#online picture editor

[pictureeditor9]

I like to be creative and playing around with photography and lately I’ve experienced a lot of happiness out of creating festive and Christmas themes on my Instagram page. After spending the last few days playing outside in the chilly weather and creating a lot of exciting winter content, I thought why not put it into a winter photography guide for you?

[moonshinenight]

Important news for users and fans of Blingee website.

4th of June the Blingee site stopped work official. The owners haven't said anything about end of Blingee however they said there will be a change and the website will transformed in something new, idk what will be but I'm worried.

I spent there 12 years, I'm very attached to the site and I hope they didn't deleted our profiles. I wonder what they are going to do.

Here I post little part of my Blingees which I made in 2022-2023. Unfortunately I forgotten to save my last Blingee :/

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #254:

The 2020 movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga was nominated for 28 awards, one of which was the Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) for the song 'Husavik.' However, the song lost to Judas and the Black Messiah's 'Fight for You.'

Out of the films 28 nominations, it won six awards:

At GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (2021), the movie won the Dorian Award for Campy Flick of the Year.

From the Hollywood Critics Association (2021), they won the HCA Award for Best Original Song, again for 'Husavik.'

At the International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA) in 2020, Fire Saga took home the Halfway Award, once again for best original song.

The movie took home the Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Feature Musical at Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA (2021).

At New Mexico Film Critics (2021), the move once again won Best original song with the NMFC Award.

Once again winning with 'Husavik,' Fire Saga won the Society of Composers and Lyricists Awards (2021)'s SCL Award for Outstanding Original Song for Visual Media.

[Sources]

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga Awards, IMDb.com.

Oscars 2021, IMDb.com.

HCA Awards 2021, IMDb.com.

Awards (INOCA) 2020, IMBd.com.

USA 2021, IMDb.com.

NMFC Award 2021, IMDb.com.

SCL Awards 2021, IMDb.com.

[nmotypdfsfg]

[lifehacksthatwork]

Just a bunch of Useful websites - Updated for 2023

Removed/checked all links to make sure everything is working (03/03/23). Hope they help!

Sejda - Free online PDF editor.

Supercook - Have ingredients but no idea what to make? Put them in here and it'll give you recipe ideas.

Still Tasty - Trying the above but unsure about whether that sauce in the fridge is still edible? Check here first.

Archive.ph - Paywall bypass. Like 12ft below but appears to work far better and across more sites in my testing. I'd recommend trying this one first as I had more success with it.

12ft – Hate paywalls? Try this site out.

Where Is This - Want to know where a picture was taken, this site can help.

TOS/DR - Terms of service, didn't read. Gives you a summary of terms of service plus gives each site a privacy rating.

OneLook - Reverse dictionary for when you know the description of the word but can't for the life of you remember the actual word.

My Abandonware - Brilliant site for free, legal games. Has games from 1978 up to present day across pc and console. You'll be surprised by some of the games on there, some absolute gems.

Project Gutenberg – Always ends up on these type of lists and for very good reason. All works that are copyright free in one place.

Ninite – New PC? Install all of your programs in one go with no bloat or unnecessary crap.

PatchMyPC - Alternative to ninite with over 300 app options to keep upto date. Free for home users.

Unchecky – Tired of software trying to install additional unwanted programs? This will stop it completely by unchecking the necessary boxes when you install.

Sci-Hub – Research papers galore! Check here before shelling out money. And if it’s not here, try the next link in our list.

LibGen – Lots of free PDFs relate primarily to the sciences.

Zotero – A free and easy to use program to collect, organize, cite and share research.

Car Complaints – Buying a used car? Check out what other owners of the same model have to say about it first.

CamelCamelCamel – Check the historical prices of items on Amazon and set alerts for when prices drop.

Have I Been Pawned – Still the king when it comes to checking if your online accounts have been released in a data breach. Also able to sign up for email alerts if you’ve ever a victim of a breach.

I Have No TV - A collection of documentaries for you to while away the time. Completely free.

Radio Garden – Think Google Earth but wherever you zoom, you get the radio station of that place.

Just The Recipe – Paste in the url and get just the recipe as a result. No life story or adverts.

Tineye – An Amazing reverse image search tool.

My 90s TV – Simulates 90’s TV using YouTube videos. Also has My80sTV, My70sTV, My60sTV and for the younger ones out there, My00sTV. Lose yourself in nostalgia.

Foto Forensics – Free image analysis tools.

Old Games Download – A repository of games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. Get your fix of nostalgia here.

Online OCR – Convert pictures of text into actual text and output it in the format you need.

Remove Background – An amazingly quick and accurate way to remove backgrounds from your pictures.

Twoseven – Allows you to sync videos from providers such as Netflix, Youtube, Disney+ etc and watch them with your friends. Ad free and also has the ability to do real time video and text chat.

Terms of Service, Didn’t Read – Get a quick summary of Terms of service plus a privacy rating.

Coolors – Struggling to get a good combination of colors? This site will generate color palettes for you.

This To That – Need to glue two things together? This’ll help.

Photopea – A free online alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Does everything in your browser.

BitWarden – Free open source password manager.

Just Beam It - Peer to peer file transfer. Drop the file in on one end, click create link and send to whoever. Leave your pc on that page while they download. Because of how it works there are no file limits. It's genuinely amazing. Best file transfer system I have ever used.

Atlas Obscura – Travelling to a new place? Find out the hidden treasures you should go to with Atlas Obscura.

