#Create Strong Password

[shbub]

[sahiinfo]

#Free Password Generator

Keeping your online accounts secure is more critical than ever, and one of the simplest ways to do that is by using strong, unique passwords for each of your accounts. If you're looking for a quick and easy way to generate secure passwords, check out our #Free Password Generator.

[cantsayidont]

I hate Windows so much, and the only mitigating factor is that I hate OSX and Linux even more.

[themonsterunderthebed]

one thing i've been confused by immediately after moving from germany to the usa: i have to make an account on a bazillion websites to access my health insurance and information? like okay, germany is notoriously behind when it comes to digitalization and i'm a self-professed luddite, but honestly. i need one login for my insurance (perfectly fine, same in germany), another one for my pharmacy insurance? which is apparently separate? but to get the pharmacy insurance login i first have to register myself for a DIFFERENT kind of login which i still don't really understand what it's for? some kind of pharmacy-insurance-uniting login?

and today i went to a walk-in clinic and they just sent me an email saying i could download a summary of my visit today which - great! that's so convenient! so i click on the link and it takes me to the clinic's website, which offers me the possibility to login with yet ANOTHER third-party health login. like what is happening. how do people keep track of all these logins. personally i'm not a huge fan of trusting a password manager with access to my intimate health details. sure maybe my german doctors communicated almost exclusively by phone which was/is hell for people with phone anxiety but there's just something very weird to me about the concept of instant messaging my doctor

[amnowtech]

Don't Get Hacked: Create a Password in Windows for Maximum Security

[dungeonzine]

Need help prepping your zine portfolio or could use some pointers? Here’s a brief guide for choosing and organizing your works to make a successful portfolio!

Let’s start with artists.

What format should you use? Simple is usually best! Google Drive folders are often preferred because they easily display your work with no extra steps. Carrds, websites, or curated social media work too, so long as there is not extra material or posts hiding your work. Try to have as few clicks before seeing your work as possible, so no need to separate work into folders and certainly don’t require a mod to search your entire page for it—they may not have the time.

Make sure that your work is publicly viewable! Double and triple check that your Drive folder is shared publicly or your websites are not behind a password.

When choosing which pieces to include, always choose your best and most polished work. All works should be complete, in full color, and be fully shaded or rendered. Try to have at least some of your works be approximately something that would be found in a zine, which usually means about A5 sizing. Backgrounds are an essential skill for zines; make sure you show you can draw them well. Of course, sometimes some of these elements are excluded in a piece as a stylistic choice, but all are important skills to show you have.

If possible, try to include the topic of the zine in your portfolio. It does not need to be every single piece. If you only have WIPs or messy work of the topic, then it may not be worth it to include it and that’s alright (though make sure the zine does not require art of the subject when making that decision. Ours does not).

Most zines ask for featured works separate from the portfolio. These are the first things mods look at when evaluating your application. Choose your strongest three (or however many are asked for) pieces as your featured works. Typically, try to include art within the fandom as a featured work if you can. Try to have those vital skills on display in these as well (backgrounds, rendering, etc) so it’s immediately clear you’ve got what it takes.

No need for every piece to hit every point. Try your best for the portfolio together to hit most of them and meanwhile you can work on creating some art specifically to show off anything you’re missing!

There are some things you want to avoid including at risk of weakening your portfolio. A portfolio is only as strong as its weakest piece, so having less pieces is better than having weaker pieces. Only include polished work you’re most proud of. WIPs, sketches, or isolated character work may give the impression that you won’t provide a complete zine piece. Including multiple styles or mediums (especially ones that you wouldn’t be comfortable using for the zine) may confuse a mod as they might not know which you’ll use. If you include multiple styles, make sure that you are skilled and polished enough in all of them to use them for the zine. It’s totally fine to have a smaller portfolio, especially if you’re just starting out—don’t clog it with art that’s not your finest.

Merch portfolios are very similar to page art portfolios, but focus on character-centric work often without backgrounds. Do research on what makes a good merch design, because not all compositions translate well to physical products.

Photographs of merch you’ve made are excellent, but if you don’t have them then you can make mock-ups to help mods understand what you’re envisioning for the final product. Merch portfolios can be a combination of photos, mock-ups, and designs. Print samples may look very similar to a typical page art piece.

If applying as both a page and merch artist, you will likely want to have separate portfolios, as the roles require emphasis on different skills.

Writer portfolios are similar to artist portfolios in that they should contain only your best work. You may also use a Google Drive folder or another hosting website so long as it is highly curated and does not contain many other works to sift through. Typically, zines ask for 3-6 works under 3k words, but double check these numbers with each project you apply to.

If you’re applying to a specific role, such as poetry or article writing, try to have those kinds of samples ready. It may help to make a separate portfolio for those more specific applications.

Here are some other tips! Of course, there’s an infinite amount of ways to make a great portfolio, so if this guide isn’t working for you that’s totally fine. Experiment with different ways if you’d like!

Our applications open soon. Good luck!

Got additional questions? Send an ask here on Tumblr or on our Retrospring! We’re always happy to help or clarify.

Learn more about our Dungeon Meshi zine here!

[lihhelsing]

steddie | 888 words | angst | mature

CW: drug use, implicit violence

Written for @steddieangstyaugust Day 3

Prompt: "The sunset looks lovely, don't you think?"

Part 2 | Part 3

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"The sunset looks lovely, don't you think?"

Eddie looks up from the joint he's rolling to find the only face he never thought he would see out here. 

"King Steve," he says, and maybe it's his imagination but Harrington seems to flinch at his words. "What can I do for you?"

Eddie goes back to rolling his joint. There's a part of him that thinks this could be a trap. Last week the entire swimming team had to do a test to make sure they were all clean and one of the guys didn't pass it. 

He didn't pass it because Eddie had sold him some stuff the week before so maybe now Steve was here to put Eddie in his place. 

Eddie lights up the joint and takes a long drag. If he's going to get a beating, then he might as well do it while high out of his mind. 

"I was hoping you'd sell me something," Steve says. Eddie looks at him with the joint between his lips, trying to assess him. 

"Sorry man, I'm all out," Eddie knows best than to create evidence against himself. 

Steve looks at the open metal lunchbox on the table and raises a brow. "Really?"

"Really," Eddie says. He doesn't bother closing it and he doesn't mind if Steve knows he's lying. 

"Jordan told me all I had to do was say that bullshit thing about the sunset and you'd get me something." 

Eddie turns his face to blow out smoke. Fucking Jordan. He had come up with that password phrase to avoid getting in trouble. If people really wanted to buy something, then they would have to come up to Eddie and say it. 

"He lied," Eddie says and he can see Steve's getting annoyed. 

He gets up and put his joint out, pocketing it for later. 

Eddie could definitely use a few extra bucks this week because their kitchen sink stopped working and Wayne doesn't get paid until the end of the month, but it's not worth the risk of getting in trouble. Eddie knows the money he brings home is what helps keeping them afloat, even if Wayne likes to pretend he doesn't know where Eddie gets it.

He closes his lunchbox and moves to walk past Steve, but feels a hand wrapping around his wrist, stopping him.

It's not a strong hold, he could easily break free and walk away, but Eddie stops. He doesn't think he ever got this up close with Steve, which is both thrilling and terrifying.

"Please, man," Steve says, his voice is really low and he's wearing sunglasses, so Eddie can't see his eyes. "I just need something to get the edge off."

Eddie looks down to where they are touching and feels a fucked up thrill going down his spine. Steve's hand is big enough to circle his wrist without much effort and Eddie wonders how it would feel to have that in a different scenario. 

He wonders how it would feel if Steve were to grab him and throw him down on the table. He could probably hold both his wrists with one hand, and Eddie would be helpless to do anything but take whatever Steve wanted to give him. 

Steve moves and Eddie doesn't even flinch, thinking he might get what he wished for after all, but Steve just takes out his sunglasses and Eddie's breath catches in his throat.

Steve has a big bruise around his left eye. It's ugly and it can't be older than a day. It must hurt like hell and Eddie has to fight the urge to touch it. 

"My head is killing me," Steve offers. He looks defeated and Eddie can't ignore the way his heart twist at the words. 

Eddie should ignore it. He should pull his arm away and walk out, leave him out here alone. But Eddie is not a fucking monster.

He picks up the barely smoked joint and offer it to Steve, who lets go of Eddie's arm and takes it immediately. 

Eddie decides not to think about the absence of his touch, and instead watches as Steve puts it between his lips and how that essentially means their lips touched, somehow.

Steve is giving him a hopeful look and Eddie should walk away but instead he picks his lighter and lights him up. 

The first drag floods Steve's expression with relief and he lets out a low moan that makes Eddie's whole body tingle. 

