#not dealing with bad image compression. just click

[ddeck]

the galactic war might be over but the relentless stream of emails never is

i think living in a universe that has flying cars should allow to get your space take out delivered right to your window

my part 1 out of my two-part art trade with beloved @ominouspuff featuring no order 66! Fox. greatly entertained by how different the vibes for our pieces are

[marie098887]

Y/N who gets migraines.

You get migraines. And the bad kind. The kind that makes your head pound, lights sting, and noise feel like it’s echoing inside your skull. Some days, you can push through. Other days, it knocks you flat. But your boyfriend is there to help, and he always handles it.

Part 2: Barou, Yukimiya, Aiku, Gagamaru, Otoya, and Karasu

📝 Requests: OPEN

🦁 Barou Shoei

When he finds out you get migraines: He always thought migraines were just… headaches. Something people exaggerated to get out of things. Loud noise? Bright lights? Deal with it. He never really got it, not until he saw it happen to you. You weren’t complaining or saying much, just sitting there, head down, rubbing your temples. He figured you were in a mood, maybe tired or just needing space. But when he dropped his gym bag and you visibly flinched at the sound, something shifted. He looked at you, really looked.

__________

He didn’t know what to do. Just stood there for a second, jaw tight, trying to figure out if he should call someone or what.

“…Is this a migraine,” he asked quietly.

You nodded. He clicked his tongue and walked out of the room. You stayed still, barely opening your eyes. A minute passed. Then the lights went off. Curtains were drawn. The door creaked open again, quieter this time. He came back holding a cold bottle of water in one hand, and your meds in the other.

“Take these,” he said, setting them in front of you. Not demanding. Just firm. Focused. You took them without speaking. He didn’t ask for a thank you. Then he grabbed a blanket, tossed it over your shoulders, and sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, arms resting on his knees. Didn’t look at you. Didn’t move. Didn’t check his phone. Just stayed. Until you were okay.

How he helps you after learning about your migraines: Barou doesn’t say much, but he pays attention. After that first time, he doesn’t play around with it. If you say your head hurts, everything stops. Lights off, room quiet, no questions. He gets your meds, makes sure you're warm, and stations himself somewhere nearby — close enough to help, far enough not to crowd you. If anyone tries to interrupt, he shuts it down instantly. You don’t need to explain. He just handles it. Quietly. Completely.

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🍊 Yukimiya Kenyu

When he finds out you get migraines: He’d heard of migraines before, mostly in a medical sense. He knew the symptoms, knew what they looked like on paper. But he never really got it. Not until you were sitting at the edge of the bed, sunglasses on inside, shoulders drawn in like you were trying to fold into yourself.

__________

At first, he thought something happened. Maybe someone said something to you, maybe it was stress. He started asking questions, gentle, but rapid.

Then you mumbled, “Migraine.”

He stopped. His whole expression shifted.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ve got it.”

He didn’t ask what you needed. He asked where it was, your meds, your cold compress, the darkest room. He moved fast. Not in panic, but with purpose. Ten minutes later, the lights were off, the curtains drawn, and a cold rag pressed carefully to your temple. He didn’t touch you more than necessary, just enough to help.

“Anything else?” he asked softly.

You shook your head, eyes closed. He nodded, then sat nearby, scrolling silently through his phone on dim mode, volume off, alerts silenced. Every few minutes, he checked the clock. Watched you. Breathed slower on purpose — so maybe you would too.

How he helps you after learning about your migraines: Yukimiya handles it like it’s personal. He learns what triggers them, keeps track of how often they happen, and makes sure everything you need is stocked and ready. He doesn’t coddle, but he doesn’t leave you alone either. He sits quietly, handles anything outside your space, and makes sure no one interrupts. It’s one of the few times he drops the polished image and just shows up — fully present, and completely yours.

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💚 Aiku Oliver

When he finds out you get migraines: He’d heard of migraines. Knew they were bad. But in the back of his mind, he still kind of filed them under “just rest and hydrate” problems. Then he came home and found you in the bedroom, hoodie over your head, curtains half-drawn, face turned into the pillow like the light hurt.

__________

He stepped inside casually. “Babe?”

You didn’t respond. Just gave a half-nod and covered your ears. His whole mood changed. He stood there for a second, then backed out of the room. Quiet. Next time he walked in, the lights were off. He tossed your meds and a water bottle on the nightstand, pulled the blanket over you, and crouched next to the bed.

“You need anything else?”

You shook your head slowly.

“Alright,” he said, voice low now. “Then I’m not going anywhere.”

He sat cross-legged on the floor beside you, pulled his hoodie over his head, and leaned back against the bedframe. You felt his hand brush yours under the blanket a few minutes later — barely there, just enough to let you know he was still there.

How he helps you after learning about your migraines: Aiku learns fast. He won’t say it out loud, but your pain stresses him out, so he handles it. Quietly. The moment you mention a migraine, he dims the room, clears out distractions, and makes sure you’ve got everything you need. He doesn't hover, but he won't leave either. He stays nearby, lets you rest, and keeps everything calm. Protective in his own way — but make no mistake, he's serious about it now.

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🐼 Gagamaru Gin

When he finds out you get migraines: He never thought much about migraines. Didn't doubt they were real, he just didn’t know what they looked like. He’d never seen someone actually have one. Then he came home and found you sitting on the bathroom floor, back against the tub, lights off, hand pressed to the side of your face. Not crying. Not saying anything. Just still. He stood in the doorway, blinking, confused for a second.

__________

“…You okay?”

You barely lifted your head. “Migraine.”

He nodded once, quiet. Then turned around and left. You didn’t hear him for a bit. No footsteps. Just silence. Then he came back with a cold rag, water, and the bottle of meds from the kitchen drawer. He helped you up, slow and careful, and walked you to the bedroom in near silence. He didn’t say much. Just closed the blinds, handed you what you needed, and laid down on top of the covers next to you — arm behind his head, eyes on the ceiling. His other hand rested near yours. Not touching — just there. He stayed like that all night.

How he helps you after learning about your migraines: Gagamaru doesn’t talk a lot, but he’s observant. Now that he knows what your migraines look like, he picks up on the signs quickly. He shuts off the lights, grabs what you need, and quietly gets you somewhere comfortable. He doesn’t crowd or question — he just stays close, calm, and steady. You don’t have to explain. You don’t even have to ask.

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🤍  Otoya Eita

When he finds out you get migraines: He didn’t think migraines were that serious. He’d heard people talk about them, dramatic, miserable, curled up in bed, and kind of assumed they were exaggerating. A bad headache, maybe. Nothing more. So when you went quiet, stopped texting back, and barely looked up when he walked in, he assumed you were mad at him.

__________

“You ignoring me?”

No answer.

He stepped closer. “Okay, seriously… what’d I do?”

Still nothing.

Then he saw your hand twitch against your forehead. And how tight your shoulders were.

“…Wait,” he muttered. “Is this one of those migraine things?”

You gave the smallest nod. Everything about him changed in a second. He backed out of the room. Quiet this time. No muttering. No commentary. Came back with a glass of water, your meds, and an ice pack from the freezer wrapped in a towel.

“Here,” he said, softer than usual.

You took them without opening your eyes. He didn’t ask anything else. Just sat beside the bed, hands clasped in front of him, elbows on his knees, head down like he was thinking too hard. He didn’t even check his phone. Didn’t leave the room. Just stayed. Low, quiet, and still.

How he helps you after learning about your migraines: Otoya isn’t clueless, he just didn’t understand how bad it really was until he saw it up close. Now? He takes it seriously. He won’t let anyone mess with the lights or make noise, and he shuts things down fast when you say the word. He doesn’t hover, but he stays close, occasionally checking in with a soft, “You need anything?” When you’re in pain, the charm’s gone, and what’s left is real care.

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🐦‍⬛ Karasu Tabito

When he finds out you get migraines: He used to think migraines were just glorified headaches — something people used as an excuse to skip class or avoid plans. He didn’t question it out loud, but he didn’t take them seriously either. Then one night, you stopped talking mid-sentence and leaned into the arm of the couch, eyes shut tight. Your fingers were pressed against your forehead, breathing shallow. He assumed you were tired. Then irritated. Then he thought, Okay... did I say something wrong? When you didn’t respond to your name the second time, he knew something was off.

__________

“…Y/N?”

You barely moved your lips. “Migraine.”

And that was it. He was up. He got quiet. Fast. No teasing. No comments. No questions. He shut the curtains, turned off the lights, and walked out of the room without saying where he was going. You didn’t ask. Didn’t need to. When he came back, he had water, your meds, and a cold rag. He handed them to you without a word, then sat at the edge of the bed, scrolling on his phone, dimmed to the lowest setting, no sound, no buzz. Every few minutes, his eyes flicked over to you. Subtle. Checking. But he didn’t move. Didn’t say anything else. He just watched.

How he helps you after learning about your migraines: Karasu is observant by nature — and now that he knows how migraines affect you, he catches it early every time. He notices your posture, your expression, the slight tension in your voice — and starts shutting things down before it gets worse. He doesn’t make a scene. He just acts. Lights off. Curtains closed. Everything still. He doesn’t hover or ask too many questions, but he’ll stay close enough to be there the second you need something. He takes it seriously now — and no one around you is allowed to treat it lightly either.

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Authors note~

Hey y’all! So turns out I myself get migraines! Not just migraines though I get a kind called an ocular migraine. Basically means my vision acts funny then I get a migraine. Scared the shit out of me the first time. I completely thought I was gonna have a whole stroke 💀 So y’know, if I ghost for a few days that’s most likely why or school. Thank y’all for the support <3

[drmadaturel]

Numbness or Tingling in Limbs? You May Need the Best Neurosurgeon in India

A little numbness in the fingers. A weird tingling sensation running down your leg. You might brush it off, blaming bad posture or a long day at work. But when these symptoms keep coming back—or get worse—it’s time to stop guessing.

You may be dealing with something much more serious, and only the best neurosurgeon in India can uncover the root cause before it’s too late.

What Does Numbness or Tingling Really Mean? These symptoms—known medically as paresthesia—usually point to nerve irritation or compression. They can affect the arms, legs, hands, or feet. Most people describe them as:

“Pins and needles”

Burning or electric-shock-like sensation

Reduced feeling or touch

Occasional weakness or stiffness

While sometimes harmless, recurring numbness or tingling can be a red flag for neurological problems.

Possible Underlying Conditions Common medical causes include:

Herniated or slipped discs

Cervical or lumbar spondylosis

Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)

Nerve root compression

Tumors pressing on nerves

Multiple sclerosis or other autoimmune diseases

Peripheral neuropathy (especially in diabetics)

A neurologist might start the workup—but if nerve compression or spinal involvement is suspected, a neurosurgeon must step in.

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore These Symptoms Here’s the hard truth: by the time tingling turns into weakness, nerve damage may already be happening. Nerves have limited capacity to heal if compressed for too long. What begins as a tingling pinky could lead to:

Permanent muscle weakness

Loss of coordination

Paralysis in extreme cases

Early diagnosis can prevent irreversible damage.

What the Best Neurosurgeon in India Can Do The top neurosurgeons are experts in identifying and treating nerve compression, whether it stems from the spine, brain, or surrounding structures.

You can expect:

Detailed neurological examination

High-resolution MRI and spinal imaging

Diagnosis of exact nerve involved

Surgical and non-surgical solutions

Personalized treatment plans

Their goal isn’t just pain relief—it’s restoring function and quality of life.

Not Every Case Needs Surgery A top-tier neurosurgeon doesn’t rush into operations. In many cases, symptoms can be managed with:

Physical therapy

Medication

Postural correction

Nerve root injections

Lifestyle changes

Surgery is considered only when:

Symptoms worsen despite treatment

There’s clear evidence of nerve compression

There’s weakness or coordination loss

Common Surgical Treatments for Nerve Compression If surgery becomes necessary, these are some options:

Microdiscectomy – removes disc material pressing on a nerve

Laminectomy – relieves spinal canal pressure

Foraminotomy – enlarges openings where nerves exit the spine

Tumor removal – if a mass is found compressing neural tissue

These procedures are now minimally invasive, with faster recovery times and reduced risks.

A Story That Hits Home Prakash, a 55-year-old accountant from Pune, started experiencing tingling in his right hand. He ignored it for months, thinking it was age-related. Eventually, he lost grip strength and couldn’t hold a pen. An MRI showed a disc compressing the spinal cord. After surgery with one of India’s leading neurosurgeons, Prakash recovered completely and returned to work in six weeks.

The Emotional Side of Neurological Symptoms When your body feels numb, it’s not just physical—it’s mentally exhausting. Fear, confusion, and helplessness often follow. Having a trusted, highly experienced neurosurgeon on your side makes all the difference.

The best neurosurgeon in India doesn’t just heal nerves. They restore hope.

Don’t Let It Get Worse Your body gives you early warnings. Numbness and tingling are not just side effects of stress or sleep—they could be signs of serious nerve involvement. Delaying treatment could cost you mobility and independence.

👉 Click here to meet the best neurosurgeon in India and get a professional opinion before it’s too late.

[vrankup]

Skyrocketing Conversions: A Real Talk Guide to Turbocharge Your Website's Game |vrankup|

Yo, what's up, folks? It's your best digital marketing agency in dwarka, vrankup! Today, we're diving deep into the art of getting those conversions soaring like a SpaceX rocket. Yeah, you heard me right – we're about to break down some fundamental, gritty strategies that'll have your website turning visitors into die-hard fans. No fancy-pants jargon here, just good ol' human-style advice.

1. Get Inside Their Noggins

Alright, imagine you're at a party. You wouldn't just walk up to someone and start blabbering, right? Nah, you'd suss out what they're into, what makes 'em tick. Same goes for your website visitors. You gotta know 'em inside out.

Dig deep, peeps. Do some serious Sherlock Holmes work – research, surveys, whatever it takes. Figure out their pain points, their dreams, and their quirks. Once you got that intel, you can craft content that speaks to 'em on a personal level.

2. Slap 'Em with Killer CTAs

Let's talk CTAs – those little bad boys are like the hype guys at a concert, getting the crowd all pumped up. But they gotta be killer. None of that "click here" nonsense. Nah, you gotta hit 'em with a "Grab Yours Now" or a "Score the Deal" – something that makes 'em feel like they're missing out if they don't click.

And, seriously, make those CTAs as visible as a neon sign in Times Square. Don't hide 'em in some dusty corner. Put 'em where the action is, so people can't miss 'em even if they tried.

https://www.vrankup.com/

3. Need for Speed

Alright, who's got time to wait around these days? Not a single soul. So, don't be that sluggish website that takes forever to load. Ain't nobody got patience for that.

Trim the fat – compress those images, clean up that code, and get yourself some top-notch hosting. When your site loads faster than The Flash on caffeine, people are gonna stick around, and that's half the battle.

4. Show Off Your Fan Club

You want folks to see that others are lovin' what you're dishing out.

Get those testimonials, reviews, and success stories front and center. Show 'em off like they're the crown jewels. People trust people, not robots, so let your fans do the talking.

5. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Smarty

Let's be real, nobody wants to navigate a maze to buy something. If your checkout process is more complicated than deciphering ancient hieroglyphics, you're in trouble.

Simplify, folks. Offer a guest checkout option, cut down on the form fields, and make sure paying is as easy as a high-five. The less hoops people gotta jump through, the more likely they'll stick around to the finish line.

6. Words that Woo

Last but not least, let's talk words. Your copy ain't just there to fill space – it's gotta work its magic.

Tell stories that hit home, tug at those heartstrings, and make 'em feel like you're talkin' directly to 'em. Address their problems, offer solutions, and paint a picture of how awesome life's gonna be after they've grabbed what you're offering.

Now, go work that website magic and watch those conversions do the happy dance! You got this, rockstar! 🚀

[hopeless-ro-simptic]

Familiar Cerulean Eyes Pt. 6

Click here for other parts! Part 7 is up now!

Just gonna leave this here... 

Warnings! Seriously read this before continuing!: This part contains an attempted rape scene. Please just skip to the next part if you are uncomfortable reading that. 

Word Count: 3.3 k 

TAGLIST: @skzero-99​ @superblyspeedydragon​ @jparra4587​ @flyingowls​ @emrysaaryn​ @imuziawi​ @sheedaabee​ @peculiarinsomniac​ @littlelovebug98​ @plutoneu​ @giftofwonder​ @kitty-kat-ash​ @fukyouthink​ @anarchys-bnha-mess​ @threbony​ @orenjineki​ @toobsessedsstuff​ @bamf-barnes​ @x-a-delama-x​ @inanabsentia​ @reallyshey​ @godsblesstheboi​ @operatorsdime @drownedbytears​ @emilymikado​ @fluidfandoms​

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The walkie-talkie they had provided to you only had one station. The station that spoke directly to Kurogiri. You had tried fiddling with the knobs to see if you could get literally anyone else on the line but after 30 minutes of messing with the stupid thing you gave up. At least it told you the date and time so you could keep track of how long it has been since you were left alone in this damned cell.

You hadn’t moved from your spot in the corner since everyone left, curled up with your snack bag and blanket, using the pillow to prop yourself up against the cold wall, choosing instead to sleep the time away. Your body however decided you could only sleep for so long. Apparently 14 hours was the mark. 14 hours of off and on sleeping and now all you could do was pace.

You never thought you would be bored when you were kidnapped, but if you had to go one more minute with nothing to do you were going to start trying to dig your way out of this cell with your fingernails. So you caved.

Picking up the walkie-talkie you pressed the call button and cautiously spoke out loud into the room.

“Kurogiri?”  

The mist beta conjured himself into the room within seconds, well dressed as always. A calming aura surrounding him.

“Yes Y/N? What can I do for you?”

Your cheeks heated up as you thought about your request, suddenly feeling like a child. You didn’t want to come off as whiney, you definitely didn’t want the League to deem you as annoying and decide to kill you. But you were so bored. Bored enough to threaten your life with the company of villains.

“H-hi… um… I just wanted to know if there was like…I just wanted…”

“Company?” The knowing eyes of the mist in front of you was a little unsettling as he immediately guessed as to what you wanted.

“H-how did you know?”

“Omega’s are very social beings, it’s a wonder you lasted this long with nothing to do…and you have been pacing for the last 45 minutes” You glanced up at the camera a shiver going down your spine.

“You’ve been watching me?”

“Only for a brief bit, I was concerned when you didn’t reach out earlier for food. I am surprised it took your this long to reach out for anything at all. I was simply checking to make sure you were alive.”

You relaxed a bit at this. The beta didn’t seem in a hurry to get out of here, and even though he was a villain, you were more than happy for the company. So you sat back down in your nonexistent nest, pushing your hair behind your ears as you thought of how to keep a conversation going.

“So you have to babysit me.. I bet that’s annoying.” You cringed at your words. Why would you say that? What were you supposed to say to a villain to strike up a conversation?

