worstloki · 6 months ago
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negative connotations to Arabic phrase ‘God is Great’ incorrect. average praying Muslim does takbir (says Allahu Akbar) a minimum 95 times a day and should have been counted.
#minimum#like MIMIMUM.#each day#like that’s just for the 5 prayers#only the obligatory ones it doesn’t include the additional voluntary ones most people also tend to do at some point#it doesn’t include regular use of the phrase in conversation#the phrase is literally used as an exclamation#like if you say ‘Allahu akbar my shift is over! I can go home alhumdulilah!’#like I don’t know what to tell you#western news-media connotations are so weird#you literally yell takbir to celebrate as well#saw a thing where everyone did takbir every time someone donated a huge amount to charity like brooooooooo#people be laughing so hard and getting Allahuakbar Allahuakbar out while wheezing#you score a goal? Allahu akbar alhumdulilah#this is very normal culturally transmitted info#Christian Arabs use the phrase as well like it's Arabic come on western media you’re not even trying#it’s such a joke#95 doesn't even include the 2 calls to prayer#it doesn't count people who do the extra allahu akbar (x33) after each prayer#doesn't include anything recited before bed#like. these are not uncommon things people choose to do. like...... BRO???#if you've ever seen Muslims praying in a group the person leading the prayer does the takbir out loud. that's literally how it's done#there are like 7 or 5 'Allahu akbar's in each round of prayer#you can't NOT say that part out loud it's literally THE part that has to be said out loud in each prayer#this information is very available online#you can say it before doing anything idk why it became a big deal in the west especially#it's some strange xenophobic Islamophobic normalise killings in those regions of the world mix#I’ve been getting recommended so many Arabic anime edits idk what to tell you#call everyone habibi it’s good for you#one of the most popular world languages fr
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good-chimes · 2 years ago
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THE H.T.G.Y. FILES
Project team notes: Vat growth stage has been successful. Please note project is titled Human Tactical Ground-unit Y (H.T.G.Y.) and this is the only designation that should be used. Lab technicians who continue to use slang term hotguy will be written up. 
Senior researcher CUB-135 has been called in to consult. Please give him access to all non-sensitive files.
+
[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT]
HTGY: Well, hello there!
CUB-135: Hi. How’s it, uh. How’s it going?
HTGY: How’s it going? Huh, that’s the first time someone’s asked me that. Wait a minute. I know that one. How’s it going. Oh, oh, I got it. It’s going great!
CUB-135: …Cool.
HTGY: Yeah. Yeah. Isn’t it great to be alive and awake? How’s it treating you?
CUB-135: It’s magnificent.
HTGY: [laughing] Magnificent. Oh, I like that. Who are you, my friend?
CUB-135: I’m a consultant. Cub-one-three-five. The project team dragged me in because I wrote the genome.
HTGY: Consultant…. So you’re the one who does their thinking for them, huh?
CUB-135: [surprised laugh] Yeah.
HTGY: Well, I’m telling you, they need it. Buncha people prodding me to see if I can stand up! You can just ask that, can’t you? A man’s gotta have space, Cub. A man’s gotta do things under his own steam.
CUB-135: Yeah, I guess. Yeah.
HTGY: [conspiratorial] Here’s a question. Got a lot of things in my head, Cub. The ol’ memory’s all messed up. I’m new, right?
CUB-135: You’re new. That’s right.
HTGY: I thought so! How new?
CUB-135: Uhh… three days? Three days and two hours.
HTGY: Thank you! Finally. Can’t get a straight answer out of anyone here.
CUB-135: …you want your genome notes?
HTGY: Boy, do I! What’s a genome?
CUB-135: Uh. Okay. Let’s see what we can do. I need some files. A lotta files.
+
[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT]
HTGY: Oh, we have to stop.
CUB-135: Yeah?
HTGY: That noise means I gotta be somewhere.
CUB-135: Mm.
HTGY: Just more prodding and check-ups, I guess. Can’t take long. Come back, okay? I'll be here, at least I guess I'll be here. I've been here all the time so far. Tomorrow?
CUB-135: …
CUB-135: Alright. Tomorrow.
+
DEATH COUNT: 1
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Project team notes: First trial (subject vs two skeletons obtained from Lab 2E spawner) did not meet expectations. Subject (H.T.G.Y.) is slow to grasp the basics of hand-to-hand combat despite neural implants. Speed below benchmark. Precision poor. Regeneration not fast enough to alter outcome of combat.
Although a disappointing start to the project, there are promising leads in some areas. Combat abilities expected to improve through repetition. Deficiencies in combat conversely allow better collection of regeneration data.
Subject observation: when returned to room, subject spent six hours seated and unmoving. Scheduling next test for tomorrow.
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[CUB-135 OBSERVATIONS]
note to self, find a way to phrase: ‘he was a project for faster injury regeneration, you fucking amateurs, nothing in that genome makes him magically good at fighting’ in a way that doesn’t include the phrase ‘you fucking amateurs’. difficult problem. 
going back in. this one will be less fun.
+
[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT]
HTGY: Hey, it’s Mister Does-The-Thinking! Cub, hey, Cub!
CUB-135: Hey.
HTGY: You’re looking serious today. What’s up?
CUB-135: I’m good. I’m good.
HTGY: That’s what I like to hear. Can’t have the big-brain guy down in the dumps.
CUB-135: How was yesterday?
HTGY: Ohhh. Yesterday, Cub, yesterday. I don’t think I’m that good at fighting. There were a lot of very unhelpful skeletons, Cub. A lot of them! Really mean! I think it’s going to be regular. I am not looking forward to that.
CUB-135: Mm.
HTGY: Any chance you can make it, y’know. Fewer monsters? They hurt.
CUB-135: Sorry, man. I don’t set the tests.
HTGY: Naw, I didn’t think so. You don’t look like a guy in charge.
CUB-135: Is that right?
HTGY: You’re just, you know [hand gesture] … laid back. I like that about you.
CUB-135: Uh.
HTGY: So. Cub. Cub, Cub, Cub.
CUB-135: …yeah?
HTGY: I’ve got this thing in my head. The sky.
CUB-135: The sky? Like… all of it?
HTGY: I dunno! You people put some pictures in my memories when you made me, I think. Horizons, clouds—I know they’re made of water, but how does that work? I saw a bit during the fight and it was kind of grey? Talk me through clouds, Cub. You’re good at explaining. And the rest of it! Where does it stop? What’s above it?
CUB-135: Oh, dude. Let me tell you… let me tell you about space.
+
To: +Team_Members_HTGY_Project
From: CUB-135
Y’all,
I looked at your trial notes. Project lead asked for my thoughts. My thoughts:
- inefficient; - could get the same regeneration data from tissue samples; - waste of skeletons.
You want to find another way. The combat unit thing was doomed from the start. If you want a supersoldier you should start over with a ravager.
have a real one,
Cub
+
Project team notes: One-month project milestone. Consultancy from CUB-135 has started to be more of a problem than an asset. Unfortunately he is the only one who understands how to process the regeneration data so assistance remains necessary for now. Upskilling of team analysts in progress.
Test continue. H.T.G.Y. has been given a variety of weapons and results range from abysmal (sword) to mediocre (bow). Subject has so far lost to every creature put in front of him. If the combat goals of this project are to be met, a better training regime will be needed.
On a separate note: great interest from sponsors in mid-combat regeneration data. A variety of tests has been requested.
+
New data storage links: EXPLOSION (creeper) – File CR93; FIRE BURN (wood) – File FR02; FIRE BURN (other) – File FR03; BLOOD LOSS – File IN20; VENOM – File VM07, UNCATEGORIZED – UN45-UN51.
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DEATH COUNT: 23
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[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT]
HTGY: You know what the problem is?
CUB-135: I can guess?
HTGY: I’m so bored.
CUB-135: Okay. Didn’t see that coming.
HTGY: I’m so bored. Honestly, I’m bored most of the time. Except when I’m getting killed, which isn’t great either. Or when you’re here—you know I appreciate you, Cub, you’re a great guy, don’t get me wrong. But you’re only around every couple of days, and it’s the bits in between.
CUB-135: Mm.
HTGY: Can’t you clone yourself, or something, and leave one here?
CUB-135: Nah, outside my specialism. Hm. You talked to Mumbo much? Mumbo’s always around.
HTGY: The lab system?
[null]: Hello. Can I answer a query?
HTGY: Oh, hi, Mumbo. Yeah, I’ve talked to Mumbo. But let’s be honest, he’s not much of one to start conversations. I can never think of things to ask.
[null]: What I can communicate to subjects on this level has been restricted by administrators.
HTGY: See?
CUB-135: Get him to show you… I dunno. Cat videos. Space stuff. Forests. They won’t have locked that down.
HTGY: Forests. Yeah! Okay. Mumbo?
[null]: I’m allowed to show pictures of forests. How’s this?
HTGY: Look at that. So green. So many trees! How close is that picture from here?
CUB-135: Kinda nearby, I think. Looks like a research shot from where they caught the spiders. Lots of the wild subjects in here came from close by.
HTGY: Amazing. Hey, Cub, can you get them to take me to a forest? Tree training! Beat the spiders in their own home!
CUB-135: Why not? I’ll ask.
HTGY: They’ll say no. But it’s good to think of it out there.
+
Project team notes: Six-month project milestone. Useful data continues to accumulate. HTGY has improved with bow and crossbow, and survival rate has risen to one in ten encounters.
Unfortunately, a new issue has arisen in subject cooperation. Most tests are set up to incentivize survival, making attitude irrelevant. However non-lethal tests require participation, which has previously been forthcoming from the subject, until yesterday when he refused to participate at all.
CUB-135 seems to have a rapport. Suggest he talks with subject to encourage better attitude. This would be the first useful thing CUB-135 has done in weeks.
+
DEATH COUNT: 97
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[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT]
CUB-135: Hey. What’s up.
HTGY: Oh. Hey.
CUB-135: Not feeling it today?
HTGY: I knew it. I know why you’re here. I know why they sent you to talk to me.
CUB-135: Try me.
HTGY: It was a cat, Cub. I’ll take the fights. I’ll take the training machines, they break half the time anyway. I’ll take the spiders and the skeletons and the creepers and the fact I know way too much about what my bones look like. But I’m not shooting a cat! I don’t care if it’s safe target practice. I’m not doing it!
CUB-135: Yeah. Okay.
HTGY: …
CUB-135: So what do you wanna talk about today?
HTGY: You’re not gonna try and convince me?
CUB-135: Naw.
HTGY: Cub, I’m not shooting anything that’s not trying to kill me.
CUB-135: Yeah, I know.
HTGY: You know?
CUB-135: I read your test notes. I can guess.
HTGY: Aw, you read my test notes? You care! Don’t pretend you don’t, I can see through it.
CUB-135: What can I say. You’re an interesting guy.
HTGY: I knew it! Oh, hey, Cub, you know what? I came up with a new name for myself. What do you think—[dramatic hand gesture]—Scar.
CUB-135: …
HTGY: Cool, right?
CUB-135: Scar. Yeah. It’s cool.
+
Project team notes: CUB-135 entirely unhelpful. Schedule escalation meeting with bioprojects lead.
+
[message log start]
Lead (bioprojects): Well, you got what you originally wanted. You’re off the HTGY project.
cub-135: wait, what?
Lead (bioprojects): You’re no longer permitted in the labs on that level. I need you to turn in your badge for reprogramming.
cub-135: oh man
cub-135: here’s the thing
cub-135: i lost it
Lead (bioprojects): You lost your BADGE?
cub-135: yeah i’ve just been following people through the access doors
Lead (bioprojects): That’s against all policy. I don’t think that’s even possible. How do you get lunch?
cub-135: cheat code on the cash register. up up down down A B.
Lead (bioprojects): You’re not funny. Find your badge and turn it in to get your HTGY level access revoked.
cub-135: oh yeah. i’ll get to that.
Lead (bioprojects): You’re lucky you’re good at your job.
cub-135: just trying my best here, man
Lead (bioprojects): No interference. If the team complain to me about you again, you’re getting demoted to junior lab tech. Leave the project alone.
cub-135: sure boss.
cub-135: you got it.
[Lead(bioprojects) has disconnected]
+
Project Team Notes: Eight-month project milestone. Sponsors pleased with regeneration data. Two papers have been published to modest but positive reception.
After period of progress with HTGY’s survival rates in combat, improvement has levelled off. Subject appears to have less energy for reasons that are unclear. Random observational checks found subject watching cat videos at all hours of the day. Changes in diet and test structure have been tested to no effect. Rest time has been experimentally increased.
+
DEATH COUNT: 167
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[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT]
HTGY: Hey, Cub! Long time no see!
Cub: Yeah, sorry, man. Some admin bullshit.
