#Benefits of web testing

[marrywillson]

Web application testing is a software testing technique that is used exclusively to test web-hosted applications, in which the web application interfaces, and other functionalities are tested.

[weboumtechnology]

Custom Android app development services for flexibility and business solutions

Custom Android application development services assist companies in developing mobile solutions that are precisely suited to their requirements. Because of their flexibility, capacity, and broad consumer base, Android apps are perfect for companies trying to expand in today's digitally-first society. Businesses can employ custom development to create apps with features and functionalities that support their objectives, enhancing user experience, expediting workflows, and increasing engagement. Android apps can be optimized for security, performance, and scalability for internal tools and e-commerce platforms, ensuring that they expand with the company and improve customer happiness and operational efficiency.

[adasitecompliance]

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Learn how to create inclusive and compliant PDF documents with our ultimate guide on PDF accessibility best practices!

[sophiaseo34]

Explore Microservices Architecture for Modern Web Applications

In the rapidly evolving landscape of web application development, traditional monolithic architecture faces challenges in meeting the demands of modern, agile, and scalable applications. Enter microservices architecture, a paradigm that offers an innovative approach to building web applications with increased flexibility, scalability, and maintainability. In this article, we will delve into the world of microservices architecture and explore its benefits and implementation. Let's embark on a journey into microservices and discover how this architecture can reshape and deploy web applications.

Understanding Microservices Architecture

At its core, microservices architecture represents a departure from the traditional monolithic approach by breaking down an application into a collection of small, loosely coupled services to fulfill its functionality. This shift in design philosophy offers a range of benefits, but first, let's grasp the fundamental characteristics that define microservices architecture.

Decoupling and Modularity: 

Unlike monolithic applications where components are tightly integrated, microservices architecture emphasizes decoupling. Each service operates independently and focuses on a specific business capability. This modularity allows teams to work on individual services without impacting others, promoting efficient development and maintenance.

Independent Deployment: 

One of the defining features of microservices is the ability to deploy and update services independently. This flexibility means that changes to one service can be rolled out without affecting the entire application. This starkly contrasts monolithic applications, where a change could require a full application deployment.

Communication and Interoperability: 

Microservices interact through well-defined APIs, typically over HTTP/REST or other communication protocols. This promotes better interoperability between services, enabling different services to be developed using different technologies and languages as long as they can communicate effectively.

Scalability: 

Microservices architecture excels in horizontal scalability. Services can be scaled independently based on their specific needs, making resource allocation more efficient and targeted. This scalability is especially advantageous when certain services experience varying load levels.

Business Focus: 

Microservices architecture encourages aligning services with distinct business capabilities. This focus on business logic enhances the ability to manage and evolve different parts of an application according to the needs of the business, which can be especially useful in dynamic environments.

Benefits of Microservices Architecture

Microservices architecture has gained significant traction in web application development due to its benefits over traditional monolithic approaches. Let's explore these advantages in detail.

Scalability and Elasticity:

Microservices allow granular scalability, enabling individual services to be scaled independently based on their specific load. This approach is especially beneficial in scenarios where certain services experience spikes in demand, ensuring efficient resource utilization.

Flexibility in Technology Stack: 

Each microservice can be developed using the most suitable technology for its specific functionality. This flexibility allows teams to choose the best tools and languages for the job without being restricted to a single technology stack.

Rapid Development and Deployment: 

The independent nature of microservices means that development teams can work concurrently on different services. This accelerates development cycles, allowing for quicker feature delivery and more frequent releases. Deployment of updates becomes smoother, as changes can be made to a single service without affecting the entire application.

Maintenance and Evolvability: 

Microservices architecture eases maintaining and updating an application. Since each service is isolated, changes to one service can be made without disrupting others. This isolation simplifies bug fixes, enhancements, and the introduction of new features.

Agility and Autonomous Teams: 

Microservices architecture aligns with an agile development approach. Teams can be organized around specific services, giving them autonomy to decide about their service without requiring coordination with other teams. This structure promotes faster decision-making and innovation.

Resource Efficiency: 

With microservices, resources can be allocated more efficiently. Services that experience high demand can be scaled up while others remain unaffected, optimizing resource utilization and cost management.

Business Alignment: 

Microservices can be aligned with distinct business capabilities, making managing and evolving parts of the application according to business needs easier. This alignment supports agile responses to changing market conditions and customer requirements.

Enhanced Testing and Debugging:

Testing and debugging can focus more on a microservices architecture. Each service can be tested in isolation, enabling thorough unit, integration, and end-to-end testing. This targeted approach simplifies identifying and resolving issues.

Vendor Independence: 

Microservices architecture reduces vendor lock-in. Since services are decoupled and communicated through well-defined APIs, switching out components or services is easier if better alternatives are available.

Adaptability to Scale: 

As an application grows and evolves, microservices architecture offers the adaptability to accommodate changes. New services can be introduced, and existing ones can be modified or replaced without requiring an overhaul of the entire application.

Designing Microservices

The design phase is crucial in creating a successful microservices architecture. Defining service boundaries and ensuring cohesion between services is essential for building a maintainable and efficient application. Here's how to approach the design of microservices.

Identify Service Boundaries: 

Decompose your application into distinct business capabilities. Each capability can then be encapsulated within its microservice. Domain-driven design principles can guide you in identifying these boundaries based on business contexts.

Service Contracts: 

Clearly define the APIs and contracts for each microservice. RESTful APIs are commonly used for communication between services. Focus on well-defined request and response structures, status codes, and error handling mechanisms.

Data Management Strategies: 

Choose an appropriate data management strategy. Each service should have its database, promoting loose coupling between services. However, data consistency can become a challenge. Consider eventual consistency models or patterns like the Saga pattern for managing distributed transactions.

Communication and Event-Driven Architecture: 

Determine how services will communicate. While synchronous HTTP/REST calls are common, event-driven architectures can decouple services further. Use message queues or publish-subscribe systems to facilitate communication through events.

API Gateway: 

Consider implementing an API gateway as a single entry point for client requests. The gateway can handle load balancing, routing, security, and aggregation of responses from various microservices.

Documentation: 

Thoroughly document each microservice's purpose, API, contracts, and dependencies. This documentation helps developers understand how to use and interact with each service.

Implementing Microservices

After designing the architecture, it's time to delve into the practical implementation of microservices. This involves creating individual services, setting up communication mechanisms, ensuring data consistency, and orchestrating the deployment. Here's how to approach the implementation of microservices.

Choose the Right Technologies: 

Select technologies and programming languages that align with the requirements of each microservice. When making these decisions, consider factors like performance, scalability, and developer expertise.

Microservice Creation: 

Begin by developing individual microservices based on the defined service boundaries. Each service should encapsulate a specific business capability, including logic, APIs, and data storage.

Orchestration and Deployment:

Use containerization tools like Docker to package each microservice along with its dependencies. Container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes help manage microservices' deployment, scaling, and management.

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment: 

Set up CI/CD pipelines to automate microservices' build, testing, and deployment. Automated testing ensures the quality of each service before it's deployed to production.

Monitoring and Logging: 

Implement monitoring and logging solutions for each microservice. Collect metrics, logs, and traces to gain insights into service performance, usage, and errors. Centralized monitoring tools can help manage the entire ecosystem.

Security Measures: 

Implement security measures at various levels, including network, API, and data security. Use authentication and authorization mechanisms to protect sensitive data and restrict unauthorized access.

Testing Strategies: 

Develop comprehensive testing strategies for each microservice. Implement unit tests to ensure the correctness of individual services. Integration testing validates the interactions between services. End-to-end testing verifies the entire application flow.

Performance Optimization: 

Profile and optimize the performance of each microservice. Use caching mechanisms, database optimization techniques, and code optimization to ensure efficient resource utilization.

Iterative Development:

Microservices development is iterative. Continuously monitor, measure, and refine each service based on usage patterns and user feedback. Be prepared to adjust service boundaries and features as the application evolves.

Scaling Microservices

As your web application gains traction and user demand increases, scaling becomes critical. Microservices architecture inherently supports scalable applications due to its modular and independent nature. Here's how to effectively scale microservices to meet growing demands.

Horizontal Scaling: 

Horizontal scaling involves adding more instances of a service to handle increased load. With microservices, you can scale specific services independently based on their workload. This prevents over-provisioning resources for less frequently accessed services.

Load Balancing: 

Implement load balancing to distribute incoming requests evenly across multiple instances of a service. Load balancers help prevent any instance from being overwhelmed and ensure the workload is distributed effectively.

Auto-Scaling: 

Leverage auto-scaling mechanisms that automatically adjust the number of instances based on real-time traffic and load. Cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud provide auto-scaling capabilities that help manage resource allocation dynamically.

Database Scalability: 

Scale databases appropriately to support the increased load. Consider database replication, sharding, or partitioning techniques to distribute data and maintain responsiveness as the number of users grows.

Monitoring and Alerts: 

Implement robust monitoring and alerts to keep track of resource utilization, response times, and other performance metrics. Set up alerts to notify you when certain thresholds are exceeded so you can proactively address issues.

Cloud Services: 

Leverage cloud services that offer managed scaling solutions. Cloud providers offer tools and services that simplify scaling microservices, such as container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes.