ID Ransomware – Ever get ransomware on your computer? Use this to see if the virus infecting your pc has been cracked yet or not. Potentially saving you money. You can also sign up for email notifications if your particular problem hasn’t been cracked yet.

Way Back Machine – The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and loads more.

Rome2Rio – Directions from anywhere to anywhere by bus, train, plane, car and ferry.

Splitter – Seperate different audio tracks audio. Allowing you to split out music from the words for example.

myNoise – Gives you beautiful noises to match your mood. Increase your productivity, calm down and need help sleeping? All here for you.

DeepL – Best language translation tool on the web.

Forvo – Alternatively, if you need to hear a local speaking a word, this is the site for you.

For even more useful sites, there is an expanded list that can be found here.

[bonyfish]

NSFW/Not Safe for Work is a funny concept to me because I have on separate occasions worked as 1. a creator of porn comics for an online subscription service, 2. a film archivist, digitizing material for the The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. I got to experience the dissonance of writing a crisp, professional email to my editor like I was taught to in art school and then attaching 18 pages of dong pictures to it. I've called a coworker over to dispassionately watch hardcore pornography over my shoulder so that they could help me make sure I was scanning a film at the correct frame rate. We were both wearing lab coats at the time. In terms of raw percentage, I have likely spent half or more of my professional life working in situations where it would not be all that unexpected to see someone's hole(s) in the course of my duties.

[eretouchingindia]

Elevate Your Brand with High-Quality Photo Editing

Don't let subpar jewelry images hold your brand back. Trust E-Retouching India to provide the exceptional Jewelry Photo Editing service you need to elevate your brand and make a lasting impression on your target audience.

[mynameonpix]

Latest Birthday Frame Wishes Card Create Online Free Edit Name Write

Birthday Card Photo With Name Wishes Free :- Online Easily Create Happy Birthday Wishes Cards Editing Customized Name With Photo Printable Tools Options. Make Your Name And Photo Upload / Generate Birthday Template Editable Application With Out Download. Creative Pictures Birthday Special Own Name Writing Photo Frame WhatsApp Status Sending or Facebook Post Share Just One Click Save Story.

[leatherbookmark]

re: your Emma post, you might find this of interest: https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/volume-43-no-1/manning/

yeah, i've seen this one! and it honestly was the thing that made me ??????? in the first place, because

while i agree with the paper itself, what's quoted in it is just Endlessly Baffling, approximately as likely (for me) to be the intended reading as the punnery from this post. but like, this is austen, and not some small unknown writer, and the fact that this riddle is being analyzed, kind of seem to me like they're not just some random ass wild theories no one really takes seriously. also, they're scholars, i am just a wee shrimp.

and that's insane to me. it just feels like particularly eager reaching that ends with a dislocated arm. like, yeah, it Could be interpreted like that, but should it...? is the reader Really meant to "get" that mr woodhouse clearly has an std based on how careful he is with his health and what he eats, and "surrounds himself with virgins" from which one is his daughter? this post i've found also adds that "kissing" and "having one's hair cut" are slang words/allusions to having sex... which only reminds me of that time when preschool-age shrimp proudly told their mother about learning a new (informal) phrase for "it stinks in here"; in polish it contained the word "riding", so my mother raised her eyebrows and went oh really! so "grandma is riding her bicycle" is "grandma's stinking on her bicycle" now? THE TRUTH UNCOVERED: YOUR GRANDMA AND BIKERS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.

like. i'm just not a fan of the idea that Oops! All Sexual Innuendos is actually the Secret Truth, or that not "getting them" means you're still a child, uwu pure and innocent. so i'd like to know if me going "yeah no" at ~Canonical STD Carrier Mr Woodhouse~ is a normal interpretation of a normal human being or if it makes me a silly little goose who hasn't achieved Real Adult Brain yet. so to speak.

[vivwritesfics]

Fire Is The Devil's Only Friend

Chapter Two

There was no such thing as making it on your own with a high profile boyfriend. That was why she kept her relationship a secret. But then after a PR fuck up, her boyfriend is forced into PR relationship and she's left on the side lines, missing him

1.1K

Series Masterlist

"Have you saved your work yet?"

Carlos knew better than anyone how hard she was working. Between writing her next book, using social media to market, and answering emails from her editor, she as flat out. He was incredibly worried about her.

She looked up at him for just a second before saving her work. The moment she did, Carlos pushed the lid of her laptop closed. "Carlos!" She cried. She went to open the laptop again, but Carlos pulled it from the table.

"One hour, mi amor. Give me on hour, and then I've give you your laptop back."

She thought on it. "You promise just an hour?"

"I promise," he said as he stepped towards her, the laptop against his chest. "We can go and get coffee together." He leaned down and pecked her lips.

She pouted as he pulled away. "You're too good to me."

"Because I just love you so much," he said and kissed her again.

***

The story of Carlos Sainz's relationship with Rebecca Donaldson broke in the early hours of the next morning. Neither of them were aware.

Carlos didn't check his phone when he woke up. He went on a run in the early hours of the morning and spent a few hours working out, like he did every day, all while she slept.

When he got back, she was still sleeping. Carlos made two coffees and brought them to the bedroom. Placing them down onto their bedside tables, Carlos leaned over and kissed his head. "Wake up, mi corazón," he said softly.

She stirred awake and glared at her husband. "It's so early," she groaned, pressing her face further into the pillow.