HTGY: Your badge looks different.
Cub: Made it myself. How’s the tests?
HTGY: Oh, let’s not talk about those. You know what, I actually decided I’m not going to remember something if it’s not worth it. All the fights are the same and they keep doing them. So! I’ve been thinking. Cub. Cub. I want a cat. Can I get a cat?
Cub: …
HTGY: Just a little one. I’ve seen some options. Mumbo has pictures. 
Cub: Dunno, dude. I can try. Might be tricky.
HTGY: [sigh] I guess you’re right. It…wouldn’t be happy, would it? Yeah. We can’t have that.
CUB: Sorry.
HTGY: No, no, it’s all right. I don’t want to make something unhappy. It was just a thought. 
CUB-135: What’s on the screen?
HTGY: [brightens up] Oh, this? Dude, I wanted to show you this! Mumbo has this drawing program where you can build houses. This is my idea for a forest house. I think you could do it with three kinds of wood and you could have, you know, all these trees over it. What do you think? I mean, I know we’ll never see a forest. But imagine it in your mind.
CUB: … You know what, my friend, you’re really something.
HTGY: Why thank you. You could say the same of yourself—come on, Cub, don’t be shy. Take the compliment!
CUB-135: I don’t—
[silence]
HTGY: Don’t what?
CUB-135: [abruptly] I dunno how much more I can take.
HTGY: …
CUB-135: I—what am I even doing? What are we doing? There’s nothing to change. There’s no way to change anything.
HTGY: … You could get me a cat.
CUB-135: I can’t! I can barely get around the access readers! I can’t even get into the project files! Ten years of research and I feel dumb, Scar, I could solve everything until I couldn’t. What would you do if you weren’t in here? Man, that’s such a stupid question. I don’t even know what I’d do if I wasn’t in here. My references are gonna be shot. Maybe I should have paid attention to something else, maybe I should have done anything else—
HTGY: I’d like to see some forests.
CUB-135: Huh?
HTGY: You said ‘what would I do’. I’d go and see some forests.
CUB-135: …
CUB-135: Forests, huh.
HTGY: Anyway, that’s not going to happen, so I guess we don’t want to waste time on it! They need you here. And you guys need me here. Right?
CUB-135: …
HTGY: Right, Cub-one-three-five?
CUB-135: Y’know something, Scar? Sometimes I think you do more thinking more than you let on.
HTGY: Huh? Naw. Why’s your badge gone red?
CUB-135: Oh shit. Shit. I gotta go.
+
[message log start]
cub-135: listen boss
cub-135: first you bump me off the HTGY project, and now i’ve just had my name taken off the ravager patent. that’s my own work.
cub-135: this keeps happening. it’s not okay.
Lead (bioprojects) : CUB-135, for the last time, this was what you signed up for.  It’s the same for all researchers. You have to put the time in while you move up the ladder.
Lead (bioprojects): Have you just noticed this is how the whole laboratory works?
cub-135: oh
cub-135: i’m noticing
cub-135: i’m noticing lots of things about this place
Lead (bioprojects): Good. If you have an issue, focus on your work and get promoted.
cub-135: yeah, see, actually
cub-135: if nothing changes, i’m going to leave. and i’ll take all my intellectual property with me.
Lead (bioprojects): Hah! Check your employment papers; you’re on a 10-year contract. It’s watertight. And even if you could get out of it, you’re banned from taking paper or data chips out of lab grounds.
cub-135: yeah?
cub-135: okay.
[cub-135 has disconnected]
+
[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT]
CUB-135: Hey. Scar. Scar.
HTGY: Cub! What’s with the doohickey? It—oh, wow. That just zapped the light. Amazing.
CUB-135: Mumbo, lock transcript.
[null]: Transcript locked.
CUB-135: Okay. So. I made this thing to hijack the redstone gate down by the Drowned spawners on Lab 3B. It screws up the signal so you can get through. There’s a reservoir behind it. I put in a bubble elevator that will take you up outside the walls. I’ve got to stay behind to take out the cameras while you do it. Then I’ll get out with the evening shift.
HTGY: Wait, so I just take this and run? What if they find out about you?
CUB-135: If you do that I’m screwed, man. So don’t tell them.
HTGY: Yeah?
CUB-135: …Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. You could turn me in.
[silence]
CUB-135: Maybe you should. Yeah, all right. I guess, just—oh.
HTGY: Relax! Anyone would think you’d never had a hug.
CUB-135: …
HTGY: My friend. My friend, we are going to see some forests.
+
[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT]
HTGY: The speed! The precision!
CUB-135: Whew. Man. You did nearly drown.
HTGY: What’s important here is that I didn’t, because I am an elite escape artist. And you got out too, so I guess we can share the title.
CUB-135: We’re not far enough to say that yet. I’d bet we’re still in range of the lab systems.
HTGY: Details, details.
CUB-135: You’re bleeding.
HTGY: Oh man, I know, that was from the last test. It doesn’t matter.
CUB-135: Give me that.
HTGY: Fussy! What are you, a grandpa? Ow.
CUB-135: If you don’t stop and let me fix it you’re going to lose that finger. And I can’t grow it again when we don’t have the redstone vats.
HTGY: You were never this fussy before.
CUB-135: Yeah, well. Who even did it?
HTGY: I don’t…
[silence]
HTGY: Huh. Cub, you know what, I don’t…remember.
HTGY: Hey, though. Who everything filed and stored like a nerd? Who needs all their memories where we’re going? We’re getting out! Onwards!
[silence]
HTGY: Cub. Cub.
HTGY: Don’t look like that.
HTGY: It wasn’t your fault.
[silence]
CUB-135: Scar, I dunno what I’m doing.
HTGY: I’ve never known what I’m doing.
CUB-135: [laughs] You are…something, my friend. You are something.
HTGY: We don’t know what we're doing. And that’s amazing. Because aren’t you excited to find out?
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Author's note: Hey, thanks for reading to the end! There's a better formatted version of this on Ao3 under username glossyblue. I've got a lot of this au but thought this stood alone well enough that someone might enjoy it. Hope you enjoyed, have a great day.
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lylaseb · 9 months ago
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I found this a bit interesting. The term she uses is 恩人 (‘onjin’ in Japanese / ‘enren’ in Chinese), but the English subtitles translated it as ‘saviors’. I don’t speak Japanese but from what I can tell, it seems the term means roughly the same thing in Japanese and in Chinese, which is ‘benefactor’, or just someone that has helped you in some way. If the translation was to be understood in the literal sense I feel like a more accurate term would have been 救命恩人 in Chinese or 救済者 (I’m guessing) in Japanese. However in this scene anri was trying to come up with a proper term to describe masaomi and mikado, like ‘friends’ or ‘partners’, so she couldn’t go with a sentence or a phrase (although she did include ‘who gave me all kinds of things’, but even then this phrase doesn’t exactly mean the same thing as ‘benefactor’). On the other hand when speaking in English I feel like people don’t usually refer to someone as their ‘benefactor’ in regular conversations. The synonyms for ‘benefactor’ - ‘patron’, ‘supporter’, ‘backer’, ‘helper’, ‘sponsor’, etc. don’t really sound right either. I believe this is why they went for the term ‘saviors’ instead, because it fit the context better even if it was a bit less accurate (not necessarily narrative-wise, just translation-wise).
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steavethomas · 9 days ago
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How to Choose the Best SEO Service in San Antonio for Your Business
In today’s digital-first world, having a strong online presence is essential for the success of any business. For those in San Antonio, finding the right SEO service can make all the difference in reaching potential customers, standing out from competitors, and driving business growth. Whether you are a small local shop or a larger enterprise, investing in SEO services in San Antonio can help you dominate local search results and improve your overall digital visibility.
This blog will guide you through what SEO services entail and how to find the best provider to meet your business needs.
Why SEO Matters for San Antonio Businesses
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of enhancing a website to improve its ranking on search engines like Google. A good SEO strategy ensures that when people search for products or services related to your business, your website appears at the top of the results. This is especially important for businesses in San Antonio, where local competition can be fierce.
Here’s why SEO is crucial for businesses in San Antonio:
Increased Local Traffic: Most consumers search online for local businesses. Optimizing your website for San Antonio-specific keywords and phrases ensures your business gets noticed by those nearby.
Enhanced Credibility: Websites that rank high on Google are seen as more trustworthy. An SEO service can help you rank higher, building credibility and authority in your industry.
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What to Look for in an SEO Service in San Antonio
When choosing an SEO service in San Antonio, there are a few critical factors you should consider to ensure you’re getting the best value and results:
1. Experience with Local SEO
For businesses in San Antonio, local SEO is crucial. A good SEO service should know how to optimize for local searches, such as "best restaurants in San Antonio" or "San Antonio plumbers near me." This includes optimizing your Google My Business listing, generating local backlinks, and using location-based keywords to target customers in your area.
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No two businesses are alike, so an SEO service should offer tailored solutions. The company should perform a thorough analysis of your industry, competitors, and target audience before crafting an SEO strategy specifically for you. Avoid agencies that offer cookie-cutter SEO packages, as these often miss the mark on personalized growth opportunities.
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SEO can be a long-term process, but that doesn’t mean you should be left in the dark about progress. Choose an SEO service that provides regular, detailed reports on your website’s performance. Clear communication is key to understanding how their efforts are impacting your business.
5. White-Hat SEO Practices
Ensure the SEO service follows white-hat SEO practices, which abide by search engine guidelines. Avoid companies that use “black-hat” tactics like keyword stuffing, link farming, or cloaking, which may result in short-term gains but can lead to penalties from Google, damaging your site’s reputation in the long run.
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Hiring a professional SEO service in San Antonio comes with a wide array of benefits that can directly impact your business growth:
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gsinfotechvispvtltd · 27 days ago
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Building Effective Chatbots: Best Practices for Design and Implementation
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introduction
Chatbots have become an essential tool for businesses looking to enhance customer interaction, automate repetitive tasks, and improve user experience. However, designing and implementing an effective chatbot is not as simple as it seems. It requires a deep understanding of user needs, thoughtful design, and precise execution. In this blog, we will explore best practices for building chatbots that are not only functional but also efficient and user-friendly.
1. Define Clear Objectives
The first step in building an effective chatbot is to establish clear objectives. What do you want your chatbot to achieve? Is it designed for customer support, lead generation, or simply providing information? Defining these goals upfront will help guide the design process and ensure that your chatbot aligns with your business objectives. Additionally, having a clear purpose prevents the chatbot from becoming too complex or unfocused, which can confuse users.
2. Understand Your Audience
Understanding your target audience is crucial to creating a chatbot that resonates with users. Consider factors such as their preferences, communication style, and typical questions or concerns. Conduct research, analyze data, and gather insights to tailor the chatbot's tone, language, and functionalities to your audience.
For example, a chatbot for tech-savvy users may use more technical language and offer advanced features, while a chatbot aimed at a general audience should use simple, conversational language.
3. Design a User-Friendly Interface
A chatbot’s interface should be intuitive and easy to use. This includes the text-based interface or any visual elements like buttons and menus. The chatbot’s design should guide users seamlessly through the conversation, making it easy to ask questions, get responses, and complete tasks.
Focus on a clean design that avoids overwhelming users with too many options at once. Offering quick replies, predefined buttons, or guided interactions can simplify the user experience, particularly for first-time users.
4. Use Natural Language Processing (NLP) Effectively
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is the core technology that enables chatbots to understand and respond to human language. To create an effective chatbot, it’s essential to implement NLP algorithms that can interpret user input accurately.
Start with common user queries and use machine learning to improve the chatbot’s understanding of more complex questions over time. Training the chatbot to handle diverse phrasings, synonyms, and variations of questions will make it more capable of handling real-world interactions.
Additionally, incorporate sentiment analysis to detect user emotions. This can allow your chatbot to adjust its responses based on whether a user is frustrated, confused, or happy, enhancing the overall experience.
5. Provide Clear Error Handling
No chatbot is perfect, and users may occasionally ask questions that the bot cannot answer. To avoid frustration, it’s important to implement clear error handling mechanisms. When the chatbot doesn’t understand a query, it should acknowledge the confusion and offer suggestions on how to rephrase the question or provide alternative options.
It’s also a good practice to have the chatbot seamlessly hand off to a human agent when needed, especially in complex or sensitive situations. This ensures that users are never left without a solution.
6. Test and Iterate
Building a chatbot is not a one-time process. Continuous testing and refinement are essential to ensuring the chatbot functions optimally. Start by launching a beta version, gather feedback from real users, and track the bot’s performance. Use metrics such as response time, user satisfaction, and task completion rates to evaluate effectiveness.
Regular updates and improvements based on user interactions will help the chatbot stay relevant and improve its accuracy over time.