Optimize Database Queries: 

Optimize database queries to ensure efficient retrieval and manipulation of data. Indexing, query optimization, and denormalization techniques can significantly improve database performance.

Testing Microservices

Testing is a critical aspect of developing robust and reliable microservices-based applications. Microservices architecture introduces complexities in terms of communication, integration, and dependencies. A comprehensive testing strategy is essential to ensure the quality of each service and the overall application. Here's how to approach testing in the context of microservices.

Unit Testing: 

Start with unit tests for individual microservices. These tests verify the functionality of a single service in isolation. Mock external dependencies, such as databases and third-party APIs, to ensure that the focus remains on the service itself.

Integration Testing: 

Move on to integration testing, which validates the interactions between different microservices. Test how services communicate, share data, and respond to each other's actions. Use test databases or containers to simulate real-world scenarios.

End-to-end Testing:

Conduct end-to-end tests to validate the entire application workflow, spanning multiple microservices. These tests mimic real user scenarios and help uncover issues arising from integration complexities.

Load and Performance Testing: 

Conduct load and performance testing to understand how each microservice performs under various stress levels and traffic. Identify potential bottlenecks and optimize services accordingly.

Automated Testing Pipelines: 

Set up automated testing pipelines as part of your CI/CD process. This ensures that tests are run consistently every time there's a change, preventing regressions.

Canary Testing:

Adopt canary testing to introduce new versions of microservices into the production environment gradually. This reduces the risk of widespread issues and allows for rapid rollback if necessary.

Conclusion

In the dynamic web application development environment, microservices architecture has emerged as a transformative approach that empowers developers to create scalable, flexible, and resilient applications. By understanding its principles, embracing its benefits, and navigating its challenges, developers can create responsive, adaptable, and well-equipped applications to meet the demands of a dynamic digital landscape. As you embark on your microservices journey, keep learning, experimenting, and iterating to harness the full potential of this transformative approach.

Unlock the potential of your web applications with microservices architecture. At Nodesol Corp, we specialize in architecting, developing, and deploying scalable and resilient microservices-based solutions. Whether you're looking to enhance performance, improve flexibility, or streamline development, our expert team can guide you through every step of the process. Contact us today to learn how Nodesol Corp can help you harness the power of microservices architecture for your projects. 

[fangswbenefits]

Sweet Girl

Summary: Miguel isn’t all that excited about you joining spider society, so why and how does he enter a spiral of maddening obsession?

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x spider-woman!reader

Miguel POV. Obsessed Miguel. Soft/inexperienced reader. Pining.

This is more an of an introduction to my current series Frustration. You don’t have to read the first 3 parts to enjoy this.

Miguel crossed his arms as he stood on the lowered platform.

He was waiting.

And he hated being kept waiting.

Tense minutes went by until a swirling flash of light tore through the space continuum right in front of him.

Jessica Drew stepped out first, followed closely by Peter B. Parker.

And you.

You seemed so out of it, that Miguel wondered how a spider person could have been this badly affected by a mere dimensional travel.

As you tumbled out of the portal, you immediately lurched forward. “Oh, I’m going to be sick.”

Without further warning, you emptied the content of your stomach onto the floor.

Amazing.

Arching an eyebrow, he glared at Jess who was patting your back reassuringly.

“It’s her first time, Miguel,” she frowned lightly, helping you straighten up.

Peter offered you a tissue. “Oh, I remember my first time. My intestines were not the same for a week, and I do-”

Miguel immediately cut him off, not at all interested in hearing about Peter Parker’s bowl movements. “Welcome to Nueva York,” he stepped out of the platform, extending his hand to you. “I’m Miguel O’Hara.”

You cleared your throat and shook his hand. “So… you’re the boss.”

“I’m the boss.”

Miguel saw your eyes scanning him him up and down, widening slightly. “You’re… big.”

Peter snorted and Jessica chuckled.

But he could only roll his eyes. “You’ll eventually get used to your portal jumps.”

You scanned the room with curious eyes. “That portal really needs stabilisation,” you then mumbled, adjusting your suit. “The motion sickness…”

He scoffed. “You’re a spider-woman. I’m sure you can manage motion sickness.”

“Well… it’s not the same as swinging around in your web,” you retorted with a light shrug.

Jessica patted your shoulder. “That’s why we recruited you. Your intel might be able to helps us with some of these… instabilities.”

You immediately smiled brightly. “Oh, sure! I can’t wait to get started. This place looks so cool.”

Miguel groaned inwardly. Amateurs.

He had scanned your file thoroughly and had been against your recruitment initially, but Jess had brought up valid points in your favour, despite the fact that you had only been bitten less than six months ago.

Inexperienced and ambitious.

These two hardly ever worked together, but your vast knowledge in tech compounds had made him give Jess the benefit of the doubt.

“Follow me. I’ll have to draw blood to run some tests and Lyla here will fill you in later on other procedures.”

The hologram popped in obnoxiously by your shoulder. “If he asks nicely, that is.”

Your mouth dropped open in absolute bewilderment. “Woah! AI? That is really, really awesome!”

“Thank you, pumpkin,” she grinned with a wink.

Miguel paced through the long halled that stretched out towards Lab 1, with you following close by, as Peter and Jess flanked you.

From the corner of his eye, he saw you glaring out of the tall windows, completely transfixed by the the countless skyscrapers that sprawled out as far as the eye could see.

“You built this?” your voice echoed in sheer wonder.

“Yes.”

“All of this?”

“Miguel is really gifted with technology,” Peter chimed in proudly.

“Woah…”

That tingled his ego nicely.

As the four of you walked inside the lab, the surrounding spiders at work glanced over, voicing their greetings.

“Take a seat.”

You immediately did as he said with Jessica standing next to you, hand on your shoulder.

Miguel put his gloves on and readied the material for the blood testing.

“Give me your arm.”

“So you’re a tech guy…” you started, and he gripped your forearm, rolled the sleeve of your suit up with fingers probing for a vein. “What else?”

“A geneticist.”

“Nice! So you’re like a two for one type of deal?”

Once he found what he was looking for, he aligned the tube with your skin. “This will sting a bit.”

Before you could reply, you let out a gasp at the sudden intrusion.

“And you work at the lab, too?”

“Do you always ask so many questions?” Miguel said, waiting for the tube to fill in.

You nodded with a warm smile. “I just like to know what I’m getting myself into.”

You had no idea, but Miguel was testing you, trying to gather as much of your personality as he could. He enjoyed piecing people together like puzzles. It stroked his sense of control.

“I thought Jessica had briefed you.”

“I did,” she immediately said.

“Yet you’re the one drawing my blood,” you chirped happily, your eyes fixed on his.

Well, maybe you had an idea.

Miguel felt the corner of his lips turn into a faint smile.

Good.

He needed perceptive people around.

He pulled away from from you slightly and pressed a cotton pad to the small puncture.

Sliding open one of the drawers nearby, he grabbed a watch, never letting go of your arm.

“This is a dimensional travel watch,” he explain, snapping it snugly around your wrist. “Keep it with you at all times.”

He let go of you and you seized the moment to inspect it closer, fascination never leaving your face.

“Let me guess… you also built this,” you said with a chuckle, pressing on the screen a few times.

He reached out his hand to stop you. “This is not a toy. Lyla will inform you on how to properly use it.”

You nodded firmly.

“Welcome to spider society.”

It didn’t take long for Miguel to start walking in on you sleeping in the lab.

For the fourth time.

He was all too familiar with the riveting excitement that came with scientific progress that often led to many sleepless nights.

But he still couldn’t allow this to keep happening.

Halting a few inches away from you, he took a moment to access the situation: you sat hunched over the lab table, head resting on folded arms and a string of drool dangling from the corner of your mouth.

A heavy sigh parted his lips.

He tapped his foot once on the leg of your chair, causing you to jolt upright with a yelp, nearly falling back from the loss of balance as the chair swayed dangerously.

But Miguel was fast enough to prevent that by steadying you with a firm grip on your shoulder. You then leaned forward, panting and clutching at your chest.

“Good morning.”

You turned your head to stare at him, deep bags under your eyes and sleep lines covering your face. “Miguel! Oh — hi! I’m… oh my… that was such a scare!”

His crimson eyes narrowed slightly. “It’s the fourth time this week.”

Trying to regain some composure, you straightened your clothes and wiped the string of drool trailing down your chin with the back of your hand.

“Right. I was… uh…” you paused abruptly and looked around, as if momentarily disoriented. “Oh. Yeah! I am — was working on running some diagnostics and must have dozed off waiting for the results… and-”

He clicked his tongue and spun your chair around, effectively silencing you, his eyes boring into yours. “This isn’t going to happen again. You need to rest.”

You swallowed. “I was resting…”

Miguel didn’t have neither the patience nor the time for this.

“You need proper rest,” he pressed on with a scowl. “Jessica scouted you for a reason, and if you’re too sleep-deprived to work, you’re of no use to us.”

You broke eye contact with him, lowering your head. “I’m sorry…”

The sincerity in your voice took him slightly aback, and he relaxed his face, wondering if he had perhaps been too harsh.

You were chewing on your lip, staring down at your entwined hands.

He had no idea why, but his heart skipped a beat.

Probably stress.

“Look,” he tried again, softer this time. “I know what it’s like to want more. To do more. I’ve been there,” he then crouched, so he could eye-level with you. “But you can’t keep pushing yourself like this. We have time to figure this out.”