“Not at all, Y/N. I have many jobs here at the league, making sure our guests are fed and comfortable is just another thing that I have been tasked with. If it makes one of our members happy then it makes me happy. Dabi seemed particularly concerned with your treatment while he was gone.”

“Oh…” You paused for a minute unsure of how to proceed. It sounded like Kurogiri did a lot for the league, you wondered why.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You may, though I may not be able to answer it.” He nodded at you to proceed and you fiddled with the blanket in front of you.

“Why are you a ..” You paused, unsure if this was a good way to start, only to be encouraged by the mist in front of you. “Why did you join the league? You don’t strike me as the same as the others.”

“Well Y/N, I have been with Shigaraki for some time now, long before this group was formed... I believe in his cause, and I want to help him achieve it. The hero society is not as pretty as it seems from the outside, I promise you that.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” You mumbled it softly, enough that if you weren’t in a completely silent room you don’t think you would have even heard yourself. But the beta in front of you didn’t miss your comment.

“The question is Y/N, what side of the fight are you going to choose to be on.”  

“I’m not in the fight.. I’m not a hero..” You looked at Kurogiri, confusion across your face.

“Everyone is in the fight… even if they don’t want to be.”

Kurogiri had brought you a deck of playing cards after that little chat, advising you of how to set up a solitaire game to keep yourself busy. You couldn’t help but feel grateful for the kindness he was showing you. Even though you were literally their prisoner right now, he did seem like he was trying to make you as comfortable as he could.

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The next time that you called on Kurogiri was because you ran out of food several hours later. Part of you felt really bad, whispering softly into the walkie-talkie that showed a time of 4am. You didn’t want to wake the villain up, but your stomach was growling so loud you couldn’t sleep. You had just resigned yourself to the fact that you would have to wait until a more appropriate time when the black mist swirled in front of you, the man appearing with what looked like a freshly made bowl of meat and veggies with rice balls on the side. The smell had your mouth watering as he presented the bowl to you.

“I’m so sorry to wake you up this late Kurogiri, you didn’t have to cook…” You immediately dug into the food after thanking him, your stomach thanking you for waking him up anyways.

“No worries Y/N, I wasn’t asleep. We are quite used to being up late at night here, and I usually cook for the other members anyways when time permits.” You had to force yourself not to imagine the mist man in an apron, doting on the other league members like a mother would a young child. He was so different. You also ignored the way he mentioned the other members, like he was already considering you as one as well.

“Is Dabi back yet? Is he okay?” You didn’t even notice yourself asking the question as you continued to eat, just glad for company once again, after your chat last time, it was easier to slip into conversation with Kurogiri, but still a little awkward.

“He has not returned yet, but he has checked in and is fine. He should be returning tomorrow afternoon if all goes well with his mission.”

That’s good you thought, you were halfway through this. Just another day and a half and then you could at the very least have a semi-comfortable bed. You found yourself missing the cinnamon scent mixed with smoke and whiskey, like your omega couldn’t relax without it, finding a comfort in the warm and spicey smell that you shouldn’t have. Maybe you should have had him scent the blanket for you…

“May I ask just who you are to Dabi? I must say we are all quite confused on the two of you’s relationship seeing as you are not bonded.”

“Hmm? Oh…” You could feel your cheeks heat up, realizing you were daydreaming again. You had been thinking about those blue eyes a lot when you were by yourself, the handwriting on his note etched into your mind, it nagging you in the back of your mind like you were missing something about it. You were still upset at the alpha, but your omega was polluting your mind with thoughts that you rather ignore, images being burned into your brain at his words before he left.. he wasn’t wrong. You did want him. You just didn’t want to want him.

“It’s nothing…. He just kidnapped me is all...” That’s all you thought, just a villain kidnapping a random omega off the street. You snorted internally at how silly that sounded while your omega was yearning for him. Maybe you have Stockholm syndrome.

“Interesting…” Kurogiri looked like he was about to say something else, when the familiar click of a walkie-talkie sounded, a voice ringing out.

“Kurogiri, ready for pickup.”

“Ah, it seems Mr. Compress has finished his part. I will return later for your dishes Y/N. Please enjoy your meal.” And with that, the mist man disappeared again without a trace.

Once Kurogiri had gone, and you had finished up your meal, you curled up onto the crappy mattress, pulling the blanket tight around yourself as you cuddled up against his pillow, breathing in the scent as you replayed every moment since you woke up in his room, thinking of those familiar cerulean eyes as you drifted back to sleep.

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You were playing solitaire, like Kurogiri had shown you, several hours later when you decided to check the time again for what was probably the sixth time in the last hour. You glanced at the time on the walkie-talkie, trying to decide if you wanted to bother Kurogiri again for some more food, when you heard a creak. Looking up you noticed that the wall was opening up and in stepped Mr. Compress, a hot plate of food in his hands, only for him to close the wall behind him, locking it in place his scent enveloping the room immediately.

So there was a door.

“Hello Y/N, Kurogiri said you would probably be hungry around this time. He’s a little busy right now so he sent me instead.”

You shuffled in your place on the bed, you weren’t expecting this, to have to deal with another alpha by yourself. You didn’t trust the alpha in front of you but he wasn’t lunging at you to kill you, and Kurogiri and Dabi had been nice so far..and he brought food. He sat the plate down at the end of the bed, bowing to you lowly glancing up through his eyelashes a polite smile on his face. This one wasn’t as comforting as the mist mans but it wasn’t threatening either.

“I don’t believe I got to properly introduce myself last time we spoke. I’m Mr. Compress.”

“H-hi… thank you for the food.” You expected the alpha to leave it at that and disappear back the way he came, but instead he straightened up, twirling his cain in his hands as he watched you with interest.

“What an interesting quirk you have, might I say. We were all very shocked at the little show that you and pretty boy put on.” The smile on his face grew wider as you cautiously reached for the plate of food, taking a whiff of the air. He was pumping out his pheromones like an omega in heat, like he was trying to cover every other smell in this tiny room. It wasn’t a particularly unpleasant smell, you think it was a mix of amber and leather, but there was something about it that made your omega tense up. It was like he was peacocking and you could only guess at why.

“So you and Dabi? What’s going on there, that is of course, if you don’t mind the intrusion?”

Your omega chirped in the back of your brain, encouraging you to claim Dabi as your alpha, if only to get this other alpha to back down. You ignored it though, telling yourself that the alpha in front of you was being nothing but kind to you. He hadn’t done anything remotely threatening to you, like Kurogiri he was probably just trying to make you more comfortable and was looking for gossip, he seemed like the type.

“Nothing…”

“Hmm… see I don’t believe that, and neither does anyone else in the league. You see, we’ve never seen Dabi act so… interested in an Omega before. Can’t say I blame him, you do smell delicious.” You could feel his eyes slowly moving across your form, drinking you in much like Dabi had done a few times now, but this felt different. The alpha in front of you had a weird look on his face that made your chest tighten and not in a good way. You had seen a similar look before from alpha’s. 

“I don’t know what you mean. I barely know Dabi..” You shifted uncomfortably under the alpha’s gaze, your heartrate picking up as you glanced briefly at where the door had been. Your omega was taking over, the alarms in your brain ringing louder. Were you sure it was locked? He had to get out of here somehow, meaning you could get out too.

“Oh? Well in that case, why don’t I get you out of here? There’s no need for a pretty little omega like you to be cooped up in this cage, waiting on a disfigured manchild. Wouldn’t you like that? A chance to get out of here.”

You stayed silent as the alpha leaned down to you flicking your eyes back to his own, his gloved hand reaching up to stroke your cheek gently before he lightly grabbed your hand, lifting it to his lips in a gentle kiss.

“I-I’m good right here.. I’ll wait for Dabi..” The charming alpha stood up, straightening his glove as his lips a sigh leaving his mouth.

“Why would you want to stay here? In a cell, waiting for the walking cigarette? I can provide so much more for you, you just need to say the word and I could treat you like a queen.”

“I-I’m okay… Dabi will be back in a couple hours…actually if you could leave I really need to go to the bath-” you were standing up, the words barely leaving your mouth as you watched the façade in front of you crack. You weren’t prepared for the wind to be knocked out of you, his cane jabbing you in the stomach forcing you to drop to your knees holding your stomach gasping for breath as he looked down at you.

“Look, I tried to ask nicely but you’re apparently too dumb to get the hint little omega. You are coming with me, you are going to be mine, and you are going to like it.”

Compress gripped your wrists pulling you up to be standing, an annoyed look on his face as you struggled against him. You immediately raised your knee up in reaction, hitting him right in the crotch. You expected him to go down. To let you go. You only succeeded in making him more angry. He slammed you harshly against the wall with a sickening thud, your vision going blurry at the pain in the back of your head. You were pretty sure that you were bleeding. He pushed you stomach down onto the mattress, your face landing down onto the pillow thankfully, instead of the wall behind it. He dropped down on top of you, his weight holding you down from behind, immediately trapping your legs with his own to stop you from kicking at him again. He leaned down, running his nose up along your scent glands, his tongue following shortly after.

“Don’t fight it. If you’re good maybe I’ll even end your suffering and bond you like someone should have a long time ago.”

You couldn’t help but let out a soft whimper, your hands reaching up searching around wildly for the one thing that could save you, gripping the fur blanket.

Compress smirked at your response as he scented you heavily to the point where you were dripping in the smell of leather, softly cooing in your ear at an attempt to sooth your omega. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to smell like that burnt idiot anymore.” You could feel the tears welling in your eyes as you wriggled against him, you didn’t want this. You didn’t want the smell to go away. You deeply inhaled the pillow in front of you, trying to block out your senses, only for Compress to snatch the pillow away with a growl. His alpha canines leaning in close to your face as he wrapped his hand into your hair yanking hard on it.

“What did I just say my dear?”

“Please..”

“Darling, quit whining. What do you think Dabi was going to do to you? Wouldn’t you rather it be me instead of that walking patchwork? At least this way you can have pretty pups to entertain yourself with, I doubt that ashtray can even breed.” He was yanking down your sweatpants now, ripping the drawstring that held them tight around your waist. You could feel his eyes roaming along your body, could feel his erection twitch when he noticed the lack of layers to deal with.

You wanted to vomit. Reaching your hands further under the fur blanket you finally found what you were looking for. Dragging the walkie-talkie out from under the blanket you clicked the call button and sobbed into it.

“Help me! Da- Dabi! Help!” You were practically screaming into the microphone, hiccupping through your tears, but Mr. Compress snatched the walkie-talkie away from you throwing it against the wall and shattering it with the force.

“Naïve Omega, no one is coming for you. Stay still” The alpha’s voice rang out and you froze your omega immediately tucking tail at the demand. You couldn’t help it. You fought as hard as you could against your instincts forcing you to listen to the alpha, begged your body to move, to react, to fight back. You heard the zipper of his pants, felt it as he shoved them down past his knees, his legs rubbing against you as he moved, felt his erection hot against your skin as he lined it up to your entrance, not even bothering to prepare you for what was to come. All you could do was lay there and hiccup through your tears and snot and pray that this would be over quickly. You knew better than that though. You had heard the stories of what happens when an alpha goes into a rut. How they can and will go for hours on end until they finally run out of steam. How they usually tended to go a little more feral than normal, and sometimes ended up hurting omega’s especially if they didn’t want it.

You knew that you would rather die in this moment then have to live through the next few hours, but you wouldn’t have such luck. So instead you let your mind wander, focusing on the smallest hint of cinnamon coming from the pillow behind you across the room. Focusing on the singular word that was etched into your brain as clear as day, the handwriting nagging at you. Focusing on the blue eyes that haunted your dreams that were too close to the ones that had been trained on you when you woke up in his apartment just the other day covered in soot and the smell of smoke. You closed your eyes, bracing yourself, a single thought on your mind, of two boys with cerulean eyes.

You could vaguely hear the sound of an anguished scream in the back of your mind, but you ignored it and focused on the growing smell of cinnamon, whiskey and smoke. Lot’s of smoke. You felt warm, uncomfortably so, but you forced yourself to ignore it, focusing on the feeling of floating away.

Your eyes fluttered open looking up at a familiar red-head, cerulean eyes staring down at you with worry. He had you cradled in his arms, and didn’t look like he was going to let you go any time soon. He was saying something… maybe your name?

“Touya... I had the weirdest dream…”

“Y/N thank god, stay awake for me princess, it’s okay, you’re okay.”

“You died…. And I got kidnapped… and then… Touya it was a nightmare.” You felt your eyes fluttering shut again, your head really hurt. Everything was so bright.

“No, don’t go to sleep yet, princess come on wake up.”

“Touya... please don’t leave me.”

With that you were out, the world going black.

[imthepointe]

The One That Got Away

@penofwildfire whoops...hehe :) 

this is entirely based on their lovely and angsty post here!

Lloyd shot up from his makeshift bed, forehead dotted with sweat and eyes rimmed red with tears. His heart so beat loudly in his chest he was sure the thumping could be heard from a mile away.

At once, a steadying hand held his back, murmuring soothing utterances that he did not care to listen to. Harumi’s words from a week prior rang in his ear, the image of the Bounty- along with his brothers- being ripped apart still burned into his mind every time he shut his eyes.

For the past few nights, sleep had not provided any sort of escape or remedy for the past week’s events- rather proving to be an oblivion and open invitation to nightmare.

Nya seemed to have taken notice, much to the despondency of a certain green ninja. 

She stood above Lloyd’s pallet, her hand still on his back rubbing small circles and her voice still cooing words of comfort.

Once he had calmed down a bit, Nya quirked an eyebrow. “Nightmare?”

Lloyd held his head in his hands. “Yeah.”

“Tell me about it?” she asked, sitting herself down beside him. 

---

“I wanted this,” the Jade Princess had said, as she dangled Lloyd hopelessly over the once-bright Ninjago City. She giggled maniacally, her eyes wild and glued to the Colossus a few blocks down the street with fierce intensity.

“I wanted this!” she screamed in the green ninja’s ear. Her smile stretched from cheek to cheek, whatever semblance of sound mind she had left fading before Lloyd’s helpless form.

He was pathetic; he couldn’t do anything in Harumi’s grasp. The green ninja, once highly esteemed and venerated by citizens of Ninjago, was about to watch his friends die at the hands of some sadistic teenage girl and his father.

As much as the sane voices in Lloyd’s mind told him to turn his face away, he couldn’t peel his gaze from the ship in between the stone giant’s arms- the one his brothers were in- being crushed before him.

Harumi dug her fingers into the back of Lloyd’s neck, before pulling him back down to the train’s roof. “Now watch,” she breathed in his ear, a sweet and bitter edge to her cutting voice.

As if on command, the Bounty was crushed to a pulp. 

Lloyd did nothing but watch in disbelief. His teammates were still on that ship. They were still on there, they must have been crushed too-

The Jade Princess jerked his head away from the fallen airship. “It’s too bad you were the one that got away,” she clicked her tongue, twisting her mouth into a grin. “I guess that just means I get to personally deal with you later.” 

---

“Oh, it was nothing,” Lloyd reassured Nya with a sad smile. The same steadying hand from earlier once again patted his back, and though he was grateful for her presence- don’t get him wrong- something still was missing.

To be precise, 3 teenage boys, a nindroid, and a 500-year-old sensei turned infant were missing.

“I don’t believe you, Lloyd,” the water ninja deadpanned. “It’s okay, you can tell me what’s up.”

Lloyd fidgeted with his hands and looked around the room. It was completely empty, save for Pixal and her mech off to the side; his mother and Dareth presumably off somewhere in the city. He sighed, turning back to look at the last remaining ninja left on the team.

“It’s just that we lost them, Nya-”

“Lloyd.”

Upon hearing Nya’s grave tone, Lloyd flinched. Her hands were now bracing his shoulders, and she stared into his eyes; such firmness was not really out of the ordinary for the water ninja, but she usually never took this attitude with him. “We didn’t lose anyone,” she frowned, “my friends- our friends- they are fine.”

“How can you be so sure?” Lloyd interjected. He wanted to believe Nya, he really, really did.

But he couldn’t. He had watched them...

Nya continued to hold Lloyd’s arms, and he couldn’t help but remember the way Harumi’s own hands had held him in place just a week prior. As chill ran down his spine, where he could still feel the Quiet One’s fingers wrapped around his neck.

The green ninja spoke up again, more softly this time. “I saw them, Nya. I saw the Bounty get crushed to pieces. I saw them die.”

Nya bit her lip, visibly tensing. She closed her eyes and whispered a small “I know” before wrapping her arms around the last remainder of her former team.

“I lost people, too, Lloyd,” she muttered into his hair. “But they’re not dead.”

Doubt crept its way into his mind, and subconsciously he thought Nya knew how irrational she was being.

Perhaps more so how irrational he was for believing her. For a split second, he hugged the water ninja back, and accepted the fact that maybe his friends weren’t dead, and that they would come out of hiding soon enough, and Harumi and his father would be defeated, and Ninjago would be saved. That’s how things normally ended, right?

Just as soon as the moment of belief came, it too passed. 

His mother and Dareth burst into the room, both Nya and Lloyd startled from their thoughts. 

Misako’s face furrowed into an expression somewhere between scared and confused, and Dareth looked like he always did- mostly confused- and out of breath. 

“We have to go,” his mother’s voice faltered slightly in a way that made Lloyd’s stomach turn. “The Sons of Garmadon are sweeping the block.”

---

The narrow alleyway the group of five were now hiding in was familiar to the green ninja in a very distant sense- something only Lloyd could liken to vague deja vu, or the moments of disorientation after waking up from a realistic dream.

He held his breath as Mr. E and the rest of the gang passed their hiding spots, with Nya beside him, Pixal and his mother adjacent, and Dareth...somewhere. 

Only once the Sons of Garmadon were certainly out of range did anyone dare make a noise. “Thank FSM,” Nya breathed, pushing the piece of wood the pair had been hiding under out of the way. 

Beside them, Pixal and Misako did the same, and the self-proclaimed brown ninja emerged from wherever he had been.

Misako laughed in relief, dusting herself off as she stood. “Do you all smell that?” she asked, trying to clear the air. She turned to her son, who still sat on the ground. “Lloyd, doesn’t it smell-” 

Lloyd clutched the piece of wood Nya had previously shoved aside. “It’s the Bounty.”

---

The Colossus’ hands closed in on The Bounty, the sound of splicing wood and crushed memories ringing in Zane, Kai, Jay, and Cole’s ears. The stone giant was quickly compressing the ship to a pulp, and with each rattling shake the ninja stumbled closer to one another on the broken deck. 

Wu clutched Cole’s gi and squeezed his eyes shut, burying his head in the earth ninja’s chest and whimpering softly. In turn, Cole hugged him tighter, shielding him from their imminent demise. 

“Zane!” Kai stared at the nindroid at the wheel, an unreadable and blank look on his face. “Do something,” he pleaded, before desperately adding, “please.”

Zane sputtered. “I- I cannot-” He wanted to say that he couldn’t save them, but he supposed the rest of his teammates had already figured that out by now.

