#Trick to use keywords

[asiqbal6]

How to put keywords on Amazon ? Use of keywords on Amazon

To put keywords on Amazon effectively, follow these steps: 1. Product Title: Place the most important keywords related to your product at the beginning of the title. Keep it concise and readable, while incorporating relevant terms that customers might use when searching for your product. 2. Bullet Points and Description: Integrate keywords naturally in your bullet points and product…

[e-rated-beardo]

The amount of work it takes to even run a website this huge, keep it from basically exploding every other week, and just do the minimum required to follow binding laws while also making occasional improvements to that website's features is... a damn big amount of work. I've worked on some, so I've got an inkling.

Now, doing that in your free time, with a shoestring budget, while also having actual morals that much of the sales and management parts of the IT business (I feel us actual devs are split pretty evenly, but it usually isn't us that you get to talk to) simply can't comprehend, as per above?

✨ Bloody magicians. ✨

The amount of doggedness and resourcefulness and strength of principle it takes to keep doing this and doing this and doing this is fucking breathtaking. And it's so very important. (That goes for everyone doing this sort of background/infrastructure work in fandom, by the way, not just ao3. Ao3 is just very visible, and very transparent, so it's possible to know exactly how much work they do with how little.)

The midjourney stuff just reminds of when we were trying to find a new platform to host the ao3 donation form, and companies kept trying to tell me about all their "ai" features that would track donor engagement, and figure out the optimal pattern to email individual donors asking for follow up donations, and all the ways they suggest we manipulate people into staying on our websites. It was a great way to filter out who either wasn't listening to us when we described our ethics and donor base, or just didn't believe us.

Now granted ao3 is a unique case based on a) the amount of page views we get in any given time period and b) the fact that most donors absolutely do Not want to be identified as such anywhere, (the default "list of recent donors" module got nuked Immediately) but it surprised me some that the concept of "donors who value their privacy and would be furious at even the whiff of AI" is unique. Some of us really are just existing in different worlds.

[connectedaero]

Top 5 Google Search Tricks For Developers:

1) filetype: (ex: git cheat sheet filetype:pdf)

2) Keywords, not sentences (react network request).

3) Exact phrase: ("css grid javascript").

4) Site-specific: (site:http://sitename.com keyword)

5) Time filter (Click on "Tools")

Read More on Reddit \/

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Even if you think AI search could be good, it won’t be good

TONIGHT (May 15), I'm in NORTH HOLLYWOOD for a screening of STEPHANIE KELTON'S FINDING THE MONEY; FRIDAY (May 17), I'm at the INTERNET ARCHIVE in SAN FRANCISCO to keynote the 10th anniversary of the AUTHORS ALLIANCE.

The big news in search this week is that Google is continuing its transition to "AI search" – instead of typing in search terms and getting links to websites, you'll ask Google a question and an AI will compose an answer based on things it finds on the web:

https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-google-search-may-2024/

Google bills this as "let Google do the googling for you." Rather than searching the web yourself, you'll delegate this task to Google. Hidden in this pitch is a tacit admission that Google is no longer a convenient or reliable way to retrieve information, drowning as it is in AI-generated spam, poorly labeled ads, and SEO garbage:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/03/keyword-swarming/#site-reputation-abuse

Googling used to be easy: type in a query, get back a screen of highly relevant results. Today, clicking the top links will take you to sites that paid for placement at the top of the screen (rather than the sites that best match your query). Clicking further down will get you scams, AI slop, or bulk-produced SEO nonsense.

AI-powered search promises to fix this, not by making Google search results better, but by having a bot sort through the search results and discard the nonsense that Google will continue to serve up, and summarize the high quality results.

Now, there are plenty of obvious objections to this plan. For starters, why wouldn't Google just make its search results better? Rather than building a LLM for the sole purpose of sorting through the garbage Google is either paid or tricked into serving up, why not just stop serving up garbage? We know that's possible, because other search engines serve really good results by paying for access to Google's back-end and then filtering the results:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

Another obvious objection: why would anyone write the web if the only purpose for doing so is to feed a bot that will summarize what you've written without sending anyone to your webpage? Whether you're a commercial publisher hoping to make money from advertising or subscriptions, or – like me – an open access publisher hoping to change people's minds, why would you invite Google to summarize your work without ever showing it to internet users? Nevermind how unfair that is, think about how implausible it is: if this is the way Google will work in the future, why wouldn't every publisher just block Google's crawler?

A third obvious objection: AI is bad. Not morally bad (though maybe morally bad, too!), but technically bad. It "hallucinates" nonsense answers, including dangerous nonsense. It's a supremely confident liar that can get you killed:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/01/mushroom-pickers-urged-to-avoid-foraging-books-on-amazon-that-appear-to-be-written-by-ai

The promises of AI are grossly oversold, including the promises Google makes, like its claim that its AI had discovered millions of useful new materials. In reality, the number of useful new materials Deepmind had discovered was zero:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/23/maximal-plausibility/#reverse-centaurs

This is true of all of AI's most impressive demos. Often, "AI" turns out to be low-waged human workers in a distant call-center pretending to be robots:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/31/neural-interface-beta-tester/#tailfins

Sometimes, the AI robot dancing on stage turns out to literally be just a person in a robot suit pretending to be a robot:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

The AI video demos that represent "an existential threat to Hollywood filmmaking" turn out to be so cumbersome as to be practically useless (and vastly inferior to existing production techniques):

https://www.wheresyoured.at/expectations-versus-reality/

But let's take Google at its word. Let's stipulate that:

a) It can't fix search, only add a slop-filtering AI layer on top of it; and

b) The rest of the world will continue to let Google index its pages even if they derive no benefit from doing so; and

c) Google will shortly fix its AI, and all the lies about AI capabilities will be revealed to be premature truths that are finally realized.

AI search is still a bad idea. Because beyond all the obvious reasons that AI search is a terrible idea, there's a subtle – and incurable – defect in this plan: AI search – even excellent AI search – makes it far too easy for Google to cheat us, and Google can't stop cheating us.

Remember: enshittification isn't the result of worse people running tech companies today than in the years when tech services were good and useful. Rather, enshittification is rooted in the collapse of constraints that used to prevent those same people from making their services worse in service to increasing their profit margins:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/26/glitchbread/#electronic-shelf-tags

These companies always had the capacity to siphon value away from business customers (like publishers) and end-users (like searchers). That comes with the territory: digital businesses can alter their "business logic" from instant to instant, and for each user, allowing them to change payouts, prices and ranking. I call this "twiddling": turning the knobs on the system's back-end to make sure the house always wins:

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

What changed wasn't the character of the leaders of these businesses, nor their capacity to cheat us. What changed was the consequences for cheating. When the tech companies merged to monopoly, they ceased to fear losing your business to a competitor.

Google's 90% search market share was attained by bribing everyone who operates a service or platform where you might encounter a search box to connect that box to Google. Spending tens of billions of dollars every year to make sure no one ever encounters a non-Google search is a cheaper way to retain your business than making sure Google is the very best search engine:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task

Competition was once a threat to Google; for years, its mantra was "competition is a click away." Today, competition is all but nonexistent.

Then the surveillance business consolidated into a small number of firms. Two companies dominate the commercial surveillance industry: Google and Meta, and they collude to rig the market:

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

That consolidation inevitably leads to regulatory capture: shorn of competitive pressure, the companies that dominate the sector can converge on a single message to policymakers and use their monopoly profits to turn that message into policy:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/05/regulatory-capture/

This is why Google doesn't have to worry about privacy laws. They've successfully prevented the passage of a US federal consumer privacy law. The last time the US passed a federal consumer privacy law was in 1988. It's a law that bans video store clerks from telling the newspapers which VHS cassettes you rented:

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

In Europe, Google's vast profits lets it fly an Irish flag of convenience, thus taking advantage of Ireland's tolerance for tax evasion and violations of European privacy law:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

Google doesn't fear competition, it doesn't fear regulation, and it also doesn't fear rival technologies. Google and its fellow Big Tech cartel members have expanded IP law to allow it to prevent third parties from reverse-engineer, hacking, or scraping its services. Google doesn't have to worry about ad-blocking, tracker blocking, or scrapers that filter out Google's lucrative, low-quality results:

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

Google doesn't fear competition, it doesn't fear regulation, it doesn't fear rival technology and it doesn't fear its workers. Google's workforce once enjoyed enormous sway over the company's direction, thanks to their scarcity and market power. But Google has outgrown its dependence on its workers, and lays them off in vast numbers, even as it increases its profits and pisses away tens of billions on stock buybacks:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

Google is fearless. It doesn't fear losing your business, or being punished by regulators, or being mired in guerrilla warfare with rival engineers. It certainly doesn't fear its workers.