"How much do I owe you?" Steve asks, already moving to get his wallet. His arm brushes Eddie's but he doesn't seem to mind the proximity. 

"Consider it a free sample," Eddie says and Steve eyes him suspiciously. 

"You gotta let me pay you," Steve says and Eddie has to stop himself from saying 'you can pay me with something other than money.'

Even if he doesn't say it, Eddie is under the impression the words float around them like ghosts. Steve raises a brow and Eddie has to laugh it off before he starts taking off his clothes. 

"Don't worry, big boy. Enjoy your free sample."

And with that, Eddie retreats before he does something stupid like kiss King Steve. That would get him a beating for sure and Eddie likes a little pain, but he probably wouldn't like that. 

[superbat-love]

Smallville AU, where Bruce investigates an attack in Gotham by technologically advanced superpowered aliens, tracking them down to Smallville. During his drive into Smallville, he has an accident with Clark and becomes suspicious due to Clark's lack of injuries, suspecting him of being involved.

Bruce, being paranoid, transfers to Clark's high school and quickly becomes Clark’s Enemy No. 1. He intimidates Clark in the hallways, trying to provoke him into revealing his superpowers. Clark also resents that the girls he likes have a crush on Bruce. Tensions escalate when Bruce discovers Clark’s pod on the farm, linking him to the aliens.

Eventually, Bruce realizes things don't add up. There's no way the farm boy, clueless about browser settings and using 'password' for all his accounts, could hack government databases. Clark is just an innocent metahuman with a diary full of complaints about Bruce and pretty privilege, high school crushes, and attempts at short stories (which Bruce has to admit were pretty good).

Bruce switches tactics, seeking Clark’s help to track the supervillains in exchange for information about his origins. Clark, with a strong sense of justice, agrees. Besides, how could he say no to Bruce’s heartfelt apologies, earnest speech about stopping crime and those big blue eyes? (He’s not going to delve too deeply into why he’s been feeling lightheaded around his former high school bully lately.)

They work together to stop the Kryptonian supervillains, and Bruce helps create a training program for Clark to develop his superhuman abilities in a controlled setting.

[twomiddlefingersforthehaters]

We all know what Orochimaru and Kabuto found in 'the Forest of Death':

• Sasuke creating a long password that Naruto cannot remember to lure the enemy out.

• When he was with his other teammate (Sakura) he didn't give up the scroll even though he ran away in fear. But when Naruto shows up he willingly gives up the scroll.

• Sasuke began to fight Orochimaru without fear of death even though he knew he could not defeat him.

• Kabuto found that Sasuke was overusing the Sharingan even to the point of enduring the pain of the cursed seal to protect Naruto.

• They both confirmed Naruto was changing Sasuke's heart

I find it really interesting the way Kabuto talked to Naruto the two times they met in the second part .

“SASUKE-KUN CAME TO US OF HIS OWN FREE WILL. IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU GOT OVER IT. GOING ON LIKE THAT IS HARDLY BEHAVING AS A MAN...”

From the tone of Kabuto's speech I think he is mocking and criticizing Naruto. This phrase often uses to a person who can't get over a breakup lol. 「男のくせに未練たらしいね」 has a nuance that make fun of the man. And this expression also contains the Japanese view of men many years ago that is, "men should always be strong ".

The expression used by Kabuto is 引きずりすぎだ (hikizurisugida). 引きずる (hikizuru) can be interpreted in two ways.

① 引きずる refers to the state of being stuck in sad and painful memories and being unable to escape from the sadness. Those (some kind of) feeling continues for a long time after it has ended.

② 引きずる is the same as ``dragging the hem'' when the hem of a long dress touches the floor and moves, and is also used when things drag on without being resolved. 引きずる - to drag, to pull, to prolong, to extend

e. g: (終わった) 恋を引きずる いつまでも別れた恋人を忘れられない。

(owatta) koi wo hikizuru itsu made mo wakareta koibito wo wasurerarenai.

(It's over) He still can't forget his ex-lover.

The sentence implies that he can't get over it and has a mental illness after breaking up with his ex. He misses his ex a lot.

「〜すぎた」 means ``〜sugi (too much),'' and it depends on the ``heart.'' It means that a certain state is very strong or intense. In other words, the 引きずる state is very strong and intense.

引きずりすぎた -> which means that the unforgettable period was too long. 引きずりすぎだ。is a statement. だ means “It is”. It is another form of です。

So the phrase 「引きずりすぎだ」 kabuto uses means : "you can't get over (a breakup with) someone, you can't forget about that person, or you're still thinking about that person". It's probably because you can't forget about that person even after it ended, in the old way of thinking, such an attitude or behavior was considered 女々しい (Memeshī). The word "unmanly" is a corresponding word in English for 女々しい. It is because of the society's stereotypes that “men should be manly”. It is often said in Japan that men tend to hold on to their pasts more than women.

The term 「女々しい」 is usually used for a man. 女々しい is an independent word, and it can have several meanings depending on the context and situations.

女々しい meanings include:

• mentally too weak

• lacking courage

• 未練がましい (mirengamashī) - someone who cannot give up something and it never leaves their mind. "Too obsessive".

• 未練たらしい (mirentarashī) - bad at taking things too far; bad at giving up; too attached to something in the past and not moving on to the next thing.

• overly sensitive male - (Depending on the context and the speaker's intention)

For example:

1. A person unexpectedly meets his ex-girlfriend on the street. His heart skipped a beat when he made eye contact with the other person. He fantasized about what the other person was thinking, but when he thought about it calmly, he realized that he was an idiot. There's no way the other person is wondering if they can meet again. And he hate himself for remembering the happy times in the past. And he says: “I think that men and women have different views on love, but I guess, the word 女々しい is a word made for men...I feel miserable for being 引きずられる- drag down by past relationships. I can't let go as women do. It's disgusting... I'm sure women would be put off”

-> what he saying is that his ex- girlfriend get over him and he still can't let go of his feelings for her. And he hate that part of himself. This behavior of his will drive other women away from him.

2. 今でも昔の彼女の悪口の言うなん て、おまえは女々しい男だな

ima demo mukashi no kanojo no waruguchi no iu nante , omae wa memeshī otokodana

You are such a pussy to still speak ill of your ex girlfriend.

-> The speaker probably infers that the reason he speaks ill about his ex-girlfriend is because he is still thinking about her. Therefore, the speaker considers his attitude to be 未練がましい (mirengamashī) , and uses the word 「女々しい」 to describe it.

Generally speaking, never heard of the idea that ``women are mirengamashī'' , so it is unclear why the word 「女々しい」 has the meaning of 「未練がましい」. However, maybe this happens from the stereotype that “Men should live with integrity and a positive attitude without worrying about small things” , and that this led to 「男らしくない = otokorashikunai = unmanly」 to 「女々しい」

The example below is another type of stereotype:

👨 : 君は甘いものを食べすぎてい る 。 女みたいだ。 = kun wa amai mono wo tabesugiteiru . onna mitaida = You eat too many sweets. you behave like a woman.

👨: 好きにさせてくれ。 = suki ni sasetekure = Let me do what I want.

This representation reflects gender-based stereotypes. This sentence has the implication that liking sweets is seen as a feminine characteristic, and that men are being criticized for such behavior. This word has the following connotations:

1. The stereotype that liking sweets is a feminine trait. 2. The idea that men should not eat too many sweets. 3. The speaker judges the other person's behavior to be feminine and evaluates it negatively. However, this expression contains gender-based bias and is considered inappropriate in modern society. Food preferences are personal preferences and have nothing to do with gender. Additionally, this expression is sometimes used in conversations between friends or as a joke, but caution should be taken as it may offend the other person.

Let's break it down what Kabuto says:-

Kabuto: サスケ君は望んで我々の元へ来たんだ

Romaji: Sasuke kun wa nozonde wareware no moto e kita n da。

Literal: Sasuke-kun came to us of his own free will.

Raw: 引きずりすぎだよ男のくせ に未練たらしいね｡

Romaji: hikizurisugidayo otoko no kuse ni miren tarashīne

引きずりすぎだよ = hikizurisugidayo = "You are too attached to (your memories with him)." or "You are holding on too much to (him)." Here, 引きずる" (literally, "to drag on") means "not to be able to leave behind those memories or feelings from the past."

男のくせに = otoko no kuseni = even though you are a man; for a man; as a man; despite being a man.

男のくせに is pointing out or criticizing that "it is not manly'' (= `` lacks the qualities that are desirable in a man" or ``That is not the behavior expected of a man''). Furthermore, these points and criticisms are based only on the opinion of Kabuto who said, ``even though you are a man,'' (referred to as his ``view of men'').

e. g:

1. 男のくせに泣くな！

otoko no kuse ni nakuna ！

Don't cry , you're a man!