Jay looked at Cole, the baby in his arms, then to Zane, then to Kai. The wind whipped wildly around the team and the distant sound of sirens blazed in the background, though almost entirely erased by the screams of onlookers and the clamor of their precious Bounty being torn apart underneath their feet.

But between the team on the ship, it was silent. 

Time moved in slow motion as the Colossus’ hands began to meet, and each ninja glanced at one another other with a small smile on their face and a look that said ‘Thank you for the past few years.’

Cole relaxed in acceptance, though the small figure in his arms began to squirm. “We have to go!” Baby Wu shouted.

The tea. Mystake. 

Jay’s eyes widened in realization as he registered Wu’s words, and then the fact that it was too late to do anything about it.

---

Nya felt her chest tear apart.

The Bounty.

She said nothing as moved a few pieces of wood aside, revealing a broken picture frame that belonged on the ship. Pixal looked around- two engines, an anchor, a sail, a rudder- her home- and it was all right here, lying strewn about before them.

Lloyd sucked in a breath. “No, no, no, no, no…”

He knew this day would come, when he would find the ship he had watched just a week ago be completely obliterated, when he would see the remnants of his home somewhere in Ninjago City. He remained on the ground still, desperately searching through the wreckage for more fragments of the ship.

Lloyd froze when he grabbed something cold, and panic and awareness quickly set in. 

His body began to jerk and tears began to spill freely from his eyes, because he knew what he had found. Still, he couldn’t stop himself as he brushed the wood away, revealing exactly what Lloyd had hoped he would never find.

Kai. Buried underneath the rubble of the Bounty was Kai- but it wasn’t. This wasn’t Kai. It was his corpse. 

A scream caught in his throat, rendering him unable to comfort the master of water as she realized what Lloyd had found.

Beside him, Nya began to breath faster and faster, stumbling in her legs until Misako had to help her slide to a sitting position.

“No,” she sniffled and shook her head, “he’s okay. There must be a pulse, there has to be, they’re all alive.”

Nothing about Kai was alive, and Nya knew that. Lloyd knew that, too, but that didn’t mean he accepted it.

“Here,” Pixal called, small tears rolling down her face. She held a broken and battered nindroid in her arms, with dark and deactivated eyes and stray wires indicating no sign of life.

Neither Lloyd nor Nya moved as Jay, Zane, and Kai’s bodies were all recovered from the ruins; the two simply sat in the same crouched position beside each other in disbelief.

Had it not been Nya telling Lloyd just that morning that they were alright? That his brothers were just hiding? 

He had watched them die.

A few more moments of waiting and Pixal had found the final two bodies. Quietly, Nya helped Lloyd to his feet, and they stepped over broken wood and their own teammates’ corpses to where Pixal was trembling slightly.

Cole, skin cold and gray, body covered in blood, was finally found lying underneath a large pile of wreckage. Still in his arms, despite being crushed then falling hundreds of feet to the ground, was a small figure, its fingers still curled tightly around the earth ninja’s body.

A baby that had died in Cole’s arms. 

Their sensei.

A harsh, half-stifled yell sounded in the ash gray sky- undoubtedly alerting Mr. E along with the rest of his crew of their location- but Lloyd did not care. 

He didn’t care when Nya broke down into sobs beside him, when Dareth and Misako too began to cry, or when Pixal fell to the ground on her knees, unable to stop herself from shaking. 

He didn’t care when a smiling Harumi found him not fifteen minutes later, still clinging to each of their bodies.

[devolympian]

Argo chapter 2

Rubble shot out under my body as I was slammed against the ground, a loud groan of pain escaping my lips in the process. However, I wasn’t on the ground for long as I soon found myself flung into the air once more, Clairs strong legs shooting me into the sky as if I were a soccer ball she had kicked.

As I hung in the air I was soon met with a flurry of kicks, each one hurting more than the last all culminating in the heel of her boot being brought down upon my chest and slamming me into the ground again.

My health seemed to plummet from this, but I managed to stagger to my feet and prepared for one final counter attack.

With all of my remaining strength I cupped my hands together and, through pure will power, conjured bright blue flames which compressed into a large fireball like object in my palms.

I followed Clair with my eyes as she fell to the ground, and as soon as her feet touched the dirt under us, I lunged forward and jutted my arms out sending the flames barreling towards her.

Clairabell simply leaped over it and landed in front of me.

Red and white lights flashed as she gathered energy into her strong, muscular legs and launched an endless onslaught of kicks so fast that they blurred together into bright flashes, tearing space and time asunder. And every kick made direct contact with my body.

With one final explosive heel to my jaw, my body was flown backwards landing in an unmoving heap on the ground. 

My life had emptied.

“Yes” Clairabell cheered as the screen displayed her name in conformation of her victory, “bow to me mortal!”

“Dang it” I whimpered, watching as her character stood proudly over mine, “why do I suck at street fighter?”

“Well you keep choosing Ryu, that’s a start.”

“You always choose Chun Li though.

“Yeah cause she’s awesome and fun to- shit!”

As we were talking the scene in the game had changed to that of a large gray map with small portraits of the characters in front of it. With a flash an orange square appeared and begane jumping randomly from one portrait to another with loud beeps accompanying it.

With one last beep like noise the square landed on an image of a man with long, braided, brown hair and wearing a white mask.

“Oh” I exclaimed, “it’s Vega.”

“Easy” Clair stated as she prepared for the match, “I’ll have this done in like 10 seconds.”

It was over in thirty with Vega tearing through Chun Li with his clawed hands and superior speed.

Clairabell collapsed into a disappointed husk before the arcade machine, her eyes becoming watery as the words “You lose” flashed brightly before her.

“No, my sexy kick girl! How could he do this to her!?”

“Well he did kill her dad so. . . or, wait, was that M bison?”

As I contemplated this important question a 10 popped up on the screen and slowly started counting down.

“Shit, shit, Skye give me a quarter!”

I nodded ok and reached into my skirt pockets, only to find them empty other than a piece of lint and my ID.

“I’m out.”

“Already?”

“Dude, we’ve been here for an hour.”

“We have?!”

Unable to pay for another chance Clairabell and I watched as the numbers dropped until it hit zero and, in bright red colors, “Game Over” appeared on the screen before us.

“Damnit.”

“Sorry Clair.”

With annoyed huff Clair reached into her shorts and pulled her wallet out.

“Don’t worry Skee skee, I won’t let this masked back up dancer wannabe get the best of me. I’ll just wip out my secret weapon, get some quarters, and then smash his stupid face in!”

“I-it’s just a game though.”

A confident smile grew onto Clairabells face as she unleashed her hidden power, one which I could never hope to achieve even if I tried my hardest.

A platinum credit card with no credit limit, and endless spending so long as you pay the bill on time.

Clairs pink lips curled into an evil smirk and I could tell that she was thinking solely about spending every scent she could to humiliate a fictitious gut who had wronged her and the fictitious girl who has been one of video game crushes since she was like 13. 

“Vengeance shall be mine!”

“Y-yeah” I stuttered out, “but won’t it take awhile before you fight Vega, the set up is r-random after all.”

Clair stopped smiling and gave me a disapproving look.

“. . . Skye, please, please just let me have this.”

“O-okay, s-s-sorry.”

“To the ATM” Clair cheered, almost instantly getting her pep back.

With her heels clicking against the arcade floor, Clair confidently struts over to the nearest ATM, her dark brown hair flowing behind her and her swaying hips drawing the gaze of the people she passed by.

I, meanwhile, did my best not to look like a stupid weirdo by scurrying next to her and hoped I was insignifigant enough to be completly off anybodys raidar so that they don’t notice me.

Once we reached the blue and white tower containing an untold amount of treasure (but, if you must know it was most likely between 100,000 and 200,000 USD) Clair raised her hand, placed the card between the scanner built into the ATMs face, swung down, put in a few numbers, and. . . was met with a buzzing noise and the words declined appearing onto the screen.

We stood in silence for a bit until Clair tried again, and was instantly met with the same results.

“Y-you did p-pay your credit bill, right?”

“I have to pay for a credit card?!”

Now, soundly defeated by our inability to acquire a hefty sum of money, or at the very least five bucks, Clairabell and I sulked back to our table where the ice in our drinks had melted and watered them down into tasteless puddles of dark sludge, perfectly symbolizing our utter destruction done to us by Vega from street fighter and a lack of change in either of our wallets.

With a heavy sigh Clair slumped forward against the table resting her chest on the wooden surface and began playing with the coasters, moving them around and making them spin.

“Sorry Clair” I said again, hoping it might make her feel a little better, “w-when I get paid we’ll come back. I-it’ll be a month though, sorry.”

Clair sunk lower into the table from my statement, a defeated groan escaping her mouth yet again.

“Stupid ATM” Clair stated while holding a coaster between the tip of her pointer finger and the table and spinning it, “making me look stupid. I’m made of skin you’re just plastic, so who’s stupid now?! Right Skee skee?”

“Oh, um.” Thinking as quickly as I could, I did my best to come up with an answer that would raise Clairs spirit, and make me feel like less of a bad friend for not being able to help. “W-well, th-the ATM is an inanimate object with no ability to create memories or any other neuron processing abilities, so I guess you’re by far more intelligent then it.”

I smiled after finishing my statement, while mentally patting myself on the back. There was no way that didn’t make her happy.

Clairabell just looked at me with confusion. “The hell are Neurons?”

“O-oh, they’re a cell in your brain which transmits nerve impulses when specific actions are triggered. Memories are the result of specific neurons being activated when the brain recognizes certain stimuli such as patterns and such.” “. . .” “. . .”

“Ok beautiful, I’m gonna pretend what you said makes perfect sense to me.”

“Sorry.”

I felt my face get slightly red as Clair giggled at my expense. Well, she was feeling better at the very least.

“Oh” she said, jumping up and pulling her phone out of her pocket, “I’ll call daddy!”

I watched as Clairs red tipped finger tapped on her phone with the speed of a carnivorous animal attacking the first meal it had eaten in days and the hungry look in her eyes showing the clear determination she had to devour what she wanted in one swift bite. 

Dang, I’m hungry.

She placed the phone to her ear and we waited speechlessly for an answer on the other end.

“Hi daddy” Clair practically shouted, a smile spread far across her face. However, her face full of joy soon became one of shock and confusion. “What!?”

“W-what’s wrong” I stuttered, as a feeling of dread set into my empty stomach.

“Daddy that’s not fair, you can’t- What!? You can’t be serious, it is not that big of a deal!”

“Clairabell?”

“¡Oh, Dios mío, papi, estás jodidamente loco! Sí, apuesto a que si fuera Essy, ¡lo dejarías pasar!”

And now she’s speaking Spanish. By this point I was fully aware that I was no longer relevant to this conversation.

“What? What!?”

With a loud humph Clair turned to me, an angry scowl on her face.

“Skee skee I’m going outside for a minute.”

“Wh- w-wait. Clair!”

Before I was able to protest my sudden abandonment Clair was already heading for the entrance of the arcade, yelling angrily into her phone as she did so.

Within seconds of her departure my whole body began to shake and my eyes began involuntarily darting around the building, unsure where my site should be landing or if I should even be looking at anything at all.

Beads of sweat began falling down my forehead and arms and my throat became suddenly dry as I became painfully aware of how warm this place had become.

Without really thinking I forced my watered down soda between my lips and drank the odd tasting liquid into my body.

As I set the now empty glass back onto the table my thoughts finally caught up to me and questions began flowing into my mind faster than they could be answered.

How many people are here? 

Are they going to talk to me? 

Should I talk to them?

Is it strange that I’m here alone?

Is it wrong to be here alone?

Where were my friends?

How much are the chicken strips here?

Should I scrounge around for quarters and play the games?

Is it okay for me to play the games without my friends around?

If I tried starting a conversation how long would it be until people yelled at me to leave?

How much are the chicken strips here?!

My brain began to ache from trying to answer the never ending onslaught of questions that I began attacking myself with.

Why did Clair have to take her call outside and leave me in this social battle zone where I am left completely defenseless with my subpar social skills and basically useless communicative abilities. 

If Zee were here this feeling would most likely have been lessened and. . . come to think of it, where the heck was Zee?

I guess he’d messaged Clair a little after we’d gotten to the arcade, saying he would be a little late, but he’s normally not this late.

The idea that something bad had happened, or that Zee was in some sort of trouble added itself to my growing number of concerns.

I wish I had a book to read.

I wish I was plotting a masterly crafted revenge scheme with Edmond Dantes, or hunting for lost treasures alongside Jim Hawkins, or fighting alongside the knights of the round table for the glory of king Arthur, or learning how to try new things like green eggs and ham with Sam I am.

My fingers began tapping against the table without me telling them too, almost as if they were typing my thoughts onto an invisible keyboard so that I could read how pathetic I actually was.

No, wait. This isn’t right!

I desperately tried to swallow the knot that had formed in my throat and forced my fingers away from the table before they could make deeper scratches into it.

This was a blessing in disguise. An opportunity that the gods have presented to me so that I might better myself socially and become a proper adult which will benefit society at large.

Clenching my hands into fist, I stood up in my stall, turned towards the violent army of people laid before me, mentally readied my ammunition with various puns on super mario bros and tetris that were always great conversation starters (so I’ve heard), set my foot into the battle zone, and. . . immediately sat back down, my body shaking from my feet to my pony tail.

Hey, I made it a step! That’s a win right?

With a heavy sigh, I just continued sitting in my booth, waiting for Clairabell to return.

That’s when my eyes wandered upwards to the TVs above the bar and a gasp escaped my lips as a sense of awe took over my heart.

Plastered onto the three screens was the same image of a reporter standing in front of a city in North America that was covered in dust and smoke. She spoke with a composed and calm voice but her body was shaking all over and her arms would gesture wildly as she explained the situation.

Unfortunately, the sound was muted by the noises in the arcade but the camera shaking wildly and the cause of the destruction rising from the ground a few moments later made me certain of what was happening.

Not too far from the reporter and her camera crew a creature had emerged, dirt tumbling down its long serpentine body and the sun glistening off its dark red skin. As it sung its upper half towards the camera I saw that its face was nothing more than a large gaping hole lined with crooked teeth that spun into a dark, empty void. 

An Olgoi-Khorkhoi, a Mongolian death worm, had invaded the city and destroyed it out of predatory instinct.

It was so cool!

I mean, not the city destroying part, that is awful for all parties involved, but the death worm itself is probably one of the most amazing animals on the planet!

First off, it actually isn’t even a worm, it is a dragon species which evolved into their current form after their specific species was forced to migrate to desert areas over millions of years ago. Second off It is a dragon!

And that’s not even the coolest part

As they adapted to their environment the worms, or wyrms as we can probably call them, developed thermosensitive scales which adjusted their body temperature according to how hot or cold it was keeping them safe from the deserts rapidly changing temperatures. Their scales would even change color depending on the temperature, red meaning cold and blue meaning warm. Also, they developed giant mouths and the ability to freaking eat anything! 

Isn’t that awesome!?

Granted, this does make them rather dangerous when they wander into cities or towns and are extremely frustrating to get rid of. However, the fact that they live in deserts far underground and tend to stay in one place unless mating makes this an extremely rare event.

But when they do pop up, an even more amazing creature follows.

Just as the worm prepared to dive back into the ground a barrage of golden arrows rained down onto it.

The arrows didn’t seem to bother it but the large number of explosions that followed did as every arrow erupted into a cloud of smoke and flames.

Panicked, the giant creature began tossing around in every direction and two long tentacles appeared out of its mouth in a desperate attempt to catch its attacker only to find that the scales covering its body began to change from their current red color to a dark blue as a giant pillar of fire erupted around it.

As the flames cleared the now blue worm was shown wrapped in chains held by a man with bat-like wings, large horns sprouting from his head, and a tail ending in a sharp barb.

Props to the camera crew by the way, these shots are amazing. So clear too.

The winged man struggled against the worm as it thrashed around desperate to escape its bondage, with intense struggle causing more damage to the city and sending the man crashing into multiple buildings as he held onto his prey.

Moments after this struggle began another man, this one with a long orange ponytail and a large golden bow stepped into the camera shot.

He looked like a college athlete having a large build, broad shoulders, and noticeable muscles. He wasn’t as large or muscular as Zee but he still looked exactly as I dreamed these people would. People who traveled the world, discovering new lands, battling monsters and great evils, aided by any god they wanted to help them.

He looked like an adventurer. 

Holding the bow he held up a pillar of blinding light formed around him only to vanish moments later as millions of golden arrows hovered in the air around the orange haired adventurer.

Taking aim at the worm, he pulled the string of his bow back, released it, and caused the arrows to go flying towards the monster, exploding on contact just like they did last time.

The adventurer then promptly turned towards the camera with a smug smile and a cocky look in his golden eyes. He started saying something to the reporter and her crew, which I couldn’t hear cause bar noises, only to be interrupted by his partner slamming into him.

The camera followed the two as they rolled into the ground and kept filming them as they began, I assume by the angry faces, yelling and arguing with each other.

They stopped soon however as something caught their attention.

The crew turned back towards the worm as a large lump began running up its body and a pillar of dirt, and chunks of the city erupted out of their mouths.

Interesting factoid about Mongolian death worms, they are capable of turning their stomachs inside out and can actually regurgitate whatever they’ve eaten like a super soaker blasting people in the face. It is awesome to look at but most likely not a fun experience when you’re in the direct vicinity when it happens.

The death worm began slowly turning towards the crew and adventures as it fired its pre eaten food with deadly force.

My heart beat filled my ears as I clutched my seat in anticipation for what would happen, hoping with everything that the heroes would pull out one final secret move to combat the attack.

Just then, a black flash shot through the air striking the death worm just as it was about to hit the crew and causing it to fall forward into the city.

I felt my eyes go wide at the images before me and my heart began to pound even louder as I waited for the worm to get back up and face its new challenger.

But, like all epics, this one has a rather disappointing ending.

The worm vanished. Like, straight up, just disappeared.

I eyed the TV with utter confusion and a feeling of disbelief at what had happened.

Then, another black flash shot down directly in front of the camera crew and standing there, with his award winning goofball smile, spiky black hair, and electric blue eyes was. . .

“Zee!”

I shot up out of my seat, my glasses nearly flying off my face when I did so, and watched as my friend stood in front of the wrecked city looking like a superhero. . . before sitting back down and hoping nobody had noticed my outburst.

This was probably what he meant when he said work and, to be honest, it was really stupid of me to be surprised by this. 

I’ve seen videos of him locked in combat with creatures from around the world and even have some stuff that he brought me from those countries. But still, it was kind of surprising to see him on live TV.

How he defeated the worm when the other two adventurers were struggling to even damage it was also something that grabbed my curiosity and refused to let go.

So, naturally I continued to watch the TV in desperate anticipation for any clue I could gain from the scene in front of me. That is, until someone stepped in front of me and blocked my view and I suddenly felt my stomach grow tight and found that it was getting harder to take in air, almost like someone was slowly squeezing my neck until I couldn’t breathe properly.