Making search worse is good for Google. Reducing search quality increases the number of queries, and thus ads, that each user must make to find their answers:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/24/naming-names/#prabhakar-raghavan

If Google can make things worse for searchers without losing their business, it can make more money for itself. Without the discipline of markets, regulators, tech or workers, it has no impediment to transferring value from searchers and publishers to itself.

Which brings me back to AI search. When Google substitutes its own summaries for links to pages, it creates innumerable opportunities to charge publishers for preferential placement in those summaries.

This is true of any algorithmic feed: while such feeds are important – even vital – for making sense of huge amounts of information, they can also be used to play a high-speed shell-game that makes suckers out of the rest of us:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/11/for-you/#the-algorithm-tm

When you trust someone to summarize the truth for you, you become terribly vulnerable to their self-serving lies. In an ideal world, these intermediaries would be "fiduciaries," with a solemn (and legally binding) duty to put your interests ahead of their own:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/07/treacherous-computing/#rewilding-the-internet

But Google is clear that its first duty is to its shareholders: not to publishers, not to searchers, not to "partners" or employees.

AI search makes cheating so easy, and Google cheats so much. Indeed, the defects in AI give Google a readymade excuse for any apparent self-dealing: "we didn't tell you a lie because someone paid us to (for example, to recommend a product, or a hotel room, or a political point of view). Sure, they did pay us, but that was just an AI 'hallucination.'"

The existence of well-known AI hallucinations creates a zone of plausible deniability for even more enshittification of Google search. As Madeleine Clare Elish writes, AI serves as a "moral crumple zone":

https://estsjournal.org/index.php/ests/article/view/260

That's why, even if you're willing to believe that Google could make a great AI-based search, we can nevertheless be certain that they won't.

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/15/they-trust-me-dumb-fucks/#ai-search

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

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

--

djhughman https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Modular_synthesizer_-_%22Control_Voltage%22_electronic_music_shop_in_Portland_OR_-_School_Photos_PCC_%282015-05-23_12.43.01_by_djhughman%29.jpg

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

[ahhhsami]

#i like when ppl do thos#except i almost never read on the computer#there's also the option to add footnotes#that will take the reader to the bottom of the page for the translation and then back up#idk how to do the programing part though#ao3

In reference to this person's tags; I go over how to do footnotes here https://archiveofourown.org/works/46679146#3, but here are some screen shots like above.

-------------

This is the coding that's needed.

Here's a simplified version to show exactly how to add multiple footers for a singular story. Remember that you should continue to make unique titles for each footer since some people will read the entire work and not just the singular chapter. So make sure to go Chapter 1: footer 1, footer 2, and footer 3, then go into Chapter 2: footer 4, footer 5, etc.

Finally this is how the footer looks in the end author notes.

A Simple Trick for Fic Writers

Hey, if you're a fic writer and a character speaks in a different language, you don't just have to add the translation in the notes. Use the following HTML coding to add 'text on hover' to the word(s). If the reader is on a computer they can hover over the text to see the translation.

<div title="This is the text in the box!">This is the text that shows in your fic!</div>

Here are some examples from a fic on my AO3.

This coding here <div title="a fool, idiot (lit. emptyhead)">Eyn utreekov</div> will show this on hover.

This next example shows that you can add a lot of text. The formatting is the same as above.

PS: When doing this, there may be spacing issues, but you can edit the text through AO3's html or rich text editor. From there you can add italics (like I did), bold, etc, and fix any weird spacing issues. Just be careful not to delete the coding that you worked so hard on 😂

[thefaiao]

Here's a portrait I did based on the movie Hackers (1995), which I'm posting on its own because I want to talk about this movie!

I had never watched the movie before working on this commission, but it was truly magical to watch. I've been kind of taking in what I watched over the last days and it has given me so many thoughts that I don't even know to begin. Watching without any knowledge of how the movie was received, I was shocked to learn that there is a major split in opinions about the movie, which has left me completely puzzled. How can a movie, that in my eyes is simply phenomenal, be even able to receive such negative reviews to this day?

I think the keyword here is what I used to describe the movie: magical. There is a magic circle that needs to be accepted and entered for you to truly enjoy the movie, and see how the silly sequences are a depiction of reality that is juiced up, and not a substitute of reality. If you just take the movie at face value, you won't be able to appreciate how this effect works. You'll think just because an interface is translated as two obvious HACK buttons, they can in no way actually be depicting hacking. But they are, the movie does a lot to show its appreciation and love for the scene, with accurate references to relevant books, multiple little "tricks" like phreaking and resetting the phone to call someone other than your lawyer when you get arrested. You can appreciate that effort and also how it was dressed up to resonate more with a larger audience, and keep the movie's amazing pace!

Now there are also things that maybe were taken for granted in movies of this time. The set design and costumes are fantastic, and somehow still feel fresh today. Maybe they are not realistic but they are effortlessly cool in a way I think almost no one does well nowadays. All the characters are visually strong and are immediately identifiable, on top of having great chemistry and represent a decent variety of archetypes. Despite being a movie, it communicates strongly that this world is bursting with life and character, that the game is not set, and that there is still future ahead of us. They have a scene of the main guy wearing lingerie in a dream, and the main girl joyously, sincerely smiles at the thought. That is a deep understanding of the human spirit.

Yet it kills me! It kills me that people watch this movie and think it's "terrible" or "cringy", that they don't have eyes to see how much heart it has. People have convinced themselves that reality can only exist within their brain specifically, that there is no use for magic, even in movies, even in books and games. What's the point of being smart if you just want all the answers handed to you? The abstraction is not a defect, it's a working piece.

The people who saw the world through these cold lens have removed all of the punk and empowerment that the movie champions. They boiled down the culture to just code and went on to make lame companies that serve to optimize suffering and take the people's ability to actually interface and express themselves through computers and electronics as a whole.

You can accept both the material reality and understand the purpose of abstraction and interpretation beyond furthering material gain. Perhaps the movie didn't intend to show me such a complex message, but that's what I got from it, and it gave me room to interpret it that way, allowed me to be curious.

That's all I have to say. Maybe I'm preaching to the crowd, but whatever. When you approach something, have heart! Without your heart, your head would have no blood, and your mind, no thoughts. Treasure, and use, it!

[study-diaries]

Study Trick That No One Told Me.

Division of subjects:

Every subject is learnt and graded in a different way. You can't use the same study techniques for every subject you have. You have mostly 3 types of subjects:

Memorization based

Practical/Question based

Theory/Essay based

Memorization based:

Mostly Biology, Sciences, Geography etc are fully based on memorization and so you'll use memory study techniques like flash cards and active recall.

Practical/Question based:

Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Accountancy etc are practice subjects. The more you do your questions and understand how a sum is done, the better you can score.

Theory/Essay based:

English, history, business studies etc are theory based. The more you write, the way you write and the keywords you use are the only things that will get you your grades. So learn the formats and the structure on how to write your answers

Note: Some subjects are a combination of the three. Like Economics etc

The reason we divide the subjects is because you can adopt the right study methods for the right subject. Like ex: business studies is mostly based on how you write your answer and the keywords, if you're gonna spend your time memorizing in this, it's a waste of time and energy.

Hope this helps :)

[colebabey888]

Study Tips | THE IT GIRL DIARIES

As the academic year begins to wrap up, things can get stressful with extra workload and faster lessons. I've definitely been a victim of this but unfortunately, I can't afford to slack off if I want that degree, so I began implementing a few tips and tricks into my study method that has helped me a lot.