His laugh echoed around their bedroom. "It's not that early, my love. I got you coffee, drink up."

They had just a few hours together before she was having an online meeting with her publishers in her office and Carlos was meeting with the team at Ferrari.

He opened his laptop and logged into the call. He was rarely in a bad mood these days, the team at Ferrari noted. It was a surprise to all of them, especially after the story they had sold to the media that morning. "Carlos, I'm sure you've heard the news."

The smile dropped from Carlos's face, replaced by a frown. "What news?" He asked. He hadn't yet been on any social media, had seen none of the news articles flash up on his phone.

"We made a decision here at Maranello, one we felt would benefit the entire team," somebody else said. "After some recent events, all of which were out of our control, we thought it best to give the media something more digestible. To do so, it was leaked to the press that you were potentially romantically linked to Rebecca Donaldson, the Scottish Model."

All expression dropped from Carlos's face. He turned on his phone and, for the first time, saw the news. The news about him.

The photo of himself with Rebecca Donaldson wasn't obviously photoshopped, but there was no other explanation. There he was, in a picture with a woman he had never met.

"See, the things is, Carlos, what else are we supposed to do? Do you want Ferrari to crumble?"

No, obviously he didn't want that. "But what about the relationships of mine this does affect?" He asked quickly, pulling open his desk drawer and pulling out the ring box. He didn't display it on camera, fiddled with it in his lap. "What if I was in a relationship and I hadn't yet told anyone?"

"You don't want to lose your seat, do you?" It was a dirty ploy, but the Ferrari team was desperate. "You're almost thirty, you have a limited number of wins under your belt and no championships. Will any other team want you?"

Carlos's heart pounded in his chest. "So, I have to go on with this fake relationship and I'll get to keep my seat?"

"Exactly."

He sucked in a deep breath. Just a wall separated him from the love of his life, but here he was, ready to betray her. All for his seat. "What will I have to do?"

The rest of the meeting was spent with the Ferrari team telling Carlos exactly what they wanted from him. Be seen with her at races, have her in the Ferrari garage, take her to dinner sometimes. It was easy enough.

But it wasn't. Because the woman he loved was going to be at the races too, just not with him, not in the way they wanted Rebecca to be with him.

It was too late for him to back out. The press had released several stories about Carlos and Rebecca already.

The call ended, but he just stayed there, sitting in his chair. He flipped open the ring box several times, playing with it in his hands. The ring was gorgeous, simple, elegant. But now, Carlos doubted he'd ever get to put it on her finger.

At the knock on his office door, Carlos shoved the ring back into his desk drawer. "Carlos?" She called as she entered his office. He looked to the door as she walked in. Her shoes clicked softly against the tiled floor as she walked to his desk and sat herself on his lap. "I've got news about the release. It's launching next week."

"I'll be the first to buy it," he said, his hands on her hips.

Just hours ago, this would have been welcome news. The release of her book meant they were one step closer with telling the world about their relationship. But all of that had been thrown out of the window now, and she had no idea.

"I can't wait to kiss you after a race," she said, her head against his shoulder. "I can't wait to be seen with you."

Carlos said nothing. He kissed her head and held her close, relishing in these moments they had together. There was no telling how many more there would be once she found out.

Maybe he could propose to her now. Drop down onto one knee, put the ring onto her finger and kiss her until she forgot how to breathe. But then it would hurt so much more when she found out.

And he couldn't do that to her.

Permanent Taglist (CLOSED): @biancathecool @rewmuslupin @prettiest-at-the-party @hellowgoodbye @minkyungseokie @formulaal @hiireadstuff @urfavnoirette @goldenharrysworld @andydrysdalerogers @hrts4scarr @llando4norris @evlkking @lilymurphy03 @hollie911 @customsbyjcg-blog @honethatty12 @nikfigueiredo @darleneslane

Taglist: @juleswrites223 @ellesssssxzxz @itsjustkhaos @booksandflowrs @landossainz @laneyspaulding19 @sleepybrokenmelle @92spcy @khaylin27 @princessria127 @aexitizen-ln4

[dailyzedaphfacts]

Who IS Dot??

I saw some people surprised about the engagement and I love any opportunity to talk about Dot! Let's meet the newest soon-to-be Hermit spouse!

Dot, AKA Dot_Dot_Dash, is a Minecrafter, editor, and the long term girlfriend, now fiancée, of ZedaphPlays! She uses she/her pronouns and is originally from the Netherlands, but has lived with Zed in England for a while now! She's bilingual and is trying to teach Zed Dutch! They originally met online and have been together for fourish years.

Dot loves chickens, puns, and her dog Danny, who she often posts cute pictures of. She's a friend and fan of the Hermits and an absolute fiend at Mario Kart, even enjoying the driving minigames in other games. They don't call her Dash for nothing! Some of the designs in Zed's merch shop were designed by her and she's even tried her hand at animation! Dot is most noted for supplying the captions for Zed's videos, recently extending to Gem as well. Accessibility!

She has her own YouTube channel with a short singleplayer series and a small bounty of Hermitcraft edits! My personal favorite is the Impulse and Tango version of the Drake and Josh theme. While her series was short, she used to livestream gameplay as well and is quite the talented builder, particularly liking to build castles! You can also find her on several Zedaph streams and his Patreon server.

Dot was even at the 2024 Gamers Outreach Charity Event! She can be spotted looking fashionable and enabling Zed's poor ideas, even supplying one of her own! Turns out Zed's hips are too wide to use a party hat as a jock strap.

