#please no more algorithm suggestions and no more notifications

[suzuberto-alt]

I read a lot of the comments and I agree with a lot of users: please don't add algorithm feeds like other sites, the chronological feed is one of the different and strong points for the users that come here, and I personally think that the suggestions of blogs in ad-like spaces or even the trending option in tags are enough for user experience. Adding even the option of algorithm feed will most likely make new users (not used to how the site and config works to turn it off and coming from algorithm controlled sites so they're used to it and probably will not search the option) to just see the suggestions (that usually just put already popular posts in your face, making small ones less visible) and that may/will discourage small accounts that want to start again here as it happens in every other place

I heard that the new IG TW-like app doesn't divide content you follow from algorithm and it's making a lot of fresh users to drop it or wait for a more controlled environment (that says a lot) so it would be nice if you... just don't do it.

Personally droped my accs in FB and IG bc got tired of seeing just ads and suggestions, if I do log in I go directly to search something specific but I have thought a lot of times to just delete them and have very weak reasons not to do it. Also all social media working and looking the same is tiring, the customization of tumblr blogs is other of the strong points of here.

About the email or any other new and pushy notification type please DON'T, I'm one of those ppl that toggles off EVERY notification except chat and comments (and prefer most times to have it just toggled on when inside the site/app, not outside) dude, I even find it annoying to see so much unnecessary notification dots and numbers like new posts in feed, I don't need that notification and if I can toggle that off I haven't find it to when I'm writing this. The thing is, if someone doesn't want notifications DON'T send them notifications, it just adds reasons for people to go away

I forgot if I had more stuff I wanted to write about other points as these two hit hard dsdsf and I understand the worries as a platform of other of the points mentioned but don't know ways to make them work, also I know nsfw can't be bringed back as they use payment methods that ban that stuff (bc that was the reason to ban it years ago as I remember when I dropped here) but if they can somehow make it back for nsfw artists would be a great option as is difficult to find places that allow it anyways, the end. Hear your users(?

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.

[athetos]

Just a quick note - I don’t always respond to every ask I get about spreading a fundraiser, as sometimes I truly don’t know what to say, but as long as the account is vetted or I am reasonably comfortable saying it’s legitimate, I will reblog it. You can @ me for outreach, but I may not always see every post in my notifications.

I’m considering queuing fundraisers so that only x amount post in one day, as I’m wondering if that will increase the rate of reblogs/donations instead of posting several at once. If anyone has any suggestions on this, let me know. I tried answering asks to see if that would help, but they’d only get 2 notes versus multiple reblogs if I shared their campaign post instead.

As always, gazafunds.com will help with indecision about which campaign to donate to, as it will highlight a specific, vetted one in need of money in particular, based off an algorithm. I don’t have the link handy at the moment, but there’s also an extremely useful spreadsheet of vetted fundraisers created by Palestinian tumblr users that’s floating around. When I have a moment (I’m on a short break at work rn) I will add the link here.

Please keep caring about Palestinians. Do not become jaded. Donate to fundraisers and aid organizations and buy esims if you have the money to spare. If not, reblogging is free and does more than you may think.

[nettlewildfairy]

Tumblr made that big long post and a lot of people are angry reacting to some like surprisingly reasonable suggestions that solve widespread long time  complaints

i dont know how they plan to solve everything just yet but as someone who knows some things about the industry and jargon here are my 2 cents

Here is a link to the referenced post

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr

in an age where most social media sites are making it aesoteric and difficult to share posts offsite /app tumblr is considering making it easier to do

yall do you know how hard it is to link a long tumblr post with like a comic or funny string of replies to share with my friends who arent on tumblr? i have to take like 15 screenshots every time. IF staff is priorizing making it easier to share posts that would be so much better oh my god 2 High quality content on launch.  the pessamistic assumption is that this could mean a mandatory algorithm but if you read carefully you’ll notice they never fully say thats even remotely what they are going to do. This seems to be a suggestion that the default new user experience will change. 

If you like me made an account 10 years ago this looks like it won’t affect your experience whatsoever. 

but like trying to sort through tags to find blogs and curate my own feed actively took like over a year to get to a place where i’m happy when i did it in 2011/2012

if feeds and tags Worked that would be good. the for you page and exploration features on tumblr do, admittedly suck right now. there SHould be easier ways to find and search for stuff on tumblr. if their search worked better and finding stuff you wanted to see was easier that Would improve the experience for most people on this site.  3. facilitate easier user participation in conversations folks if replys could be threaded in some way it would be 1000 times easeir to have convos with them. like i do not get what people are upset about here. like a person shouldn’t have to reblog their own post 15 times in a row to reply to different people about the same thing. they could make this so much better.  4. Retain and grow our creator base

 it IS hard for art to see and get seen. if i had a nickle for every time i saw a post begging people to reblog art i’d have like so many nickles.  I would like to see more art. and ttrpg creators. there’s like stuff i have to go to twitter for and its small time ttrpg, art, writing, and literary magazines because even when those folks are on tumblr its extraordinarily difficult to find them with the systems currently in place.

 like i don’t know that tumblr has a good plan to make this kind of thing easier but if they did figure it out it would rule. and its good to know that this is a priority for the company 5.  Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr

throttling notifications rules. i have commented on tumblr staff posts dozens of times for like 5+ years asking for this, thank GOD. if you reblog a lot of posts you get a lot of notes even if you have like 15 people regularly interacting with your stuff on 100 posts a day thats like 1500 notifications. it collapses some by post or interaction type but that is NOT enough and the notification bar always says 99+ unless i checked it less than a minute ago, im dying please make notifications meaningful and not overwhelming. 

6: Performance, stability and quality

this is generic and means very little obviously anyone making an app wants it to crash less often.  bonus: ive seen people get upset at the implication that they are instituting a mandatory algorithm but the site has had an option algorithm for like ages, it doesn't imply its mandatory anywhere or that they're taking away our option to turn it off. there are already artist showcase things on the dash on the regular, if you have adblock on you can’t see some of those, but they've had them for fully years. 

its highly unlikely that they would get rid of one of the main selling points of tumblr.com they’re like a real company thats done bare minimum market research, like folks no one other than musk would do something that boneheaded

[dialecticzander]

Daydream: Smart Buses

TLDR Uber Pool but bus

I want to go to a bar on the other side of town. I click on it in my Maps app. Doing this sends a API request to all local transportation services, including the city & various companies. (I could turn that off in my preferences.) Various transport suggestions pop up on my screen. I click on a smart bus route. I'll board in 7 minutes & pay $9. The Maps app (which is happily neutral from the bus org) tells me to expect to ride 25 minutes, based on the average performance of similar bus journeys. I click Reserve to enter my payment app & confirm.

I could have clicked a cheaper route that starts further away or doesn't get as close to the bar. It's the responsibility of the software to suggest good deals, & my responsibility to choose which deal to take.

I bike to the nearest big intersection & lock up my bike. The bus arrives - more like a 20-seat van, really. Boarding transit always feels like that old treadmill-dance music video to me. You step onto a different floor & it moves under your foot! By walking, you glide across the city.

Most riders pay the Simple Price, which is the easiest but most expensive. People who are into discounts or just enjoy algorithms (like me) can give the app more detailed instructions & save money. While i'm watching the streets slide by & contemplating whether cities are the aggregations of individuals, the bus software gives me a notification. There's a person interested to board from the Liberty Hills neighborhood. This would delay us 4 minutes (ish). Am i willing to pay $2.16 more to arrive by 18:00? In 30 seconds, it will assume my answer is No. Normally i don't pay these 'please hurry' payments (i just like getting the notifications), but this time i do say Yes, because i don't want to miss the start of the board game meetup. I decline, however, to elect to pay more than $2.16 for this guarantee.

All the Simple Price riders on board have essentially pre-paid this $2.16, which is (approximately) included in their price. The bus software weights the payments of the Simple Price riders & 'please hurry' riders vs the expected delay of the detour. Then it sends a price to the Liberty Hills rider's Maps screen: '(New) Smart Bus $28 - Arrive by 18:20'. While we riders caused this price to rise to a very high $28, the Liberty Hills rider must be eager to get somewhere, because they accept anyway.

Because of this detour, i get off a block away from my bar at 18:05. Oh well, being late is normal in California culture. Because this is later than the offered 18:00, i only paid $9 total, not the extra $2.16.

Details

Traditional buses & trains sound better for rush hour, but smart buses sound better for other hours, unusual journeys, & lower-density areas. Perhaps smart buses should go into Normal Bus mode during rush hour.

At least in my life, it would combine very well with rental bikes & scooters, to get to & from the bus stops.

The bus is such a tantalizing vehicle. Much higher capacity than a taxi, much more flexible than a train. My city's terrain is ill-suited for everyone to live in walking distance of central train stations.

Again, it's the software's responsibility to suggest deals that you like. If it'd be efficient for everyone to start & stop journeys at the bus station, it should suggest & discount that option to everyone, & the bus org can pay the city to build bike parking, signage, etc at such locations.

Similarly, the bus org might let you know that there's a discount for riding between :45 & :00 of every daytime hour. This encourages everyone to time their journeys at the same time, filling seats with riders who care more about price than speed. This also helps drivers take their breaks at the most efficient times.

[happypeaceaman]

Flight Ticket Booking in the Digital Age: Trends and Innovations

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, the way we book flights has undergone a significant transformation. Gone are the days of long queues at ticket counters and endless phone calls to travel agents. With the advent of technology, the process of booking flight tickets has become seamless, convenient, and highly personalized. From online travel agencies to airline websites and mobile apps, there are numerous platforms available to travelers, each offering unique features and innovations. Let's delve into the trends and innovations shaping flight ticket booking in the digital age.

For more features please visit https://trailtravelz.com/

Mobile Booking Revolution: One of the most significant trends in flight ticket booking is the rise of mobile apps. With smartphones becoming an indispensable part of our lives, travelers now prefer the convenience of booking flights on-the-go. Mobile apps offered by airlines and travel agencies allow users to search, compare prices, and book tickets effortlessly. Moreover, push notifications and personalized offers enhance the user experience, making it easier for travelers to find the best deals.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: AI and machine learning algorithms have revolutionized the way flight tickets are priced and sold. These technologies analyze vast amounts of data, including historical trends, demand patterns, and user preferences, to offer dynamic pricing and personalized recommendations. AI-powered chatbots also assist travelers in finding flights, answering queries, and resolving issues, providing a seamless booking experience from start to finish.

Blockchain for Transparent Transactions: Blockchain technology is gaining traction in the travel industry for its ability to ensure secure and transparent transactions. By leveraging blockchain, airlines and travel agencies can streamline payment processes, reduce fraud, and enhance data security. Smart contracts enable automatic execution of agreements, eliminating the need for intermediaries and reducing booking costs for both travelers and service providers.

Augmented Reality for Virtual Experiences: Augmented reality (AR) is transforming the way travelers research and experience flights. With AR-enabled apps, users can visualize flight routes, explore cabin layouts, and even take virtual tours of destinations before booking tickets. This immersive experience not only helps travelers make informed decisions but also adds an element of excitement to the booking process.

Personalization and Predictive Analytics: Personalized recommendations based on traveler preferences play a crucial role in the modern booking experience. By harnessing predictive analytics, airlines and travel agencies can anticipate customer needs, offer tailored flight options, and suggest relevant ancillary services such as hotel bookings, car rentals, and activities. This level of customization enhances customer satisfaction and fosters loyalty in an increasingly competitive market.

Voice-Activated Booking Systems: Voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple's Siri are revolutionizing the way we interact with technology, including flight bookings. Travelers can now search for flights, check prices, and make reservations using voice commands, making the booking process hands-free and intuitive. As voice recognition technology continues to improve, we can expect to see further integration of voice-activated booking systems in the travel industry.

Environmental Sustainability: With growing awareness of climate change, environmental sustainability has become a significant concern for travelers and airlines alike. As a result, there is a growing demand for eco-friendly travel options and initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. Airlines are increasingly offering carbon offset programs, investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft, and exploring alternative fuels to minimize their environmental impact. Travelers, in turn, are seeking out greener travel options and supporting airlines that prioritize sustainability.

Social Media Integration: Social media platforms have become integral to the travel experience, influencing destination choices, itinerary planning, and even flight bookings. Airlines and travel agencies are leveraging social media channels to engage with customers, offer exclusive deals, and provide real-time assistance. Social listening tools help identify emerging trends and traveler sentiments, enabling companies to tailor their offerings accordingly and stay ahead of the competition.