[I wonder why? Is it because they think it's better not to show their weaknesses? Maybe that's an old-fashioned way of thinking. I remember reading somewhere that up until the Sengoku period, men cried a lot.

In this day and age, where the Heisei era was ended and the Reiwa Era has officially begun, I think this idea that “men shouldn't cry” still exists, but it's become much weaker than it used to be. ]

2. 彼は男のくせに甘いものが好きだ。

Kare wa otoko no kuse ni amaimono ga sukida.

For a man, he likes sweets.

[This sentence implies “Men shouldn’t/don’t eat sweets because sweets are for women.]

3. 「男のくせに」とからかわれたものだ。

“otoko no kuse ni” to karakawareta mono da.

They would make fun of me by saying "Be a man."

4. 他人の悪口をかげで言うのは男らしくない。

tanin no waruguchi wo kage de iu no wa otokorashikunai.

It is not manly to speak ill of others behind their backs.

未練たらしいね = miren tarashīne = "It is unpleasant to see that you can't give him up." Or "It's disgusting that you can't let him go." Here, 「未練」 means "a regret," "lingering affection", "attachment," "persistence," etc., and 「たらしい」 in 「未練 たらしい」 implies that Kabuto finds it displeasing. たらしい (tarashī) is an expression of something that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Overall what Kabuto said have the following connotation:

1. 女々しい (memashī)

2. A man should always be strong.

Men are criticized for such behavior. And Kabuto is judging Naruto's behavior and evaluates it negatively. [And in Japan, there is a tendency to think that it's lame for men to dwell on the past.]

So, Kabuto is criticizing Naruto. And I also think he's mocking him too.

(Kabuto) Raw: フッ 相変わらず サスケ サスケかい...

Romaji: fu, aikawarazu Sasuke Sasukekai...

Literal: Heh, you are still all about Sasuke Sasuke, huh...

相変わらず aikawarazu- means still (not change), It's the same as it's ever been; As always; same as before; have not changed; as ever; as usual. This typically conveys a feeling of sarcasm and criticism. 相変わらず can only be used for comparisons of “past “ and “now” of one thing. フッ is an onomatopoeic expression for sneering.

[shad0wvisi0n]

Chapter 2 Connection

AU Created by @b-r-i-n-g-x and @shygirl4991 All art belongs to the rightful artist do not repost Artist for chapter @b-r-i-n-g-x @merp0515

Shout out to @lizaluvsthis and @theartistisme43 our other assistant

Next Chapter Last Chapter

Liko Studies Page 1 Liko Studies Page 2 Side Story Your guardian (Read after this chapter!)

Tags: Fluff, angst, humor, found family, falling in love, love confessions, slow burn, blood, injury,

SV4 sighs sitting on a chair while Liko starts taking readings, she hums as she gets up taking some of his blood. SV3 looked up from his notebook to peek at what was going on, seeing this SV4 rolled his eyes “She is just seeing our TV world connection, it's nothing too interesting.” SV3 mouths out an oh before going back to doodling. Liko nods looking at the readings, then turns to free’s SV4 who went running to his PSP that was left on the table in the lab. “It seems the moment SV3 was created a new connection was formed, i'm going to call this a network connection given your power source.” 

SV4 scoffs as he turns on his system “Network connection? What do I need a wifi password in order to connect with SV3?” hearing this SV3 giggles  “Could my password be something clever?” Liko sighs, staring at the pair. She gets up smacking her clipboard glaring at them, SV3 frowns looking down “Sorry Miss Liko.” She turns to SV4 waiting for any kind of reaction, the man just keeps playing on his PSP with no care. She sighs looking at the chart, since SV4 was made first he has more power then SV3. Their connection towards each other is just being made, seeing so far how SV4 is acting made the women worry that the pair wont get along. 

SV3 walks up to SV4 and taps on his hat “Come on, I need to talk to Mr. Puzzle and your stream is about to start!” With a sigh he gets up following his partner out of the room, never looking away from his PSP. She looks at the chart nervously “The connection shows a strong attachment from SV3 side…what could this mean when SV4 has nothing.”

SV3 smiles softly at the man next to him “So what's the game on the agenda to stream?” SV4 nods as he finishes a boss fight. They both keep walking until SV4 speaks up “Was thinking Resident Evil four or something, what are you planning on asking Mr. Puzzle?”

SV3 takes out his notebook and hugs it “I want to ask Mr. Puzzle about Wednesdays! You know, I want to make my own videos for the channel!” that got the man to stop walking as he paused the game. He looks at his partner up and down, it's been a couple of days since the arrival of his other half. His fellow guardian showed a huge interest in shrek and seemed to be very feminine, beside those traits he never picked up on what exactly was the man's talent. SV4 gives an awkward smile “Uh you're staring at me...did i say something weird?”

SV4 shakes his head, he looks at the notebook before looking back at his partner's face “What is it you do?”

SV3 face lights up at the question “My pod has shown me all i need to know on latest fashion and make up styles! I want to make Wednesdays fashion days!” he jumps up excitedly. SV4 rolls his eyes as he goes back to playing games “Good luck convincing box head that it will work,” with that he walks into his room slamming the door shut. SV3 smiles at the door before getting serious and walks into Mr. Puzzles office, where the man was mumbling to himself as he edits SV4 latest video. SV3 softly knocks on the door to catch the TV man’s attention, he looks up at SV3,  screen changing to show a bright smile “AH! If it isn't the co-star of the show, how can I help you?” SV3 walks up to his desk slamming his notebook down. The screen flickers to show a quizzical expression, seeing this SV3 smirks “Mr.Puzzles i want to make content for the channel,” he opens the journal showing a design “I think making Shadow Vision 4 a variety channel will bring us more ratings!” 

He looks over the outfit for a moment before his screen changes to a neutral expression, SV3 was getting nervous watching the TV man looking over it. Mr. Puzzle wasn't a fan that he had to agree to create the man in front of him, but now he is aiming to go after the channel. An idea pops into his head, he closes the journal, his screen projecting a friendly expression hands over the journal “I think you might have something here, let's make a deal.” SV3 holds his journal close to his chest, nervously he nods “Alright, what's the deal?” Mr. Puzzle lets out a soft chuckle as he stands up. SV3 looks up as he watches the man walk back and forth “You must make the video not only hit more than five thousand views, which is child's play for SV4. But you must also convince your other half to be the model for that outfit of yours!” SV3’s eyes go wide before letting out a shaky giggle, he takes Mr.Puzzles hand and shakes it, sealing the deal. He walks out of the room and in a daze walks into SV4 room, the man was just finishing up the preparation for his livestream when he heard the door open.

He turns to see SV3 spaced, awkwardly he stands there waiting for the man to speak first. With a sigh SV3 grabs SV4's hand, confused he lets it happen as he watches the man give him a face of determination “I need your body!” SV4 blinks “Huh?” 3 smiles softly, letting him go and showing the notebook “I need a model, and you're the man for the job!” 4 turns and goes back to what he is doing. Seeing this SV3 frowns, he taps on SV4 shoulders and gives him puppy eyes “Please 4, it has to be you. Will you be my hero?” SV4 groans as he walks to the door, seeing this SV3 squeaks in joy and follows. The pair head out to the market place to find materials, as 3 ran around the store grabbing what he needed. SV4 was following behind playing on his gameboy, just because they are on a shopping trip doesn't mean he has to stop gaming. 

3 hums as he purchased everything, he then begins to explain his design as they walk home. Noticing that the man was starting to struggle holding the supplies, 4 scooped them away from him. SV3 looked at 4 surprised as he kept walking while playing his game, slowly the man frowned. The whole trip was him talking away with no reaction from his other half, he was starting to wonder if this connection he felt with the man was all in his head. The moment they arrived at the studio SV4 dropped the bags, then walked straight into his room closing the door. SV3 frowns as he picks up the bags, with a deep breath he walks to his room and begins to work on his design. He knew he couldn't slack on this project, he needed to throw everything he can into this. He looks at his laptop, he lets out a soft smile as he sees the channel page. He needs to remember why he is doing this and use it as motivation, he wants to show the world how amazing fashion can be. With a determined nod he takes out his supplies and gets to work. 

Mr.Puzzle passes by the man's room and peeks in,  he watches for a moment seeing the relaxed face that SV3 had while working.  His screen flickers showing an annoyed expression, with how relaxed and fast the man was putting things together he knew it was only a matter of time. He walks in making sure his screen shows a bright smile “Hello! I see you're hard at work,” SV3 looks up and smiles showing off his small progress “If i keep up the pace i should finish this in no time!” The television man nods looking up and down. His screen changes to show concern “While I see you doing amazing work, i have to say i think you can pull off better.” SV3 frowns looking at his drawing then the fabrics he got, he then shakes his head “It’s at the starting stage, don't worry Mr. Puzzle I won't bring shame to the channel!” He gives a determined face to the man. Causally he nods giving a comforting pat on his back “Well if you ever need a place to think, i like to go to Peach castle. It’s where my first big show happened, gives lots of inspiration looking at the place!” He walks out of the room leaving SV3 to think over what he was told. 