Dot is fun, cheeky, talented, cute, and I look forward to seeing more of her! She and Kris are a great pair and we here at zedfacts wish them the best on this new step! <3

[pictureeditor9]

Guide to Time Lapse Photography

Guide to Time Lapse Photography: Photography is a voluminous area complete of potential. It is going without pronouncing that pictures embody an entire lot of genres to explore. At the identical time, it additionally encompasses dozens of strategies to test with.

In fact, the arena of pictures is incredibly great and additionally increasing over time. Time-lapse pictures are simply any other giant and famous approach utilized by photographers all around the world. The satisfactory component approximately this approach is in preference to touring remote places outside, you may absolutely shoot snapshots out of your rooftop/windows.

The idea of time-lapse clicks is particularly clubbing each picture & videography collectively to create captivating snapshots. This integration of distinct fields permits you to seize remarkable and charismatic moments everywhere and whenever you wish.

Time Lapse Photography:

If you’re considering how time-lapse pictures capabilities in another way from different picture techniques, you need to first recognize its definition.

When a photographer clicks numerous static pics sequentially of the equal body at a regular c language for a department of time after which performs over the whole collection promptly, it outcomes in time-lapse pictures.

So in short, time-lapse is a popular manner of pictures that consists of taking pictures numerous photographs of specific content material and merging them to create an impact of a video.

Necessary Equipment for Time-Lapse Photography:

The devices which you normally want for different forms of images, time-lapse images require comparable sorts of devices. You don’t want any unique or superb kits for time-lapse taking pictures. Most photographers have already got those simple gadgets as their go-to tools.

Let’s take a look at the list of the device that you’ll want for time-lapse images-Camera:

Although technically you may select any digital digicam for taking time-lapse shots, the perfect direction is to go together with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. Because nearly each present-day virtual digital digicam whether or not it’s a DSLR or a mirrorless has an incorporated intervalometer.

Intervalometer:

Just as laid out in the sooner segment, in case you are running with a mirrorless digital digicam or a DSLR that already has this option built-in, you don’t require this tool.

However if not, an intervalometer is a should for time-lapse images. But first, let’s apprehend the way it performs an element in taking pictures time-lapse images.

Essentially, this works as outside equipment or regularly as software(in the main in instances like taking snapshots with smartphones and cameras that have downloading features) for cameras to degree small durations of a specific quantity of time.

Tripod:

As time-lapse image-taking pictures calls for your digital digicam to live nevertheless for an extended time, you want a stable base to help your digital digicam to preserve it stable. So, right here comes a crucial system to the rescue, a tripod.

Neutral Density/ND Filters:

Neutral density or ND filters are required while you are taking pictures in sites having reflective surfaces. Reflections and immoderate brightness can mar your whole photo high-satisfactory and go away with undesirable outcomes on it.

In such circumstances, impartial density filters essentially paint like solar specifications in your digital digicam. It enables de lower the depth of mild coming near the digital digicam lens and extruding any color temperature.

Camera Settings for Generating Time Lapse:

The end result of your time-lapse pictures incredibly relies upon to your digital digicam settings. It is nice to preserve your settings manual, wherein you may make the changes to the digital digicam yourself.

The key elements which you want to undergo in thoughts are cataloged underneath-

Aperture Setting:

A correct aperture will supply a good enough quantity of mild and place the subject of your content material in consciousness. So, you want to strive out a few checks to recognize your proper aperture with the intention to get nice outcomes.

Camera Focus:

If your digital digicam is about to autofocus, it’d extrude its consciousness on unique topics in each shot. This can be complicated and create inconsistency at the same time as taking pictures at an expeditious time-lapse, which includes a hectic road or crowd gathering.

Read more...

[nmotypdfsfg]

[satorusugurugurl]

I Think He Knows: (Chapter Seven)

Summary: When your novel takes off and becomes a best seller, doors of opportunities open for you. You can work on the series you have dreamed about all your life. And you’re also given the chance to stay in a tiny cottage in Europe for two years to help with inspiration! Your best friend, Geto Suguru, shatters at the news. How could he tell you how he feels when you leave him? His opportunity appears right before him when you confess that your editor thinks a change of scenery will help with your not-so-steamy romance scenes. They’re lacking a particular spice because you’re a virgin. So, Suguru does what any best friend would do. He offers to teach you how things work. Will you cross that line as friends? Or will you both say goodbye?

Pairing: Geto Suguru x FAB!Reader

Word Count: 3,938

Warning: Language, nightmares, mentions of character death, panic attack, night terror, blood, PTSD,

A/N: We probably have three or four more chapters to go! Ugh, I can't believe it's coming to an end! 🥹😭💚

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten Part Eleven

Suguru is too stunned to speak as he sees the tears in your eyes. He reaches over, snatching the phone out of your hand, glaring down at his phone screen. Sure as shit Manami had texted him that for the twelfth time in the last week. Rubbing a hand through his hair, Suguru sighs.

“Princess, it’s not what it sounds like.”

You sniffle, wiping away the tears that had quickly appeared in your eyes, surprising your best friend and yourself. “It’s not?” Suguru reaches out, cupping your face and brushing your cheekbone with his thumb.

“No, I was offered a position in Okinawa to paint a mural. It’s a massive project that would take me roughly four months. This is the project I keep turning down.”

