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mostlysignssomeportents · 9 months ago

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The paradox of choice screens

I'm coming to BURNING MAN! On TUESDAY (Aug 27) at 1PM, I'm giving a talk called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE!" at PALENQUE NORTE (7&E). On WEDNESDAY (Aug 28) at NOON, I'm doing a "Talking Caterpillar" Q&A at LIMINAL LABS (830&C).

It's official: the DOJ has won its case, and Google is a convicted monopolist. Over the next six months, we're gonna move into the "remedy" phase, where we figure out what the court is going to order Google to do to address its illegal monopoly power:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/07/revealed-preferences/#extinguish-v-improve

That's just the beginning, of course. Even if the court orders some big, muscular remedies, we can expect Google to appeal (they've already said they would) and that could drag out the case for years. But that can be a feature, not a bug: a years-long appeal will see Google on its very best behavior, with massive, attendant culture changes inside the company. A Google that's fighting for its life in the appeals court isn't going to be the kind of company that promotes a guy whose strategy for increasing revenue is to make Google Search deliberately worse, so that you will have to do more searches (and see more ads) to get the info you're seeking:

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

It's hard to overstate how much good stuff can emerge from a company that's mired itself in antitrust hell with extended appeals. In 1982, IBM wriggled off the antitrust hook after a 12-year fight that completely transformed the company's approach to business. After more than a decade of being micromanaged by lawyers who wanted to be sure that the company didn't screw up its appeal and anger antitrust enforcers, IBM's executives were totally transformed. When the company made its first PC, it decided to use commodity components (meaning anyone could build a similar PC by buying the same parts), and to buy its OS from an outside vendor called Micros-Soft (meaning competing PCs could use the same OS), and it turned a blind eye to the company that cloned the PC ROM, enabling companies like Dell, Compaq and Gateway to enter the market with "PC clones" that cost less and did more than the official IBM PC:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/ibm-pc-compatible-how-adversarial-interoperability-saved-pcs-monopolization

The big question, of course, is whether the court will order Google to break up, say, by selling off Android, its ad-tech stack, and Chrome. That's a question I'll address on another day. For today, I want to think about how to de-monopolize browsers, the key portal to the internet. The world has two extremely dominant browsers, Safari and Chrome, and each of them are owned by an operating system vendor that pre-installs their own browser on their devices and pre-selects them as the default.

Defaults matter. That's a huge part of Judge Mehta's finding in the Google case, where the court saw evidence from Google's own internal research suggesting that people rarely change defaults, meaning that whatever the gadget does out of the box it will likely do forever. This puts a lie to Google's longstanding defense of its monopoly power: "choice is just a click away." Sure, it's just a click away – a click, you're pretty sure no one is ever going to make.

This means that any remedy to Google's browser dominance is going to involve a lot of wrangling about defaults. That's not a new wrangle, either. For many years, regulators and tech companies have tinkered with "choice screens" that were nominally designed to encourage users to try out different browsers and brake the inertia of the big two browsers that came bundled with OSes.

These choice screens have a mixed record. Google's 2019 Android setup choice screen for the European Mobile Application Distribution Agreement somehow managed to result in the vast majority of users sticking with Chrome. Microsoft had a similar experience in 2010 with BrowserChoice.eu, its response to the EU's 2000s-era antitrust action:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrowserChoice.eu

Does this mean that choice screens don't work? Maybe. The idea of choice screens comes to us from the "choice architecture" world of "nudging," a technocratic pseudoscience that grew to prominence by offering the promise that regulators could make big changes without having to do any real regulating:

https://verfassungsblog.de/nudging-after-the-replication-crisis/

Nudge research is mired in the "replication crisis" (where foundational research findings turn out to be nonreplicable, due to bad research methodology, sloppy analysis, etc) and nudge researchers keep getting caught committing academic fraud:

https://www.ft.com/content/846cc7a5-12ee-4a44-830e-11ad00f224f9

When the first nudgers were caught committing fraud, more than a decade ago, they were assumed to be outliers in an otherwise honest and exciting field:

https://www.npr.org/2016/10/01/496093672/power-poses-co-author-i-do-not-believe-the-effects-are-real

Today, it's hard to find much to salvage from the field. To the extent the field is taken seriously today, it's often due to its critics repeating the claims of its boosters, a process Lee Vinsel calls "criti-hype":

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

For example, the term "dark patterns" lumps together really sneaky tactics with blunt acts of fraud. When you click an "opt out of cookies" button and get a screen that says "Success!" but which has a tiny little "confirm" button on it that you have to click to actually opt out, that's not a "dark pattern," it's just a scam:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/27/beware-of-the-leopard/#relentless

By ascribing widespread negative effects to subtle psychological manipulation ("dark patterns") rather than obvious and blatant fraud, we inadvertently elevate "nudging" to a real science, rather than a cult led by scammy fake scientists.

All this raises some empirical questions about choice screens: do they work (in the sense of getting people to break away from defaults), and if so, what's the best way to make them work?

This is an area with a pretty good literature, as it turns out, thanks in part due to some natural experiments, like when Russia forced Google to offer choice screens for Android in 2017, but didn't let Google design that screen. The Russian policy produced a significant switch away from Google's own apps to Russian versions, primarily made by Yandex:

https://cepr.org/publications/dp17779

In 2023, Mozilla Research published a detailed study in which 12,000 people from Germany, Spain and Poland set up simulated mobile and desktop devices with different kinds of choice screens, a project spurred on by the EU's Digital Markets Act, which is going to mandate choice screens starting this year:

https://research.mozilla.org/browser-competition/choicescreen/

I'm spending this week reviewing choice screen literature, and I've just read the Mozilla paper, which I found very interesting, albeit limited. The biggest limitation is that the researchers are getting users to simulate setting up a new device and then asking them how satisfied they are with the experience. That's certainly a question worth researching, but a far more important question is "How do users feel about the setup choices they made later, after living with them on the devices they use every day?" Unfortunately, that's a much more expensive and difficult question to answer, and beyond the scope of this paper.

With that limitation in mind, I'm going to break down the paper's findings here and draw some conclusions about what we should be looking for in any kind of choice screen remedy that comes out of the DOJ antitrust victory over Google.

The first thing note is that people report liking choice screens. When users get to choose their browsers, they expect to be happy with that choice; by contrast, users are skeptical that they'll like the default browser the vendor chose for them. Users don't consider choice screens to be burdensome, and adding a choice screen doesn't appreciably increase setup time.

There are some nuances to this. Users like choice screens during device setup but they don't like choice screens that pop up the first time they use a browser. That makes total sense: "choosing a browser" is colorably part of the "setting up your gadget" task. By contrast, the first time you open a browser on a new device, it's probably to get something else done (e.g. look up how to install a piece of software you used on your old device) and being interrupted with a choice screen at that moment is an unwelcome interruption. This is the psychology behind those obnoxious cookie-consent pop-ups that website bombard you with when you first visit them: you've clicked to that website because you need something it has, and being stuck with a privacy opt-out screen at that moment is predictably frustrating (which is why companies do it, and also why the DMA is going to punish companies that do).