You looked to the side, hesitating at first. “I… was talking to other spiders and some mentioned they feel the side effects of motion sickness if they use the portal more than twice a day,” you went on with newfound confidence, gripping the pad on the table and lighting up the screen. “I’m close to getting the chips to work and ther-”

Miguel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Stop. Stop.”

You did.

“What part of me saying you need to sleep didn’t you understand?”

“I don’t mind sacrificing a few nights of sleep if it means I can help other spiders,” you said, a flash of defiance crossing your eyes. “Seriously, Miguel. I need to get this done… I need it.”

Miguel’s strictness shattered.

He then saw a reflection of himself staring right at him.

So much of your determination and persistence reminded him of his early days as a scientist. The struggle, the hunger for results, the need to achieve something that could help so many…

“I know you’re looking out for me,” you went on, placing one hand on his shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze. “And I’m grateful, but science and progress don’t wait. I know I can be helpful, so let me.”

For the first time in a very long time, Miguel O’Hara was left speechless.

“Please don’t fire me,” you laughed nervously.

He blinked a couple of times and stared down at his watch.

6:14AM

“You can come back in twelve hours.”

Your eyes widened in sheer excitement, lips parting into a wide smile.

He quicky lifted one finger. “If you try to sneak in, I’ll know.”

Your smile faltered, as he saw right through your intentions.

“And I’ll have you sent back to your dimension faster than you can say Nueva York. Got it?”

You lifted one hand in a salute and nodded.

He scowled. “And… stop hanging around Hobie.”

Dropping your hand, you bolted forward from your chair to hug him, wrapping your arms tightly around his neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

The sudden motion nearly caused him to topple over and you immediately let go of him, as he rose to his full height again.

“Oh! Sorry!” you stepped away, patting his arm apologetically.

He blinked.

Then, grabbing your pad, you began tapping rapidly. “I’m uploading all the data to your watch, so please take a look.”

He blinked again.

You gathered your backpack and threw him a final warm smile. “If you find anything important, please let me know!”

Miguel nodded curtly, but remained rooted in place, as you hurried across the lab and past the sliding door.

His heart skipped a beat for the second time that day.

Then it dawned on him: the last person who had hugged him had been Gabriella.

Miguel should probably call himself a hypocrite.

He was heavily against you or any other spider dozing off in the lab, but he had been indulging in this quite often as of late.

By the time he rose from his slumber, and sat back on his padded chair, he realised something soft had been placed around his shoulders.

He tugged on it and was met with a blanket covered in tiny prints of Peter B. Parker’s face.

This was definitely Mayday’s.

“What…” he drawled out, blinking a few times to adjust his eyes to the brightness that poured in from the windows.

The clock on the wall marked nine in the morning.

He stared down at his desk to find a handwritten note next to a plate of… empanadas?

“Hi~

wanted to wake you up, but you were sleeping so soundly and I didn’t want to disturb you. I found Mayday’s blankie on my lab desk — I suspect Hobie is sneaking her around to pull a prank on me hehe xOx

P.S. Jess told me you like empanadas, so I tried making some for you. Hope you like them~ (I’m crossing my fingers)

P.S. 2 You need proper rest :)”

You.

It had been you.

He glared at the plate containing the pastries, and grabbed one.

His heightened senses allowed him to immediately get flooded with an overwhelming delicious smell.

Taking a bite, he fluttered his eyes shut, allowing the overwhelming combination of flavours to take over.

It tasted so, so good.

It tasted like home.

He rose to his feet and walked out, scanning the lab for traces of you.

But he was met with Jessica instead who had just walked in.

“Oh, you look terrible.”

He swallowed what was left in his mouth. “Thanks.”

Her gaze dropped to your hand. “Oh! Did she make those for you?”

“Uh… yes.”

He felt ridiculous for having mumbled it like that.

The two of them paced along the corridors and into Lab 2, where you were sitting, back turned to them, visibly engrossed in your tasks.

“How’s she been doing?”

He took another bite. “Good. She’s persistent and focused. Those are good traits to have in this field.”

“She reminds me of yourself.”

Miguel wasn’t surprised in the slightest, because it was an undeniable fact.

“Hopefully, she won’t make the same mistakes I did.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll make some along the way,” she shrugged casually. “And she’ll learn from them, as you did.”

Miguel kept his gaze fixed on you and felt a strange need arise in him.

To look after you.

He took the last bite and savoured it in silence, as Jessica eyed him curiously.

“She really is a sweet girl,” she ended up saying lovingly. “She asked me what your comfort food was.”

Sweet girl.

He let the name replay in his head, and determined he liked the sound of it. It was fitting.

“Go on. Say it.”

Miguel arched an eyebrow at this. “Say what?”

Jess threw him a smug look. “That I was right for recruiting her. That you were wrong.”

In truth, Miguel hated having to admit to his mistakes, and it wasn’t even related to his ego or inability to take criticism.

As he had come to learn the hard way, his mistakes would usually lead to catastrophic consequences.

But when it came to you, he had no problem admitting he had been in the wrong. You had proved to be quite capable of handling a multitude of tasks.

… and now you were starting to grow on him.

“Yes. You were right, Jessica,” he mumbled, his eyes fixed on you. “She really is… something.”

She patted his back a few times. “Are you turning into a softie, Miguel?”

He scowled. “No.”

“Go ahead and thank her, then,” she said with a smile.

Miguel didn’t like being told what to do. He had every intention of letting you know he was grateful for your efforts.

But it had to be in his own way.

He parted ways with Jess and mad his way to you.

“Hey.”

You turned in your chair, bearing that kind smile he had grown so accustomed to. “Hi! You’re awake.”

“Cearly,” he grumbled with a shrug.

“Did you like the empanadas?”

He nodded. “They tasted amazing. Thank you.”

Like home.

“Great!” you beamed, your smile never wavering. “You looked really adorable while sleeping. Sorry for not waking you up.”

Adorable…?

He felt a lump form in his throat. Your energy was contagious, and he considered embracing it.

But he didn’t want to cave in…

He was a stubborn man by nature.

But he also didn’t want you to think he was too cold and distant like many in Nueva York thought.

“I want to show you something,” he said, tapping on his watch.

You waited expectantly and the screen in front of your flickered momentarily before a video started playing.

File: Gabriella.006

He didn’t even bother staring at the screen. He already knew by heart its content, and he didn’t want to revist the pain today.

No.

His eyes were fixed on you, instead.

He knew Lyla had already mentioned the event that led to him deciding to protect the multiverse.

He knew you knew of Gabriella.

Of what he had done.

Your smile dropped as the video went on, even though the sound of giggles and splashing water echoed around you.

“I’m not showing you this for you to feel bad for me.”

You shook your head, parting your eyes from the screen. “That didn’t even cross my mind.”

He paused the video.

“Right.”

Your eyes held kindness and your voice became softer. “I know why you’re showing this to me.”

He highly doubted it, but he waited for you to go on.

“We take care of each other here,” you began, twirling your chair to fully face bim. “And that means being open to showing vulnerabilities.”

He remained silent, digesting your words.

“Am I wrong?”

Partially, but he wouldn’t tell you that. The justification he had settled for in his head didn’t come close to your own.

And his heart skipped a beat.

He grown used to it happening whenever around you, but this time it felt more alarming.

More urgent.

“Miguel?”

You were eyeing him with concern, your hand reaching out to touch his arm.

He snapped out of his thoughts, and took a step back. “Send me the files you were working on yesterday. I need to check the coding.”

You gave him a nod, and he saw understanding soften your expression. He had expected you to press him on for an answer, but he was grateful you hadn’t.

“Oh, and… thank you, again. For… you know…” he drawled out as he ran a hand through his hair.

“You got it, Miguel,” you said, smiling sweetly.

Sweet girl.

His sweet girl.

It took Miguel one week to start dreaming about you.

At first, it would be a conglomerate of nonsensical blobs with your face or voice here and there. But as days went by, some began to take shape.

Your shape.

Nowadays, it would be your face and voice that would keep him company after tiring missions.

He had gotten quite fond of it.

Until things took a turn.

And he would wake up with a throbbing ache in between his legs, begging for relief.

That was when he knew he was letting his admiration for you get the best of him.

As he rose from his bed and walked to the tall window in his bedroom, he saw the sun lighting up the horizon line, bathing Nueva York in rays of orange and yellow.

He had built all of this in the hopes of a better future.

But now he started longing for one that had you in it somehow.

As a fellow spider.

A fellow scientist.

A friend, even.

He squinted as his sensitive eyes became increasingly sore from the intense light, so he moved to his bedside table and grabbed the peace of paper you had left him days ago.

Your handwriting mirrored your personality: graceful and captivating.

Maybe he should have tossed it away, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

Walking into his living room, he booted up the screens on the wall.

There was this crescendo inside him that urged him to look for you.

He tapped through various sections of the lan, but he found you near the refrigeration area, tapping on your chin with a pencil, as you glared at the screens in front of you.

He wanted to call you.

To hear your voice first thing in the morning.

To commend you for being up so early already and committing to your duties.

Suddenly, he saw your lips turn into a soft knowing smile, and he knew you must have figured something out.

Of course you had.

Your perception and tenacity were unmatched.