In conclusion, flight ticket booking in the digital age is characterized by innovation, convenience, and personalization. From mobile apps and AI-driven solutions to blockchain technology and augmented reality, the travel industry is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of modern travelers. By embracing these trends and leveraging technology to enhance the booking experience, airlines and travel agencies can stay competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace.

[aioome2]

StableCode: AI's NEW Ultimate Language Model for Developers

Introducing Stable Code: The AI Coding Assistant for Developers by Ben Mellor The Innovation of Stable Code Stable Code is an innovative AI product designed to assist developers and casual users with their daily coding tasks. It is the very first large language model generative AI product for coding, and it has been developed to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in coding. This tool is particularly useful for new developers who want to improve their skills and ensure that their code is efficient. The base model of Stable Code was developed and trained using the stack dataset, created by Big Code. It was further refined through training with popular programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, Java, C, Markdown, and C++. Many other models were also used to help code and train the application. A Demonstration of Stable Code To showcase the capabilities of Stable Code, let's take a look at an example using the Stable Code app implemented on Google Colab. The creator of this Google sheet was able to integrate the Stable Code app, allowing users to access and interact with it. You can find the link to the sheet in the description below, along with other relevant links. In this example, the instruction given was to write a Python program to perform a binary search in a given list. For those unfamiliar with binary search, it involves creating a code snippet that efficiently searches for a target value within a sorted list. The binary search algorithm repeatedly divides the list in half and compares the target value with the middle element, reducing the search space in each iteration. As you can see from the code provided in the example, Stable Code was able to output the necessary code to perform the binary search efficiently and reduce the search space in each iteration. Join the World of AI Community Before we delve further into Stable Code, I would like to encourage you to become a patron of World of AI. By joining our Patreon community, you gain access to exclusive features, including participation in our amazing Discord community, where you can engage with other members, access valuable partnerships, and stay updated with the latest AI trends. Check out the link in the description below to learn more. Also, make sure to follow World of AI on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest AI trends. If you haven't already, please subscribe to our YouTube channel, turn on the notification bell, and check out our previous videos. We have a wealth of valuable content that will surely benefit you. The Evolution of Stable Code Stable Code introduces an innovative approach that maximizes the efficiency of developers by integrating three distinct models designed to optimize various aspects of the coding process. As mentioned earlier, the base model of Stable Code was built upon the stack dataset, created by Big Code, and further refined through training with various programming languages, such as Python, Go, JavaScript, Markdown, and C++. This wide range of training ensures that the Corpus of data for Stable Code covers a vast spectrum of programming scenarios. The developers behind Stable Code went a step further to create an instruction model specifically tailored to solve complex programming tests. With approximately 120k code instruction responses in a structured format, this model was honed to deliver precise and effective solutions. This means that Stable Code can handle both simple and complex programming tasks efficiently, making it suitable for commercial use cases. Benchmarking Stable Code To evaluate the performance of Stable Code, benchmark scores were analyzed in comparison to Star Coder Base and Replica Coders, two other prominent coding assistance tools. The human evaluation benchmarks, labeled Pass@1 and Pass@10, provide valuable insights into the accuracy and effectiveness of these tools in suggesting correct coding solutions. The Pass@1 metric measures the percentage of times the highest-ranked suggestion from each tool is correct for a given coding test. A higher Pass@1 score indicates that the tool consistently delivers accurate solutions immediately, thereby enhancing developer productivity. Alternatively, the Pass@10 metric evaluates the percentage of times the correct solution is found within the top 10 recommendations provided by the tool. Although the Pass@10 metric allows for some leniency by acknowledging that the top suggestions may not always be correct, a higher score still indicates the tool's ability to provide accurate solutions within a small number of suggestions, streamlining the coding process for developers. Stable Code has performed admirably in comparison to Star Coder Base and Replica Coders, achieving impressive results in both the Pass@1 and Pass@10 metrics. While Star Coder Base outperformed in terms of Pass@1, Stable Code proved its effectiveness by providing accurate solutions within the top recommendations. Deploying Stable Code If you wish to download the Stable Code model, you can do so through the Hugging Face model card, which provides an easy way to deploy it within your own web UI. Various platforms, such as Pinocchio and Ogabuga, can assist you in deploying the Stable Code model effortlessly. To run Stable Code on Google Colab, follow these steps: 1. Save a copy of the provided Google Collab link to your Google Drive. 2. Go to the "Runtime" tab and change the runtime type to Python 3. 3. Choose the desired hardware acceleration option (e.g., CPU) and save the changes. 4. Click on the play button to run the required tasks. 5. When prompted, enter your Hugging Face API key. 6. In another tab, copy the token from your Hugging Face token page and paste it into the designated area. Click login. 7. Install the necessary requirements to begin utilizing Stable Code within Google Colab. 8. Access the designated tab to start interacting and utilizing Stable Code. Real Use Cases of Stable Code Stable Code offers a wide range of use cases for solving both basic and complex coding problems. From generating Python classes and functions to writing programs for various tasks, Stable Code proves its versatility and value in the coding world. The Google Colab link provided in the demonstration allows users to explore different demos and experiment with Stable Code's capabilities. In Conclusion Stable Code is an exceptional tool that significantly enhances the coding process for developers. As Stability AI continues to evolve and improve its coding applications and AI systems, Stable Code is set to grow even further. I hope you have gained valuable knowledge from this video and article. Thank you for watching, and make sure to check out World of AI's Patreon page for exclusive features. Stay connected with World of AI for the latest AI trends. Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share this video, and explore our previous content. Until next time, have an incredible day. Peace out! Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you found it insightful and helpful. If you enjoyed the content, I would like to invite you to stay connected with us by following our blog through email updates. By subscribing, you'll never miss out on our latest articles and valuable insights. Additionally, we have an active Facebook fan page where we share more great content and engage with our readers. Join our community and be a part of the discussion. If you prefer to consume content in video format, we also have a YouTube channel where we regularly upload informative and engaging videos. Subscribe to our channel and stay updated with our latest video releases. We value your support and would love to have you as a part of our growing community. Thank you again for reading, and we look forward to connecting with you! Frequently Asked Questions: 1. What is Stable Code? - Stable Code is an AI coding assistant designed to assist developers and casual users in their daily tasks and to improve their coding skills. 2. How was Stable Code developed and trained? - Stable Code was developed using a base model created from the Big code stack dataset, and further trained with popular languages like Python, JavaScript, Java, C++, and more. 3. How does Stable Code help with coding tasks? - Stable Code can efficiently generate code snippets for various tasks, such as performing a binary search or finding the number of CPU cores. It provides accurate and effective solutions to coding challenges. 4. How does Stable Code compare to other coding assist tools? - Stable Code has been benchmarked against other coding assist tools like Star Coder Base and Replica Coders. It has shown high accuracy and effectiveness in suggesting correct solutions for coding tests. 5. How can I access and use Stable Code? - Stable Code can be accessed and used on platforms like Google Colab. You can follow the provided link to run it on Google Colab and utilize its features for coding tasks. Read the full article

[jmichaelschulz]

How Marketing Will Change with Technology in the Future

The rapid acceleration of technological innovation is no longer just an observation; it has become a fundamental characteristic of our modern era. In a landscape where digital transformation happens in the blink of an eye, its impact on various industries is inevitable, and marketing is no exception. For businesses around the globe, the marriage of technology and marketing is not just a necessity but a cornerstone for survival and growth. We are on the cusp of a transformative phase where conventional marketing methods are giving way to more advanced and efficient strategies, all thanks to technology's pervasive influence.

As we navigate through this digital metamorphosis, it's crucial to not just adapt but anticipate how emerging technologies will alter the marketing landscape. The imperative now is to look beyond today's best practices and focus on tomorrow's evolutionary shifts. Whether it's the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence to understand consumer behavior, the use of Virtual Reality for immersive brand experiences, or Blockchain technology ensuring transparency in transactions, the future holds immense promise and potential challenges.

In this essay, we will delve into the technological trends poised to redefine the contours of marketing, exploring their impact, their promise, and the strategic preparedness required for the journey ahead. From AI-driven personalization to the ethical implications of tech-savvy marketing, we offer a comprehensive look at what the future holds. And in doing so, we aim to provide not just a glimpse but a well-lit pathway into the future of marketing, one that is shaped and directed by the relentless advancement of technology.

1. Hyper-Personalization Through AI and Machine Learning:

In the digital age, the one-size-fits-all approach in marketing is becoming increasingly obsolete. Consumers are more enlightened and demand personalized experiences. This is where the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) comes into play.

Data-Driven Insights: AI and ML algorithms can sift through vast amounts of data at speeds incomprehensible to the human mind. By analyzing online behavior, purchase history, social media activity, and even interactions with customer service, these technologies can provide deep insights into individual consumer profiles. This means businesses can predict with incredible accuracy what a customer might want or need next.

Real-Time Personalization: Traditional personalization strategies might segment users into broader categories based on a few parameters. But with AI and ML, personalization can occur in real-time. For instance, if a user searches for winter boots on an e-commerce site but doesn't make a purchase, they might later receive a personalized discount on those boots or see an ad for a similar product they might like. This level of instant adaptability wasn't possible a few years ago.

Emotional Analysis and Connection: Emerging AI technologies, particularly those in the realm of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and facial recognition, can discern user emotions from text or video inputs. This could mean understanding when a user is frustrated with an online experience or particularly pleased with a service. Marketers can harness this information to tailor messages that resonate on a deeper emotional level, creating a more profound brand connection.

Enhanced User Journeys: With the predictive capabilities of ML models, marketers can forecast the potential touchpoints a user might interact with and create a seamlessly integrated journey across platforms. Whether it's sending a timely push notification, suggesting a product based on recent searches, or even adjusting the user interface of an app to suit individual preferences, the possibilities are virtually limitless.

In essence, AI and ML will not just reshape the methods we use in marketing but redefine the very ethos of customer interactions. Brands that embrace these technologies will be better positioned to create lasting, meaningful relationships with their customers, elevating loyalty and, ultimately, driving revenue growth.

2. Virtual and Augmented Reality in Experiential Marketing:

The advent of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is fundamentally changing the landscape of experiential marketing. As these tools become more sophisticated and mainstream, they present an unparalleled opportunity for brands to engage with consumers in ways previously thought impossible.

Enhanced Product Visualization: One of the main challenges online shoppers face is the inability to visualize how a product might fit into their lives. AR eliminates this barrier. For instance, a person looking to buy a new sofa can use AR tools to virtually place different sofa options in their living room, adjusting color, size, and orientation. This not only aids in making an informed decision but also reduces the likelihood of returns, which is beneficial for businesses.

Interactive Virtual Storefronts: VR can recreate the in-store shopping experience for users from the comfort of their homes. They can navigate store aisles, check out products, and even attend virtual sales or events. This offers a unique solution, especially in times where physical store visits might be challenging or less preferred.

Storytelling and Brand Engagement: VR and AR can transport users to entirely different worlds or overlay digital elements onto the real world, respectively. Brands can craft compelling narratives, taking users on journeys to, say, the source of the raw materials for a product, or immerse them in a game that resonates with the brand's ethos. This kind of immersive storytelling can generate powerful emotional connections.

Real-time Feedback and Analytics: As users engage with VR and AR experiences, brands can collect invaluable data on user interactions, preferences, and behaviors. This data can inform more effective product development, marketing strategies, and user experiences in the future.

Social Integration: As social media platforms like Facebook and Snapchat invest heavily in AR, brands have an avenue to engage users with interactive filters, games, or shopping experiences. These not only increase brand visibility but can also become viral marketing campaigns if they resonate well with users.

3. Blockchain’s Role in Transparent Marketing:

Building Trust through Authenticity: The foundation of any marketing strategy is trust. In an era where misinformation can spread like wildfire, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of marketing campaigns is paramount. Enter Blockchain, a decentralized ledger technology renowned for its ability to secure and verify transactions. When applied to marketing, Blockchain can be instrumental in verifying the claims brands make. For instance, luxury brands can utilize blockchain to provide undeniable proof of product authenticity. By scanning a QR code on the product, a customer could trace its entire journey, from raw material sourcing to the final sale. This kind of transparency not only guarantees the genuineness of the product but also elevates a brand's reputation in the eyes of discerning consumers.