Summarize and Recite Notes

If you’re good at remembering things like speech notes, try “paragraph summarizing” Those who did orals in pre school, high-school and were good at it, will know exactly what I'm talking about. I take a week’s material and shrink it down to a few key paragraphs with main ideas and keywords. Then, read these notes out loud as if you’re practicing for a presentation. This helps me remember faster. On occasion I make q-cards for harder or more learning material but very rarely.

Use AI !

When I come across hard words or ideas, I use AI tools like ChatGPT or Google. Copy your tricky material, paste it into the tool, and ask it to “explain like I’m five” AI turns it into simple, easy language, making it much easier to understand and remember. This can be so helpful when it comes to work that requires having a good understanding of the topic to actually excel in it. Think of AI as your study buddy that already knows everything. For those who struggle to speak up in class or ask for help, AI is the solution. You can ask the dumbest questions ever and not be judged lmao. Progressive learning 101.

My 3 Step Muscle Memorization

Step 1 : Type out a summary of your notes on your laptop or computer, whatever digital device you choose, I prefer a laptop.

Step 2 : Copy and rewrite them by hand on paper

Step 3 : With a blank sheet alongside you, rewrite your summaries onto it without looking at it, so you'll read off your summaries on your previous page but with your other hand, rewrite it on the blank page. I call it "scribble memorizing" Repeat this until you can do it without looking at your summaries. I do this to basically practice muscle memory so my hand knows what to write without me having to think about it first.

mwah! xoxo, colebabey8.88

[zombie-bait]

Full Moon

Ok so I don’t normally post about Helluva Boss but the newest episode touched on an interesting concept I haven’t necessarily seen represented in media. Back when I was on Twitter (derogatory) a few years ago there was this now deleted viral thread where someone discussed how their struggles with mental health affected their relationship with their partner and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. 

This is such a good, short example of how anxiety and depression can play tricks on you. It becomes so easy to envision yourself as a nuisance, a constant burden to those closest to you because they cannot possibly genuinely enjoy your company, right? But in doing so you create this arbitrarily cruel version of the people you love, people who would otherwise never behave like this outside of your own mind.

It's mean. Because your mind wants to be mean to you under these circumstances. It wants to put everyone else's emotions and desires above yours, both in worthiness and validity. And that starts bleeding into your understanding of other people, especially those you care about.

Now. Helluva Boss.

"Can I get a fucking MINUTE to think after everything you put me through you pompous rich ASSHOLE? Treat me like one of your little butler imps, you can’t just dismiss me like that! I mean, you royal fucks think you can do this every time, like you can just play with our feelings because we’re smaller and not as important. Well I’m not letting you, BITCH! Let’s go!" - Blitz

I find it really interesting how Helluva Boss decided to approach this conflict between Stolas and Blitz. Obviously, the difference in power matters. It's the underlying tension of their entire relationship and their lives. Stolas is burdened by the mountain of expectations thrust upon him from a very young age while Blitz is constantly reminded that he can NEVER be part of that world, that he is "smaller and not as important" not just in Hell's hierarchy but in his own life and family. Stolas very literally has power over Blitz (through the grimoire, the arrangement, his position in society) and Blitz uses their relationship as an excuse to reverse those roles. But that power dynamic, in one form or another, never truly goes away. And for Blitz, it's a lot easier to paint Stolas as this manipulative symbol of power and himself as nothing more than Stolas' plaything. It's easier to be angry than to be vulnerable and accept that someone might care about him.

"Dismiss" is the keyword in that quote. All that Blitz has been able to process is that Stolas has decided to end the relationship that they have. He feels ls like a choice has been taken away from him so he lashes out because he's not ready to emotionally tackle what the rest of Stolas' offer might entail. If Stolas hates him, just wants to play with him, then he is justified in his anger, his self-destruction, his isolation. If the world is mean, you're "allowed" to be mean back.

But

In that moment he forgets that Stolas is someone he actually cares about. Someone he's known for way too long and clearly wants to keep in his life, no matter how reluctant he can be to admit it. Someone who is not innately cruel or manipulative but sad and desperate for connections in a lot of the same ways that Blitz is. And Blitz immediately sees that he's miscalculated something.

Somewhere along the way the fictional version of Stolas that he's allowed himself to be mad at and the real one that he's not ready to admit he cares about have merged into something real that he has actual power over. Stolas can get hurt and Blitz can be the one who does it. He has once again allowed his greatest fears (which Stolas so frequently symbolizes) to co-opt his loved ones, to give him an "out" even though he didn't actually want one in the first place.

I'm definitely not the first person to say this but I think this is an example of the miscommunication trope done right. Their individual struggles are what cause them to be unable to connect during this conversation or to even have a proper conversation in the first place. There is no convenient misunderstanding or third party fabricating this rift. Both of them have preconceived ideas of what the other one is thinking but those ideas are flawed and rooted in self-hatred. They also both shutdown in their unique ways when the conversation starts heading in the direction they'd feared it would.

Blitz and Stolas work because they're both fucked up in similar ways, because they want similar things. That's the same reason why they're uniquely designed to hurt one another. A fear of rejection and a yearning for happiness. To borrow a quote that has been used by literally everyone from Spiderman to Evangelical preachers, "hurt people hurt people."

anyway, I really liked this episode.

(twitter thread screenshots sourced from this reddit post)

[boofeine]

taroteen saturday

# 1 seventeen members persona in bed and the sex partner they seek for

WARNINGS: tarot is not one fixed truth, you are the one in charge of your life decisions.

this reading was done with 24 cards; the major arcanes + page of cups + knight of swords on the deck.

tags: @huen1ngk4i @aaniag @svteensworld @kooqitas @unlikelysublimekryptonite

seungcheol

sex persona – card pulled: the magician; that's the card number one, seungcheol is someone who knows what he's capable of. he knows what he likes and what has to be done. he's good and intuitive. also so eager to discover what you like and how to make you feel good. a magician always have a trick up on their sleeves, he's good with hands and might like to use tools. keywords: knowledge, flourishing, active.

sex patner he seeks – card pulled: knight of swords; a fire card, someone who takes action, can be quite impulsive, but they don't only act on their desires, but someone who knows what they like and take action on it. very impatient and aggressive, not physically but in a way that they need it fast, a bit desesparate (ofc, seungcheol likes that, he's a leo, you HAVE to crave him). i see a lot of fast motions, like grinding and penetrative sex, out of breath and moans... omg they are so horny. keywords: energetic, aggressive, impulsive.

jeonghan

sex persona – card pulled: death; he's someone who takes sex as a desire, he doesn't need to have big ties on it or on the person. he's probably someone with a lot of hookups. as we already know, he's kinky and likes to try new things, he can be a little freaky and likes it when the sex has a bit of risk, i can see semi public sex and not public only because he's an idol. definitely, gets to use toys and accessories. he's not necessarily into bdsm, i don't see aggressive energy, but he's into different kinks. keywords: new, intense, refreshing.

sex patner he seeks – card pulled: knight of swords; same as cheol, someone impulsive and impatient, a freak just like him. if he finds someone like this, i swear the sex would be mind-blowing and never boring, it always feels new and intense like the first time. knight of swords is a card about taking action on something new, so they are also someone who is open to try new things as long as it takes where they want, and they know what they want. sweaty sex and very messy. keywords: attitude, risky, impatient.

joshua

sex persona – card pulled: temperance reversed; i feel a little uncomfortable... maybe that's not a good topic for joshua, i don't know if he had bad experiences. i took more cards because i was intrigued by the temperance reversed pull, it conveys stagnation and disharmony. the two other cards that flew from the deck was the tower and the hierophant, maybe he's someone who gives a lot, definitely submissive, that he might feel empty after sex (please, be gentle with him on aftercare). i feel the need to say this, maybe he needs to create a new meaning and relation with sex, so it can be joyful to him. the hierophant is a communicator, he has to speak, have conversation so he can work it out. keywords: submissive, communication, introspective.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the world; that makes so much sense, he wants someone mature and that guide him to enlightenment, who help him close this cicle to start a new one. someone conscious who he can learn from. a feminine energy that knows themself and will guide that communication he needs. this also came to mind, maybe the partners he had before were submissive and he saw himself in the position of doming, that's not comfortable or what he might want, maybe he's afraid of telling his partner that. so he sees the image of someone who is confident and can take over. keywords: confident, mature, sexy.