As much as he wanted to talk to you, he decided against it.

In his mind, he was too undeserving of anything more than a friendship with you.

He convinced himself that he was not good enough, and that he was meant to watch you from afar.

You were just like a flame. Too close and it burns. Too far away and it freezes.

He grazed his thumb across the screen, close to you.

His sweet, sweet girl.

It would be better off this way. Not for him, of course. He was already in too deep. But it would be better for you.

You deserved better.

But he still craved you.

Miguel recognised the feeling that was started to seep into his heart and mind. He had almost forgotten how suffocating that felt.

He couldn’t tear his eyes from your face.

He couldn’t tear his heart from your hold.

The level of despair was unmistakable and he knew exactly what this feeling was.

Frustration.

Next part (if you can’t access it, click here)

Masterlist

[imaginedreamwrite]

I am such a sucker for pregnancy tropes, could you please write something with a friends with benefits discovering their pregnant? With anyone you chose

That’s stupid plastic stick that sits on your bathroom counter, curses you. The plastic screen with the little lines that mock you, makes you want to hurl yourself into the sun. There is nothing that can make you feel less pathetic than knowing that your friends with benefits relationship had made you feel as vulnerable as it did.

Just beyond the bathroom and down the hall is the man you’ve been sleeping with. The arrogant playboy with a long list of women he’s slept with, including you. But you’re the latest, and you’re his friend. You’d been his friend for a long time, watching him as he slept with random women.

It was fun, all just fun and games, friends who occasionally shared a bed. Johnny was noncommittal, and you had been as careful as you could be while using protection. There should have been no accidents, even when you had taken the placebo pills during your week off.

Johnny always packed, he never missed using rubbers. He was careful, he was always careful.

But now—

“Got the call, bon. Gotta leave ya behind. Dinnae forget to lock the door.” Johnny knocked on the bathroom door while you were inside, trying to deal with that stupid plastic stick.

“Johnny we should talk-” you tucked the pregnancy test into your sleeve, drawing in a shaky breath as your free hand reached for the doorknob.

“I’know I’m a prat for leaving, after I just go’ back.” The door opens and he stands on the other side with a charming grin. “Sex’s good b’tween us, eh?”

It’s all friends with benefits and no commitment, like he is with everyone. He likes sex, he enjoys sex but he doesn’t do relationships. He doesn’t date, he doesn’t want a girlfriend.

“Look bon, you’re a real good woman, better friend.” Johnny rests a hand on your shoulder, his fingers squeezing lightly as you stare at him with building contempt growing in your chest. Why won’t he just listen to you? “Call you when I’m’back, we’ll do something.”

He hands you his key to take, to lock up after him, and then he’s gone. He’s leaving you behind as he grabs his rucksack and slings it over his shoulder. You follow him mindlessly to the door, watching him as he grabs his things and prepares to leave, prepares to leave you standing there alone.

“Johnny I really need to talk to you-”

“It’s gotta wait, bonbon.” He slips on his boots, denying the opportunity to talk here and now, and then he opens the door and holds it open with his foot. “Team’s waiting, and i gotta be the hero.”

He grins and winks at you, his eyes sweeping over you once more before he steps out of his apartment. As the door closes you know exactly what will happen—you’ll gather your things and leave his place.

You’ll lock the doors and leave Johnny’s place behind, left regretting your inability to speak to him. To tell him the truth. And once again you’ll be drawn into his stupid and charming net, this web that traps you so easily.

You should hate Johnny for it, but realistically you know you can’t. You’ll forgive him, you’ll fall into his bed again. You’ll sleep with him and then you’ll watch him sleep around with other women, each one breaking your heart more than the last.

Only this time, you wonder what would happen if you just left. If you left and didn’t return to his place or take his calls.

[labelleizzy]

The Judges Say No

February 11, 2025

By Connie Willis

The big news today was all in court, from different federal judges, and all good:

--A judge ordered Trump to reinstate all the websites scrubbed from the public health web pages and slapped a restraining order on him to make sure he did it.

--A federal judge said that Trump violated his order halting federal funding and ordered the government to immediately restore the frozen funding. The judge said Trump had defied a court order. He threatened contempt proceedings if Trump did not comply.

--A federal judge reinstated the fired head of the whistleblower protection agency.

--A federal judge cancelled the deadline for "deferral resignations," put a halt to them, and put a restraining order on the project.

--A federal judge ordered the FBI to release documents related to the mishandling of classified documents. (This is in response to a FOIA case.)

--A federal judge issued an injunction halting Trump’s executive order cancelling birthright citizenship. (This is the third time and the third judge.)

--The judges are really angry that Trump’s lawyers and Musk and his young punks have been lying to the court.

--For those who are worried about who’s going to enforce these judicial rulings, federal judges can deputize other state level law enforcement to carry out their orders, and cabinet officials don’t have the same protections as Trump does.

Meanwhile, the coup-ing continued:

--Trump pardoned New York Mayor Eric Adams (to spite Letitia James) and Rod Blagoevich (because he’s a fellow criminal), dropped the charges against his co-conspirators Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliviera in the classified documents case, and had his DOJ make a plea deal with Steve Bannon in his multi-million dollar "build the wall" scam so that Bannon pleads guilty but serves no jail time. Legal experts called it "corruption in plain sight." (It’s just like one of those Marvel Comics where the Joker frees all the criminals to help him in his dastardly plan.)

--Musk shut down the Institute of Education Sciences, canceling $900 million dollars in contracts.

--Musk froze the funds at the USDA. This means farmers who signed contracts and paid up front for fending, new crops, renewable energy systems, etc., are now on the hook for all that money.

--There are reports that Musk may have created a secret IT contracting vehicle at OPM.

--Russell Vought said that veterans' disability benefits need to be means tested.

As all this progresses, their plan is coming into focus:

--Speaker of the House Mike Johnson: "All options are on the table for spending cuts to every government program."

--Hakeem Jeffries: "Their plan is to destroy Social Security, destroy Medicare, destroy Medicaid."

--Marissa Kilaas: "If you think of Musk, Vought, the DOGE group, etc. as hired mercenaries, the picture becomes much clearer. This administration isn’t trying to change our government. They want it dead. They want it so thoroughly gutted that no American has a shred of faith left in its ability to protect them. They’re creating despair to then step in as saviors with faux solutions."

--Maxine Waters put it much more bluntly: (about Musk) "We know you’re the co-President now. He’s a thief. He’s a gangster."

--Orval Osborne, one of the lawyers fighting Musk in court, came out today with a list of "How to Defeat Autocratic Regimes:" 1. Defend the rule of law. 2. Fight corruption. 3. Pluralistic government. 4. Defend elections. 5. Fight disinformation. 6. Protect media. 7. Explain that democracy delivers better than dictatorships."

Even though there’s lots going on, I feel I have to keep reporting on the underlying madness that is driving it. Otherwise, it’s like reporting on all Caligula’s or George III’s doings and not mentioning that they were batshit crazy:

--I didn’t realize this, but Trump in his pre-Super Bowl interview not only said a bunch of crazy stuff, but declared February 9th Gulf of America Day and said people should celebrate it with "ceremonies, programs, and activities." He said his proclamation would be "bigger than the Super Bowl." (Note: Somehow I don’t see Gulf of America Day becoming as popular as, say, the Super Bowl or the Fourth of July, especially since only 25% approve of the name change. P.S. Delusions of grandeur is one of the symptoms of dementia.)

--Trump declared this while sitting at the mini-Resolute Desk which he has on Air Force One.

--Trump also said during the interview: "All hell is going to break out on Saturday at noon if Hamas doesn’t release its remaining hostages."

--Trump said "I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza...the remainder will be demolished."

--Now Trump is meeting with foreign leaders. When he met with Jordan’s king, the king asked him where he would find the money to buy Gaza. Trump: "We’re not going to buy anything. We’re going to have it. We’re going to keep it, and we’re going to make sure tht there’s going to be peace, and there’s not going to be any problem, and nobody’s going to question it." (Translation: Mine, mine, all mine.)

--In response, Hamas suspended the release of the rest of the hostages.

--Trump said he wants to stop the Ukraine war because "Young handsome soldiers are being killed."

--Trump said, "If they (Canada) become our 51st state, it would be the greatest thing they could ever do. And think of how beautiful the country would be without that artificial line running right through it. Somebody drew it many years ago with a ruler. Just a line." When asked if he was serious about annexing Canada, Trump said, "When the U.S. was founded, how many states did we have? And how many do we have noe? And so, is it outlandish?" (Yes, yes, it is.)

--When asked why he wanted to be chairman of the Kennedy Center, he said, "Some of the shows were terrible. They were a disgrace." Reporter: "Have you seen any shows there?" Trump: "No."

And Trump’s not the only one who’s crazy:

--Elon Musk has changed his name on Twitter to "Harry Bolz" (no, I am not making this up) and has been posting things like "Circumcisions at a discount, only 50% off," and "Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in." He had previously changed his name to Kekius Maximus. (Meanwhile, the Republicans are all over TV trying to convince everyone Elon is responsible, serious, and trustworthy.)

--Musk also continues to obsess about accusations against him of cheating on video games (which he’s been proven to do) tweeting, "Video game journalism is garbage."

--Republican Representative Buddy Carter introduced a bill to rename Greenland Red White and Blue Land. The internet was appalled. The comments read stuff like "This is embarrassing and cringe," and "Clown. Show."

