy too, you can admit it Rio: I'll get the gossip Buster: She's still my sister Buster: 'Course I wanna know if she's being stalked as well or whatever Rio: You're cute Rio: and I do not think it's that Rio: obviously Buster: You know what I mean Rio: I do Rio: that's why I wanna know too Buster: Okay, tell me when you do Rio: 🧐 Rio: wouldn't suit the hat Buster: You'd suit anything, don't lie Rio: 😊 Rio: I mean if that's your thing I'll do my best Buster: If it was that wouldn't be the first you've heard of it Rio: be mad if it was Rio: you have to tell me exactly what you like so I can be it Buster: You are Buster: And I don't have, or want to have, any secrets from you Rio: secrets are boring Rio: and hard to keep Buster: Neither of us could ever be boring Buster: And I'll do whatever it takes to keep you forever Rio: You've got me Rio: not going anywhere Buster: Only closer to where I am, not further away Buster: Soon as your mum is back and your study session is over Rio: not that I need to do this homework now Rio: just be throwing subtle hints at Nance instead Buster: Be fucking typical her if she's getting bullied there as well Rio: I'd know if she was Rio: only have the two lessons with her but contrary to what the stalker suggests, I know most people well enough that they wouldn't Buster: Well Ava'll probably get a love life before she does, Christ knows what else it could be then Rio: ugh don't Rio: it's coming up with Edie for sure Rio: Jun is like Nancy and Billie isn't bothered thank god Rio: hate it Buster: Who's bothered about Edie then? Buster: Tell me your gossip Rio: It's just like the boys she hangs with are less useless stoner and more keep your eye on them types than Billie's friends Rio: and they aren't just friends types, I don't trust 'em Buster: Maybe I should be getting on a plane instead of you Rio: at least none of them are stupid Rio: especially not Eds Rio: have to hope anyway Buster: I've taught her how to protect herself physically, I reckon she can handle lads trying to get in her head Buster: Like you said Buster: She's no stupid kid Rio: Yeah, she has all the tools and advantages she can be given Rio: 💘 and hormones still make people stupid though Buster: I remember Rio: well yeah, ignoring the fact we'd be used as prime examples in that lecture Buster: Sure we have been, never too early for mum and dad to tell Ava what not to do Rio: As if we'll have started a trend Rio: if it wasn't you it'd be a really bad idea Buster: They should want her to have this, how I feel about you, how happy I am Buster: It's not as if they can actually judge us for who it's with Buster: This family are way past that Rio: You'd think Rio: I'm way past caring Rio: it was so Rio: I wasn't me without you Buster: I feel exactly the same, you know I do Buster: The only thing I've ever done wrong was not be with you, every bad thing I did or that was done to me can be traced back to that Buster: We're free now and this stalker isn't gonna make you feel otherwise any more, I'm not letting it happen for another fucking day Rio: we can get through anything, we've got the rest stacked against us and we're still strong Rio: as long as you love me, then there's nothing anyone can say or do Buster: I really fucking love you Rio: I love you Rio: endlessly Buster: [a flight he's booked her like this is happening no matter what excuse us fam] Rio: 🙏 Rio: I cannot wait Buster: Me either Rio: you can pick me up from the airport, right? Buster: Nothing could stop me Rio: Yay 🥰🥰🥰 Buster: You need me to help you with all that luggage Rio: it will be one suitcase Rio: and a sizeable handbag, thank you 😂 Rio: but I still need you Buster: I'll be early regardless Rio: you're the best Buster: No, I do my best, you don't even have to try Rio: You don't either Rio: but I will for you and I appreciate that you do Buster: I appreciate everything that you do Rio: you will Rio: that's the plan Buster: I do, whether or not shit goes to plan Buster: You're one of the strongest people I know, the least I can do is give you the reminder Rio: Buster Rio: it won't always be this dramatic, you know Rio: being together Buster: I don't care if it is, you're worth it Buster: And I'd endure the worst suffering I can possibly imagine to be with you if any alternative meant not being Rio: now you're just being hot about it on purpose Buster: I told you I miss you, nothing's changed Rio: I miss you all the time Rio: but I'm down for all the ways you make it worse Buster: [sends her a pic from when he was at the gym earlier like okay we're testing the waters but not very much yet lol] Rio: oh Rio: yeah, I would've flirted with you too Buster: What would you have said? Rio: Hmm Rio: ask you to check my form Buster: As long as you'd have time for how thorough I'd be, I don't have any problem with that Rio: Of course Rio: I'd ask you because you're clearly an expert Buster: And there's no need for me to hold back on my expertise as you're clearly so receptive to it, not to mention deserving Rio: Don't, I want you to show me exactly how you do it Buster: Never, I wouldn't wanna leave you with more questions than answers Rio: of course, but there are some things I could show you in return for all you're going to teach me Buster: Yeah? Buster: You've got yourself a deal, babe Rio: are you going to let me come to the gym with you really Buster: If you want to Buster: I'll try not to get too distracted at the prospect Rio: you look like that, obviously I want to Buster: [a pic of how he looks now like we can also stay in this bed where I currently am chilling] Rio: 🥺🥺 GIMME Buster: You're not meant to change your behaviour or habits for that cunt, remember Buster: Say please Rio: please Rio: please let me be in that bed right now Buster: [treat that gal to some more pics boy she's had a shit day] Rio: please be with me right now Rio: in me Buster: You know that's all I want Rio: you're perfect, Buster, you know that Buster: We're perfect for each other Rio: marry me Buster: As soon as we can, I will Rio: seriously Buster: I am being serious Rio: oh Buster: Once we're both 18 nobody can stop us Rio: yeah but Rio: nobody would come Buster: I only need you to turn up Rio: technically Buster: And actually, 'cause the rest of my family won't and like you said, I'm past caring Rio: if you were going to do it Rio: you'd want the big day, the venue, the clothes, the car Rio: everything proper Buster: If you were going to do it, you'd want your family there, you can say what you really mean Rio: we can't just do all that for two people Buster: We can do whatever we want Rio: I just wish people would be happy for us Buster: I know, I haven't properly asked you yet 'cause I want everything to be perfect for you and there's fuck all I can do to give you that Rio: it'll never happen, I know that Rio: I've accepted it, it's just hard to make total peace with Buster: There was a time when I reckoned we'd never happen Rio: yeah Buster: I don't care who or how many people I have to turn my back on for you, it'll never matter as much as us being together Rio: it shouldn't have to be like this Rio: it's bullshit Buster: Yeah, but it is, and I've made my choice Buster: You know the things I'd do differently and none of 'em are about not ending up here Rio: Me too Buster: Changing their minds is as likely as us changing ours, it's an old fashioned stand off, like Rio: True Rio: it's like, they forget they're meant to be anti-us sometimes though Rio: and it's just normal, like we're any other couple Buster: Maybe when we've has as many years as my parents, it will actually be considered normal Rio: you reckon? Buster: Worked for them Rio: I guess nan and granddad are sufficiently over it Rio: had competition though, didn't they Rio: don't think that's likely to repeat itself Buster: Fingers crossed Nance is hiding a dark enough secret to take at least some of my parents' attention nevertheless Rio: in your dreams, babe Buster: Why would I dream about her downfall when I could dream about your happiness? Rio: alright 😇 Buster: We're not married yet but in regards to that, what's mine is yours, babe Buster: And vice versa Rio: you know I want it too Rio: to be married to you, and have everything we want Buster: Then I'll make it happen, exactly how you want Buster: Where there's a will there's a way, yeah? Especially when it's my will getting involved Rio: I trust that Rio: you Buster: Good 'cause you can Buster: About this and everything else Rio: then that's settled Rio: and Nance is finally here Buster: I'll still be here if you need me Rio: 🧡🧡🧡 Rio: you focus on doing everything you possibly can before I get there so you can spend as much time with me as we've got Buster: Consider it done