7. Keep the Bot Secure
Since chatbots often handle sensitive data, ensuring security is a top priority. Implement encryption for all communications between the chatbot and users, and follow best practices for data privacy. Make sure your chatbot complies with relevant regulations such as GDPR to protect user information.
Conclusion
Building an effective chatbot requires careful planning, thoughtful design, and continuous improvement. By defining clear objectives, understanding your audience, leveraging NLP, and focusing on user-friendly design, you can create a chatbot that delivers real value to both your business and its users. Incorporating strong error handling, regular testing, and robust security measures will ensure your chatbot remains an essential tool for enhancing customer engagement and streamlining operations.
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fanslikefollower · 6 months ago
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Boost Your Instagram Ranking and Traffic with the Power of Email Marketing- Fanslikefollower
In today's digital landscape, email marketing remains one of the most effective tools for driving engagement and traffic to your social media profiles, especially Instagram. By leveraging targeted email campaigns, you can significantly enhance your Instagram ranking and boost your profile’s visibility. Here’s how I can help you grow your Instagram profile through strategic email marketing.
Fanslikefollower.com uses whitehat methods to grow your Instagram and TikTok profiles with maximum effectiveness at an affordable price.Start from $5
1. Building a Targeted Email List
Collecting Quality Subscribers: The foundation of a successful email marketing campaign is a robust and targeted email list. By collecting email addresses from users who are genuinely interested in your content, products, or services, you ensure that your messages reach the right audience.
Engaging Lead Magnets: Offering valuable content such as free eBooks, exclusive discounts, or insider tips can encourage users to subscribe to your email list. This not only grows your email list but also ensures that your subscribers are already engaged with your brand.
2. Crafting Compelling Email Content
Personalized Messaging: Personalizing your email content to address the individual interests and needs of your subscribers can significantly increase engagement rates. Personalized emails can lead to higher click-through rates, driving more traffic to your Instagram profile.
Eye-catching Visuals: Including high-quality images and graphics in your emails can capture your audience's attention and encourage them to click through to your Instagram. Visual content is crucial, especially when promoting a visually-driven platform like Instagram.
3. Strategic Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
Clear and Compelling CTAs: Every email should have a clear and compelling call-to-action that directs subscribers to your Instagram profile. Phrases like “Follow us on Instagram for exclusive updates” or “Check out our latest Instagram post” can drive significant traffic.
Incentivized Engagement: Offering incentives such as giveaways or exclusive Instagram content for email subscribers can motivate them to follow and engage with your Instagram profile.
4. Automated Email Campaigns
Welcome Series: Setting up an automated welcome series for new subscribers can introduce them to your brand and encourage them to follow your Instagram profile from the start. This series can include information about your brand, what subscribers can expect, and direct links to your social media profiles.
Re-engagement Campaigns: Automated re-engagement campaigns can target inactive subscribers, encouraging them to reconnect with your brand and check out your latest Instagram posts.
5. Analyzing and Optimizing Campaigns
Tracking Performance: Regularly analyzing the performance of your email campaigns is essential. Metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates can provide insights into what works and what doesn’t.
Continuous Improvement: Using this data, I can continually optimize your email content, design, and strategy to maximize engagement and drive more traffic to your Instagram profile.
Safe and Effective Email Marketing Practices
Compliance with Regulations: I ensure that all email marketing practices comply with regulations such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM, maintaining the integrity and trust of your brand.
Avoiding Spam Filters: By using reputable email marketing platforms and following best practices, I ensure that your emails reach your subscribers' inboxes and not their spam folders.
Regular Cleaning of Email List: Maintaining a clean email list by removing inactive subscribers can improve your email deliverability rates and engagement, ensuring that your messages reach an interested audience.
Order My Services on Fiverr, Upwork, or PPH
Ready to boost your Instagram ranking and traffic through email marketing? You can order my expert services on Fiverr, Upwork, or PeoplePerHour. With years of experience and a track record of success, I can help you achieve your social media goals safely and effectively.
Conclusion
Email marketing is a powerful tool for driving traffic and engagement to your Instagram profile. By building a targeted email list, crafting compelling content, using strategic CTAs, automating campaigns, and continuously optimizing, you can significantly enhance your Instagram presence. Let me help you harness the power of email marketing to grow your profile and achieve your social media objectives. Order my services today and see the difference!
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translationwala · 10 months ago
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Translate with Confidence: English to Telugu Translation at Your Fingertips
You’re good at talking to people in Telugu, but you need some help when they speak English. Don’t worry, language lover! Right here on this blog, you can find the key to confident, accurate English to Telugu translation.
Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Need
More than 80 million people speak Telugu, which beats to the beat of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. English to Telugu Translation is important for everything from regular conversations to business deals. But here’s the catch: simple word-for-word changes can cause misunderstandings and cultural faux pas.
Step into the Cultural Canvas: Embracing Nuances
Here’s the secret: good translation is more than just doing the right words. It’s a beautiful dance between languages that includes knowledge of other cultures. Let’s talk about the little things that make your Telugu versions better:
Wordplay Wonders: There are a lot of proverbs, clichés, and metaphors in Telugu. There may be exact versions, but they don’t always hit the mark. Look for regionally appropriate words that say the same thing without watering it down. For example, changing “raining cats and dogs” to మేఘాలు కుంభవృష్టి కురిపిస్తున్నాయి” (literally “clouds showering like pots”) loses the jokey tone of the phrase.
Formality Finesse: When speaking English, people tend to be clear, but when speaking Telugu, people tend to be more vague. Use polite forms of address like “గారు” (garu) and “దయ” (daya) when talking to older people or people in charge. Keep in mind that being nice is very important!
Respecting the Tapestry: The people and religions of India are very different. Pay attention to faith and social concerns. Choose words that aren’t offensive and stay away from words that have religious or bad meanings. Do your study and make sure that the respect that is due to different groups is shown in your translation.
Tools at Your Disposal: Power to the Translator
Good news: you’re not the only one having trouble with this version! Some useful tools you should have are these:
Tech Titans: Online dictionaries and translation tools have a huge collection of words and phrases that can be used as examples. Check out tools like Online Translate and Telugu Language Tool for simple help and quick references.
Subject Savvy: Get help from people who are pros in the field, like for court papers or medical reports. Their knowledge of terms makes sure that things are correct and stops cultural mistakes in important areas.
Human Touch: Don’t be afraid to work with people who speak Telugu as their first language. Their knowledge of regional details and everyday language use can help you improve your versions, making them more real and meaningful.
Test, Refine, Conquer: Polishing Your Masterpiece
Once you have a draft of your translation, it’s time to test it! Ask native Telugu speakers for feedback to find any cultural awkwardness, bad word choice, or tone that doesn’t make sense. Use this feedback loop to improve your translation and make sure that your audience understands it.
CONFIDENCE THROUGH CULTURAL COMPETENCE:
Don’t forget that translation is a process, not a goal. You can be sure that your English to Telugu Translation not only get the words across but also capture the spirit of conversation if you understand the cultural differences between the two languages. And now you can go out and translate with faith, language learner! The exciting world of Telugu is waiting for you to be able to communicate well.
Source: https://translationwala.wordpress.com/2024/01/15/translate-with-confidence-english-to-telugu-translation-at-your-fingertips/
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realtybanker · 2 years ago
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How to Use A Monthly SEO Analysis Report to Improve Site Rankings
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Want to maintain your SEO?
Are you aiming to keep your web site or blog in the top search engine rankings? If so, you need to be aware of the importance of monthly SEO analysis. SEO analysis is the process of looking into your website to find out how it is performing. It is a key element of an effective SEO strategy and can help ensure your website continues to rank well. In this article, we’ll explore what is involved in monthly SEO analysis and provide you with tips on what to look for when reviewing your monthly SEO analysis report. We’ll discuss how to analyze your competitors, track your rankings, monitor your traffic and refine your SEO efforts. By the end you’ll know how to use your monthly SEO analysis report to maintain and improve your website rankings. Let’s get started!
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Introduction to SEO Analysis
Let's discuss the wonders of SEO Analysis and how to use it to maintain and improve web site rankings. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making your website more visible in the search engine results, so that when people search for specific terms and phrases, your website will be at the top of the list. The goal is to drive more traffic to your website and increase conversions. In order to maintain and improve web site rankings, you need to regularly review and analyze your SEO performance. This is where SEO Analysis comes in. SEO Analysis is a process of evaluating your website’s SEO performance over a certain period of time. A Monthly SEO Analysis Report can provide valuable insights into your website’s current performance, highlight potential areas of improvement, and allow you to target specific keywords that you should be focusing on. In addition to the Monthly SEO Analysis Report, consulting with an SEO expert can be a great way to ensure that you're up to date on the latest strategies and trends in the SEO world. An SEO expert can help you develop and implement a comprehensive SEO strategy tailored to your specific website and needs. With the right strategy and support, you can maintain and improve your web site rankings over time. So don't hesitate - if you're looking to get ahead in today's competitive digital landscape, investing in an SEO Analysis and working with an SEO expert can be the perfect way to ensure your website's success.
What is SEO Analysis?
Using a Monthly Analysis to maintain and improve a website's SEO is like consulting a wizard. It’s a helpful tool that can help identify spots on a website that need attention in order to make sure its visibility and ranking on search engines remains high. SEO Analysis is a form of consulting that identifies weaknesses and provides solutions to maintain and improve SEO rankings of a web site. It considers the website’s content including keywords and phrases, inbound links, the relevance of the content and other SEO-friendly features. SEO Analysis also looks at the search engine algorithms that can affect the rankings of a website in search engine results. By reviewing this information each month, website owners can work to make sure that their website remains visible and maintains a strong presence in search results.
Why is SEO Analysis Important?
Ah, what to do about SEO? It is the bane of many a website’s existence. Without it, your website is just a collection of words and nothing more. To make sure that your website remains up to snuff, and doesn’t get left behind as the internet evolves and changes, you need to conduct regular monthly analysis of your website. It’s easy to forget that the web is constantly changing, but if you want to stay ahead of the competition and keep your website ranking high, then you need to make sure that you’re regularly performing monthly SEO analysis. This doesn’t mean that you need to hire expensive consulting services. You should simply take the time to review your website on a monthly basis to make sure that it is up to date and in line with the latest SEO trends. By conducting monthly SEO analysis, you can not only maintain your website’s SEO but also improve it. You can identify areas that need attention, make targeted improvements, and help ensure that your site remains competitive in the ever-changing world of SEO.
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Monthly SEO Analysis Reports
The Life-Saver of a Struggling Web Site Monthly SEO Analysis Reports are something you’ve likely heard about but have yet to truly grapple with. These Reports are an important part of maintaining and improving web site rankings. Keeping your site visible and competitive in the organic search engine results is a tricky proposition. If you try to manage it yourself, it may take up a good portion of your days. That’s where a Monthly SEO Analysis Report can come in handy. When it comes to SEO, knowledge is power. A Monthly SEO Analysis Report provides you with the tools and knowledge to keep your site competitive. It includes data on how your web pages are performing, and which keywords should be focused on to increase visibility. The report will also inform you on the keywords that your competitors are using to get more organic traffic. With this information, you can gain valuable insight into how your rivals are constructing their content and best practices they're using to provide users with better results. Knowing this information can help you adjust and maintain your own web site accordingly. You may also consider hiring a consultant to review your website, analyze your competitors and create a Monthly SEO Analysis Report. These consultants will provide you with an accurate assessment of the status of your website and what changes need to be made. They can also offer advice on the most effective search engine optimization techniques for your particular needs. So if you're looking to level up your SEO game, remember that a Monthly SEO Analysis Report can be your one-stop-shop for maintaining and improving web site rankings. Say goodbye to days wasting away in front of a computer screen and hello to an enhanced SEO experience!
What to Look for in a Monthly SEO Analysis Report
Ahoy, me hearty digital sailors! If you're settin' out on the seven seas of the internet, you're gonna want to make sure you've got a map. That's where yer Monthly SEO Analysis Report comes in. This handy document will provide you with all the information you need to keep your vessel on course. First off, the analysis should include Monthly Analysis, the work that goes into making sure the vessel’s location is accurate. If your analysis is thorough, you’ll further know the condition of your vessel, such as how well your Consulting is up to date, your SEO’s effectiveness, and whether or not you’re Maintaining SEO. Knowing this information helps you to better chart the course of your website, and successfully make it to port. So, keep yer eyes peeled when lookin’ at your Monthly SEO Analysis Report - it might just be the map ye need to releasin’ the Kraken of the digital seas n’ sailin’ the winds of success.