junhui

sex persona – card pulled: the world reverse; jun might not have so much experience or is someone who likes to stick to what he likes. maybe it's a bit resistant to try new things, probably likes the average. what came to me is that he might not give much importance to sex, it is something that gives him pleasure, but it's not a big thing to him. honestly, nonchalant vibes. keywords: immature, simple, pleasure.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the empress; feminine energy that gives welcoming and frutifiction. dovoted to his partner, she does what he wants. she's receptive but still holds power of seduction. i see a perfect pillow princess for this reading specifically. very sensual and feminine. keywords: devoted, switch, powerful.

soonyoung

sex persona – card pulled: the world; it's the last major arcane and symbolizes a winning and the end of a cicle. he knows a lot and is open to anything (he can pull off). he might like to flirt and feel like he has to win that someone before they actually get to the act, he needs to feel deserving of it. he might like strip tease and a bit of exhibitionism. there's a naked lady in the middle of the card, it's almost an afrodiasiac figure. it's crazy but this card also suggests dancing or lap dance, so he might be into that too (very reasonable so). keywords: mature, conscious, dense.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the chariot; dominance, this card is for someone dominant. someone who is confident and very conscious of themselves, moved by their wants and needs, and they act on it. very intense and carnal sex. this card also suggests trips and sex in the car. as i said before, i can see very afrodiasiac scenary, in somewhere tropical, i also see tropical fruits and ocean/beach view. that someone likes to try new things and change positions often during sex. keywords: volatile, dominant, confident.

wonwoo

sex persona – card pulled: the sun reversed; i can see a very dominant and dark energy, he's a proper dom. he might be into a little bit of spanking and has this cold aura (or even language) during sex. even though he has this aggressive energy, he also likes the average, sex in a big bed, from behind, spooning, or missionary with a submisse feminine figure. keywords: cold, direct, aggressive.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the empress; i can see workship. a submissive fem figure that also holds a lot of power, she's sensual and seductive. like jun's, a perfect pillow princess, devoted and receptive of her partner dominance. keywords: welcoming, feminine, frutification.

jihoon

sex persona – card pulled: the high priestess; oh my, im actually not even a bit surprised. the high priestess is a card with feminine energy, it's almost a cold energy but she holds a lot of power. she can delimited which emotions she wants to express and convey and the ones she doesn't. it holds a lot of control and reserve. the sex might feel melancholic and i could say also slow. what comes to mind is that woozi is a higher figure and you have to serve/give/prey him. him, on the other hand, needs to feel he has some kind of control and power, but it's also very intuitive with his actions. he's a bit shy too, that's why you should boost his confidence. keywords: intense, intuitive, sentimental.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: strength; understanding and dominant. it can have physical strength and a lot of teasing, like pushing and pulling until he begs. jihoon is definitely a sub and likes a lot to be domed, you don't have to be aggressive, just put him on his place, and he will workship you. even though, you could be aggressive with it, he might like even more. this someone is very clever and witty, and has a great ability to read the signs and knows what to do to give pleasure. keywords: dominant, calm, intelligent.

seokmin

sex persona – card pulled: the lovers; i had to pause because i was literally on the merge of crying, please, he's so pure. he likes sex who has sentiment. he might struggle to take action and often hangs on a bifurcation until he needs to take one. also what i mean by that, it's that he needs to set the ambient, maybe some whine, or a bathtub before the actual sex. there's a lot of touches and long foreplays. very romantic and caring with his partner, he will make it feel like falling in love even if there's not any feelings off sex. that's also something he might struggle with, not to catch feelings on the spot, also because he gives a lot of praise and sweet words, hopeless romantic. keywords: caring, workship, love.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the world; it can be also a very romantic card, who gives a deserving and winning energy. long foreplays, strip tease and exhibitionism with double masturbation. again the afrodiasiac gets in here, but i see candles, petals and water this time around. this person might also be a little bit more risky than him, someone who is more mature (even more experienced than him) and encourages him or can be willing to teach him new things. keywords: mature, sexy, confident.

mingyu

sex persona – card pulled: judgment; give and receive, has juste attitude and receives a reward for it. he's very aware of himself, so he might ponders a lot. very noisy sex, moans, whimpers and whines, oral sex and cum play is a need. like said before, very vocal, he will praise and workship. i saw an orgy image, probably because the sex has a lot of fluids, sweat, cum, arosal. keywords: intense, dense, reward.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the hierophant; someone sentimental and submissive to him, someone that he can take care of and workship. that partner needs a lot of aftercare and caring. the hierophant gives his all, and it's a good public communicator, he knows how to please the public, in here it's the same for the partner. someone who he looks more elevated than him, like a god, a spiritual figure. keywords: spiritual, emotional, submissive.

minghao

sex persona – card pulled: the high priestess appeared on the deck, and the judgment reverse just flew out of it; minghao is all about giving and praising to a feminine energy. the judgment card insinuates a masculine dominant, but it comes reversed, the high priestess just confirming it. a servant to a queen. he likes to feel deserving of it and to achieve it and have it because he deserves, for justice. a lot of oral sex and workship, he's totally a service dom. quiet, reserve, and introspective sex, but still, he likes to hear and get sounds out of you. keywords: serve, do, conquest.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the hanged man reverse; oh my, he really workships that feminine energy. the hanged man on the card image has an aura around his head and when reverse that conveys enlightenment, almost as if he was trustful of a big spiritual figure and broke free. minghao might like that his partner let loose and feel comfortable to let him take over their body. he likes to feel like he gave you everything in the end, as if you were free from something or got enlightenment. i see a lot of fluids. likes the post orgasm glow and likes to see you cum, and will do as many times as he can. keywords: spiritual, freedom, gorgeous.

seungkwan

sex persona – card pulled: the hierophant; turns out, you guys were right all along, this man is submissive. he likes to give all of himself, the sex with seungkwan feels emotional, almost spiritual. what came to me was dacriphilia, really intense sex, could make you both cry. but that doesn't mean, he doesn't lead, he does and he will praise, put you up on a pedestal when you are over him, he will say sweet words and even encourage you with some dirty talk. he does everything to you, so please give it to him too, he likes the praises too, he has that sentimental side even during sex, he just needs assurance. keywords: giver, spiritual, introspective.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: page of cups; OF COURSE, OF COURSE IT IS!! page of cups is the most attractive card on the deck, and he appeared twice on the pull. seungkwan might look for the perfect partner. i felt like it on the first reading too, and this came like a confirmation, he might not like casual hookups, he likes to know the person, even if it's on a shallow level. he seeks someone attractive and that makes him feel things before you even get to touch each other, he likes intensity and feelings. that's a dominant and confident individual, someone with fatale energy. this card is passionate and feels like teenage love. keywords: masculine energy, confident, dominant.

vernon

sex persona – card pulled: the star; a card about having wishes and releasing wantings and needs. he's dominant and takes action. im surprised, he might be someone who likes and is open to trying new things and creating them in bed. sex outside, sex in the water (shower, pool, lake, or in nature). i see mutual masturbation and watching his partner pleasure themselves. keywords: adventurous, fun, refreshing.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the hanged man reversed; someone spiritual and that he sees with a big aura, someone that can give him enlightenment. since it came reversed, that's also a person who is not afraid of trying new things and likes to be risky with their partner. like minghao's, he wants to workships that someone, because of how intelligent and attractive they are. i see a woman seated on a man's lap on a lake as he sucks her nipples while she rides him. keywords: free, spiritual, feminine.

chan

sex persona – card pulled: the sun; warm and welcoming. the sex is fun and so pleasurable. i see a lot of laughter, it's sweet. very natural and spontaneous, he might not like it if it's too prepared and has a lot of thoughts, he likes it to happen naturally and when it has to happen. it's very affectionate, and chan might want to let the lights on or have sex during the day so he can see his partner. i can see workship too. also a dominant figure, he likes to lead. not ironically enough, i felt very heated while doing this reading. keywords: affectionate, hot, needy.

sex partner he seeks – card pulled: the magician reversed; someone mature, but submisse, maybe shy that he can lead or conquer. he might like to feel he holds more power and has more experience/knowledge than that someone, and has to guide them. or he likes to have a sexplay around that scenery. someone young but mature for their age. or someone older than him that looks unexperienced. keywords: youthful, experienced, mature.