“Oh!” The light returns to your eyes, slowly fading away at the mere prospect of him leaving. “Okay, uhm—” you smile, “that’s good to hear.” Suguru grins, ruffling your hair. “What’s the project.”

His hand was still on top of your head, eyes glancing down at you and thought. Did he want to tell you what the project was about? He just stopped having nightmares about Riko, bringing up the commission he was offered by dragging up those memories again. But if you were going to be staying the night with him again, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, should it?

“It’s for the aquarium in Okinawa.”

When Suguru mentions Okinawa and the aquarium, you automatically put everything together without him saying another word. He didn’t take the job because of the memories that lingered and that place. Memories of Riko, the girl he blamed himself for not saving. That was probably the number one—reason why he wouldn’t take this job.

You swallow as he turns back towards the pan and continues cooking the peppers. “It must have been a big project if they wanted you to stay down there for four months.” He nodded as he moved the spatula across the pan, stirring the peppers. “What exactly did they want you to do?” The spatula stops moving as Suguru sighs in defeat. He knew you now that you had this idea eating away at you. He knew you wouldn’t stop until you got an answer.

“Well, you know my agent isn’t the most considerate. She goes about sharing my artwork with potential clients unethically.” The spatula moves across the pan again. “She has a bad habit of taking pictures of unfinished projects and posting them online for everyone and anyone to see. The latest picture she took was that of Riko at the aquarium with the blue whales.”

“God, I cannot stand that woman!”

Your best friend chuckled, nodding his head as the peppers in the pan began to sizzle, the fragrant aroma of cooking food wafting over your senses. “Oh, I know you can't.” his shoulder sank, eyes distant, “That didn’t stop her from sharing a picture of my unfinished project online.”

Not only was it wrong for her to share something unfinished online for all his followers to see, but that was also something close to Geto’s heart. It was like his personal project revolving around a girl that he blamed himself for not saving even though there was no chance he could’ve saved her.

“So I’m guessing the aquarium saw it.”

“Yep, they want me to go down to Okinawa and paint a large mural with the same thing as a mural inside the aquarium.”

This project was a huge opportunity for him to paint something so massive for thousands and thousands of people to see; it would have already been growing larger. Painting a mural like that could open doors of possibilities for him. Suguru could be looking at hundreds of different commissions, whether small or larger projects like this one.

Even if it was an excellent opportunity for him, you knew there was no way he was going to go back to Okinawa in the near future. Far too many painful memories were associated with that place in your second-year trip. Despite plenty of happy memories from that trip, all Suguru saw when he reminisced was blood. But he still believes his hands are stained, no matter how often he scrubs them clean.

“Are you sure turning it down is a good idea?”

Suguru’s eyes widened at your words before slowly turning his head to look back at you. “What?” his voice was thick with confusion and pain.

“Well, I—” you sighed, “this might be a big chance for you.” Your best friend turned around, eyebrows pinched together. “And it might give you a chance to finally get some closure.”

“Closure?”

“Yeah, you can never heal if you do—”

“I’m healed. I don’t need that shit; I’m over it.”

“Suguru— you’re still having nightmares and—”

His dark eyes went darker as he glared down at the floor. “Yeah, I do, but I witness something pretty fucking traumatic too.” Oh fuck, this was not how you wanted this conversation to go.

“Right, of course! That’s normal, but I think if you—”

“Oh, you think what? You think if I go to Okinawa and reminisce of a girl that died because of me, some Disney movie shit will happen, and I’ll be magically healed?”

“Suguru, hold on—”

He laughed cold and dark as he took the pan off the stove again, tossing it on a burner. “Because I think if I go down there in the same aquarium she did across the street where she died. I don’t think it’ll help. I think it’ll make things worse” he turned the stove off, facing away from you.

You knew Riko was a sore spot for him. She always had been since her death. But you didn’t realize it was still as bad as it was since the accident. Seeing him so frustrated made your heartbreak into one million pieces. You wanted to help him with the heal. So you got up from your seat and walked around the bar, slowly approaching him as if he were an injured animal. Slowly, place your hand on his back, expecting him to relax.

His back remains stiff. Muscles tense as he shakes his head, looking back at you. Your eyes roamed over his face as you tried to think what to say when you had said more than enough.

Suguru pulled away from you, heading into the living room without a word. “Sugu!”? Your best friend listens to your bare feet shredding over the floor. “Suguru, stop and listen to me!” He turned, glaring down at you

“No, you stop.” His words had stopped your momentum. “Out of everyone, I thought you would be the only person who could understand how I can never go back there.” his voice sounded as broken as he looked. “I can’t go back there and face it alone.”

How your face fell was enough to tell Suguri that this conversation was finally over. He cleared his throat, nausea settling in his stomach, creeping up his esophagus. Tonight was supposed to be a quiet night with dinner and movies. The last thing he wanted to do was fight, and with the silence and the far-off look in your eyes, Suguru knew his plans for the evening had been ruined.

“Alright.” you started. Suguru had expected you to grab your bag and leave, but instead, you headed into the kitchen, turning the stove back on. “I’ll go with you.” You placed the pan back over the heat nonchalantly like nothing had happened.

“Huh?” he must’ve misheard you. He had to have because there was no way you just said that, not after he had barked at you.“What?”

Stir the peppers in the pan before looking back at your best friend with a warm, broad smile. “I said I’ll go with you if you can’t face alone, I’ll join you.” hearing you say that had the nausea stirring in the pit of Suguru’s stomach, but it wasn’t from grief or anxiety, but from how much he liked you.