SV4 relaxes as he leans back in his chair finally playing resident evil 4, he was doing a resident evil marathon to bring more attention to the channel. It’s been a success so far, while the channel got more subscriptions, he got more games to play and nothing can beat that. He lets out a sigh as he finishes the current section and starts organizing his inventory,  after the fight with U-3 he was left with little ammo due to reckless mistakes and wasting of ammo. He sighs and takes a sip of water that SV3 brought him, he wasn't sure how long ago the man brought the water but was thankful for it.  As he kept walking and collecting items it started to click to him something wasn't right.

He blinks, staring at Krauser, his reaction time was slow and messy. His face became bright red, the heat from his blush was getting to him. SV4 pauses the game, his mind racing at the sight of the character, he takes a deep breath doing his best not to focus on the man being shirtless. He unpauses the game ignoring the chat asking if he was feeling okay, he attempts the fight only to feel himself go red again at the sight of the man's chest.  “Fuck…” he wasnt sure what was wrong, frustrated he decided to say he was feeling off and ended the stream. He sat there in the dark confused, he battled Krauser fine in the quick time events. He threw himself on the bed thinking it over, at that moment the picture of the shirtless man came up. 

Feeling the heat return to his face he gets up in a panic, he charges out of his room to splash water on his face. SV3 heard the door slam and left his room to investigate, concerned, he slowly walked to the bathroom “Everything okay?” he can hear the water running and annoyed grunts from his partner. After a few moments the door opens “I’m dying because of a shirtless man.” SV3 frowns seeing how miserable SV4 looks, he reaches out to give comfort to his partner. Only to get brushed aside as SV4 leaves the bathroom to go to the living area to retrieve his gameboy on the shelf, SV3 frowns leaning to the wall “SV4, you know you need to stop doing that.” He turns holding his gameboy confused, they stare at each other for a moment before SV4 rolls his eyes “What? Play games all day, are we having that talk again?” 

SV3 sighs looking at the floor “No, pushing me away. It feels like everything I do to get close to you, well you just brush me away. You didn't even thank me when I brought you water! Heck did you even notice?” SV4 rolls his eyes as he turns on his system “Yeah i notice, i spat the water out during that boss fight i was telling you about.” SV3 slowly blinks, staring at him confused “You spat water out for a boss fight? Not the point! Do you hate me?” SV4 starts the game and hums along with the title music for a moment “You haven't done anything for me to hate you, sorry i'm not the touchy guy you expect me to be. What? Do you want me to hug you and twirl you around like they do in movies?” SV3 could feel himself getting more angry at his other half. They couldn't get on the same page, taking a deep breath he walks away from SV4 to get some fresh air. SV4 sighs as he watches the man walk away, at that moment his gameboy shuts off. 

He mumbles getting more annoyed as he turns on the gameboy for it to shut off, with a sigh he goes to his drawer to look for batteries. His eyes go wide noticing he had run out of batteries “ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME I WAS JUST AT THE STORE!” He was so close to finishing the game, he needed to know how the game ended and needed to relax. Getting up he remembers SV3 getting batteries for his project, now on a mission he heads to SV3 room. He walks in the room and looks around, the room smells as if he walked into a flower shop. He had to admit the man had good taste in perfume, he walks in and passed the outfit in the middle of the room to reach the drawers. Opening the drawers he starts to toss items out of the drawer, as he tossed the items he doesn't notice them hitting the outfit in the center of the room. The almost complete outfit gets covered in ink along with rips from the items hitting it. 

SV3 lets out a sigh thinking over the fight, he wonders if he was being too harsh on his partner. The man can come off as cold but SV4 helped him on the shopping trip, he smiles remembering how he took the bags from him. He nods, keeping that moment in his head as he walks back. With a smile he walks towards his room to add the last touches of his outfit, hearing a loud thud, his hand freezes on the door handle. Nervous, he opens the door to gasp, the outfit he worked all night on was stained with ink and torn in several places. SV4 was in the room cheering at finding batteries for his system, SV3 slammed the door shut behind him catching the gamers attention. 

“THE FUCK DID YOU DO!?” 3 glared at the man, the anger in his eyes made SV4 nervous. Not only did his gentle partner just swear, his eyes looked ready to murder the man if he did the wrong move. “Uh i got batteries for my system, i didn't know i ran out.” SV3 lets out a dark chuckle as he points to the outfit “I MEAN MY FUCKING OUTFIT! IT'S DUE TOMORROW I SPENT ALL NIGHT ON IT, YOU RUINED IT!” Slowly SV4 turns and sees the project torn and stained. He lets out a nervous laugh as he looks at SV3 “Well…you're good at fashion I'm sure you can fix it in no time, I mean recording isn't hard!” SV3 clenches his fist holding back tears at hearing his words. He felt like an idiot for believing that his partner cared about anything other than games. He forces out a smile as a tear escapes his eyes “I see, no matter what I do…you just hate me and don't care what happens. Then I will do you a favor and leave!”  SV3 runs out of the room leaving SV4 standing there unsure how to feel about the events, he looks at the outfit again before shrugging. It's not like something bad is going to happen because of this, the man will get air then come back and all will be back to normal again.

SV3 starts crying as he walks into the woods, he wipes his tears as he remembers what mr.puzzle told him. With the location in mind he starts to make his way over, he was angry and hurt.  It didn't surprise him that SV4 didn't even make the effort to go after him, was there even a point to return to the studio. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking, all he knew was he arrived at the location. He sighs staring at the pit, he wasn't sure how this strange thing was going to help him but he stayed. “Oh weird pit, will me and SV4 ever get closer. I just want us to be friends, but whatever I do never works.” as he sighs he hears a strange growl behind him.  His eyes go wide as he slowly turns to see a beast, he gets up and swallows “Uh…hiya..Princess Peach, you're looking very heh beastly?” she lets out a high pitch roar. SV3 runs barely dodging the claw that slams into the ground, he breathes heavily looking around. His mind was racing as he started running to the woods, as he ran he felt pain in his right eye causing him to fall down. 

Mr. Puzzle walks to check on SV3 and notices the guardian missing, noticing the ruined outfit he walks to the TV area. There SV4 was staring at his gameboy, Mr. Puzzle walks up to “Ahem have you seen your co-star?” with a sigh he looks up and notices the time. Awkwardly he looks to the side “Think he said something about getting air,” Mr. Puzzle crosses his arms and frowns at the gamer “Get some air? Then what about the project, it looked like someone had a melt down!” SV4 looks down searching for an excuse, at the moment the screen on his gameboy started to glitch. He blinks looking closer at the screen, the words help appeared on it. His eyes go wide before a loud sigh catches his attention “SV4, weren't you the one that wanted a co-star? Yet you don't know where our fashion forward star is?” 

SV4 gets up and starts to walk away “I ruined the outfit, SV3 left to get air.” he then walks into his room and locks the door. Mr.Puzzles facepalms as he picks up the phone “Come when the sun is down Liko, SV3 seems to be missing.” He hears a thud over the line, after a few moments of silence Liko picks up the phone in a panic “WHAT DO YOU MEAN MISSING?!” SV4 groans hearing the loud conversation on the phone, this whole thing was his fault. He sighs before holding his head, he starts to hear white noise as his eyes lose their color. His eyes become static as the monitors in his room start to glitch out, there an image starts to appear. There he heard a panicked voice “Heh good Princess peach, um i could make you a super nice outfit?” the creature roars before the image disappears, color returning to his eyes. “SV3!” he covers his mouth for a moment, he presses his ear to the door. Slowly he opens the door and looks around, not seeing mr. puzzle around he drops his game boy and runs out the door. As he runs he attempts to connect to his partner, his eyes lose color as the static returns to them. He could feel something close as he turns following the strange pull,  there he finds a TV shop. 

Walking into the shop he gets close to a TV, a shopkeeper smiles and walks up to him “Ah good taste sir, this screen TV is the best one in the store!” as the man kept attempting to sell the television to 4 turns and glares at him. Seeing his static eyes gets the man to awkwardly smile walking away, then with a deep breath SV4 touches the TV. His hand gets sucked into the TV, looking around he nervously steps in. In a flash he was in the woods, rubbing his eyes, to get their color back. “Wow, Liko was not kidding about having guardian magic that was…strange.” SV3 landed on the ground hard dodging another attack, he felt a sharp pain on his ankles “No, oh no don't tell me i had to twist my ankle now!” Princess Peach roars, catching both guardian’s attention. SV4 sprints to the sound and catches SV3 on the floor struggling to get up, the creature raises a claw ready to end the long chase. “NO YOU FUCKING DON'T!” SV4 pushes himself to run faster, he knew if he doesn't act SV3 could be killed. 