[riririnnnn]

Noa really gasted all my flabbers.

Before this chapter (278), I knew that he is the World's Best Striker, but after this chapter (278), I can see why he is the World's Best Striker. He is literally him. It's like looking at some kind of genius mastermind of some sort. The "Instead of assisting my teammates to win 1-0, it feels better to pull off a hat trick and lose 3-4" makes so, so much more sense now!

I won't lie, till now, his character did seem pretty bland to me—just some dude established as someone at the top of the game who was, in the end, going to adopt the protagonist in some way and then the sappy ending of student winning over the mentor.

Oh boy was I wrong.

The curveball he just threw at me, hurled me outta this universe. And just like in Loki's case, I feel like a fool once again since I have misunderstood Noa's whole character.

Firstly:

You know how some things just stand out for no reasons at all? Like, it's a trivial thing, but it just keeps on silently scratching the back of your head—the above panel happened to be that exact thing for me. My dumb ahh was really thinking, "Tf they talking about?" when I first saw this panel.

Before this small exchange, Noa was taking about how there are two philosophies in BM—and it depicted Kaiser and Isagi in the opposite of eachother—and this is exactly when, according to me, the whole Kaiser Vs Isagi rivalry's roots got firmly cemented. Yes, I do understand this rivalry started when Kaiser grabbed Isagi by his chin, but hear me out, okay?

You see this thing above?

Yes. Exactly.

We were told that BM's basic principle is Logic and Rationality, and considering Noa's personality, one can assume that Blue Lock-ers in this team would've been coerced into following this motto too, but Noa didn't do remotely anything like that. In fact, in all the other NEL teams, the coaches low-key molded the Blue Lock-ers to their respective mottos whereas Noa remained hands-off throughout everything—one of the main reasons why the majority of the Fandom considered him the worst coach in NEL.

But, well, I used to use this (above) reason to defend him—that he isn't tampering with Blue Lockers' originalities by letting them do things on their own accords just like Ego used to do.

Keyword: I used to.

Because I really don't know what to feel now that I've a whole different perspective in my hands—look at this:

These are Kaiser's words.

Kaiser was, in a way, already competing against Noa in BM, and now Isagi was added into the equation too which made him more hostile. I mean, instead of disregarding the rather, comparatively, un-rational philosophy of the Blue Lock-ers, Noa was accepting it and giving it room to grow! And if this philosophy won, then Kaiser (not in a literal sense) would be wiped off of the team! Further, it also seems like a small jab of, "You think you are the shit? Then prove yourself." which Kaiser was able to sense, and that's why, I think, he asked, "Are you testing me?"

Secondly:

LMFAO LAVINHO'S FACE! THIS IS MY FAV PANEL OF HIM!

I highly admired Noa for never stepping in the field until and unless the opposite team's coach had stepped in. It used to be my favourite argument for defending Noa's coaching ability. And just like my previous point, I can't look at this the same way anymore.

Of course, he isn't wrong—the coaches stepping in definitely throws off the balance in the field. But, well, if the power dynamics shift too abruptly and too much, it would tip off Kaiser and that'd ruin Noa's plan for the NEL—it would also tip off Isagi which would also ruin Noa's plan for the NEL.

So, in short and straightforward words, he always stepped in the field for the sake of himself and not for the sake of younger players in his team.

Thirdly:

This convo happened after Shidou's goal—PxG's first goal in their match with BM.

Right after these words left Loki's mouth, Noa went out to make changes in the positions of BM—he went out to suggest things and all just like an actual coach would do. And though this panel stood out to me in an odd way, I also remember finding it so damn hilarious for him, seemingly, being threatened by a mere 17 year old—I was actually going to make fun of him for this when this chapter (253) came out, but then I guess I chose to do otherwise.

I think it's because before this chapter (253) dropped, I was going to make a wholesome post about the possible relation between Noa and Loki since they are from the same national team—some kind of Father-Son relation. But then the I saw their convo and felt embarrassed, and probably decided to not talk about them till more of their story got revealed.

Now their convo makes a lot of sense in a different way.

And lastly:

I remember being caught so off guard by this. Like, till that point, Noa had never ever talked regarding Kaiser in such a way—it nearly felt as if he were rooting for him, and I found it so sweet that I even included it here.

But now that we have a bigger picture, it doesn't seem that much sweet to me anymore.

I can't understand how I dismissed his poker face in the (above) panel as simply his usual emotionless self when it clearly looks like he isn't surprised at all—like he knew what was unfolding in front of him beforehand, like he was expecting it and.. he was quite literally expecting it, didn't he?

All this time I thought that Loki was the sneakiest about his personal goals in NEL meanwhile Noa was two steps ahead from the start.

[corvusblackk]

Thank you for being so open to answering questions!

Are there a whole lot of secret passageways in the school? I’ve always thought that there were a ton of them everywhere.

How easy is it to sneak around the castle at night? Have you ever snuck out of the castle and how difficult was it?

sneaking around hogwarts in my dr

if you’re not in possession of the marauders map then you have no idea how many secret passageways there are in that place. some doors literally weren’t even there yesterday, then pop up when you need them or when the castle decides you’re ready.

some are obvious, like behind a tapestry or a brick, but others are practically sentient. i found one that only opens if you hum the school anthem backwards, or anoter one in the dungeons listens for certain keywords in parseltongue. theres one that leads from the library to the courtyard and i use it when i’m late to class. or theres another hidden behind the mirror on the fifth floor, not the mirror of erised just some random full length one that breathes when you stand near it, and that one leads to a circular room thats not even on any map.

how easy it is to sneak around it depends. if you’re a dumbass you’ll get more likely caught. there are moving staircases, supervising suits of armor, portraits and ghosts that will definitely snitch (i hate you sir gandenth), and then there’s filch, who had like like a spidey sense or something lol. for me and my friends i learnt a mix of tricks? like disillusionment charms which are better than invisibility cloaks if you know how to cast them right, or muffliato for not alerting ghosts or portraits.

i’ve snuck around the castle a bunch of times because i scripted to be with the marauders so it would’ve been unavoidable. the first time was through the one eyed witch passage behind the hump backed statue. you tap her with your wand and say dissendium, and it opens up into this tight, dark tunnel that leads to honeydukes basement. while the last time i’ve done it was definitely dumb as i tried to sneak out to the forbidden forest during a full moon. it’s a personal story then but i didn’t even make it past the gate probably because of what happened the time before that.

[glowettee]

digital notes guide part 2/5: taking effective lecture notes (but make them cute!) 🎀

1st post

posted by: glowettee

hey study butterflies! ♡ mindyyyyy hereeeee

welcome back to our digital notes series! today i'm going more into the actual note-taking process during lectures/classes. this is important, since you can swap out notebooks for a digital notebook which becomes a lot more seamless.