The researchers experimented with different kinds of choice screens, varying the number of browsers on offer and the amount of information given on each. Again, users report that they prefer more choices and more information, and indeed, more choice and more info is correlated with choosing indie, non-default browsers, but this effect size is small (<10%), and no matter what kind of choice screen users get, most of them come away from the experience without absorbing any knowledge about indie browsers.

The order in which browsers are presented has a much larger effect than how many browsers or how much detail is present. People say they want lots of choices, but they usually choose one of the first four options. That said, users who get choice screens say it changes which browser they'd choose as a default.

Some of these contradictions appear to stem from users' fuzziness on what "default browser" means. For an OS vendor, "default browser" is the browser that pops up when you click a link in an email or social media. For most users, "default browser" means "the browser pinned to my home screen."

Where does all this leave us? I think it cashes out to this: choice screens will probably make a appreciable, but not massive, difference in browser dominance. They're cheap to implement, have no major downsides, and are easy to monitor. Choice screens might be needed to address Chrome's dominance even if the court orders Google to break off Chrome and stand it up as a separate business (we don't want any browser monopolies, even if they're not owned by a search monopolist!). So yeah, we should probably make a lot of noise to the effect that the court should order a choice screen, as part of a remedy.

That choice screen should be presented during device setup, with the choices presented in random order – with this caveat: Chrome should never appear in the top four choices.

All of that would help address the browser duopoly, even if it doesn't solve it. I would love to see more market-share for Firefox, which is the browser I've used every day for more than a decade, on my laptop and my phone. Of course, Mozilla has a role to play here. The company says it's going to refocus on browser quality, at the expense of the various side-hustles it's tried, which have ranged from uninteresting to catastrophically flawed:

https://www.fastcompany.com/91167564/mozilla-wants-you-to-love-firefox-again

For example, there was the tool to automatically remove your information from scummy data brokers, that they outsourced to a scummy data-broker:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/22/24109116/mozilla-ends-onerep-data-removal-partnership

And there's the "Privacy Preserving Attribution" tracking system that helps advertisers target you with surveillance advertising (in a way that's less invasive than existing techniques). Mozilla rolled this into Firefox on an opt out basis, and made opting out absurdly complicated, suggesting that it knew that it was imposing something on its users that they wouldn't freely choose:

https://blog.privacyguides.org/2024/07/14/mozilla-disappoints-us-yet-again-2/

They've been committing these kinds of unforced errors for more than a decade, seeking some kind of balance between monopolistic web companies and its users' desire to have a browser that protects them from invasive and unfair practices:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/14/firefox-closed-source-drm-video-browser-cory-doctorow

These compromises represent the fallacy that Mozilla's future depends on keeping bullying entertainment companies and Big Tech happy, so it can go on serving its users. At the same time, these compromises have alienated Mozilla's core users, the technical people who were its fiercest evangelists. Those core users are the authority on technical questions for the normies in their life, and they know exactly how cursed it is for Moz to be making these awful compromises.

Moz has hemorrhaged users over the past decade, meaning they have even less leverage over the corporations demanding that they make more compromises. This sets up a doom loop: make a bad compromise, lose users, become more vulnerable to demands for even worse compromises. "This capitulation puts us in a great position to make a stand in some hypothetical future where we don't instantly capitulate again" is a pretty unconvincing proposition.

After the past decade's heartbreaks, seeing Moz under new leadership makes me cautiously hopeful. Like I say, I am dependent on Firefox and want an independent, principled browser vendor that sees their role as producing a "user agent" that is faithful to its users' interests above all else:

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

Of course, Moz depends on Google's payment for default search placement for 90% of its revenue. If Google can't pay for this in the future, the org is going to have to find another source of revenue. Perhaps that will be the EU, or foundations, or users. In any of these cases, the org will find it much easier to raise funds if it is standing up for its users – not compromising on their interests.

Community voting for SXSW is live! If you wanna hear RIDA QADRI and me talk about how GIG WORKERS can DISENSHITTIFY their jobs with INTEROPERABILITY, VOTE FOR THIS ONE!

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/12/defaults-matter/#make-up-your-mind-already

Image: ICMA Photos (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/icma/3635981474/

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

#pluralistic #choice screens #dma #eu #scholarship #ux #behavioral economics #mozilla #remedies #browsers #mobile #defaults matter #google #doj v google

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maryellencarter · 1 year ago

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YouTube Downloads through VLC: Step by Step

[EDIT: I've been receiving reports for some time now that this method no longer works. I suspect something about the switch to YouTube Music as a separate app, and/or YouTube's ongoing attempts to force Chrome use, broke the compatibility with the Github version of youtube.luac -- I haven't managed to look into whether there's an updated working version out there yet. Sorry!]

So this guide to easily downloading off YouTube is super helpful, but there's enough important information hidden in the reblogs that (with the permission of OP @queriesntheories ) I'm doing a more step-by-step version.

Please note: these downloads will be in YouTube quality. My test video download is coming through at 360p, even though the video I'm starting from is set to 720p. They're legible, but they won't look great on a TV. For high visual quality, you'll want to seek out other methods.

This guide is written for Windows 10, since that's what I can test on. It's been tested on Firefox, Chrome, and Edge (which is a Chromium browser, so the method should work in other Chromium browsers too). So far, I haven't tracked down a way to use this download method on mobile.

BASIC KNOWLEDGE:

I'll try to make this pretty beginner-friendly, but I am going to assume that you know how to right-click, double-click, navigate right-click menus, click-and-drag, use keyboard shortcuts that are given to you (for example, how to use Ctrl+A), and get the URL for any YouTube video you want to download.

You'll also need to download and install one or more programs off the internet using .exe files, if you don't have these programs already. Please make sure you know how to use your firewall and antivirus to keep your computer safe, and google any names you don't recognize before allowing permission for each file. You can also hover your mouse over each link in this post to make sure it goes where I'm saying it will go.

YOU WILL NEED:

A computer where you have admin permissions. This is usually a computer you own or have the main login on. Sadly, a shared computer like the ones at universities and libraries will not work for this.

Enough space on your computer to install the programs listed below, if you don't have them already, and some space to save your downloaded files to. The files are pretty small because of the low video quality.

A simple text editing program. Notepad is the one that usually comes with Windows. If it lets you change fonts, it's too fancy. A notepad designed specifically to edit program code without messing it up is Notepad++, which you can download here.

A web browser. I use Firefox, which you can get here. Chrome or other Chrome-based browsers should also work. I haven't tested in Safari.