Without thinking he stops running in front of SV3 taking the hit. SV3 covered himself getting ready for the hit, when he felt nothing he opened his eyes. There he saw a strange static liquid on the floor, he looked up, eyes wide to see SV4 giving a soft smile to him as he covered his right eye “You okay pumpkin?” SV3 blushes as he looks at the soft smile. He couldn't believe that SV4 found him, that he saved his life. Princess Peach lets out a high pitched shriek making 4 roll his eye, he turns getting in position to fight. SV3 gaps seeing the slash on his eye “SV4! How do you plan to win this with one eye!?” 

SV4 smirks “Watch and learn darling, then maybe you won't run as much next time!’ SV3 pouts doing his best to get up. Once up he takes the man's hand “We are partners, together let's put her back!” SV4 lets out a chuckle as he intertwined his fingers with SV3’s “For once let's do it your way, and dont think im doing this cause i feel bad about what happened. The pain and blood loss is just getting to me.” Both of their eyes slowly lose color as they turn to the creature, SV4 smirks as he feels the familiar energy come back. “Heh this feels better then when i was alone, shall we teach this bitch a lesson?” SV3 nods going along with SV4. Feeling the energy flow he looks around “Fuck we dont have something to lock on to!” 

SV3 felt the pain return to his eye, he was about to close his eye when he noticed something “SV4! There is something hidden over there!” he turns confused “I don't see anything?” annoyed he pulls SV4 to the spot. Princess Peach roars as she charges after, SV3 then picks up a piece of a keyboard. SV4 looked at it surprised, “Whoa good eyes, looks like this keyboard has TV world energy.” Having no time to question why the object was here  the pair focus their power on it, the keyboard melts changing shape. Together they blast the princess back causing her to fall back into the hole, they watch as the creature vanishes from their sight. SV4 falls to his knees holding his eye, SV3 quickly picks him up “We need to leave if we don't hurry you can lose that eye!” he nods letting 3 support him. They pair hurry back to the studio. As they walk SV3 lets out a soft smile “Thank you for saving me and…risking your life for me.” SV4 looks down thinking over everything. Nervously he drops his walls “I lived weeks alone…i know what life without you is like. The thought of you being in danger and I could lose you, being alone again I just couldn't let that happen.”  SV3 blushes holding the man closer, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Was this what adrenaline feels like, it was a strange feeling and he knew it was the only thing keeping him walking.

They stay silent as they make it back to the studio, they hear a loud gasp and see Liko run up hugging them. “You idiots!” as she pulls back she notices SV4 eye “Quickly take care of that, go into your pod fast to prevent a scar.” The pair nod as they go to SV4 room. He lets the man sit on the bed as he leaves the room to retrieve a first aid kit, SV4 looks at the floor waiting for his partner and notices his gameboy on the floor. He picks it up and sighs “Thanks to you this all happened you know,” he then puts it in the drawer next to his bed before his partner returns. SV3 returns and moves SV4's hand to start taking care of the wound he then smiles at SV4 as he puts on the eye patch “You know…you really were a hero today.” SV4 chuckles touching the eye patch “Yeah i doubt that, i'm the reason you got in this mess.” SV3 presses his forehead against SV4 “Shh we all make mistakes, so let me thank my hero.” Before SV4 could ask any questions SV3 gently touched his face and placed a soft kiss near his eyepatch.

SV4 blushes, staring at his partner surprised “Get in your pod, we can't have our main star with a scar!” SV4 frowns looking at his pod as SV3 leaves the room. Getting up he stares at his pod, did he deserve to use his left over power to heal himself. He caused everything, not to mention the outfit was due in a couple of hours. Without it SV3 wouldn't be able to join him, he touches his pod “I want you to help me, pod is there anything i can do to fix this mess i did  for 3?” The screen starts to leak, SV4 looks at the liquid and touches it. The liquid starts to take form and transform into rats, he blinks for a moment “Well fuck, guess im a one eye disney princess.” He opens the door to see Liko, still upset and talking with SV3, knowing that will keep them busy. He and his new rat friends charge into the SV3 room “Okay clean the mess up, i will go find the fabric. He was gushing about all the steps when we were shopping, thank the static for that.” 

He pushes himself to make a portal to rush the shopping, he was being risky using his power when he was weak. But today showed him that taking risks might not be all that bad, as he makes it back he laughs seeing the outfit without stains “Yesss!” taking out the fabric he gets to work. He was annoyed with all the pricks he was giving himself “Ugh why didn't you pick a hat,” he hums trying to fix the rips the best he could. He let out a sigh of relief when he finished it, he walked around the outfit making sure there weren't any extra holes on it.  With a cheer he gives the rats a high five before guiding him back to his room, he touches the screen making it open up as they go in. He nods as he makes his way back to SV3 room “It’s midnight cinderella, your rats are gone and now you must wait for the prince to find you.” he lets out a yawn wondering if a nap wouldn't hurt after all the work he did. 

SV3 opens the door and gasps seeing SV4 asleep on his bed and the outfit fixed, he walks up to the sleeping man and gently wakes him up. Once he saw the man's eye open SV3 frowns “Did you really pick an outfit over your eye?” SV4 gets up and yawns “No, I picked your dream over my eye. Look i can admit i fucked up big time, who cares if i get a scar. What matters is getting you on our channel, so let's get to work.” SV3 smiles, giving him a nod as he runs to get the camera. SV4 changes into the outfit and looks at himself, he already regrets the choice he made. He leaves the room only to get a surprise when SV3 puts a sticker on his eye patch “You need my logo so the viewers know it's my channel, so I made this real fast!” 

SV3 holds up the camera as SV4 attempts a pose, he can hear the man talking about the outfit. He sighs every time he turns to do another pose, SV3 giggles cheering SV4 on only to get a glare in return. SV3 made sure to explain the eye patch was a fashion statement,  4 had to admit he likes how fast thinking his partner can be. 

Once he was done he ran to the computer to start editing, he started to feel himself panic at the time. “Oh no i won't be able to edit this in time!” that's when a laptop was placed next to him, SV3 started confused at SV4 “You think i'm leaving you alone now? Let's make the perfect video.” with a nod they boys work together to get the video edited and posted on time. Mr. Puzzles wakes up from his charge to see the boys staring at the monitor intensely, he gets close and sees the number of the video skyrocket. The boys cheer when the numbers hit the goal “We did it! I’m in!” Mr. Puzzles was surprised that together the pair managed to score so many views and likes over an outfit. He chuckles, pleased with the new information “Congrats! I knew you had it in you, we must celebrate!” Mr. Puzzle can feel himself getting excited at the site of the star meter being filled. The more attention the channel gets, the closer puzzle vision can return. With one last chuckle he leaves the room to get things ready to celebrate. Once the TV man was gone SV4 pulls SV3 into a hug giggling “WE DID IT!” they both giggle as SV4 twirls with 3 in his arms. He then lets go of SV3 who was still giggling, they stare at each other for a moment before 4 lets out a shaky breath “We need to talk.”

They walk outside as SV4 looks up at the sky “I’m sorry I caused this whole mess, I'm not… I just ugh i don't know what I'm saying.” 3 walks up to 4 concern. He places a hand on him only to be brushed away,  SV4 kicks a rock before he speaks “Talking to people isn't as easy as games, you have dialogue choices and games let you know which one is right. I spent weeks alone only talking to a stupid television and a scientist, they are nothing like you.”  SV3 takes a step back watching the other man's movements, he was getting lost in thought trying to figure out his next words carefully. The sunset shines on SV4 making the man look like he was glowing “SV3, i don't hate you. I also don't want you to take this the wrong way but…i do care about you, i never meant for you to feel unwanted. Cause SV3 i need you more than you know.” the feeling returns to SV3. He felt his face go warm as he heart pounded in his chest, he wasn't sure what the feeling was. The one thing he did know was he didn't mind the warmth it gave him, as SV4 kept looking up at the sky SV3 couldn't help himself from admiring the man. 

“I…i will never leave your side SV4, i promise you we will always be a team always!” shyly SV3 takes 4’s hand, they give each other a soft smile before agreeing to head inside to celebrate their victory.

[cupcakeslushie]

Hey Slushie. I have some questions about your AU:

1. I am seriously confused on Donnie’s situation in the bad timeline.

like I know it was mentioned in one of your short stories when he and Mikey were having a quarrel and that red thing-a-ma-bob but it is still very unclear to me.

