#been testing out a different photo editing program

[mosneakers]

Granite Falls, 6 Months After Election Night

Alex Hart, Lead Documentarian: You’ve just been through so much these past few months. Your strength… it’s really moving. Sorry—I’m getting a bit emotional here, as you can probably tell, heh.

Coraleye: [giggles softly, attempting to lighten the mood] I bet it’s just the charm of the great outdoors! Camping has a way of casting a spell on you, doesn’t it? Makes all your senses feel so heightened!

Cameron Rai, Camera Technician: [Squinting against the sun] Great segue— now can we keep it pushing before the sunset wrecks our lighting?

Alex: Right. While we're on the subject, could you please explain how we managed to interview Erwin for this film, given the horrific incident that happened six months ago? Coraleye: Oh, since you asked like such a perfect gentleman, I can do you one better—how 'bout I show you instead?

Coraleye smiles gently at Erwin and begins her spell. "Goodbye for now, buddy.” she whispers, brushing away an emerging tear from her eye before it has the chance to fall. “Until next time.” In a whirlwind of sparkles and light, Erwin's image fades away right before their eyes.

Alex: [Shakes head in bewilderment] Incredible. So that wasn't the real Erwin, right?

Coraleye: [Chuckles] Nope, not really! I’ve put my own little twist on a classic untamed magic spell —Duplicato.

Alex: I'm only clarifying because in the time I've gotten to know you, you've mentioned that you're an experienced medium, as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but we weren't speaking to Erwin's spirit or anything, right?

Coraleye: No... we did attempt a séance once and sadly, it seems he may have died too far away for any of us to be able to connect to his spirit. [Face reddening, eyes beginning to well with tears] Although I'd like to think I captured the essence of his spirit pretty accurately. But this spell is essentially just a magical hologram created from my memories of him.

Alex: We really appreciate you sharing him with us today, it's truly such an honor. Just to reiterate for our viewers, are you still completely comfortable with this? Your comfort is very important to us. I can imagine this must be extremely challenging for you.

Coraleye's shoulders slumped, and a frown clouded her expression, as she battled the urge to cry. The thought of Tycho watching this documentary strengthened her resolve—she refused to let him have the satisfaction of seeing her cry again.

Coraleye: No worries, I promise. I think it'll be good for the movie. I want people to see Erwin the way we did. Sure, it can be emotionally taxing, but I don’t do this spell often—and when I do, I actually find it to be so healing. [Smiles after long pause] — But yeah, anyway, thanks for the support, Alex... you've been really great.

Alex: [Softly] You’re really something else, Coraleye. I can’t imagine how hard this must be, but you’re handling it with so much grace. You know, it’s okay to feel whatever you’re feeling. If you need a moment… [Opens his arms slightly]

Coraleye laughs and accepts his subtle invitation for an embrace, easing herself into Alex's arms. Not expecting that familiar flutter that she's been dodging for months now to come creeping its way back into the pit of her stomach, she buries it deep down for now. But Coraleye knows she's a Darling, and when it comes to love, that's one curse that never stays dead.

Cam: Yeah, cool, I think we got the shot now.

[thistlecrimes]

Things I've learned from getting covid for the first time in 2023

I wear an N95 in public spaces and I've managed to dodge it for a long time, but I finally got covid for the first time (to my knowledge) in mid-late November 2023. It was a weird experience especially because I feel like it used to be something everyone was talking about and sharing info on, so getting it for the first time now (when people generally seem averse to talking about covid) I found I needed to seek out a lot of info because I wasn't sure what to do. I put so much effort into prevention, I knew less about what to do when you have it. I'm experiencing a rebound right now so I'm currently isolating. So, I'm making a post in the hopes that if you get covid (it's pretty goddamn hard to avoid right now) this info will be helpful for you. It's a couple things I already knew and several things I learned. One part of it is based on my experience in Minnesota but some other states may have similar programs.

--------

The World Health Organization states you should isolate for 10 days from first having symptoms plus 3 days after the end of symptoms.

--------

At the time of my writing this post, in Minnesota, we have a test to treat program where you can call, report the result of your rapid test (no photo necessary) and be prescribed paxlovid over the phone to pick up from your pharmacy or have delivered to you. It is free and you do not need to have insurance. I found it by googling "Minnesota Test to Treat Covid"

--------

Paxlovid decreases the risk of hospitalization and death, but it's also been shown to decrease the risk of Long Covid. Long Covid can occur even from mild or asymptomatic infections.

--------

Covid rebound commonly occurs 2-8 days after apparent recovery. While many people associate Paxlovid with covid rebound, researchers say there is no strong evidence that Paxlovid causes covid rebound, and rebounds occur in infections that were not treated with Paxlovid as well. I knew rebounds could happen but did not know it could take 8 days. I had mine on day 7 and was completely surprised by it.

--------

If you start experiencing new symptoms or test positive again, the CDC states that you should start your isolation period again at day zero. Covid rebound is still contagious. Personally I'd suggest wearing a high quality respirator around folks for an additional 8-9 days after you start to test negative in case of a rebound.

--------

Positive results on a rapid test can be very faint, but even a very faint line is positive result. Make sure to look at your rapid test result under strong lighting. Also, false negatives are not uncommon. If you have symptoms but test negative taking multiple tests and trying different brands if you have them are not bad ideas. My ihealth tests picked up my covid, my binax now tests did not.

--------

EDIT: I'd highly suggest spending time with friends online if you can, I previously had a link to the NAMI warmline directory in this post but I've since been informed that NAMI is very much funded by pharmaceutical companies and lobbies for policies that take autonomy away from disabled folks, so I've taken that off of here! Sorry, I had no idea, the People's CDC listed them as a resource so I just assumed they were legit! Feel free to reply/reblog this with other warmlines/support resources if you know of them! And please reblog this version!

--------

I know that there is so much we can't control as individuals right now, and that's frightening. All we can do is try our best to reduce harm and to care for each other. I hope this info will be able to help folks.

[artharakka]

Every time I see your art I remember how much I love your colours - its just...aaaah I can't even explain it, but it's so perfect? Its..muted but not washed out? And it gives such a natural feel to the works that I adore! Do you have any proccess for determining colours?

Thank you!🧡🧡 Colours are often what I think makes or fails my drawings so either way means a lot! Sorry it took approximately a thousand years to answer but this inspired me to do an illustration to experiment and explain with. (Though as said, I don’t think I always nail the colours and I have only little formal art education etc so take with a grain of salt)

With line art, I usually fill in different sections (like character, environment in front, background) with base colours first. Most often with some orange or sienna.

And to mimic the effect that underpaint has in traditional art, I’m usually choosing the final colours by picking a colour I think would be close to the “actual” colour (like skintone), and, probably not very professionally, “mixing” that colour with the base colour by using a brush that is not 100% opaque. I’m also testing and fiddling here & usually doing some kind of colour sketch before cleaning them up.

This way the colours become a bit muted & more harmonious (though I also prefer using more muted colour schemes to begin with).

Orange “underpainting” is usually my go-to, especially when doing “neutral” light like in character sheets. If I want the piece to have a certain atmosphere or environment, I might use other base colours. Sometimes I use actual photos as inspiration or guidelines:

Note that I don’t have strict colour reference sheet where I pick my starting colours from. I’m adjusting those as well even before the sketching brushstrokes:

The skintone’s starting colour (1st one) is redder here, because green underpaint eats some of the redness away as red and green are complementary colours. The blue of the lightest shirt is also darker as the character is more shadowed in the latter version.

Here I used red as a base colour. If I had used skintone’s base colour from the green version, it would’ve been too red. Instead lighter and a bit more orange/yellow tone ends up looking more natural (even though still very red, but it doesn’t stand out that much with everything else also having a red undertone). Hair’s starting colour is also more yellow so it still looks like a blond instead of red hair.

Shadows & other details I do with the same method, just using the picked flat colour as the base colour (so for skin, picking slightly darker & usually bluer colour and painting with low opacity brush over the skintone instead of over only the orange/yellow/etc underpaint)

Here I also did highlights with the soft light layer:

I hope some of that was useful as I’m not native English nor art jargon speaker! This was also mostly my line art process, with paintings (esp. ones that aim for realism-ish look) I look more references from photos and how light & colour acts in them.

And as said, sometimes I miss and the work comes out too washed out. For example these Patreon collection icons came out too dark & colours too similar to each other. Against my dark mode drawing program it looked more vibrant, woops. I edited them a little from here, but should probably re-do them at some point.

[ostrichmonkey-games]

Ostrichmonkey Hack: Layout Behind the Scenes

Been procrastinating on this enough! So here is a look at some of the process and decisions that went into doing the layout for the Ostrichmonkey Hack.

Let's start with the goals I had in mind:

Keep it simple.

Keep it easy to make.

With those goals set, next step is gathering materials and resources (not all of this was done as cleanly as I'm making it out to be, but this is the gist).

Materials used:

Classic Explorer Template

Affinity Publisher and Photo

Fonts

Art

The text itself

The Classic Explorer Template was critical in getting this layout done efficiently, since it does a lot of the work for you. It's not a replacement for having a rough idea on how to do layout, but it can serve as a nice tutorial/explainer on different elements of layout and typesetting, and honestly, is worth its (digital) weight in gold. There's a free version available if you want to check out what it offers.

I use the Affinity Suite for my layout work. It's a nice set of programs with a manageable learning curve, but there are plenty of other alternatives so go with whatever works for you (one of my favorite elements of using multiple Affinity programs is that within Publisher, you can access both Designer (vector illustration) and Photo (photo editing, illustration etc) functions, which is just a nice workflow).

Here's what my setup looks like, with all the guidelines/base grid stuff turned on;

Normally I start with some style tests and “sketches” to get a feel for what I want the layout to look like, but the Classic Explorer’s does a lot of that heavy lifting for me already so I get to skip this step for this project. Speed and efficiency is one of the main reasons I wanted to use the template - this was envisioned as a “I just need to get something done” kind of project.

So next up on getting it done, fonts!

There are lots of great places to get fonts from, just make sure you're getting them from legitimate sources. Do your homework and make sure that "free" font is actually free to use in commercial projects.

I pulled three fonts from the depths of my collection.

One for the title and main headers (Wallau Deutsch)

One for the second header (Rakkas)

One for the body text (PT Serif)

Technically a secret fourth font for some "bullet points" (1651 Alchemy)

I picked these fonts out because they work together well and are readable. The title/main header fonts are comparatively less readable, but you can get away with that since headers are Big and used less frequently. The second header (Rakkas) is a nice middle ground between a full on blackletter font like the main header, and the classic-y serif of the body text. It creates a transition between the two fonts.