“But—you—”

“I what?” You cocked an eyebrow as you added heavy cream to the pan with some butter. “I work from my apartment. My desk is my laptop, iPad, or my phone. I can go wherever I want and still work on my book. So it’s not like there’s a job holding me back.”

Suguru quickly headed back into the kitchen with you, watching as you stirred the peppers and cream together, making a sauce. “But you have meetings with Nanami and Utahime. Can you put that on hold for me?” You squatted down, pulling out his stock pot from underneath the cabinet and handing it to him.

“There’s this amazing new thing out there called FaceTime and Zoom. I can send emails if I have to meet with any of them. I can do a conference call from anywhere in the world. That wouldn’t be a problem. A change of scenery might be nice for me. Can you fill that pot with water, please?”

You so casually talked about packing up your life for four months to join him on a job that would most likely change his life forever, and butterflies were swarming in his abdomen. He knew you were great. You were always a good friend. But this is above and beyond words. If you were to join him, he might be able to go to the aquarium to walk the same street he had done back in high school. You might be right. This might be exactly what he needed.

Because he knew the nightmares would never stop, his therapist knew that he wouldn’t stop until he faced those demons. It was the only way he was going to be able to heal. To face everything head-on and talk about what happened.

He had never talked about it with anyone other than his therapist.

Suguru put the pot on the counter, wrapping his arms around you instead. He buried his face in the crook of your neck while his arms hooked tightly around your waist. One of your delicate hands came up, resting over his, holding you tight. It was a gentle gesture; one Suguru melted over.

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to bring bad memories.” your voice was soft as you gripped his hand tightly. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I know you do—I’m sorry I got so upset.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” He pulled his head away from your neck just as you turned your face to look at him. “I just care a lot about you. I want you to be happy. I should’ve known better than being so insensitive.”

Suguru gently grabbed your chin, and for a second, you thought maybe he would kiss you. One that didn’t revolve around your book or research that you both were still hiding behind. Hell, no other than a kiss. He moves in closer towards you, nearly an inch away from each other. Your eyes were about to close when he pressed his forehead against yours, giving you another squeeze against his body.

“You weren't; you're just looking out for me.”

“O-Of course, I care about you.”

Suguru released his grip on you, picked up the stock pot, and headed to the sink to fill it with water as requested. As he watched the stream of water slowly fill the pot, he realized he couldn’t hide behind helping you anymore. He needed to be upfront and tell you how he felt. Especially now that you were offering to go to Okinawa with him, that would be four months of just being the two of you. After four months of you living together, he was positive he wouldn’t be able to hold back his feelings for you anymore.

Telling you the truth and not hiding behind some stupid idea that he was helping you with your book wouldn’t last because he knew he wouldn’t be able to put up that facade much longer. He almost lost it tonight. Suguru was going to kiss you for being kind and selfless, making sure he had the opportunity to return to the place he associated with blood and death.

He just needed to figure out how the fuck he was going to tell you how he felt.

He found himself sitting with Gojo, Nanami, Shoko, and Haibara. He needed his friends. They would know what to do and what to say because they knew you just as well as they knew him. Suguru sipped his beer, rolling his eyes as Gojo looked at him dumbfounded.

“Wait, you guys aren't dating?!”

“For the fifth time, we’re not dating.”

“But you have some agreement that you guys are going to fool around work on research for her book?”

Satoru gulped down his cola, dark sunglasses reflecting the restaurant's lights above him. “But I caught you guys in the alley?! I thought you finally told her how you felt!” Suguru was beginning to regret turning to his friends for advice.

“I haven't.”

The table grows silent; Satoru and Shoko share a flabbergasted look while Nanami scrolls through his phone glasses, running down the bridge of his nose. Haibara hums deep thought advice that he could give Suguru. He should’ve been honest with you and not used some stupid excuse to get together.

Was it even possible for the two of you to grow from this? Were you stuck in this situation he had made? It was like a labyrinth of lies because he was afraid to tell you he loved you.

Suguru throws his head back, looking at the fluorescent light fixtures above him. He needed to come to a decision because the two of you were about to leave for Okinawa in the morning. If he didn’t tell you how he felt, soon he might combust and make a full out of himself. Being in a small condo with you, sharing a bed, bathroom, and kitchen! How was he supposed to live with you like a couple and not tell you how he felt?

“I don't think you have anything to worry about.” All heads turned towards Nanami as he put his phone down. “Because I’m almost certain she feels the same way about you.”

“Oh yeah? How did you figure that out, Nanami?” Haibara excitedly asked his best friend.

“Her writing has improved tremendously, and I’m not talking about the intimate scenes. Those were some of the best I’ve read in the industry.” Nanami chugged down some of his beer. “Her description of the attraction and the love Oaklynn has for Ilsan is so genuine; it comes from the heart. You can’t write like that without knowing how it feels.”

Suguru flushed a dusty rose color before he took another hesitant sip of his beer. Was it possible that you felt the same way he did? Were all these long nights of kissing and touching each other making you realize you had feelings for him?

Downing the rest of his beer, Suguru slammed the glass down on the table. “What do I need to do?” He asked as he eyed each of his friends. The four shared before Shoko downed the rest of her drink, leaning back against the booth.

“You tell her the truth.”

While Suguru slowly accepted that he could no longer hide this, you faced your own dilemma across town. You gently slammed your head down on the table you were sitting at. Utahime winced each time your forehead connected with the surface, stealing a look at Yuki, who was snickering.