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Using Your Monthly SEO Analysis Report
Ah, a Monthly SEO Analysis Report—it's like a good friend that can tell you whether or not yer website is sailing the cyber seas in the right direction. With such a tool, you can look to maintain yer SEO and keep yer search engine ranking in tip-top shape. When consulting your Monthly Analysis Report, you'll want to pay close attention to any changes in the traffic to yer website. It'll help you see if you need to make any adjustments to yer SEO strategy so that you stay ahead of the competition. By tracking changes in social media, gaining insight into keyword trends, and analyzing current content, you can keep yer website afloat!
Check for On-page Issues
As part of any Monthly SEO Analysis report, you’ll need to look for any on-page issues. This includes things like making sure titles, content, and headings are all properly optimized for your target keywords. But it also includes checking your website’s structure and usability. The goal here is to ensure that your users are having a good experience on your site and that it’s easy for them to find the information they’re looking for. “This is one of the most important aspects of maintaining your SEO,” according to the experts, a respected SEO consultant. “No amount of monthly analysis can overcome poor user experience or on-page problems. That’s why it’s so important to check for any of these issues in your report and rectify them immediately.” It is recommended that you check your page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and content for any issues. He also recommends checking the structure of your website, including any 301 redirects, page hierarchy, and linking. If any of these are out of date, it could cost you significantly in terms of your rankings, so it’s important to check on a regular basis. Finally, it is recommended using your Monthly SEO Analysis report to assess any changes you’ve made to your website and make sure they’ve had the desired effects. If a change has resulted in a drop in rankings, for example, he suggests taking a closer look at the changes and making adjustments accordingly. By following these steps and checking for any on-page issues, you can use your Monthly SEO Analysis report to maintain and improve your website rankings and ensure that you’re making the most of your SEO efforts.
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Look for Off-page Factors
Ah, there are many off-page factors that can affect a website’s standing in the search engine rankings. A monthly SEO analysis report can be used to determine whether one’s website has become the target of negative SEO tactics, or if there’s a rise in the number of broken links. First off, you can use a monthly analysis report to spot any backlinks that may have come from spammy websites. Such sites could be an indication of one trying to game the system, and as such, they should be removed as soon as possible. The report will also help you analyze the content you have on your site, and inform you of what changes need to be made to optimize your website for SEO. You can use the report to check whether the content is up to scratch, or if there are old, outdated posts that need to be updated or removed. Monthly SEO consulting can also help you identify any existing issues and help you create a plan to address them. You can use the report results to see which keywords your website ranks for, enabling you to identify how well you’re doing in terms of SEO. It’s important to keep an eye on this data so that you can modify your approach as needed and maintain your SEO performance. Finally, a monthly SEO analysis report can help you track competitor performance as well as understand how relevant keywords are responding to your website’s presence. This is useful as it allows you to stay one step ahead and identify any potential areas for improvement. So there you have it! Use a monthly SEO analysis report to assess off-page factors, and keep an eye out for backlinks from spammy websites, content that needs to be updated, and how well your website is doing in terms of keyword rankings. With a little bit of effort, you can use this data to maintain and improve your website’s ranking.
Analyze Your Competitors
Ahoy there, digital adventurers, are you looking for tips on how to use a monthly SEO analysis report to maintain and improve your web site rankings? Well, before you set sail on your journey, it is essential for you to analyze your competitors. You may think that it is a waste of time to keep a close eye on your competitors, but don’t be mistaken, they’re your greatest resource. Monitor their activities and successes to get a better sense of what needs to be done to move up in the rankings. With that being said, let’s explore some of the ways you can use the monthly analysis report to analyze your competitors. When looking at the report, pay special attention to the keyword rankings, see how they compare to yours and which ones are doing especially well. This can tell you which keywords to focus on in your strategy. Additionally, take a look at how long it took them to reach their desired rankings, it could be a good indicator of what you can expect for yours. Consulting a professional SEO expert is also beneficial for your monthly analysis report. They can provide you with the key insights into your competitors’ activities, their results, and then suggest a strategy tailored to your goals. They can also make use of advanced tools to help you better understand your competitors and the SEO tactics they use to get results. In summary, analyzing your competitors is key when using a monthly SEO analysis report to maintain and improve your web site rankings. Take note of their keyword rankings to identify trends and use of specialized tools to understand their SEO tactics. Lastly, don’t forget the importance of seeking professional consulting to generate a tailored strategy to reach your desired results.
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Track Your Rankings
Now let's discuss one of the most important aspects of running a website - tracking your rankings! Monthly SEO analysis Reports are invaluable tools that you can use to stay on top of your website's health and make sure it's always improving. Having an SEO consulting team review your website's performance every month is an excellent way of making sure that your website is continuously climbing the rankings. This regular review will help you identify any problems quickly, so that you can make the necessary changes to get back on track and maintain your SEO. During the monthly analysis report, the consulting team will review and report on the website's overall performance, check for and flag any potential problems, and suggest improvements that can be made. They should also provide you with in-depth research on how your website is performing compared to your competitors, as well as a general health check. As part of the analysis, the team may also provide a list of keywords that your website is currently ranking for. This is a great way to measure the performance of your website and help you to determine if your SEO strategies are having any effect. This can be a useful indicator to show you how well the changes you have implemented are working, and whether or not you need to refine your strategies. The best way to make the most out of your Monthly SEO Analysis Report is to take the advice offered, make the necessary changes, and monitor the results. With a little patience and effort, you can maintain and improve your website's rankings and stay at the top of the search engine results pages.
Monitor Traffic
If you're like us, then you understand the importance of regular SEO monitoring. By conducting monthly SEO analysis and keeping track of website traffic, you can be sure that your site is always performing optimally and maintaining its SEO rankings. There are two main ways to monitor website traffic. The first is to use the standard monthly SEO analysis report that includes the following: page views, unique visitors, source of traffic, keyword search terms, and more. This report can help you track how your website is performing in terms of page ranking, keywords, and other factors. By looking at the metrics in this report, you can also determine if there are any areas of improvement that need to be made on your website. The second way to monitor website traffic is to hire a professional SEO consultant who can provide a detailed analysis and consultation on your website. This professional consultant can create an in-depth analysis of your website and provide you with the insights and strategies needed to improve the overall performance of your website. They can also help you identify potential areas of focus and implementation of best practices to maintain your website���s SEO rankings over time. Having the right Monthly Analysis report and consulting services can help keep your website rankings in check and make sure your website remains competitive in search engine results. Make sure to use both of these methods routinely to ensure your website stays on the top of search engine rankings and stays competitive in the online market.
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Test and Refine
Ah, dear reader, monthly SEO analysis reports are the key to maintaining and improving web site rankings, but they are just the beginning. Once you have established the status quo, it is time to test and refine your current SEO efforts. In order to test and refine, you will need to consult with an expert in SEO. Such a consultant will be able to analyze your monthly SEO analysis reports and make suggestions as to how you might increase our search engine rankings. For instance, your SEO consultant might suggest using different keywords and phrases in your monthly SEO analysis reports. This can help you to better target the audience that you are trying to reach. Additionally, your SEO consultant may suggest other changes to your website that could help you to improve your rankings, such as improving the content you have on the website or making sure your website is structured properly. The key to successful SEO maintenance and improvement is to test and continually refine your SEO strategy. You will need to take the recommendations of your SEO consultant and use the monthly SEO analysis reports to measure the effectiveness of your efforts. By continually testing and refining your SEO strategy, you can maintain and improve your current search engine rankings. Read the full article
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rogersip · 2 years ago
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The Ultimate Shopify App Development Checklist for Optimized SEO
Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the market, and for good reason. It’s a versatile and powerful platform that allows businesses of all sizes to easily set up and manage their online stores. However, even the best e-commerce platform can fall short if it doesn’t have the right SEO strategy in place. That’s where Shopify app development comes in.
A Shopify app can help you optimize your store for SEO and drive more traffic to your website. But with so many options available, it can be hard to know where to start. In this article, we’ll walk you through the ultimate Shopify app development checklist for optimized SEO.
Choose the right keywords
Before you start developing your Shopify app, you need to identify the right keywords to target. Keywords are the words and phrases that people use to search for products or services online. By targeting the right keywords, you can improve your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more qualified traffic to your website.
There are a number of tools available that can help you find the right keywords for your store. Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs are popular options. Once you’ve identified the right keywords, you can use them to optimize your app’s meta titles and descriptions, page titles, and content.
Create SEO-friendly URLs
Another important aspect of SEO is your app’s URLs. URLs should be descriptive, easy to read, and contain your target keywords. Avoid using special characters or symbols in your URLs, as these can be difficult for search engines to understand.
Optimize your images
Images can have a significant impact on your website’s SEO. To optimize your images for search engines, you need to make sure that they are high quality, relevant to your content, and appropriately sized. You can also optimize your images’ file names and alt tags to make them more search engine friendly.
Add structured data
Structured data is a type of markup that helps search engines better understand the content of your website. By adding structured data to your app, you can improve your visibility in SERPs and increase the chances of your content being featured in rich snippets.
There are a number of different types of structured data you can use, including product, organization, and review markup. Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper is a great tool to help you get started.
Improve your page speed
Page speed is a critical factor in both user experience and SEO. Slow loading pages can lead to a higher bounce rate, lower engagement, and ultimately lower search engine rankings.
To improve your page speed, you can optimize your app’s code, compress images, and use a content delivery network (CDN). You can also use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to identify areas for improvement.
Use social media sharing buttons
Social media can play a role in your store’s SEO. By adding social media sharing buttons to your app, you can make it easier for visitors to share your content on their own social media profiles. This can help to increase your visibility and attract more traffic to your website.
Monitor your analytics
Finally, it’s important to monitor your app’s analytics on a regular basis. Analytics can help you identify areas for improvement, track the success of your SEO efforts, and make data-driven decisions about your app development strategy.
Google Analytics is a popular choice for monitoring website analytics. Shopify also offers its own built-in analytics tools, which can help you track key metrics like traffic, conversion rates, and revenue.
Conclusion
Developing a Shopify app that is optimized for SEO requires a comprehensive strategy and attention to detail. By following the checklist we’ve provided, you can ensure that your app is optimized for search engines and well-positioned to attract qualified traffic to your website.
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nicnacsnonsense · 2 years ago
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I saw a meta where the person justifies an interpretation of Stede’s actions by saying that he is the one who knows about passive aggression and how to use it and I’m like, yeah, barely. We see him attempt to use passive aggression two times in the show, and both times he kind of sucks at it to be honest.
But wait, I hear you saying, he is super good at passive aggression; he burned that whole ship down with his passive aggression skills. Oh, my dear, dear friend, just because Stede says he was using passive aggression, that doesn’t mean he’s right. Stede is using passive aggression in that scene like neurodivergent person who believes they have learned a social rule, but is utilizing it in a way that makes it clear that they don’t really understand it. Because, you know, that’s what he is.
Stede defines passive aggression to Ed earlier that episode as “cutting remarks disguised as politeness.” Which yes, but also no. Passive aggression is about engaging in aggressive behavior but in way that avoids direct confrontation. That can include either going stuff behind someone’s back (which we’ll ignore for now since that’s not the kind we’re dealing with here) or doing it to their face while maintaining some kind of plausible deniability that that’s what you’re doing.
So obviously Stede’s conversational tone and his suggestion that they play a game is his attempt at masking what he’s doing in politeness. And it could work. Look at how he starts in with Gabriel & Antoinette, asking how they met, only for them to give different answers. And if he continued to follow that thread with seemingly innocuous questions while inevitably leading to the revelation that the two of them were siblings, that would have been masterful passive aggression. But he doesn’t do that; he immediately follows that question by just outright stating they’re siblings. And with the previous two partygoers he doesn’t even try to hide it, he’s just out here like, let me reveal your dark secret by phrasing it in the form of a question. That’s not being passive aggressive, that’s just walking into a room and dropping a lot of truth bombs with the obvious express purpose of getting everyone pissed off at each other.
The other occasion Stede deliberately tries to use passive aggression is with Calico Jack, who absolutely rubs passive aggressive circles around him. The particular exchange I want to call out starts with Jack calling Blackbeard a real pirate, unlike one of these “store-bought types,” the latter part said while looking directly at Stede. This is good passive aggression. Jack has just insulted Stede by saying he’s not a real pirate, but in such a way that if called out on it he can claim he wasn’t talking about Stede or that he was just making a joke about Stede’s fancy stuff but didn’t really mean it.
Stede, despite his lack of skill at using passive aggression, is still pretty good at picking up on it when it’s directed at him (years of experience, poor baby). So he attempts to volley back by asking Jack where his ship and crew are, because you’d think a real pirate would have one of those. This is much better than the French party. If the crowd had been on Stede’s side he probably could have gotten away with it as just friendly ribbing, so I would call it actual passive aggression. But he still isn’t being terribly subtle about it and is running right up against the line into regular aggression. Which Jack takes full advantage of by starting to “cry,” turning everyone against Stede and his “bitchy” question.