--Dinesh D’Souza said "It would be fun to rename all the forts after Confederate generals, not because we like Confederate generals, but just to piss off the left."

--Fox News said (with a straight face) that Trump’s White House is putting out so much accurate information there is no need for investigative reporting any more. "All you have to do, legacy media, is simply repoeat, retweet, repost, and that is the news, and that is the facts."

In good news:

--The Democratic group Indivisible has been holding meetings all over the country to overflow crowds.

--Ditto the town halls that Democrats are holding all over the place.

--The Senate Democrats set up a whistleblower portal so federal workers can report what’s going on in their agencies as Musk and his punks maraud through them.

--The board of the Kennedy Center, which Trump wants to fire, includes all the living past First Ladies, including Dr. Jill Biden, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush (the librarian), and Hillary Clinton, any of whom are tougher than Trump. And smarter.

--Since the Winter Solstice, we’ve been steadily getting longer days, and Denver now has an additional hour of sunlight every day. It may not be noticeable yet, bur ir will be soon. Yay!

I posted the other day about the unreliability (to say the least) of AI and quoted an AI entry about how water is liquid at 27 degrees F because it doesn’t freeze till it reaches 32 degrees F. Well, I have since had a couple of encounters with AI of my own in the course of my work. While I was doing my taxes and looking up the mileage from Greeley to Brush, Colorado (where my husband goes to do an annual Science Fair), I found this: "Brush is 34 miles from Greeley, and the distance between the two towns is 152 miles." (Note: Neither is correct. Brush is 64 miles from Greeley.) Then, while researching which Romantic poets visited Tintern Abbey, I asked the question, "Did Byron visit Tintern Abbey?" The answer from AI was, "Yes, and he painted a romantic picture of it, "Visitor to a Moonlit Churchyard." The picture shows a young man holding a skull and contemplating death." (There is such a picture, but it’s not by Byron, who, to my knowledge, didn’t paint. It’s by the French artist, Philip James de Loutherbourg. And Byron didn’t visit Tintern Abbey, either.) So I definitely think we should let Musk and his young punks turn the whole government over to AI.)

Oh, and I have a movie to recommend. We watched "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" in honor of the anniversary of the Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, and then last night we watched "Yesterday," an absolutely lovely movie about a world in which nobody’s ever heard of the Beatles except for one guy--maybe. It’s a great movie--plus you get to listen to all the Beatles songs again.

—-

Follow CW Daily for a comprehensive political news summary.

[alexanderwales]

Glimwarden was a web serial that I wrote and shamefully abandoned some years ago. It didn't make it very far, at least by webfic standards. Maybe some day it'll get revived and brought back to life (and not in the dead cat bounce way that some stories do, when there's a single chapter much later and then nothing). Glimwarden takes place in a world where there there are small towns protected by magical lantern-light that requires hunters to go out into the dangerous wilds, and everything else about it is not important for this post.

The main subplot of what would have been the first book is about the arrival of people from a town whose lantern has fallen. They come in with their own culture and beliefs, led by an enigmatic and inflammatory leader, and taken in because the town our protagonists are all from wants their labor.

I think about this subplot a lot, because I'm not sure I even really understood it as being about immigration when I was writing it almost ten years ago. It was not written in the context of immigration, it wasn't meant as commentary on anything, it was just this fantastical world that had allowed these outsiders who turn out to be a bad cultural/values fit in.

And to some extent, I think that this is a great thing to do when writing, just run wild with ideas, don't think about how they map to the real world, let yourself be informed by these characters and settings and situations. Glimwarden has a very different society, the nature of their world makes that necessary, so they shouldn't be Obvious Stand-ins, they shouldn't map cleanly.

So the problem with this, writing just as exploratory fun in a narrative scaffold, is that people are going to see the Obvious Stand-ins anyway.

Some of this is readers being used to hamfisted allegory, some of it is that the things we have experience with or knowledge of inform us.

But as a writer, it leaves you in this position of ... do I really need to understand France's reaction to the Syrian refugees just so I can make sure that it's obvious that this is just a totally separate thing? Do I need to do intensive research just to avoid commentary? How many refugee situations of the past five hundred years do I need to study in order to work on this situation that's not supposed to be about anything aside from just ... the way that people with conflicting values brush up against each other? And it's not that I don't want to do the research, I enjoy research, it's that I don't necessarily think that every work of fiction benefits from commenting on and being informed by the real world.

I do intend to go back to Glimwarden some day, but time has changed how I view certain aspects of it, and the world has changed a bit too, and I'm left wondering exactly how much I need to pay attention to that if writing something I hope will stand the test of time.

[yaoiparker]

Spideypoolx SpiderVariant!Reader headcanons

Warnings: establised relationships, implied selfcest technically(?), the use of Y/N, might be ooc

original source of the idea

Keypoints (basically filler):

> You and Peter never got along at first, it was a sudden rivalrly that happened

> But when you two became friends, you started feeling this weird warm feeling, wouldn't recommend it.

>4/10 for the awkward moments.

• Wade and Peter were already a couple before you got added into the mix

• "two spideys?! I can't choose! Ok fine- I'll settle for both!" Said by Wade.

• When you were introduced to Wade, he joked about "Spidey, you have problems- before you know it were on a date with them."

• "Deadpool!"

• he was correct. He is marvel Jesus after all (never doubt his abilities)

HEADCANONS

Wade had called Peter a freak (in a comical non bullying way) for wanting to add another spider person into the mix but hey, Wade isnt against it.

When you guys play something like UNO- it gives Peter a headache

× not because he keeps losing, it's because you and Wade can't keep track of the game y'all are playing

"Gold fish!" You say confidentally "(Y/N) This is uno.." He explains to you. "I thought it was poker?" Wade is confused now

a pure headache.

Whenever they get back injured, which is most of the time you have to bandage them up "pookies our personal doctor? Oh yes!"

"Wade, shut up.." and then after you treat them..

"That was such a slay, bestie."

"Wade stop it"

"It gives off my kenergry? F.r?" Peter just face-palms meaning you just stare at Wade. "What? It's what my fellow gen z-ers are saying! Just let me cook-"

He wasn't allowed to talk for a week after.

but overall you love them, yeah sure, they are both two losers but it's not your not one as well.

there was only 1 bed in y'all's apartment but you already claimed the bed and Peter and Wade bicker about who will be the one to sleep with you, they make you decide... it's noone, they are both sleeping in the floor.

What do they think of your spider powers?

WADE WILSON

He like you having the same powers as Peter, for Wade its a buy one get one free.

He would probably crack some jokes and vaguely mentions you sometimes whenever he teams up with Spidey

"sorry guys I have two beautiful bugs waiting for me so I need to do this quick.." are spiders even bugs?

"since the both of you can make webs..how about we test that in bed~" he wiggles his now nonexistent eyebrows

"Wade, sometimes you just need to hit the breaks man."

"is this selfcest Peter?" He asked when Peter introduced you to Wade, okay but is it?

PETER PARKER

He is actually glad to have someone to relate to about his powers

The struggles, benefits- you understand them!

But he is eternally grateful that you're not trying to kill him anymore.

You guys WOULD swing together around the city but Peter worries that you might become a target if you guys do

Better to be safe then sorry.

But overall..he thinks your powers are great (not in an ego boost way)

[diz-eaze]

Alright

Degenerate yandere Mermaid scaramouche and degenerate reader, but they're both shit heads

They know he's out there on the rocks, in the water watching them, calling to them.

Hey bitch why dont you fucking jump already.

Bitch why dont you crawl your ass on land and make me.

Fuck you just listen to my song and walk off.

Hey, why dont evolve yourself a couple of legs and push me off yourself?

Fuck you

Fuck me yourself coward.

He would try, damn would he try breaching out of the water and flopping around like panicking anorexic manatee. He would splash back into the water furious and red-faced, glaring at you before swimming off.

Later...

You're on a structure and call out to him. Hearing the splashes beneath, you refer to him as a beta fish before saying that a benefit to having legs is that when you're really close to someone, you can wrap your legs around someone to hold them closer where they can't pull away/out. A loud splash told you he left. You did yoga and sun bath on the beach, knowing he was watching. Shedding clothes and flexing your superior not fish half body.

But like icarus, you flew too close to the sun, and you got burned. You went sunbathing, dozed off, and the tide came back in. You turn around and see him right under the water. It was only waist deep, but it was the only path back without having to swim. He was simply and silently treading water. Brilliant indigo scales flutter as his eyes stare into your soul, and a smug smirk. Got you bitch.

omggggg,,, teasy (y/n).... !! i love !!

you're always in a 'biggest douche' competition when it comes to this strange, underwater creature you saw months ago. you don't know much about this creature, but you know that it can't come up to the surface, so it stays lurking within the waters, preying on you like a piranha.

for this reason, you never venture past what the waves can touch as a safety net; for all your teasing, you like to think of yourself as someone who values safety despite it all, and you're not planning on ending up as a meal for this underwater man anytime soon.

sure, perhaps you're pushing his restraints day by day by egging him onto the coarse sand, but it's not like he can do much - evident by how he flopped around like a fish out of the water when he did test out the surface. he had escaped then with pink tinting the scaly surface of his face, and you fought the urge to burst out laughing at his predicament.

what a loser.

so long as you have the ground to tether on, there's nothing he can do as far as you're concerned.