An Internet connection fast enough to load YouTube. A little buffering is fine. The downloads will happen much faster than streaming the entire video, unless your internet is very slow.

VLC Media Player, which you can get here. It's a free player for music and videos, available on Windows, Android, and iOS, and it can play almost any format of video or audio file that exists. We'll be using it for one of the central steps in this process.

If you want just the audio from a YouTube video, you'll need to download the video and then use a different program to copy the audio into its own file. At the end of this post, I'll have instructions for that, using a free sound editor called Audacity.

SETUP TO DOWNLOAD:

The first time you do this, you'll need to set VLC up so it can do what you want. This is where we need Notepad and admin permissions. You shouldn't need to repeat this process unless you're reinstalling VLC.

If VLC is open, close it.

In your computer's file system (File Explorer on Windows), go to C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist

If you're not familiar with File Explorer, you'll start by clicking where the left side shows (C:). Then in the big main window, you'll double-click each folder that you see in the file path, in order - so in this case, when you're in C: you need to look for Program Files. (There will be two of them. You want the one without the x86 at the end.) Then inside Program Files you're looking for VideoLAN, and so forth through the whole path.

Once you're inside the "playlist" folder, you'll see a lot of files ending in .luac - they're in alphabetical order. The one you want to edit is youtube.luac which is probably at the bottom.

You can't edit youtube.luac while it's in this folder. Click and drag it out of the playlist folder to somewhere else you can find it - your desktop, for instance. Your computer will ask for admin permission to move the file. Click the "Continue" button with the blue and yellow shield.

Now that the file is moved, double-click on it. The Microsoft Store will want you to search for a program to open the .luac file type with. Don't go to the Microsoft Store, just click on the blue "More apps" below that option, and you'll get a list that should include your notepad program. Click on it and click OK.

The file that opens up will be absolutely full of gibberish-looking code. That's fine. Use Ctrl+A to select everything inside the file, then Backspace or Delete to delete it. Don't close the file yet.

In your web browser, go to https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/master/share/lua/playlist/youtube.lua

Click in the part of the Github page that has a bunch of mostly blue code in it. Use Ctrl+A to select all of that code, Ctrl+C to copy it, then come back into your empty youtube.luac file and use Ctrl+P to paste the whole chunk of code into the file.

Save the youtube.luac file (Ctrl+S or File > Save in the upper left corner of the notepad program), then close the notepad program.

Drag youtube.luac back into the folder it came from. The computer will ask for admin permission again. Give it permission.

Now you can close Github and Notepad. You're ready to start downloading!

HOW TO DOWNLOAD:

First, get your YouTube link. It should look something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123DEF45 If it's longer, you can delete any extra stuff after that first set of letters and numbers, but you don't have to.

Now open VLC. Go to Media > Open Network Stream and paste your YouTube link into the box that comes up. Click Play. Wait until the video starts to play, then you can pause it if you want so it's not distracting you during the next part.

(If nothing happens, you probably forgot to put youtube.luac back. coughs)

In VLC, go to Tools > Codec Information. At the bottom of the pop-up box you'll see a long string of gibberish in a box labeled Location. Click in the Location box. It won't look like it clicked properly, but when you press Ctrl+A, it should select all. Use Ctrl+C to copy it.

In your web browser, paste the entire string of gibberish and hit Enter. Your same YouTube video should come up, but without any of the YouTube interface around it. This is where the video actually lives on YouTube's servers. YouTube really, really doesn't like to show this address to humans, which is why we needed VLC to be like "hi I'm just a little video player" and get it for us.

Because, if you're looking at the place where the video actually lives, you can just right-click-download it, and YouTube can't stop you.

Right-click on your video. Choose "Save Video As". Choose where to save it to - I use my computer's built-in Music or Videos folders.

Give it a name other than "videoplayback" so you can tell it apart from your other downloads.

The "Save As Type" dropdown under the Name field will probably default to MP4. This is a good versatile video format that most video players can read. If you need a different format, you can convert the download later. (That's a whole other post topic.)

Click Save, and your video will start downloading! It may take a few minutes to fully download, depending on your video length and internet speed. Once the download finishes, congratulations! You have successfully downloaded a YouTube video!

If you'd like to convert your video into a (usually smaller) audio file, so you can put it on a music player, it's time to install and set up Audacity.

INSTALLING AUDACITY (first time setup for audio file conversion):

You can get Audacity here. If you're following along on Windows 10, choose the "64-bit installer (recommended)". Run the installer, but don't open Audacity at the end, or if it does open, close it again.

On that same Audacity download page, scroll down past the installers to the "Additional resources". You'll see a box with a "Link to FFmpeg library". This is where you'll get the add-on program that will let Audacity open your downloaded YouTube video, so you can tell it to make an audio-only file. The link will take you to this page on the Audacity support wiki, which will always have the most up-to-date information on how to install the file you need here.

From that wiki page, follow the link to the actual FFmpeg library. If you're not using an adblocker, be careful not to click on any of the ads showing you download buttons. The link you want is bold blue text under "FFmpeg Installer for Audacity 3.2 and later", and looks something like this: "FFmpeg_5.0.0_for_Audacity_on_Windows_x86.exe". Download and install it. Without this, Audacity won't be able to open MP4 files downloaded from YouTube.

CONVERTING TO AUDIO:

Make sure you know where to find your downloaded MP4 video file. This file won't go away when you "convert" it - you'll just be copying the audio into a different file.

Open up Audacity.

Go to File > Open and choose your video file.

You'll get one of those soundwave file displays you see in recording booths and so forth. Audacity is a good solid choice if you want to teach yourself to edit soundwave files, but that's not what we're here for right now.

Go to File > Export Audio. The File Name will populate to match the video's filename, but you can edit it if you want.

Click the Browse button next to the Folder box, and choose where to save your new audio file to. I use my computer's Music folder.

You can click on the Format dropdown and choose an audio file type. If you're not sure which one you want, MP3 is the most common and versatile.

If you'd like your music player to know the artist, album, and so forth for your audio track, you can edit that later in File Manager, or you can put the information in with the Edit Metadata button here. You can leave any of the slots blank, for instance if you don't have a track number because it's a YouTube video.

Once everything is set up, click Export, and your new audio file will be created. Go forth and listen!

#reference #vlc media player #youtube downloader #youtube #uh what other tags should i use idk #how to internet #long post

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mantisfriendd · 2 months ago

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Ok so I talked about this in tags of a post earlier but I need to talk about it properly

So a couple weeks ago I finally pulled the trigger, I dual booted Linux Mint on my laptop

It has less of my vital files on it then my pc, but I use it more for videos and general Internet stuff, so I would know if I liked it

Installing was scary but after a bit of trouble shooting with disabling bit locker it was easy, and let me be clear, that's a windows thing, because Microsoft really really doesn't want you to have freedom over your machine.