Ironically, I think the closest he comes to good passive aggression (as in well done, not morally good) is after Mary’s show when he throws out there that he forgives her for sleeping with Doug. I say ironically, because I don’t think Stede was really trying to be passive aggressive there. I mean, probably a little, but I think in his (still drunk) mind, he was just putting out there that they’ve both been having a hard time of it and both messed up since he got back, and he’s sorry for what he did and forgives her for what she’s done. I mean, it’s definitely a terrible apology for a number of reasons, I just don’t think he was really trying to be aggressive there.
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Can I ask what you mean by “men’s rights?” I know men face issues because of the patriarchy, but could you explain to me how misandry effects men’s rights? Don’t men live in a privileged position, say for example, not having to worry about things like the debate for bodily autonomy that Roe v. Wade brings up? And I’m not talking about trans men that are included within that conversation, I’m talking cishet white men who don’t face oppression. What does the phrase “men’s rights” mean in that lens? How can cishet white men be oppressed by misandry?
I actually have an ask about this, asking me what I mean by men's rights from April that I haven't answered yet. I've started working on it though and stopped because of school and it's just been in my drafts for the time being. However, I'll get it out sometime before August , hopefully. I won't go into detail here because as I said, I have that ask.  If you want, and you're not already following this blog, you can message me and I'll message you when it's finished or something like that.
> but could you explain to me how misandry effects men’s rights?
I don’t understand what you mean by that. Misandry is:  dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against men (i.e. the male sex) 
Similarly to feminism fighting against misogyny, men’s rights fights against misandry
> Don’t men live in a privileged position, say for example, not having to worry about things like the debate for bodily autonomy that Roe v. Wade brings up?
I don’t believe men are privileged and I think that kind of talk (and I’m not saying this a some sort of accusation or something against you) leads to less compassion for men’s issues. That may not be the way everyone who believes that feels, but some do and it can slowly come to that over time. Those people will start looking at men as though they have it easy or easier and that is incorrect. Both men and women have their own problems. 
As for bodily anatomy, circumcision falls under that. 
> What does the phrase “men’s rights” mean in that lens? How can cishet white men be oppressed by misandry?
Respectfully, it doesn’t matter. Them being white or straight or not trans doesn’t mean they’re not going to feel the consequences of misandry. One such example is rape. men, as a whole, don’t really get recognized as rape victims. That is one of the big problems men face. It’s not even just with the regular people--it’s the laws set in place. The laws are excluding them and I’ll show you two examples from the response I have for that ask: 
This is Georgia 's law (From the US)
As mandated by O.C.G.A. § 16-6-1, the offense of rape occurs when there is any penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ of:
a female forcibly and against her will, or
a female who is less than ten years of age.
This is from Switzerland: 
Any person who forces a person of the female sex by threats or violence, psychological pressure or by being made incapable of resistance to submit to sexual intercourse is liable to a custodial sentence of from one to ten years.  
That’s a problem, as I said. Every rape victim should be recognized and given help and justice. But how is that supposed to happen in situations like this? Then you have the regular people; the people who who laugh and make jokes and all. That’s not cool and especially not on someone’s mental health. And I acknowledge that there are men doing it as well which is wrong. But there are also plenty of women who don’t take the notion of male victims seriously either.
Anyway, the answer to the ask that I will get done eventually, will go into much more detail. It will feature other topics like homelessness, how  men are treated with their mental health differently and a lack of resources, the discrimination within the legal system, etc etc 
Sources: 
https://bixonlaw.com/georgia-rape-laws/
https://fedlex.data.admin.ch/filestore/fedlex.data.admin.ch/eli/cc/54/757_781_799/20200701/en/pdf-a/fedlex-data-admin-ch-eli-cc-54-757_781_799-20200701-en-pdf-a.pdf
Also thank you for the ask! 
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ptergwen · 4 years ago
Text
call me cupid
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w/c: 3.5k
warnings: very mild angst and a few swears
summary: despite your hatred for valentine’s day, peter attempts to make you a card
a/n: happy valentine’s day my loves!! i hope y’all get to spend some time with your people today and eat lots of chocolate <3 love you & enjoy mwah
-
it’s no secret that peter is terrible with words. he gets so flustered he can’t talk or forgets what he wants to say altogether. school presentations are torture. ordering food out is impossible. he’s accepted it at this point, that speaking just isn’t for him.
the one place it doesn’t come across is on paper. peter is ridiculously smart, and he knows all the right words to string together, which is why writing you a valentine should be no trouble at all. should be no trouble at all.
to tell the truth, he’s been sitting at his kitchen table with a blank sheet of paper in front of him for what feels like hours. nothing is coming to him. he’s not sure why this is so hard. you’re his girlfriend, he loves you, he’s said it so many times in every way he could think to. what’s different about it now?
everyone puts way too much pressure on giving the perfect gift when they should really just be enjoying each other’s company on a holiday about love. or, in your words, a meaningless holiday that was created by capitalists as another excuse to take people’s money. 
alright, you aren’t too fond of valentine’s day.
it makes anyone who’s single feel like shit and anyone who’s in a relationship lose their shit.
only mj agreed when you shared your criticisms. ned and betty gave you looks like you were insane, and flash muttered something about you being undateable. peter had laughed and swung an arm around your shoulders, but he didn’t fully agree.
although valentine’s day has its flaws, peter likes to see it as twenty four hours of extra appreciation for the people in his life. you can buy chocolate for your friends and family. it doesn’t have to be a significant other, really. him and ned would do it before he had you and ned had betty.
peter wants to remind you how loved you are even if you’re not into the festivities like he is, that bringing him to writing your card. it’s a simple and clinically underrated way of expressing his gratitude. he’d write you love letters every day if he didn’t suck at them.
may comes out of her room to see peter in the same place he’s been since he got home from school. she looks at him through her glasses, smiling as she comes into the room. he’s tapping his pencil on the table, eraser down, searching his mind for anything to write.
“still nothing?” may asks him, making her way over to the cabinets. peter puts down the pencil and sighs. his shoulders slump. “nope. i haven’t gotten past the intro.” “intro, huh?” she teases her newphew and grabs a jar of sauce. “y/n isn’t your teacher, kiddo. you’re not writing her an essay.” she looks at peter over her shoulder. a sheepish smile creeps onto his face.
“you know what i mean.” he reads over the only words on his paper at the moment. dear y/n. he’s starting to feel like spongebob the one time he wrote a paper. “what are you making?” peter asks may so he can temporarily take the focus off his unwritten valentine. “pasta,” may shakes the box in her hand. “and meatballs.”
“should i dial 911 now or wait until we’re in flames?” peter jokes about her awful cooking skills. may shoos him off and puts the box of pasta on the counter. “worry about your own kitchen nightmare.” she nods at the sheet of paper tormenting him. frowning, he glances back at her. “i’m the worst, may. i really don’t know what to write.”
may struggles to open the jar of sauce as she replies. “i thought you said- jesus.” it pops off. “y/n doesn’t like valentine’s day.” she slides over a pot from the stove and dumps the sauce in. peter stares up at the ceiling. “she doesn’t.” that’s probably why he’s having such a hard time. “why are you writing her a card, then?” may questions, turning on a burner.
“because, i dunno, it’s nice? it’ll make her happy? she might not care, but i do.” he mumbles the last part. he’s a bit of a hopeless romantic, so he hasn’t quite adjusted to the idea you had of not getting each other presents. you’re treating it like a regular day. some takeout and cuddles is all you’re doing.
peter would rather buy you things until his pockets are empty. not that there’s much in them, anyway. the point is that you deserve proper spoiling instead of corny words in his shitty handwriting.
“peter, honey. it might be better to stick with what y/n wants,” may suggests while stirring the sauce in the pot. she’s well aware that a few paragraphs from peter won’t change your mind. your opinions belong to you, and there’s nothing he can do about it, though he does have good intentions.
ignoring what may just said, peter makes a request. “what if you help me write it?” she faces the stove again. he can picture her playful smile when she quirks back, “she’s not my girlfriend.” “no, but you’re a girl... a woman,” he corrects himself, earning a scoff from may. “you’d probably know what sounds good.”
“you know y/n better than me, peter. do it on your own,” she exhales and turns back around with the wooden spoon in her hand. “it’ll be more... heartfelt.” peter hates that may is right because he’s completely stuck. his heart is being stupid today. “okay. i’ll try.” he gives her a slow nod. “why don’t you take a break? come stir the sauce. i’ll start the pasta.”
peter gets up from the table and grabs the spoon from may. she pinches his cheek on her way to the sink, getting a tight lipped smile from him.
this is not good.
-
the next day at school, peter asks around the lunch table for advice while you’re on line getting food. he feels guilty about it because may told him not to. he’s never going to get your valentine done if he doesn’t, though. it isn’t the worst thing in the world to bring on some co-writers.
“ok, what do you have so far?” betty asks, fully invested in the situation. she’s hoping this will switch up your views on valentine’s day. peter pulls out the same piece of paper from last night and says verbatim what’s on it. “dear y/n.” he looks up at ned and betty, the corners of his mouth twitching down. ned motions with his hand for peter to go on.
“that’s it,” peter confesses and folds the paper back up in shame. “dude, you told us it was a work in progress,” ned winces, betty taking his hand that’s resting on her shoulder. “where’s the progress?” betty patronizes him. they’re making him feel worse than he already did. what great co-writers he’s collaborating with.
peter throws a hand up, an eye roll included. “yeah, it’s terrible. can you help me or not?” mj narrows her own eyes at peter from the other end of his bench. she’s not interested in participating when the conversation is about forcing you to celebrate a holiday you don’t like.
“ooh!” betty squeals and squeezes ned’s hand. “you should make a list.” ned grins, leaning his head on hers. “genius, babe.” “a list of what?” peter furrows his eyebrows as he looks between the two of them. “what you love about y/n,” she explains, ned adding on, “stuff you do together, or you appreciate.”
“put whatever you come up with into sentences and voilà,” betty says in her best french accent. “oui oui,” ned agrees, both of them giggling. that doesn’t sound half bad. peter could manage a list about you. “thank you so much, guys. you literally just saved valentine’s day,” he confidently tucks his paper into his pocket. “it’s what we do,” ned tells him coolly.
“you never asked what i think,” mj cuts in, staring down her friends, who reluctantly meet her gaze. she pushes her bag of goldfish aside and raises an eyebrow. “mj, we know how you feel about valentine’s day.” peter presses his lips together. “y/n feels the same way,” mj reminds him dryly.
it’s true, but he doesn’t want to hear that right now. he’s having a breakthrough.
like clockwork, you appear at the table. you slip into the spot next to peter and put down your lunch tray. “what’d i miss?” you comment on the obvious tension, eyeing betty for an explanation. mj gives it to you. “valentine’s day discourse,” she tells you knowingly. peter shifts in his seat, uncomfortable, like he’s been caught doing something he isn’t supposed to.
he technically has.
“yuck,” you murmur, winding your arms around peter’s neck. “yuck, yuck, yuck.” he finds your words ironic because you then kiss his cheek, and peck his lips when he turns his head. peter puts a hand on your side and lets his eyes go up and down your face. a smile spreads across it, which he returns without thinking about. mj huffs in disapproval. she’s seen enough pda.
-
peter makes his list later that night. he decided he isn’t being inauthentic because he’s coming up with everything himself. he breezes right through it, jotting down what he loves most about you across the paper. it’s a mess. scribbled out misspellings and shreds of eraser, single words and whole phrases covering both sides. he’s proud of his actual progress.
he’ll write the official letter tomorrow since you’re coming over tonight. he at least has his material. the next, thankfully final, step is to reword it.
you’re ranting to peter about some drama with one of your teachers. he listens intently as always, chuckling when you crack jokes and grinning the entire time, feeling so lucky to have the most passionate, say whatever is on her mind girlfriend ever. seriously, it’s inspiring to watch.
“no, like, i never know what’s going on in that class,” you snort, peter snaking his arms around your middle from behind. “because you don’t pay attention,” he hums with his face nuzzled into the back of your neck. “because it doesn’t make any sense!” you defend yourself. his lips brush against your bare skin, drawing a giggle out of you.
“back to what i was saying,” your voice drips with sarcasm. the two of you naturally gravitate to his room, you walking in first. “she called on me, and i- what’s this?” you escape peter’s arms and head over to his desk. crap, he was working on your valentine and forgot to put it away. it caught your attention because it’s surrounded by crumpled papers and glitter.
peter was... experimenting... with designs for the front of the card. he’s learned that he isn’t too artistic either.