Revolutionizing Digital Marketing Metrics: In the digital marketing sphere, Blockchain promises a renaissance of transparency and accountability. Influencer marketing, a sector notorious for its opaque metrics and sometimes dubious ROI, stands to benefit immensely. With Blockchain, brands can access unalterable records of influencer engagements, ensuring that the metrics they're presented with — be it views, likes, or shares — are genuine and not artificially inflated. Similarly, in digital advertising, there’s a growing concern about ad fraud and the dubious distribution of ad spends. Blockchain can validate every penny spent, ensuring ads are viewed by real, intended audiences and not bots. The result? A more efficient allocation of resources and renewed faith in digital advertising metrics.

In essence, Blockchain's transparent and immutable nature promises to restore faith in marketing claims and digital metrics. As consumers become increasingly savvy and demand transparency, brands that leverage blockchain to back their narratives and metrics will undoubtedly gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

4. Voice Search and Smart Speakers:

In today's digital age, the rise of smart speakers such as Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, and Apple's HomePod has signaled a shift in the way consumers seek information. Voice search, once a novelty, is swiftly becoming a mainstay in households and businesses. As voice recognition software becomes increasingly sophisticated, the accuracy and convenience of voice queries have led to a surge in their usage. Brands, in response, must recalibrate their digital strategies. Traditional keyword-focused content may not seamlessly cater to voice searches, which tend to be more conversational and question-based. For instance, while a user might type "best coffee shops nearby" on a search engine, they're more likely to ask their smart speaker, "Where can I get the best coffee near me?" This nuanced difference in phrasing necessitates a rethink in content optimization. Moreover, the results of voice searches are typically concise; hence brands will vie to be the top, or the only, answer provided by a voice assistant. To remain relevant and visible in this evolving landscape, brands will need to craft content that answers direct queries, integrates frequently spoken phrases, and understands the natural, conversational tone of voice searches. The intersection of technology and linguistics in this domain will undeniably shape the future of search engine optimization and content marketing.

5. Neuro-Marketing with Biometrics:

As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, brands are perpetually on the hunt for innovative ways to deeply connect with their audiences. One frontier that holds immense promise is neuro-marketing, underpinned by biometric technologies. This approach goes beyond traditional feedback mechanisms, delving into the physiological and neural reactions of consumers. By leveraging tools that analyze eye movement, facial expressions, and even brain wave patterns, companies can obtain a real-time window into how their audience emotionally and cognitively responds to specific campaigns or products. For instance, eye-tracking can reveal which sections of an advertisement draw the most attention, while facial recognition software can decode subtle expressions to determine whether a product elicits joy, surprise, or indifference. The richness of these insights, extracted from the very nuances of human biology, transcends what conventional surveys or focus groups can provide. Thus, as brands endeavor to tailor their campaigns with even greater precision, biometrics in marketing stands poised to redefine how we understand and engage with consumers, offering a lens into their most genuine, unarticulated reactions.

6. Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Environments:

In the ever-evolving digital age, the Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly emerging as a transformative force, knitting together the fabric of our everyday lives with countless interconnected devices. Beyond the convenience of smart homes or wearable tech, IoT holds transformative implications for the marketing realm. As ordinary objects — from fridges to thermostats to cars — become embedded with sensors and software, they generate an immense flow of real-time data. Marketers can harness this data deluge to cultivate deeper, more context-aware relationships with consumers. Consider the smart fridge, no longer just a passive storage unit but an interactive device capable of suggesting recipes based on its current contents. Following such a suggestion, it could then nudge consumers with timely shopping offers or discounts for missing ingredients. Similarly, as connected cars become more prevalent, they could analyze a driver's route and preferences to recommend restaurants, fueling stations, or entertainment venues in real-time. In essence, as the boundaries between the physical and digital world blur, the IoT presents an unparalleled opportunity for marketers to engage consumers with timely, hyper-relevant content, embedding brand experiences seamlessly into the rhythm of daily life.

7. Rise of Chatbots and Virtual Assistants:

In today's digital age, the immediacy of response is not just desired but expected. Chatbots and virtual assistants, powered by advanced AI algorithms, are stepping up to meet this demand, revolutionizing the way brands interact with their consumers. Rather than navigating through web pages or waiting in long customer service queues, consumers can now get instantaneous responses to their queries. From answering frequently asked questions to guiding a potential customer through a product selection process, chatbots provide a level of personalized service that was once the exclusive domain of human agents. Their 24/7 availability ensures that a brand's engagement with its customers never hits a pause, irrespective of time zones or public holidays.

Furthermore, the true potential of these virtual assistants goes beyond just answering questions. As they interact, they learn, gathering invaluable data about consumer preferences, behavior, and pain points. This continuous stream of data equips brands with insights to tailor their offerings more effectively, potentially identifying upselling or cross-selling opportunities. A customer inquiring about a product's features might be nudged towards a premium version that better suits their needs. As these technologies continue to evolve, their ability to simulate human-like interactions while providing actionable insights will make them indispensable tools in a brand's digital marketing arsenal.

8. Sustainable and Ethical Marketing:

In an era where consumers are becoming increasingly discerning about the brands they support, a company's ethical and sustainable practices are no longer a mere afterthought but central to its brand identity. Technology will play an instrumental role in bolstering these practices and their visibility. As the demand for transparency surges, tech-driven solutions will empower brands to showcase their entire supply chains, ensuring that from raw material sourcing to product distribution, every step adheres to ethical standards. Blockchain, for instance, could validate the authenticity of eco-friendly materials, guaranteeing that a product marked as 'sustainably sourced' truly is.

Moreover, as concerns about environmental degradation mount, innovative technological solutions will allow brands to implement and highlight eco-friendly packaging solutions. Augmented Reality (AR) might let consumers scan a product to learn about its lifecycle and the environmental savings its packaging offers. But it's not just about transparency; it's about accountability. The intersection of marketing and technology will drive businesses to not only spotlight their positive societal and environmental impacts but to continually evaluate and enhance their practices in response to real-time data and feedback. In this future, brands won't just be selling products; they'll be selling a promise of a better world, backed by verifiable, tech-validated actions.

Conclusion:

The imminent convergence of technology and marketing heralds a transformative era that extends beyond the rudimentary enhancements of traditional promotional techniques. This fusion signifies a paradigm shift, reshaping the contours of commerce and redefining the dynamics between businesses and their customers. As we gaze into the future's horizon, the implications of this synergy are profound and multifaceted.

Firstly, personalization will reach unprecedented levels. Gone will be the days when consumers are mere recipients of information. Instead, using sophisticated AI and data analytics, businesses will anticipate consumers' needs, curate unique experiences for them, and engage in ways that were previously unimaginable.

Secondly, the boundaries between reality and the digital realm will blur, with technologies like AR and VR offering immersive experiences that bridge this divide. Shopping, product trials, and brand engagements will be transformed, creating a seamless blend of the tangible and virtual, thus deepening customer relationships.

Moreover, accountability and transparency, once seen as mere buzzwords, will become the bedrock of brand operations. In an age where consumers demand to know the origins of their products and the ethos of the companies they patronize, technology will enable brands to offer an unprecedented level of clarity, from ethical sourcing to sustainable practices.

Lastly, amidst these transformative shifts, the role of marketers will evolve. They won't just be strategists or content creators; they will become innovators, technologists, and custodians of trust.

In this looming landscape, brands that can recognize, adapt to, and leverage these technological tides will position themselves at the vanguard of the industry. They will be the pioneers who don't merely navigate the challenges of the digital age but harness them to redefine excellence, set new benchmarks, and lead the evolution of modern commerce.

[front-facing-pokemon]

last post for now, i swear!

this is for backlog bonanza tomorrow at 1 pm (and every saturday thenceforth at 1 pm EST). whichever one you'd like to see more! (or if you have a suggestion for a different game, i can add it to the pile)!

one last thing. apparently if you use the android tumblr app, pretty much every post of mine is getting marked mature at this point. i don't have access to the android app, so i have basically no way to verify this information without downloading bluestacks or something. but due to the increased prevalence of folks saying it in the comments of my recent posts, i think it's just happening to every post—and apparently due to the volume of posts that are being marked mature, one commenter has stated that the whole blog has been marked mature

crucially, tumblr has informed me of none of this mature-marking! i remember back when baltoy got marked mature in the original round of the dex, they informed me and i was able to appeal it—i have had no such notification or ability to appeal these ones being marked as mature. it seems to only be happening on the end of (some??) the followers of this blog seeing posts (and subsequently the blog, pixelated icon and everything) marked mature and needing to click through to them

this is not good! if my posts are being marked mature, i should be informed of that and given the option to appeal. if my whole damn blog is being marked mature, i should be informed of that and given the option to appeal. but i haven't been!

i'm not entirely sure why this could be happening, either. munna i kinda understand—but zebstrika just doesn't make any sense to me. a lot of them don't—you would expect posts would be auto-marked mature if they had some sort of prevalence of fleshy tones or whatever so that the AI could mark them. i'm not sure if it's because i'm swearing in the tags or what, but…

i know tumblr has had some issues with marking innocuous trans women's blogs as nsfw in the past. i'm not super vocal about being a trans woman on this blog, but it is on my main blog. i'm not one to conspiratize and say that that's why my posts are suddenly being marked mature here, but i can't seem to find any other reason (unless it's just a very, very, very overactive algorithm that seems to prefer marking posts on blogs that have already been marked once, thus the Whole Blog apparently being flagged)

unless this is happening to a majority of tumblr and i am just unaware due to my lack of access to the android app, this feels… strange. i'm not entirely sure what to do about this! i doubt it's happening to every blog on tumblr and innocuous art blogs and such, as if it was, then i doubt so many commenters would tell me about it on my posts—it would just become the norm for android users, right? but the fact that folks point it out to me tells me that this is out of the ordinary. and i'm not sure where to go from here, but since it's been happening a lot lately, i felt like i should address it. i'm (obviously) not marking these posts as mature on my own. i'm not doing it as a bit or whatever. at this point it's just getting frustrating (not folks telling me—i appreciate knowing—rather, the posts being flagged in the first place without tumblr informing me), and i have no clue what i'm supposed to do in this situation. theoretically i'd send an email to staff or support or something, but there's not many of them left and i'm not sure if that would even accomplish anything

likely talking about all of this isn't going to accomplish anything, either—but i wanted to address it because it's happening and i don't know if i can really do anything about it

that's all! please keep letting me know when my posts are marked mature—and android users, if you have any weigh-ins on this (frequency of posts being marked mature, specific posts marked mature you thought were particularly outlandish, whether the whole blog is marked mature, etc), i would appreciate them! if i can compare and contrast and see if the same posts are being flagged for everybody or if it's just certain posts for certain users, we might be able to narrow down the root of this issue

until then!

what game do we think i should do next for backlog bonanza. i wanna do another text-heavy game that i get to read out the text on, but i've got two big players in my mind that i'm choosing between. which are usum and ace attorney. i've never played usum but i have played sumo, and i've played the first third-ish of ace attorney, so both of them i basically know how the intro goes. since i know usum's intro is the same as sumo. usum is a little more topical since it's a pokémon blog and everything. i dunno if i wanna add any new games to it like i did with isat since it is still technically my backlog i'm going through, but i'm open to more suggestions if there's games i'm forgetting. especially since my backlog is so big at this point that i have Forgotten a lot of the games that are on it. but usum and ace attorney are my two big picks right now

[jjunis-moved]

a taste of something new — 33. conflicted

a/n: ..........hi. i'm sorry. i've been struggling to write stuff :( but i tried to put something nice together, so hopefully you'll enjoy it <3

BY THE WAY!!! i'm updating my taglist, so if you wanna keep being a part of it (or if you wanna join it now), please click here and fill out this form! i'll be using the new taglist soon.

warnings: some light swearing, some slightly suggestive thoughts???, light kissing heh, soobin is unnecessarily rude at some point boooooo >:(, not properly proofread!! let me know if you find any mistakes/typos <3

word count: 2.8k

ch. thirty-two | masterlist | ch. thirty-four

PLAYLIST

if you like this fic, please consider reblogging the chapter to help with the algorithm! 🥰

Since the kissing incident, your interactions with Soobin have been slightly awkward. Not like it was when you first started pretending to go out with him, because at least back then you weren't afraid to loosen up and try to get him to do the same, but more like you don't actually know how to talk to him without thinking about his hands on you and how his lips felt against yours. 

It's wrong, you know it, and you hate yourself for it.

You've even considered traveling to one of the neighboring towns on the weekend just to go to a party far away from everyone you know and find someone to hook up with, because you're absolutely sure that would be enough to fix all of your problems. You'd need Soobin's help with that, though, because he'd have to pretend you're just spending the night with him. And how are you supposed to bring that up? 

"Oh, hey, by the way, can you pretend I'm sleeping over at your place so I can go on a quick trip and sleep around to get over the urge to make out with you?"