I used PT Serif since it was already in the template, but it also had the bold/italics versions I knew I would need, is readable at a variety of sizes, and had all the special glyphs I would need (it actually did not, but whoops, we'll get to that later).

Normally when I start layout, I do a quick "sketch page" where I try out different fonts and style tests that can look something like this;

But that wasn't necessary for this project (another advantage of the using the template).

Now, let's get to some choices in formatting the text itself.

Each time a key term came up, it was highlighted by bolding and italicizing it. Any time after that, it was just normal text. I went back and forth on highlighting it every single time, but the current format just looked cleaner so it won out.

Additionally, in several places in the text, rather than introducing a third header (which just broke up the page too much, disrupting the flow and clean look), I instead put what would have been the new third header (HP or WOUNDS in the above example) in all caps and behind a colon. This ended up not disrupting the text too much, and was only necessary a handful of times. But when it was necessary, I made sure to stay consistent. Consistent and organized formatting is one of the key ways to make your layout look nice and clean.

Aside from changing some font choices, one of the other ways I tweaked the template was with some spacing (between "sections", like in the above text, introducing an extra line break between the Attributes and Staying Alive sections) and the "bullet points".

The large bullet points that accompany the second headers are actually a glyph pulled from a different font. I picked that one out specifically because its just a little irregular and handwritten looking (1651 Alchemy is a handwritten styled font), and it also helped pull you to the start of new sections, further enhancing the second header. It helps make each section discrete and more "modular".

Back to extra spacing for a second now. So each "chapter" of the text uses the main header to designate it as a full "chapter".

"Characters" up top there is one of those chapter headers. It's nice and big and special, and also takes up a good chunk of space. One a full spread, this also means that the second page of text begins higher up than the text on the first page (compare where Attributes starts vs where Dying starts).

I played around with the format of spreads that did not have a main chapter header on them, starting the first page text up toward the top to have it line up with the second page. Which, probably would have been totally fine, but I preferred the look when each spread had the same kind of spacing. But repeating the main header on each spread was too clunky. So the solution;

Bam! A line!

Blank empty space looked too empty, but slapping a quick line there took up just enough visual space for it to work. Then, I carried that line-design-language to other places (to separate footnotes from the body text, within the tables, and sort of on the cover). This then made the line choice feel even more cohesive and purposeful.

And speaking of footnotes, that was another extra tweak/flourish I added not present in the template (the sidebars are part of the template, but sidebars rule so they would have happened regardless). The footnotes served as a way to share specific references as an informal "works cited". A lot of NSR/OSR design is super iterative, so I thought it would be cool to shout out some of the more direct inspirations and references I used when making my game.

But the footnotes were also kind of not really my downfall. Turns out PT Serif didn't seem to have all the necessary footnote glyphs, nor did it want to make proper superscripts of integers past 3. So, rather than trying to find a new body font (or deal with the headache of using a font solely for superscript notation), I just fudged the formatting some and stuck to asterisks, and restarting "numbering" on each spread. Oh well.

Let's now briefly touch on laying out tables.

It sucks.

My advice is find an example of a really nice looking table and then try and figure out what makes it look nice, and then doing that forever. Luckily, the template saves me again by including multiple examples of tables, ripe for tweaking. Which ended up looking like this;

Nice and clean! Hooray!

Okay, there's a lot of small decisions that goes into making text properly formatted and look nice, but I skipped some of those decisions and didn't go ham on typesetting, but whatever. That all about covers the important parts regarding the text. Now let's talk about art.

Public domain art is your best friend.

I went and trawled through a bunch of art I've saved from the Met's Open Access collection (there's plenty of great open access collections out there, just happened to have some from the Met handy), and settled on this piece;

Which I then dropped into Affinity Photo and played around until I ended up with this;

Nothing too wild, but it Felt Right, so it's done.

I then immediately dropped that onto the cover page, slapped the title on, added a quick border (and also spent some time trying to fix some weird issues that ended up being solved by just rasterizing it, whoops) and bam;

And that's the only art piece used throughout the zine! But I made the most out of it. Between each chapter, I had a single splash page and dropped in different zoomed/cropped versions of the art. Like so (and even on the back cover!);

The original image was high resolution, so zooming in worked, plus the effects/distortions I created hid any imperfections.

So that's the art sorted and the zine finished!

Now, this is getting pretty long, so if there's anything anyone reading this is interested that I didn't touch on, shout in the notes!

[peggycatrerr]

i think it’s really really important that we keep reminding people that what we’re calling ai isn’t even close to intelligent and that its name is pure marketing. the silicon valley tech bros and hollywood executives call it ai because they either want it to seem all-powerful or they believe it is and use that to justify their use of it to exploit and replace people.

chat-gpt and things along those lines are not intelligent, they are predictive text generators that simply have more data to draw on than previous ones like, you know, your phone’s autocorrect. they are designed to pass the turing test by having human-passing speech patterns and syntax. they cannot come up with anything new, because they are machines programmed on data sets. they can’t even distinguish fact from fiction, because all they are actually capable of is figuring out how to construct a human-sounding response using applicable data to a question asked by a human. you know how people who use chat-gpt to cheat on essays will ask it for reference lists and get a list of texts that don’t exist? it’s because all chat-gpt is doing is figuring out what types of words typically appear in response to questions like that, and then stringing them together.

midjourney and things along those lines are not intelligent, they are image generators that have just been really heavily fine-tuned. you know how they used to do janky fingers and teeth and then they overcame that pretty quickly? that’s not because of growing intelligence, it’s because even more photographs got added to their data sets and were programmed in such a way that they were able to more accurately identify patterns in the average amount of fingers and teeth across all those photos. and it too isn’t capable of creation. it is placing pixels in spots to create an amalgamation of images tagged with metadata that matches the words in your request. you ask for a tree and it spits out something a little quirky? it’s not because it’s creating something, it’s because it gathered all of its data on trees and then averaged it out. you know that “the rest of the mona lisa” tweet and how it looks like shit? the fact that there is no “rest” of the mona lisa aside, it’s because the generator does not have the intelligence required to identify what’s what in the background of such a painting and extend it with any degree of accuracy, it looked at the colours and approximate shapes and went “oho i know what this is maybe” and spat out an ugly landscape that doesn’t actually make any kind of physical or compositional sense, because it isn’t intelligent.

and all those ai-generated voices? also not intelligent, literally just the same vocal synth we’ve been able to do since daisy bell but more advanced. you get a sample of a voice, break it down into the various vowel and consonant sounds, and then when you type in the text you want it to say, it plays those vowel and consonant sounds in the order displayed in that text. the only difference now is that the breaking it down process can be automated to some extent (still not intelligence, just data analysis) and the synthesising software can recognise grammar a bit more and add appropriate inflections to synthesised voices to create a more natural flow.

if you took the exact same technology that powers midjourney or chat-gpt and removed a chunk of its dataset, the stuff it produces would noticeably worsen because it only works with a very very large amount of data. these programs are not intelligent. they are programs that analyse and store data and then string it together upon request. and if you want evidence that the term ai is just being used for marketing, look at the sheer amount of software that’s added “ai tools” that are either just things that already existed within the software, using the same exact tech they always did but slightly refined (a lot of film editing software are renaming things like their chromakey tools to have “ai” in the name, for example) or are actually worse than the things they’re overhauling (like the grammar editor in office 365 compared to the classic office spellcheck).

but you wanna real nifty lil secret about the way “ai” is developing? it’s all neural nets and machine learning, and the thing about neural nets and machine learning is that in order to continue growing in power it needs new data. so yeah, currently, as more and more data gets added to them, they seem to be evolving really quickly. but at some point soon after we run out of data to add to them because people decided they were complete or because corporations replaced all new things with generated bullshit, they’re going to stop evolving and start getting really, really, REALLY repetitive. because machine learning isn’t intelligent or capable of being inspired to create new things independently. no, it’s actually self-reinforcing. it gets caught in loops. "ai” isn’t the future of art, it’s a data analysis machine that’ll start sounding even more like a broken record than it already does the moment its data sets stop having really large amounts of unique things added to it.

[kay-kay-is-kray-kray]

Been on a tears of the kingdom kick and utterly consumed by this game, so here's what I think how the boys would play the game:

Riddle: doesn't.

Trey: Found out there's a recipe list and that intrigued him. Is an avid explorer motivated by the food and environments. Has completed the recipe book.

Ace: spends more time paragliding than anyone. Dude probably Speedran to get Tulin once he heard about his ability. *Active* participant in Korok space program. He cheeses every shrine he can even though he's perfectly capable of solving the puzzles.

Deuce: makes pretty good zonai devices, especially motorbike ones with emitters on them. The problem is that he hasn't figured out how to upgrade his batteries.

Cater: takes screenshots of everything and anything. Looks up guides so he can get the different outfit sets. 100% skateboards the rails instead of using the minecarts. Shield surf champ.

Leona: that dude who posted himself on Reddit killing 5 lynels in the coliseum, no damage no mounting, then says it was easy.

Ruggie: sneakstrike king we stan. Dude never takes off any of the stealth outfits and knows exactly when to fold.

Jack: Dude maxed out on stamina before the 2nd dungeon. Also has the nicest dream house in Akkala. Is the most committed to sidequests.

Azul: has somehow memorized the coordinates of every key area. Comes in crazy prepared for every battle and situation. Knows exactly what fuses to use because he has tested every single possible combination. Has also taken inspiration from the recipe book into the Lounge's menu.

Floyd: naked run 3 hearts for funsies, has completed all of the shrines but doesn't feel like cashing in his rewards, purposely taunts the gloom hands and other horrors. Started cashing in on batteries the second he realized he could commit vehicular homicide.

Jade: loves collecting shrooms, knows every recipe on the book. Spends a lot of time on the various mountains this game has to offer. Pretty sure spends a lot of time in the caves too. Has the most bubbul kills.

Kalim: Minecraft extra-ore-dinaire. Dude has 115k rupees because he keeps finding diamonds in his ore. I don't know how he does it. Is unaware of the duplication (or any other) glitch.

Jamil: also a sneakstrike king and knows how to make good Zonai devices but Kalim keeps interrupting his game time during critical moments and his missions fail. Is very good at dodging enemies, almost at Leona's level.

Vil: plays during his downtime. Is a very good fighter and explorer and also has made some amazing zonai devices. Is just an all around good player.

Rook: A+ sniper, no eyeballs needed. Dude took out a gleeok on the first day. Has maxed out the compendium. Takes the loveliest photos too.

Epel: the berserker of the cast. Will throw himself into moblin camps for sport while screaming. Has the most golden apples of the cast.

Idia: Speedran the game the very day it came out, now spends his time making Oppenheimer-like B52s and testing them out with Koroks and enemies alike. Spams the duplication glitch. He also owns the collector's edition and I already hate him for it.