“wait, don’t read that,“ peter tries, but you’ve already got the list in your hands. he anxiously sucks his lower lip into his mouth and comes to stand next to you.
you first see the ‘dear y/n,’ then focus in on a few other words. my person forever, which makes you coo at the paper. insane (in the best way), which makes you gasp dramatically. i know you don’t like valentine’s day, but...
you drop the card back on the desk and let out a breath, shutting your eyes as irritation creeps in. it wouldn’t be fair for you to be mad at peter because it’s a sweet gesture, it really is. just, not for you personally. you’re on opposite sides of the valentine’s spectrum. you despise it, he sort of loves it. you’d hoped to meet somewhere in the middle.
“i thought we said no gifts,” you keep your voice level and spin around to look at peter. his face is painted with guilt. “it’s a card,” he murmurs, then meets your eyes with his brows knitted together. “i can’t even give you a card?” “i mean...” you shrug and shake your head. “look, peter. we had an agreement. i’m not doing valentine’s day.”
his disappointment comes out in the form of hanging his head. “yeah, you’re right. sorry.”
may tried to tell him this would happen, mj tried to tell him, and now you’re telling him. he should’ve expected it. he isn’t sure why he’s being so mopey about it because he was fully aware of your hatred for anything with the word valentine in it. it still hurts. peter just wishes you’d let him have the one day to love you and only you, give you some special attention.
“it’s nothing against you, babe,” you reassure him, noticing the shift in his mood. you put a hand on his shoulder. “i really just don’t like valentine’s day. it feels so... fake to me.” peter musters up a smile that doesn’t meet his eyes. it drops when you loop your arms around his torso.
“if i celebrated, you’d be the first person i’d wanna spend it with.” you punctuate your words with a kiss to his cheek. he rests his chin on your head, you nuzzling your own cheek into his sweater. he’s feeling a bit better now. it’s not about him, that’s what he needs to remind himself. “thanks, baby,” peter speaks lowly into the air. you hum as if to say no problem.
scratch literally everything he’s done.
-
peter rolls over in his bed, rubbing at his eyes as his alarm goes off. it’s today. happy valentine’s day to... himself. he doesn’t think you’d want to hear it.
he’s not as broken up about everything as the other day. you have your reasons for not celebrating, and peter accepts them. hey, he still gets to spend the whole day with you. you’re technically having an unspoken valentine’s date.
he gets up from his bed with a yawn and starts to dig through his drawers for an outfit. you should be over soon.
before you head over to peter’s, you decide to make a quick stop at cvs for a few things. you ended up feeling pretty terrible about snapping on him essentially for loving you. it was over a harmless valentine, something to make you feel good and be an outlet for the hundreds of romantic bones in his body. basically, you were bitter about having a thoughtful boyfriend.
you want to make it up to him by giving him gifts instead. you’ll never be down with the whole exploitive and capitalistic side of valentine’s day, but there’s a deeper meaning to it than what you give it credit for. you see that now. peter was able to show his love for you through a homemade mess of a card, and you felt it. the price tags don’t matter. the meaning does.
dressed in his nicest sweater with his hair all styled, peter answers your knocking at his door. a grin instantly paints his face as he takes you in. you’re bundled up in a coat and holding a bag by your side. “hey,” he greets you and lets you past him. you shut the door behind him, returning the smile and winding an arm around his neck for a hug. his drapes around your back.
“hey. happy valentine’s day.” “happy valentine’s-“ peter realizes what he’s about to say and what you just said, then stops himself. “what?” he breaks the hug, squinting at your odd behavior. you’re the last person he’d expected to hear that from. “it’s valentine’s day. so, happy valentine’s day,” you tell him like it’s nothing.
he stays quiet while you shrug off your coat and throw it over one of the kitchen chairs. you bring your bag along with you, peter following you in. he’s suspicious. intrigued, and suspicious. it’s been less than a day since he last say you. you had a change of heart that fast? you aren’t the biggest valentine’s day anti he knows anymore?
“where’s may?” you wonder aloud, taking both of peter’s hands in your now free ones. he eyes the shopping bag you put down while you lace your fingers together. “with happy. they’re getting brunch.” he’s never particularly psyched to talk about their relationship. it’s always been in a joking way, though. now, he sounds genuinely upset to go over may’s whereabouts.
“they’re so cute,” you comment, tugging on peter’s hands so he looks at you. “you good?” “great,” peter half lies and nods, then presses a reassuring kiss to your cheek. he’s not bad. puzzled is the word. what you say next only adds to it.
“good. i have a few things for you,” you beam at him and grab your shopping bag off the chair. that’s what that’s for? peter isn’t fully sure what you’re up to. it doesn’t stop a smile from stretching across his lips, though.
“what happened to no presents?” he tests you as you reach into the bag. “well, i feel bad about how i acted the other day.” you pull out a heart shaped box of chocolates. “the card was really sweet, and i was too caught off guard to appreciate it. i’m sorry, pete.” peter’s eyes twinkle at you, gazing as you give him a smile with a hint of shyness behind it. you’re leaving your comfort zone and entering his.
“i was wrong and cynical and just, yeah. happy valentine’s day,” you add on and shove the box into his hand. he finally grins, so wide and then lets out a breathy laugh. “thanks, y/n. i know it was probably hard to shop being surrounded by this stuff.” he holds up the box. he’s right. you’ll unfortunately be seeing pink and red for weeks. “it was, but i did it for you.” you happily open up your arms for him.
peter puts down the chocolates and pulls you into his arms, his cheek squished against the side of your head as he hugs you to his chest. “oh my god, i love you so much,” he mumbles out, you squeezing him in response. “i love you, pete.” you press a quick kiss to his neck and hold him at arm’s length so you can see him. “i have something else for you.”
“baby,” peter coos, a pout on his lips. “you don’t have to do all of this. i would’ve been fine without the chocolates, even.” “stop, you deserve it,” you shut down the part of him that’s way too nice and selfless. “you’re my real present,” he says lower and with a toothy smile. shaking your head, you reach behind you and into the bag.
he can’t believe you’ve switched stances on valentine’s day. you’re the present pusher, and he’s refusing them. peter thinks it’s some sort of miracle that you’re not only acknowledging the holiday, you’re also partaking in it. his hopeless romantic side tells him it’s actually love, and it is. that’s the cheesy, hallmark movie truth. you suffered through shopping at a heart themed cvs because you love him. simple.
you return with a pink envelope that you place into peter’s hand. his face softens as he closes his fingers around it. “y/n, you made me a card?” “kind of,” you laugh at his overstatement. it’s obviously pre-made. you’d used a pen to fill it out in the store, scribbled a few words and tucked it into the envelope.
“it really doesn’t compare to yours, though,” you simultaneously warn and compliment him. peter dismisses you with a lighthearted click of his tongue. “oh, shush. that was only a rough draft.” “which proves my point even more. open it.” you grip onto the bottom of his sweater and grin.
he keeps his eyes on you while ripping open the envelope, then looks down and chuckles at the gag of the card. it has r2d2 and r4d4 from star wars on the front. inside is already written, “r4 is red and r2 is blue. if i was the force then i’d be with you.” you giggle to yourself, watching him read what you wrote next. i love you more every day, especially on valentine’s. xo, y/n.
peter holds the card to his side and slings an arm around your waist. “they make star wars valentines?” he murmurs, another smile breaking out on his face, one that you of course return. you use his sweater to pull him closer. “apparently. perfect for you.” peter tosses the card down next to the chocolates, both arms now holding you.
“thank you so much, baby. you’re an angel,” he sighs and pecks your lips after. “call me cupid,” you answer.
you give him a longer kiss back, tilting your head up to deepen it. your hands find their place on his biceps, earning a hum from peter as he moves his lips against yours. you can feel his love in every little movement, how he hugs your waist like you’re made of glass, rests his forehead against yours. when your lips mutually detach, peter speaks first, voice slightly husky.
“happy valentine’s day, cupid.”
you breathe out, peter closing his eyes in content.
“happy valentine’s day, r2.”
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meichenxi · 4 years ago
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Hey, could I ask you how you do shadowing? Like the different ways you do it? You mentioned in your tag that shadowing is good and I'd love to hear how you do it! I do not attempt shadowing much so I don't really know what helps, etc. ToT (my studyblr is rigelmejo)
Hellooo! Thank you for the interesting question!
Tbh I think I do it fairly basically - I don’t use any particularly fancy software, but software like Language Learning with Netflix has certainly made it easier. There’s a whole video on how to get the most of it here: [on mobile, link didn't work - How to study Chinese with Netflix! by Chinese Zero To Hero] (I’d recommend checking out all of their videos actually, they’ve done a bunch of livestreams recently and they place a lot of emphasis on shadowing + the course they are trying to sell you is…actually phenomenally good)
(Also, I have to preface this by saying that I have been very lucky in terms of pronunciation: I learnt about 80% of my current vocabulary by ear without characters or pinyin. I have been in China for eight months in total, and while I didn’t speak Chinese for all of that, I was constantly soaking in info on natural sentence intonation. I still often don’t know officially what the tone of a vocabulary item is, especially if it changes tone like 教, 为 or 相, but I don’t get yelled at so I have definitely internalised a lot of those changes. I definitely would have more trouble with this if I hadn’t had that experience - my other areas are waaaay weaker because of this though- my reading SUCKS lmao and I can literally handwrite about ten characters)
Anyway. How I shadow:
1) Quite simply by playing the line, and repeating it with all the emotion it has!! I usually use Netflix or Viki for this. I try to do it as fast as possible, and if I can’t do the whole thing, I ‘chunk’ it: if I were doing the sentence 我们还不知道他会不会来, I would start from the end with 他会不会来, then 不知道他会不会来, and then the whole sentence. Notice that this isn’t breaking it down into words or even grammatical phrases, but intonational phrases: it would be perfectly sensible to just do 会不会来 without the 他 but realistically, since this is a question, it’s likely that a strong stress will be placed on the first 会, and you wouldn’t be able to replicate that without also included the more weakly stressed syllable before.
2) I locate (intentionally or subconsciously) the main locus of stress within the sentence, and I focus on that accordingly. Tones may become less extreme if they are not stressed, and may become more exaggerated if stressed. This is always a good exercise. I accompany this with physical actions - I throw my hands down, I sigh, I groan!
3) I put away the text, and don’t look at the tones or even my computer screen - more on this below.
4) Finally, when I think I’ve got it reasonably accurate, I’ll record them speaking the line into my phone with an appropriate pause for copying and play it back to myself at various points throughout the day.
5) I then go and find other words with the same tone contour to slot in, and copy it again. After that, I find words that are slightly different tonally and pop them in too.
6) I finally do fun things like hold a conversation with myself. This can be really simple phrases imbued with some kind of emotion - 这个女子到底是谁呀?为什么不认识我?应该是新手吧。You can do this either really informally, or very formally, or both - trying to speak in the latter way is very fun! So then it’d be idk something more like: 那位姑娘是何人,来自何处?This is fun because you can really slow down your speech and sound as elegant as you like!! (this will sound stilted if you do it for modern speech, but it’s a very fun exercise)
Choosing your media!!
1) Don’t use donghuas. Seriously. The voice actors usually speak at a ridiculous pace and not with the same range of ‘normal’ intonation
2) Your Chinese is definitely good enough to recognise when anyone is quoting poetry or speaking in a paricularly sexy literary way so, uh…don’t do that. That rules dramas like Nirvana in Fire OUT.
3) Modern dramas and reality TV shows CAN be great, but they can also be quite intimidatingly quick and almost too mushy at times. I’d recommend informal speech in guzhuang dramas more, because they have professional voice actors and extensive sound editing, meaning that although it might be fast and the vocabulary harder, it’s actually much more accessible and easier to copy. You don’t want to be stuck with the awfulness of 50% failed foreigner and 50% 12 year old boy who can’t enunciate properly!!
4) CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON WISELY. I try to find characters that speak in a dramatic, whiny or childish way. This is so important! There’s literally no use copying Lan Wangji unless you want to be able to have that particular cadence and tone of voice you get reciting poetry. Childish/whiny/dramatic characters on the other hand stress some words very strongly, and rush others together - this is great for hearing what actual real speech sounds like. Whininess wins. In The Untamed, characters like Wei Wuxian (not yllz!wwx but just…regular wwx), 一问三不知 Nie Huaisang, Jin Ling, and Jingyi are all great. Also Jiggy, who is just very extra constantly and speaks much slower as well, which really helps. In SHL characters like Gu Xiang are good.