♡ pre-lecture prep

because being prepared changes everything:

night before setup:

review previous notes (refresh your memory!)

pre-read lecture slides

create note template

set up quick-access tools

prepare questions

charge all devices

quick-access toolbar:

highlighting shortcuts

screenshot tool ready

recording software open

reference materials linked

custom stickers folder

favorite templates

♡ the actual note-taking method

this changed my whole study game:

(SUPER IMPORTANT) the butterfly method (my signature system):

main points in center

supporting details on left wing

examples on right wing

questions in antennae section

vocabulary in body section

connections in trail section

active engagement tricks:

use different colors for different types of information

create mini mind maps as you go

add little drawings for visual memory

insert voice memos for complex topics

flag confusing points with cute markers

leave space for post-lecture additions

♡ making it aesthetic but effective

because why not have both?:

visual organization:

use boxes for definitions

clouds for main concepts

stars for important points

hearts for memorable examples

arrows for connections

flowers for chapter markers

color coding system:

pink for main concepts

lavender for examples

mint for definitions

peach for formulas

baby blue for dates

gold for important warnings

♡ dealing with fast-paced lectures

because professors/teachers love to speed-talk:

shorthand system:

create cute abbreviations

use symbols for common words

develop personal code system

quick bullet points

voice record if allowed

flag for later review

quick capture methods:

screenshot important slides

quick sketch diagrams

voice memo key points

type keywords only

mark confusion points

flag for detailed review

♡ post-lecture enhancement

because the real magic happens after:

immediate review:

fill in gaps while fresh

add pretty headings

organize messy sections

insert relevant images

complete examples

link related concepts

enhancement techniques:

create summary boxes

add practice questions

insert related resources

make concept connections

highlight key points

add memory triggers

effective notes aren't just about capturing everything - they're about creating a resource you'll actually want to review! think of it like creating your own aesthetic textbook that speaks your language.

pro tip: don't try to make everything perfect during the lecture. focus on capturing information first, make it pretty later! i usually spend 15 minutes after each lecture prettifying my notes.

xoxo, mindy 🎀

[kybercrystals94]

Of Scene Breaks and Plot Twists

Read here on Ao3!

Next Part >>

Rated: G | Words: 2256 | Summary: The members of Clone Force 99 have an unwanted guest.

A/N: For Christmas, I wrote an entirely unserious, indulgent little fic because I can…so I did.

I am totally making fun of myself with this fic…apologies to the characters for not always (read: rarely) having a plan when I write.

I dedicate this story to every fanfic writer I know and don’t. May you never cease to amaze with your creativity and dedication to the art…you are a gift to the communities you partake in.

“Alright, boys, settle down,” Hunter says, walking into the cockpit. “We’ve got our next mission.”

“Do we actually get to blow something up this time?” Wrecker asks, sitting up in the seat he was slouching in.

Crosshair takes out his toothpick and flicks it at Wrecker, the sliver of wood bouncing harmlessly off the giant’s shoulder. “Or shoot something?”

“We have been on three consecutive data retrieval missions with no enemy engagement,” Tech states.

Echo points out, “Which is a good thing. It means we did our job well.”

“It means they were boring!” Wrecker declares.

Tech and Crosshair nod.

“I won’t promise anything,” Hunter says, grinning, “However, there is a high probability of explosions and shooting taking place this time around.”

The news receives reactive sounds of approval from most of the members of Clone Force 99. However, Echo isn’t fooling anyone with his eye roll. He’s been craving action as much as any of his brothers.

“So, what is it?” Echo asks.

“What’s what?” Hunter asks.

Echo frowns at him. “The mission?”

Hunter looks down at the data pad in his hand. “I…I don’t know. Nothing’s come through.”

“But you just said–”

“Sorry, sorry! That’s my fault,” I say, pushing myself up from the wall I was leaning against. “I’m sorta writing this as I go. I have no idea what your mission is yet. The keyword here is yet, because I’m sure it will come to me as we go.”

I’m honestly not sure what sort of reaction I expected, but five blasters pulled on me was not on the agenda. I put my hands up, heart battering in my throat. “Woah, woah, hey!” I cry, “Don’t shoot!”

“Who are you and how did you get on our ship?” Hunter growls, blaster still carefully poised to take me out if I make any wrong move.

I swallow. “I’m a fanfic writer. I’m the one writing this story.”

Oh. This is my story. Ha, sorta forgot that I can just…

The Batch lower their weapons with bewildered expressions, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“What just happened?” Wrecker asks. “Why’d we all lower our blasters like that?”

“I told you, I’m writing this story. I’m a fanfic writer,” I say, and, bolstered by my own abilities, I walk over and take a seat in behind Tech, turning the chair to face my darling characters. Aww, they look so sweet when they’re confused.

“You’re using some sort of mind trick,” Tech tells me. “You’re a Force user.”

I laugh. “I wish, but no. I’m just a humble fanfic writer, I promise.”

“You obviously know we don’t understand what that means,” Hunter says, and he sounds so annoyed. A little Crosshair-like, if I’m being honest. “So explain it. Now.”

Bossy.

“Fine,” I sigh, reaching in my back pocket and pulling out my phone.

Tech’s eyes light up, and I can tell he wants to ask about it; however, a sharp look from Hunter makes him settle back in the pilot’s chair. I make a mental note to show it to him once I’ve calmed everybody down.

For the sake of my gentle reader, I won’t get into the vaguely detailed explanation I gave the boys. It did not go well, and nobody calmed down. After all, how do you explain that someone’s reality and existence is fictional in your reality…without giving them spoilers for their futures? Then you would have to get into fix-its and canon and head canon and all that complicated jargon. Suffice to say, I had to again utilize my writing power to make them sit down and shut up for two seconds while I assured them that their lives were very much “real”, and that I am just trying to share one of their stories with my world…and also that I am making it up on the fly.

“I would like to study these works of fiction,” Tech says.

I ensure my phone is locked and secured in my pocket. “Mmm…maybe later.”

“So, basically,” Crosshair says, and somehow he manages to sound genuine and sarcastic at the same time, “you are calling all the shots and we have no freewill.”

I guess it does sound bad when he puts it like that.

“How about a compromise,” I say, “I’ll let you boys ‘call the shots’, and I’ll just write it down…if you stop threatening to shoot me out of the airlock. Deal?”

They collectively look unimpressed.

I continue stubbornly, “I’m not going anywhere until I have my story. I’ve been suffering from writer’s block for weeks, and this is the first decent idea I’ve had.”

“Half-baked is more like,” Echo grumbles. “Kriffing idiot.”

“See?” I say, splaying a hand at the cyborg, “If I were controlling everything, would I be letting y’all verbally assault me?”

“Let me shoot you with a blaster, and I’ll be convinced,” Crosshair says with a menacing flash of teeth that I think might be some sort of smile.

Suppressing a shudder, I roll my eyes. “The sooner I finish this story, the sooner I’ll get out of here. Then I’ll never bother you again…”

…In person.

I love internal dialogue.

“Fine,” Hunter agrees after a long, long bout of silence. “What’s our mission then?”

Oh. Right. That’s what started this whole mess in the first place.

Scrambling to come up with something, I say, “Alright, you should have a mission on your data pad now.”

Hunter looks down at his device. “It just says data extraction mission from blank.”

“Hey!” Wrecker objects, loudly, “I thought there was gonna be explosions and shooting!”

Tech takes the data pad from Hunter. “Not to mention the parameters of the mission are unfathomably vague.”

“Alright, alright,” I say, putting up my hands. “How about now?”

“Dangerous data extraction mission from insert planet name here,” Tech reads aloud.

Echo groans. “You have to give us more than that!”

“I don’t usually have to come up with all the details.”

“You’ve given us literally nothing,” Crosshair says, “Less than nothing.”

“You are making it very difficult to believe that anyone reads your stories willingly,” Tech says.

I narrow my eyes.

**

“What just happened?” Hunter asks.

We are in hyperspace, coordinates safely secured in the nav computer, boys fully aware of the mission parameters.

My work here is done.

“That, my friends, is called a scene break,” I say, leaning back in my chair. “Now, tell me about this mission.”

“Why would we go over it again?” Crosshair asks, annoyed. “We’ve been arguing strategy for the past hour.”

“So I can write it down.”

“What do you mean so you can write it down? I thought that’s what you were doing!”

I shake my head. “No, see, that’s the point of a scene break. I can skip writing all the monotony and just give readers the jist of it. So, give me the summary of the mission and I’ll write down the important bits I care about.”

Echo gapes at me. “You mean to tell me you still don’t know what the mission is?”

“Which is why you’re going to tell me,” I tell him patiently.

The boys exchange glances. I can see in their microexpressions that they’ve come to some sort of agreement that I am not going to like. Now wait a minute…

“Don’t tell the writer anything, boys,” Hunter says, turning back to the nav computer. “They get to come along for the ride, just like they wanted.”

“You can’t do that!” I cry.

“We just did, di’kut.” Crosshair begins polishing his rifle, the item having appeared during the scene break. “We’re in charge now.”

“Can you at least tell me where we’re going,” I implore weakly.