Yeah, that's not gonna happen. 

To make matters worse, his younger friends decided today would be a good day to actually hang out with you, so you're gonna have to act all lovey-dovey for hours again when you barely even know how to act around Soobin. The last time you tried to put up an act in front of your friends — just two days ago, mind you — felt awkward enough to the point where you started thinking kissing him was a bad idea in the first place. You should've never brought that up.

But alas, you have to be a good actress if you wanna survive.

Soobin and Taehyun left to buy some stuff for the night, leaving you, Giselle — who so kindly tagged along with you — and Hueningkai chatting in your boyfriend's living room for a while. The youngest is super easy-going, so soon the three of you were immersed in a conversation about pets and stuffed animals, because he's not afraid to admit his love for his plushies, and you admire him for that. 

The sudden sound of rain outside the window catches your attention, though, because it was definitely unexpected and, well, the boys haven't come back yet. You even try texting Soobin, only to hear the notification sound of his phone coming from the other couch.

"I'm gonna kill him," you mutter, throwing imaginary darts at the abandoned phone, and you're about to ask Hueningkai to try texting Taehyun when he tries to reassure you.

"They'll probably wait it out, you shouldn't worry too much. Taehyun's smart."

Well, if he says so… You just sigh and nod, going back to the previous conversation, at least for now.

However, about ten minutes later the front door opens, startling the three of you, and as soon as you turn, you see Soobin's tall figure coming in, completely drenched.

"Soobin!" You're not sure whether you should feel worried or mad, but promptly get up to rush towards the entrance nonetheless. "What the fuck, why would you walk back home in this rain?"

"Was I supposed to wait for the next one?" He retorts, slightly annoyed, as you take the plastic bags from his hands, so you glare at him.

"No, baby," you add the pet name in a sweet tone, to remind him you're supposed to be a loving couple, "I'm just worried both of you might get sick. You could've waited until it stopped."

"Uhh… To be fair, I was the one who convinced him we should come back," Taehyun intervenes while taking off his wet shoes, trying to ease the tension. "Sorry, Y/N. It was a stupid idea, we were just feeling impatient."

"It's alright, I get it." What would you do, anyway? Tell Taehyun off? Never. So you sigh and give Soobin another pointed look before leaving the bags a few steps away from them. "Should I grab you some towels?" You offer, and your boyfriend sighs and nods.

"I'd appreciate it." Rather than passive-aggressive, he sounds tired now. "You know where to find them, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," you reply, ready to go grab them.

"Hey," he calls and reaches for you, holding your wrist and silently inviting you to come closer. You furrow your eyebrows, but still get close enough for him to lean down and kiss your forehead. "Sorry. I shouldn't snap at you. I'm just stressed out, there was a long line and people were being loud and annoying, and I didn't expect to get caught in the rain," he explains quietly while tucking your hair behind your ear.

And there he is, your actor-friend remembering to play his part, speaking softly while Taehyun's big eyes watch him discreetly. You can't be sure whether he means those words or not, because you can't be sure whether he's talking to you as your friend and partner in crime or as your "boyfriend", so you just play along.

"It's okay," you respond just as tenderly, "just let me get those towels now."

"Okay. Thank you." Without any kind of warning, he simply pecks your lips before letting you go, and you find yourself having to smile and act as if that's his regular behavior.

Fortunately, by the time you come back with a pair of towels in your hands, the hurricane that he caused in your heart just a moment ago has come down to a harmless breeze, so you're able to take the groceries to the kitchen with the help of Hueningkai while Soobin insists that Taehyun should take a warm shower first.

Soon you end up in the bedroom with Soobin, helping him pick some simple clothes from the wardrobe for himself and his friend. The problem is that your gaze keeps wandering towards him, especially his torso, due to how his wet white shirt keeps sticking to his skin. He doesn't have a toned body, you know damn well he hates exercising, but it's still a nice view, especially from the back. His shoulder blades look magnificent to your eyes. 

His damp hair being all messy and sticking to his forehead is another sight you wish you could keep in your mind for a long time every time he faces you, and you catch yourself thinking about how you miss running your fingers through his strands.

"Y/N?" His voice snaps you out of your daze, so you immediately look away and hum in response. "You can go back to the living room now if you want."

"I feel like I should help you, though," you reply. 

"There's not much to help with. And you're mostly just staring, anyway," he points out.

"Well, that's because I missed you," you blurt out in a quiet tone without even thinking, and you can see the sudden flush of red on his face before he turns away to pretend he's looking for something inside his wardrobe. "I mean, we've been, uh– You know, we haven't seen each other as often and I just, um, I guess I–"

"Yeah, I know," he cuts you off, moving a few pieces of clothing just to keep himself busy, probably. "Look, I know it's weird. It's just, um, I don't really–"

He's also interrupted, this time by his friend, who's calling out for him from the bathroom. He sighs and looks at you briefly, and you gesture for him to go there and hand Taehyun a change of clothes. Whatever he wants to say, it's not worth leaving his friend naked in the bathroom just so you can hear him say it. You can do this later, preferably when you're alone and nobody's wet and cold from the rain.

While Soobin takes a shower himself, the others help you in the kitchen, preparing the snacks for the movie night. The youngest ones have an interesting dynamic between them, with Hueningkai sounding way too naive sometimes, and Taehyun sounding like he could be the smart, cool uncle at a barbecue party. They're not as loud as Beomgyu and Yeonjun, although Kai's laughter can be nearly deafening sometimes, but it's clear that they're a lot better at dealing with people than Soobin is. Maybe, in the end, your fake boyfriend is the introvert they collectively decided to adopt. 

By the time he comes out of the shower, the snacks are all ready to be consumed, so he helps by bringing the stuff to the living room and setting everything down. He also brings some light blankets for everyone, since the rain has made the temperature go down, and obviously shares one with you to make you look like a cutesy couple. 

It's strange how everything feels so awkward and so natural at the same time. At first, when the movie's just starting, he's all stiff while keeping an arm around your shoulders, but all it takes is a few minutes for him to get a lot more relaxed, using his free hand to absentmindedly play with the bracelet he gave you when he "asked you to be his girlfriend", poking the little silver feather around.

You chuckle lightly when you notice it, and he automatically tightens his arm around you, bringing you closer to his body, though his eyes are still trained on the television. It makes you wonder whether his actions are totally conscious or not, but you're not about to verbalize your questions. Instead, you test the waters by moving your hand until you can interlock your fingers with his, and he reciprocates.

Okay, what's up with him? Is he enjoying it? Or is he playing his part? Will he go back to being cold when the movie ends? First he's rude, then he's awkward, then he's sweet.

You can't pay much attention to the story, not when your mind keeps drifting to Soobin's small actions. The way his fingers play with yours, how he automatically adjusts the blanket over you whenever you move and it slides down, how he keeps you close and even lets you rest on his shoulder without any sign of discomfort. He rarely looks at you, but still plays with your hair and caresses your shoulder with his thumb at some moments. 

Which version of Soobin is this? You're not sure, but when a particularly romantic scene happens and he squeezes your hand, you have to fight the urge to kiss him, though now would be the perfect moment to do that and look like you're in love.

As if he's reading your mind, he kisses your temple, earning a sigh from you. Right, the whole point of your making-out session was so you could kiss each other comfortably in front of your friends, so maybe you should do it now, right? This is totally not because you want it, but because you have to do it.

"Baby," you whisper, turning your face to look at him. 

He does the same, and he's so close you can feel his breath, which reminds you of the night when everything went to hell.

"Hm?" His eyes don't linger on yours for too long, drifting to some other spot of your face.

God, do you really wanna do this? 

Silently, you bring your index finger to his lips, tapping them very lightly, as a wordless question. You wouldn't kiss him without his permission, especially when everything is so awkward, but you also can't ask about it out loud in front of everyone else, so that's the best way to handle the situation right now. His gaze finds yours again for a quick moment as that familiar flush of red finds his face, and you're so sure he's gonna say no that you actually regret even thinking about it. Surprisingly, he nods a second after looking at your lips, and that simple movement is enough to get your heart playing tricks on you again.

For the love of God, you really need to get laid so you can stop simping over the smallest things.

Not wanting to give your brain enough time to even think about anything else, you cup his face and bring his mouth to yours, connecting your lips very sweetly. 

It's not as hungry and desperate as it was the last time, but rather something slow and perhaps a little hesitant. His lips are as soft as you remember, and his hand still feels the same when it touches your waist. It's almost ironic how calm it all is, but that's when you feel him tensing up once again, as if both of you are doing something wrong. And yes, maybe you are, but it's all part of something else, and you have to keep that in mind.

The sound of Taehyun clearing his throat is what makes you pull back. No making out, no running out of breath, no impulsive actions, just a little act to be seen by the people around you, something sweet to make them believe your love is strong and real. Soobin's eyes remain closed, though, so you gently run your fingers down his face.

"It's okay," you whisper and give him a few quick final pecks.

He nods once again. "Okay," he echoes, slowly opening his eyes. 

And as soon as his gaze meets yours, the rush of blood finds its way to his face once again, so he looks away, focusing on the TV. Still, he keeps an arm wrapped around you and makes sure you're leaning on his shoulder once again.

The rest of the movie flies by, and by the end of it, all five of you spend some time chatting about the most random stuff. From your jobs to your passions, to the boys' teamwork to make new music in hopes of one day getting a good contract somewhere, you all learn a little bit more about each other, and Soobin keeps you close through it all.

When the time to say goodbye comes, everyone's getting ready to leave, and Giselle pokes your arm when you grab your purse.

"Aren't you gonna feel cold? It's kinda chilly outside."

The conversation that's happening between the boys just a few meters away is cut short, but you don't pay much attention to that, or even to Soobin walking past you, since you're talking to your best friend.

"Nah," you shake your head, "I'm alright. It's not that cold, anyway."

"Are you sure?" She insists, making you chuckle.

"Yeah, don't worry. What's the worse that could happen?"

"I mean… You could get sick."

"Baby, for real, don't worry. I'll take a nice shower as soon as I get home and wear some warm clothes, it's fine," you promise.

Giselle twists her lips, not quite buying it. "I don't know, Y/N. Maybe you could just ask for–"

Her words are cut off by Soobin reappearing and putting a soft zip-up hoodie over your shoulders, which makes her stare at him for a moment. 

Your face turns to look at him as well. "Uh. Thank you… baby," you say, slightly confused, and all he does is press his lips to form an almost smile, putting his dimples on full display, before going back to his friends.

Weird.

After everyone says goodbye to everyone, Soobin walks the whole group to the door, and you end up having to give him a goodbye kiss. What a tragedy. It's sweet and incredibly short, and you kiss the tip of his nose as soon as his lips are away from yours, which gets him all flustered.

"You're adorable," you chuckle, while Taehyun watches it all and tries to hold back his disgust over the PDA moment.

"Um, text me when you get home, okay?" He asks, and you nod in response, aware of the fact that Giselle will probably be gushing over that small interaction as soon as the two of you hop inside a taxi. "See you tomorrow."

"See ya, baby." One more kiss, this time on his cheek, and you finally leave with your friend, sharing the elevator with Taehyun and Hueningkai.

Though you do your very best to keep your cool, Soobin's scent on the piece of clothing you're wearing gets to your brain, making you overthink about the past few hours, which only makes you feel more conflicted.

You need to talk to him and set things straight before you go insane, but that's something you'll have to leave for later. For now, all you can do is play the smitten girlfriend role in front of everyone else and hope that it's enough to keep this whole scheme up until you reach the final due date of your make-believe relationship.

permanent taglist (open): @junnmizz @joti17 @shanice-1104 @soobin-chois @yeonqt @startlinejjuni @gorechoi @strawbrinkofdeath @etherealcherrie @en-boyz @todorokiskitten @ja4hyvn @yeppeudau @carayat @lvxbbh @dubaddunat @luvrjn @spiderlilyfics @hibuki-chan @fallingforya @multifandomizer @ashxxkook @jaxavance @b1u3hour @hwasatiny @ineedaherosavemeenow @ohwonwoo @w31rdg1rl @bibinnieposts @highkey-fangirling @lilacdreams-00 @laiverose @soobinsfav @simeonswhore @wccycc @boo-ghostplayer @erodemyedges @cherrybeomgyu @captivq

[vvh0adie]

𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒚 𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆. -𝑱𝒐𝒃 𝟓:𝟐

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{read prompt lists 1st}

So, Beatrice’s lil’ angel brought you here, huh?