5) CHOOSE YOUR VOICE WISELY! If you are really aiming to copy them 100% (which you should try at least sometimes), you want somebody with your pitch range to sound normal. I have a sort of party trick in Chinese that because I’ve spent so much time listening to women in guzhuang dramas I can change my voice and sound like a) a scheming concubine with honeyed words, or b) the voice of the Beijing metro. My teacher found it hysterically funny. But it’s not my natural voice, and if I speak like that for too long it hurts. The women usually are too high for me, and the big burly manly men too low - so I’d recommend finding a man with a higher voice, or an older woman (like some of the female characters in Nirvana in Fire). Again, sorry that this is mostly the Untamed (I’m just most familiar with it) but the voice actors for Wei Wuxian and some of the juniors (+jiggy) has a higher voice. Likewise Chengling in Word of Honour.
On intonation in general:
- The thing is that whilst shadowing is useful it requires prior ability in a whole bunch of other skills that you can train - it relies on your ability to accurately mimic pitch, emotion and other contrasts. Training this in ANY language, including your native one, will help your ability to do this in Chinese - so I’d recommend spending a fair amount of time practicing shadowing (or speaking just after somebody whilst listening to a string of text, like monolingual simultaneous interpreting) in your native language too. Any training copying accents or mimicking other people is going to similarly help, regardless of the language.
So, with that in mind, further tips:
1) Hum / try to copy the intonation without any words. What this does is force you to pay attention to what the intonation actually is, versus what you may think it should be.
2) Don’t look at the text! Do! Not! Look! At! The! Text! If you look at the characters or pinyin you’re telling yourself ‘ok this is a third tone here’ etc, but you want to override the part of your brain that has gotten into bad habits and is supremely self-confident in how you’re pronouncing the third tone, and actually just go straight back to mimicking.
3) Don’t be afraid to do it with vocabulary that is way beyond your level. Actually, I find this can sometimes be helpful, because you don’t have a prior idea about how a particular tone pair should be useful - and you don’t know which tone you should be producing.
4) Learn vocabulary by ear - listen to a vocab podcast or even make one yourself (I often do this; I record my daily Anki and listen back to it through headphones copying throughout the day - if you’re not confident in your pronunciation you can get Google Translate to do it). Similarly, pick unknown vocabulary out of a longer segment and remember it, trying to internalise the tones instead of figuring out which tone it is.
5) Find emotional sentences, and copy them with emotion. This is SO CRUCIAL!!! We remember things when we relate to them, and when we imbue them with emotion - and it also helps in hearing exactly how an angry second tone sounds, for instance.
6) When you’re copying, look up, and imagine you are having an actual conversation. Carry yourself with conviction and poise!! Really try to whine like wwx or slime like jgy. After a couple of turns copying them, try to turn off the audio and keep delivering it in the same manner.
7) Swap individual words out. Once you have a line properly figured out, swap a word or two that has a different tone pair, and focus on delivering it with the same pattern of stress.
8) Finally, practice doing this in your native language too!! It’s a skill that we don’t use often, and it can be trained. Some people are terrible at it at first go even in their native language, but you can work on it!
About intonation in general:
1) I think a lot of pronunciation problems with people sounding unnatural or stiff ultimately come down to a fundamental misunderstanding of what intonation looks like across different languages. In English we mark it by pitch: and we are so used to the rhetoric that Chinese has ‘tone’ and not ‘intonation’ that we try and focus on blindly copying every single word textbook perfect without listening to how it actually sounds.
2) Chinese does have intonation!!! Except that, unlike English, when you stress a word, the pitch doesn’t change, but the tone contour is exaggerated - basically the only time you will ever hear a full third tone is in isolated or very exaggerated speech. If you have a Chinese friend, get them to record a sentence like the English ‘I didn’t ask her to steal his rucksack’, and put stress on the different elements of it - I didn’t ask, I didn’t ask, I didn’t ask, and so on. Notice and copy how the tones change. When shadowing, you should always be paying attention to where the stress is in the sentence: when you speak by yourself, practicing saying a sentence neutrally, and then with stress on one component, the next, and so on. If it feels unnatural, it’s because you might not have practicised like this before - it’ll get better!
Hope that’s somewhat helpful / interesting!
- 梅晨曦
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ilikekidsshows · 3 years ago
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Idk how to phrase this properly, but can you talk about how despite Ladybug steps on Chat's triggers sometimes, she's still a good friend to him and an exception and a symbol of hope to him that not everyone is like Gabriel at all? (Like the differences in her and Gabriel's attitudes towards him in episodes like Glaciator and the NY special?)
Yeah, the New York Special and 'Glaciator' are both cases where Marinette kinda screwed up. However, using these cases to say Marinette is like Gabriel is just not on. Marinette and Gabriel have parallels, but their treatment of Adrien is not one of them. In fact, I'd say it's one of the most important points of contrast, aka difference.
When it comes to the New York Special, I believe it isn't fair to judge an entire relationship based on what the characters do in situations where they're under extreme duress and the narrative purpose is to create drama. On a regular day, Marinette never would have stood in silence when someone was falling to pieces right next to her. The only reason she was suddenly mute in the middle of the sewer scene in the New York Special was so that the writers could include a really melodramatic breakup-get-back-together plotline. It happens in so many series finales and really makes me think the NY Special's script was originally written for the movie that's coming out. It has a broody atmosphere, it has collateral damage, there's a breach of trust and our heroes break up, Marinette falls off her bike and sobs while lying on the ground in the rain and Hawk Moth launches a nuclear strike. The New York Special is way more dramatic than the show, it's melodramatic even. The level of melodrama makes the NY Special easy to generate salt on, but that doesn't mean it's accurate salt on the show itself, since the show proper is so tonally different. No one's judging anime series based off the OVAs they put out.
But, if you're still interested, I did do a full conflict analysis on the New York Special here, where I went over how Adrien's tendency of projecting his relationship with his father into his relationship with Ladybug got some solid countering evidence to help him overcome that in the special (if the special is canon to the show). I've also discussed my interpretation of what's going on in 'Glaciator' here and here. However, I'll say here that Ladybug accidentally treating Cat Noir like Gabriel does Adrien in 'Glaciator' is not the reading the episode is going for. Marinette forgot Cat Noir existed due to some personal issues she has while Gabriel blatantly doesn't care what he does to Adrien and uses his disregard to manipulate Adrien into staying home just in case Gabriel might grace him with his presence. The perceived similarity exists in Adrien's mind because 'Glaciator' focuses on his trauma from his abuse at home.
The primary difference between Marinette and Gabriel is that Marinette genuinely is terrible at managing her time and responsibilities and tends to forget a lot of Ladybug-related stuff in the first two seasons, while Gabriel is knowingly and purposely neglecting his son in order to keep him hanging on to his every word. There's a huge difference between someone who cares being bad at showing it and someone who cares knowingly manipulating you. The difference is that, if Marinette knew she was actually inflicting Cat Noir with the same pain his father does, she would regret it and try to make up for it. Gabriel knows what he's doing when he does it and does it repeatedly even when he knows what it does to Adrien. He's an empath. It's deliberate. Meanwhile, Marinette is clueless. The two situations are in no way equal.
However, Ladybug does do genuine good to Adrien's emotional state. She isn't just the person who unknowingly hurts him. A big issue with people unleashing any salt on any character is that they tend to ignore the entire narrative and focus on only some moments that they then give their own interpretations to that take a lot of liberties. Simply put, a major underlying theme in Miraculous is self-actualization, and Ladybug is one of the primary people in Adrien's life, in addition to Nino and Plagg, who not only let him be himself, but actively encourage it. Let's face it, Adrien is a lot when he's Cat Noir. He exaggerates himself, he always speaks his mind, he refuses to be contained. And Ladybug accepts it. And not only accepts, but loves it.
What does Gabriel do when Adrien expresses any part of himself that he doesn't approve of? He isolates him, sends him to his room, and forbids him from going outside. Even the slightest bit of unacceptable behavior or the smallest of mistakes gets punished severely, with no room for negotiation or compromise. Because Gabriel doesn't want to understand Adrien's point of view, he shuts down any conversation Adrien wants to have. Gabriel also constantly uses isolation as a punishment. He denies Adrien his company and the company of his friends constantly, even when Adrien has done nothing to “deserve” it (he could never deserve it, I’m merely referring to Gabriel having something to use as justification).
Ladybug is a different story. She can't know Adrien. Their secret identities depend on it. So, there's a huge blockade stopping her from really understanding her partner. But she wants to and tries to. Anything Cat Noir wants to tell her, Ladybug listens to. She's so willing to listen to him, even when he says things she doesn't want to her, like when he tells her they have to protect Chloé in 'Evillustrator'. This is season one Marinette at her most unreasonable, abandoning her duty in a huff. She delegated the duty of protecting Chloé to Cat Noir alone, but she didn't say he was wrong, even when he said something she really didn't want to hear, that Chloé was in danger and it was their job to keep her safe. Gabriel never listens when he's angry, something we see especially in 'Félix', where he goes on an angry tirade. But, even when she's steaming mad, Ladybug does acknowledge Cat Noir is right, even if grudgingly (cause it's about Chloé).
Another thing to note is that Marinette doesn't take it onto herself to punish Cat Noir for perceived misbehavior. At worst she might snap at him, but she never dangles the right to be in her presence as only being allowed if Cat Noir stays on his best behavior like Gabriel does. Marinette knows she could do this. By season two she's fully aware that Cat Noir is in love with her and is fully dedicated to her. But she doesn't use that because she's a better person than Gabriel, and because she enjoys his company too. She doesn’t walk out on him for a bad joke, or flirting at the wrong time. There isn’t a single moment in the series where Marinette tells Cat Noir to leave the way Gabriel does. She does on occasion run away from conversations, but never in a way that would signal to Cat Noir it’s his fault, like in ‘Oblivio’ or ‘Frozer’. Even with all the difficulties Marinette has with communicating, especially with Adrien and Cat Noir, she never shuts Cat Noir out, unlike Gabriel, who seems to do nothing but shut him out.
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shihalyfie · 3 years ago
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Takeru’s character song “Focus”
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I alluded to this in a prior post (and, to be a bit honest about it, was a little concerned about how it would be received), but I had some friends ask about what I meant about this, so I decided to go more into detail with it! This is also partially in light of the occasion of the Best Partner albums also becoming a topic of interest again, so it feels like a good time as ever!
02 was a pretty prolific time for merchandising and side material as far as the franchise goes, and one of the many things that came out of it was the “Best Partner” series of character song albums (a whole 36 songs for all 12 Adventure and 02 kids plus their partners!). Of these, Takeru’s song “Focus” has been a particular topic of interest for many in the fanbase to its suspiciously loaded language and the fact that, well...it comes off as a romantic song, which is very unusual in a series that infamously didn’t touch on the topic of romance very much in terms of the actual series. Speculation has constantly abounded on what it’s supposed to imply, why it’s written this way, and what it could possibly mean...
But if you look at it closely? It’s probably not meant to be romantic, and it most likely refers to Patamon.
One thing that I do need to point out is context. Many who have been cynical about the song’s alleged romantic implications have generally put forth the idea that the music department was technically separate from the anime staff, so it’s possible that the music staff wanted to bait or provoke fanservice without much connection from the anime production. It is, undoubtedly, true that the music department isn’t necessarily fully tied in with the anime department, and has been fully willing to indulge in questionably-canon silliness (while 02′s Christmas Fantasy is certainly in-character, its placement in actual canon timeline has to be finagled with because of what we know about 02′s actual Christmas, and Tamers’s Christmas Illusion is far more comedic than the series itself actually permits), and, exacerbating this further is the fact that Hikari has her own extremely romantically loaded song, Reflection, which is often submitted as evidence that Focus must be made in the same vein, but tends to omit the fact that the album it comes from (Girls Festival) needs to be taken with a very heavy grain of salt given that it’s a notorious fanservice album that deliberately plays up the “maiden-like” characteristics of all of the girls involved for the sake of, ah, a certain subsection of the audience. (It was also made in 2002, long after 02′s production had ended.)
The notable thing about the Best Partner albums is that all of the material on it is extremely in-character, and this is especially notable because the song lyrics are significantly more obviously relevant to each character in 02 and their relationship with their partner than even the original Adventure character songs were (with said Adventure character songs often toeing into rather vague glosses that are only tangentially relevant to each character, and Mimi’s song on there pretty blatantly being an AiM single shoved onto the album for the sake of being called a Mimi song). Moreover, Focus isn’t just written by some random lyricist they grabbed for it, but regular Digimon lyricist Yamada Hiroshi himself, who was very involved in the anime production in terms of writing 02′s inserts Break up! and Beat Hit!, and, considering everything this series is about, you’d imagine he’d probably have been given some kind of details about what to do with Takeru’s representative song. It would be quite strange if, for some reason, Takeru’s song were the only one to go really off the rails about shipping bait instead of being, well, actually about his character arc. 