...or at least, you hope so.

every inch of your skin exposed by your swimwear is often the image burned into his retinas as scaramouche retreats past the water level that humans can handle. he grunts, frustration ebbing into his webbed hands as his mind runs amok on how he can make you eat your words.

you're such a tease, he thinks while pacing around the ocean floor, always sensually stripping off what you humans call 'clothes' in order to reveal yourself to his prying eyes piece by piece. section by section. puzzle by puzzle. if you were born here, in the frigid cold waters of the ocean, then the concept of clothes wouldn't deter him from seeing you in your barest form with nothing to hide.

if you were here with him... then he wouldn't be agonizing of how much of shitty cocktease you are.

yet while he mourns the difference of environment you were born into, it doesn't stop scaramouche from swimming up to the surface every morning like clockwork, all to watch you do yoga and slather sunscreen onto your perfect body.

the heavens smile down upon him one day when he feels the waters creep up on the beach you frequent. by the time he arrives, the tide has overwhelmed the sand, and there you lie, sleeping in utter peace.

arrogance often leads to demise.

scaramouche croons as his webbed hands reach out for your figure, anticipation clouding his mind.

when you wake up, it'll be him on the teasing end for quite a while.

[dramas-vs-novels]

What is bed friend about? I wanted to watch a James show and that is the last one I found?

Bed Friend is a good watch! It was really well done! I highly recommend watching it!

Bed Friend is about two work colleagues.

Uea is a graphics designer, and is trying very hard to escape an extremely traumatic family situation (his mother physically and psychologically tortured him as a child for being gay, and his step-father has been trying to molest him pretty much his entire life). Uea carries extreme trauma and PTSD, and is drowning, but he hides it all from his best friend, colleague, and former college roommate Jade.

Jade's other best friend is King, who he has been close with since they were 5 years old. King also works at the company, but he works in web traffic and ... idk computer stuff. He isn't a graphic designer like Jade and Uea.

King is a prolific slut, which makes the sexually conservative Uea hate him. King is a loud and proud bisexual who changes sexual partners almost daily, and has endless charm.

One day, at an office party, Uea gets extremely drunk and ends up going home with King. They have unprotected sex, and Uea is disgusted and horrified when he wakes up. King apologizes endlessly to Uea, and takes him to a clinic where they both get tested for STDs/STIs.

Even with the shame and fear, Uea cannot deny that the sex was amazing, and he is desperate to escape his trauma and his life. King proposes- and Uea agrees to- a friends-with-benefits arrangement... with a few rules: King ALWAYS has to wear a condom, they have sex only three times a week, and King cannot take another partner the entire time he's with Uea.

They also swear to keep the arrangement a secret, because both are worried about how Jade would react (Jade ships them hard and would get too excited).

King has had his eyes on Uea for a long time, and never felt the animosity for Uea that Uea has shown him. King is determined to prove to Uea that he's a good person, and be someone Uea can rely on, trust, and maybe even love.

For Uea, it's a story about sexual exploration, growth, and learning how to face the traumas of his past to protect his future. And Uea, who has stood alone ever since he was a child, will have to learn to lean on his friends and let them help shoulder some of his burdens.

[adasitecompliance]

Create Accessible PDFs

The Ultimate Guide To PDF Accessibility: How To Make Your Documents Inclusive And Compliant

In today’s digital age, Portable Document Format (PDF) files have become an integral part of our information-sharing process. Whether educational materials, corporate reports, or government publications, PDF files with Accessibility maintain the original formatting and allow users to access information consistently across various devices. However, for PDFs to be truly effective, they must be accessible to all, including those with disabilities. Besides, as about 61 million adult Americans have some disability, you risk their not being able to access the ADA-compliant PDFs and content you create. And it’s not just those with visual impairments that are affected. Even people with a mobile or hearing disability may face problems accessing your web content or PDF.

This is why the ADA and Section 508 focus on making life for those people with disabilities much easier. They require that places of accommodation be accessible to users with disabilities. As PDFs are commonly used on the web, they also have to comply with these laws based on the criteria set by the WCAG. While web compliance is important, creating accessible web content can be challenging. PDFs are especially difficult to manage as they are complex files inaccessible out of the box. It’s only experts who know WCAG and ADA standards well who can take care of the task. We have provided some tips about PDF accessibility features in this article. However, don’t worry if the information overwhelms you. We at ADA Site Compliance can help if you don’t know how to ensure your website or PDF is accessible. Our team of accessibility experts will not only check your PDFs and website content for accessibility but also constantly monitor and update your website and PDFs based on the latest accessibility updates.

Overview of Portable Document Format (PDF)

PDFs, developed by Adobe, have transformed how we share electronic documents. The format was created to maintain document integrity while allowing easy sharing. PDFs are based on an image model that differs from the typical PostScript language commonly used. It is to improve interaction and accessibility that PDFs are structured differently.

What makes an accessible PDF?

As the name suggests, an accessible PDF is a PDF anyone with any disability can easily read and navigate through. And it can mean different things for users with different disabilities. For example, for those with visual impairments, an accessible PDF can mean any of these three. It can mean:

They can easily zoom into the texts if need be

The content has high contrast, making it easy to read

They can easily read the PDF using the help of screen readers

In the case of users with physical disabilities, it means ensuring users can easily navigate through the entire document with the help of a keyboard. These readers find managing a mouse for navigation difficult, so being able to use a keyboard is a welcome move for them. For users with hearing impairments, creating an accessible PDF will mean having captioned audio and video content. In short, the main aim of creating web-compliant PDFs is to provide them with an alternative means of accessing content. Most PDFs have some of these options as default, like zooming and keyboard navigation. However, it doesn’t mean that these PDFs are necessarily accessible. They can, however, be made accessible just by implementing some additional steps.

Characteristics of Accessible PDF Files

Accessible PDFs are a must to ensure inclusivity. Most importantly, they feature searchable text, which, in the process, makes content available to screen readers. Besides, unlike scanned images of text, accessible PDFs can be selected, copied, and edited. This can prove helpful to everyone requiring more clarity about the PDF. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology also plays a crucial role in making content searchable and thus accessible to all.

Navigating PDF Accessibility

Ensuring that your PDF documents are fully accessible can be a complex task, but it’s an essential one. This is especially required with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) having set the standards for digital accessibility. These guidelines encompass various aspects, including alternative text alternatives, navigation, and readability. Adhering to these guidelines is crucial to creating PDFs that are both legally compliant and user-friendly. Besides, ensuring that your website and the content you provide, including PDFs, are accessible is not just a legal obligation; it’s a moral imperative. By embracing accessibility, you not only comply with the law but also open doors for a more inclusive and diverse audience.

Accessible PDFs: A Key to Digital Inclusion

The importance of accessible PDFs cannot be overstated. They open up a world of information and opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Accessible PDFs offer text-to-speech capabilities, allowing screen readers to convey the content to visually impaired users. Moreover, they allow users to navigate the document efficiently, providing screen reader users with a seamless reading experience. When your documents are accessible, you broaden your reach and cater to a broader audience. This inclusivity can increase website traffic and customer engagement, benefiting your business or organization.

How to Remediate an Inaccessible PDF?

Making an inaccessible PDF accessible isn’t about perfection; it’s about improving and providing access for all. Whether you have the original source document or just a PDF, here is a rundown of the best ways to enhance existing PDF documents for accessibility with the help of the right tools and processes. Contact ADA Siite Compliance today so we can make ALL your PDF documents fully accessible.

1. Determining the Accessibility Path for Each PDF Document

As PDFs can be generated in various ways, there is no cookie-cutter accessibility solution. Each document has and needs a unique solution.  The good news is there are some tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro with multiple accessibility features, making the remediation process more manageable.

2. Starting with an Accessible Document

The journey to accessible PDFs begins with the source document. Whenever possible, it is always better to start the remediation process with the document title in native file formats. The reason is that any and all documents created in Word or desktop publishing software can be later easily exported as PDFs. This is a useful feature as it allows for adding additional text, headings, data table structures, other document structure tags, language definitions, and more.

3. Preventing Security Settings from Interfering with Screen Readers

Ensuring that screen readers can navigate your PDFs smoothly is an important step in remediating inaccessible PDFs in the form fields in the proper PDF format. It is always better to avoid copying, printing, extracting comments, or editing PDFs. The reason is that these actions can hinder accessibility. There are tools that can help you ensure that access permissions do not interfere with screen reading.

How to Make a PDF Compliant with Accessibility?

Achieving document accessibility in your PDFs is essential. It ensures that users with difficulties can at least use the help of assistive technologies like screen readers to interpret your whole document structure’s structure correctly. Besides, as mentioned earlier, compliance with ADA standards helps make your digital landscape more inclusive to reach out to more of your target audience and, in the process, generate more web traffic.

How do you make accessible PDF documents?