2. When Donnie meets mayday, how does he process the fact that his older self made a child of his own genes and what would timothies reaction be (both in the good timeline and the bad timeline [I know the bad timeline one is mentioned but like J want his initial reaction])

3. (related to the 2nd Q) did Timothy know about his idea of making a child before she was made. If he did, ot would show a really powerful trust that Donnie has for Timothy

4. in the good/bad timeline, what is Mayday’s reaction to draxum before and after she found out about what he did to her father.

5. How does Timothy help with Donnie’s hallucinations and since Mayday is his child, does she also have them, like about never saving her father or not being strong enough.

6. In canon, The mud dogs are the complete opposite of the mad dogs. So since everyone is a bit different, what will the mud dogs in your AU look like.

Yeah… these are a lot of questions and I hope it isn’t too much. Hope you can answer them and please, continue the great work!!!

1. So, it’s okay you’re confused. I’ve only given out a small amount of teasers for the direction that the future timeline is going. There’s been a bit more expansion on my patreon, but not much. The little bits I’ve dropped are more world building and filler, and less plot. So I don’t want to say too much. There hasn’t been any more expansion on that stone in particular. Just know, it’s Krang related, and we’ll see it again! I’m setting things up that we’ll see further down the line. Some stuff I’m okay with mapping every little bit out for ppl but there is some stuff I’d like to keep you guessing 😜!

2. This is one of those things I’m keeping shh🤫!

3. Timothy knew that Donnie was trying to come up with contingencies, but he thought the plans were more along the lines of like some kind of binder with all his passwords, or maybe a cool ass avatar that could still control the resistance tech in a worst case scenario (*subtle wink at Kat*) Timothy had no idea about Mayday or Donnie trying to create clones.

4. She’s heard a few sanitized stories, but Mayday of the bad timeline has never met Draxum (he was already dead). And in her traveling to the past, I don’t think she’ll meet him. Like canon, Draxum won’t be taking part in the movie plot—also I’m still not sure of Mayday’s post-movie future, so bad timeline Mayday might never even get the chance to meet her Grandfather at all.

But Baby Mayday in the good timeline, on the other hand, will grow up with Draxum around. She won’t be given all the details until she’s probably old enough to understand the complexity of the situation. She’ll be conflicted, but with Donnie being in a healthier place, and her getting a very watered down side of things, Mayday will find she can’t hate her Grandfather for long. Her uncles have all done stuff they’re not proud of, she can still love them, and so despite the things he’s done in the past she can still love Grandpa Draxum.

5. Timothy will sometimes ramble on about his favorite anime, comics, or video games, or he’ll just read a book while being present in the same room. He can walk Donnie through breathing or grounding exercises when things get really intense. Mayday doesn’t have Donnie’s hallucinations.

7. Sorry, to say. I like the Mud Dogs enough in the show, but they’d pretty much be the same.

[cater-diamond]

OOC Here but this is something I need to talk about/need you all to be alert of.

I used to share this account and @thecountryboyofnrc with an ex-friend of mine. Actually share is a strong word, I created these accounts, and I was the one that managed them. All they did was pop in occasionally to look at the notifications and make one post and one comment during the entirety of us "sharing these account." Last week, they quit both accounts at the drop of a hat. Since then, I found out some things about her, and I stopped being her friend completely.

She attempted harassing one of my non rp accounts, to which I blocked her, and she immediately came back with a new account and began to harass me once more. I took care of that as well immediately, but she is aware of all of all my rp accounts. I changed the password and kicked all other devices off both this account and the epel one but she still might try to get in or harass me.

Long story short if you see any suspicious activity, out of character posts or harassment please let me know just in case

[exitrowiron]

Wage Transparency

Numerous states and some cities now require employers to disclose pay scales, salaries and wage information for existing and potential employees. The applicable jurisdictions continue to proliferate so many companies have simply decided to provide this information in every market. In my experience, the company established such broad salary ranges that the information wasn't particularly helpful, however it did require the company to address the compensation for those few individuals who, for whatever reason, fell below the minimum of the range.

Too much granularity of salary information can, of course, cause conflict with an organization but in general I think more transparency is better than less.

Very early in my career I was given responsibility for the annual budget process. This was before online budget software was available, so I created a very sophisticated (for that time) Excel model with VBA routines, etc. Each manager was given an excel file with the historical costs/revenues for their department and provided with instructions on how to complete the budget for each line item. In order to calculate the correct payroll taxes, etc. managers were instructed to enter the name, salary and bonus of each of their employees. This Excel sheet was then hidden and password protected.

You can probably guess the rest of story. This was before Excel had really strong password and encryption features, so I had a backdoor to the payroll sheet and when all the files were submitted, I could see every employee's salary and bonus.

Seeing which functions were paid the most was extremely motivating and ultimately guided the next decade of my career. I knew exactly what job I wanted and how much to negotiate for my compensation. Beth and I were willing to make the necessary sacrifices (including relocating 3 times) because it would be worth it.

Rather than bitching that I was paid too little, I was motivated to do what it took to get the better paying job. I wonder what would happen if companies were more transparent about their payroll.

[speaker-of-the-void-cats]

Chiasmus

There's something that's been knocking around my head for a couple years now about Destiny's general narrative structure, and this entry brought it to mind and made me think. Bungie is keeping secrets, not deep in the files but in things unsaid. In the telling of the story, below the event horizon. In the shape of it.

"Do you know how to make a strong password?" he asked. "I don't know if I do," I said. "Tell yourself a story," he said. "Use that one good story you'll never forget, that you can carry forever. Let your story take odd turns and wear a few surprising marks, make sure it belongs to you, so you can keep it secret."

This echoes something I believe said by Savathun that the greatest form of encryption is secrets, because they can only be unlocked by true understanding. When I think about stories like Truth to Power, there is such deliberate structure and subtext to them despite being confusing and intentionally obscured, and that structure is seen elsewhere in Destiny. We've even seen Ikora and Arach Jallal discuss the narrative structure, called "chiasmus."

REY >> JALAAL

We are headed inward, as if moving from parent to child universe.

Then we proceed in reverse. Savathûn is revealed to be a fiction of Dûl Incaru. Dûl Incaru a simulation by Quria, and so on.

So in the end, Truth to Power moves outwards.

Just as Savathûn plans to move. In from our universe and out to the Distributary—

Or out from our universe to its parent.

JALAAL >> REY

Oh. I see. I see! A literary structure like that is called a chiasmus, and chiasmus means "crossing point"! Like a wormhole or a portal! It was hidden in plain sight.

Chiasmus is a sort of chiral structure defined as a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words", and this achieves a fascinating effect; it leads you down a path of understanding, and sometimes does so by leaving your understanding up to the inferrence of the structure itself rather than stating the point directly and then leading you there

This is a scalable and somewhat flexible technique that can be used in sentences, paragraphs, or whole texts to convey very particular meaning. It's even used in the national anthem of the Netherlands, the oldest living national anthem (this one is interesting because it bounces back and forth—verse 1 mirrors verse 15, 2-14, 3-13, and so on until they meet at 8). I believe something like this is the basis for the entirety of Destiny's story; start with two presupposed points set in stone, set one as the start and one as the end, hide the end, and then slowly build from there. Bungie gets a lot of guff for perceived retcons, but in the broad strokes, and thematically, when it comes down to it, they know their stuff and have always seemed to have a long view in mind.

Chiasmus derives its effectiveness from its symmetrical structure. The structural symmetry of the chiasmus imposes the impression upon the reader or listener that the entire argument has been accounted for. In other words, chiasmus creates only two sides of an argument or idea for the listener to consider, and then leads the listener to favor one side of the argument.

We begin with resurrection in D1, new life. There's hints of Darkness, but it's buried in the lore and is explicitly taboo. It's confusing, but we slowly learn to see the world from an all-Light perspective. Year 2 we learn about the basics of Darkness via the Sword Logic, the Hive, and the Taken. Then, we press on and lose everything in year 4. We begin to learn more and more until year 5, Forsaken. Year 6 we get the Luna Pyramid, Unveiling, and the arrival. Then, in year 7, we get to *use* the Darkness. In Year 8, we begin to learn about it and seeing the unseen from Savathun via Deepsight, before learning about the Witness. This is also when we see one of our enemies go the other way, crossing our path by going from Dark to Light. Year 9, we learn about the Veil and a new perspective on Darkness, and year 10 we return to the center to defeat the First Knife and are left with only echoes of its victims and the Darkness that bound it

What is the main plan in Forsaken, year 5? For Uldren to enter the Watchtower with the Shard and the Darkness within him, where he unleashes the Voice of Riven, who acts as proxy. Riven enacts the curse upon her defeat, which is maintained inside Elusinia by Dûl Incaru, Eternal Return. Light and Dark to enter a hidden realm where a being in a tower creates a curse which is unleashed upon their defeat, and beyond which another being in a further nested realm maintains said curse. This is strikingly similar to the Witness: it enters the Pale Heart via the Traveler and the essence of the Veil, where it builds a tower and tries to make a sort of curse which infests the Heart. And when we defeated it, the energy from that process was released.