So I booted in

And like

I literally love it so much

I knew people talked about how much better Linux is and how it speeds up literally anything it's put on over windows, but like WOW

It doesn't take 2 minutes to boot up or shut down, my CPU doesn't idle at 25% for no reason, the search for files feature doesn't take 40 minutes only to show me Internet results instead of files, its wonderful.

The default theme is (in my opinion) pretty ugly, sorry whoever made it, it's just not for me.

But that's the great thing, you can literally customize this almost however you would like.

Maybe you shouldn't trust my opinion on what looks nice because I instantly installed a theme that replicated Windows 7

But I got bored of the default colors so I literally found the files where the home bar is saved and changed them to be more "minty"

That along with some CSS color editing gave me this:

You just can't do anything like this in Windows 10/11. You can change the color on windows but if I wanted, in Mint, I could completely change everything, centered icons on the taskbar, icons left justified on the taskbar, no taskbar, make it look like windows 95, it's all yours to do with whatever you want.

There are issues, I won't lie, the biggest one that will probably haunt Linux forever is compatibility.

Simply put most developers don't make native Linux versions of their software, you are lucky if there is a Mac version.

Lots and lots of Windows software CAN work on Linux through compatibility layers like Wine and Steam's Proton, but it's not 100%

My biggest problem is FL Studio and Clip Studio, neither of these I could get working with Wine or Proton so far. I'm hoping in the future I will find a way to make this work, or transition to their free and open source alternatives, but for now I'm stuck with a win 10 pc.

The other issue I've faced is that Linux seems to have a hard time recognizing and remembering my wired headphones. Like sometimes it just works, but most of the time it fails to do so.

My solution to this until I have time to troubleshoot more is to use my stupid headphone jack to USB C dongle that I bought for my stupid phone with no headphone jack.

Luckily it works fine and the type C port on my laptop literally doesn't get used otherwise.

All in all, I'm like excited to use a computer again. I used to only be excited for the programs it allowed me to use, but for the first time in a long time, the "magic" of the PC has returned for me.

Once I save up the money, my next PC will be Linux, Windows doesn't cut it anymore for me.

Ok now I'm going to kinda just talk about Linux for a bit, unrelated to my experience because my brain has been buzzing about this topic lately.

I get why guys who run Linux are so annoying about it now, because it's me now, I love this stupid OS and everyone has to hear about it.

And chances are, you've used Linux before already!

Linux is used in a ridiculous number of places because of its open source nature.

Most servers and other cloud computing systems are running Linux, many public terminals and screens run Linux, every supercomputer in the world runs Linux, if you were in the education system for the past 13~ years you might have used ChromeOS, which is built on Linux, if you have ever used an Android device you have used Linux.

It's never going to take over Windows as the go to operating system in the home, most people don't even know they could switch, and if they don't know that there's no way they are willing to put up with some of the headaches Linux brings.

Although I've spent way more time troubleshooting Windows issues then I have Linux ones so far, so maybe Microsoft stuffing so much bloated spyware into their system is starting to cause windows to rip at the seams, idk.

When I try to explain Linux to people who literally don't understand any of this I use a car metaphor

Windows is like a hatchback SUV, you buy it from a dealer and it mostly works for everyone good enough that they don't complain.

Linux is like a project vehicle in a lot of ways, the mechanic can tune it up exactly to the specifications they want, tear a bit out and put a diffrent one in, it requires some work under the engine but once that mechanic gets it the way they want it, it's incredible.

It's not a perfect metaphor but I think it gets the idea across.

Uh IDK how to finish this post, please try Linux if you can, changed my life.

#Long post about Linux ahead don't click read more if you don't want that #Linux #Linux mint #open source #Mantis thoughts

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glitchypotato3000 · 9 months ago

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VOTK [LMK AU] FAQ CORNER

Been receiving alot of questions about what stuff do I use to make my comic and other stuff like—Chill I gotcha people.

FAQ:

1.) What Program or app do you use?

Ibis paintX That's all no fancy stuff. I do have procreate and Sai but I've been using Ibispaint for Years and I'm comfortable using it (and it's not complicated to use)

2.) What Font do you use it looks so webtoony.

yes It's webtoony because the VOTK comic is in Webtoon style panel. The fonts I use are CC Wildwords Roman, 851 Chikara-Dzuyoku [Action type of panels]. there are still fonts I want to experiment yet but these are the common ones for now.

3.) Is Nezha the Main Character in your Valley of the Kings AU?

I'm sorry for Crushing everyone but Nezha is not the main character :') he plays an important role in the comic that's why. there's a lot of characters to be revealed in the future and I really can't tell who's the Main Character. Also Nezha needs more screen time in the LMK series man like—I just need to see the boy more is that too much to ask😭

4.) What Canvas Size do you use?

it's not the usual Webtoon canvas (800x1280) the size of my canvas is 690x4096

5.) Is Fanart Allowed?

Godly yes please do. I love seeing artist drawing it with their styles. (I love sharing it too. well of course I'll ask permission first before sharing it! :D)

6.) What Tablet do you have? (or if you didn't have one what program do you use?)

HUION HS64 is my current tablet right now, since I draw using my phone only. the tablet is compatible with my android device (so I'm good) as for the program I use to draw my stuff Check the number 1 question :D

Other Questions:

7.) Why is Peng's Eyes Blue? was it suppose to be purple or something?

Lore. yes his eyes is suppose to be purple but something happened to him that changed his body. so. LORE. and no spoiler yet (enjoy the comic!)

8.) Will Hao Ma and Peng become lovers?

I really don't know, I'm still contemplating about that notion and I'm also debating about stuff. so for this question imma leave it a potential scenario.

Anyhow I think that's all for the FAQ Corner, enjoy Reading the comic!

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk #mk #glitchypotato3000 #monkie kid au #valley of the kings au #lego monkie kid au #monkie kid comic #lego monkie kid comic #lmk au #mk au #mk comic #lmk comic

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prosekanews · 1 year ago

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For jpsekai havers, around the end of this month there'll be an update that they'll change the game's engine, you'll be required to re-download the game and theres a small change in the compatible devices.

For TLDR: it will change game engine to Unity 2022 and:

Before update on IOS: iOS 11.0 and above

After update on iOS: iOS 12.0 and above

Before update on android: android 5.0 and above

After update on android: android 5.1 and above

The old data will be replaced and updated

The game size should stay the same but they're saying to keep 5gb free just in case

The vsync setting will be removed and set to enabled by default

And it shouldn't have any FPS change in most devices.

What should I do?

I recommend:

Checking your phone's UI to check which android/iOS version you have, i hope it isnt needed but I can help with that.

If you never linked your account to google play or anything, its sure a good time to try to, just to not lose your account.

And keep the 5gb free when you update/redownload the game.