A young man was standing in front of me, his freckled cheeks tinted with a bright pink as he rubbed behind his curly brown hair and his dark eyes refused to meet mine. Every now and then he’d glance over to, I’m assuming, his group of friends but other than that he didn’t really do or say anything for a few seconds.

Eventually he moved his lips but, for some reason, I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Instead my ears had become filled with a sharp buzzing noise that drowned out all other sources of sound.

The guy in front of me, the people having fun at the bar, even the sound of the video games that surrounded us had become muted to me.

I tried to respond as best I could but every time I thought of what to say the words were erased from my mind before I could get them out of my mouth.

Then, in an instant all the noise shot back into my ears and I was greeted by the laughs of people having fun and the video games that had been entertaining them.

“So, yeah” the guy in front of me said, as he rubbed the back of his head and tried not to look at his feet, “ . . .you-you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I completely understand!”

He glanced around a bit more, his face beat red, as he waited for my response to the question I didn’t know.

What should I say? What should I do? These questions repeated themselves in my mind over and over again and no matter what I thought of it felt like the wrong answer.

Sweat began to drip down my body as my fingers started playing an invisible piano again. All while I stared blankly at the stranger in front of me who was patiently waiting for my response.

I clutched the hem of my skirt in my other hand and twisted the fabric until my heart stopped pounding in my chest.

This person was trying to interact and start a conversation with me, and I was just staring at him like how a child stares at something they don’t understand. 

I owed him a response, didn’t I?

Swallowing the lump made of air that was clogging my throat I mentally readied my words and, with all causian thrown to the wind, I let the first answer that I could come up with out of my mouth.

“I have to pee?”

We both looked wide eyed at each other in silence once more as we pondered my question, which I really wasn’t sure why I asked.

“Oh, uh yeah, okay. I’ll just get out of your way.”

I watched as he stumbled back to his table where I could see his friends laughing and patting him on the back.

It took me a few minutes to remember that I asked to go to the bathroom, even though I don’t have to, and that I should probably start making my way towards there.

My legs jerked my body out of the booth and I began to stagger blindly through the crowd of people, bumping into bodies without realizing it and all around being the nuisance that I am.

As my breath shook its way out of my lungs I clutched the marble counter in front of me as I tried to steady my body.

Somehow, I managed to make it to the bathroom. 

I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten to the bathroom, heck I wasn’t even sure I was still in the arcade, but I ultimately managed to complete the task I had absentmindedly assigned myself.

. . .

Now what do I do?

I couldn’t exactly go back out, but if I didn’t and Clair came back she might get worried.

She could probably figure out where I was but she might get mad at me for making her go through this, or get mad at the guy who tried talking to me, or call the cops to try and find me, or. . .

I looked at myself in the mirror and felt my stomach turn at the site of my reflection and I asked myself the same question I’d been asking for a few years now.

What is wrong with me?

Like usual, I couldn’t bring myself to come up with a good answer and just ended up messing with my blonde hair a little cause the bangs kept getting in front of my glasses.

With a sigh I continued to stand in front of the bathroom sinks my fingers tapping the marble that they were made of. I could leave soon, but for now I would have to wait, and probably think up an apology for Clairabell and the boy I was rude too. 

For now though, I should keep my mind busy. 

As I began tracing circles in the small puddles of water scattered around the counter a thought popped into my head. A little idea to keep my brain occupied and off uncomfortable subject matter.

Placing my hands under the automatic faucet I took a deep breath as the warm water began to pour out soaking my fingers and palms. Once my hands were significantly wet enough I slowly pulled them away, letting the water dribble onto the counter in front of me and whispered the word which I had to say.

“Undine.”

The moment the name slipped out of my mouth the water in front of me began to gather into my hands until it eventually formed a small ball. It was sort of like a large glass marble with how clear and shiny it was.

I smiled a little as I balanced the liquid in my hands before clutching it tightly with my fingers as I began pulling and stretching it.

Doing my best to make sure that the water held its shape I began twisting and turning it, like a baker molding their doe into the shape they wish to form but unsure what that actually was.

Eventually my hands began to move without my input as my mind pieced together what I wanted to create.

I started to smooth out the water until it was a sort of oval shape making sure that one end was a bit thicker than the other and that the smaller end had a bit of a curve to it before I tugged at the bottom until there was a peg on the sides which I slimmed down a little. 

Next, I pinched the small end and twisted the water around before pulling at it making a long, curly, “tail” appear. 

Then I cupped my hands around the top and started pushing some water upwards before turning it forward away from the body and did my best to give it a sort of boxy triangle shape. Tugging on either end of the shape I pulled two smaller triangles up and rubbed in them to make sure they were slightly dented inwards. And, just to add texture, I pushed my thumbs into the sides of the large triangle beneath where I had made the small dented ones before adding two much larger dents near the tip.

Brushing my hand down the back of the “neck” I made a long flowing main appear and finally sat my shape down on the counter, it’s shape holding so long as I focused on it.

My horse made of water sat perfectly on the marble in front of me, the light reflecting off its clear liquid body as a little water droplets dripped down it.

Butterflies tickled my stomach as I felt myself smile involuntarily.

It wasn’t anything special, in fact I’m sure looked awful compared to other peoples creations. But, I don’t know, guess I just really liked how it turned out.

Oh, I know!

Reaching into my skirt pocket I fumbled around a bit until my hands felt the cold metal of my zippo lighter resting just below my house key. I ran my thumb across my initials that my grandpa had emblemed onto its surface, just to make sure that it was mine, before pulling it out.

I flipped the top up and a small flame almost immediately materialized.

Holding the fire just below my little horse's head I tried my best to split my focus between the water and the fire in my hand.

“Salamander.”

With that word out of my mouth the flame started swirling around my little horse wrapping itself around its body, legs, and head before slowly sinking into the water. Unlike normal fire though, it didn’t extinguish but instead formed a small ball in the center and made my horses “eyes” glow a bright orange.

The horse then reared back on its back legs and let out a loud whine before it began galloping around the counter as if it were on an open field.

It was ultimately a simple spell, using fire to give life to a small object was sort of the second thing you need to learn when studying elemental magic after all.

But the sight of my little horsey galloping around made me feel as giddy as if I were a little kid. It was so cute that I couldn’t help but clap a little when it came alive.

Not wanting to stop there though, I placed my hand just above my horse while it grazed on a small puddle near the sink.

“Sylph”.

Instantly, wind began to shoot from my hand and, just like the fire, wrapped itself around my little horsey before going inside it.

My horse looked up from its water as two large wings popped out of its back.

Almost instinctively, it began running forward and started flapping its brand new wings until it lifted itself off the ground and began soaring all around the bathroom. It took to flying pretty easily if I do say so myself.

As I watched my little horse flap around I felt my mind start to clear and a sort of calmness began to settle over me. My shoulders relaxed and my muscles seemed to loosen up, as I let myself fall into a dazed state.

I didn’t have to think about going back into the arcade, about worrying Clair, or upsetting the guy who tried to talk to me. All I had to do was watch my little creation enjoy the life I had given it.

“Hi blondie!” Zee said, his head resting on my shoulder.

I let out a loud scream as I fell forward, grabbing the counter to regain my balance.

“Alex” I responded, my heart pounding wildly in my chest again, “What the heck dude!?”

“Sorry” he said, even though that smile of his told me he wasn’t sorry at all, “I came to use the bathroom and when I saw you zoning out I thought to myself, hey, let’s mess with her.”

“Wow, so glad my reaction of fear was to your liking. I’m afraid I am currently unable to do encourse however as my throat is currently killing me because of you.”

Zee then promptly gasped and looked at me with worry.

“Oh my goodness my lady, I meant you no harm” he responded, his body moving dramatically with every word, “perish the thought as I am but a humble servant in thine lords grace.”

“Dude what?”

“Oh woe is me, to have acted in such an ungentlemanlike way to such a fair lass such as yourself.”

Zee then, with all the acting ability of a highschooler trying not to fail drama class, placed his hands to his chest, spun in place and fell back first into my arms.

“Can you ever forgive me?”

“I’ll think about it” I assured him, doing my best not to giggle, before dropping him to the floor.

“Yaa” he said, as he laid on the bathroom floor of the arcade, “she’ll think about it.”

This causes me to let out a laugh. Dang it Zee, let me be mad at you.

As he pulled himself off the floor, and sat on the counter, a sudden realization hit me and I began to panic.

“Zee, you can’t be in here!”

“Hey, this is a free country, my bodily fluids are just as good as anybody else's.

“No dude, this is the girls room!”

“Really? Those must be the decorative waterfalls then.”

He pointed behind me and my face became instantly red as I saw what he was talking about.

“Oh my gods” I gasped as I gazed at the three urinals next to the two bathroom stalls, “this isn’t the girls room.”

“Meh, gendered bathrooms are bull crap anyways.”

“I shouldn’t be in here!”

“Dude, relax. Most of the people here are too drunk to even walk into the bathroom and a lot of them probably won’t mind seeing you is that a pegasus?”

We both looked as my little horsey landed next to Zee on the counter and began grazing on the puddles it found.

“It’s my little horsey” I told him, almost instantly forgetting about the whole bathroom thing, “I got a little bored and-”

“Its name is raindrop.”

“ . . .Dude, yes! Come here raindrop.”

I patted my lap but Raindrop simply went back to flying around to its hearts content. It’ll get used to the name eventually.

“Oh dude” Zee exclaimed, standing up on the counter, “check this out.”

Reaching to his left I watched as Zees hand slowly disappeared and a humming noise began to fill the air around us. After a few seconds he pulled his hand back revealing that he was now holding a small jar filled with dirt and a small red serpent-like creature.”

“No way, is that?”

“A 100% middle eastern, male, Mongolian death worm? Yes, yes it is.”

He handed me the amazing creature before jumping off the counter.

“I fed him a few runes so he’d shrink down and decided it’d be fun to keep him around until I’m near Egypt or Turkey again. Did have to get all the dead bodies out of him first though.”

“Going to pretend I didn’t hear that last part” I responded as I watched the little wormy wrap around the stick Zee had placed in there and start relaxing.

“In all fairness the people he ate are alive now, because of yours truly, so it all evens out.”

“Are they in anyway zombies?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that the use of zombification was in play here.”

I let myself giggle a little at my friends' slight ridiculousness before returning my attention to the little fella in my hands.

“Ooh, let’s name him Mr.Worms.”

“Nah, that’s too predictable.”

“So is Raindrop and you didn’t see me turn down that name.”

“How about cinnamon? Cause of the red scales.”

“His scales aren’t always red though.”

“Oh yeah that’s right.”

“Hmm, maybe Sandy?”

“Naw, I’m saving that name for my pet squirrel. How about-”

All of a sudden, we were interrupted by the sound of Zees phone ringing.

“Oh” he said, “hold on.”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone which was encased a pink, kitten shaped cover.

“Moshi moshi” he responded.

“WHERE ARE YOU” I heard Clair scream on the other end.

“Oh hey, Clairabell baby. Long time no see. How is that hunk of a fiance of yours, still a wiz in the sack?”

I couldn’t hear Clairs response, but Zees smirk told me that he got the reaction he wanted.

“Alright, alright we’ll be out in a sec. Love you snookums.”

Zee made a kissy noise into the phone, and I could hear Clair growling angrily, before he hung up.

“Well” he said, grabbing his new pet out of my hand, “let’s go make sure Clairabell doesn’t start murdering people out of worry.”

“Oh, um, okay.”

Zee placed the worm back into the space he pulled him out of and we walked out of the restroom, Raindrop following after us.

To my surprise the bar had become quieter and the patriots had almost all disappeared.

How long had I been in the bathroom for?

Before I could figure out the answer to my question I suddenly felt two, squishy and soft, round orbs smash against my face as I was swept off my feet.

“Skee skee” Clairabell said as she hugged me, and pushed my head into her chest, “I was so worried!”

“C-Clair” I said, doing my best to push her away, “I can’t breath.”

My pleads for mercy were promptly met with Clair tightening the hug until I could feel my body being crushed.

“What” Zee whined, “no love for the hero who found the missing girl.”

Clair, finally loosened her grip, as she turned towards Zee.

“And where the hell were you?”

“Africa.”

The fact that he was able to say this without batting an eye both annoyed, and actually didn’t surprise, me or Cair.

“So” he continued, “what games do you guys wanna play?”

“We’re out of quarters” I told him as I was still held in Clairs arms.

“ . . .Was it Vega?”

“Vega is a cheating asshole” Clair argued, nearly crushing me again.

“Clairabell” I whined,but received no response.

Zee simply smiled coily and crossed his arms.

“Well, it seems you gals are in quite the predicament. To be faced with such a powerful opponent but with no way of defeating him. Truly, I feel nothing but the utmost sorrow at your predicament. Infact, I feel the need to donate all of my earthly possessions to your noble cause.”

“So you’ll give us quarters” I said, finally escaping Clairs grip.

“I wasn’t done hugging you” she promptly stated before grabbing me again.

“Watch where you’re touching please!”

“Hmm, yes, I would love to donate this treasure which you commonly call quarters. . . but I broke.”

We stood in silence for a sec.

“Say what?”

“I broke. I don’t have any money. Me is poor.”

“So why’d you offer us the quarters” Clair asked, squeezing me again. She probably would have snapped me in half if I didn’t manage to squirm free.

“It was fun,” Zee answered, his signature smirk returning.

Clairabell and I simply glared at him, the fact that we could never defeat Vega now actually annoying us more then Zee was.

“Oh come on don’t be mad” he said before rushing over to us and lifting both me and Clairabell over his shoulders, “for I know where our adventure can continue.”

“Hey, hey, hey” I protested as I was once again, unwillingly picked up.

“Yes” Zee answered, even though nobody asked a question, “a magical place in which dreams and happiness are bound. A place where we can be free to do as we please, and be who we are meant to be.”

“Skyes place” Clairabell asked.

“Yep”

“Hey wait guys” I started to say, “I should probably ask my pare-”

Before I could finish my sentence Zee began rushing to the exit, still holding me and Clair on his shoulders.

As we ran through the bar none of us could help letting out laughs and allowing smiles to grow on our faces.

We simply ignored the people around us and set out on our epic adventure.

[hydrus]

Version 412

windows

zip

exe

macOS

app

linux

tar.gz

source

tar.gz

I had a great week catching up on smaller jobs, improving search speeds, and adding a 'lite' 407->408 update mode for HDD users who sync with the PTR. There are also a couple of new applications for the Client API.

Update this week will take a few seconds to a few minutes as new database indices are created.

sibling and search speeds

Thanks to feedback from some PTR-syncing HDD users, the new siblings update code, most importantly in step 407->408, takes way too long for them - perhaps more than 24 hours. I have written a little yes/no dialog popup into the update step that talks about this and optionally activates a 'lite' mode that does not apply siblings. This still requires some basic cache copying work, but it is significantly less. If you are still on 407 or before and have been waiting to update, please give this a go and let me know how it works for you.

The 'manage where tag siblings apply' dialog now has some red text to warn about the high CPU/HDD of applying many siblings to a large number of tags. I am still not happy with the 'monolithic' way this db work goes, so when I get stuck into the parents cache, I will write an asynchronous system that does this work in the background, pause/resumable, without interrupting browsing and so on, much like I did with repository processing.

Some things were working slow since siblings (e.g. in a search, mixing wildcard tags with regular tags), but I went through every instance of my new optimisation code, fixing bugs, testing it at large scale, and smoothing spikes out further. Tag, namespace, wildcard, tag presence/count, known url, and file note searches should all be more reasonable. A neat new tag search pre-optimisation routine that checks autocomplete counts for expected result size before deciding how to search now works for more sorts of tags and also kicks in for namespace and wildcard searches, which now break their work into smaller and simpler pieces. I also added and reshaped some database indices, which will ensure that more unusual search types and general operations can still run efficiently. The update will take a few seconds to a few minutes as tag indices are regenerated.

I have learned a bunch about speeding up multi-predicate searches recently - how to get it wrong and how to get it right. I have a plan to speed up rating and known url results, which are still generally not able to speed up with multiple predicates on large clients.

new client api applications

A user has been working hard at making a web browser for the client via the Client API, called Hydrus Web. It is now ready at https://github.com/floogulinc/hydrus-web ! If you have a bit of networking experience, please check it out - it allows you to browse your client on your phone!

Also Anime Boxes, a booru-browsing application, is adding Hydrus as an experimental browseable 'server' this week, also through the Client API. Check it out at https://www.animebox.es/ !

I also updated the Client API help to talk more about HTTPS and connections across the internet, here: https://hydrusnetwork.github.io/hydrus/help/client_api.html

full list

client api:

added Hydrus Web, https://github.com/floogulinc/hydrus-web, to the Client API page. It allows you to access your client from any web browser

added Anime Boxes, https://www.animebox.es/, to the Client API page. This booru-browsing application can now browse hydrus!

the /add_urls/add_url command's 'service_names_to_tags' parameter now correctly acts like 'additional' tags, and is no longer filtered by any tag import options that may apply. that old name still works, but the more specific synonym 'service_names_to_additional_tags' is now supported and recommended (issue #456)

the /add_urls/add_url command now takes a 'filterable_tags' parameter, which will be merged with any parsed tags and will be filtered in the same per-service way according to the current tag import options.

the client api help is updated to talk about this, and the client api version is now 14

updated client api help to talk about http/https

.

the rest:

the 407->408 update step now opens a yes/no dialog before it happens to talk about the big amount of CPU and HDD work coming up. it offers the previous 'full' version that takes all the work, and a 'lite' version that applies no siblings and is much cheaper. if you have been waiting on a PTR-syncing HDD client, this should let you update in significantly less time. there is still some copy work in lite mode, but it should not be such a killer

the 'manage where tag siblings apply' dialog now has big red warning text talking about the current large CPU/HDD involved in very big changes

a bunch of file-location loading and searching across the program has the opportunity to run very slightly faster, particularly on large systems. update will take a few seconds to make these new indices

namespace and subtag tag searches and other cross-references now have the opportunity to run faster. update will take another couple of minutes to drop and remake new indices

gave tag and wildcard search a complete pass, fixing and bettering my recent optimisations, and compressing the core tag search optimisation code to one location. thank you for the feedback everyone, and sorry for the recent trouble as we have migrated to the new sibling and optimisation systems

gave untagged/has_tags/has_count searches a similar pass, mostly fixing up namespace filtering

gave the new siblings code a similar pass, ensuring a couple of fetches always run the fast way

gave url search and fetch code a similar pass, accounting better for domain cross-referencing and file cross-referencing

fixed a typo bug when approving/denying repository file and mapping petitions

fixed a bug when right-clicking a selection of multiple tags that shares a single subtag (e.g. 'samus aran' and 'character:samus aran')

thanks to some nice examples of unusual videos that were reported as 1,000fps, I improved my fallback ffmpeg metadata parsing to deal with weird situations more cleverly. some ~1,000fps files now reparse correctly to sensible values, but some either really produce 1000 updates a second due to malformation or bad creation, or are just handled that way due to a bug in ffmpeg that we will have to wait for a fix for

the hydrus jpeg mime type is now the correct image/jpeg, not image/jpg, thanks to users for noticing this (issue #646)

searching for similar files now requires up to 10,000x less sqlite query initiation overhead for large queries. the replacement system has overhead of its own, but it should be faster overall

improved error handling when a database cannot connect due to file system issues

the edit subscription(s) panels should be better about disabling the ui while heavy jobs, like large subscription resets, are running

the edit subscription(s) panels now do not allow an 'apply' if a big job is currently disabling the ui

cancelling a manage subscriptions call when missing query logs were detected no longer causes a little error

if a long-running asynchronous subscription job lasts beyond its parent's life, it now handles errors better

.

boring details:

improved a pre-optimisation decision tool for tag search that consults the autocomplete cache for expected end counts in order to make a better decision. it now handles subtag searches and multiple namespace/subtag searches such as for wildcards

wrote fast tag lookup tools for subtag and multiple namespace/subtag

fixed some bad simple tag search optimisation code, which was doing things in the wrong order!

optimised simple tag search optimisations when doing subtag searches

polished simple tag search code a bit more

added brief comments to all the new cross joins to reinforce their intention

greatly simplified the multiple namespace/subtag search used by wildcards

fixed and extended tag unit tests for blacklist, filterable, additional, service application, overwrite deleted filterable, and overwrite deleted additional

added a unit test for tag whitelist

extended the whole 'external tags' pipeline to discriminate between filterable and additional external tags, and cleaned up several parts of the related code

moved the edit subscription panel asynchronous info fetch code to my new async job object

cleaned up one last ugly 'fetch query log containers' async call in edit subscriptions panel

moved the edit subscription(s) panels asynchronous log container code to my new async job object

misc code cleanup

next week

More small jobs and other bug fixes. Nothing too huge, so I can have a 'clean' release before I go for the big parents cache in 414. I am starting to feel a bit ill, so there's a chance it will be a light week.