Ortho: creates those zonai devices that terrify me on Twitter. He also studies the enemy AI a lot. Is that dude who figured out how to simultaneously use batteries and electricity to stay in the air.

Malleus: plays just to see the dragons, then dips.

Lilia: spends most of his time in the depths. Is loving The Horrors™️ and having a grand old time. Has the largest dubious food collection.

Silver: the only person to actually treat the koroks well. Somehow collected all of the seeds.

Sebek: plays defensively and with two handed weapons. Keeps getting wiped out in 2 hits because he keeps forgetting to fuse. Insists he knows everything. Has maxed out all his pony points. Named the giant black horse "Malleus" (would have named him Lord Malleus had there not been a character limit).

[bryan360]

Here’s my note before I’ll get started….

(NO COPYING OR PLAGIARIZING FROM ME AND ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIEND’S WORK! THAT INCLUDES OUR CHARACTERS, DESIGNS, STUFF, ETC. IMPOSTERS AND SEXBOTS ARE NOT WELCOME TO FOLLOW MY BLOG WHATSOEVER! 😡 That will be all….I mean it.)

I’ve been saving this from last month after test out my recent stylus pens. Originally that I’m supposed to show it sooner if it wasn’t for the difficulty of our family’s home router. ➡️ Link Here

Nevertheless, here’s that I finally wanted to share with my stylus pens for anyone can check out. Make that two each because I happened to have another “Blackweb” brand stylus pen from few years ago. It was a long story to explain, but let’s just say I got it from the program as a gift they give me.

Anyways, this takes place back in April. 28th where I take on photo shoots of my pens. Having to compared those of mine, the newer “StylusHome” brand was bigger than my electronic stylus pens. Not only that, but the caps set of four on each tips. The thing where I opened from the electronic pen caps leads to the USB sockets to plug with. I’d used micro-USB cables to charge of my electric pens, but not for my less-tech pens as it set on four caps for each sides.

So yeah. I’m making this as a comparison between these pens; different likewise. I also took some edits to add words to describe here, but hoping you can understand. Though you wondering about having to check those in drawing test? Well, I sure do have it. ⬇️

I’ve got my recorded video through 8:11 to 8:19 A.M. after using my stylus pens of writing and scribbling. Though I also took hours of edit words that was available on my PicsArt app. Looks like I’ll be using that technique for my upcoming videos the same thing where my Filipino friend did.

As you can see from the results, they’re pretty identical that I’ve traced in. However, thought it’ll be okay if I can go with my new stylus pens.

No matter why though, I’ll be keeping with my previous electronic pens that it still working as of today. Hope you guys enjoy this post I’ve saved.

Tagged: @murumokirby360 @carmenramcat @alexander1301 @rafacaz4lisam2k4 @paektu

[kasarawolf]

Capsule Corp Drone, (CC Drone) aka “Little Birdie” / “Birdie Bot.” / “Birdie.”

- The nickname comes from the phrase, “a little birdie told me.” A tool used by Time Patrollers, this little machine records and reports footage to Graders/Instructors. Footage from a BB can be broadcasted live and is often used to stream footage onto overhead displays during tournaments.

They were originally produced to be electronic pets for children and families by the Capsule Corporation. The built in camera feature was supposed to be used to record precious memories or to be used as security cameras within a home while the owners were asleep. However, there was a fault in their programming, where they would throw themselves into danger, (They need to get that perfect photo of the perp breaking into the home!) often being destroyed in the process during the testing phase. Instead of scrapping the project or modifying their code, the little drones were sold to Conton City to be used by Patrollers during Missions, where danger lurks around every corner. The perfect environment for a Birdie to thrive.

- They come with two modes, Photo Mode and Video Mode.

- Not mandatory to take on Patrolling Missions, but it does make filling paper work a hell of a lot easier!

- In Sleep Mode, all wings retract back in, making it look a lot like an egg. The Charging Station is called the “Nest.” Much larger charging stations can be purchased for multiple Birdie Bot’s to charge in at the same time.

- White is the default coloring for all Birdie Bots. Can be customized with your own skins and stickers. (if you own one. You can not modify a rented BB.) The lens can also be interchanged for different colors. The default lens is dark pink.

- When it’s about to start recording, a two note chirp will sound from the BB. (Sounds a lot like a bird chirp, hence the nickname) They do not make sounds during recording, as it could ruin the footage they are capturing.

- The wings on a BB can get squeaky, making it even sound more like a bird. Be sure to keep your Birdie Bot in top condition with regular maintenance!

- Often used during tournaments to get close up shots in fights. Sometimes they get a little too close.

- The two lights on the front can be used to light up a dark room. Works as a camera flash for photos.

- Not unusual for someone to own many of BB’s, due to their self-destructive natures.

- Are quite cheap to purchase, due to how often they break.

- Takes and records photo’s in High Definition.

- Birdie Bots are dare devils and have no fear.

- When purchased or rented out, they come in a capsule.

- Birdie Bot’s have built in speakers, showing at one time, they may have been able to communicate with their owners. However, it seems that this feature was discontinued, after most BB’s were so committed to their directive, they decided to stay silent.

- Possibly non sentient. It is unknown if they have personalities as Birdie Bots have short life expectancies, due to getting in the crosshairs of a ki blast quite often.

- Self destructive. Will do anything to get the perfect shot, even if it means their inevitable termination. (Based on Xenoverse 2’s “Photo Mode.”)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There they arreee~!

Birdie Bots!

These little guys are some bots that I have in my story~ They don't play a big role. They mostly exist to flesh out the world more :)

Any updates to their info will most likely only be added on my Xenoverse 2 FANON GUIDEBOOK!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kjxf8S4iMDSy3I7jFmRx67gFOH-fTUge/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=114030828749834453258&rtpof=true&sd=true

[govindhtech]

How Truepic Validates Visual Content In A Deepfake World

In the era of deepfakes, trust what you see: How Truepic verifies photos and videos

What is Truepic?

A digital inspection platform called Truepic Vision offers a rapid and easy method of sending certified, reliable photos and videos straight to the person making the request.

Leading the effort to ensure that people are aware of the source of what they are viewing on the internet is Truepic.

The prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated bogus information was brought home in March 2023 when pictures of Pope Francis walking outside the Vatican wearing a stylish designer puffer jacket went viral online. You would think the image of the pontiff, complete with a gaudy crucifix, was real unless you looked closely at it.

The pictures became viral at the same time as generative AI gained enormous popularity. Since then, increasingly advanced and easily available programs have been developed to produce realistic images and films using basic cues. It also means that whatever you see online is tougher to believe.

Here’s where Truepic can help. The company has spearheaded the development of a system that uses metadata to confirm the authenticity of photos and videos. It is collaborating with a wide range of partners, including software content producers like Adobe, social network giants like Meta, and tech giants like Microsoft and Google.

Because online misinformation and disinformation are still a concern, this has given content producers, publishers, and social media platforms a better understanding of what is real and what is phony.

Introducing Truepic

Realizing that there would soon be a need for transparency and authenticity in a future where bogus content may damage everything from online dating to commerce and sabotage elections globally, Truepic was founded in 2016.

It spent years refining and developing its product while testing a variety of methods for content authentication at the point of origin. The New York Times, Adobe, Twitter, Microsoft, and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) all supported various efforts that started to take shape around the same period.

A non-profit group named the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA.org) served as the standard’s steward, and Truepic collaborated with numerous of these businesses to develop and define the C2PA standard. Among the steering committee members who now serve as the group’s leaders are Amazon, Adobe, the BBC, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, Publicis Groupe, Sony, and Truepic.

Cryptographic hashing and digital signatures, which are incorporated into a picture or video at the time of creation, are the foundation of the C2PA standard. Data like the equipment or program used to capture the media, when it was taken, and whether editing software was used are all included in the metadata. After that, a different C2PA-enabled device can unlock and examine the data to confirm the authenticity of the picture.

It is crucial that Truepic collaborates with so many athletes who uphold the standard because of this.

Truepic Vision

Truepic provides an enterprise-grade version of C2PA, which is an open specification with extra security, dependability, and support. Additionally, it provides Truepic Vision, a stand-alone software as a service that enables businesses to request, take, and examine reliable digital images and videos in place of time-consuming and expensive on-site inspections.

A few years later, the demand for a business like Truepic has increased because to the intricacy and caliber of content produced by AI.

Qualcomm Technologies reached out to Truepic in order to work together on a proof of concept that would ultimately lead to an authentication solution for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform, integrating with Snapdragon for on-device authentication. In order to provide vault-like protection for a device’s critical data, engineers from both sides worked every day to improve Truepic’s services directly for usage with Qualcomm Technologies’ Trusted Execution Environment in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform.

The C2PA signing is handled by Qualcomm Technologies’ Trusted Execution Environment, which further strengthens the security of the authentication process by making it more difficult for malicious actors to alter the cryptographic keys that safeguard the data.

What comes next?

The U.S. presidential election, which has already seen its fair share of AI-content muddy the field, serves as the best example of the applicability of Truepic’s services. Along with TikTok, Meta, Google, OpenAI, and other firms, it was one of 20 to join the AI Elections Accord in February 2024, pledging to fight false AI election material.

Because they may lack the time or resources to deal with picture and other internet content verification themselves, businesses are increasingly turning to C2PA and Truepic.

Additionally, more businesses are eager to join as they can see the direction that AI safety rules are taking. C2PA is viewed by many as a means of complying with upcoming regulations.

The goal of Truepic is to integrate its technology into the upcoming flagship phones that use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 architecture. According to McGregor, this will enable Truepic to expand the technology to a new level.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[rajeshseo111]

According to reports, Apple is working on a revolutionary device with a 20-inch foldable display

Apple has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, introducing ground-breaking devices that reimagine user experiences. Throughout the long term, they have reliably pushed the limits of plan and usefulness, and presently, reports are whirling about their next progressive item: a device with a 20-inch display that folds up. Despite the fact that this information may resemble something out of a science fiction film, a number of sources have recently reported on Apple's alleged plans to enter the foldable device market. How about we jump into the intriguing prospects and expected effect of this reputed gadget.

The emergence of devices that fold:

Companies like Samsung and Huawei have already released their own versions of foldable devices, which have been steadily gaining popularity in the technology sector. These gadgets offer clients the adaptability of a bigger showcase in a compact structure factor, overcoming any issues among cell phones and tablets. While starting executions confronted difficulties, for example, toughness and programming enhancement, ceaseless progressions have made foldable gadgets really engaging and alluring.