#project sekai #proseka #prsk

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the-sleepy-archivist · 2 years ago

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Favorite Firefox Extensions

Firefox is a very extensible browser - through a combinations of addons and userscripts you can make it behave just about any way you want. The best part is, they're all free. Here are some of my favorites.

Note: if you have an Android device, check out my post about Firefox for Android's new extended support for addons!

Note: if you have an Apple device, check out my favorite Safari extensions here!

Last updated Feb 2025 (updated list of languages supported for native, local translation by Firefox).

Index:

uBlock Origin

Tab Session Manager

Sauron

Bypass Paywalls Clean

Auto Tab Discard

Video DownloadHelper

Highlight or Hide Search Engine Results

TWP - Translate Web Pages

UnTrap - YouTube Customizer

Indie Wiki Buddy

Cookie Auto Delete

ShopSuey - Get Rid of Ads on Amazon and Ebay

LibraryExtension

Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy

uBlock Origin

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

This is the first addon I install on any new Firefox browser. It's an adblocker, but at its core it can remove pretty much any HTML element from a website, and it comes with pre-configured lists for removing everything from ads to cookie banners to those annoying popups that ask you to sign up for email newsletters.

Tab Session Manager

Have you ever accidentally lost all your open browser tabs due to a computer update, or even just accidentally closing Firefox? With this addon you no longer have to worry about that - it automatically saves your open tabs and windows every time the browser closes, and autosaves a restore point of tabs every few minutes in case the browser crashes unexpectedly. Opening all your previous tabs and windows is a one-click deal.

Sauron

Ever wished your favorite website had a dark mode? With Sauron, now it can! Sauron attempts to intelligently figure out how to edit the color scheme of the web page (including text) to make it dark-mode friendly. It preserves the original color of images, but dims them so that they don't blind you. You can disable image dimming or dark mode on a site by site basis too. It's not perfect since it is making guesses about which colors to change, but it goes a long way toward making the internet an enjoyable place for me.

Bypass Paywalls Clean

This addon removes paywalls from hundreds of news websites around the world or adds links to open the article in a wrapper that provides the article text (like the Internet Archive etc.)

Auto Tab Discard

Ever wanted to keep a tab open for later use, but you notice the browser getting slower and slower the more tabs you have open? Auto Tab Discard will automatically "hibernate" tabs that you haven't used in a while so that they use less resources on your computer. It's smart enough not to hibernate pages that are playing media (like YouTube) or that have forms you haven't submitted yet (like job applications). You can customize how fast it puts tabs to sleep too and exclude certain websites from hibernating at all.

Video DownloadHelper

This addon can download streaming videos from most modern (HTML5) websites, and even finds soft subtitles that accompany the stream and downloads those too. Just browse to the webpage that has the video on it, click the icon in the Firefox toolbar, and select the video you want to download and click "Quick Download". For YouTube I would recommend using a YT downloader website (like KeepVid) to download the video directly, but Video DownloadHelper really shines for websites that aren't popular enough to have dedicated downloader websites like that. I've used it download videos from a Japanese film festival streaming portal, news websites, etc.

Highlight or Hide Search Engine Results

This addon allows you to blacklist websites and completely remove them from Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo search results. Don't want to see image search results from AI websites? Blacklist them. Searching for tech support advice and getting frustrated by all the auto-generated junk websites that stuff themselves full of SEO terms to jump to the top of the search results without actually providing any information at all? Blacklist them so they don't come up in your next search. Conversely, you can also whitelist websites that you know and trust so that if they ever come up in future search results, they'll be highlighted with a color of your choosing for visibility.

TWP - Translate Web Pages

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

Does what it says on the tin: auto-detects a website's language and provides a button that can translate it to a language of your choosing. You can also just select individual text on the page and translate just that. Note that this sends whatever text you translate to the servers of your selected translation service (Google, Bing, Yandex, or DeepL), so keep in mind the privacy implications if you don't want your IP address associated with having read that text.

Edit: As of version 118, Firefox now has the ability to translate text locally on your computer, without needing to send it to a cloud service. You can enable this in Settings -> Translation -> Install languages for offline translation. Note that at this time (Feb 2025), 31 languages are supported - Russian, Korean, Chinese (simplified), and Japanese were recently added. More info here.

UnTrap for YouTube

(compatible with Firefox for Android and they have a Safari for iOS extension too)

This addon lets you tweak the YouTube interface and hide anything you don't want to see. For instance, I hide all the "recommended" videos that come up when you search YT now. They have nothing to do with your search, so they're essentially just ads YT puts in your search results. I also hide Explore, Trending, More from YouTube, and Shorts sections, but you can customize it to fit your preferences.

Note: depending on the particular set of tweaks you want to make to YouTube, you may prefer to use YouTube Search Fixer instead. User preference.

Indie Wiki Buddy

I loathe Fandom.com wiki sites - they are cluttered and filled with ads and autoplaying videos that follow you down the page as you scroll. The organization is also hostile - if a community tries to leave their platform and bring their content to a new wiki hoster, Fandom bans them from the platform and reverts all their deletions/changes. Indie Wiki Buddy attempts to find an independent alternative for the wiki you're trying to browse and automatically redirects you to it, and if one doesn't exist, it will redirect you to a proxy site like antifandom or breezewiki that shows the Fandom content but removes all ads/videos/background images so you can actually, you know. READ it.

Cookie Auto Delete

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

Websites store "cookies" - little text files with info about you - on your computer as you browse so they can track you as you browse the internet. This addon automatically deletes cookies from a website a short while after you close the last tab you had open for that site. You can customize how long it waits before clearing cookies too. Note that this can sign you out of many websites, so you can whitelist any site you don't want cookies cleared for.

ShopSuey - Get Rid of Ads on Amazon and Ebay

Removes the ads/recommended products that clutter up Amazon and Ebay search results and product pages.

LibraryExtension

This fantastic addon recognizes when you are viewing a book on many popular websites and can automatically check whether that book is available in any of the library systems or subscription services you have access to, including how many copies your library(ies) have and how many are currently checked out. The best part is it shows the availability for physical books, ebooks, AND audiobooks at supported libraries. The extension currently supports libraries in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, but it also supports some global repositories like the Internet Archive and subscription services like NLS Bard for the blind and print disabled, Kobo Plus, Libro.fm, Anyplay.fm, Bookmate, and Everand. Great extension for people trying to support their local library and also save money.

Filtering+ for Tumblr

This addon lets you add tags or phrases to your tumblr tag filters with two clicks, without leaving the dashboard. I've been asking Tumblr for this tag filtering behavior on their mobile apps (i.e. press and hold a tag to get a filter option) for at least a year now in asks and surveys, without ever stopping to see if someone had already implemented this on desktop. More fool me. This addon is from the author of XKit Rewritten. Note that the right-click tag filtering only works on the dashboard; it will not appear if you are on someone's blog. Right-clicking selected text to filter the phrase works everywhere based on my testing.

Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy

This addon does its best to re-enable the normal right-click context menu and copy/paste actions on pages that try to disable them. If you run into a site that messes with either of those, select this addon and check "Enable Copy," then try again. If that doesn't work, check "Absolute mode." It doesn't work everywhere, but I find it very helpful.

#firefox #firefox extensions #internet privacy #mine #long post

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no-stupid-questions-official · 3 months ago

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My phone (iphone 7) is quickly becoming a problem since some apps are no longer compatible. I held on for as long as I could but I need a new one before the apps required for my job also have this issue. Does anyone have any suggestions on which iphone to get next that won’t be too big of a change from my current one? Are there any later models that still have the home button? Will my wired headphones still fit into the charging port (or whatever it’s called) or did they change that too? Are there later models that are a similar size to the iphone 7 (I’d really like my phone to still fit in my pocket lol)? No I’m not willing to switch to android etc. Changing different iphone models is stressing me out enough. Thanks in advance!

#question

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sjsmith56 · 3 months ago

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Assignment Bucky Barnes, Chapter 7 - Reset

Summary: Concerned that things are moving too quickly between Bucky and Ariel, she is ordered to slow things down with him. Evidence mounts of an unknown outside influence on the couple, causing additional difficulties.

Length: 4.4 K

Characters: Bucky, Ariel, Merton, Peri, Steve.

Warnings: Apparent heartbreak, miscommunication, misunderstandings leading to Bucky and Ariel having a serious argument.

Author notes: This chapter may be confusing as the characters are puzzled by different things as seen from their perspective. Remember there is interference from the future on this past timeline and while the Historians Guild works hard not to change the past there are others that want to blow it up completely.

<<Chapter 6

Nothing was said as they went up to the room on the 3rd floor but Ariel could see that Merton was agitated. He did look at her once they were inside the room and started up the console. After he entered his credentials and requested a secure connection he turned to her and put his hand on her arm sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It was necessary to get him out of there immediately. Once a month all the resident historians from the surrounding area meet with the council. When it came time for my report I told them how quickly you and Bucky connected. At first Peri was happy then she got a report on a screen that we couldn't see. Someone is manipulating this timeline, seemingly making it go faster than it should have. Apparently, you two shouldn't have been compatible so quickly. When I said you were together at the beach all day and I wouldn't be back until late they ordered me to intervene and get him out of here."

"I don't understand," she said.

"You had your first sexual encounter three days after you met, your second today," he said. "According to Peri's new information it shouldn't have happened for a week at least. I read your diary before the meeting. He shouldn't have declared his love so quickly." He looked apologetically at her. "There's concern you have become too emotionally involved but I told them I encouraged it. What is evident is that someone wants the relationship to flame out and fast. I don't know what they're going to do about it. It's beyond my pay grade."

Peri's face appeared in the holographic display and she looked grim. "Well, this is unexpected," she said. "I wish I could say there's an easy fix but there isn't. Ariel, I know we told you that Barnes relationships or lack of weren't documented in the time period of June 1940 to June 1943. That's not entirely true but it's always been need to know because the sources were second hand. You and Merton weren't in that select group of people who needed to know."

Ariel said nothing at first as it wasn't something that was upsetting to her. As a rookie historian on her first assignment it wasn't unusual not to be told all the details. It was standard procedure to make sure the historian didn't try to change the timeline. The little details, if they happened, were an indicator the timeline was true.

"Have I changed Bucky's timeline?" she asked.

"You may have if Merton didn't kick him out of your bed," said Peri. "You may have to break it off and observe his reactions to it."

"So, that's it?" asked Ariel. "Just as I declare my feelings for him you decide no more dating, no more sex. Why do you need me here then? Merton could do the observations. An android could do it."

Peri and Merton both looked at Ariel with concern. Then Peri's attention was taken by something out of view of the other two and she shook her head. She became distracted by whatever she was looking at.

"What is it, what's wrong?" asked Merton.

"Continuing the relationship may not change Bucky's timeline after all, at least not in a manner that will change his fate," said Peri, finally. "I'm sorry, I'm getting all sorts of confusing data here. It's going to take some time for the council to wade through it and determine our next course of action. Until then, Merton you play the part of the over protective uncle. Don't let the couple be alone. Ariel, be upset, which I don't think you'll have to fake but do not let Bucky back into your bed. Not yet, anyway."

Both Ariel and Merton verbally gave their compliance and the communication was terminated. They looked at each other for a moment then with an audible sigh Ariel got up and went to her room. She opened the window as it was stifling in her bedroom and put some clothes on. Picking up what was left of the condom and the package she put them in the trash bin then sat at the kitchen table.

"Are you alright?" asked Merton. "I know this is unexpected. It doesn't happen often but he is an enigma, and we couldn't have known this would happen. It could be why previous attempts failed. For what it's worth I thought you were making progress just based on what you wrote in your diary."

"Maybe," replied Ariel some despondently, "but she's right. Tell me truthfully, have any historians become so emotionally involved with their subject that they leave the profession and choose to stay with their subject?"

She could see him wrestle with what to tell her but the truth won out. "Yes, it has happened," he said reluctantly. "It's not something the guild is keen on acknowledging as they tend to see it as a failure of the training. But, in my opinion, historians are people, just like the subject of their research. They have emotional needs, human faults, and make mistakes like everyone else. As far as I know none of those who stayed changed their subject's timeline. In most cases it confirmed it. However, if you stayed with him, you could theoretically change history. The implications of that would fill a quantum drive with all the computations and repercussions of this one man if his fate was changed."

"I know that," she said quietly. "But I don't care. I want him in my life, Merton, at least until he has to go. I don't know if I want to give him up though."

She began to cry and Merton put his arms around her. He told her to go lie down and he would make something to eat for both of them. While she laid on her bed she heard a sound outside and went to the window. Bucky was on the ground, looking up at the window. He climbed onto the roof of the one story addition and came to the window as she stuck her head out from the curtain. Quickly Ariel shook her head and looked behind her so he could see the open door. He nodded, then took her hand and kissed it as she sat on the edge of the windowsill.

"Did he hurt you?" asked Bucky in a low voice. "Did he hit you?"

A strong emotion rose in her with the realization that Bucky was already so protective of her his first concern was that Merton had abused her. The historian in her made a note to mark it down but the woman in Ariel fell in love a little deeper with the caring man standing on the roof outside her window.

"No, he didn't even yell after," she whispered. "But he doesn't want me to see you any more."

Bucky shook his head in a display of determination, then grasped Ariel's hands. "That's not his decision. We'll get our own place. I make enough money to support us. We could get married. You're of legal age to determine your own path."