There are a few optimal practices to adhere to within reading order to make a PDF accessible documents, and they are to:

Make things simple; in other words, use simple language in the PDF

Ensure you include as many relevant headings and subheadings as possible

Including meaningful alt-text for all the images and graphics you have in your PDF

Ensuring the text in the PDF is not only readable but has sufficient contrast with the background for better readability

Not depending much on colors to convey information as it can be intimidating to users with color blindness

Always make more use of accessible tables and lists in PDF documents

Adding bookmarks where possible

Using a catchy and interesting title, and of course, specifying the language used in the PDF

Correctly tagging the different elements

Setting titles and metadata as and where appropriate

Adding captions to videos and other non-text content accessible

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[rlyehtaxidermist]

on the topic of the casting of Hogan's Heroes, I feel like the webbed site would benefit from understanding what one of my old IRC friends called the Dixon Test.

for the unfamiliar, Ivan Dixon III was an African-American actor and civil rights activist best known for his role in Hogan's Heroes as James Kinchloe. Unlike most Black roles at the time, Kinchloe was the intellectual "gadget guy" of the cast, and an indispensable part of most episodes.

This was very deliberate on the part of the writing staff. Southern networks at the time would routinely request "Black-free" cuts of television shows, which is exactly what it says on the tin. By making Dixon's role so central to the plot, it was impossible to cut down episodes of the show, so Southern networks had to choose between showing an intelligent Black man as a prominent character, or not showing the series at all.

The Dixon Test is the simple generalisation of this: "Can your minority representation be cut from an episode/the series/the work, in such a way that what remains could air with the plot intact?" And if the answer is "No", they're officially worse at representation than a goofy 1960s parody of POW films.

[aelin-queen-of-terrasen]

In which Madoc finds out about Taryn murdering Locke and negotiates for his surrender with three conditions: the first is rewards and accolades for his men, the second is full, unconditional pardon for himself and his two daughters and the third— for Cardan to marry his daughter as the High Queen of Elfhame.

And Cardan—

Cardan accepts.

This was a request from @imaginelovewrite that I took too long to post because tumblr was being very uncooperative.

In one of their many training sessions in childhood, there was one lesson Madoc was particularly fond of drilling into us, that power is a blade anyone can grasp in a moment of darkness— but to keep it honed and in hand, to hold it against every other blade that points at you is the true trial. I believe that I had remembered this lesson. I believe that I had guarded my power with as much zeal as with which I had acquired it. But that was not true. I had let the wicked king spin his web of lies and fallen into them, tangled in a web of promises. I had let it all slip through my fingers like quicksand. And here I sit again— pardoned daughter of the newly anointed seneschal, sister to the to-be high queen— ensconced in gilded chambers where silks and sighs mock me in equal measure. I didn't think anything my twin sister would do could hurt me again. First, she had sent Locke to dance at my heels, to pretend to affection he did not feel, to test him. Then she had slipped on my face like a second skin, assumed my place, and committed treason, persuading or ordering or stealing away half an army. All for some benefits for her husband. The same husband she later killed. And then she had arrived in the mortal world, begging me to take her place in court, violate the conditions of my exile, and risk everything for her child— and because no one who knew her could not love her, Madoc gave up his ambitions to free her before I could agree. I thought she could never hurt me worse than that; worse than asking me to risk my life for her sake, until she arrived once more at our door, all smiles, and with a wedding invitation in hand.

I laughed until I cried.

I knew he had tricked me in everything, tricked me and won, spun his web of lies, persuaded me to relinquish my power over him, and then he had exiled me. But some of it had been real— when he said she was his dearest punishment, his sweet villain, his darling god— faeries could not lie, therefore it must be the truth.

And yet, here is my twin sister about to marry my husband.

I close the door behind me and move towards the throne room to join in the revelries in honor of my sister, dressed in one of her old gowns (because she has purchased herself a brand new wardrobe in anticipation for her wedding, and because nothing I own is suitable according to her). A few smiling courtiers stop to greet me in the hallway and I greet back politely, startled but not displeased, until I realize they think I'm her. It happens twice more until I reach the hall, and their deference burns something inside me. I never had half of all this, when I did so much to earn it; when I was a seneschal with the wicked king as my puppet, I faced only disdain; when I was made queen, they laughed at the mere thought; but she gets all of this— of course, she does.

The formal distribution of rewards has already started when I enter the hall. It smells of roasted venison and burning beeswax. Soldiers stand in gleaming armor, waiting their turn to receive silver clasps, jeweled brooches, and new ranks. It's jarring to see Madoc stood beside the throne— in place of seneschal, which was once reserved for me— but he stands at attention as his men are rewarded, as he is congratulated for his daughter's impending marriage. There are no signs of displeasure on his face, but I have no doubt he is still scheming. He once planned to sit my brother Oak on the throne, and rule from behind him— just as I once had with Cardan. But it seemed clear enough that he meant to continue his plans, through Taryn this time. My sister had no appreciation for power, not in the way Madoc did, not in the way he had taught me to do. She would do as he said in all things that mattered, as long as she could run around as she pleased. It was not a bad plan. They had only to wait for the wicked king to marry her, and then do away with him. But well, it doesn't matter to me any more. In the game of princes and kings, I had been swept off the board.

“Jude,” calls Vivi.

Vivienne looks concerned for me, because I’m attending my own husband's marriage ceremony with my twin sister, and she believes it is going to blow up in my face soon.

“Vivi,” I say, determinedly looking away from her. “Where is Oak?”

“He's with Oriana,” she replies, lowering her voice as she steps closer. “They’ve been inseparable since we came here. They've gone off to collect Taryn from her rooms, on Madoc's orders.”

I nod.

Oriana has always loved her best friend's son as her own. It's no surprise that the seperation was hard on both of them.

Vivienne's eyes search mine. “You don't have to do this.”

“I do.”

She sighs. “If you would just tell her—”

“There's nothing to tell.”

“Yes, there is.”

“There's not,” I say finally, tears pricking at my eyes; but then I relax my face again. There will be too many eyes on me tonight. I can't slip. “It wasn't real. I don't know how— but I was tricked, Vivi— I think we never married; otherwise, he could have never agreed to this— this marriage.”

“Then let's go back,” she insists, like leaving faerie is easy. I suppose it is easy for her because faerie never leaves her; she carries it with her everywhere— unlike me.

I exhale loudly. “I don't—”

“Taryn.”

I freeze.

And then I curtsy, heart hammering inside my chest because I've just realized that I have to act like he is just my king, that I have to pretend I'm unaffected— today, tomorrow, maybe forever. I have to pretend I'm not hurt, and humiliated, and betrayed, and that I don't want to kiss his throat with my blade or his lips with my lips like we once did.

And he thinks I'm Taryn.

I do look like her today.

I cursty like she would, because I'm a coward unprepared to face him as me and choose not to correct him on his misunderstanding. Vivienne steals concerned glances at me.

And then I look up.

He is even more horrifically beautiful than I was able to recall. His every finger sparks with a ring. An etched and jeweled breastplate in polished gold hangs from his shoulders, covering a frothy white shirt. Boots curl up at his toes and rise high over his knees, and his tail is curled to one side of his leg. I suppose he has decided he no longer needs to hide it.

And at his brow is that blood crown.

His gold-rimmed eyes regard me with cool capriciousness, but he turns instead to Vivienne. “It's been too long.”

“It really has,” she says, and they keep up the conversation for some minutes.

There is some camaraderie between them, lingered from years of playing games in childhood, and if they are not precisely friends, they are friendly enough that I can fall into the background as they converse, speaking only when called upon to speak— not as myself, but as Taryn— and Vivienne is good enough to go along with my ruse.

She curtsies and says, “I should go find the others.” And then she walks away.

Leaving me alone with him.

A smirk plays at the corner of his mouth, jeweled fingers waving away the courtiers trailing beside him, and there's a lover's caress to his voice. “You never returned any of my letters.”

It is so different from anything I thought he would say that I am floored.

“What?” I ask dumbly.

He towers over me, his gold-rimmed eyes shining with caprice. The weight of it is too much and I almost want to run away.

“The letters,” he repeats himself with a delicate frown but his tone remains glib. “You never replied to a one. I began to wonder if you'd misplaced your ambitions in the mortal world.”

I stumble over my words.

I wonder what he means, and what my sister would say. Did he send letters to my sister after she came to us in the mortal world to ask for help covering up Locke's murder in the inquest? Did he know her before? Was all of it a grand ruse? I don't know what he means, and I'm fishing around for what to say, and soon Taryn will come to the hall and he will know anyway that I'm not her so I try to tell him but—

“Jude,” he says slowly like somehow, I'm the one behaving strangely. “You can't really think I don't know it's you.”

I shake my head, reeling. “You said her name.”

“Because you were dressed like her— but the moment after that, I knew it was you.” That's not possible. I don't know about any letters, and if he knew— how could he talk to me like it was alright, like I was his lover and not victim.

“Come closer, Jude.”

I take a step backward.

He frowns. “I was unwilling to believe that you'd been working against me— with Madoc— before but, seeing you now, perhaps I must. My sweet villain, tell me it's not true.”

I grit my teeth. “I'm not the betrayer here.”

“You're afraid of me,” he says, brows furrowed. “But why would you be afraid of me?”

I’m trembling with a feeling I barely understand. “I'm not afraid,” I lie to him. “I hate you. You sent me into exile. You tricked me, and I was stupid enough to believe you once.”

“Yes, of course, it was a trick but—” he looks flummoxed, about to continue when Madoc joins us, whispering something in his ear. He looks reluctant but takes my leave and goes away. Madoc stares at me. “Come sit with me a moment. You've been so busy since we returned here.”