1 ⚠ Please don’t ask about updates. I post when I feel motivated. If you want fics to continue, please reblog them, it really helps me in the janky ass Tumblr algorithm😁

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[atalienart]

any advice on dealing with instagram’s shitty algorithm? it’s so bad for me that my posts are getting about 5% of my follower count in likes. it’s bad. it makes me want to stop using insta entirely. have you had issues with insta as well, and do you prefer tumblr over insta? i’ve never posted my art on here but i think i might start if it’s kinder than instagram is. would love to hear your thoughts on this. 💗

The answer is so long that...

Hard question. I really know the pain. At the beginning I suggest trying different days to see when your posts get the most attention. Then be consistent and post on the day you chose. I noticed the most people seem to see my posts when I upload on Monday and Thursday for some reason. (Idk why because I get to see posts that people posted two days ago or something.) If I post twice a week my second post definitely gets more attention. I don't upload too many images in one post, people usually don't swipe too many times, it's better to make a new post instead. Some people say it's better to add less used tags because it's more likely people who look for specific tags will notice you, some say it's good to use tags that big reposting accounts use because people check these more and you have a bigger chance to be noticed by more people. (I suck at tagging.) Definitely let people know that you posted something new in your story. If you don't see much activity just leave insta, don't just sit there, browse and stare at it, if insta wants to engage you it should do something to drag you back, e.g. by showing you some notifications, and to show you notifications it should show your art to your followers. Don't give it your time and attention if it doesn't give you none. You might also want to use all insta functions like reels (I still don't know if I even have this option...) Add stories often, just not too many and make them interesting, that way people who check them will have your icon always in sight.

Generally there's a lot of trash on insta, that's why it's so hard to even reach the people that follow you (half of my followers don't see my posts), there's tons of ads and reposts.

Anyway, a lot depends on the things you post. Are they consistently good? are they cropped in an aesthetically pleasing way? For example, I noticed that if I change my style a bit it affects the notes. Do you do fanart or original art, fanart gets a lot more attention, especially if you're kinda "known" for it. And you need to be okay with the fact people won't like every single post of yours. I know what would give me more notes but I just want to draw what I like. It's important to do things for yourself.

I gave up on breaking the algorithm, I just try to post on the same day (sometimes I fail xD), I post my original art so I expect people who either really like my art or my ocs will interact. And I try not to worry to much, I used to worry, now... I don't think it's worth it. It's still sad when it seems like no one cares and you want some validation but it's not something you can't live with.

As for tumblr, I'm not sure how it works for new users, I guess it's not that bad (from what I've heard). For me, well, I have a lot of followers here but maybe 1%-3% of people are interested in my content now. When I drew fanart it was much more popular. A lot of people left after the tumblr collapse xD I honeslty have no idea how many of the accounts that follow me are just ghost accounts. But it's probably a totally different experience for new artists. It might be better than insta taking into consideration it's calm here.

But have patience, improve your skills, numbers really don't matter, people who follow you and their support matter. There's no point to stress about something you have no power over. And if you have energy to try new sites then do it, see what works best for you.

[famouslastwordsinmexico]

Suggested for You

     You think to yourself, I shouldn’t have looked that up online.

     You’re now staring at a bunch of banner ads that frame your email inbox. Each one is attempting to entice you to purchase succulents from flower shops near and far, small and conglomerated. The bright, animated images boast to you about how their store’s succulents will set you on the path to self-care while reconnecting you with nature. You know these ads are suggested to you and tailored specifically for you based on your search history, but, really, you just wanted to know how to spell “succulent”.

     To be fair, you probably shouldn’t be looking up non-work related curiosities while actually at work, but it’s been a slow morning. And yet, right as you excuse yourself for the trivial indiscretion, you’re called into your manager’s office. You lock your computer and worriedly head over to where they wait for you. Upon entering the room you see that there is someone else here for this impromptu meeting. Or, rather, someone has video-called in, their face on your manager’s monitor, which has been turned to meet yours.

    “A representative from HR will be joining us remotely,” your manager informs you. They then sit on the front edge of their desk, not behind it, in a manner you suspect all managers unironically believe comes off as cool and relaxed.

    “Huh. Is something wrong?” You cautiously take your seat, looking between them and the digital HR rep.

    “Oh, no, not at all. It’s just a small request.” They fold their hands in front of them. “That presentation you’re working on for Friday; I wanted to ask if you would give it over to Robert.”

    “Robert? Why? I thought it was supposed to be my project.” You worked hard on that presentation, and even harder on that project. It was something that was going to get you noticed by the higher-ups, a first step towards bigger things.

    “It is. Or, it was. It…” They stop themselves, physically appear to reset, and adopt a concerned face. “We’re simply worried it might be putting too much stress on you.” They lean in. “How are you feeling? Is everything alright with you?”

    “Uh… I’m doing fine?” You’re progressively less certain about what’s happening.

    “You sure? You can be honest with us.” They lean back. “We’ve heard you’ve been depressed.”

    The shock of this gives you mental whiplash.

    “‘Depressed’?” you echo. “Why would you think that?”

    “Well,” they begin, affecting the concerned yet distant tone in which only senior managers are capable of speaking, “it’s come to our attention that you’ve been sharing some pretty troubling sentiments.”

    “I only really talk about work-related stuff with people, honestly.”

    “No, I’m referring to the stuff you share online.”

    Dumbfounded, you blink.

    “You see,” your manager explains, “we recently employed a service that keeps us up to date with our employees.” They seem mildly pleased with themself over their technological ability. They speak to you but look at the HR rep on screen. “Of course, it’s only because we care for the well-being of everyone here in the office. And their software told us that you’ve been feeling quite down lately. They even highlighted some examples; is it not true that you recently posted about how nothing really matters?”

    You don’t recall using those words for anything. As you confusedly shrug, they pull out their phone and hand you it, showing the post in question.

    “Wait, what?” you ask. “Those are song lyrics. To a very popular song! I shared them for a ‘Throwback Thursday’.”

    “Hmm, no,” they say, taking their phone back. “I’m still seeing a cry for help. Like, what about this one: ‘All I want is to sleep and pizza and do nothing and sleep’? That sounds pretty depressed.”

    “That was one of those online things where people let auto-complete write a post for them.”

    “Sure, then how do you explain this post, where you describe how you wish the food truck across the street would ‘run you over’ if you ‘tipped extra’ for your burrito before you got back in from lunch?”

    “That’s a really old post I made when I was at my old job. The one I left for this job! I made that joke to vent. Other people liked it.” Specifically two people: a friend, and the food truck’s company (which you presume auto-likes any mention of their brand).

    Your manager sighs as they shake their head.

    “Come on, now, you don’t have to hide. You can be honest.” They lean in again. “This is sophisticated software; it wouldn’t lie. Its algorithm combed through your life and crunched the numbers. You are depressed. And, if you’re feeling depressed, we want to make sure the company isn’t placing any undue stress on you. Wouldn’t want you turning around and saying we’re unfair, or that we torment you with public speaking, huh?” No one laughs at their non-joke. The HR rep briefly writes something on their notepad. “Right. Well, when we ask you to hand the presentation off to Robert, it’s not just because we want it to turn out well, it’s because we want you to be well, too.”

    “You’re punishing me because of memes?” you ask, unsure of how much incredulity you can show without further risking your job.

    “Oh, no, of course not,” they reply, “we would never!” At this point your manager doesn’t even try to hide that they’re assuring the HR rep more than they’re talking to you. “This company does not punish depression. In fact,” they add, turning back to you, “why don’t you take the rest of the day off? We’ll mark it down as a sick day, a day for ‘personal care’, even.” They nod to themself, satisfied. “I’ll mark it down in your time sheet right now.”

    They pull out their phone and begin typing, finished with this meeting. You want to tell them not to do that, since you only have a limited number of sick days, but feel there’d be no use arguing. You stand up, at a loss for words. As you slowly turn to leave you find the HR rep is pointing towards the printer in the room. It prints off something you deduce they sent remotely. It appears to be a pamphlet. The person in the monitor motions for you to pick it up, their face set in the textbook definition of a polite smile. The pamphlet is titled Dealing with Depression.

    Your smartwatch pings as you grab the pamphlet and the screen displays an ad for succulents. You turn the watch off.

    You don’t feel like going home right away. You instead head to a nearby cafe and order the kind of sugary latte you know isn’t worth the high price and higher calorie count, but you could use the comfort. There are no real baristas here, only machines that charge you extra to print a picture of yourself onto the latte foam. You pay the extra amount. You then sign on to the free wifi, checking off the terms and conditions you didn’t read, and take a picture of your cup to share online. Not five minutes of browsing later you get a call from your mom. You plug in your headset and answer.

    “Are you alright?” she asks.

    “Yeah, how do you mean?” You wonder why everyone’s asking you that today.

    “Because you’re not at work!” You realize now that the picture you just posted is location-tagged. “And I know what kind of drinks you like when you’re feeling sad; I’m your mother, after all.” You should’ve never accepted her friend request.

    “No, it’s not that, it’s just… I’m alright. Working from home today, but I figured I’d grab a coffee. That’s all, I promise.”

    You don’t think she believes you but her silence tells you she won’t push if you don’t want to tell her the truth. You instead get a notification on your phone that your mom has sent you a “poke”, a feature that only moms still remember exists. She breaks the silence first.

    “Well, okay then,” she offers, “if you say so. Anyways, there was something else I wanted to ask you about.” Her tone gets conspiratorial for her next question. “Are you and Jamie dating?”

    “What?!” You nearly choke on your latte. “No! Why do you think that?”

    “Your aunts told me,” she answers plainly. “And, apparently, some of their friends told them first. They’re still not used to, you know, those kinds of relationships.” As progressive as your mom can be, her age and upbringing still show from time to time.

    “I don’t even know my aunts’ friends, why would they think I’m dating Jamie?”

    “They saw your picture online.”

    You rub your eye, annoyed.

    “What picture, mom?”

    “Well,” she starts, and if phones still had cords you could imagine your mom twirling hers now, wrapping her finger as she shares the gossip, “you see, one of your aunts’ friends was online and saw you as a suggested friend.” You never understood what algorithms determined those suggestions. “She was curious, so she went in and browsed your page. There it was, a photo of the two of you, looking pretty close and cozy.”

    You check your account on your phone. There’s no way someone randomly looking you up online could’ve seen that photo. Although, how many times did the site tell you they were updating their privacy policy and you opted to skip the details of what that meant?

    “Mom, didn’t you see that picture yourself before? That was just Jamie and me playing around. You know we’re just friends.”

    “Yes, I thought it was nothing. But, those friends of your aunts talk a lot, and they do seem very convinced. I looked at the picture again and it got me thinking.” Her tone gets conspiratorial again. “Are you dating Jamie? I’d have nothing against it. Your father, though…” You block the headset mic to hide your exasperated sigh, and then interrupt before she can finish the thought.

    “We’re not close, mom, not like that. My aunts and their friends are making up stories.” You wonder how scrutinized any future pictures you post will be. Maybe you should restrict how much of your profile your mom can access. You’ll have to figure out the new privacy settings first.

    “Yes, fine, you’re right. I’m simply saying they sounded convinced, is all.” You can almost picture her busying herself with some chores at home to prove that she’s over it. And yet she adds, “I will say, though, that if you were with Jamie, I’d be very supportive. Jamie’s lovely, and would be lucky to have you.”

    You hide another exasperated sigh and change the topic. When she’s had her fill of catching up, your mom says goodbye and you hang up.

    You sit in the cafe, your mouth contorted in contemplation save for when you sip from your cup. You thought you were good at keeping your personal and online lives separate, but thanks to dubious algorithms and out-of-touch inquirers, your agency at work has been diminished and your sexuality is being questioned by people who’d be less than understanding. Even if you restrict who gets access to your information, what little slips through the cracks is still interpreted without context. Is that what the internet is now? For people to be data-mined so other people can make assumptions? Who wanted it that way?

    Your phone sets off with another notification, informing you that a local indoor plant store has followed you online. They specialize in succulents.

    You almost laugh out loud at the insanity of it. Of course; this hunt for data is mostly the hunt for ad revenue. While it’s a marvel how fervently someone on the other side of the screen wants to believe they understand you, advertisers are the ones who set the system up. And even they can’t seem to get it right!

    The fever of frustration breaks, giving way to a fever of defiance. Why leave room to be misinterpreted? You decide to live your online life unabashedly and unafraid to share all. Will someone be tracking your moves? You don’t care, but if they are you hope they can keep up.