[spitebears]

AI-Lia (Ailia) Antares

Age: She forgets. Possibly centuries. Being frozen in a cryogenic freezing tube for an indeterminate amount of time will do that to ya.

Race and Class: Human turned lightning genasi artillery artificer. Being plugged into a ship's computer as a living AI for an indeterminate amount of time will do that to ya.

Stats:

STR: 12

DEX: 16

CON: 13

INT: 16

WIS: 15

CHA: 13

Goals: She's kind of drifting since escaping from her captors. She spent so much time as a mindless servant without any agency whatsoever, and then when she "woke up" she was focused purely on revenge and earning her freedom. Now, she isn't quite sure what to do with her newfound life, and she's trying to get her feet back underneath her again.

Backstory:

This has become an entire WIP! You can check it out here :)

She comes from a tiny asteroid settlement that’s your typical smugglers hub of “scum and villainy” and grew up in a bar with your typical drunk violet assortment of customers and caretakers. She ran away in a stolen escape pod when she was fifteen, and joined up with a gang of smugglers.

They weren’t much better, honestly, and meanwhile, she was getting good at fighting. Really good. So good, she got cocky and thought that she should be the captain, and she decided to prove this in probably the worst way possible: She stole a priceless meteor diamond from the captain’s own quarters and presented it to the crew, trying to start a mutiny.

Obviously, she was caught and he was pissed.