Apple's Introduction to Foldable Innovation:

Apple, known for its inclination for mystery, has been supposed to be fostering its own foldable gadget for a long while. The Cupertino-based business is currently working on a prototype with a stunning 20-inch folding display, according to numerous industry reports. While explicit subtleties are scant, it is guessed that the gadget might join the convenientce of a tablet with the comfort of a PC, making a completely new item classification.

Another Period of Efficiency and Diversion:

Apple's 20-inch folding display has the potential to transform the way we work and consume media. Imagine being able to fold a small device into a large display comparable to many laptop or desktop monitor sizes. Professionals might find this device to be a game-changer because it would give them access to a spacious portable workstation that would boost their mobile productivity.

Moreover, the bigger showcase could raise the diversion experience higher than ever. The folding display's ample space would make watching movies, playing games, or editing photos and videos more enjoyable and immersive. A seamless user experience with unparalleled visuals and performance could result from Apple's expertise in display technology and software optimization.

Considerations and Challenges:

While the possibility of a 20-inch collapsing show is irrefutably dazzling, there are difficulties that Apple and different makers should defeat to convey an effective item. The folding mechanism's long-term durability is a major concern. The creasing and cracking of the early foldable devices' displays raised questions about their long-term reliability. In order to create a robust folding mechanism that can withstand repeated folding and unfolding without compromising functionality, Apple's engineering prowess will undoubtedly be put to the test.

Software optimization is also essential for this kind of device. Through its seamless integration of hardware and software, Apple has a proven track record of providing exceptional user experiences. Apple would need to ensure that the operating system and app ecosystem are optimized to seamlessly adapt to various display configurations in order to fully utilize the potential of a 20-inch folding display.

Conclusion:

Speculation and excitement among technology enthusiasts all over the world have been sparked by reports that Apple is working on a device with a display that folds out to 20 inches. Although these rumors should be taken with a grain of salt until they are officially confirmed, the idea of an Apple foldable device opens up a world of possibilities for entertainment and productivity. Once more as the market for foldable gadgets keeps on developing, it will be entrancing to perceive how Apple moves toward this arising innovation and how they carry their one of a kind touch to rethink the client experience.

Disclaimer: At the time of writing, the information in this blog is based on rumors and speculation.

Find other information @ https://help4info.com/1004/Apple-reportedly-planning-a-device-with-20-inch-folding-display

[usafphantom2]

Would scale models be revealing China's new stealth bomber?

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 05/09/2022 - 21:11in Military

In recent days, images and videos of a flying wing model undergoing aerodynamic tests have emerged on Chinese social media and have quickly aroused the interest of Western analysts about being the possible new Chinese bomber.

The models, featuring a flying wing design, with serrated inlets and a conversion V-tail that can bend down to merge with the wing, are widely consistent with the previous representations of the H-20 stealth bomber still under development.

Andreas Rupprecht, a Chinese military aviation expert, who was one of the first to share the images of the models on social networks, said he thinks that the models have at least some relation to the official design studies being carried out in relation to the H-20, although it is also worth noting that there will probably be several different studies leading to the final bomber, and this reflects only one -

With the secret nature of Chinese military development, this "leakage" may not be a leak, but it is a planned launch to draw attention previously prepared with previews from the state media.

The cover of the 506 edition of Modern Weaponry, so far, there have been no reports of the arrest of the editor-in-chief.

The similarity between the previous unofficial renderings and this current wind tunnel test further increases the flame around the video, with some commenting that this could be a marketing scam of the model company to use the hype around the H-20 to promote their own services. Another commented that the previous images of the H-20 released to the public in the magazine Modern Weaponry on which the current model is based, did not result in the arrest and arrest of the editor of the magazine, thus concluding that the models are largely inaccurate for the real project of the H-20 bomber.

When completed, the H-20 will complete the trio of aviation projects "-20" in the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army, joining the J-20 stealth "Mighty Dragon" and the Y-20 strategic transport plane "Kunpeng" in the modernization of the Chinese Air Force.

With a probability of gaining initial operational capacity close to the United States B-21 Raider, the H-20 is on its way to giving China the status of one of the only two nations with a fleet of stealth bombers alongside the United States. The completion of the program will also indicate the external growth of PLAAF towards a more global strategic mindset with the corresponding tools.

A photo of the 2018 AVIC teaser video (above) served to show the supposed H-20 under a canvas. The next generation Chinese bomber has long been expected to use a flying wing configuration.

Satellite image of a flying wing-shaped aircraft near the AVIC factory in 2020.

Looking at the record of the American B-2, the only operational stealth bomber, you can see a global list of places of operation and bombing targets, from Guam to Yugoslavia, ensuring that the will of the United States is extended all over the world. Although we will probably not see the flying H-20 combat missions anytime soon, their mere presence will provide Chinese statesmen with much more diplomatic pressure in their regional focuses and beyond, if necessary.

Tags: Military AviationPLAAF - China Air ForceXian H-20

Previous news

South Korea will update its Apache helicopters

Next news

IMAGES: F-35 fighters perform Elephant Walk in Australia's Pitch Black exercise

Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. It has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

Related news

SAAF Gripen C (3918): (Photo: Raymond van Dijkhuizen / Scramble)

MILITARY

SAAF puts Gripen in flight after 12 months of grounding

06/09/2022 - 20:08

MILITARY

Czech Republic hosts the multinational exercise JTAC Ample Strike 2022

09/06/2022 - 16:00

MILITARY

Russia will display Il-76MD-90A, Su-35 and Ka-52 aircraft at ADEX 2022 in Azerbaijan

06/09/2022 - 14:00

MILITARY

IMAGES: U.S. B-52 bombers fly over the Middle East amid tensions with Iran

06/09/2022 - 12:00

MILITARY

IMAGES: F-35 fighters perform Elephant Walk in Australia's Pitch Black exercise

09/06/2022 - 08:38

HELICOPTERS

South Korea will update its Apache helicopters

05/09/2022 - 16:00

homeMain PageEditorialsINFORMATIONeventsCooperateSpecialitiesadvertiseabout

Cavok Brazil - Digital Tchê Web Creation

Commercial

Executive

Helicopters

HISTORY

Military

Brazilian Air Force

Space

Specialities

Cavok Brazil - Digital Tchê Web Creation

[accio-victuuri]

Devil Timeline : GG and Web before the official meeting.

Disclaimer that this is All CPN and nothing is really proven. As with all these things, feel free to disagree. Don’t crack your head open thinking, we’re all just clowning here. some info on here are taken from different sources and others I added in. 

What is this timeline/theory all about?

This CPN is all about them liking each other as early as 2015-2016. This is different from the love at first sight theory from 2017 & with them keeping in touch till they meet again in 2018. Part of this speculation is that they are ex-boyfriends. Also that Web was punished (what for and if this is even true, we don’t know.) by his company in 2016 before hosting Day Day Up. I don’t buy the ex-lovers part/punishment. My take on this Devil Timeline is that they were lowkey fanboying each other or have a crush on e/o. Where they in contact or have they met? Yes. possibly. 

Plus, It’s not too outrageous to believe that they know of each other. GG is a koreaboo and he most probably heard of UNIQ. Web on the other hand, most likely heard of XNINE. 

So where are they between 2015-2016?

GG joined the reality program x-fire in 2015 and went on to debut with xnine on 2016 as the main vocalist. Notable acting job was superstar academy. Web on the other hand, was busy with UNIQ. Promoting in Korea, China, Thailand, Brazil and Japan. Notable in 2015 was the release of EOEO. In 2016, he joined the cast of Chinese Odyssey part 3 and was also announced as an assistant host for Day Day Up.

What are some key points to this Timeline? 

1. Love Mole : It all started with this photo. Web holding a picture he drew of someone smiling and with a Mole. A mole on the same place as GG’s.

Another explanation for this is, he was actually drawing himself. there is a fake rumor that says Web is fixated with GG’s mole because he had one on the same site when he was a kid ; then disappeared over time. It goes on to say that Web jokes that GG stole his mole. (this joking tho was done during CQL shooting).

Recently, you can see in his photos that it’s there again. It’s literally the LOVE MOLE! but yeah, going back -- the delulu interpretation here is he was drawing GG. 

2. GG’s dream lover : 2016, On GG’s vlog for Qixi he talks about a “dream lover” and drew it on paper. He goes on to say that he left the face blank as appearance doesn’t matter- It’s about the feeling.

Now onto the drawing of GG, bxg compares the features of the figure to Web.

3. Parallels : Similar posts from 2015-2016. There is not too much out there and we can’t really verify cause of GG’s weibo post restrictions. I can’t find ones aside from the example below cause most of the same posts that we have screenshots of are from 2017 onwards.

On 6/2015, Web posted a picture of himself visiting a spongebob exhibit. On 2/2016, GG shared a picture from his visit of the same place with his friends. It’s too far apart if you ask me and so many people love spongebob, so this could really be a coincidence and not them cueing each other.

4. How long have they really known each other? : The Usually reserved Web was so open with GG during that 2017 TTXS episode. Remember that Web only started being an assistant host on 2016 and is usually very shy. But he interacted with GG in the simplest way by imitating his gesture. Tho the TTXS bros were the first ones who did it, he went ahead and did the pose too. His smile was also teasing.

Compare this with their CQL interviews and GG recalling what he said to his bandmate who was scared that it’s Web who he’s gonna battle with.

I don’t think he said that because he doesn’t know who Web is. Again, it’s too familiar. Like, don’t worry it’s just Web, I know him, he’s good, he won’t kill you. In this interview he proceeds to say that he has faith in his bandmate but after watching Web dance, he knew they could not win. 

Also add Web’s reaction in this interview, trying to wave GG off when he kept on saying he knew of Web for a long time already. 

GG, you just met in 2017, why are you saying you’ve known him for a very long time? “know of” is such a broad term. It can be you know them personally or because Web has been a celebrity longer , that’s why he knew of him. we are betting it’s the latter.

So if that’s what we’re thinking, then why did he say that he knew they couldn’t win AFTER seeing Web dance. If you’ve been a fan and KNOW who wang yibo is- the first thing you will find is that he is an EXCELLENT DANCER. It doesn’t match up. Unless, It’s really GG who first followed Web’s career?

I can go on and on about things these two have lied about from eggplants to carrots and that waterfall scene. They have a say on what narrative they want to put out in this interviews, whether they honestly forgot things or are actively refusing to give information. It’s up to them what they wanna say. 

5. Love clues from 2015-2016 : 

Web’s ideal type : Suzy from Miss A (which was i guess everyone’s ideal girl in the KPOP world during that time) and Taeyeon from SNSD. I know there are parallels of how Suzy and GG look alike and how Taeyeon is kinda like GG. They are both vocalists and are older than Web. 