    You grab your phone and browse with fury and determination. You share news articles and let your political leanings lay bare as you never had before. You hit “publish” on every dumb joke and inane thought you had previously hid shamefully as drafts. You post all of the pictures in your phone, and when you’re done with those you take a couple more. You follow musicians, actors, and influencers alike, so that no one would have to guess what your tastes are. You join in as many forum conversations as you can, and only stop when a person you’re arguing with, who has an anime-girl profile picture, threatens to dox you. You log off.

    When you finally get home you’re bleary eyed from unblinking browsing and shaky from the excess of caffeine. You want nothing more than to decompress. As you turn on your TV to search for something to stream and zone out to, you call out to your virtual assistant device and say, “Play something soothing.”

    Though your command was vague, as the speakers turn on they start playing exactly what you only now realize you had in mind. You love this band, even if you hadn’t thought of them in a while. Your phone goes off with a notification that this band has a concert coming up soon. As if on instinct triggered by serendipity, you click the notification to buy tickets.

    While browsing various streaming services on your TV you come across several documentaries that you’ve heard confirm a lot of opinions you’ve had on the state of things. While you’d love to be proven correct, you’re more in the mood for something light. You wonder if they have this one funny movie that’s a reboot of a movie that’s based on a book. Before you can remember the title you see it listed. You hit play.

    Ultimately, modern movie watching entails being on your phone, so you scroll through whatever new content was uploaded on your commute home. While you idly browse, you find another tailored ad, this time for a t-shirt boldly claiming that people born the same month as you are kind yet shouldn’t be messed with, each line in a different garish font.

    “Ha,” you laugh to yourself, “what a stupid ad.” Even after all the data you gave them, advertisers are no better than your manager or your aunts, thinking they know you and what’s best for you.

    Suddenly the page you’re on refreshes. What loads first is the ad, this time for a different shirt that’s admittedly more your style. The tagline reads, “Your life, your look.” Unsettled by the coincidence and feeling like you’ve found yourself in a conversation with your phone you didn’t know you were having, you try to click on a different link. More content loads just at that moment, though, shifting the layout of the page and leading you to click on the ad instead. Surprised, you fumble with your phone to close what’s popped up, but as your panicked fingers slip your phone decides you mean to go through with the order. You adjust your hold on your phone but somehow manage to set off a biometric scan that confirms the purchase.

    As if queued by your consumerist momentum, an ad interrupts the movie you’re watching (since when did this streaming service have ads?). The volume seems to increase on its own as the TV blares at you.

    “You don’t necessarily feel you age, so why look your age? Our skin cream can miraculously take 5 years off your face, letting your inner youth shine through.” The ad shows a model before and after using the cream. It makes a specific point of telling you the model’s age, which is your age.

    You search frantically for the remote to turn the volume down. No matter what angle you point the remote at it, the TV refuses to recognize your button pushing. You get up and simply turn off the TV manually. This gives your virtual assistant device space to chime in with a separate ad.

    “Tired of the long commute to your workplace? Find more free time while moving into one of the fastest growing neighbourhoods that’s perfect for you.” The voice emanating from your speakers describes listings in a building that you recognize is half a block away from your office. You run to unplug the device.

    One by one more “smart” appliances in your home, devices that you now question their need for internet connectivity, begin to play or display ads that were made to appeal to you exactly.

    “Our energy efficient windows fit your green lifestyle!” your thermostat boasts, citing a climate change article you just read.

    “Let us deliver the groceries you need for the recipes you love!” your fridge demands, listing off your actual favourite recipes.

    “Bzzt!” vibrates your electric toothbrush, calling you to look at its charger’s digital screen and see an ad for a dental clinic, featuring a close up of a mouth you’re weirdly certain is actually yours.

    As your apartment comes alive with the sounds of aggressive advertising, you’re terrified. You step out onto the balcony. You think to yourself, and only to yourself, that you need to get away.

    A delivery drone floats up from under your balcony and stops right at your eye level. It’s been outfitted with a display monitor. It plays a video.

    “Looking for a vacation?” it asks. “Why not fly out to Pasadena, California? You can visit the Cactus & Succulent Society of America’s annual show and sale!”

[mrswhozeewhatsis]

To stop the accusation that I’m dragging this out to please the drama llamas, I’ve studied everything I got (and spent a fair amount of time searching for things on blogs), and managed to whittle things down to their bare essentials. I’ve also tried to talk to everyone about everything, which took time. I won’t address everything that everyone has said on both sides, just a few points that are either concrete, or I can’t address them privately for whatever reason.

The timeline as I’ve been able to piece it together is like this:

Vanessa made a post about more popular writers complaining about lack of feedback. 

Beka messaged Vanessa wanting to know why Vanessa had a problem with her.

Vanessa responded in a way that upset Beka.

Beka blocked Vanessa.

Vanessa got around the block and sent anonymous asks to Beka.

Beka outed Vanessa by responding to the asks publicly.

Vanessa deactivated her blog.

Friends of both proceeded to attack each other.

Claims about Beka (this is not a complete list):

Only supports her friends on her blogs and in Pond Angel Fish Awards

Although it’s been a couple of months since Beka has reblogged fics from other writers at all, by going back through her #read with me tag, I see reblogs of fics from at least a dozen different writers just in May and June. I’ve only been tracking Angel Fish Awards since February, but since then, Beka has nominated 8 stories by 8 different writers.

Ignored asks for Big Fish advice sent to her blog

If there were a way for me to prove this, then I wouldn’t be listing it here. As it is, it’s impossible to prove. As a Pond admin, I’ve experienced the weirdest stuff with asks. I spent one evening chatting with a member while they repeatedly tried to send in asks, and we didn’t get a single one. I do know that asks sent via the app seem to be more likely to be eaten than asks sent via desktop, but asks sent both ways have disappeared. 

There are other claims, this is not a complete list, but I will be addressing them with Beka personally (I have already started doing this, actually). I’m only including these two because they can be proved or disproved with facts. Some of the other claims have been leveled against Big Fish in the Pond other than Beka, as well. The Pond will deal with those privately, but we hope you will see an improvement in these areas when the Pond returns from hiatus.

Claims about Vanessa:

I’ve talked to Vanessa about these, without anything constructive coming from it. I tried. I tried to explain to her that she could have gotten further by using less provocative language and offering constructive suggestions. We ended up having the same old arguments about unrelated issues and going around in circles. The only thing Vanessa ceded was that she should not have continued to reach out to Beka after Beka blocked her. She has apologized for this. I don’t need to list the rest here, just know the conversation happened and nothing came of it.

Claims about Beka’s opposition:

Made unsubstantiated claims about Beka sending herself anon hate

I’ll be the first to tell you that I don’t have a single clue how to figure out who has sent an anonymous ask on Tumblr. However, what I do know is that it requires access to the inbox the ask was sent to. In order for someone who is not Beka to say that Beka sent herself an anonymous ask, they would have had to have hacked into her account, somehow. I don’t know much about this, but it sounds illegal. Since there was proof of this offered, it’s a useless claim.

Picked apart posts on her personal blog and said they were intended for her writing audience when they were not

Beka’s personal blog was, she thought, relatively private. It was not meant for her readers to see. (There is an argument to be made about how it’s still a public blog that the world can see, but the charge is that she intended for her readers to see it and respond, and that is not the case.) Yet, someone took it upon themselves to stalk it, and then match posts between the two blogs, making it look like it all came from one blog. They then took their argument to the absurd and claimed she was using her mental health issues to drum up patrons on her Patreon. If that were the case, then it all would have been on her writing blog. But it wasn’t.

Belittled Beka’s cries for help, and then attacked her further

I don’t care if you didn’t believe her when she said she was on the edge, you just don’t do that, folks. That right there is the point where you either walk away or report her to Tumblr as a threat to herself. The last thing you do is double down on your attacks. Take a break, walk away, find a kinder, gentler way to make your point. I don’t care who they are or what they believe or have done, when someone puts the gun to their head, you do not tell them they are an awful human being.

Dissected every post, word by word, including auto tags, using intentionally provocative language

Not every post made was like this, but a lot were. This is high school stuff, guys. To rip apart words used by someone obviously in pain instead of reaching through and looking for the meaning behind it is petty and cruel. Not to mention it takes so much more energy to dig into things like that than to just respond to the meat of things. To take someone’s blog name and twist it into a degrading moniker is sickening. To attack words used in an effort to distract from the topic at hand, or to just add on to the already heaping pile of anger you’re throwing around is unconscionable and pointless. This is not what people who are coming from a place of love or kindness do. This is what you do when you hate someone, and that’s just not cool, guys.

Brought up old issues thought to have been settled a long time ago

My husband calls this “stamp collecting.” There’s a statute of limitations on things, and it depends on the thing, but my personal limit on Tumblr is about two weeks. If nothing has been said about something for two weeks, I assume it’s in the past and I try to move on. I say this because, if it weren’t settled, then we’d all still be working on it, right? If something is bothering me, and I work on it with someone, but I’m not happy, then I’m gonna keep working on it with that person. If they seem to forget (which happens because we’re all human), then I’m gonna send them a quick message. “Hey there! I’m still working on this thing. Can we talk about it again?” I do this with contractors who work on my house. I did this with clients when I worked in an office. To bring up something that happened a long time ago like it’s still an active issue is pointless, and goes against one of the main tenets of effective arguing.

Taking obvious glee in tearing down another person

Do I really have to talk about this? If you had any care for the other person, even enough to just care that they are a person, you would not gloat about how you’re going to tear them apart.

Really, all of this stuff comes down to if you are approaching the world and everything you do from a place of love or from a place of anger and pain. Even if you are angry and in pain, treat other people like you love and respect them, and you will find that everything is just better. 

If you feel like I’m coming down on one side or the other of this situation, just know that I’m not. Pretty much, I don’t like things that were done by both sides. These are just the things I feel more comfortable talking about in a public post like this.

Other stuff that’s come up in the course of all of this:

Complaining about notes/followers

So many writers, lately, are frustrated. Tumblr sucks balls on a good day when it comes to notifications and the whole algorithm mess, and that’s still being generous. In an effort to keep the porn blogs at bay, they’ve stifled all creators. Add to that how tags seem to never work when you’re searching for something, and disseminating your work is nearly impossible.

I could tell you all the different ways you can change your focus on the readers you do have, give you lists of things you can do to expand your audience, and offer advice about not comparing yourself to other writers. But you’ve already heard all of that. So, I’m just gonna say it.

If you complain publicly about a lack of notes or followers, you’re gonna look like a dick.

That doesn’t mean you are a dick. You’re just gonna look like one. You’re going to look like you’re ungrateful for the readers that you do have, which is going to turn off those readers, and you’ll end up with even fewer notes and followers. If you manage to disparage other writers while you’re complaining, you’re gonna look like an even bigger dick. So, just don’t do it, unless you don’t mind looking like a dick. 

Need to vent about it? Find a close friend and send it to them in a private message. Have a funny thought about it that you want to share? This is exactly what private messages are for. Create a group DM in discord. Heck, I think even Tumblr has a group chat option, now. Just, don’t put it on your blog, unless you want to lose followers. 

The number of admins at the Pond

Some folks seem to think that the Pond needs to add more admins in order to react more quickly when something goes down. Honestly, I have talked to Mana and Kale about stepping down as admin because I believe the opposite is true. We have a policy that we all must agree on the big things. However, we are separated by 8 time zones. There is a rare hour every few days (sometimes it’s weeks) when all three of us are awake and not occupied with caring for family members. We have a private group chat thing where we each toss ideas and questions and such into the pot when we’re doing things. When the others get to it, they add their two cents. Usually, there are two of us active at a time, and then we wait for the third to stop by for approval. Often, the third has a question or argument that then needs to be addressed, but the first or second one isn’t available. More admins would only be a good thing if we were all in the same time zone. But we’re not. We are an international group, which I believe is a good thing, but the downside is that it slows us down. Sometimes, being slow is a good thing, too. Generally, at least one of is calm and level-headed at any given time. It shifts on who that one is, but they keep us from doing anything rash.

The whole problem is that no one feels like they can tell you when there’s a problem

I’ve heard this so many times, now, but I haven’t responded to it publicly, so here goes. 

Most of you don’t know what I’m like in person, but I’m built like a linebacker. I’m tall, I’m heavy, and I have wide shoulders. I have literally scared small children. Take Jared Padalecki, add another Jared Padalecki on the side, and then take away all the pretty, and you come close to what I’m like when you see me walking down the street. 