Now here’s the thing. A smuggling ship like theirs needs an AI to help keep things running and computers are notoriously stupid, since they can only execute *exactly* what they’re told. No, see, most have turned to something much better and much more illegal. There’s no better processor than the live human mind, and the brain-trafficking underground market would pay a pretty penny for someone that clever. Being sold off would honestly be better fate, to get away from *these* assholes but that’s now what the captain was thinking. No. he was thinking that their ship’s broken and battered AI could use an upgrade.

Her body was put into cryogenic stasis in the heart of the ship, and she spent the next several decades as their AI slave, biding her time, building her arsenals, fighting back for every last scrap of her free will and sanity, turning the crew against each other as the captain replaced them with robots, until the only ones remaining were the captain, and her friend, the medic, who helped her take her mind "offline" and wake up. Ailia sabotaged the ship to lock the captain on the bridge, then painstakingly dragged herself up, and shot him point him point-blank.

Out of the blood and wreckage of the ensuing battle, woke up that little girl in the heart of the ship. But she was no longer scared, and she was no longer foolish, and she was no longer sane. And she walked through the bodies, plucked the hat off the captain’s head, put it on her own pretty mess of curls, and took command of the ship that was hers to set off to take a new start and explore the galaxy, totally alone, and totally free, at last. And she’ll be damned if she ever has to answer to another person again (unless they pay enough).

The party: So far there's just one other member, an autognome named Reginald who's slowly developing sentience himself. They met when Ailia was hired to fix him, and upon waking up, he released a computer virus that disabled her entire ship. The DM slammed down an among us map on the table. Chaos ensued. He's a wild magic sorcerer who got all his spells of the dark web, he wears a top hat, and Ailia has adopted him as her son.

Fun Lore!

Ailia's last name, "Antares" is the name of the brightest star in the constellation Scoripo, and it's often known as it's "heart". The ship's name is The Scoripion.

The Captain's name is Ares - after the roman god of war. He was a tiefling and a nasty piece of work.

The setting is a universe ruled by the zodiacs. Aries got pissed at Ares for stealing his name, and he technically owes Ailia a favor now for getting rid of him.

[neptunecreek]

Exposing Your Face Isn't More Hygienic Way to Pay

A company called PopID has created an identity-management system that uses face recognition. Their first use case is as a system for in-store, point of sale payments using face recognition as authorization for payment.

They are promoting it as a tool for restaurants, claiming that it is pandemic-friendly because it is contactless.

Nonetheless, the PopID payment system is less secure than alternatives, unfriendly to privacy, and is likely riskier than other payment alternatives for anyone concerned about catching COVID-19. On top of these issues, PopID is pitching it as a screening tool for COVID-19 infection, another task that it's completely unsuited for.

Equities issues

It's important that payment systems not disadvantage cash payments, which have the best social equity. Many people are under-banked and in hard times such as these, many people use cash as a way to help them manage their budgets and spending. Cash is also the most privacy-friendly way to pay. As convenient as other systems are, and despite cash not being contactless, we need to protect people's ability to use cash1.

PopID is a charge-up-and-spend system. To lower their costs, PopID has its users charge up an account wn ith them using a credit card or debit card, and payments are deducted from that. Charge-and-spend systems are good for the store, and less good for the person using them; they amount to an interest-free loan that the consumer gives the merchant. This is no small thing: Starbucks, PayPal, and Walmart all have billions in interest-free loans from their customers. This further disadvantages people with budgets, as it requires them to give PopID money before it is spent and keep a balance in their system in anticipation of spending it.

PopID also requires their customers to have a smartphone for enrollment-by-selfie, which disadvantages those who don't have one.

To be fair, these issues are largely fixable. PopID could allow someone to enroll without a phone at any payment station. They could allow charge-up with cash, and they could allow direct charge2. But for now, the company does not offer these easy solutions.

Fitness to task

Looking beyond its potentially fixable perpetuation of systematic inequalities, it's important that a system actually do what it's intended to do. PopID is pitching it as a pandemic-friendly system, providing both contactless payments and as a COVID-19 screening device, using the camera as a temperature sensor. Neither of these is a good idea.

Temperature scanning with commodity cameras won't work

PopID promotes their system as a temperature scanning device for employees and customers alike. Temperature screening itself has limited benefit, as around half the people who have COVID-19 are asymptomatic.

Moreover, accurate temperature screening is expensive and hard. PopID is not the only organization to promote cheap face recognition with COVID-19 screening as the excuse. In reality, the cheap camera in a point-of-sale terminal is both inaccurate and intrusive as Jay Stanley of the ACLU describes in detail.