[thespacenico]

klance 5 :)

“you’re safe now.”

。·:*:·��★,。·:*:·ﾟ☆

War means sacrifice.

But it doesn’t always specify what kind.

Because even if the paladins of Voltron had been more or less dragged into an intergalactic space war against their will with no choice other than to fight, they still understood the risks.

That doesn’t mean they ever envisioned having to deal with the consequences.

Everything that had even the slightest chance of going wrong has done exactly that.

Gone wrong.

Including, but not limited to: the team has been separated, Keith’s comms aren’t working, his Lion is out of commission, he doesn’t know where he is other than smack dab in the middle of hostile territory surrounded by sentries, and Lance—

“C’mon,” Keith pants, hands clasped against Lance’s chest, the growing panic and desperation in his chest threatening to claw his throat apart with every compression, each one harder than the next. “C’mon, c’mon—”

He counts to thirty. Moves back to Lance’s mouth, where his unusually pale cheeks are already wet and clammy from Keith’s tears. Pulls away after two breaths and returns to his chest even though he knows there’s no use, Lance’s eyes are still closed, Lance still isn’t breathing, it’s been too long—

Lance is gone.

“No,” Keith whispers, face sticky with tears, and sweat, and blood he’s not sure is even his. Distantly he hears the sound of shoulders slamming and weapons firing against what’s left of the barricade. “No, no—Lance, stay with me.”

He tries two more breaths, and sits back on his feet and searches frantically for any sign of life, feeling for Lance’s pulse, listening for his heartbeat, checking his face.

The barricade shakes violently from behind him.

He’s running out of time.

“Lance, wake up,” Keith mumbles, far past the point of tears—now he’s just cold, and numb, and maybe it’s from shock or the wound throbbing in his own side but it doesn’t matter now. “Don’t make me leave you. I’m not leaving you.”

Lance lies unresponsive before him, the chest plate of his armor tossed aside, under suit soaked with blood where he’d taken a hit. A hit that should’ve hit Keith, had he not shoved him out of the way at the last second.

A particularly loud blast, and the barricade shudders again, hardly seconds away from collapsing entirely.

Keith leans forward and takes Lance’s face in his hands. Even without direct contact, he can still feel the last of Lance’s warmth seeping through the thin material covering his fingers.

“Lance,” he breathes out. The heat building behind his eyes returns, and he doesn’t fight it. “You can’t leave now. You can’t—please, Lance.” He squeezes his eyes shut and leans down, pressing their foreheads together, letting out a single, choked sob.

“You can’t leave me.”

“Keith.”

The barricade finally bursts and the room floods with sentries, weapons raised to fire. Keith doesn’t move.

“Keith? Hey, wake up.”

A tear rolls down Keith’s cheek and drops onto Lance’s as Keith gathers Lance’s lifeless body into his arms, and then the sentries are on them.

“Keith, wake up—”

Keith lurches awake with half a gasp that catches in his throat. His shirt is soaked with sweat, his face is streaked with tears, his skin is clammy and his knuckles are white from clutching the bedsheets, and for a brief moment he panics because it’s dark and it’s hot and it’s too hard to breathe—

A quiet click, and the bedside lamp is being switched on to illuminate the same bedroom that he’d fallen asleep in—not the control room of a hostile base swarming with sentries. And yet the familiarity of it does nothing to soothe Keith’s nerves.

Because there, sitting up beside him, eyes wide and brow pinched with concern, and one hand firm and steadying on Keith’s shoulder, is Lance.

Lance. Alive. Not lying blood-soaked and motionless on a cold metal floor.

He can’t even bring himself to be relieved. Everything is still too fresh in his mind.

Lance seems to sense that, because he shifts in place to face him better, hand never leaving his shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright,” he says softly, and the sound of his voice alone is almost enough to bring Keith back to the verge of tears. “You were just having a bad dream.”

Keith is only half-listening, mind reeling and hands shaking as he slowly reaches up to rest them on either side of Lance’s face, still trying to catch his breath as he stares at him.

Warm. Breathing. Alive.

Lance’s brows pull together as he stares back, confused, and he gently places his free hand over Keith’s wrist. “Keith?”

His skin is warm, his heart is beating, his pulse is strong and he’s alive and he’s here.

Keith’s breath catches again, tears prickling the corners of his eyes. “Lance.”

And then Lance is pulling him close, arms winding carefully but securely around his shoulders as Keith clings to him.

“Shh, hey, it’s okay,” Lance says softly, soothingly, brushing his fingers through Keith’s hair and up and down the length of his back. “You’re okay.”

“You’re okay,” Keith echoes in a whisper, squeezing his eyes shut and clutching at the fabric of Lance’s shirt.

And it’s like Lance can hear Keith’s thoughts, despite having no clue what he was dreaming about in the first place. “You’re safe now,” he murmurs. “Just breathe.”

Keith shivers, and buries his face in the crook of Lance’s neck, and breathes.

Lance is safe.

“I’m sorry,” he chokes out, although he’s not even sure what he’s apologizing for. “I’m sorry, Lance—”

“Hush, sweetheart, none of that.” Lance disentangles himself from Keith’s grasp and pulls back but stays close, one hand still on his shoulder, the other raised to wipe Keith’s tears away with his thumb. He brushes the hair out of Keith’s face and offers a small, reassuring smile. “Why don’t you take a shower,” he says quietly. “Okay? And I’ll make us some tea.”

Keith manages to swallow down the lump in his throat and nod, not quite trusting himself to speak anymore. So they climb out of bed, and Lance stays long enough to help Keith out of his sweat-soaked shirt and press a kiss to his forehead before slipping out of the room to give him some privacy.

The hot spray of the shower only does so much to relieve the tension in Keith’s muscles. He can’t seem to shake the remaining images of the nightmare from his mind, flashing relentlessly behind his eyelids every time he closes his eyes. Needless to say, he doesn’t stay long, toweling his hair off and stumbling back into the bedroom to slip into the fresh clothes Lance must have left out for him (including a pair of shorts, and the oversized sweater of Lance’s that he knows Keith likes to steal because no matter how many times it goes through the washer, it still smells like Lance).

Lance is in the kitchen when Keith comes out, humming softly while he waits for the water to boil. Keith stands silently in the doorway for a moment, watching as he moves about the kitchen, pulling two mugs out of the cabinets and rummaging through their small selection of tea flavors for their favorites.

Appreciating.

He still hasn’t moved by the time Lance finally spots him. A pang of guilt shoots through his chest at the look of relief that flickers across Lance’s face, but it quickly melts into an easy smile as he comes to meet him, taking Keith’s hand and giving it a careful squeeze before wordlessly leading him into the living room and sitting him down on the couch.

Another kiss, on the cheek this time, and Lance slips back into the kitchen to finish making their tea.

Keith watches him the entire time.

And he knows he’s making Lance worry, from the way he keeps shooting quick glances over the counter as if to make sure Keith is still there on the couch and attempting reassuring smiles that only go halfway, but Keith—can’t help it. He can’t stop staring. He just wants to look, and look and look until the images of Lance’s bedhead and sloping freckled shoulders and and rise and fall of his chest are permanently implanted into his brain.

A moment later, Lance returns to the living room with a mug of hot tea in each hand and a small smile that Keith would look at forever if he had the time. He’s faintly aware of Lance placing one of the mugs into his hands, and sitting down beside him with his legs tucked underneath himself as he gets settled, chuckling to himself.

“Babe, I know you think I’m pretty, but is there some other reason you can’t seem to stop looking at me?”

It’s light, and teasing, but Keith can see the quiet concern etched into his features. Because he’s still smiling, but his gaze is searching, looking for answers in that way it does that’s just short of prying, but urgent all the same.

Keith blinks, and finally manages to tear his eyes away to look down at the steaming cup of tea in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles.

Lance reaches out and tugs one of Keith’s hands into his own, resting them on his knee. “You don’t have to be,” he murmurs. He pauses, tracing a circle across the back of Keith’s hand. “You know I’m here for you, right?”

Keith bites his lip and blinks back the heat building again behind his eyes. I’m here. He nods slowly.

It’s quiet for a few beats, and then: “Do you need to talk about it?” Lance asks softly.

Does he want to? No, not especially. But does he need to?

Keith closes his eyes, takes a deep, shaky breath, and squeezes Lance’s hand.

“Yeah. I do.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 233: At Least He Has Some Spares

Previously on BnHA: Twice made a duplicate League of Villains to take on Re-Destro. Re-Destro took this in stride and very calmly inflated his left fucking arm and slapped the whole lot of them so hard that most of them literally died. But the clone Shigaraki survived somehow and scuffled with RD for a bit while RD told him the story of how his great-great-granddad was born with a quirk and his mom was like “please be kind to my baby” and society was like “nah” and then they killed her too just for good measure. Anyway so this was of course the original Destro’s Origin Story, and his mother later on became a kind of martyr figure once society began rethinking their whole outlook on the whole superpower thing, and they even borrowed the term “quirk” from her as a way of trying to honor her I guess. But Destro and his descendants weren’t happy with the fact that quirks are still regulated and ~suppressed~ and blah blah blah, so I guess in RD’s mind this gives him justification to be a massive dick and wantonly murder people left and right. It’s all very political and complicated. Anyway, so in the end the Actual Tomura came over to RD’s tower and used his quirk and the tower came crumbling down, and now Tomura and Re-Destro are gonna fight.

Today on BnHA: We jump around Deika City getting updates on the rest of the League. Twice is currently trying to save Toga while Skeptic sneaks up on them both. Spinner is duking it out with Hanabata and his squad of Dudes With Spikes All Over Them And Stuff. We learn that Spinner’s quirk really is just “Lizard Quirk. That’s It. That’s The Quirk”, which, fine, whatever then. Dabi and Blue Bunny and Compress are off somewhere, presumably. Slidin’ Go is directing traffic and about to be flattened by Gigantomachia (or so we can hope). Giran is running off with one of the clone Twices (“running off” as in to safety, as opposed to them getting married or something. although). And Tomura is having his hand ripped off by a Hulkified Re-Destro and his newly revealed Stress quirk! Just, plucked right the fuck off, like a flower petal. It’s pretty horrific! And meanwhile Horikoshi is dipping out to go take an honestly well-deserved vacation, so there won’t be a new chapter next week. So basically just good news all around. Anyhow, so Tomura seems to have his hands full here and it may be time for him to hand in the towel and hand things off to Machia before things get out of hand even more well anyways enjoy the chapter guys.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

so once again I got an Intriguing Anonymous Ask, but I only skimmed it because it seemed to delve into some of the details of the chapter, albeit in a very vague way that probably didn’t actually reveal anything. but one thing I did pick up on was that there may possibly be a break after this week’s chapter? if so I will cry but then I’ll get over it I GUESS

(ETA: well enjoy your hiatus then Horikoshi you knave.)

anyway so let’s get into it

quick observation before I actually start reading the chapter itself -- so apparently the title is “Bright Future”? correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought we already had a chapter with that same title though. chapter 161, also known as the Nighteye Fucking Dies chapter. is the kanji slightly different or something, perhaps? if not that is odd

(ETA: so after reading the chapter, serious question: is this Horikoshi’s idea of a joke, or. ...

but yeah, the kanji is different. or rather, this chapter’s title isn’t written in kanji at all, but in katakana, whereas 161 was written in kanji like normal. as for the why of it, though, your guess is as good as mine. right now “mangaka has a fucked-up sense of humor” is basically at the top of my reasons list.)

anyways, clicking to the actual chapter now, and... oh wow

okay I think I mentioned the movie The Island a few recaps back, and my sincere apologies to everyone for making repeated references to a typically dumb and explosion-y Michael Bay movie where Ewan McGregor tries and fails to speak in an American accent and everything explodes for no reason and the protagonists cause so much collateral damage while being hunted down by the bad guys that you almost start to wonder if it wouldn’t actually be better for everyone if they did just die. but anyway, so I’m sorry to keep coming back to this movie, but -- and spoiler alert for a 14-year-old Michael Bay film you guys -- the plot is basically that scientists figured out how to clone people, and so Rich People immediately proceeded to make clones of themselves to keep for spare parts so that if they ever needed organ donors or the like, they’d have a perfect match available

and anyway, so you can see the connection here, right? basically this is a super-pragmatic application of Twice’s quirk, and I have to applaud the logic and ingenuity, but also bro that’s kind of a fucked-up thing to do though, sob. let’s just make a spare Toga so we can immediately harvest her blood, oh boy. though in fairness it is Toga, so maybe she won’t mind since Harvesting Blood is like her thing

also can we take a moment to appreciate how thoroughly wrecked this Skeptic!Puppet!Twice is, though. the one that’s just lying there dead. like, his leg’s all bent the wrong way and he no longer has a face and I fucking can’t stop staring at it though. I feel better knowing that it wasn’t actually a real person because that’s seriously all kinds of fucked up

anyway now the Twice clones are arguing over who gets to measure Toga. and Horikoshi has honestly built up a lot of goodwill with me over the course of this Mineta-less arc filled with hot Girans and LoV character development, but all the same he’d better watch himself though, because all of that could be gone just like that in an instant if he tries to get cute! so don’t push it dude

(ETA: and not to harp on this or anything, but Twice did clone Toga back during the My Basement Academia arc (in chapter 147), so there wasn’t really a need for this scene to begin with. but whatever, he didn’t really go overboard at least.)

okay good, actual!Twice (? is he the real one?? he’s the only one without a mask and he’s not using his arms so I think it’s him, at any rate) is shouting at the others to get their shit together

Twice Status: Still Hot. wow, and barely two seconds after I made that remark about Horikoshi needing to focus up. should I take my own advice perhaps. eh

oh my god

nooooo now I’m actually really upset that one of them’s gonna get sacrificed for the other! noooo Toga

and now we’re getting additional background information on Twice’s quirk, specifically about the fact that his clones’ appearances and personalities/memories are based on the last time the clone target was measured and the last time Twice saw said target, respectively. makes sense. so anyway because of that the clone Toga is also all beat up

friendly reminder that Toga is only seventeen and still just a kid, albeit a freaky sort of horror movie-type kid. but anyway, so I’m feeling really fucking protective of her though, and I need them to hurry up and save her already!

oh my god

yes, Dabi is the poster boy for great plastic surgery results. staples left in and everything. then again I don’t know how bad off he looked before, though. we still don’t actually know what the original injury was, aside from it obviously having something to do with the whole “his quirk fucking burns him from the inside out” thing we recently learned. you know what might help with that, Horikoshi? a flashback, omg

yuh oh

gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this is Skeptic coming to fix his screw-up before Re-Destro snaps his neck like so many Mitsubishis. or whatever that damn mouse’s name was. Miyashita?? actually I think that was it lol

anyways so let’s now turn the page and confirm if it actually is Skeptic

...confirmed

also, holy shit. just, holy shit to everything. that freaky close-up of the puppets’ faces; that blobby image of one of the puppets being formed; Skeptic’s crazy eyes in the bottom panel; him screaming I HAVEN’T FAILED!!! over and over again, etcetera. just, everything. good lord

and now we’re cutting somewhere else. looks like it’s Spinner and a bunch of the clone Twices dealing with Hanabata’s over-inspired lackeys

Spinner what is your quirk

okay so as he’s fighting he’s doing that shounen thing where he uses his keen observational skills to come up with a strategy on the fly

yes, please feel free to take him out! he’s annoying and he hasn’t done anything interesting, so really he’s just dead weight as far as this arc goes. feel free to use your quirk, too, buddy. if you even have one, holy shit. Horikoshi’s probably keeping it safe in the same place as Kacchan’s hero name

anyway so now he’s fighting his way through the waves of redshirts and trying to reach Hanabata’s van

he’s thinking that his job is to “lighten Shigaraki’s burden, if only a little”

awww. League of Loyal Bastards. I can’t believe there was ever a question of you possibly betraying these guys, Spinner. I’m sorry for doubting you, guy

Hanabata seems worryingly unconcerned, though

who the hell wears their watch on their right hand? what time is it, Hanabata? it’s time for you to fucking die already that’s what

-- oh

so it’s some kind of Magic Quirk Watch then, eh. should have figured as much

also, “A MAN WITH A WEAK SUPERPOWER SUCH AS YOURSELF” oh? please do tell us more about this quirk! also how is it that you of all people know Spinner’s quirk. Giran’s intel, I guess? I’m suddenly really annoyed that the Liberation Army apparently knows more about the LoV than we do. bastards

anyway so now Hanabata’s own quirk is being revealed, so I guess let’s see what that’s all about

okay so this is exactly what we all thought it was based on what we’ve seen of him so far. so I guess this weird mask is basically just a big microphone thing. imagine if his and Mic’s quirks were combined

at any rate if it’s not clear, I really couldn’t give two farts about Hanabata or his quirk and I just want to see Spinner take him out, and then have Gigantomachia show up and save Toga and Twice, and see Tomura kick RD’s ass. oh and Dabi still needs to beat up Rita’s Italian Ice too, I guess

(ETA: okay but Horikoshi would it really be too much to ask for at least one of these things to actually happen oh my god. my poor villain children.)