GG’s ideal type : He said he wants someone who is gentle but can still stand on their own. Also someone with personality. Plus, he doesn’t care if his other half can’t cook because he will do it. When asked what he will do if him and his friend like the same person, he says if he really likes the person then he will fight for it. 

6. The first table read : This is a new entry based on the BTS released last night. We only had snippets of this when they were joking around but this new video shows more. GG just naturally turns to Web and like he’s done it before. There is still some shyness when they were talking about pants but it doesn’t look like two people who have only interacted today. Especially Web’s demeanor, there is a time or two that he hesitates when joking, but that could be because he is testing the waters. 

There was Absolutely no barriers (from GG) in tapping Web’s back a couple of times. If I’m a stranger just watching this, I’ll tell you these two have known each other for quite some time. Not just from that 2017 meeting and beyond.

7. A 2016 drawing - Over the years, we have learned that GG, like many artists put clues in their drawings. with things up to interpretation, as most of the time, he does not explain things outright. One BXG pointed out this drawing he made of a heart + bunny + cat. the Bunny is obviously him, so, love with a cat? Plus the look of the cat, like it’s looking at an innocent bunny. I know power dynamics between the two is a complicated topic, BUT---- 

8. WILDCARD: I know this is a popular fake rumor out there but we don’t really have evidence. No picture and I don’t have a screenshot of a fan account. It says GG went to a Uniq fanmeet on 6/22 in Guangzhou cause he wants to research about idols. This is before he went on xfire. The date 6/22 matches with the 622 coincidence. Consider this as fanfic but this lives in my mind.

That’s it. feel free to add thoughts or some other info you have about this timeline cause I’m sure that I don’t have it all. It feels so good to finally put this out because it’s been sitting on my draft for some time T.T. I am sure there are other explanations for this timeline.This is all CPN anyway. Please don’t take seriously. 

This posted was last edited on 11/28/2020 12:53 PM

[theroyalsims]

"PRINCESS” NATALIA SEEN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE PRINCE JACQUES’ SURPRISE STATEMENT, DRIPPING IN DESIGNER ITEMS

Miss Natalia Anouelle, who first shot to fame a few weeks ago when she was featured in The Rennaux Tatler along with her claims that she is Prince Jacques’ illegitimate daughter, was spotted shopping in Champs Les Sims yesterday afternoon.

The Rennaux-born, Champs Les Sims resident looked “overwhelmed” by the crowds and paparazzi who followed her around, taking her photos. A source close to Miss Anouelle, however, claims that she’s enjoying every moment. As a matter of fact, she has signed a lucrative tell-all book deal with a major publishing house. The budding “star” also has a full schedule in the upcoming weeks, filled with bookings upon bookings in both national and international television programs for appearances and exclusive interviews.

The alleged “princess” also recently hired a manager and a PR team to help with her image. The source spills: “She’s thinking and planning ahead. She needs a good reputation when she takes her place as the child of a Prince. She may or may not be given an official title of “princess” but she plans to act like one, and a good PR team will help her achieve her goal.”

People also noticed how different the young woman seems to look after just a couple of weeks since the world first learned about her. During interviews, she has described herself as someone “raised in poverty” who had to “live off scraps” from her mother’s relatives. She has described herself as a “self-made woman” multiple times, and claims that she graduated from a good university and landed a good job all because of hard work. One might wonder, however, just how “good” her job is, considering that she was seen wearing designer clothes and items from head-to-toe during her most recent outing.

Miss Anouelle wore a sleeveless orange wrap dress from designer brand Stellheim. The dress currently retails at over §2,500. She was also seen sporting a limited edition Chavel purse estimated to cost over §5,900! At the rate she’s going, she might just give Eleanore a run for her money! 

The source further reveals that Natalia has also spent a pretty penny on a wardrobe overhaul as well as several “makeovers” to improve her overall look: “She not only wants to be a princess, she wants to look the part, too. She doesn’t want to look frumpy in front of her royal half-siblings and other royal relatives.”

However, no matter how well she has adjusted to being under the spotlight, as it turns out, Miss Anouelle is concerned for her safety; so concerned, that she has actually written to BOTH the Rennaux and Brindleton Royal Familes, asking that she be provided personal security to ensure her safety and well-being while the DNA testing takes place. The source adds: “She’s written several letters to Brindleton, Rennaux and to Prince Jacques himself, but she hasn’t received a response yet. She’s just asking for her own security detail. She feels that she’s entitled to one, seeing as her claims haven’t been debunked yet.”

It looks like Prince Jacques needs to hurry those DNA tests up! 

[jwillgoose]

The record is finished... what now?

We finished our fourth album last week, so I thought it might be interesting (spoiler alert: it probably isn’t) to do a quick post about what happens once a record is ‘finished’ these days, and why it can seem to take so long between an album being completed and actually being released.

Before I stumbled upon a career in making music, my attitude would’ve been similar to that of many fans, I imagine - why not just put the record out as soon as possible? It’s done, you spent (presumably) ages on it, surely you just want people to hear it and shower you with praise and damning reviews? After all, that’s what Radiohead and Beyoncé seem to do, and they don’t mind if the vinyl follows several months later.

Well, Radiohead are Radiohead and Beyoncé is Beyoncé, and both of those artists (and only a handful more) releasing records is Big News in and of itself. Smaller bands and artists need to use their new record as something to build around, to try and fight desperately for attention in a very competitive industry, to route tours around, even simply to remind people that you still exist (often, admittedly, to their distress). Otherwise it’s all too easy to put something out only to see it burn out very quickly, for it to fall to the bottom of people’s ‘recently played’ streaming algorithms and swiftly fall out of the public consciousness pretty much altogether. 

That's why it’s better for 99% of bands and artists to wait until everything is ready and to try to go for one big, focused ‘bang’ (often still a whimper, admittedly), rather than trying to hit the front page of Pitchfork with a near-instantaneous release. And the main thing we’re all waiting for these days, especially with its continued resurgence and importance to artists, labels and fans, is vinyl.

Vinyl lead times pre-pandemic were already a bit ridiculously long because a large number of the pressing plants from back in the day went under or severely reduced their capacity, so we’ve been left with a relative handful of potential suppliers and an awful lot of demand from all corners of the music industry. I think The Race For Space (released Feb 2015) was mastered at the end of October 2014, so made it out there in just over 3-and-a-bit months, and that was with two test pressings after the first failed. By the time Every Valley rolled around (released July 2017) we were already at four-months-and-counting, and don’t even get me started on the White Star Liner EP (tail end of 2018, and the vinyl was late because of test pressing issues).

Anyway, you get the picture, and that’s all pre-COVID, which obviously has done precious little to improve any aspect of the economy, besides enhancing Jeff Bezos’ already undignified / obscene wealth. We were initially quoted 7 months for this album but have managed to get it down a bit from there - still, you’ll no doubt have noticed a lot of delayed releases recently and I am taking nothing for granted, on any level, with this record.

We might seem like a modestly successful band but we are also still very much a small team of people. The sheer amount of work it is to get everything ready, besides ‘just’ the music itself, necessitates a bit of a delay between completion and release. Even now, the artwork, liner notes, credits, administrative aspects (PPL IDs and so on) are queueing up for attention; that’s to say nothing of band photos, press releases, updated bios, pitches for various media features (often with ridiculously long lead times of their own), music videos, remixes, instrumentals... in short, a lot.

Then for a band like us there’s the whole tricky chicanery of designing, building, programming and rehearsing a quite fiendishly complicated live set, all while navigating the risks and uncertainties of doing so during what we hope is the tail-end of a pandemic. It normally takes me about 2-3 months to get an album ready to play live, and that’s just the music side of it - then I need to edit videos to run concurrently, give various assets to Mr B so that he can have more to play with than just an on-rails video, then all get together in a room to see what works (hint: not much) and what needs more work (hint: nearly everything). Mr B also needs a lot of time - justly so - to put together his fiendish set creations as well as creating a lot of original video output himself. Popping up on the radio to do a quick session somewhat belies the amount of work it takes to get new material ready for that stage (should it arrive - we certainly don’t assume it will).

But the main thing, still, is to try to garner as much attention, wake as many people as possible up to the fact that yes, you still exist and yes, you’re still flogging the dead horse that is your band and creative output in a perhaps vain attempt to try to prolong an unlikely career and yes, you can order the Amazing New Record soon in at least 5 different colours to ensure its safe arrival in your homes at the very second of its official release. Hello! We’re still here! Hello! We have a new record! Er.. anyone?

Anyway, that’s just a few items from the very long list of things preoccupying me and the other denizens of PSB Towers between now and release. Hopefully everything will run smoothly, the record will come out when we say it will come out and we can even entertain modest hopes of another reasonably-well-charting album. On that note, a brief aside - chart positions are still incredibly important, if only within the record industry itself. A high chart position makes a lot of people sit up and take notice - bookers, agents, festival promoters and so on - which is another reason why it’s important for those of us who aren’t in Mr Yorke’s merry gang to try to get everything out all at once (in its right place, if you will) rather than staggering digital / vinyl release dates.

Hopefully you found this mildly diverting. It’s mostly served as a nudge in the ribs for me to remind me how much I still need to get on with, so without further ado, off I will go, and on with I will get.

Yours pre-releasedly,

J. Willgoose, Esq.

(PS I’d like to make it clear I love Radiohead, and none of this is even a mild dig at them. They are one of the most wonderful musical outfits ever, and they also have the rare privilege of being able to do what they want, when they want to, which really must be lovely.)

[atlafan]

Take it Slow  - Part Twenty-Seven

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Smut.

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

Rachel left around 10 the next morning so you could get ready for the day. You were so happy to have alone time with her. You both didn’t get as much one on one time together as you’d like. You decide on wearing your hair up in your classic high pony, especially since your nephew was starting to get grabby. You put on a pair of skinny jeans and a black sweater. You put a pair of booties on, and wait for Harry.

He keys into your apartment around 12:15. He was getting better about being early for things.

“Love?” You hear him and come out of your room. “Hey cutie.”

“Someone’s in a better mood.” You practically jump into his arms, kissing him on the lips.

“Yeah, sorry again for being a meanie.”

“S’okay, we all have our moments. Ready to go?”

“Yup.”

Harry lets you pick the music for the ride.

“Alright, so please, tell me all your good news.”

“Okay, so yesterday afternoon my supervisor called me into her office, and at first I was scared. But she called me in to tell me that because of the work I did on that project last week, our contract has been extended, thus gaining more business. Apparently a lot of good word has gotten back to the CEO about me. Get this. Not only do they want to pay for grad school, like the whole thing, not just half, BUT they want to give me a raise. Like a significant one with a new title and everything! They want to make me an associate director!”

“Are you kidding me?! That’s incredible baby!” His hand squeezes your thigh. He felt terrible for blowing up at you last night. You could’ve celebrated. “We have to celebrate tonight!”