“Classified,” Echo says.

“Is it still a data extraction mission?”

Tech has the audacity to shrug. He’s scrolling through my phone. How…when…?

“Hey, give that back,” I say, lunging forward to snatch it from him.

He evades me easily, and I go sprawling across the durasteel floor.

Rolling over, I glare up at the commandos grinning down at me. “I’m still the writer,” I say, “I can still do whatever I want and know whatever I want.”

“Then why don’t you do it?” Crosshair taunts.

I must not be completely over my writer’s block after all, because nothing comes to mind. Somehow, the characters are in charge. Kriff.

“Tech,” I say, returning to the topic of my phone, “you can’t be looking at that stuff.”

“These tags are concerning,” Tech mutters, continuing to scroll as if I hadn’t said anything. “Hurt forward slash comfort? Angst? Fluff? Whump? What do these mean? That is, what is the context?”

I hate to do it, but I use my writing ability to put the phone back in my hands before Tech hurts himself emotionally. “Some things are better left unknown, Tech.”

“I swear,” Crosshair growls, ��if any of those fanfics are sappy, I will shoot you out the airlock. I don’t care about our ‘deal’.”

“I’m not the only fanfic writer, okay? There are thousands of us.”

“Sounds like a nasty infestation,” Echo says.

“I’ll have you know,” I tell him primly, “we are a lovely community.”

Wrecker, the sweet boy, offers to help me to my feet, putting a hand out. I grip it and he hauls me up a little too roughly, nearly dislocating my shoulder. I grin at him nonetheless. “Thanks, Wreck.”

“Sure thing, writer,” he tells me. He leans in. “In those fanfic thingies you write, do I get to blow stuff up a lot?”

“Uhm, well,” I say, sitting back down, “it depends on the purpose of fic, really.”

“Whadda you mean? Aren’t they all just missions you make up for us?”

Crosshair huffs. “Or pretend to make up?”

“Listen,” I say, leaning around Wrecker to glare at the sniper, “I have writer’s block. Most of the time I think of legitimate missions.”

“Oh, yeah? Name one.”

“Well, one time, you were on this planet getting intel and the building that Echo and Tech was in collapsed and the rest of you had to dig them out.”

“What planet was it?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“What was the intel?”

“Important.”

“So you just make whatever the kark you want up and people actually read it?” Echo asks.

Offended by the oversimplification of my work, I retort, “Well, I like to focus more on character development than missions. But that’s just me. Other writers are a heck of a lot better at writing mission stories.”

“Then how’d we get stuck with you?” Crosshair asks, throwing his wadded up polishing rag at me.

I wish I could say I caught it, but it hits me in the face.

“You know what,” I sputter, tossing the rag aside, “Scene…”

**

“...break.”

We are standing in the middle of a hall, surrounded on both sides by droids.

“Would you stop doing that?” Hunter shouts at me over the din of blasterfire.

I crouch down next to Tech at a control panel. “Hey, can I borrow one of your blasters?”

“Write yourself one,” he says, deadpan, keeping his focus on hacking into the Separatist system.

“It doesn’t work like that.”

Tech rolls his eyes and passes over one of his blasters. “Please take care not to shoot one of us.”

“I think I can handle it.”

I cannot handle it. My first shot goes wide and high, taking out a light in the ceiling. Before I can try again, someone snatches the blaster out of my hand.

“Give me that before you hurt yourself.” It’s Echo.

“If that’s a legitimate risk, let them keep it,” Crosshair calls out.

“Aw, don’t hurt yourself, little writer person,” Wrecker says, scooping me up under one arm, “I’ll protect ya!”

I kick my legs and flail my arms, dangling haplessly in his grip. “Put me down!”

“Not until we’re out of here,” Hunter orders.

Fine then.

**

We’re back on the Marauder. The boys’ dark armor is covered in spatters of dried mud, and the right lens of Tech’s goggles has a crack in it.

“What happened to you?” I ask, sitting comfortably in the pilot’s chair, unscathed.

“You’d know if you stuck around to find out,” Crosshair growls.

“Apparently, I was just in the way back there. So I skipped ahead.”

“You’ve been in the way this whole time,” Hunter mutters.

Oh. Those are fighting words.

I smile, and I hope it appears as devilish as I feel. “Plot twist.”

**

I’m not sure what the creature is, but it’s ugly. It’s covered in some sort of goo and it smells putrid.

And it’s gnawing on the Marauder. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have teeth, so the ship won’t be damaged, but it will leave a residue that probably won’t be fun to scrub off later.

“What in the universe is that?” Wrecker asks.

We’ve moved outside of the ship, and we’ve discovered that the creature simply absorbs blaster bolts and is completely unfazed. The boys will have to distract it somehow, lure it away.

How inconvenient.

“This was uncalled for,” Tech says, turning to glare at me.

“Did you see it coming?” I ask. When I am not dignified with a response from any of them, I add, “Plot twist successful.”

“How are we supposed to get rid of it?” Echo asks.

I shrug. “Maybe you boys will figure it out by the next chapter.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘next chapter’?”

“And this is what we writers like to call,” I say, smiling sweetly, “a cliffhanger.”

TBC

A/N: Will I ever actually finish this fic?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

‘Tis the nature of fanfic, isn’t it? ;D

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[warningsine]

Living online means never quite understanding what’s happening to you at a given moment. Why these search results? Why this product recommendation? There is a feeling—often warranted, sometimes conspiracy-minded—that we are constantly manipulated by platforms and websites.

So-called dark patterns, deceptive bits of web design that can trick people into certain choices online, make it harder to unsubscribe from a scammy or unwanted newsletter; they nudge us into purchases. Algorithms optimized for engagement shape what we see on social media and can goad us into participation by showing us things that are likely to provoke strong emotional responses. But although we know that all of this is happening in aggregate, it’s hard to know specifically how large technology companies exert their influence over our lives.

This week, Wired published a story by the former FTC attorney Megan Gray that illustrates the dynamic in a nutshell. The op-ed argued that Google alters user searches to include more lucrative keywords. For example, Google is said to surreptitiously replace a query for “children’s clothing” with “NIKOLAI-brand kidswear” on the back end in order to direct users to lucrative shopping links on the results page. It’s an alarming allegation, and Ned Adriance, a spokesperson for Google, told me that it’s “flat-out false.” Gray, who is also a former vice president of the Google Search competitor DuckDuckGo, had seemingly misinterpreted a chart that was briefly presented during the company’s ongoing U.S. et al v. Google trial, in which the company is defending itself against charges that it violated federal antitrust law. (That chart, according to Adriance, represents a “phrase match” feature that the company uses for its ads product; “Google does not delete queries and replace them with ones that monetize better as the opinion piece suggests, and the organic results you see in Search are not affected by our ads systems,” he said.)

Gray told me, “I stand by my larger point—the Google Search team and Google ad team worked together to secretly boost commercial queries, which triggered more ads and thus revenue. Google isn’t contesting this, as far as I know.” In a statement, Chelsea Russo, another Google spokesperson, reiterated that the company’s products do not work this way and cited testimony from Google VP Jerry Dischler that “the organic team does not take data from the ads team in order to affect its ranking and affect its result.” Wired did not respond to a request for comment. Last night, the publication removed the story from its website, noting that it does not meet Wired’s editorial standards.

It’s hard to know what to make of these competing statements. Gray’s specific facts may be wrong, but the broader concerns about Google’s business—that it makes monetization decisions that could lead the product to feel less useful or enjoyable—form the heart of the government’s case against the company. None of this is easy to untangle in plain English—in fact, that’s the whole point of the trial. For most of us, evidence about Big Tech’s products tends to be anecdotal or fuzzy—more vibes-based than factual. Google may not be altering billions of queries in the manner that the Wired story suggests, but the company is constantly tweaking and ranking what we see, while injecting ads and proprietary widgets into our feed, thereby altering our experience. And so we end up saying that Google Search is less useful now or that shopping on Amazon has gotten worse. These tools are so embedded in our lives that we feel acutely that something is off, even if we can’t put our finger on the technical problem.