-- OH MY GOD

EVERYONE SHUT UP SPINNER’S QUIRK IS FINALLY BEING REVEALED AHHHH

lmao was I too invested in this perhaps. all this time and all this mystery and it really does end up being some little lizard quirk that lets him cling to walls? and this is how it’s revealed of all ways? he doesn’t even get an official Quirk Reveal Box?

I mean, this can’t possibly be it. he’s gonna do something badass and unexpected, and then we’ll get his Quirk Box and we’ll all be like, “OH SHIT! SPINNER!” and so forth. right??

(ETA: I seriously can’t decide if this will actually be the case, or if this is another Sports Festival scenario where I’m firmly expecting the typical shounen thing and Horikoshi has something else planned entirely.)

wow

as opposed to you? your power is literally just “I can get stupid people all hyped up.” it’s probably given you an overinflated sense of your own importance, and I can’t wait for you to get one-upped by this lil lizard boy with his ninja turtles costume and the tactical knife he bought on Amazon

oh shit lol

so I guess that’s as good a way as any of syncing up all of this action to one timeline again

heh Hanabata’s panicking a bit

I’m enjoying this, ngl

oh shit!

this motherfucker really popped through a magic quirk hole in the wall and grabbed onto Spinner and suddenly got all spiny just like that oh shit

AHHH

SOMEONE HELP OUR BOY, HE’S BEING PORCUPINED BY FUCKING REDSHIRTS. WHAT IS THIS

now Hanabata’s directing all of the remaining cannon fodder to go and help Re-Destro. well at least that’ll get some of them off of Spinner’s back

YESSSSSSS

GET HIM SPINNER GO FOR THE JUGULAR!!

AHHH SPINNER FLASHBACKS YESSSSS, THE MY FLASHBACKS ACADEMIA ARC CONTINUES

I’ve suddenly been struck by the urgent need to go do my dishes from last night omg. Spinner would it kill you to take the fucking trash out at least

oh shit you guys he’s making a speech!

IT’S HAPPENNIIIIIIING. go, Spinner! speech! and then kick some ass! and then Quirk Reveal Box and “OH SHIT! SPINNER!” just like we planned!!

sob why am I empathizing with this guy who’s getting inspired by Stain and then by Tomura’s “let’s destroy everything! :)” rant of all things. what has this arc done to me. Spinner I can’t relate to you at all omg. but, just like every other member of the League of Villains, at your core you’re really just someone who was searching for a place to belong, and damned if that’s not the most quintessentially human struggle of all

so to sum, you sure picked some questionable role models there but I support you, kid

sure Horikoshi, go ahead and just fling Spinner’s super-weak and boring quirk in my fucking face then! lol okay I get it! it was never meant to be some big reveal to wow us all at a dramatic moment; the whole point is that he’s utterly unremarkable, and it doesn’t matter because despite what the MLA believes, quirks don’t define who a person is. all right, all right. that’s cool then

no you dingus he’s trying to say that even if he doesn’t have a big flashy quirk, y’all ain’t shit either and he’s still going to kick your ass

-- OH SHIT YOU GUYS!!

WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM TO ADVISE YOU ALL THAT OUR HANDSOME BOY GIRAN SURVIVED THE TOWER FALL AND IS FINE AND DANDY! and still handsome! so we all can rest easy now on that account, thank god

omg omg omg

Tomura VS Re-Destro hype intensifies!!

also lmao because I genuinely think he’s asking him for real because he can’t quite sort out reality from his sleep-deprived hallucinations right now

or maybe that shouldn’t be “lmao” on my part, because that’s actually a legitimately concerning thing, there. but I can’t help it guys, he’s so tired and fully and entirely out of fucks, and RD is so fucking screwed and doesn’t even know it and it’s going to be so goddamn satisfying I can’t fucking wait

anyways, no, Tomura. he was not. but he’s apparently got some sort of Hulk quirk. so you just do your best and you sic your own Hulk on him then if need be

yessss he’s talking trash, yes, Tomura!! you’re doing great!!

IT PROBABLY FEELS BAD! I BET! HAHAHA. SUCK IT

LOOK AT THIS YOU GUYS OMG

ranged attacks and everything, now! I wonder if he’s always had this sort of capability and we’ve just never seen it before, or if this is another new development. probably the latter. those six weeks of training really leveled him up

wow even his fucking shoes are disintegrating now

so GiranTwice are getting the fuck out of Dodge, and Giran’s right arm just sort of ends in this big mess of bandages omg

don’t worry Giran, Twice is gonna get Dabi’s plastic surgeon on the job. you will be fine

holy shit you guys would you look at this fucking shounen bullshit

I’m starting to get an inkling that this will be the kind of fight that’s going to look amazing in anime form, but will basically just be a lot of flying rocks and smashing panels in manga form. and I’m prepared for that if that is indeed the case! I have not forgotten what genre this actually is, and that this is still a manga where the main character’s attacks all end in “SMASH!!!”, and every so often we get to a point where the characters who are at the center of the current conflict just have to punch it out. so I’m not going to complain

but I do hope that won’t be all there is to this, though. and ngl, I have higher expectations for BnHA’s fights than for any other manga’s fights, and I’m still expecting a few twists here

(ETA: oh lord I should just learn to keep my fucking mouth shut.)

oh shit

poor Spinner. fucking Re-Destro gets a Quirk Reveal Box before he does

also it does seem to be a Hulk quirk then, huh. so it’s safe to say that once Gigantomachia shows up and they hash things out, there won’t really be a town here afterwards. like, this entire city is about to be straight up wiped off the map. that’s lowkey terrifying to think about

-- HEY WHAT THE

(ETA: sob he looks so shocked. that’s right Tomura, it’s the hard knocks path to redemption for you too, buddy boy. probably when you go talk to Ujiko to get it patched up after the arc is over it’ll trigger some more character development somehow. just, my point is that you are an important character in a shounen manga, and so, unlike people in real life, you at least can be somewhat assured that your pain is probably happening for a reason.)

fuckING -- IS THAT REALLY -- DID THEY JUST

DID THIS MOTHERFUCKING INKBLOT HULK MAN REALLY JUST PINCH MY BOY’S HANDS BETWEEN HIS GIANT THUMB AND INDEX FINGER AND JUST FUCKING PLUCK HIS FUCKING FINGERS OFF HOLY GODDAMN FUCK

DID HE DO THAT TO GIRAN. IS THAT WHAT HE FUCKING DID TO GIRAN I’M ABOUT TO FUCKING -- I CAN’T --

IS THIS FUCKING ATTACK ON TITAN, GODDAMN!? WHAT THE WHY

THERE REALLY IS A HIATUS SOB I CAN’T. I HOPE HE HAS A GOOD TIME ON HIS VACATION OR WHATEVER, THEN!! BE THAT WAY! I KNOW YOU’RE A HUMAN BEING AND ENTITLED TO TAKE SOME TIME OFF AND GET SOME GODDAMN SLEEP AND GO TO CONVENTIONS OR WHATEVER, BUT I’M ALSO ONLY HUMAN, AND WHEN YOU TAKE MY WEEKLY FIX AWAY WITH NO PRIOR NOTICE, I’M GOING TO GET CRANKY ABOUT IT. I CAN’T HELP IT OKAY

GOD DAMN IT

fuck

sob. okay sorry guys, I’m done being dramatic now. so let’s go back and finish up those last four panels that I haven’t actually read yet orz

lol there already practically isn’t a town there anymore. Giganto you better hurry up and come finish it off. this asshole is out here playing the most vicious game of eenie meenie miney moe the world has ever seen with your boss’s hands and it’s very upsetting

who the fuck is this

lmao what. someone’s actually trying to visit the city? turn your van around, pal. we are closed for business for real here

and then our last two panels are Slidin’ Go being all punchable, and then getting shaken up by a sudden earthquake omg

I WONDER WHAT THAT COULD BE omg. :) :’D

well shit. so! 

a wild Gigantomachia approaches

Slidin’ Go is living on borrowed time presumably (good riddance)

Skeptic is trying to harass Twice again while he’s busy trying to save poor Toga’s life, like excuse you dude, no, please fuck off

Dabi is currently MIA and still fighting Dippin’ Dots while trying to keep his organs from getting any more roasted. maybe a flashback would help you there, Dabi. I don’t know how, but it couldn’t hurt, surely. I promise I have no ulterior motives in suggesting this

Spinner is trying to work out how to score a really satisfying victory to show us all that Quirks Aren’t Everything

Giran and his bandaged arm are running off to safety with Twice, which is the only thing that really matters in the end here

and Shigaraki Tomura has just had his own hand Luke Skywalkered in the manga’s latest and greatest instance of Cruelty Against Limbs. but at least this presumably means that he himself is about to get a hell of a lot hotter if Giran and Twice are anything to go by

so yeah. a lotta stuff going on. so really it’s the perfect time for a hiatus. lol

well, friends. I’ll see you all in two weeks I guess. hopefully someone will lend Tomura a hand. ba dum crash

[seatights5-blog]

The particular Subtle Symphony of this Winery

Anyone who has proved helpful in a winery with regard to any length of period learns there is certainly one audio, more than any other, that will is quickly, pump-stoppingly, drop-what-you-are-doing, alarming: the sound of fresh falling on typically the floor. That has a certain timbre, a splash noise that conjures up every one of the disasters one has seen around wineries. I've read it a hundred times and it by no means ends to make me prevent and raise my scalp similar to a gazelle mid-feed. Being unfaithful moments out of eight it's not shout about – a good bucket overflowing with water or perhaps a harness left slightly wide open – nonetheless those aren't the particular images that spring immediately to mind. I've curved some sort of corner to discover a reservoir being filled with white juice by the bottom valve, but the user (in this specific case the winemaker) acquired left the other control device (known generally as often the racking valve – normally a good meter or thus higher than its comparable version – open). Juice was initially pouring out of often the sphincter muscle, onto the terrain, and down the drain. Related reports: The Less likely Making regarding a Winemaker Crediting this Winemaker Where it can Owing Accountants Calling the particular Shots at Wineries Little water prior to crash Tanks staying overfilled have a stormy dash sound as their attributes work with wine that in that case drops off their own reduced circumference and on top of the floor. Overflowing juice tubs, stuffed as presses seriously set out to exert some strain in the grapes inside, overflow by having an almost unstoppable chute. I wish to to say these people make a waterfall audio nevertheless I think which is just the impression that they give. That they splash, these people splash like all drink and wine that gets the floor. Heard a good splashing sound throughout a new winery that lasts longer when compared with three seconds and you head out to check out. Winemakers are accustomed to using their noses in addition to their eye (and their own palate) in a vineyard – it matches the career. If you don't aroma a new reductive ferment (one when the yeast is not necessarily totally happy) from the particular top of the aquarium, it won't be extended before a person leave often the vineyard flooring to smell this. Its not necessary some sort of winemaking course to know that if anyone see a spread-out enamel of crimson on the ground, some red wines has gone astray. Nonetheless sounds? If the minute regarding opening your container could be the pop of the cork or the scratch regarding a screwcap, used by reverential silence as well as the glug of the pour, then the winery is the some other section of this. Often the vineyard is full of sounds. It is relentless. The idea can be (during harvest) high in volume. Many wineries rely on products, on motive power, cooling systems and on compressed weather. Air flow compressors make the hell of any noise : I've also worked within a new vineyard where the compressed air has been created by way of a diesel powered engine unit – the kind utilized for roadworks. Air-conditioning units are inaudible generally, but stand up close and they create a noisy rumble. Cooling down The very best Wine Valets to Travel Your chosen Bottles are quiet yet the pumps that press the coolant all around often the winery make some sort of unremitting hum. Bag presses blow up and decompress with the lots of noise – in addition to they likewise click, faucet, whirr, complain and grumble as they rotate. A few have alarms that will appear every time they may be on the verge of rotate. Forklifts beep, whirr and clatter. Penis pumps sound, whinge and rattle. Grape trucks rumble together with pule pipe yaup and dump berries with a huge thump and even sprinkle. Hydraulic receival bins (where trucks and trailers eliminate the grapes) now have a low-frequency whine; his or her augers a new drone; this crusher-destemmer can produce some sort of variety of noises ~ a good relentless metronomic clang will be a sign something will be not right, for case – although commonly audio like a large slip drier would if that were removed of almost any external cladding and geared-up to move double the swiftness. A must water pump (in case you hadn't recognized, we're following the vineyard through the production method of most traditional wineries) is typically a good silent element of kit in comparison with it has the stablemates – it will emit a fairly higer pitched whine should you tune in hard – but since these kinds of, any noise from using it, possibly be that the suck-slosh sound of it running dried up and also the chug of that working hard, is actually cause for alarm. Filling a new fermenter for red wine beverages usually begins with a new thump-bang-spatter because grape have to hits the ground of typically the tank and primarily information outwards. As the tank is filling, it is definitely, reasonably speaking, a muted event. But a little is often a signal the must collection (winery grape/wine hoses plus hoses are known as "lines" – the term "hose" is usually reserved for water – features pushed itself out of the tank with the force of the have to coming out of it and even has decided to expell it has the contents on to the ground. This can and will do come about. The sound involving dripping solution is rarely a good register a winery. © BFL | The sound of leaking liquid is seldom a great sign in a vineyard. Tends to make me wanna yell And from now on would be a good time for you to talk regarding shouting. In most instances, this involves screaming "stop often the pump". In a huge winery, this is certainly generally a new forlorn endeavor and this witness must proceed along with hurry (but definitely not excessive haste) to the agent in question. In small jobs, this cry commonly has got the desired effect : every person hits the stop-button nearby to them. Or perhaps sometimes typically the noise regarding whatever possesses happened is definitely enough – as in the particular case of me personally going down through a ladder ditch in some scaffolding – plus the closest to person shouts "are anyone ok? inch, despite certainly not seeing precisely what had transpired. I keep in mind one occasion as soon as, midway through rolling some sort of fermenter cover through the vineyard a associate shouted "Guys! " This was adopted by another, louder "GUYS! " (a second holler is a surefire signal something is amiss). Most of us all went to find the dog wrestling with a new tank control device the deal with had connected around together with popped opened. He was initially saturated in fermenting Sauvignon Blanc. But shouts happen to be like sounds – mostly, you know when it's an disaster, or if something went wrong. My spouse and i can't explain that, nonetheless you get an head for this. Like a Bucher 150 push losing front door seal at 2 pub. I probably should make clear this so you get often the full picture. The Bucher 150 is the somewhat common cylindrical bladder click. It is essentially a stainless steel tube divided down this middle by a large bag. Guiding the tote goes often the compressed surroundings that is used to squash the bag from the grapes (which are with lack of of the bag) and the drink functions off down about seven drainage channels into the hit tray. There are also a pair of doors on this fruit area of the particular press. They allow it to be emptied and permit people to climb in clean it. The doors happen to be about half the size of some sort of regular door. They fall, and so are sealed pneumatically versus the outside the press. This press runs, at the upper level, with a tension of 2 bar, or 200kPa, or 29lbs for each square inch. I is not going to go ahead to how and even so why this took place (it had been operator miscalculation ~ to a qualification: the heart and soul was that in the event you flicked concerning automatic together with guide method in the previous models, you always risked shedding door seal) yet, via my desk, now there got a double-BOOM, some sort of whoosh like a fly plane all of a sudden appearing cost, put into practice, events later, by means of what sounded like rain on the tin roof (it was actually half-dried Pinot Gris skins falling from the sky). I searched on the lab technical assistant, this lab technical viewed with me, and that we ran outside. This is a bit about sounds so We won't describe the landscape. Be adequate to say that will weeks in the future, when the idea rained, we'd even now come across Pinot Gris cases forthcoming out of the guttering using the rainwater. Not most sounds are usually bad nevertheless – many are happy. The particular rhythmic slosh of a great irrigator wetting the hat of fermenting Cabernet or perhaps Merlot; often the squelch, are terrible, fizz regarding plunging a fermenting limitation of Pinot Noir; the beeping of timers in the research laboratory; the scrape of a new stirrer in a gun barrel involving Chardonnay; the scream of "standby", the reply associated with "standing by", in addition to the "stop" of topping a tank. Days of homemade wine and Boses And then there is certainly the stereo. Almost all of my personal European vintages have been completed in relative silence as long as music went. In quite a few wineries we may well include a portable radio, nonetheless mostly generally there wasn't songs. When Anyone that Loves Wine Ought To be able to Study This received to help the SouthernHemisphere, even though, the first vintage surprise was initially seeing two audio system the size of banano boxes hanging from the eaves, overlooking the push area. The music streamed out there as we performed, from start to evening, red and white, we all listened to everything. Together with I adored it : I still do. In most of the New Globe wineries I have worked well in, we have seen a audio system in each work area (barrel hall, vineyard, lab). Some, though, get it very seriously. Central Otago winemaker Dean Shaw presides over reputedly the best stereo system in the location together with a huge repository that goes into terabytes. They has rules although. You need to play an album inside their entirety, for illustration. In addition to Rage Against This Machine is definitely banned. Because, undoubtedly for the majority of wineries (once everyone's Spotify has recently been exhausted), the radio gets the particular fall-back, there are songs I actually powerfully keep company with vintages. Sedona by Houndmouth is old-fashioned 2015. This year, it will be Run Crazy by means of Brand-new Zealand team Racing. As I write, this can be late in the evening. Just about Great Wine and Good Mood offers curbside pickup is quiet spend less typically the hiss outside involving compressed air bleeding by itself from the process together with my post-rock COMPACT DISK playing on the clinical stereo. In a few days the essential contraindications silence will certainly return and even, to always be honest, I'm definitely not totally looking forward to it.

[kinsie]

Game Impressions from PAX Aus 2019

Wake the fuck up, samurai. We've got a city to burn.

Every year I go to PAX Aus with some close friends to check out the Incredible Future of Games that everyone else already checked out six months ago, along with some cool weird indie shit and some awesome retro stuff. And every year, I write a little diary of what I saw to share my impressions with my friends. This is that diary.

Doom Eternal

Okay, let's get this out of the way. I played Doom Eternal pretty much as soon as I got on the show floor. It may shock you to know that it is, in fact, good.

No pictures of the demo units, sorry, so have this big logo.

The demo started with a little grey-box tutorial map just to teach you what you need to know for the demo level, since it was taken from the middle of the game. It looked very Snapmap-y and had some Doom 2 MIDI music playing. After that we were given about 25 minutes to acquaint ourselves with the lengthy "Mars Core" mission they've been showing since E3. I was at the start of the first arena of the hell bit when I ran out of time. :(

Here are some scattered thoughts from playing:

Your standard running around and double jumping feels much the same as in Doom 2016. The dashing feels great, although I think it might reduce your air control a little afterwards as I had some trouble overshooting a platform in the floating debris bit.

Climbing walls felt a bit weird to me. You have to press E on the wall manually to grab onto it, which feels a bit unintuitive when you're plummeting past it. Also feels a bit odd considering mantling up walls is automatic. You can auto-grab onto walls if you dash into it, but I think it's only for the first bit of the dash? Maybe I'm just bad at videogames.