“I’m so excited! And they said I could pretty much pick whatever program I want as long as it’s online. Don’t say anything to Niall though. They’re planning on bumping him up to, but they plan to talk about it Monday. There’s all this restructuring happening. I’ve only been there two years, I can’t believe it.”

“I’m so happy for you, it’s great they’re recognizing your work! And I know how much you already love it there, this is like icing on the cake.”

“I know! She said they didn’t want to risk losing me.”

“That’s amazing, this is so great.” Harry was beaming. He was so proud of you. “What school do you think you’ll apply to?”

“I’m not sure yet. I need to look over the information my supervisor sent me, and then do some research. I need to figure out what I want to become a master.” He chuckles.

“I’m so proud of you, really.”

“Thanks babe.” You put your hand on top of the one he has on your thigh, and you stay like that for the rest of your drive.

//

Harry brought a ton of equipment with him. It was too cold to take photos outside, so he brought this giant white sheet to hang up in your brother’s living room. It went all over the floor as well, creating a nice background. You were holding your nephew while he was setting some of the lights up.

“Thanks again for coming out to do this.” Your sister in law smiles while clearing some toys out of the way.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. These are my favorite kinds of photoshoots.” Harry smiles back. He looks over at you lovingly while you rock the baby and talk with your brother. “I brought some props with me, was there anything in particular you were hoping to do?”

“Well, as you can see, we’re all wearing the same sweater. I think we’re trying to go with a season’s greetings vibe? Almost like a winter wonderland? I’m not Jewish, so we didn’t want it to be too overbearing with the religious stuff.”

“Right, yeah we can definitely do that. I can show you some samples too of some after effects. I can edit in some snowflakes, or even a snowman behind ya.”

“Did you hear that honey?” She says to your brother who is laughing with you about something.

“Hm? Yeah, that sounds good.”

“So, we’d like some of the three of us, obviously, some of just him and I, some of just him and daddy, and then some of daddy and I.”

“Alright.”

Harry sets up two different cameras, one on a tripod, and the other around his neck. He connects his laptop to it so the pictures will go right in. You didn’t realize his freelance operation was quite so high-tech. Harry unfolds a collapsible bench, and sticks it on the sheet.

“Okay, so if dad wants to sit on the bench, and them mum can sit right in front.” He comes over to you, gesturing to hand the baby over. “Thank you, hey little guy.” He coos to the baby. “And mum if you wanna have him in your lap…that’s perfect.”

Harry uses his handheld camera for a few test shots, and then goes over to the camera on the tripod. You go behind him to watch them pop up on the screen. He had gotten the lighting perfectly. No shadows, no one looked shiny, you were impressed. You made a funny face to your nephew to keep him happy and smiling.

“How ‘bout one where you’re all sittin’ on the floor?” Harry goes behind your brother to move the bench out of the way. “That’s great.” He snaps a few shots. He tries to get a few candid ones in.

“Do you have a chair or basket you wanted to put him in for his solo shots?”

“Yeah! Let me go grab it.” Your sister in law pulls over a little chair to rest the baby in.

Harry gets in close to get some different angles. Your nephew is mesmerized by the camera, so the pictures come out really good. You loved seeing Harry do his job.

“Mum and the baby next?”

Your sister in law picks the baby up, and gently rocks him. Harry gets a few shots from the still camera, and then goes over to the two of them.

“Let’s get his face on your shoulder, and then have you looking down at him. Mind if I touch ya hair, love?” You and your brother give Harry a funny look.

“Um, not at all.” He moves a few strands of hair from her face.

“Perfect.” Harry moves behind her to get the shot. “Just tilt your head up a wee bit, there ya go.” Another shot. “Dad, can we get ya on the other side of them?” Your brother move where he tells him. “That’s amazing, thank you.”

Harry takes a few more shots of just your sister in law and the baby. Then moves on to your brother and the baby. He got a really good one of him lifting him over his head.

“He’s bein’ so good, haven’t heard a peep yet.” Harry says.

“We fed him right before you guys got here. He snaps the minute he’s hungry.” Your brother explains. “You wanna hold him while we take our pictures?” He asks you.

“Of course!” You take your nephew. “Where’s his bubby in case he gets hungry?”

“In the kitchen, right side of the fridge.” You walk into the kitchen to grab the small bottle, and a rag to throw over your shoulder, just in case.

On cue, your nephew starts crying, but stops the second the nipple of the bottle hits his mouth. You soothe and feed him, sitting down in the rocking chair near the set up. Harry looks over at you, distracted by how gentle and sweet you are. Your brother coughs, grabbing his attention.

“Right.” He walks over to the two of them. “You’re a little stiff, just relax a little. Let’s put this arm here.” He takes your brother’s arm and puts it on the small of his wife’s back. “And you can you put your hand on his chest?” He furrows his brows looking over how they’re standing. “Can you put your other hand in your pocket? Ah! There we go.”

Harry goes over to the tripod, he flashes you a quick smile as you continue to feed the baby. He takes a few photos. You finish feeding your nephew, and sit him up to burp him. Once he does burp everyone starts laughing, and Harry is able to get a great candid shot of the two.

You hand the baby off to his mom so you can help Harry pack up his gear, and get everything into the car. When you both come back in, you see your sister in law has put out some snacks for everyone.

“Mind if I hold him?” Harry politely asks. She passes the baby off to him.

“Mm, this hummus is so good.” You say.

“It’s that fire roasted pepper one.” Your brother says sticking a carrot in. He takes his checkbook out of his pocket. “Harry, wanna talk shop in the kitchen?”

“Sure.” He follows your brother into the kitchen. Your sister in law leans close to you as you both sit on the couch.

“He’s such a doll.”

“I know. And so talented.”

“Incredibly professional. I see why you like him so much, if I heard a man call me love like that in that accent, I wouldn’t have let him go either.” You both giggle. “I’m so glad he was able to squeeze us in, he must be so busy this time of year.”

“You have no idea.” The boys comes back and sit in the area with you. Harry sits right next you, baby still in his arms.

You tell your brother all about your big work news, and how excited you are.

“But don’t tell mom or dad, I wanna tell them myself.”

“Sure thing, so Harry, are you gonna come to our uncle’s Hanukkah party next Saturday?”

“Plannin’ on it yeah.” You and your brother share a look, trying not to giggle.

“It’s a really fun party.” Your sister in law says. “I remember the first time I went.” She giggles. “It’s a great way to be initiated into the family.”

“What are you doing on Christmas this year? Another vacation with your girlfriends?” Your brother asks. You feel shy all of a sudden, and put your hand on Harry’s leg.

“Um…no. I’m actually going to England for a week or so with Harry, to meet his family.” Your brother and his wife look at each other then back to you.

“Does mom know?”

“Yes.”

“Does dad know?”

“No.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Don’t tell him either.”

“He has to know.”

“I’m not saying I won’t tell him, I just don’t need you spilling the beans, and then him calling me freaking out.”

“Why would your dad freak out?” Harry asks, adjusting the baby’s head to rest on his shoulder.

“He just…overthinks every little thing.” You explain. “You think he takes news well, then two days later he has a million different questions.”

“How long are you gone for?” You sister in law asks, trying to break some of the tension.

“The 23rd through the 29th, so literally a week. I’m really excited, I’ve never been to England before. Harry said we’re going to spend a couple days in London too. I’ll get to do all of the touristy stuff.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun.” Your brother says. “What will you do for New Year’s?”

“Niall’s having a party.” You look up at Harry. The baby has fully passed out on him. “Oh look at him!” You rub the baby’s back. “You two just had to have the cutest baby in the world, didn’t you?”

“Mind if I take him back? I don’t want him freaking out when he wakes up.” Your sister in law giggles.

“Sure, thanks for the snuggle little guy.” Harry coos to the baby before passing him back over. “Well, I suppose we should get goin’, (y/n) and I are gonna celebrate her big news.” He stands up.

They walk you both to the door. Harry and your brother shake hands.

“Thanks again for everything.”

“No problem, and like I said I should have these for you in the next couple of days, you’ll be able to download all of the images and have them printed wherever.”

//

“So, where do you feel like going tonight? Anywhere you want.” Harry smiles at you in the car.

“Gosh, I don’t know! It would be fun to go somewhere that has dancing. I’m just so jazzed up.”

“That baby is the cutest baby I think I’ve ever seen.”

“Right? Can I ask how much you charged my brother? I hope he didn’t try to stiff you.”

“No, no, he didn’t. In fact, he wanted to overpay me. It all worked out, don’t worry. How come he got so weird about us going to England?”

“I think it’s just cause I’m leaving the country with you. My dad also has a way of putting him in the middle of things.”

“Do you want me there when you tell your dad?”

“God no, I’m gonna tell him over the phone so I can hang up if I need to. I’ll call him next week or something, I’m not really worried about it right now.”

Harry brings you both back to your apartment. You rummage through your clothes to find something to wear.

“We could go to that club a few blocks from here. You know the one that has food til a certain hour, and then the dance floor opens up?”

“Oh yeah! That would be perfect. I haven’t been there in a long time, probably since the summer.” You furrow your brows at the pile of laundry on your bed. “I cannot decide on an outfit! It’s gonna be cold tonight, so I know I should wear pants.” You scratch your head and dig for a pair of dark blue jeans that have a few intentional holes in them. “Hmm, what to wear with these though…oh!” You snatch your black crop top from the top of the pile. It was cute, tank top style, a little low cut, but it had a nice fringe on the bottom for some texture.

“A crop top?”

“Yeah, these pants are pretty high waisted, it looks good together.” You take your clothes off to change. “You know what, I need to find the right bra for this.” You walk over to your dresser and search for one that goes with the shirt. “I bought one to specifically wear with this top.”

Harry goes into your closet to put on a fresh t-shirt and sits on your bed to wait.

“Aha! Found it.” You put the bra and put the top on, and stand in front of him. “See? You can just barely see my piercing.” You point to your belly button. You go into the bathroom to throw a few curls in your hair and run your fingers through so it looks wavy. You put some night time makeup on and feel ready. “All set?”

“Yup.” He wraps his arms around you and gives you a kiss on the top of your head. “Uber’s here, let’s go.”

The bar area of the club was a little crowded when you got there, but because there only two of you (and maybe because you pushed your boobs up when you spoke with the host), you were able to get a small table after only five minutes. Since you were celebrating, you both ordered a big plate of nachos to split, and some tequila shots.

“I’m so glad you like doing tequila too. A lot of people don’t.” Harry says as you two clink the small glasses before tossing them back.

“I know! I don’t get it. I’ve never had a problem with tequila, ever.” You both decide it’s a good idea to stick with the same liquor, so you both order margaritas. “Margaritas and nachos, what could be a better combination of food?” You giggle, diving into the cheesy chips. “So, you’ll actually dance with me tonight?”