He was so earnest and part of Ariel wanted nothing more than to go with Bucky and have him to herself but if she did she would be setting in motion a whole new timeline, one that could change history in so many ways. Considering Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier she could be saving lives. But there are other lives that would be changed and not for the good. That thought rang in her head and she made a decision, the only logical one she could make as a historian, to not interfere in the timeline.

"I think we should step back for a while. I don't know for how long. He's my only living relative and I don't want to lose him." She looked at Bucky, pained at how her words affected him. "It doesn't mean I don't want to be with you because I do but maybe we were moving too fast. I love you, Bucky, but I want to slow down."

His eyes glistened and he swallowed hard then he nodded. "Alright," he said. "You did say at the beginning you wanted to take it slow. I just thought when you let me into your bed that you were okay with moving faster. Maybe I pressured you into saying yes and I'm sorry if I did. I love you, Ariel. But I'll step back until you're ready."

He kissed her with a finality that frightened her then went to the edge of the addition and jumped off, reminding her of footage of him as the Winter Soldier. For a devastating moment she felt like she had sealed his fate. It took all of her willpower not to climb out the window and ask him to catch her so they could run away together but instead she forced herself to watch as he jumped over the fence and walked away, looking back just once with a tortured expression on his face that wrenched her soul.

Over the next three days they didn't see each other at all and nothing was heard from him or from Steve. She went out on Tuesday to buy a present for Steve, a new product called watercolour pencils. Ariel thought with his art interests it might be something he would like to try. She saw them in an art store when she walked to the grocers for the pie ingredients, still intending to bake it. On the Wednesday, after finishing work at the Library, Ariel came out to find Steve waiting for her. He smiled grimly at her as she approached him and they began walking.

"How is he?" she asked. "I thought I would hear something from him but he hasn't called or been around."

"Not good," replied Steve. "Heartbroken, in fact. He thinks it's over between you two."

"I didn't tell him that," protested Ariel. "I just said we should take a step back. He wanted me to run away with him and get married but if I did then I would lose my uncle and he's my only living family. Would you do that as an orphan? Would you turn your back on the only family you have? I couldn't do it."

"No, I guess I wouldn't," he answered solemnly. "Bucky feels things deeply, even though he doesn't always show it. He was crazy for you and it's like he's going cold turkey in getting over you. I told him to give you and your uncle time but he's not the most patient guy."

"What would you do, Steve?" she asked. "How can I fix it? I don't want to lose him."

"Come tomorrow," he replied. "I'll be there about 2 pm. Will your uncle let you come over? It's not like Bucky would do anything your uncle could object to with his parents and sister there." His face coloured slightly. "He told me how your uncle found you."

They talked more about it on the way to the antique store then Steve made his goodbyes. Ariel kissed him on the cheek for being a good friend, making him blush. When she entered the store Merton looked at her with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Bucky's not doing well," said Ariel. "According to Steve he's already thinking that it's over between us. Steve thinks I should come to the party tomorrow to reassure him."

Merton gave an audible sigh. "I checked and there were no messages. Maybe after supper we can call again and get their opinion on it. I certainly don't want him to break it off as that would defeat the purpose of having you here."

After dinner they went up to the communications room and started up the set. Merton entered his credentials and requested a conversation with Peri. About five minutes later she looked at both of them expectantly.

"Well, how did it go?" she asked.

"How did what go?" countered Merton. "We've heard nothing since Sunday."

Peri's face went hard. "What do you mean? I sent a detailed plan of action through the message channels on Monday."

Merton opened the messaging function and looked at Peri. "There's nothing. I received nothing."

Peri swore, an unusual thing for the mostly unflappable 97 year old. "It's gone from my sent folder as well. I don't know what to say. Someone is obviously sabotaging things."

"What did you want us to do?" asked Merton.

"Resume the relationship," she replied. "But slow down the sexual part of it. You need to have a serious talk with the young man, Merton and tell him your concern about being too intense for Ariel. Merton, did any of the other resident historians express any concerns about changes to the assignments they were overseeing before the meeting with the council?"

"No, not exactly," he replied. "There were the historians who were watching over Bucky's future fellow soldiers; two of them in particular, Dum Dum Dugan and Gabriel Jones. The historian watching Dugan said there have been attempts to draw the man into a fight several times, something he's not inclined to do. As for Jones, he has been harassed by the police for instigating unrest when he hasn't been anywhere near the incidents in question. Both men will enlist at the same time as Barnes and they will become friends in boot camp, good friends. But if either of them end up in jail before they enlist they could theoretically be put into different units. They go on to be part of the Howling Commandos and Jones will be one of the men on the train when Bucky falls."

"That's definitely interference," she said. "Let me look into that. I will speak to our security lead and see if they can find out what happened to the files I sent to you. There has to be a digital footprint somewhere. It might also be a good idea to relocate the portal apparatus as it's been in the same location for some time. I am concerned that someone will attempt to meddle with it."

"I'll call a couple of the resident historians tonight and move it tomorrow," said Merton. "I've been feeling that our time in that location is running out as city council have been talking about redeveloping the area with public housing." They disconnected the call and Merton shrugged before facing Ariel. "Call him. Tell him that I will let him see you if he comes to see me first and we set some ground rules. I'll even see him tonight if he's inclined to come over."

Ariel went down to the kitchen where the telephone was. She picked up the receiver and dialled the number, watching the circular dial go back to the starting point after she turned it to the number. There were three rings before Mrs. Barnes answered.

"Mrs. Barnes? It's Ariel. May I speak to Bucky please?" There was a pause as Mrs. Barnes said something. "Yes, ma'am, I'll be there. I'm unsure of my uncle as he promised a friend to run an errand with him. I'll see you tomorrow."

She waited some more before Merton joined her so Ariel told him that she had made his attendance on July 4 unsure, thinking he wanted to talk to Bucky first. He agreed that was the prudent thing to do. Then Bucky came on the line and he could hear the relief in Ariel's voice.

"Bucky? It's good to hear your voice. I was worried about you. Steve said you weren't doing well. I don't want to break up, Bucky." She listened as he said something and he envisioned Bucky trying to let her down easy. "Well, Uncle Merton says he's had a bit of a change of heart. He wants to talk to you first but he's willing to let us continue seeing each other with some conditions. Can you come over now and talk to him while he's willing?" She paused again biting her bottom lip as she listened then nodded her head. "Okay, I'll tell him you'll be here in 15 minutes. Thank you, Bucky."

Merton placed a call to several other historians and they agreed to move the portal apparatus to a new location the following morning. They all agreed it was long past time for the move. Merton would meet them at the portal location with his van. At the appointed time they heard the door to the stairwell open and Bucky's footsteps coming up the stairs. He knocked on the apartment door and Merton answered it to Bucky carrying a bouquet of sweet peas, which looked like they had just been picked from a garden.