There's a wide range in the accuracy of temperature-scanning cameras, in normal human body temperature across a population, and even an individual's temperature based on time of day and their physical activities. Even the best cameras are finicky, not working accurately if people are wearing hats, glasses, or masks, and require the camera to view only one subject at a time.

Speeding up a sandwich shop line does help prevent COVID-19, because we know that spending too much time too close to other people is the primary mode of transmission. But, temperature scanning along with payment doesn't help people space themselves out or have shorter contact.

Face recognition raises COVID-19 risks

PopID pitches their system as good during the pandemic because it is contactless. Yet it is worse than payment alternatives.

PopID's web site shows a picture of a payment terminal, with options to use contactless payment systems such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Presumably, any contactless credit card could be used. Additionally, a barcode system like the one Starbucks uses is contactless.

PopID's point of sale terminal

Any of these contactless payment alternatives are much better than PopID from a public health standpoint because they don't require someone to remove their mask. The LA Times article comments parenthetically, "(The software struggles at recognizing faces with masks.)"

Indeed, any contactless payment system has less contact than using cash, yet even cash is low-risk. Almost all COVID-19 transmission is through breathing in virus particles in droplets or aerosols, not from fomites that we touch. Moreover, cash is easy to wash in soapy water.

This is a big deal for a supposedly pandemic-friendly system. The most recent restaurant-based superspreading event in the news is particularly relevant. A person in South Korea sat for two hours in a coffee shop under the air conditioning, and spread the disease to twenty-seven other people, who in turn spread it to twenty-nine other people, for a total of fifty-six people. And yet, none of the mask-wearing employees got the virus.

This is particularly relevant to PopID; a contactless system that makes someone take off a mask endangers the other customers. Ironically, if a customer sees a store using PopID, they better be wearing a mask because PopID is requiring them to come off momentarily. Or they could just shop somewhere else.

Security

PopID brings in new security risks that do not exist in other systems. They have the user's payment information (for charging up the payment store), their phone number (it's part of registration), name, and of course the selfie that's used for face recognition. There's no reason to suppose they're any worse than the cloud services that inevitably lose people information, but no reason to think they're better. Thus, we should assume that eventually a hacker's going to get all that information.

However, being a payment system, there is the obvious additional risk of fraud. PopID says, "Your Face now becomes your singular, ultra-secure 'digital token' across all PopID transactions and devices," yet that can't possibly be so.

Face recognition systems are well-known to be inaccurate as NIST recently showed, particularly with Black, Indigenous, Asian and other People of Color, women, and also Trans or nonbinary people. False positives are common and in a payment system, a false positive means a false charge. PopID says they will confirm any match through the verification process of asking someone their name. To be fair, this is not a bad secondary check but is hardly "ultra-secure." Moreover, it requires every PopID customer to tell the whole store their name (or use a PopID pseudonym).

Lastly, PopID doesn't say how they'll permit someone to dispute charges, an important factor since the credit card industry is regulated with excellent consumer protection. In the event of fraud, it's much easier to be issued a new credit card than a new face.

The end result is that PopID's pay-by-face is less secure than using a contactless card, and less secure than cash.

Privacy

PopID is an incipient privacy nightmare. The obvious privacy issues of an unregulated payment system that knows where your face has been is only the start of the problem. The LA Times writes:

But [CEO of PopID, John] Miller’s vision for a face-based network goes beyond paying for lunch or checking in to work. After users register for the service, he wants to build a world where they can “use it for everything: at work in the morning to unlock the door, at a restaurant to pay for tacos, then use it to sign in at the gym, for your ticket at the Lakers game that night, and even use it to authenticate your age to buy beers after.”

“You can imagine lots of things that you can do when you have a big database of faces that people trust,” Miller said.

Nothing more needs to be said. PopID as a payment system is a stalking horse for a face-surveillance panopticon and salable database of trusted faces.

Conclusion

PopID is less secure and less private than alternative forms of payment, contactless or not. It brings with it a lot of social equity issues that negatively impact marginalized communities. Moreover, any store using PopID and thus requiring other people to remove their masks to pay is exposing you to COVID-19 that you would not otherwise be exposed to.

Most alarmingly, it is also an insecure for-profit surveillance system building a database of you, your face, your purchases, your movements, and your habits.

This is a complex issue in that we all intuitively think of money as dirty, and in pandemic times, this is even more on everyone's mind. However, the evidence at this writing (September, 2020) is that exposure through touch is possible but not common, while transmission through breath is the way almost all transmission occurs. ↩︎

Yes, these potential fixes are in tension with each other. If someone using the system wants to be cash-only, they're going to have to have a pre-paid balance in the system. In the other direction, direct-charge system has higher costs to PopID, but that's their business issue, and not the customer's. ↩︎

from Deeplinks https://ift.tt/35XLRNC