Guess what the mission where Crow entered the portal with the 15th Wish was called? Chiasmus.

Bungie loves secrets, but datamining makes them hard to pull off. They even put a reference to this in an unnamed entryegg in the API for Truth to Power:

O you wonderful curious things. Do you believe you're the only ones with the power to see what should not be seen? Did you believe you can use such power blithely? For your trespass, I would ruin your luck, wreak havoc on your drops, poison your engrams, and fill your lines with static. Thus I would curse you and dissipate the bond that ties you to your tasks. How frail you Guardians can be! How many millions have fallen silent, never to return, because the bond did not hold them strongly enough? But you have already cursed yourselves. You have walked the Anathematic Arc and glimpsed creation from below. You will never forget the tenuous, provisional framework you found here. You will never forgive the mortality and fallibility that underlies a world you thought was everything. Those who use this power to seek unearned knowledge will see more than they ever desired. There is a price for glimpsing the Cord. You will pay it.

This episode, we're learning about Maya, who has a direct link to the Veil, Vex, and Darkness via Clarity ("Take me to the garden’s seed. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me. Take me—"), and now this strange Pyramid in act 3 of Echoes. Next, we have Fikrul, the Scorn (Dark Ether), and Mithtrax (Curse of Nezarec). And then we're ending on the Dreadnaught with Savathun, who hid the Veil, and Xivu Arath, who wants to emulate Oryx, the First Navigator with the implication that we will become Navigators. We reached the end of the line in defeating the Witness, but now we're beyond it. I think we're about to come full circle and see secrets beyond even the Veil.

Something else I like about this idea on a narrative and meta level; if the beginning and end of this leg of the story is already decided by its inherent structure, like life, then anything we do is futile. We will wind up there eventually, as everything does in the end. The only difference is the path we walk to get there

I. Guardians make their own fate. But what if the process by which they decide upon their own fate could be understood and manipulated?

But we are transcendent now; we walk a path as yet unimagined by both Light and Dark. What we do now— unshackled from HOPE—that is who we are; because only in the end are we free.

I.VII The cutting word is a doorway—the first syllable of hated salvation.

Better make sure you've got a strong password, wouldn't want to spoil the unveiling.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked. "When I was a little boy," Father said. "During the Before," I said. "Yes." He reached down to brush my hair. "I was recalling how very smart I used to be. When I was your age, I was a genius." "You're smart now," I said. He laughed hard. "Look around," he said. I always look around. "Miss nothing," he told me. Father was standing beside a big gray building. "This is what I want you to see," he said. The building had no doors or windows. "Do you know how to make a strong password?" he asked. "I don't know if I do," I said. "Tell yourself a story," he said. "Use that one good story you'll never forget, that you can carry forever. Let your story take odd turns and wear a few surprising marks, make sure it belongs to you, so you can keep it secret." Father kneeled, putting our faces close... "I want to show you something special," he said. "Something rare." I tried to imagine what that might be. "No," he warned. "You can't guess." Inside the gray building was a diamond wall...A projected sky floated above us. It wasn't our sky, alive with metal and light. Nothing about the grayness was wet and nothing looked alive. I had never seen a sadder piece of ground. "This was our world," Father said. "When I was your age." I touched the diamond wall. He watched my hand jump back. "Hot," I said. He laughed quietly. I shook my burnt hand, and it felt better. "Our world was this. The entire planet was a furnace. Acidic. Dead in so many ways. And I was your age." I was bored with the dead world. I looked at Father's face, asking, "Can we leave?" He started to reach for my hair again but decided not to. I was bored with everything. "When I was your age, people thought they knew almost everything. We had scientific laws and human truths, even a model of the universe. People carried pictures of the past and tried to have a clear vision of their difficult future. I didn't know everything, of course. But when I was a boy, I had every expectation of living a smart short life and learning quite a lot more. "Then the Before was finished. "You know why. "That's when everybody, particularly the smartest of us, learned that we knew nothing. We were children and our little ideas were toys, and the universe was cut apart with great ideas and magnificent, immeasurable potentials." Father stopped talking. I stepped away from the hot diamond wall. "Do you know what I wanted to show you?" Father asked. "Dead rock," I said. "Guess again." He wasn't happy with me. We stepped back into the real sun, the real world. I blinked and looked around, surprised by how green and bright everything was. How happy everything was. Even the saddest face was happy. "I know what you want me to see," I said. "Don't tell me," he said. I didn't tell him.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How Amazon transformed the EU into a planned economy

Amazon is a perfect parable of enshittification, the process by which platforms first offer subsidies to end users until they’re locked in, then make life good for business customers at users’ expense, until they’re locked in, then claw back all the value they can for themselves, leaving just enough behind to keep the lock-in going.

In a new report for SOMO, Margarida Silva describes how the end-stage enshittification of Amazon is playing out in the EU, with Amazon repeating its US playbook of gouging the small businesses who have no choice but to use the platform in order to reach its locked-in customers, making European customers and European sellers poorer:

https://www.somo.nl/amazons-european-chokehold/

The mechanism for this isn’t a mystery. Amazon boasts about it! They call it their flywheel: first, customers are lured into the platform with low prices, especially through Prime, which requires pre-payment for a year’s shipping, which virtually guarantees that customers will start their shopping on Amazon. Because customers now start their buying on Amazon, sellers have to be there. The increased range of goods for sale on Amazon lures in more buyers, who lure in more sellers, with both sides holding each other hostage:

https://vimeo.com/739486256/00a0a7379a

This flywheel creates a vicious cycle, starving local retail so that customers can’t get what they need from brick-and-mortar shops, which funnels sellers into offering their goods for sale on Amazon. The less choice customers and sellers have about where they shop, the more Amazon can abuse both to pad its own bottom line.

There are 800,000 EU-based sellers on Amazon, and they have seen the junk-fees that Amazon charges them skyrocket, to the point where they have to raise prices or lose money on each sale. Amazon uses both tacit and explicit “Most Favored Nation” deals to hide these price-hikes. Under an MFN deal, sellers must not allow their goods to be sold at a lower price than Amazon’s — so when they raise prices to cover Amazon’s increasing fees, they raise them everywhere:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/

It’s not hard to understand why Amazon would raise its fees: the company has an effective e-commerce monopoly. Like Ozymandias, they have run out of worlds to conquer, and so their growth has to come from squeezing suppliers and/or raising prices, not from bringing in new customers. This is likewise true of mobile companies like Apple and Google, who have run out of people who are so excited about incremental mobile hardware gains that they’ll buy a new phone every year, which means that growth has to come from squeezing app vendors:

https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2023/06/09/Pixel-4-to-7

This is likewise true of the streaming companies, which is why Netflix is cracking down on “password sharing”:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/02/nonbinary-families/#red-envelopes

It’s true of the movie studios, which is why they want to zero out their wage bills by replacing writers with automatic plausible sentence generators that will write stupid movies that they think we’ll still pay to see because there won’t be anything else:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/06/people-are-not-disposable/#union-strong

It’s certainly true of Uber, which is why they’ve double the cost of a taxi ride and halved the wages they pay drivers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

Monopolies “grow” by making their customers and suppliers worse off. But they have to be careful about this: if it’s obvious that you’re using your market power to screw buyers, you can get in trouble with competition regulators. That’s because the only part of antitrust law that the neoliberal project left intact is “consumer welfare” — the idea that monopolies should only face enforcement when they raise prices and/or lower quality:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/10/play-fair/#bedoya

This focus on price-hikes has given monopolists a free hand to squeeze suppliers and workers, because a monopolist — from Walmart to Amazon — can claim that squeezing your workers and suppliers is necessary to enhancing consumer welfare. The less you pay to produce a product, the cheaper you can price it.

When a company has a lot of seller power, we call it a monopolist. When it has a lot of buying power, we call it a monopsonist. No one ever made a bestselling, family-destroying board game called “Monopsony” so most people haven’t heard of the concept. But monopsony is every bit as dangerous as monopoly, and monopsonists find it far easier to acquire market power than monopolists. Few suppliers can afford to have even 10% of their sales disappear overnight, so a buyer who accounts for 10% of your sales can demand deep discounts and other favorable terms.