"Go put them in water and then wait in your room, Ariel," said Merton, authoritatively. "Bucky and I will talk out here."

She took the flowers from Bucky; their fingers brushing against each other as he handed over the bouquet then he sat on the couch in the parlour area. Ariel put the sweet peas into a vase and filled it up with water then took it to her room and closed the door, her eyes meeting Bucky's before it was closed completely. Merton brought an unopened bottle of scotch and two glasses over, peeling the paper off of the top before pouring some out for each of them.

"Here's to a resolution we can both live with," he said taking a sip.

Bucky did the same. "Before you start I just want to apologize for taking advantage of your hospitality. I talked Ariel into it. She's been a lady since we met and I allowed my desires to overrule my common sense. She has no blame in this. Only I do."

"That's very gallant of you Bucky," replied Merton. "But she basically said the opposite. I'm guessing the truth is somewhere in between." Bucky started to protest and Merton raised his hand. "I don't want to quarrel with you. The fact remains that you each took advantage of my absence and used my home to satisfy your carnal desires. I appreciate that you at least made sure that Ariel wouldn't end up in the family way." Merton took a deep breath and another sip of the scotch. "Since that evening Ariel has been miserable and it's made me realize that her attachment to you is deep. How do you feel about her?"

"I love her," said Bucky. "I know we've barely known each other a week but I think about her constantly and only want to make her happy. In fact, I would like to ask for her hand in marriage, if you're inclined to allow me."

Merton sat back in the arm chair, appearing to give Bucky's offer great thought. "I'm going to say no, at this time," he replied, putting his hand up to keep Bucky from interjecting. "However, I am willing for you to continue to court her, provided you promise as a gentleman that you will not pressure her to bed with you again. I do that so you have the opportunity to get to know each other better without the spectre of intercourse between you. If you truly love her you will abide by my wishes. If, after a time, I am satisfied with your conduct you may make the offer again and I promise to give it the full attention it deserves. Those are my conditions, Bucky. I love my niece. She is the spitting image of my late sister who I doted on when she was a child. Ariel's well being is my responsibility to her late parents to make sure she marries well and for the best of reasons."

He sat back again and watched Bucky carefully, thankful that he had his own recording devices going. The young man took a sip of his scotch then looked at Ariel's bedroom door before offering his hand to Merton.

"I accept," said Bucky. "She is a unique woman and I would be a fool to allow my pride to keep me from doing whatever it takes to win her hand in marriage. I promise to respect her and assure you there will not be a repeat of Sunday evening between us."

Merton shook Bucky's hand then went to Ariel's door and told her that Bucky had accepted his terms for their continued acquaintance. Looking relieved Ariel came out and went straight to Bucky, allowing him to hold her and comfort her. Her uncle watched the pair then picked up his glass and the bottle of scotch.

"I have some ledger work to do," he said. "You may visit here in the parlour while I work in the kitchen. Once your scotch is finished you can say good night to each other."

He turned and went for the books, spreading them out on the table. To make it seem like he was giving them privacy he turned on the radio in the kitchen but kept his recording devices on in the living room. As soon as the music came on Bucky clasped Ariel close to his chest and stroked her hair.

"He's agreed to let us see each other but he doesn't want us going to bed together," he whispered. "I had to agree. I've been miserable without you."

"I know, me too," she whispered back. "Oh Bucky, I thought I lost you."

"Never," he said. "When I've proven myself we'll get married and we'll be together forever."

There was no verbal response from Ariel but she squeezed him around the waist and they stood for a short time before sitting on the couch. Curling her legs up as she sat on the couch Bucky put his arm around her shoulders so she could rest her head in the crook of his arm.

"We'll get married at City Hall, then have a little wedding lunch at my parent's house," he said wistfully. "There are some nice furnished flats near the Library. We can rent one of them and make it our own. Just you and me, and Rosie, can't forget Rosie." The kitten had climbed over Ariel's lap and was now curled up in between them. Bucky scratched her head behind the ears. "I'll take as much overtime as I can at the docks to save up enough for a down payment on a brownstone and then we'll start a family. It will be wonderful, because we'll be together."

As Bucky went on about what they would do together as a couple, then as a family, Ariel listened without commenting, knowing it would and could never happen. As much as she loved him their futures would split apart when he went to England, possibly later if they decided to write to each other. Her assignment would be over and she would return back to 2142 to go through her recordings and diary entries, creating her report and submitting it to the guild for publication. Merton said she had already found some information that wasn't known, yet it seemed like Peri knew more about Bucky than she was letting on. She felt a hand caress her face and she looked up at Bucky.

"Hey, you were somewhere else for a little while," he said. "I asked you a question and you didn't answer."

"Sorry, I was daydreaming," she replied. "What did you ask?"

"How many kids do you want?" he asked, smiling. "I always wished I had another brother and sister so we each had someone we could be close with. What do you think of four kids?"

She smiled softly. "I think four is a good number. We'll have to get someone to look after them while I'm working at the Library."

"You won't have to work," said Bucky. "I'll make enough to support us all. A mother should be home with her children."

Ariel sat up and looked at him with concern. "I didn't go to college to stay at home and just have children. Yes, I want them but I want my career as well. You understand that, don't you?"

He licked his lips with what looked like exasperation. "What kind of man would make his wife work? How are you going to cook the meals, do the laundry and the housework if you work? I mean, I guess we could get a housekeeper but that would need more overtime at the docks and I'd never see you and the children. No, you won't be working, not as my wife, you won't."

Ariel could feel the heat rising in her. There was no pretence in the frustration she was feeling at the moment and she stood up. "Well, I'm glad I found that out now. You don't own me, Bucky. I'm a modern woman, with plans to run a library someday. What if something happened to you? An industrial accident, or maybe the war between England and Germany spills over here and you go off to fight and get killed. Wouldn't you want me to be able to work and put food on the table for your children?"

"Now you're talking nonsense," said Bucky. "I'm a careful worker and I don't take any unnecessary risks. As for a war, where did that come from? The U.S. won't get involved in any else's war. That's just silly."

"Why is it silly?" she asked. "Look at the newspapers. Hitler is invading all over Europe. You think this country is going to sit back and let that happen? They didn't in World War I and Hitler isn't to be trusted. Every treaty he has signed promising not to invade a country he has broken. You don't think he won't do the same with America?"

Merton came out from the kitchen and looked at the couple. This wasn't supposed to happen. "I think you two need to cool down," he said calmly. "Bucky, maybe you should go home. Both of you need to take a step back before you say something you'll regret."

Ariel folded her arms across her chest and shook her head angrily. Bucky stood up, went to the door shaking his head and went down the stairs without a word. She stormed off to her room and slammed the door. Merton took a deep breath. He would look at the recordings before he made any decision on how to deal with what just happened. If he didn't know better he would think Ariel was the one trying to sabotage the relationship.

Part 8>>

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