I think the Combat and Super Shotguns now use different ammo types? I could have swore there were situations where I could select the Combat Shotgun but not the SSG.

The Chainsaw now no longer has even the slightest pretence of being a "real" weapon. It's now just a swing animation when you press the button, like a melee attack, before bringing your weapon back up.

When you have the SSG's Meat Hook attachment, a little meathook icon appears below the crosshair. When you're close enough to an enemy to grapple onto them, the icon floats over them, indicating that it has some kind of auto-aim mechanic to reduce frustration.

There was a monster with swords on its arms that acted an awful lot like the Baron of Hell (might have been the Hell Knight, looking at the Quakecon footage of the same fight) but it looked quite different. Looked fuckin' cool, whatever it was.

The platforming but in the debris section with the giant floating red barrels was actually kind of frustrating. It wasn't always clear where you needed to go, and the climbable bits tended to blend in with the rest of the world. Then again, keep in mind I have a frankly abysmal sense of direction. Thankfully falling into the void just whacks you for a paltry five health and teleports you back onto safe ground.

The locational damage stuff is really fun. Breaking a monster's guns has a satisfying metal "PING" sound to it to inform you that the dude got fucked up and is weaker now, and that you should keep doing it.

When I picked up one of those "?" secrets, the pop-up box told me that they unlocked "collectable dolls" and "cheat codes". The former is vague, but I suspect they'll be like the mini-Doomguys but of more characters. I'd imagine the latter will be like in Rage 2.

Oh, and it looks a million bucks, too. Though you probably didn't need me to tell you that.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with what I saw and it's even more of a pity it's not coming out next month.

Not Indie Games, But Also Not Doom Eternal

The Vive Cosmos felt really comfy - the lack of cabling and the decent display resolution made it feel a lot more natural than the Gen 1 Vives I've previously used. The game they were using to demo (Audica), however, was pretty lame. A rhythm-target shooter that didn't really take advantage of the medium at all.

Bleeding Edge was not inspiring. It was basically the control point mode from TF2 or Overwatch, except every character was a third-person brawler with little emphasis on projectile weapons beyond the occasional special. It felt like someone making a claim at TF2 or Overwatch's throne several years late while bolting a weak character action game on, which is fairly odd considering how innovative and critically acclaimed Ninja Theory's previous game was.

Dreams is fairly fascinating in its potential. The creation tools weren't available in the demo build so I can’t really judge them, instead there was a choice of eight developer-made experiences ranging from Mario-inspired obstacle courses to videogames as art.

I didn't get the chance to actually play MediEvil, but I watched some folks play it and it basically just looks like the PS1 game with more triangles, with all the slightly wonky 32-bit gameplay that entails.

The demo unit for Monkey King: Hero Is Back had some utterly bizarre graphics settings for some reason that made it look like I was playing a JPEG file, with big whopping compression artifacts surrounding each character. Weird!

Not happenin’.

Indie Games

Grabimals is a brilliant local co-op puzzler where players roll around as shapes and link together to solve puzzles like catching a falling water droplet, crossing a gap or casting a shadow that matches an example image. Supposedly it's still a ways off from release, but it's already impressively polished (disregarding one hilarious crash bug we found by accident!)

Hamster Scramble is a really fun take on Puzzle Bobble, with platforming elements, team play and the ability to jump over to your opponent's screen and fuck their plans up directly. It's an absolute blast and didn't feel like it was almost a year away from release.

Fork Knights is a platform fighter with an emphasis on one-hit kills. The character designs are cute, but I can't really say the gameplay itself struck me, to be honest.

Baron is an eight-player single-screen local multiplayer dogfighter. Fairly simple mechanically, but pretty fun all things considered.

Broken Roads had some lovely hand-painted art assets and some interesting ideas like a literal moral compass, but the demo build showcased was waaaaay too early to be shown off to the public. Of the eight or so areas present in the demo, only two had any characters, interactivity or really anything other than wandering around set up, and the combat side of things was extremely rough and sequestered off to a side area as a "well, if you insist..." kind of deal.

Misadventure In Little Lon is a true-crime adventure game for mobile with a unique mechanic - each "scene" is integrated into the real world via AR, with characters (that resemble Poser models more than a little bit) speaking to you directly. Not sure if it holds up over an entire game, but it's attention-garnering at least.

Speaking of true crime, The Black Window tasks players with using an Oujia board to question Australia's first female serial killer, with responses taken from court records and letters from the time. The well-acted performances of the actual individual in question's words lends it an impressive atmosphere, which the booth added to with a big wooden oujia board type thing you could "type" on. Sort of.

ACID KNIFE is real, real early, but the aesthetic is awesome and the pixel art is great. Hopefully it grows and expands into something special.

The Vigilante Proclivities of the Longspur is an oldschool Lucasarts-inspired point-and-click adventure with a custom demo scene set at an oddly-familiar videogame convention. Pretty promising so far, but could do with a good bit of polish - I'm pretty sure there was only one sound effect in the entire demo, and dialogue was often lacking in punctuation.

I didn't get to play Hot Brass but I watched over shoulders and talked with the developers, and it looked pretty cool. It's basically a take on SWAT 4's rarely-imitated brand of tactical copwork, but with a Hotline Miami-style top-down perspective, but with all the characters abstracted down to simple board game like tokens - a circle with a coloured outline denoting attitude towards the player, with a weapon icon if armed.

Blood Metal... Blood Metal is not good. It is extensively not good. Development seems to have only started in July, so one can still hope that the bad AI, unsatisfying gunplay, buggy collision detection and complete lack of damage feedback (outside of some ridiculous, sight-obscuring gouts of blood) get fixed over time. The 80s action movie aesthetic and low-poly artstyle forces it to be compared to Maximum Action, which is at least a fun kind of jank...

This Starry Void is a real-time, tile-based 3D dungeon crawler set in an abandoned spacecraft. It seems pretty cool so far, but it could probably use some UI/UX tweaks. The attempts at a "graphic novel inspired" visual style for the environments could probably benefit from looking at how Void Bastards did things, as well.

Lethal Lawns and Beam Team are fucking arcade games with massive cabinets. In 2019. Granted, they're also on computers and coming to consoles and stuff as well, but still! They're both pretty simple games, and therefore best played in cabinet form.

Unpacking is a "zen puzzle game" by the developers of Assault Android Cactus about the second-worst part of moving house, unloading an unseen character's packing and getting a glimpse into their lives as a result. I wasn’t able to play it due to an unexpectedly-crowded booth, but the pixel art is quite lovely.

Feather is a chill game about being a bird and flying around an island trying to find its secrets. I tried the Switch port, which played alright but obviously (and understandably) toted a lower framerate than the demo PC.

Topple Pop is a cute puzzle game that blends together elements of Tetris, Puyo Puyo and that one joke game that was Tetris but with a proper physics engine. Looks cute, with a fun gimmick!

Shooty Skies Overdrive is an VR spinoff of the popular mobile shmup, and basically similar to that one shmup minigame in Valve's The Lab. Weave your plane, which is attached to one of your hands, through incoming bullets and enemies like a toy! The 3D effect on the incoming projectiles looks great, but they can tend to get in the way of the action sometimes.

Dead Static Drive has been at like the last three PAXes and it looks better every time I see it. I hope it comes out this decade.

Snow Mercy is a third-person shooter/strategy thing where you hunt down icecubes to spend on an army of snowmen to crush your opponent's base before they crush yours. Not a common genre combo, reminds me of C&C Renegade a bit.

The Adventure Pals has graphics straight out of mid-2000s Newgrounds and level design out of pretty much any european platformer, but it didn't seem too bad from my brief prodding at it. The player character is perhaps a bit too small for my elderly eyes in Switch portable mode, but that's about as far as my gripes go.

[tisfan]

One Hand Washes the Other

Title of Piece: One Hand Washes the Other Also on A03 Square filled: A4 - WTF Warning: unrepentant fluff, weird coping mechanisms, first date Pairing: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes Summary: Bucky doesn’t always eat with the team. It takes Tony a while to figure out why. Created for @tonystarkbingo

Barnes didn’t always join the team for dinner. Tony didn’t always notice when he wasn’t there. At first, it was because maybe Tony was there; they weren’t exactly on friendly terms. But as time went on, and Tony was a rational, reasonable person, the enmity faded. Grew into something like grudging respect, and then grudging admiration. And then, because it was Tony, it might have turned into something like a reluctant crush.

Tony didn’t like to admit that he liked someone; it hadn’t usually worked out well for him. Case in point: Pepper Potts was back on the West Coast again, and sometimes missing her was like an extra hole in his chest, and he was beginning to believe that his emotional make-up was something very swiss-cheese in composition, and he didn’t need any more random aches and pains, thank you very much.

So, Tony tried not to notice when Barnes wasn’t around.

It’s not like Tony showed up to every single one of them, either.

To keep people from fighting about food, team dinners were two different protocols; ordering takeout was on a semi-random, preference oriented schedule. Which was to say, everyone entered in their personal favorites and Friday would select what people were getting for dinner. Which meant pizza was regular, as well as Chinese take away. Burgers.

The other protocol was the cooking roster, because some of the team liked to cook, and others on the team liked to sit down to a home cooked meal. Bruce, for instance, made the words best baby back ribs and absolutely would not tell anyone his secret, even swearing the AIs to secrecy and Friday diligently kept her word (traitor) and refused to allow Tony to access the kitchen camera. Not that Tony could cook, most of the time, but it was the principle of the thing.

But eventually, Tony noticed a pattern, because it was Tony.

The first night they’d done cheeseburgers, Barnes had eaten his portion with a knife and fork. Okay, weird, but a lot of Europeans did that, too, and Barnes had spent a lot of time in Europe. Tony, who drank a lot of his meals (sometimes they were smoothies and sometimes they were booze, and who asked you anyway?) didn’t comment, but Clint did.

And Barnes stopped showing up on burger nights.

He’d never showed up for pizza.

Barnes showed up for chicken one night, but he’d backed up and left in somewhat of a hurry when he saw the containers and realized it was fried chicken, not baked. Clint had waved a drumstick at him, trying to tempt him, but Barnes didn’t even look back.

Tony couldn’t help but notice a pattern after a while.

Barnes never showed up -- or left quickly if he did show up -- when the meal was something eaten by hand. Spaghetti nights, he was as deft with a fork and spoon to twirl pasta against as anyone. He ate epic amounts of steak and potatoes. Raw oysters disappeared like crazy, and sushi was a big hit, but peel-and-eat shrimp or crab legs were right out.

The guy wouldn’t eat popcorn on movie nights, either.

Well, Tony knew all about weird hangups that manifested in odd behavior, and he wasn’t going to call the guy out. Maybe it was some sort of shame-thing about the metal arm, even tho Shuri’s design was top notch, really quite elegant. Or something weird about the way it clicked when he moved it, but… well, it wasn’t Tony’s business, was it?

It wasn’t until one particularly bad bout of engineering fuge where Tony hadn’t slept in days, but had to stagger out of the workshop because he was out of coffee downstairs, and staring at the fabricator wasn’t going to make it run any faster that he actually saw Barnes.

Alone.

[more below the cut]

Sitting in front of the television, watching some late night, black and white, movie marathon and eating out of a bowl.

At first, Tony thought he had some of the left-over noodles -- there were always Chinese noodles of some sort or other in the fridge -- because the bowl was small, he was holding it under his chin, and he was wielding a pair of chopsticks with his left hand. The ridiculous mock up lightsaber kind that Tony had bought from Think Geek, because it was cool, and also because he was a little jealous that he hadn’t thought of it first.

Barnes didn’t take his eyes off the television, dipped the chopsticks into his bowl, and something crunched.

Not like a bamboo shoot, or a water chestnut, either, but…

“Are you eating Cheetos with chopsticks?” Tony couldn’t help but burst out. “Barnes, what the fuck?”

Barnes scrambled to put the bowl down; the chopsticks disappeared like a magician’s trick. “What? I was jus’ watching a movie, can’t always sleep--”

“No, no, that’s fine,” Tony said, waving that away. He knew quite a lot about not being able to sleep. “Can I just ask why?”

“Why what? Why can’t I sleep?” Barnes’s wide-eyed innocent look was both very good and damned endearing, but he wasn’t fooling Tony.

“Why do you eat like that, it’s so--”

“Weird. Creepy. Fucked up. I know.” Barnes heaved a sigh and by the time he was done, he looked somehow smaller and more fragile than Tony had ever seen him. This man, the one in front of him, blushing uncomfortably and fidgeting, that was a man that Tony could call Bucky. Not the cold-blooded killer, or the reluctant Avenger. He rubbed thoughtfully at the palm of his metal hand with the thumb from his right.

“Hey, I don’t let people hand me shit,” Tony said. “I am the last person to give you grief about weird coping mechanisms, I’m just wondering why.”

“Did you know that your computer keyboard has twenty thousand times more germs than a toilet seat?”

That seemed like a non-sequitur if Tony ever head one. Also, pointless. Supersoldiers didn’t get sick.

“There might be a reason I use hard light and projected imagery instead of something as quaint as a mouse and keyboard system,” Tony said. Also, projected imagery was a lot cooler than a clunky board.

Barnes spread his metal fingers to their max extension, all the little plates opening up to allow for the movement. Gold and black, it was gorgeous, and Tony wanted to touch it, poke at it, because, well, he generally had a boner for engineering, even if it wasn’t his own.

“Dust gets caught up in here,” Barnes said. “An’ other stuff.”

Blood, Tony read between the lines.

“There’s no cleaning features? That just seems like a failure in--”

“It was a little easier with th’ old one because there wasn’t a lot on th’ way of actual sensitivity. Used to brush it out with compressed air, but that shit is cold, and this hand can detect temperature extremes,” Barnes shuddered. “There’s coating on the circuits, that makes it waterproof, so like, I c’n wash my hands and stuff. But it’s disturbin’ as hell to wash my hands and see… grease an’ crumbs drippin’ out. Put m’ hand in th’ sewer a few weeks back, durin’ that fight with th’ Wrecking Crew. Took me almost forty minutes t’ wash all the muck an’ grime and other people’s shit out of it.”

“Well, that’s a disturbing image, yes, I can imagine,” Tony said.

“I jus’... don’t like to touch my food with it. And I’m left-handed, so eatin’ right handed is awkward.”

“So, you don’t eat things that you can’t use utensils for,” Tony said.

Barnes’ chopsticks appeared again and he hefted a cheeto and crunched it. “Saw this on one of them videos on YouTube, some girl showin’ how to eat without messing up your makeup, or getting chip dust all over your fingers.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Tony said, and his mind was already whirring, because that’s what his brain did. Problems existed in order to be solved. Bucky’s chopsticks would work well for small things; chips and french fries and popcorn, but what about pizza? Cheeseburgers?

For that matter, what about raw sewage? No one should have to put up with that inside their bodies, even if Barnes couldn’t get sick, hadn’t he already gotten the short end of the stick with the unwilling body modifications?

“It works, at least,” Barnes said. He crunched another cheeto with pleasure.

Tony got a second bowl out of the cabinet, and snagged a pair of chopsticks. “Mind if I have some?”

“You pay for the groceries,” Barnes pointed out, but he poured out a serving of cheetos for Tony.

“Thanks.”

“What’s this?”

“Add-on,” Tony said, handing over the little disk. “It’s a-- well, consider it a deflector dish. I didn’t get a test audience on the branding, but since it’s only for people with high tech prosthetics, I don’t expect they’ll care what it’s called. Here, it goes on the back of the hand, here--” Tony picked up Barnes’ metal hand without really thinking about it, and the man froze. Tony was standing much closer than he usually did, and when Barnes glanced up at him, they were practically close enough to kiss.

“Right? Then what?” Barnes asked, not pulling back, and his blue eyes went deep and liquid.

“Well, I was studying the princess’s specs, and your arm still has an unreasonable amount of circuit heat, thus the plate mechanism, in addition to flexibility and strength, provides the cooling. So, we can’t quite do without it, yet, but she and I are doing a little collaboration, maybe make Steve Austin Mark III a little less clunky…” Tony said. “But for now… here, come here, and put your hand in this.”

There were not words for the look Barnes gave him, as Tony led him over to a bucket of slime.

“Go on, test it out.”

“I’m gonna make you clean all this shit out,” Barnes threatened.

Tony gave him a smile. “Deal. Put your hand in there, Buckybear.”

Barnes grumbled, but pushed his fingertips into the slime, which hastily shifted and pushed away.

“What th’ fuck?” Barnes -- no, Bucky’s -- eyes lit up, and the smile on his face was beyond joy. Wonder, amazement.

“It’s not very strong, but it extends about an eighth of a millimeter past the plates. Consider it a sort of electrostatic… skin. Works just like our skin,” Tony said. “Keeps all the dirt out, and…”

Bucky swirled his fingers in the slime. “I… can feel that. I can feel it. Not just pressure, not… I can feel that, Tony.”

“Yep, sunshine, that was the plan,” Tony said. He nodded to a cloth on the side of the bucket. “You’ll still have to wash it off, but--”

Bucky wiped his hand free, and then, before Tony was quite aware of what Bucky planned, those metal fingers were stroking down the side of Tony’s skin.

He told himself the tingles that it raised was nothing more than an effect of the electrostatic shield. He was lying, because he’d already tested it, several times, and he knew that there was no way any normal human would detect anything different about Bucky’s arm. That it would just feel like metal, smooth and supple.

“Tony, I can…” Bucky’s eyes filled and a tear spilled down one cheek.

“Yeah.”

“Why?” Bucky pulled his fingers back, rubbed them against his shirt, then held them out again, marveling. “Why-- thank you, but why?”

“Well, mostly, because out of all of us, you deserve to be able to eat a cheeseburger in peace.”

“Thank you,” Bucky said again, and he cupped the side of Tony’s face, as if still enchanted by the way Tony’s cheek felt under his palm.

“You’re welcome,” Tony said.

“Uh, can… will you join me, for a cheeseburger?” Bucky asked. And Tony might not have thought anything of it, except at the very end of the word, Bucky winked.

“Are… you asking me on a date?”

“If I said yes, will you say yes?”

“It’s a date, then,” Tony said.

[mydevofficial]

Loading Time Matters

The speed at which your website loads is crucial to making sales and retaining visitors. Did you know that after 5 seconds, if a website still hasn’t fully loaded, you will lose 4.4% of visitors for each additional second? So, if it takes 10 seconds to load your site, then you just lost 22% of the originally interested prospects. This is a big deal, and a critical area to focus on because after you put in all the work to create a valuable product or service, hire employees, and pay for email marketing, you could still lose not generate enough leads all due to a seemingly less important issue.