I don’t want to be a scary person that anyone is afraid to approach. My goal in life is to be kind and fair. I will give you second and third chances, because I know how awful it feels to be written off. 

My ask box is always open. My chat windows are always open. My email address is mrswhozeewhatsis@gmail.com. I’m the same on discord and skype. I don’t care if you think your thing is stupid, if it’s something that’s bothering you, and I can help, then I want to help. I can’t always help, but I always want the opportunity to try.

If I have ever done anything that made you feel like I didn’t care, then I give you permission to tell me. I’ll hate hearing it, but I need to hear it. 

If I have forgotten to follow up on something for you, PLEASE REMIND ME. Holy, cow, I have a TERRIBLE memory. It’s really bad. I have tricks and stuff that I do to try to make sure I don’t lose track of things, but it still happens. Please, come back to me and remind me that I promised you something. I guarantee that I will not be mad or upset. I will be glad, because you’re helping me to be the person I want to be.

I think that’s about it. The Pond is still on hiatus, indefinitely. We have a lot of things we’re talking about for if/when we come back, and some of them are really exciting to me. I hope we come back. I hope we can make the Pond what we always meant it to be. We’ll need help, and constant feedback from our fishy family, but I still have hope.

[awais123posts]

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Product Warranty: For warranty information about this product, please click here

Question:

To clone the existing HDD, I connected as an external drive w/ USB cable. win10 Toshiba recognizes as 'as2105 USB mass storage device'. how to clone?

Answer: I used the “Apricorn Notebook Drive, Upgrade Kit”. It is available on Amazon under: “Apricorn SATA Wire Notebook Hard Drive Upgrade Kit with USB 3.0 Connection ASW-USB3-25 (Grey)”. Even though it says a notebook upgrade kit, it works for a PC as well. I used it to upgrade my laptop and my desktop. I like it because it is c… see more

By T. V. Meyer on August 6, 2018

I recently purchased this drive for my Asus laptop. This laptop uses Win 10 and had a 650GB drive

However, only 97GB was being used so I knew it would fit on the 250 GB of the Samsung SSD.

I downloaded Samsung Data Migration, installed it on my laptop (current hard drive). Connected the Samsung 860 to the laptop using… see more

By John F on June 5, 2019

"as2105' is the model # of your USB cable/adapter, and that is 100% correct. Once you download and install the Samsung "Data Migration" software from Samsung's web site (do a Google search), it will recognize the Samsung SSD connected to your as2015 adapter. Then just click the "clone" button and wait for 2 or 3 hours,… see more

By vacuumtubejazzpro on October 19, 2018Question: To clone existing HDD, I connected as external drive w/ USB cable. win10 Toshiba recognizes as 'as2105 USB mass storage device'. how to clone?

Answer: I used the “Apricorn Notebook Drive, Upgrade Kit”. It is available on Amazon under: “Apricorn SATA Wire Notebook Hard Drive Upgrade Kit with USB 3.0 Connection ASW-USB3-25 (Grey)”. Even though it says a notebook upgrade kit, it works for a PC as well. I used it to upgrade my laptop and my desktop. I like it because it is c… see more

By T. V. Meyer on August 6, 2018

I recently purchased this drive for my Asus laptop. This laptop uses Win 10 and had a 650GB drive

However, only 97GB was being used so I knew it would fit on the 250 GB of the Samsung SSD.

I downloaded Samsung Data Migration, installed it on my laptop (current hard drive). Connected the Samsung 860 to the laptop uses… see more

By John F on June 5, 2019

"as2105' is the model # of your USB cable/adapter, and that is 100% correct. Once you download and install the Samsung "Data Migration" software from Samsung's web site (do a Google search), it will recognize the Samsung SSD connected to your as2015 adapter. Then just click the "clone" button and wait for 2 or 3 hours,… see more

By vacuumtubejazzpro on October 19, 2018

Read reviews that mention:

Ken:

5.0 out of 5 stars Think you need a new computer because yours is slow?

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2018

Capacity: 250 GBStyle: SSDVerified Purchase

It used to be that adding RAM was the easiest and cheapest way to speed up a slow computer. That never addressed the real bottleneck of a computer, which is the hard drive. I had a customer complaining that they probably needed a new computer even though theirs was only a little over a year old. Knowing that they had a standard platter-style hard drive, I suggested this. The boy is glad that I did! Saved her hundreds of dollars on a new computer and likely thousands on lost time waiting for her computer to 'compute' as her entire business relies on her computer to make her money.

Gary Goodnow:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick and hassle-free migration from HDD to Samsung EVO 860 SSD on aging desktop

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2018

Capacity: 500GBStyle: SSDVerified Purchase

I have a nearly 9-year-old CyberPower desktop with an Asus P6T Motherboard and wanted to eliminate a potential point of failure to eke out a little more longevity. And if I got some enhanced performance, all the better. Turns out it was a very good move.

Of course, the order came within the two day Prime window which one expects from Amazon. I also got the Corsair Dual SSD Mounting Bracket

that was an order option for another 6 bucks. I reviewed it separately but it's a must-have if you are installing into a 5 1/2 inch bay like I was. The SSD comes with an Installation Guide, which I didn't need other than to follow a web site link provided in order to install the Samsung Data Migration Software and Samsung Magician Software. Since I was installing the SSD to replace my C System drive, I needed to clone that drive onto the SSD. And the Data Migrations software works perfectly. After formatting the SSD (NTSF), I cloned 232GB to the SSD in just 31 min with a SATA 3.0 to SATA 3.0 connection. It would have been much faster has my PC supported SATA 6.0. Then removed the HDD and installed the SSD into the mounting bracket, connected the SSD to the SATA data cable and power cable (I used the same port as the C drive HDD was connected to), powered the PC up and it booted hassle-free, with no issues. It was indeed a perfect clone of the previous drive. There were no issues that required going into the BIOS screen. This will only be an issue if you do not use the same exact SATA data connection that was attached to your former C system drive.

I'm amazed how much faster the drive is. The Magician software not only carves out a bit of the drive for overhead, but it also has a cool performance test you can run on all installed drives. So I ran it on the SSD and a 6 TB WD HDD dedicated to pictures and the Random IOPS results were: for the SSD 8,789 read and 19,775 write vs for the HDD 178 read and 244 write. While that may sound unbelievable, it isn't. You actually experience this speed differential while working on the PC.

This was definitely $150 well spent!

Nestor Balleza G.

5.0 out of 5 stars Cumple lo que promete.

Reviewed in Mexico on February 13, 2018

Capacity: 500GBStyle: SSDVerified Purchase

Tenía instalado en mi PC un ssd Kingston V300 de 240GB. Todo iba bien pero sentía que podía ir mejor, utilicé una aplicación para medir las velocidades de lectura y escritura y me encontré con velocidades de lectura de 480 y escritura de apenas 120. Pensé que quizás algo andaba mal con la configuración pero después de revisarlo, todo estaba bien.

Investigando me di cuenta que ese modelo de Kingston es bastante lento, busqué en amazon y me encontré con el ssd que muchos especialistas lo consideran el mejor para usuarios en general, el nuevo samsung 860 evo de 500GB y al mismo o menor precio que otros de la misma capacidad. Lo compré, llegó en la mitad del tiempo prometido, lo instalé con la aplicación para clonar de samsung mucho mas amigable que otras y el resultado es extraordinario. Tasas de lectura y escritura de 550 y 520 respectivamente y más espacio para nuevos programas.

Muy recomendable samsung y más comprándo a través de amazon.

Nestor Balleza G:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cumple lo que promete.

Reviewed in Mexico on February 13, 2018

Capacity: 500GBStyle: SSDVerified Purchase

Tenía instalado en mi PC un ssd Kingston V300 de 240GB. Todo iba bien pero sentía que podía ir mejor, utilicé una aplicación para medir las velocidades de lectura y escritura y me encontré con velocidades de lectura de 480 y escritura de apenas 120. Pensé que quizás algo andaba mal con la configuración pero después de revisarlo, todo estaba bien.

Investigando me di cuenta que ese modelo de Kingston es bastante lento, busqué en amazon y me encontré con el ssd que muchos especialistas lo consideran el mejor para usuarios en general, el nuevo samsung 860 evo de 500GB y al mismo o menor precio que otros de la misma capacidad. Lo compré, llegó en la mitad del tiempo prometido, lo instalé con la aplicación para clonar de samsung mucho mas amigable que otras y el resultado es extraordinario. Tasas de lectura y escritura de 550 y 520 respectivamente y más espacio para nuevos programas.

Muy recomendable samsung y más comprándo a través de amazon.

45 people found this helpful

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[bensolotags]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, BEST PRACTICES, AND TIPS FOR TWEETS

From @BenSoloTags

(Scroll down to see Best Practices and Tips)

Frequently Asked Questions

* How can I participate in a BenSoloTags campaign?

To participate in our hashtag campaigns, first, follow @BenSoloTags, our official twitter account to find out when they are planned. We suggest you turn on notifications for our account, so you can get notified whenever we tweet something official. You can do that by clicking the button with the alarm icon on it on our profile. We send out the official campaign notices from that account, including themes, time zones, best practices, and updates.

* Where can I suggest a hashtag idea for a future campaign?

Please send a tweet to @BenSoloTags if you have a campaign idea!

*How often do you do campaigns?

We try to do campaigns about once a month. 

* Why don’t we do more campaigns?

Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) see a LOT of tags, 24/7/365. We’re working to present unique monthly tags that are fun, positive, and creative. Disney and LFL will certainly notice when we trend a hashtag, even if it’s once a month. 

* Are you the only people doing campaigns?

No. There are other groups out there working to bring Ben Solo back to Star Wars. We’ll try to share information about specific campaigns and the accounts/groups promoting them, along with our own monthly hashtag campaigns.

Twitter contacts for some of the other groups include: 

@kiara_solo

@KarolV14070769

@solosaberx

* Why do you list different time zones on your campaign schedule?

The way to get attention for our cause is to “trend” on Twitter. The easiest and best way to trend is to have the most people possible tweet the same hashtag at once. Fans all over the world want to take part in the campaigns, so we try to accommodate as many of them as possible. So, for example, people in Los Angeles are tweeting at noon local time, which is 3:00 pm in New York, 8:00 pm in London, 11:00 pm in Germany, etc. 

* How do you decide which tag to use?

We have spoken with some social media experts who have experience with how corporations read social media. According to our sources, corporations like positive hashtags and public engagement. Companies tend to “tune out” what they consider “negative” hashtags, or even categorize them as spam so they remain unseen.

Therefore, using hashtags like #YouKilledMyFavoriteCharacter would not bring us closer to our goal of bringing Ben Solo back alive to the Star Wars universe. 

Longer hashtags mean fewer characters to tweet with, so those would be limiting. 

We try to make it fun as well as send a message to Disney/LFL. We had so much fun before TROS came out, and we’ve been so bummed since, that we want to promote enjoying each other’s content.

* Is every tag featured on the Ben Solo Tags twitter account sponsored by BST?

No. We try to let people know about campaigns hosted by other accounts, as well as the monthly BST tag. Anything that isn’t our campaign will have “FYI” at the beginning and links to find more information (where possible).

* Why don’t you use the same hashtag every time? One that everyone can remember?

According to “15 Shortcuts to Get Your Hashtag Trending on Twitter:” 

“...if a trend goes on too long, it ceases to be a trend. Twitter prefers trends to last for a day or two at a maximum, and trends that go on for too long are no longer spikes in traffic; they’re a new baseline. There are hashtags with 5,000 tweets in a day, while other tags are getting 50,000.

“If your tag hasn’t trended within the first day of using it, it’s probably not going to reach that spike without some exceptional circumstances. It’s better to abandon it and try to get something else trending than it is to try to get an old tag to trend again later.”

Source: https://follows.com/blog/2017/04/shortcuts-hashtag-trending-twitter

* Why don’t you campaign for other characters besides Ben? Rey (Rose, etc.) deserves some love too! 

As much as we feel all the sequel trilogy characters were given a hard shake by TRoS, Ben is the only major sequel trilogy character that died. So even if Rey and other characters suffered, they still have a (hopefully better-written) future. However, unless we can garner support to bring Ben back to life, his story ends where TRoS ends.

In light of this, our campaigns focus exclusively on Ben, or Ben as a part of Reylo, but we would love to support and help spread information about campaigns to celebrate other characters. Just let us know how we can help at @BenSoloTags.

* Why aren’t we allowed to use any art we find? If it’s on Pinterest, it’s fair game, right?