“Yes, I will.” He rolls his eyes playfully. “Maybe after a couple more drinks though.”

Harry loved watching you dance. You always had so much fun, and it made him have fun too. He loved hearing you say, “I love this song!”, to just about every song that would come on, and the way you’d yank him closer to you to dance. And you. You loved the way Harry would let loose in times like these, not caring if anyone was looking. The way he would move his hips along with yours, or when he’d stop to twirl you around, the quick kisses you’d share.

You both had a great night. Harry ordered an uber when you both agreed your feet were too tired and you both were just too drunk to keep dancing.

“That was so much fun!” You exclaim twirling around into your apartment. “Thanks again.” You wrap your arms around his neck, deadweighting him.

“Jesus.” He laughs, almost falling to the floor with you. “Alright, time for some water, yeah?” He lifts you up, and sits you down on the kitchen counter. He fills two glasses of water and hands you one. You both take small, slow sips. “I’m glad you had a good time.”

“I always do when I’m with ya.” You slur. He stands between your legs.

“Ready for bed?” You pout. “What?”

“Dontcha wanna love on me?” You run your hands through his hair. He rests his hands on your thighs.

“I do…but maybe in the mornin’, love.”

“Why?” You pout again, really jutting your bottom lip out.

“We’re both a little too drunk.”

“Not you, just I am.” He gives you a half smile.

“You’ll be mad at me if we do anythin’.”

“No I won’t.”

“(y/n).”

You lean down and kiss him, pulling him closer to you. His fingers press into your thighs. Your stomach starts to feel weird, so you let go of him.

“Oh no.” You say and hop off the counter.

“What? What oh no?” He looks at you very concerned.

“I think…I had too much dairy tonight, I don’t feel very well.” You put a hand over your mouth and run down to the bathroom attached to your room.

Harry quickly follows after you, and hears you throw up. He sighs, and goes to get a rag to run under some water, and a hair elastic. After he hears you flush the toilet, he comes in.

“No! Don’t come in, I don’t want you to see me like this!” You turn your face away. You feel him take your hair and put it into the elastic.

“Not the first time I’ve seen someone spew.” He crouches down next to you and presses the rag to your forehead. “Are you lactose intolerant? I didn’t think people threw up from that?”

“I’m sensitive to dairy, so I think because those nachos had so much cheese, plus the combi, the combi, oh no.” Harry stands up and uses his hand to brush back any hair he may have missed in your ponytail. He rubs your back while you vomit again. He pats the damp rag across your forehead again. “I’m so sorry.” You say, flushing the toilet and wiping your mouth.

“It’s alright, love. Happens to the best of us.”

“I think I’m through.” He helps you stand up, and you look at yourself in the mirror. “Yikes.” Your makeup had run down your face from tears. You run the water in the sink and brush your teeth. You turn the hot water on and grab your makeup remover rag. Harry watches you as he stands in the doorway.

“Don’t think I’ve seen someone only yak twice from drinkin’.”

“I told you.” You dry off your face with a hand towel. “It was from the dairy, the cheese.” You make a disgusted face. “Not eating that for a long time.” You look at him and sigh. “That was disgusting, I’m sorry you had to see me like that.” You take your hair out of Harry’s makeshift ponytail, and shake it out.

“S’alright, vomit doesn’t really bother me.” He shrugs, and follows you to your bed. He takes his shirt off, then his pants, and you do the same. He kisses you on your temple before going into the bathroom to do his thing.

You got cozied up in his t-shirt, and got into your side of the bed. He comes out and joins you.

“Sure you’ll be alright?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna dry heave or anything.”

“Guess that was one way to sober up. C’mere.” You rest your head on his chest, and he puts an arm around you.

//

The next morning you both wake up around ten. For once, you wake up almost completely on top of Harry. You must have fallen asleep on his chest and never rolled over. You rub your eyes as you start to wake up, and see that he’s sitting up, reading from his book.

“Mornin’.” He says looking down at you with a smile.

“Shower?” He nods yes, and you both get up.

You both brush your teeth before going in. You felt gross from last night still. You peel his t-shirt off and put your hair up. You both step in to the warm water, and stand in it together, arms wrapped around each other. You felt groggier than usual, and could feel slight cramps forming in your lower back. You groan into him.

“Whatsa matter, love?” He says, chin resting on your head.

“Getting my period this week.” You knew that already due to your birth control tabs, but it was still annoying nonetheless. “I’ve got the precramps.”

“Better to get it now than while we’re away though right? Less things you’ll have to pack.”

“That’s true. I hate getting it when I’m traveling.” You nestle into his chest more.

Harry takes your chin between his fingers and tilts your head up to look at him. He leans in and gives you a soft kiss on the lips. You nuzzle your noses together, making you smile. You wrap your arms around his neck, and go up on your tiptoes so you can kiss him properly. His hands moving down to squeeze your butt. You feel him harden against you, and you press yourself more on him. You tongue enters his mouth to find his, and you’re happy when you’re greeted with his.

You push him back against the cold tile, taking him by surprise a bit. Harry’s mind can’t help but race. If you would let him, he’d pick you up and put you against the wall. He would drive into you with his hard cock and have you screaming his name. But no…he couldn’t have that yet, and it was driving him nuts. He was genuinely curious, though, about exactly what you planned to do with him right now.

You lace your fingers through his hair, and gently tug. Your mouth moves to his neck and you bite down on him. He groans, tilting his head back. You push your body as close as you possibly can to him, as you suck on his skin harder. What is she trying to do to me? He asks himself. You reach down between the two of you, and wrap your hand around his throbbing cock. He sucks in a breath as you work your thumb over his leaking tip. You lean your forehead against his chest as you look down. You take a deep breath as you rub him against you.

“Woah!” He flinches. “What’s, um, what’s happening right now?”

“I just…” You look up at him. “I just wanna rub the tip against my clit. Can I do that? Please?” He blinks at you. “And then I’ll suck you off, okay? I’m not trying to tease, I just wanna feel you against me.”

“O, okay.”

You look back down, and move his tip to rub against your clit. The contact felt amazing to you both. His slick tip rubbing against your clit had your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

“Fuck.” He groans, eyes closed and teeth clenched. His hands move to your breasts, and knead them, needing something to hold onto.

You move one of your legs up around one his legs so you can get a better angle. Harry pries his eyes open to watch your hand around him.

“I’m, I’m not gonna last much longer.” He says, panting.

You drop to your knees and take him into your mouth. His hands rest gently on your shoulders, not wanting to pull your hair in fear of triggering you again. His hips thrust forward, hitting the back of your throat. You need to use one hand to pump him, not able to take all of him into your mouth. Your other hand was on his hip, fingers pressing harshly into him.

“God, you take it so well.” He says through a moan. You groan against him, and the vibration makes his hips roll further. His nails are digging into your shoulders as you bob faster on him. “Fuck, (y/n), I’m gonna come!” His hot come splurts into your mouth, and you swallow every last drop.

You stand up, and rinse your mouth out in the shower water. Harry quickly pulls you over to him, pushing you against the tiles this time. He kneels in front of you, and connects his mouth to your clit. Your hands go right to his hair. He holds on your thighs up so he can get his tongue inside you easier. You almost lose your balance.

“Ah! Harry!” You moan. “Please, please just take me to the bed!”

He stands up, both of your pupils are blown out. He quickly turns the water off, kneels back down, and lifts you up over his shoulder. Neither of you care that you’re soaking wet, you’ll just throw the blankets in the dryer later.

Harry puts you down on the bed, and gets on top of you. He kisses you firmly, you stick your tongue in his mouth and he sucks on it. You moan loudly as his thumb presses down on your clit.

“You really want it, don’t you?” He asks, biting down on your collar bone.

“Fuck! Yes, I do. So bad. Please, let me feel your fingers.” Harry’s jaw clenches, he should have known that’s what you meant. But his small glimmer of hope told him you wanted more than that.

He bites down on you harder, sucking on your skin, leaving a nice purple bruise in its place. He had to do this. He had to get his frustration out somehow. And you were letting him. His fingers plunge inside you, making your hips buck up towards him.

“I love how wet and tight you are, it feels amazing.” He says into your ear, taking the skin just underneath between his teeth. Your nails sink into his shoulders. They rake down his back as he pumps in and out faster.

Your hands grip onto his butt, and your nails sink into his cheeks as you move your hips to grind against his hand. He bit down on your neck harder, he was hard again, there was no doubt about that. He grinds himself against one of your hips.

“Harry, fuck!” He hit that spot that you love so much. He didn’t even need to rub your clit to make you come, this felt good enough. “Harry!” You’re screaming his name. You weren’t sure what made you feel so hot today, maybe it was the hormones, but you didn’t care. You didn’t care if your neighbors heard you screaming either.

You release all over his fingers, he removes himself from your quickly, and grips himself. He jacks off onto your stomach. Your mouth falls even further open at the sight. He collapses next to you as you both catch your breaths.

“Holy shit.” You say, closing your eyes.

“Sorry, I, it was just…I had to come again.” He says looking down at your stomach.

“It’s okay.” You smile at him. “I can’t always be the one to come more than once.”

“Let me go get a rag to wipe you up with.”

“No, it’s okay.” He raises an eyebrow at you and you giggle. “I’m gonna go hop back in the shower quick. Could you throw these blankets in the dryer while I’m in there.”

“Mhm.” You kiss him quick.

“Thanks.”

You get up and go into the bathroom. You gasp when you see yourself in the mirror. You put your hand over your mouth so he doesn’t hear, and you close the door. You inspect the many large, purple bruises on your neck and collar bone. These were going to be hard to cover, and they were going to take a long time to heal. You rinse off quick, and wrap yourself in a towel. Harry is in the kitchen making smoothies.

“Love, I made breakfast.” He smiles handing you a glass.

“Thank you.” You take a sip. “Mm, yum!” You take another big sip and put your glass down. “Um, babe?”

“Yeah?” He looked so good, just standing there in his tight black boxers. You rub your hand over your neck. “Jesus.” He pulls your hand away. “Shit, I did a number on you huh?”

“Yeah, in a couple different spots.” You had two prominent love bites on your neck, and two more on your collar bone. He rubs his thumb softly over them.

“Did it hurt?”

“Um…yes, but…not in a bad way.” You blush. You look up at his neck. “I gave you a pretty good one too.”

“Mhm.” He smiles.

“You don’t mind?”

“Nah, they heal pretty quickly. They’re not that noticeable on my skin. But you’re a little fairer than I am.”