I should emphasize that the fact that this song is so commonly read as romantic persists in Japan as well, so whether it was via mishap or not, undeniably, the way the lyrics are phrased definitely make the romantic reading a very reasonable one to pull. The language in the song is extremely “loaded”, and, if it weren’t for the unique circumstances I’m about to describe, most reasonable people can’t really be blamed for taking it this way. However, I will say that all of the most common English translations of various parts of the songs have tended to assume the romantic interpretation as well, and have thus followed up with it by definitively translating it in ways that make it near impossible to read otherwise. So what I’m saying here is that I don’t think it was unreasonable for people to have taken the romantic interpretation, and I don’t particularly intend to blame or criticize the translators who handled this song for also taking it this way, but I also want to make clear that this is not the only way to read the song, and that there’s a very high possibility that this wasn’t the case to begin with.
(Also, since I mentioned Yamada Hiroshi earlier: it’s actually not all that uncommon for him to use heavily-loaded language like this in songs he’s written for the series -- refer to Beat Hit! -- it’s just that people haven’t traditionally taken them as shipping because the context and identity of the songs’ topic matters were so obvious that there wasn’t much need to do speculation about it.)
Let’s take a look into all of the parts of the song that have been traditionally taken as romantic:
"We were together since we were little”
One thing that’s interesting about how this line is phrased in Japanese is that it doesn’t actually specify who was little. And, obviously, if you’re talking about a relationship between humans, you’d think that childhood friends would grow up together, so you’d default to “we”...but, actually, the Japanese text doesn’t rule out the possibility of reading this as “since I was little”. Which means that, yes, Patamon isn’t out of the ruling here -- because, indeed, they met when Takeru was young.
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In fact, this actually is a line that arguably should rule out anyone else, especially including the most common speculated topic for this song, Hikari -- because he and Hikari weren’t actually that close during Adventure, and their time “together” was relatively short compared to the rest of the adventure. Remember that the Adventure kids weren’t very close to each other after the events of the series, and Hikari and Takeru didn’t keep close contact between Adventure and 02 -- contrast Patamon being close to Takeru during the entirety of the series, and, bar their periods of disconnect between Adventure and 02, you could say that he’s been the closest to Takeru since this time, especially since Yamato hadn’t been able to be as present for him as he’d wanted.
"Running, rolling around, and always laughing"
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Again, this is a line that practically excludes nearly anyone else from consideration. Nobody ever did this with Takeru in Adventure but Patamon, especially since Takeru was trying to present himself as a well-behaved kid in the presence of his elders, and it’s entirely possible he wouldn’t have been willing to do this with anyone else but the outwardly childish Patamon. It definitely would not have been Hikari, who was arguably even more reserved than him during this time.
“It would have been better if I hadn’t realized”/“I have a lot of things I want to tell you, but I can’t really say it”/“I can’t ask that”
Sentiments like “I can’t admit it”, or difficulty with accepting one’s own feelings, is usually associated with developing romantic feelings for another person and being touchy about admitting them, but the thing is that this is intended to be a representative character song, and Takeru is actually abysmally bad at admitting anything in general. And yes, that includes not being able to be straightforward with Patamon himself about parsing his trauma over his death.
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Takeru was never able to have a straightforward conversation with even Patamon about the whole issue, because of his nasty habit of never opening up about his problems and never being honest about them. That’s why Iori had to be the one to take matters into his own hands and go out of his way to understand Takeru, because Takeru sure as hell wasn’t going to be able to work through this on his own, or even with Patamon.
“I can’t get you off my mind”
This one’s actually a stock phrase in Japanese that can refer to “being interested” in someone (romantically), but can also refer to something just not really being able to leave your head in general (from being bothered by it, or being very worried). So yes, this could mean anything from a romantic fixation...to simply being constantly worried and concerned about one’s welfare.
“You were always crying”
As far as people around Takeru’s periphery who apparently cried a lot goes, there aren’t a lot! The description doesn’t seem to fit Hikari much, either (she had her moments, but it’s not the kind of thing you’d imagine this kind of extreme descriptor for). Hm, but there is someone who might fit that description...
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Certainly, enough that Takeru would remember.
(By the way, Patamon gets sent on the verge of tears in the middle of his own solo song...)
"The door that I couldn't reach that day, no matter how far I stretched out"
Very important part here: that day. There was a very important “day” that seems to be on Takeru’s mind here. What’s repeatedly referred to in 02 as one of the most traumatic and impactful days of Takeru’s life?
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Incidentally, Takeru and Patamon’s duet song for this album also just so happens to use “opening door” imagery...
“You’re now standing in the light”
That use of “light” is usually submitted as evidence that it’s referring to Hikari via a pun on her name, but, well, “light” does happen to just mean “light”, after all (and it’s used in many contexts that don’t necessarily have to refer to Hikari in 02 itself). And, well...
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Pretty apt description there, no?
"We were always being protected"
It could refer to Hikari, or anyone else Takeru was with during Adventure, but remember that Patamon was always the slowest to evolve (especially given the many circumstances that happened with him in Adventure that kept him unable to actively join the fight effectively for a very, very long time), and Takeru himself also had a pretty nasty complex about holding everyone back.
So, in conclusion...
Despite how loaded the language is, in the end, it’s probably meant to be a song about Takeru handling his trauma regarding Patamon very poorly at the time of 02. Which is, well, what his character arc in 02 was about, so it tracks, doesn’t it?
Bear in mind that, again, this is basically “one readable interpretation of it”, which I also personally happen to back very strongly because I think the evidence simply tracks too much given context -- the details described in the song rule out almost every other candidate that would be relevant to Takeru’s character arc, also happen to describe the events of Adventure too well, and certainly would track much better with everything else in this particular album series mostly being relevant to everyone’s character as reflected in 02. Song lyrics are song lyrics, and interpretation might be in the eyes of the beholder...but, you know, food for thought.
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starlessea · 4 years ago
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Ultimate Guide to Writing Accents and Dialogue
I recently saw an amazing post on how to keep your characters ‘in character,’  and I wanted to make my own about writing accents, dialects, and overall just creating dialogue that suits the people you are trying to portray.
I’m a language/linguistic student, so here are a few tips I think you should consider!
1) Standard Pronunciation: 
First you need to think about where your story is set, and what is the standard dialect of the majority of your characters compared to your main character. What I mean by this is, if your story is set in the South, and all of your characters therefore have that Southern drawl, then it becomes the STANDARD, and has nothing to contrast it unless you introduce something.
If your main character (your POV) has a different accent, then make it NOTICABLY different from the standard of your story. It’s good to have accent variety, otherwise all of your characters start to sound the same.
2) Constructing your Vocabulary: 
Next, you’ll want to consider the vocabulary of your character. Ask yourself questions about them: are they educated, what was their upbringing like, do they work in a field with specific vocabulary? You can strip it back even further than that - when you think of your character how would you describe them? Could you see a badass biker using long, sophisticated diction on a regular basis? Or an old woman swearing like a sailor?
Don’t get me wrong, these are very much stereotypes, and often the most interesting characters are created by subverting your expectations. But use these questions as a springboard for your characters. If you’re writing fanfiction, and know the characters well already from a movie / tv-show, then try to IMAGINE them saying your lines to see if they are something they would actually say. 
However, also note that the register of your characters is bound to change given the situation. Obviously, someone is more likely to use heightened vocabulary in a certain setting - e.g. within a classroom - and more casual language elsewhere - e.g. in a bar. See below for such a distinction:
Formal: Yes/No
Informal: Yeah/Nah
3) Orthography, Syntax and Morphology: 
Okay, so those words might look a little scary, but don’t worry. Orthography is just a fancy way of saying spelling (specifically, the standard spelling system of a time/place and how we might see a character deviate from it), syntax is word order, and morphology is how words are formed (such as grammar, inflections etc.). I’ll give some examples of what I mean.
Orthography: I’m going to use Daryl Dixon from TWD for reference (keywords: Southern drawl, redneck, country). For Daryl, some words he says I write phonetically (according to how he says them), so that the spelling matches the phonology. E.g.:
Standard: “Take care of yourself.”
Daryl: “Take care of yerself.” 
I tend to do this alot with pronouns, such as ‘you/ya,’ ‘your/yer.’ But I also use the long, standard forms for variety and emphasis - e.g. ‘you’re right.’
Syntax and Morphology:
Often, a character will use different syntax or morphological patterns that we aren’t used to. Often, non-native speakers are portrayed using types of English we often categorise as ‘incorrect’ - but are just non-standard. You can find good examples of this within Creole literature.
For example, past-tense verbs are usually conjugated in the present-tense form:
‘we was / if I was you’ instead of ‘we were / if I were you’ 
“I go now.” 
“She gives it to me yesterday.” 
Unfortunately, a lot of these conventions are also stereotypically used to portray characters who are uneducated - think of Joe or young Pip from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, for example.
But, you also want to avoid STEREOTYPING your character too much, as that can come across as amateur or cliche. What I mean by this is don’t over-rely on certain patterns - don’t overuse them. It’s okay to have variety, even if its with the SAME character. Just do it in a way that fits your overall construction. You can even change these speech patterns DURING your story to represent the development of your character, or them picking up an accent, or being around different people.
4) Apostrophe and Negatives:
Apostrophe: These can be used to mark a number of things - such as abbreviations, contractions, possession etc. If your character has a certain accent, they might roll certain words into one another - not stressing specific consonants, for example. We can see this in ‘C’mon.’
Alot of abbreviations are now recognised slang words, too. For instance:
C’mon = Come on 
‘Cos = Because
Lil’ = Little
‘Ma = Mama / mother
Ol’ = Old
Think about whether certain abbreviations and slang matches the register of your character, as well as their location. For example, slang words like ‘cuppa’ (cup of tea) are usually expected in a British setting.
Also, remember that the apostrophe goes in the position of the letter/letters you are getting RID OF, which is not always necessarily in the place of the contraction. E.g:
‘Do not’ contracts to ‘donot’ which abbreviates to the standard ‘don’t.’
Going back to my Daryl Dixon example, other common abbreviations I use for him include the following:
‘Ing’ contraction - walking becomes walkin’.
 Anyone, anything - becomes ‘nyone, ‘nything
Pronoun contractions - her becomes ‘er.
Connective contractions - and becomes an’ or n’.
Other contractions don’t even need apostrophes - such as ‘gonna,’ ‘gotta,’ ‘sorta,’ ‘wanna.’
Negatives: 
Even though Standard English doesn’t use double negatives anymore, we can use them in our writing of characters as an indicator of their background or dialect. They can also be used for emphasis.
Coming back to Daryl, he tends to use a lot of double negative constructions:
“I ain’t nobody’s bitch.”
“Don’t want nothin’.”
“Ain’t go no reason to.”
If you want to get even more complex, you can have a proclitic negative (where the negative attaches itself to the verb - e.g. don’t), and contract it further so you get a multiple contraction. For example:
You (pronoun), Are (verb, form of ‘be’), Not (negative) = you ain’t = y’aint.
“Y’aint never done shit for me!”
Because this is a three way contraction, it becomes a bit confusing where to put the apostrophe - is it y’aint or y’ain’t? To be honest, it becomes mostly your choice after that (stylistic). 
5) Loanwords and Imposition:
Loanword: This is a word borrowed INTO the native language FROM another one. For example, think of an American speaker using a French word or phrase in a sentence.
“Thought we were all takin’ a laissez faire approach now?”
Think of how this changes the sentence, and the impact it is going for. French is still seen as a prestigious language, so it can be used to heighten register, or can be used to mock/patronise/be sarcastic in a certain context (as in this example).
Imposition: This is when a speaker uses a word FROM their native language in the context of a non-native language they are speaking. It has connotations of power and agency. 
For example, a French speaker might use a French term in a conversation, despite it having a perfectly good English counterpart. This might be in order to demonstrate that a character is trying to show off, or is reminding their peers of their background or status.
6) Non-verbal Indicators:
This is more on the border of style, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Sometimes, the descriptive words you use can reflect a character's dialect. An obvious example can be how ‘drawled’ is associated with a Southern accent.
Although it might sound cliche, you should think about the vocabulary you want to use in order to describe a certain accent. If we were to compare perhaps Scottish or Welsh with French, for instance, you would be able to hear the distinct sound differences. The former are more harsh, guttural, have a lot of sounds that come from the back of the throat, whilst the latter is nasal and flows more.
Use your descriptions to emphasise this. Look up synonyms that describe the WAY in which your characters are pronouncing the words. Are they guttural, harsh, gravelly, thick? Or are they soft, fluid, smooth?
Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. Good luck writing, everyone!
Disclaimer: Even though this post is long, it’s actually really basic on a linguistic level - so I hope no true linguists read this haha. These are just some personal observations, but I hope they help!
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