That’s changing. In the past month, thanks to a series of antitrust actions on behalf of the federal government, hard evidence of the ways that Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are wielding their influence is trickling out. Google’s trial is under way, and while the tech giant is trying to keep testimony locked down, the past four weeks have helped illustrate—via internal company documents and slide decks like the one cited by Wired—how Google has used its war chest to broker deals and dominate the search market. Perhaps the specifics of Gray’s essay were off, but we have learned, for instance, how company executives considered adjusting Google’s products to lead to more “monetizable queries.” And just last week, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon alleging anticompetitive practices. (Amazon has called the suit “misguided.”)

Filings related to that suit have delivered a staggering revelation concerning a secretive Amazon algorithm code-named Project Nessie. The particulars of Nessie were heavily redacted in the public complaint, but this week The Wall Street Journal revealed details of the program. According to the unredacted complaint, a copy of which I have also viewed, Nessie—which is no longer in use—monitored industry prices of specific goods to determine whether competitors were algorithmically matching Amazon’s prices. In the event that competitors were, Nessie would exploit this by systematically raising prices on goods across Amazon, encouraging its competitors to follow suit. Amazon, via the algorithm, knew that it would be able to charge more on its own site, because it didn’t have to worry about being undercut elsewhere, thereby making the broader online shopping experience worse for everyone. An Amazon spokesperson told the Journal that the FTC is mischaracterizing the tool, and suggested that Nessie was a way to monitor competitor pricing and keep price-matching algorithms from dropping prices to unsustainable levels (the company did not respond to my request for comment).

In the FTC’s telling, Project Nessie demonstrates the sheer scope of Amazon’s power in online markets. The project arguably amounted to a form of unilateral price fixing, where Amazon essentially goaded its competitors into acting like cartel members without even knowing they’d done so—all while raising prices on consumers. It’s an astonishing form of influence, powered by behind-the-scenes technology.

The government will need to prove whether this type of algorithmic influence is illegal. But even putting legality aside, Project Nessie is a sterling example of the way that Big Tech has supercharged capitalistic tendencies and manipulated markets in unnatural and opaque ways. It demonstrates the muscle that a company can throw around when it has consolidated its position in a given sector. The complaint alleges that Amazon’s reach and logistics capabilities force third-party sellers to offer products on Amazon and for lower prices than other retailers. Once it captured a significant share of the retail market, Amazon was allegedly able to use algorithmic tools such as Nessie to drive prices up for specific products, boosting revenues and manipulating competitors.

Reading about Project Nessie, I was surprised to feel a sense of relief. In recent years, customer-satisfaction ratings have dipped among Amazon shoppers who have cited delivery disruptions, an explosion of third-party sellers, and poor-quality products as reasons for frustration. In my own life and among friends and relatives, there has been a growing feeling that shopping on the platform has become a slog, with fewer deals and far more junk to sift through. Again, these feelings tend to occupy vibe territory: Amazon’s bigness seems stifling or grating in ways that aren’t always easy to explain. But Nessie offers a partial explanation for this frustration, as do revelations about Google’s various product adjustments. We have the sense that we’re being manipulated because, well, we are. It’s a bit like feeling vaguely sick, going to the doctor, and receiving a blood-test result confirming that, yes, the malaise you experienced is actually an iron deficiency. It is the catharsis of, at long last, receiving a diagnosis.

This is the true power of the surge in anti-monopoly litigation. (According to experts in the field, September was “the most extraordinary month they have ever seen in antitrust.”) Whether or not any of these lawsuits results in corporate breakups or lasting change, they are, effectively, an MRI of our sprawling digital economy—a forensic look at what these larger-than-life technology companies are really doing, and how they are exerting their influence and causing damage. It is confirmation that what so many of us have felt—that the platforms dictating our online experiences are behaving unnaturally and manipulatively—is not merely a paranoid delusion, but the effect of an asymmetrical relationship between the giants of scale and us, the users.

In recent years, it’s been harder to love the internet, a miracle of connectivity that feels ever more bloated, stagnant, commercialized, and junkified. We are just now starting to understand the specifics of this transformation—the true influence of Silicon Valley’s vise grip on our lives. It turns out that the slow rot we might feel isn’t just in our heads, after all.

[vyzoi]

Took inspiration from @saesbangs they gave me the idea to make a fic where Sae treats the reader like Rin. Thank you for letting me do this!!

Characters are aged up!

Contains: angst, degradation, emotional hurt, stress, comfort at the end, fem reader

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You’re preparing yourself and improving your skills for your nationals. You’re practicing non stop. The reason why you’re being pushed this hard? Your boyfriend Sae is ‘helping you.’

You nearly score a goal but then the ball hit the goal post instead. “Half-baked, try again.” You look at him with daggers in your eyes. “That was not half-baked!” He scoffs. “It was because you nearly made it in. Keyword here is nearly which means half-baked.”

You ignore him and get the ball back. You were so frustrated at him, so you kick the ball hard towards him. Of course he catches it with his foot. “Not high enough either, lukewarm.” You walk up to him slowly. You attempt to kick the ball out from under his feet but he kicked it behind him. Then he ran to catch up to it and kicked it so hard that the net was impacted.

He walks back up to you. “I’ve done that trick on Rin before. At least he tried to compete with me. You just stood there.” You had enough. “Sae, I’m not Rin, I can’t handle it anymore. I can’t handle the way you’re treating me.” He just stared at you. “Tell me Sae, what do you even hope to see me accomplish?” He sighs. “I can’t tell you that, it’ll ruin the whole process of your ego.”

That’s even more stressful, not knowing what your expectations were, yet putting in crazy amounts of effort. “I’m not Rin! I’m not cut out to be the best woman striker!” He scoffs. “You’re not cut out to be the best woman midfielder either.” You couldn’t help but get even more angry. “That wasn’t my goal either! I don’t want to become good football players like you and Rin! I just want to play casually and compete in small tournaments and leagues!”

He sighs. “After your nationals, I want you out of football. You’re not worthy enough.” You cry. “I’m not Rin! Saying stuff like that won’t do me any good. I will quit, I’ll quit if it means that I’ll have my sweet and loving boyfriend back!” His eyes widened. “Darling, I didn’t mean to push you that far. I still love you, I just thought it’d be cool to see the three of us on top of the world.”

Forget it, you’re already acting out on your emotions. “Is Rin back home?” Sae’s eyes narrowed. “Do you want him to help you play better?” You nodded your head yes. “I think he’d be more gentle towards me. After all, he knows how it feels to be emotionally hurt by you.” His eyes grew. “I hurt Rin?” You sigh. “Yeah, you hurt him real bad. Like how you’re hurting me. He’s just stronger is all.”

You had enough of this interaction. You walked off the field and went towards the bridge that you three used to play on when you were kids.

“Hey, Rin? I’m sorry I’m calling you so late in the afternoon. Can you meet me at the bridge?”

“You’re fine, I’ll be there soon.”

In about ten minutes he’s on the bridge with you. You couldn’t help but run up to him and hug him. Of course he hugs you back. “Sae hurt me real bad this time. He told me to stop playing after my nationals. He did the same move that he pulled on you before he went to Spain again.” This angered Rin. “You can’t handle that stuff! You don’t know how to turn it into a strength yet! You’re not a version of me and you most likely never will be.”

You cried in his arms. “I feel so hopeless, I want to keep playing though, just casually and competing in small tournaments and small leagues.” He sighs. “That’s what you’re better off doing. Becoming the world’s best isn’t all it seems. The fame alone would drive you crazy.”

You look up at him. “Are you now being compared to Sae since you’re world’s best striker?” He sighs. “Unfortunately, yeah, the press wants me and him on the same team. They won’t stop asking me if I’m going to end up playing with Sae.” You look down. “If there was a last day on Earth, Sae would want to pass the ball to the world’s best striker. Rin, that’s you.”

His eyes grew wide. You haven’t seen that face in so long. Sae speaks up. “She’s right about that. Rin, forget the press, ignore the media and the people. Do what you want to do. It won’t hurt me if you don’t ever want to be on my team.”

He looks down at you. “I shouldn’t have been so hard on you. I’ll be more careful next time. Continue competing however you want. If you ever decide if you want to become world’s best, we will help you.”