“Please don't laugh at me.” Hearing the anguish in your voice ceased your friends' giggles as Choso patted your back. “I’m in the midst of an extensional crisis, and you're fucking laughing.”

“Hey, I just think it’s hilarious you're barely realizing Suguri likes you.” Yuki threw her arm around Choso, pressing her cheek against his. “Let's review; the man offered to help you with intimate scenes; you've been hooking up almost every weekend, you said?”

With a blush, you sighed, pouting as you placed your chin on the table, looking up at Yuki. “More like every other night.” the trio before you blinked in silence before Yuki puffed her cheeks out to fight back laughter.

“Yuki, please!”

“Ignore her.” Utahime finally injected as she pushed Yuki’s face away with her hand. “So, with this agreement you both made, you want more? Like more in an intimate sense, like sex. Or more in the aspect of a relationship with him?”

The fact that the answer hit you like a bag of bricks made everything clearer. “I want to be with him.” There was no second-guessing, hesitation, or doubt in your words—just the pure raw truth. Utahime smiled, nodding, while Yuki beamed, reaching over and smacking you. Saying it out loud felt good. But you weren't sure if you could say it out loud to Suguru himself. “But how do I tell him? I-I’m sure I would freeze up if I even attempted to say that to his face.”

“You don’t tell him.” Yuki, with a certain confidence, had all of you looking at her. “You show him.”

“For God's sake, Yuki.”

“Hey! It worked for me and Cho! Suguru seems like the type of guy who likes a woman who takes action! When you get to Okinawa tomorrow and take the second step inside the condo, grab the shirt, slam your lips against his, and tell him you want him!”

“Okay—Yuki, no, that's a—”

“Terrific idea!”

The way you so excitedly agreed to do something out of your comfort zone had your agent deadpanning at you. Your eyes showed a glimmer as you slammed both fists down on the table. Your cheeks were flushed, and there was a certain glow around you. One that was so blissful and elated with joy. You always had one of those looks when you came up with a new story or a twist from your chapters. Whenever you had a look like that, there was no stopping you. Which was both a blessing and a curse

”Look, maybe that isn’t the right way to go about this; perhaps you should talk with him.” Both you and Yuki stared at Utahime with questioning expressions. “Or not; I guess you can do whatever you want. I—this is Geto Suguru we are talking about. He’s smart and polite; it’s not like he’s Gojo.” All you knew was that it was just her dislike of Suguru’s other best friend. Gojo was stupid smart,

“No, I have to do this; I have to be the one to tell him what I want.”

The rest of the dinner with your friends went smoothly; they all talked about anything and everything while you stared into the distance with a smile. The thought of showing Suguru how much he meant to you and how much you liked him was exciting, and you couldn't wait to be in Okinawa with him.

After you finished dinner, you and Utahime waved off Yuki and Choso before you eagerly bounced as you waited for your Uber. The entire time you stood there rocking as you searched for the car, Utahime fidgeted with her bag, glancing towards the street before looking at you from the corner of her eye. You knew she didn't think showing Suguru how you felt was the best way to convey your feelings, but you also knew it would work out!

She probably needed to hear you repeat it, so she knew you were positive that this was the best way to tell him. Before you even have a chance to open your mouth, your agent is whirling towards you, grabbing her phone out of her pocket. She swallows her dark eyes and darts towards the cellular device in her hand before meeting your gaze. The look in her eyes is one you had seen before. When the agency had an issue with a specific chapter or a problem with the cover art they designed, this wasn’t the look of a friend. This is your agent who helped you with your career.

All cheerful giddiness was flushed out of your body as you straightened, trying to shift from a love-sick schoolgirl to the professional author that you were. Utahime notices the change in your stand and how your face went from happy to professional in the blink of an eye. Seeing you shift into work mode had her tapping on her screen.

“What happened?” Your question goes unanswered just as she hesitantly holds her phone in a tight grip. “Iori, talk to me.”

“I know tonight was supposed to be a fun outing with us, not bringing up work, but I need to talk to you about this before you leave.”

“Okay.”

“It’s about the cottage.”

As the driver pulls up, he rolls down the window with a gentle smile. “Miss, were you waiting for an Uber?” When you don't respond right away, he takes a long, hard look at you, and he frowns.

Tears are running down your cheeks before dripping off your chin. Your skin is flushed, your knuckles clenched around your bag as Utahime harshly whispers at you, holding her phone in your face. To the driver, he fought; maybe you just found out your boyfriend was cheating, or something had happened to a mutual friend. In reality, Utahime was telling you you needed to make a choice. One that would end in heartbreak for either you or Suguru.

But it was a choice you made the second she told you what was going on—a choice you didn't need to think about because you already had made your decision.

Forever Tag List:

@darkstarlight82 @pandoness @nealeart @simp-plague @sugurubabe @chilichopsticks @reap3erslov3

ITHK Tag List (TO BE ADDED AGE MUST BE IN BIO)

@lemonintrovert01 @spankmydepression @renttheannihilator @witchbybirth @missmuffinr @lialia3945 @theobsidianempress @aquasan29 @toffeebrat @aussiemeerkat @chimichangagirl @zoroisminty @spankmydepression @em-aizawa @gojosimp26 @moonlightazriel @candy-s72

[blubberquark]

Auto-Generated Junk Web Sites

I don't know if you heard the complaints about Google getting worse since 2018, or about Amazon getting worse. Some people think Google got worse at search. I think Google got worse because the web got worse. Amazon got worse because the supply side on Amazon got worse, but ultimately Amazon is to blame for incentivising the sale of more and cheaper products on its platform.