I'm so confused, until I understand even he has mistaken me for his dutiful daughter.

He looks open and friendly, and I'm sure he wouldn't look half so much of either if he knew it was me so I take the opportunity to ask, “Why did you surrender the troops and return?”

“Because that was the best way.”

“The best way to— what?” He looks at me like it should be obvious and to me, it is, but Taryn wouldn't know he means to continue ruling through her so I continue to look confused.

He smiles indulgently, like I'm a child asking questions whose answers I wouldn't understand. “Sometimes, one must retreat an inch to gain a mile,” he says. “I will spare you the whole of the strategy, but that boy— he is young and foolish and it will be easy enough to take care of him.”

My blood runs cold. “But can't you just control him— like Jude did?”

“And look where that got her.”

There is a brief silence as I decide how to respond. “But aren't you worried he will suspect your plans?”

“I'm sure he already does.”

I try to look appropriately alarmed. “Then what's stopping him from ridding himself of you first?”

Madoc grins. “Love.”

“Love of whom?” I wonder if I've made a mistake asking that— if it's Taryn he's talking about— but he doesn't look suspicious.

“There is no banquet too abundant for a starving man,” he says, smiling to himself at some private secret. At last, he takes pity on me. “There is a prophecy that he would make a poor king. I will let him prove himself a good ruler, and when he inevitably fails—” his grin is sharp— “You will be called a Princess.”

I want to ask more but I am worried it will give my identity away so I pivot the conversation. “Vivi told me Jude is very sad.”

“And you do not wish me to punish her further when I am High King, is that it?” he asks. “I am proud of her. What she achieved was no easy feat. She's perhaps most like me of all my children. If only she had shared her plans with me, things would be very different today. But like children the world over, she grew rebellious and out of reach.” He looks steadily at me. “You must have felt as though I favored her despite her ingratitude. But it was only that I understood her better. And yet, we both made unhappy marriages and unhappily did the both of them end.”

The fact that he is comparing his marriage to Taryn’s— but I'm past pretending so I simply nod, the thought that perhaps I've lost his favor forever stinging with each of his remarks.

The next words slip from my mouth without half a warning. “Will you forgive her?”

“Jude?” He looks surprised at the question. “I suppose you want me to. And I—” he catches a look at something and stands up. “Don't think I forgot your loyalty. You put our family's interests above your own—” something I certainly didn't do— “and when this is all over, you can name your reward and I will make sure you get it.” l

The smoke of betrayal lingers and I can't help thinking this is the prize for which she impersonated me to steal half an army. And tangled with that hurt is the knowledge that I am no longer the daughter to whom he cares for like this, for whom he would care and cherish. He leaves to the dais, unaware that it is me, but soon Taryn will be here— the real beauty— and everyone will see me for the imposter I am. And the duplicitiousness of today will perhaps be the last nail in my coffin. He will want to kill me if he doesn't already— the reason behind the ruination of all his plans, the reason why he isn't already in power. But I'm far from accepting defeat right now. I can't. I have come to far. And if Taryn becomes queen, I will not have only Cardan to deal with but Madoc too; one of them alone is too much to deal with. Ridding both would be impossible.

Oak would never be able to inherit.

I have to stop this marriage.

The goal fixed, it becomes easier to breathe. Purposelessness is not a state of mind I'm accustomed to. I can fight and scheme and train all day, but the previous weeks knowing I was out of the games permanently has shown me that peace is never what I wanted. The ceremony of granting rewards to men is over. The doors open and Taryn finally makes her grand entrance. She is dressed in the kind of finery we have never dared wear before. For all that there was no lack of resources, for us mortal sisters, attention is dangerous. And even Taryn, though she looked sweet and beautiful always, prettily-dressed and prettily-mannered, has always taken care to be unassuming before. But she seems to have finally shed her skin— unafraid, bold, confident in the knowledge that no one can ever hurt her again. The arrogance looks charming on her sweet face. I see Madoc look over at her, surprised, and then back where him and I had been conversing. There is a strange expression on his face, a tightening around the corners of his eyes but he remains standing with composure. I watch toasts I can't hear, and see plates heaped with roasted doves on spits, leaves half-wrapped with sweetmeats, and stuffed plums. In that moment, he looks nothing like the boy who exchanged rings with me in the privacy of his rooms, who called me his sweet villain. He looks like the boy who shoved me into the water and laughed when it closed over my head. He steps forward, resplendent in his midnight blue tunic, and he looks like the person who tricked me, the blood crown slanted atop his inky-black curls.

A hush falls over the court.

In the corner, Madoc nods at Taryn and she begins to walk slowly towards the dais, the picture of serenity.

I stiffen.

It's time.

“A week ago, in this court, Lord Madoc put forth three conditions in return for maintaining peace,” he says. “The first— rewards and ranks for his loyal men which I have just granted.” The soldiers standing beneath the dais bow in acknowledgement. “And the second— full pardons for three members of his household which I have already issued.”

Madoc and Taryn both bow their heads.

His lips curve. “And the third.”

Taryn begins to blush.

“The third was to marry his daughter— and so I have.”

The court bursts into whispers.

Madoc frowns.

“People of Elfhame,” says Cardan, his voice carrying over the crowd. “Jude Duarte is my wife, and the rightful high queen of Elfhame.”

Tags: @courtofjurdan // @thesirenwashere // @jurdanhell // @clockworkgraystairs // @blog-lady-vi // @the-dark-swan // @fangirltrash76-blog // @augustintodarkness // @aesthetics-11 // @mijaldraws // @hades-flame // @annejulianneh111 // @b00kworm // @mysweetvillain // @chaotic-fae-queen // @thewickedkings // @thesurielships // @df3ndyr // @thefolkofthefic // @st00pid231 // @iminsanenotobsessed // @bellamyblakru // @fangirlprincess09 // @1islessthan3books // @po1sonous-l0ve // @imaginelovewrite

[deepinthegroves]

🦸‍♀️ & 🎙️ for the ask game :3

thanks for the ask <3

answering for my spiderverse dr...

🦸‍♀️ : STEEL SUPERHERO . . . when did you become your alter ego? what was the turning point in your life that made you want to be a hero?

okay so in my dr, i already have powers outside of being Spiderman.

just a quick summary: my family has this gene that gives us certain powers/ magics, no one knows where it comes from, just that if you have these powers, it comes from this gene and we're all related. we keep each other from growing crazy and becoming supervillians or heroes because we do not want to get caught and be in labs. (i swear the dr intro is coming.) i, personally, can imitate/ copy the different magics that the others have, though i am unable to be as good at it as them ("jack of all trades, master of none" kind of situation).

when i was first bitten, i was in class and i didn't even notice. the whole web thing only started to kick in when i went home and i was in my room (this was before my apartment). i was trying to take out like worksheets when they got stuck to my hand. for a second, i thought it was just my magic going wonky or something so i tried to reel in the magic, only to realise that hey. this is not my magic's doing.

i eventually got it off but i was freaking out. i didn't know what was happening, i was having powers outside of what made sense and i didn't know whether it could happen again. i had access to some of the scientific experiments and run loads of tests on myself (thank gods my father partners with Oscorp), and figured out that it had something to do with the radioaction in my bloodstream. there was no cure, as far as i could figure, and this was just a mutation that i had to live with – another secret to keep.

for me, the "turning point" was the fact that despite my father's best attempt of using the family money to try and fix it, there was still a lot of petty theft and other serious crimes. this was something that my family was aware of, but we were unable to help if we can't do it subtly. after witnessing a robbery happen right in front of me, i realised that this could be the loophole. my spiderpowers are not linked to my magic, and i could use them to help people without exposing my family.

🎙️ : SOLEMN STUDIO MICROPHONE . . . how does the media in your desired reality portray you? are they in favor of your supersona or do they think you are a menace?

the media hated me at first. there was suddenly a person who wore a random spider-related suit swinging around and webbing up criminals, leaving them for the police. not only that, this spiderperson was sneaking into high-ranking officials offices and homes, somehow getting some evidence of their corruption and bribes, etc. their allies were infuriated and pit the media against me.

unfortunately for them, the people loved me. they had no idea who i was, but they can see the impacts of what i did, and the fact that it benefits them. i worked closely with the police, namely my uncle who's in the police force, helping him rise the ranks and getting him to such a position that allowed him to legally take down some of the corrupt bastards on his own too. i mostly left the evidence either on his or my father's desk, letting them handle the shit afterwards.

because i worked with the police and my father, it proved to them that i was indeed a good person and not a rando with powers and unknown objectives. my father had several magazines and newspapers on his side, and soon enough, the people only bought from these outlets, causing the others run by the corrupt politicians to collapse and close down.

at home, i knew my mother and her side of the family wanted to confront the spiderperson, but the powers were so different than our usual brand of magic that they didn't want to risk our exposure. i made sure to get the police to announce to the press and people that i got my powers via radiation, and it got my mom to back off afterwards.

of course, there were still people who hated me, but you can't make everyone love you, i guess. the public started calling me Spiderman (even though they had no idea who was under the mask) and i just let them, though it was amusing to see people gape when i spoke and it was not the low timbre of a man's.

[mariacallous]

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

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

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

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

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

Google disputes the accusations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deep Control

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

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

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

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

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

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

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