Amazon is a monopolist, but it’s also a very powerful and ruthless monopsonist. For example, its audiobook division, Audible, has a 90+% market-share, and it used that market-power to steal at least $100m from audiobook creators, in a scandal dubbed Audiblegate:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/07/audible-exclusive/#audiblegate

For Europe’s 800k sellers who rely on Amazon to reach their customers, the monoposony conditions are blatant and shameless. Take listing fees: Amazon’s “flywheel” pitch claims that as the company grows, it achieves “economies of scale” that can lower its cost basis. But Amazon’s listing fees haven’t changed, even as the company experienced explosive growth in the EU (remember, sellers whose Amazon fees exceed their margins have to pass those fees onto buyers, and also raise their prices everywhere else to satisfy the Most Favored Nation requirement).

Amazon books the revenues from these fees — and other junk-fees it extracts from sellers — in Luxembourg, an EU member nation that provides a tax haven to multinational businesses that want to maintain the fiction that they operate their businesses out of the tiny kingdom. There is sharp competition in the EU to offer the most servile, corrupt environment for multinationals, and Luxembourg is a leader, along with Cyprus, Malta and, of course, Ireland:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

But at least listing fees haven’t gone up, unlike other fees, which have climbed sharply. Amazon falsely claimed that its additional revenues from fees were the result of growth by independent sellers, which Amazon pegged at 65%. Later, the company admitted that the true growth figure was 22%. Meanwhile, fees are up 85%.

The true growth figure might be lower still. Amazon refuses to show the math behind its growth figures, or even say which sellers and sales are included in the figure.

The SOMO report cites research by Juozas Kaziukėnas of the e-commerce research firm Marketplace Pulse, who finds that sellers are now giving 50% of their gross revenues to Amazon, an increase of 10% over the past five years across the whole EU. However, different EU (and ex-EU) countries have experienced much steeper increases in fees — in the UK, fees have nearly doubled (up 98%), and in France, fees more than doubled (up 115%).

Many of these increases come from the Fulfilment By Amazon (FBA) program, which is promoted as an optional service, but which is really obligatory — careful research shows that sellers who warehouse, pack and ship their own goods get banished to the depths of search results, even if they have ratings, costs and times that are competitive with FBA. This is especially true of the “buy box” that lands at the top of most searches. The company refuses to disclose how buy box positioning is determined, but 90% of products in the buy box pay for FBA.

Amazon has used excuseflation to hike its FBA prices, blaming higher energy prices for price hikes that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and blaming covid for price hikes that predated the pandemic.

Italy’s competition authority did yeoman service in uncovering the sleaze of FBA, publishing an investigation that showed that Prime and buy box made the notionally “optional” FBA into a must-have for merchants, meaning that Amazon could jack up FBA prices without losing business.

Another notable source of gouging came in response to the UK and France adopting digital services taxes, which were meant to make up for the tax-base erosion enabled by Luxembourg’s flouting of EU tax law. Amazon passed these taxes straight through to its merchants, without seeing a comparable decrease in the number of sellers using its platforms — an unmistakable sign of market power. If you can raise prices without losing customers, then, by definition, your customers have nowhere else to go.

I’ve previously written about how Amazon’s $31b/year “advertising” market isn’t really advertising — rather, it’s a payola scheme that auctions off the top of a search-listing to the merchant with the most to spend:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

This is how you get a simple search like “cat beds” returning results whose first screen is 100% ads, and whose next five screens are 50% ads, many of them for dog products:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2022/amazon-shopping-ads/

Auctioning off search results means that every time you search for something you want, you have to wade through screen after screen of listings for products whose vendors spent more on advertising, leaving less to spend on making quality goods.

This is as true in the EU as it is in the USA. The SOMO report shows that European merchants are required to spend ever-larger sums to show up in results for the exact products they sell, leaving them with a choice between making less money, raising prices, or skimping on quality.

But even the “winners” of Amazon’s gladiatorial combat among vendors can still lose. Amazon uses an automated product removal process that can delete some or all of a merchant’s products, without warning or explanation, and no one at Amazon will explain what a merchant did wrong. That remains true even if a vendor pays for Amazon’s “marketplace consultant” service — ask these paid Virgils why you’ve been cast into Amazon’s pit, and they’ll shrug their shoulders (and bill you for it).

And even if you can navigate the junk fees, the Kafka-as-a-service removals, the war of all sellers against all sellers for search primacy…you still lose. Merchants told SOMO that a product that survives Amazon’s gauntlet is likely to be cloned by Amazon and sold as an Amazon Basic or other house-brand product. Amazon doesn’t charge itself 50% junk fees, so it can always underprice the vendors it knocks off, and give its own products permanent top-of-search placement.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once testified under oath before Congress that this doesn’t happen — and then refused to return to Congress when multiple vendors showed evidence that he’d lied:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/18/amazon-congress-letter-third-party-data/

He definitely lied:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-india-rigging/

Amazon has faced investigations and enforcement in the EU over this, and settled a claim with a promise to “not use non-public seller data to compete with sellers,” but given the company’s record of broken promises on this score and the difficulty of catching them cheating, it’s pretty naive to think they’ll stick to this.

The report quotes Thomas Höppner, a lawyer who has represented small businesses that Amazon screwed over. Höppner says the problem is that the EU evaluates Amazon’s bad deeds on a “case-by-case” basis, missing the big picture: “By the time one identified problem was seemingly solved, Amazon had long made amendments elsewhere with the same effect. We require a more holistic approach that considers the entire Amazon ecosystem and the various interdependencies within.”

But the EU’s enforcement approach is about to change significantly. The EU just passed the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes a bunch of obligations on Amazon:

allowing sellers to offer their products on other marketplaces at different prices (Article 5.3),

not obliging business users to pay for one of its services in order to use its platform (Article 5.8),

limiting the way Amazon uses non-public seller data to compete with them (Article 6.2)

preventing Amazon from giving top billing in search results to its own products or sellers that have acquired extra Amazon services (Article 6.5)

The report concludes with a suite of recommendations for improving EU enforcement. First, they argue for a return to traditional competition law, abandoning the “consumer welfare standard” that is so friendly to monopsonies and their abuses of suppliers and workers.

They call for a probe into Amazon’s Most Favored Nation deals (“fair pricing policy”), the practice of sponsoring search results, and spiraling fees. They want the EU to adequately fund DMA enforcement, with “measures to prevent regulatory capture.” And they want Amazon to publish clear explanations for how search results, buy box placement, and other practices hidden behind a veil of secrecy.

Amazon will doubtless claim that disclosing how those systems work will make it easier for spammers and scammers to game their way to the top of search results. We should be skeptical of this claim — content moderation is the last domain where anyone takes the bankrupt idea of security through obscurity seriously:

https://doctorow.medium.com/como-is-infosec-307f87004563

Finally, the report calls for breaking up Amazon, forcing it to choose between being a platform seller or a platform user, calling this the only way to “prevent the conflicts of interest between its role as a platform intermediary, seller, and service provider.”

The technical term for this measure is “structural separation” — a rule that bans platform companies from competing with their business customers. This is the principle at work in the US bipartisan AMERICA Act, which would force Google and Meta to spin off the parts of their ad-tech business that put them in a conflict of interest. Right now, Googbook represents both publishers and advertisers, while operating the marketplace where ad sales take place, and they take 51% out of every ad dollar:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-shatter-ad-tech

Structural separation hasn’t really been applied in the US for a generation, but it’s gained currency in recent years, for the obvious reason that the referee can’t also own one of the teams. I was in Germany last week speaking to regulators and politicians, and they espoused skepticism that the EU would embrace structural separation anytime soon.

But they were wrong! Today, the European Commission announced plans to force Google and Meta to sell off their conflict-of-interest ad-tech lines of business, mirroring the provisions of the US AMERICA Act:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/06/google-may-soon-be-ordered-to-break-up-its-lucrative-ad-business-eu-warns/

Structural separation really is the policy we should be demanding. It’s amazing that lawyers who would never argue a case in front of a judge who was married to the plaintiff will turn around and defend the idea that Amazon can fairly operate a marketplace where they compete with other sellers.

With Amazon dominating online sales, and with in-person retail cratering, Amazon’s decisions have the power to determine the outcome of whole swathes of Europe’s economy. This is the “planned economy” that the EU claims it detests and seeks to prevent — but it’s an economy planned by distant autocrats in a Seattle boardroom, for the purpose of extracting the surpluses needed to launch an endless procession of penis-rockets.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this postto read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/14/flywheel-shyster-and-flywheel/#unfulfilled-by-amazon

[Image ID: A desert ruin. In the foreground is a huge Amazon box, with an EU flag in place of its shipping label. Atop the box are the feet and partial legs of an Oxymandias figure.]

Image: Rama (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gladiator_with_sword-Louis_Ernest_Meissonnier-MG_1216-IMG_1223-white.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/fr/deed.en