In any case, if you search something on Google, you get a lot of junk, and if you search for a specific product on Amazon, you get a lot of junk, even though the process that led to the junk is very different.

I don't subscribe to the "Dead Internet Theory", the idea that most online content is social media and that most social media is bots. I think Google search has gotten worse because a lot of content from as recently as 2018 got deleted, and a lot of web 1.0 and the blogosphere got deleted, comment sections got deleted, and content in the style of web 1.0 and the blogosphere is no longer produced. Furthermore, many links are now broken because they don't directly link to web pages, but to social media accounts and tweets that used to aggregate links.

I don't think going back to web 1.0 will help discoverability, and it probably won't be as profitable or even monetiseable to maintain a useful web 1.0 page compared to an entertaining but ephemeral YouTube channel. Going back to Web 1.0 means more long-term after-hours labour of love site maintenance, and less social media posting as a career.

Anyway, Google has gotten noticeably worse since GPT-3 and ChatGPT were made available to the general public, and many people blame content farms with language models and image synthesis for this. I am not sure. If Google had started to show users meaningless AI generated content from large content farms, that means Google has finally lost the SEO war, and Google is worse at AI/language models than fly-by-night operations whose whole business model is skimming clicks off Google.

I just don't think that's true. I think the reality is worse.

Real web sites run by real people are getting overrun by AI-generated junk, and human editors can't stop it. Real people whose job it is to generate content are increasingly turning in AI junk at their jobs.

Furthermore, even people who are setting up a web site for a local business or an online presence for their personal brand/CV are using auto-generated text.

I have seen at least two different TV commercials by web hosting and web design companies that promoted this. Are you starting your own business? Do you run a small business? A business needs a web site. With our AI-powered tools, you don't have to worry about the content of your web site. We generate it for you.

There are companies out there today, selling something that's probably a re-labelled ChatGPT or LLaMA plus Stable Diffusion to somebody who is just setting up a bicycle repair shop. All the pictures and written copy on the web presence for that repair shop will be automatically generated.

We would be living in a much better world if there was a small number of large content farms and bot operators poisoning our search results. Instead, we are living in a world where many real people are individually doing their part.

[mckitterick]

The End Is Near: "News" organizations using AI to create content, firing human writers

source: X

source: X

source: X

an example "story" now comes with this warning:

A new byline showed up Wednesday on io9: “Gizmodo Bot.” The site’s editorial staff had no input or advance notice of the new AI-generator, snuck in by parent company G/O Media.

G/O Media’s AI-generated articles are riddled with errors and outdated information, and block reader comments.

“As you may have seen today, an AI-generated article appeared on io9,” James Whitbrook, deputy editor at io9 and Gizmodo, tweeted. “I was informed approximately 10 minutes beforehand, and no one at io9 played a part in its editing or publication.”

Whitbrook sent a statement to G/O Media along with “a lengthy list of corrections.” In part, his statement said, “The article published on io9 today rejects the very standards this team holds itself to on a daily basis as critics and as reporters. It is shoddily written, it is riddled with basic errors; in closing the comments section off, it denies our readers, the lifeblood of this network, the chance to publicly hold us accountable, and to call this work exactly what it is: embarrassing, unpublishable, disrespectful of both the audience and the people who work here, and a blow to our authority and integrity.”

He continued, “It is shameful that this work has been put to our audience and to our peers in the industry as a window to G/O’s future, and it is shameful that we as a team have had to spend an egregious amount of time away from our actual work to make it clear to you the unacceptable errors made in publishing this piece.”

According to the Gizmodo Media Group Union, affiliated with WGA East, the AI effort has “been pushed by” G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller, recently hired editorial director Merrill Brown, and deputy editorial director Lea Goldman.

In 2019, Spanfeller and private-equity firm Great Hill Partners acquired Gizmodo Media Group (previously Gawker Media) and The Onion.

The Writers Guild of America issued a blistering condemnation of G/O Media’s use of artificial intelligence to generate content.

“These AI-generated posts are only the beginning. Such articles represent an existential threat to journalism. Our members are professionally harmed by G/O Media’s supposed ‘test’ of AI-generated articles.”

WGA added, “But this fight is not only about members in online media. This is the same fight happening in broadcast newsrooms throughout our union. This is the same fight our film, television, and streaming colleagues are waging against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in their strike.”

The union, in its statement, said it “demands an immediate end of AI-generated articles on G/O Media sites,” which include The A.V. Club, Deadspin, Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Jezebel, Kotaku, The Onion, Quartz, The Root, and The Takeout.

but wait, there's more:

Just weeks after news broke that tech site CNET was secretly using artificial intelligence to produce articles, the company is doing extensive layoffs that include several longtime employees, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation. The layoffs total 10 percent of the public masthead.

*

Greedy corporate sleazeballs using artificial intelligence are replacing humans with cost-free machines to barf out garbage content.

This is what end-stage capitalism looks like: An ouroborus of machines feeding machines in a downward spiral, with no room for humans between the teeth of their hungry gears.

Anyone who cares about human life, let alone wants to be a writer, should be getting out the EMP tools and burning down capitalist infrastructure right now before it's too late.