Here are some tips to speed up the process, so you don’t lose any would be sales after someone clicks the link in your marketing email and loses interest because the website wasn’t loading fast enough:

Keep Short & Simple

There should always be an emphasis on maintaining minimal content on the landing page with calls to action (“buy now”, “sign me up” buttons), but few realize that it also affects the loading speed. So having too much content on the landing page is a terrible idea, spread the information around onto other pages. For example, make an FAQ page, don’t fill up the bottom of the landing page with descriptions making the page load take longer and forcing the customer to scroll down to read the product description and watch videos.

Also, be wary of high-resolution imagery. File size and formats can affect speed. A high-resolution background or image might be +10MB in size, this is going to take a few seconds to load, especially for those that may not be using a fast internet connection. So, don’t waste more of your customer's time, try and use images that are under 1MB. Save the images as PNG and try compressing them with tools. You want to use PNG formats rather than JPEG because the file won’t lose data after it’s compressed.

Perhaps your product is designed to save them time, so start by showing it. The landing page doesn’t need to have a cool looking large video reel, you can put that on the “products” or “features” page.

Get The Coding Right

Coding the cache is appreciated since the next time someone visits the site, the loading speed won’t be nearly as slow as the first time. Also ensure you tweak technical aspects like bulky code, inline CSS, or comments that can cause the pages to be pending longer when clicked.

Place Your Videos Elsewhere

For videos, why even bother putting them on your website? Post them on a 3rd party site like YouTube and just place the link on your website. Now, videos playing on your website look better, cooler, and professional, but again, you’ve got to get the coding right to reduce the loading time to a minimum. Converting visitors into sales is more important how the website looks, so don’t feel bad if, after testing, it’s better to just post the video link on the product page (which routes the user to view on YouTube).

Use A Content Delivery Network

A content delivery network cache’s your website on multiple data centres and proxy servers across the globe. This will allow prospects halfway across the world to load your landing page from a closer data centre. For example, if your website is hosted in the USA and you have a customer in South Africa, it’s going to take a lot longer to load the site from the US data centre rather than from a proxy server locally in South Africa. So, spend the extra bucks and plan to have your site load ready from anywhere, this is essential if your customers are remote workers and can be living anywhere in the world.

For services, just Google “content delivery network” and you’ll see options like Amazon CloudFront.

AMP Websites

One could consider using an AMP website, they are super-fast thanks again to the type of coding employed. This is a lazy approach, to just pay a service versus figuring out the coding yourself, but it can be a final resolution.

How Does This Tie Into sendbat?

As you continue the journey of building a successful website, the number of visitors is crucial to sales and collecting customer data. Using sendbat’s email marketing campaigns will encourage all contacts to click a link and visit your website to purchase products. The percentage of individuals opening your emails, to begin with, is very low (15%), and even fewer will convert into paying customers. There is no excuse for losing the interest of prospects just because your website is loading too slow. Fix your loading speed today and start successfully marketing to your contacts with sendbat to generate the sales you’ve always dreamed of. There’s money being left on the table by not attracting would-be customers from your contact list. Purchase sendbat today or “sign me up” for a trial.

Start sending out emails/SMS campaigns today with sendbat. Current users are enjoying an average click-through rate of 15%. Such open rates are something your sales team cannot afford to miss. Sign up for sendbat at mydev.com

For any questions feel free to contact: sendbat@mydev.com or call (224)279–1076.

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Sony Mdr 7506 Eq Settings

Sony Mdr 7506 Best Buy

Sony Mdr 7506 Sale

Sony Mdr 7506 Review

The Sony MDR-7506 is an industry standard around the world. The SM58 of headphones, these are a perfect place to start your headphone journey.

KNOXVILLE, TN — Waves Audio, a leading provider of digital signal processing solutions and digital music production tools, announces an update to the Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room plugin – a new headphone EQ calibration feature. Added in response to popular demand, this new feature allows users to select a correction EQ curve for specific popular headphone models.

Nx Virtual Mix Room is a virtual monitoring plugin that recreates the three-dimensional acoustics of a professionally treated mix room on any set of headphones. This allows you to hear on headphones the same depth and panoramic stereo image you would hear from speakers in a physical room, enabling you to properly judge how your headphone mixes will translate to speakers.

The reference quality sound of the MDR 7506 makes them great for studio use or if you like sound that is on the more accurate side. The compact, closed back.

Sony Mdr 7506 Eq Settings Full Size Over; Testosterone levels hese earphones possess and carry on to be highly deemed among audio experts and theyre furthermore hugely popular with the typical consumer. And for good reason considering they carry out better than a great deal of various other headphones priced at almost twice as much.

Using Nx Virtual Mix Room with EQ calibration, users can now mix and monitor on headphones with greater confidence than ever, experiencing precise, reliable high-end sound in the studio, at home or on the road.

Based on precision headphone measurement data provided by www.headphone.com, the Nx plugin’s new EQ calibration curves are designed to balance out any extreme features in your headphone’s frequency response, correcting them toward a common frequency balance. This provides a more transparent starting point for monitoring and mixing.

The following headphone models are currently supported by Nx: Audeze EL-8 (Closed-Back) Audeze iSINE 20 Audeze SINE Audio-Technica ATH-M50x AKG K-702 Beyerdynamic DT-880 (250 ohm) Beyerdynamic DT-990 (250 ohm) Sennheiser HD-280 Pro Sennheiser HD-600 Sennheiser HD-800 Shure SRH-440 Sony MDR-7506

Using Nx Virtual Mix Room with EQ calibration, users can now mix and monitor on headphones with greater confidence than ever, experiencing precise, reliable high-end sound in the studio, at home or on the road.

Welcome today to my review on the Sony MDR-7506. These headphones have and continue to be highly regarded among audio professionals and they’re also hugely popular with the average consumer. And for good reason considering they perform better than a lot of other headphones costing almost twice as much. However, there are some situations where these may not be the best choice so I’ll talk more about that as I get into the sound quality comfort and features of these headphones.

Currently these headphones retail for around $80, but you can click here to check the current price and availability.

Sony Mdr 7506 Best Buy

FEATURES, ACCESSORIES AND DESIGN

So I’ll start off by walking you through the features and giving you a closer look at these headphones. Now these only weigh eight ounces, so they’re lighter than the average full size over ear headphone. They also fold up and a synthetic leather bag is included which makes these great for portable use. The bag is a basic synthetic leather bag, nothing fancy but it gets the job done.

You also get a coiled cable which stretches out to about 10 feet. This cable is not detachable so if you’re not a fan of coiled cables then that’s something to consider. The cable terminates in a 3.5 millimeter connector and it includes a 6.5mm screw on adapter.

The headphones have slide adjustments on the side which click into place. And these get plenty large so they should accommodate anyone no matter the shape or size of your head.

One thing I’m not a fan of is the way the wire is exposed as it comes down along the outside of the headband. It’s just something to be aware of and to be careful of. However, I know people who use these headphones for years and years and years without any problems so it’s not something I would be overly concerned about.

The headband is covered in a pleather material and has a small amount of cushion on the underside. The ear pads are racetrack shaped and are just barely large enough for my ears. So if you have larger ears you might find these hug the outside of your ears just a bit.

The padding is comfortable but not ultra comfortable and it does get warm after wearing these for a while. I found the padding isn’t as comfortable compared to some of the other comparable headphones in this price range such as the Sennheiser HD 559 or the Audio Technica ATH M30X (both of those have larger ear pads).

You can move them a little bit horizontally just enough to help find that perfect fit and there’s plenty of that up-and-down vertical movement. So again, this makes it really easy to find a comfortable fit with these headphones.

Now these Sony’s have 40 millimeter drivers and are 63 ohms which makes them a bit more difficult to drive (or power using just a smartphone). As a result, you may not get the volume or detail you’re after if you really like to turn these up and are just planning to use them with your phone.

So while they’re not ideal to use with portable devices like your phone, they sound incredible when they’re properly powered either through your computer, or decent headphone amp, etc.

COMFORT

Regarding the comfort and fit of these headphones, they’re not only durable but quite comfortable as well and they do a really nice job of accommodating everyone no matter the shape or size of your head.

However if your ears are larger than average, you might find they press against them just a little bit as these aren’t quite as accommodating compared to other larger over-ear style headphones.

That being said, they still surround my ears just fine and feel quite comfortable. They do get a little bit warm so I wouldn’t consider these cool wearing headphones by any stretch. And the longer you wear these you may notice heat and warmth around your ears will start to build up.

Clamping pressure against the head is moderate. They’re certainly not as overly compressive so as to cause any pain, but they still do a nice job of staying on your head without feeling too tight.

So overall, I’m very satisfied with the comfort of these, even for longer listening sessions.

NOISE ISOLATION

Noise isolation is particularly good with these headphones. Even at a moderate volume I found that the 7506 really does a great job of blocking out the surrounding noise around me. So I really have a hard time hearing what’s going on besides whatever I’m listening to.

SOUND QUALITY

Next I’ll discuss the sound quality which is absolutely astounding considering the price point of these headphones. As I said earlier, these sound better than other headphones costing almost twice as much. The tonal balance is almost perfect with no flaws and they’re excellent reference headphones which allow you to hear a lot of the nuances in your music in a way that many other competing headphones fail to do. But given how accurate these are, these may actually be too revealing and detailed for some situations or listening preferences which I’ll explain more below.

Starting with the bass though, the low-end is smooth and captivating as well as being detailed and tight. There’s a real nice punch to it. In my opinion, not many headphones in this price range are really able to deliver an accurate and non overwhelming bass response the way these do.

However, they do lack a little weight down below 55 Hertz. But below 80 Hertz and above 14 kilohertz human years are less sensitive which of course is why we love to boost those frequencies. But with a decent headphone (such as these) and a decent amp, you’ll be able to hear that nice tight bass even down to the lowest frequencies.

Now something to keep in mind is that when you first get these the bass can sound a bit boomy. This does improve the longer you listen to them, so don’t be discouraged if you find that to be the case.

Mid-range is very clean vocals are detailed and just wonderful sounding. They’re really pleasing to listen to because they’re not congested or covered up by muddy bass. To get better sounding vocals than these headphones you would really need to spend at least a hundred to two hundred dollars more because they’re that good.

And that’s one reason these headphones work so well for singers or anyone who wants to be able to hear how they truly sound. Because the presentation these headphones provide is so accurate.

The treble is also clean and not harsh whatsoever. Cymbal crashes sound impeccable and I don’t know of another headphone in this price range that does a better job.

From a sensitivity standpoint, I found these headphones to be incredibly sensitive to the mids and highs. The benefit from this is that you’ll hear all the detail in your music and/or your recordings which is why these headphones are so highly prized among audio professionals.

These headphones are perfect for detecting any imperfections in any of your recordings which other headphones tend to hide.

The downside to this level of perfection though, is that it typically causes less than stellar recordings to sound worse. Because if you’re listening to something with a lot of contamination in the recording or a lower quality recording, then these won’t be as forgiving as other headphones.

Realize that it’s not the headphones that sound bad but rather they’re just more accurately portraying what you’re listening to and revealing all the flaws of the particular piece of music you’re listening to.

But otherwise, these headphones do sound great with any genre of music, particularly music with vocals or anything with heavy beats. Jazz and classical also sound wonderful on these but the soundstage could be better especially compared to more open headphones like the Sennheiser HD 559.

HOW THESE COMPARE TO OTHER HEADPHONES

Now comparing the 7506 to the Sony MDR 10R. The 10R sound more muted and mellow in an unexciting way by comparison. Whereas the 7506 has more sparkle, energy and detail to it. It’s definitely the better sounding headphone between the two.

Then if you compare these to the Sony MDR V6, they look almost identical but the V6 has a more up-and-down (or V-shaped) frequency response compared to the 7506 which is much more smooth and even. So while the V6 has more bass, the highs and the low-mids are less detailed and slightly veiled compared to the 7506.

So for anyone who has a listening preference for more bass and is less concerned about an even frequency response, then the Sony MDR V6 would be the way to go.

But overall, the sound quality is truly remarkable with these headphones. Their biggest asset I think, is just being able to so faithfully and accurately reproduce music as it was recorded.

REASONS YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER SOMETHING ELSE

Now as great as these headphones are, there are some reasons you may want to consider something else. Of course, one of those reasons being the cable as I mentioned earlier as the cable is coiled and not detachable. While this can be a real benefit in a studio or recording type environment, it otherwise may be a less than ideal choice.

Something else to consider for some, is that these headphones aren’t as mobile friendly (for using with your phone) compared to some of the other headphones out there right now. Though you could use these with your smartphone, they’re just not going to sound as good compared to being properly powered by your computer, decent amp, etc.

Next, if you prefer a low end that’s a little more forward or weighty in the bass department, then you may prefer something different like the Sony MDR V6 or the Audio Technica ATH M30X.

Also, if you listen to a lot of lower quality mp3’s (such as music downloaded off the internet) or music that’s poorly recorded then you may find these aren’t as enjoyable to listen to because they’ll keep highlighting all the flaws and as a result, just won’t sound as pleasing.

If you’re in this situation, it might be better to go with a headphone that isn’t quite as sharp in the detail department so those flaws won’t be as distracting. The M30X would again, be a better choice in this regard.

Then, if you’ll primarily be listening to a lot of classical or jazz music and if sound leakage isn’t an issue then the Grado SR80 or the Sennheiser HD 559 will give you a similar level of detail and overall sound quality as the MDR 7056, but with a more open sound stage.

But while the Grados are airy sparkly and very refreshing sounding, they do lack low-end bass compared to the MDR 7056. So if you enjoy that bump in your bass line, definitely stick with the Sony’s.

Finally, if price-wise these Sony headphones are a bit more than you’d like to spend but you still want something that can hold its own against these calibre of headphones then go for the Audio Technica ATH M30X. They have really nice ear pads which give your ears actually a little bit more room.

And of course they sound better than their little brother the M20X by being more refined. They have a nice base bump compared to the Sony’s. But they also have a tad too much high-end treble in the realm of the 3000 Hertz mark. So even though they’re not as smooth and refined as the MDR7056, they still hold their own and are a solid choice if price is a factor.

But, if you can spend the few extra bucks to get the Sony’s, it’s more than worth it. And the Sony’s I think are the better value overall

BOTTOM LINE

Sony Mdr 7506 Sale

What the Sony MDR-7056 really shines at is giving you a very accurate and smooth presentation of whatever it is you’re listening to. So if you’re looking for the most faithful reproduction of sound you can get at this price point, whether for professional or personal use, then these are the perfect headphones.

They have an even response across the entire frequency range. They have better sonic depth and dexterity than many headphones costing twice their price. And they’re also durable, comfortable, a true workhorse and very reliable.

Sony Mdr 7506 Review

Considering they cost less than a hundred dollars it makes these one of the best headphone values on the planet. It’s no coincidence that these Sony headphones have been a staple among audio professionals for a long time. So whether you’re looking for a headphone for professional use or if you’re at that place where you’re ready to be introduced to the world of high-end sound I think you’ll really love and enjoy these headphones.

[seokarsite]

What is the best way to check your SEO?

Why should you check the SEO? How to check your SEO? What is SEO Search Engine? SEO Checker (SEO Checker) is a tool that scans every web page for technical and SEO errors that can negatively affect search engine rankings. Use it to get a comprehensive list of errors on the web page. Get yourself and understand that you still need to improve your website. What does search engine SEO analyze? Seobility SEO Analyzer analyzes whether your website meets the criteria that search engines use to rank your website in search results. To do this, more than 200 parameters in the categories of meta information, page quality, page structure, link structure, server configuration and external factors are examined and the results are considered when calculating the SEO score. What is an SEO score? Your website SEO score indicates that the web page complies with the search engine quality guidelines. It can almost be said that if the score is above 80%, it means that the web page is already optimized while the score is below 80%, so there is still room for improvement. If the score is below 30%, there are serious errors and SEO problems on your website that you should definitely deal with. How can I improve my SEO score? You can improve your SEO score by fixing errors and issues that Seobility SEO search engine has found on your website. Improved SEO to-do list shows you which are the most important because removing them will have a significant impact on your SEO performance. How can I check my SEO ranking? There are several online tools you can use to check your rankings, for example in the Seobility ranking search engine just enter your domain and the search term you want to check. This tool instantly shows your domain rankings as well as the top 100 URL rankings for this keyword. 1. What is internal SEO? Internal SEO refers to the process of optimizing a web page for higher rankings on search engine results pages in order to achieve more traffic. On-page includes both page content, page architecture, and HTML source code.

2. What is off-page SEO? Off-page SEO is a term that describes the SEO activities that you and your team do outside of your website to increase the ranking of a web page in search engines. Off-page SEO includes aspects such as creating internal links, creating external links, guest blogging, and local citation lists and sites. 3. URL and Meta Description URLs should be shortened to about four to five words to describe the content on the page. For example, our article is “How to use Google site-search”. If your URLs are long or irrelevant, you can optimize and edit them so that search engine bots know better than what is on the page. However, be warned that this can affect the old URL link. However you can edit the meta description as much as you want. Your meta description should include primary and secondary keywords and properly summarize the content of your page. 4. Analyze the titles Titles should catch your eye and encourage users to click on them. In any title, make sure you use the right SEO keywords for your page. Keep in mind that ranking high-volume keywords can be difficult, so try to find a trailing keyword that has a bit of competition and improves your chances of appearing on the SERP index. 5. Evaluate inbound links Inbound links, also called backlinks or backlinks, are links to your site that are linked to a site. Backlinks can serve as an indicator for search engines that your website is a reliable source, so they can really improve your SEO ranking. Analyze inbound links to your site to help you see who links to your business and give you a better understanding of what you need to do to improve your search rankings. 6. Analyze your spam score If you have a lot of inbound links from low power websites, your spam score can increase. So when analyzing your inbound links, try to eliminate “bad” inbound links. To remove bad links, you can contact the webmaster and ask them to remove the link from their page, or you can skip this step and reject the link. 7. Check your internal links Internal linking is the practice of adding links to other pages on your website to help visitors navigate to different pages. Internal linking is a great SEO tactic to help improve your search engine rankings. In addition, it can improve the user experience. Go back to newer and older web pages and add internal links to other related pages on your site. Remember keywords and best text anchor techniques.

8. Analyze the content of your website Content plays an important role in the SEO of your website. Check for any duplicate content that is a red SEO flag and remove or remove it if necessary. Also make sure that your content is of high quality and error free. Start with your most popular pages and then move on to smaller posts and pages. 9. Audit your images Because search engine robots cannot search for your images, it is important that you optimize your images with appropriate text to describe the appearance and function of that image. Another image optimization tip to follow is to compress images to reduce their size, which can help improve page loading speed. One of the tools we use is ImageOptimize.

10. Check the speed of your page Your page speed can actually affect your website SEO and your overall user experience, so you should look forward to constantly analyzing your load speed to make sure your website is running fast and efficiently. . For a quick page load test, you can use Google’s PageSpeed ​​Insights tool.

The last word There are many tools available today for SEO sites that can go a long way in optimizing your site. In this article, we have taught you a few steps of SEO review. We hope you can improve your SEO by using these steps.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any comments or questions about this.