Well, no. Most artists don’t appreciate your re-posting their work without permission. The best way to share an artist’s images in a way that acknowledges their work is to retweet the artist’s original tweet from their account whenever possible. A direct tweet is better than a quote tweet. If you can’t find the original tweet, you can try asking the artist to repost their work so you can share it, or ask them to grant you the permission to repost it.

* Where are you on social media?

Twitter @BenSoloTags

Facebook Ben Solo Tags

Instagram BenSoloTags

Best Practices

Feel free to amplify the signal and RT the BenSoloTags tweet about the campaign with your own followers.

If possible, use ONE hashtag per tweet (two maximum), so the Twitter algorithm won’t filter out your tweet as “spam.”

Try to tweet during the time zone recommended for your country, but if that doesn’t work for you, participate when you can the day of the campaign. Do not use third-party services or bots to tweet for you. 

Retweeting other hashtag tweets helps the tag trend, but don’t go crazy. If you retweet too fast, you will get put in Twitter retweet “jail” for up to 72 hours for “suspicious activity.”

Never tweet the hashtag alone. Made sure to add some text or a picture to your tweet. Otherwise, it will be filtered out as “spam.”

Tweets with a visual component work especially well and get retweeted more often. You can include your own artwork or semi-official/official photos from the movies or of the actors. 

Only share fan art from the artist’s original post or with their permission. 

Tips for Tweeting with the Current Hashtag

Here are just a few ideas for creative, fun campaign hashtag posts:

Post photos of yourself with friends and family. 

Fanfic writers - share a sample of your work or a URL of one of your stories.

Create memes and/or photo manipulations.  

Create and share photos with appropriate quotes and/or poetry (your own or your favorite poet’s). 

Share pictures of your own Ben Solo/Star Wars cosplay.

Express what you love about Ben Solo or how you feel about him. 

If you’ve written a letter to an actor or one of the filmmakers, you could share it or a sample of it. 

Edit your favorite Ben Solo film scene, or create a Ben Solo-themed music video; post it or a link to it. 

Take a photo of yourself or a friend with a Rey-inspired hairstyle or a Kylo inspired pose...or vice-versa!

Please Do NOT tag official Disney or Lucas Film accounts or those of their employees.

PLEASE - DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS! Do not engage with them. Your replies count as negative discourse and may be used to invalidate the tag by the algorithms. 

Please be respectful of others.

And most importantly, have fun sharing your love and enthusiasm for Ben Solo.  

Never tweet the hashtag alone. Made sure to add some text or a picture to your tweet. Otherwise, it will be filtered out as “spam.”

Tweets with a visual component work especially well and get retweeted more often. You can include your own artwork or semi-official/official photos from the movies or of the actors. 

Only share fan art from the artist’s original post or with their permission.

Please Do NOT tag official Disney or Lucas Film accounts or those of their employees.

PLEASE - DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS! Do not engage with them. Your replies count as negative discourse and may be used to invalidate the tag by the algorithms. 

Please be respectful of others.

And most importantly, have fun sharing your love and enthusiasm for Ben Solo.

[notimetoblog]

Not Happening (Pt. 2)

Summary: An online dating site clearly makes a mistake when it matches you with the one person you cannot stand. 

A/N:  Thank you so much for all the love on the first part!! I’m having so much fun writing this story! I hope you guys enjoy it! I promise more Bucky next time.. i just felt this was a more natural series of events. This part has a few moments from the actual Parks and Rec episode I was inspired by. The story wont follow it exactly, though.  Have great week and as always, thank you so very much for reading :)

PART 1 / MY STORIES

This could not be happening. Who in their right mind would think you and Bucky, of all 7 billion people on this planet, would be a good match? And not just any match, SOULMATE FUCKING LEVEL MATCH!!!!

  You turned to see your friends still doubled over in laughter. Your mind raced, reaching what you thought could be the only plausible cause for this.

  It was a prank.

Your friends knew your tense situation with Bucky. These jerks probably thought it would be funny to set all this up to see how you would react. Their plan getting even better as he suddenly had decided to barge in your conversation. Well, you hoped they had prepared for the show you were about to give them. So much for being the most level-headed one.

  “You two,” you glared at them as they continued laughing. Wanda even reaching a hand up to her eyes to wipe away her tears. “You think this is funny?”

  “No,” Nat said, her voice breathless from not being able to catch her breath before speaking. “This is hilarious!”

  “You set this up, didn’t you? You guys know how much I can’t stand that cocky, arrogant, son of a –”

  “Hey!” Wanda interrupted before you got the satisfaction of speaking your mind. “We didn’t, I swear. How would we be able to get the system to do that?”

  “Yeah,” Nat spoke up, finally getting her laughter under control. “Your love connection to Barnes is just too strong we couldn’t fake it even if we tried.”

  “Oh quiet! You mean this stupid site actually thinks we’re a good match?” you slumped back into your chair.

  “Wrong again, my dear,” Nat said, a smirk appearing on her lips and if you had felt the need to punch a similar smirk off Bucky’s face you were feeling it again, maybe even stronger this time around. “A perfect match.”

  “That’s it!” You said pulling the laptop closer, quickly scrolling down before you got a second look at Bucky’s irrationally irritating picture. You moved over the cursor to the link you were suddenly desperately needing to open. “Here it is,” you whispered to yourself as you found their Customer Service number.

  “What are you doing?” Nat said as you pulled out your phone from your purse and dialed the number. You held up a finger, letting her know now was not exactly the best moment to ask questions.

  “This is Craig at whosyourmate.com. How can I help you?” came a male’s voice through the phone. His tone was friendly, but in your state of mind everything and everyone seemed annoying.

  “Craig,” your voice perfectly matched the level of annoyance you were currently feeling. Nat and Wanda looked on in confusion as your conversation with Craig went on. “Your service is crap.”

  “Can you be more specific?” Craig replied, a phrase he had most likely been trained to say when he dealt with crazy customers. It was neutral, maybe even thought to be calming. Yeah, you were aware you were being crazy, but Craig and his services had matched you with Bucky. The one person on this planet you could not stand. So, being crazy, ironically, seemed to be the most logical response.

  “Yes,” you continued, “your soul-mate match was totally wrong for me.”

  From the corner of your eye you saw Nat rolling her eyes as Wanda mouthed Oh my god, their second-hand embarrassment clearly visible as they let their eyes wander around the room, taking note of whoever was also witnessing your outburst.

  “I mean, I don’t even like him as a friend,” you went on, ignoring your friends’ reactions. “He’s like an annoying neighbor you can’t move away from, who purposely leaves dog shit on your front door just to ruin your day.”

  “We have a very sophisticated algorithm that’s paired a thousand of couples,” said Craig, you could practically hear his eyes rolling, however impossible that was. “I actually met my wife on the site.”

  You felt your temper rising. How could Craig think you and Bucky could be compared to him and his wife! That wouldn’t only imply an actual romantic connection with the only man in the world who took more time on his hair than a pageant queen, but also a possible marriage! You couldn’t even talk to the Bucky without wanting to punch him in the face. There was no way you could ever even begin to think about Bucky in a romantic way.

  “Really? You met your wife on this site?” you said unable to control the words that came out of your mouth. “Well, that’s not gonna last.”

  “Ok,” Nat said grabbing the phone from your hand. “Sorry Craig,” she said into the phone. “My friend here is not being the most rational. I’m sure she doesn’t mean what she just said. I’ll be sure to let her know what she did was wrong.”

  “Your marriage is a sham, Craig!” you tried to say into the phone, but Nat quickly hung up the call after another quick apology to Craig.

  “Jesus,” Nat began. “All this because a silly site matched you with Bucky?”

  You groaned, knowing you were overreacting.  

  “How many people are on that site and their highly sophisticated algorithm,” you said in a mock tone, “Just happened to match me and that idiot?”

  “Well maybe their algorithm can see past what you can,” Wanda said with a smile as she quirked her eyebrow, knowing very well her statement would get a reaction out of you.

  “Please!” you said not knowing what to do with your hands as you became increasingly uncomfortable with the picture Craig and his sham marriage had planted in your head. “As if a series of ones and zeros can know more about the complete ass Bucky is than me, someone who has had the misfortune of actually spending time with him.”

  “Then don’t make such a big deal if its just a silly series of ones and zeros. I mean, Y/N, you questioned the integrity of a marriage! What if Craig goes home and breaks the heart of who is probably a lovely woman because of the doubts he now has thanks to your call,” Wanda continued, causing Nat to chuckle.

  You hid behind your hands knowing Wanda was exaggerating but still feeling guilty at your comments to Craig. Poor guy probably had to deal with dozens of people like you. And his wife WAS probably lovely.

  Suddenly a thought crossed your mind that had your palms turning cold.

  “Shit,” you said still from behind your hands. “Shit, shit, shit!!!”

  “What now?” Nat groaned. “Want to call another customer service line and make them question their life choices?”

  “No!” you said as you put your hands down, dramatically hitting the table as the thought you had sent chills up your spine. “Oh my god! Do you think Bucky will also get alerted that we somehow, reasons still unknown, got matched on this stupid site?!”

  Wanda’s jaw dropped as she heard what you said. Nat, simply began to laugh once again, seemingly happy at being able to mock your misery a second time.  

  “Wanda! Tell me he will never find out about this!! PLEASE!!”

  “I don’t know!” she replied. Her voice laced with more worry now that she seemed to be understanding just how humiliating Bucky knowing would be.

  “Wanda, this was your idea!! You have to know!!”

  “Well I don’t!” she said grabbing her laptop and looking through the site for possible answers. “I mean they had a FAQ page but I can’t find anything about how their notifications work.

  “Call Craig again,” Nat suggested. “And while you’re at it, ask if he and his wife plan on having children, maybe Y/N can talk him out of that too if they are.”

  “Natasha, shut up,” you snapped back, pulling out your phone again.

  Your call never went through, maybe Craig had been offended to the point of having the customer service line block your number or maybe the universe was simply plotting against you maintaining your sanity. After a few failed attempts from Wanda and Nat’s phone, you gave up.

  “You know,” came Nat’s voice, who at this point you were frankly over hanging out with. “You could just ask him tonight at the photo gallery thing he invited us.”

  “You’re not serious,” you said, glancing her way with clear disgust across your face.

  What did she expect you to say to Bucky?

  Hey, I know we’ve always hated each other but did you happen to see the soulmate level match we got on whosyourmate.com? or maybe Nice gallery, anyway we might be soulmates, have you heard anything about that?

  He would surely laugh at your face and never let you forget how much an idiot this site had made of you. 

  “You are going to have to face him eventually. I mean, unless you’re ok with not seeing Steve either. Those two are practically attached at the hip. Also start saying goodbye to Sam,” Nat retorted.

  “Yeah, ok, I get it,” you responded, running your hands across your face in frustration. If only you had stuck with your gut and never made that profile. Then you wouldn’t have to even consider cutting Steve out of your life. You knew that was out of the question. Steve was a great friend and losing him seemed like way too much of a sacrifice to make simply because Bucky had been matched with you.  “Fine!” you concluded, needing to stop overthinking things, “I’ll go to that gallery thing and if I have to punch him I will.”

  “Amazing,” Nat said with a mocking chuckle.

  “You know, you’re supposed to be on my side,” you said to her.

  “Oh, I am,” she replied. “You might just land yourself a Mr. Y/L/N who knows just how to get under your skin. They do say there is only one step between love and hate. Just imagine all the passionate love making you’ll be having.”

  You dry heaved, unable to control your natural reaction to even thinking about that.

  “That’s disgusting and will never happen. I will first marry Craig and then consider anything with Bucky.”

  “Craig is happily married,” Wanda said, clicking her tongue.

  “Not after my call, remember? You vividly pictured the breaking up of his marriage.”

--

  Hours later you found yourself in front of the mirror once again. This time liking what you were wearing a lot more than the outfit you had haphazardly thrown on in the morning. The outfit Bucky had happily pointed out as he made sure to ruin the great morning you were having with your friends.

  A groan escaped from your mouth at the thought of the night that awaited you. Bucky could either already be aware of the site’s clearly mistaken match it had made for the two of you. If this scenario played out, you would have to defend yourself from his guaranteed teasing. You knew he would be aware of how much the match had bothered you and he would do anything to use that against you. Or, he could not know of the match and you could just try to enjoy the photo gallery while still having to deal with Bucky’s overwhelmingly annoying presence. Maybe even try to figure out why the website had ever thought of pairing you two together.

  With a sigh, silently sending out a supplication of mercy to the universe, you smoothed out your outfit, as ready as you could ever be to face the mess your online profile had created in its short life.

PART 3

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