“They’re just hard to cover with makeup. I’ll need to wear a scarf or something. Um…I like getting them, I like the way they feel. Just…when you feel the need to bite me that hard, could you find a more discrete spot?” Harry cocks his head and looks at you. He takes a sip of his smoothie.

“But if I did that, how would everyone around you know you had a boyfriend?” He walks by you, leaving you stunned, and sits down on your couch. You sit down next to him, sipping on your breakfast. “I mean, that’s how everyone knows I’m seein’ someone.”

“It’s just not very…professional. People will notice, and talk. Otherwise I wouldn’t care where you did it.”

“But I like it best on your neck. It’s my favorite place to bite into. You’d deprive me of that?” You were sweating. If he kept talking to you like that, you weren’t sure how much longer you’d last before your lips were wrapped around him again.

“N, no. You can do it without leaving such a large mark can’t you? I mean, what if my family saw?”

“Alright, ya got me there.” He fake pouts. “Guess I can try to be more careful.” He sighs. “Anythin’ ya need to do today?” You mean other than you? You thought to yourself.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t mind going to Walmart, I’m low on some stuff. But you don’t need to come with if that doesn’t sound like fun.” You laugh.

“Nah, I need some stuff too, now that I think about it.”

“Great, I’ll drive us.” He frowns. “Am I a bad driver or something?”

“What? No! I just prefer driving.”

“Why?” He just shrugs at you. “Well, I would like to drive if that’s okay.”

“Alright.” You get up, and he watches you walk into your room. Something about your ass shaking in a towel made him smile. He gets up to follow you.

The second you dropped your towel, Harry’s arms were wrapped around you, pressing your back to his chest. You giggle as he presses kisses to your neck and shoulder.

“Harry…”

“What?” He whispers in your ear.

“We’ll have all day to do this, but we need to go to the store now, okay?” He rolls his eyes and lets go of you.

“All day, huh?” That shit eating grin covers his face, and this time you roll your eyes.

“You’re ridiculous.”

[megamikethomson]

SOHBA DIGITAL MARKETING COMPANY

HOME

Welcome to Sohba Digital Marketing Company of Pakistan

What’s the difference between this Digital Marketing/Social Media Company over any other?

For the following 3 simple things:-

1. It is the desire of the Company to get your Small Business as quickly as possible to the top of the Search Engines

(and here are the points of difference…)

2. Then turn as much of that human traffic as possible into New Leads

3. Then to actually convert those Leads into New Customers for you.

It’s that simple.

Most people do not track what traffic they are losing and why – Sohba Digital Marketing Company does, then we close those holes.

WE GUARANTEE RESULTS!

WHAT DO I NEED>> To Get Started?

Here’s how we see it – there is an ‘On-line Sales Funnel’ that looks much like the image below.  Most people who have a Website in Small Business are starting to realize that they don’t automatically get found on the Internet and need to take action to get more Customers on-line.  Some have started with Search Engine Marketing and some are dabbling in Social Media but not that effectively.  Our goal here is to do the following:-

Create an effective On-line Sales Funnel that works best for your Small Business We want to have you everywhere that your Customer looks, if your Customer has a preference for Facebook then you need to be there, if others have a preference for YouTube then you need to be there. And here’s our points of difference – we don’t just drive relevant traffic to your site BUT we also look at how to turn that Client into a lead and Into an actual converted Customer. Online Sales Funnel3 So here’s the FIRST STEP TO TAKE…

1) Get Advice…From Us…It’s Free!

Before you even get started – talk to Sohba Digital Marketing Agency to get some On-line Marketing Advice – it’s FREE – it costs you nothing to talk and see what your options are – just fill out the quick Contact Form below to get your obligation-free information.

2) Make a Plan

From there we make a plan. First we listen to you – what is working, what isn’t.  It’s then ascertained what marketing you are doing off-line and how it can be supported on-line.  We then go away and create a phenomenal marketing plan that covers One-Off Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Advertising, New Lead Generation and Client Conversion tactics that can be implemented over a gradual spread of time at a low monthly cost that won’t kill your business in the process!

3) Search Engine Optimization

This is where all companies start so they can be found organically in the Google Charts (if they haven’t already had this done). It falls into the Search Engine Optimization category where your site is optimized to ensure you are indexed correctly in the Search Engines/Directories.  There are a number of rules and regulations that Google/Yahoo, etc have that need to be implemented in order for your site to be found.  Gone are the days where you could just enter 25 Keywords into the back-end code and be done with it.  Now you need to keep everyone happy and it’s hard work a) getting you the top then b) keeping you there!  But this is where the beginning of the journey.

3.1) Keyword Search

This is where a search is run in Google Keywords so it can be ascertained as to what exact Keywords and Phrases are being typed into the Search Engines so we are not guessing what your Customers are typing in.  This is very useful to help you select a good Web Name to purchase (if you don’t already have one) and to determine what top Keywords and Phrases need to be implemented to your Website.  You will be provided with a report with the relevant recommendations.

3.2) One-Off Search Engine Optimisation Campaign

Once the Keyword Search has been conducted and your top 25 Keywords/Phrases have been selected they will be implemented correctly to your Website.  The following items would be covered:-

Your Web Name if relevant Any Metatags/Descriptions (Code in the back) Advice on Website Structure to help your site get indexed better Copy adjustment with correct placement of Keywords and Phrases on every page Enhancement of all Alt Tags and Photo Titles Sitemap creation if relevant/enhanced Creating a minimum of 8 Keyword Enriched Text Links for quality reciprocal link exchanges Google Analytics Code addition (if permissions supplied) Google Verification Code addition (if permissions supplied) Correct Submission to Google. This is a very good starting place for most businesses.  It stands you in good stead to be organically found in the Search Engines.  So many people make the mistake of thinking that just because they have a Website they will be found.  No so.  This process now does not need to be an expensive one with a huge outlay.

4) Social Media Setups

This section varies according to your business you run.  Once your business has been assessed recommendations are made for which Social Media Channels to tap in order to be most effective.  For example an Accommodation Provider typically use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest and Trip Advisor – a Coaching company could use Facebook,  Blog, YouTube, LinkedIn and maybe even Twitter.  No matter what some steps are better than none!

By doing the ‘Get Started’ step will cover the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Setups of Points 1 and 2 of the Sales Funnel.

Online Sales Funnel3 Recommended Time Per Week – 1 – 2 Hours

WE GUARANTEE RESULTS!

Go to the – ‘seo company in pakistan’ Page to see how feasible it is to get your Small Business off the ground

>>To Maintain?

So once you have your Website up and implemented the SEO and Social Media Setups you now shift into the Maintenance Phase of the Small Business On-line Marketing Cycle.

There are a number of ways this can be tackled as Google now wants the most relevant searches as possible for their browsers, as quickly as possible.  To achieve this some/all of the strategies can be implemented to your On-line Digital Marketing Campaign:-

Create other Social Media/On-line setups after the key one’s have been addressed – eg a Blog, etc Google Adwords/Facebook Adverstising can be setup on your behalf (we also have free vouchers for those who wish to try it out) and we provide a small report on performance with recommended edits each month We create specific targeted and relevant Social Media Campaign messages (not stuff about how your staff member is off to buy a burger!) that are positioned correctly over a set amount of months and work in tandem with your off-line marketing so they work hand-in-hand together Results can be tested and measured so after a period of time so we can make the necessary adjustments and improve your results. This covers the ‘Search Engine Marketing (SEM)’ and ‘Social Media’ sections in more depth of the first and second points of the On-line Sales Funnel.

Online Sales Funnel2

Recommended Time Per Week – 1 – 4 Hours

WE GUARANTEE RESULTS!

It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to do this – we understand Small Businesses do not have a lot of cash to throw around.  Take a look at feasible it is, go to the ‘seo digital marketing agency’ Page

>> To Get Serious?

So this is where you start taking your position on-line seriously.  You realize there is huge potential custom you are missing out on and you want to close up that gap as quickly as possible.  This is the phase where we address points 3 – 6 of the On-line Sales Funnel:-

Online Sales Funnel3

We look at ways to improve the buying experience for your Customers on-line If you are interested we can implement software that can track where your Customers are looking (called ‘Hotspotting’) so we can ascertain where the best places are to place your ads/products We can implement some software that will record the shopping route of your customers so we can see exactly at which point they are abandoning cart/not contacting you We analyze what most other companies do not – exactly why most visitors coming to your site and not buying and how to change that More advanced Google Advertising techniques are used – eg Re-marketing (you can show Google Ads to customers who have left your site to go and look at your competitor websites) We look at implementing specific Landing Pages with New Lead Generation Forms on to track specific deals and test and measure results It’s encouraged that New Lead Forms are integrated into your current Website that feeds into one of our recommended Customer Relationship Management Programs We devise and can implement an ‘Up-sell Sequence’ (branded emails that promote specific messages/products to your existing Client base) – so many people work very hard to get new customers but the current Client base is the easiest way to get new business as they are alreay converted Customers. We also look at advanced strategies to enhance your on-line digital presence to increase your catchment area. Recommended Time Per Week – 2 – 5 Hours

WE GUARANTEE RESULTS!

None of this need be expensive – check out our ‘’seo digital marketing service  Page to find out just how affordable it is for your Small Business to become the leader in your field on-line

>> To Get Super Serious?

Normally you will be reading this page if you have already conducted the first 3 Phases of the Small Business On-line Digital Marketing Cycle. ie got ‘Started’, done ‘Maintenance’, moved into the ‘Serious’ phase and now into the ‘Super Serious Phase’ or you are a larger Company looking for Advanced Strategies and Tactics to take your Competitors head-on.

This is for the Serious Players where:-

We cover any areas in Phases 1/2/3 that have not yet be covered to date (any missing SEO/SEM/Social Media/Planning) and implement it An in-depth Competitor Analysis Report can be conducted with a view to find out what your Competitors are doing so you can match it and do better We look at ways to significantly increase your numbers to your sites ideally with a dedicated marketing budget that can cover both Google and Facebook Advertsing If you have a Blog (and if you don’t have one this can be created for you) we look at writing Keyword Enriched Articles with auto-feed to your Website We conduct Article Submissions to sites such as Squidoo, Ezine Articles, etc Guest Blogging tactics Specific Social Media Campaign developments – eg Pinterest Pin Board Competitions, etc. A number of specific ‘Landing Pages’ with different offers all integrated into a Customer Relationship Management System can be created We actively seek Client Reviews (one of Google’s new ‘musts’ for being found) Mobile Website creation (if not already in place) and tactics implemented Strategies to further Engage Facebook and Google+ Fans (another new adjustment to Google’s requirements to being found) Quality backlinking strategies implemented Email write-ups and cross-sell tactics created Vlogs (Video Blogs) Plogs (Phone Blogs) Video Marketing Mobile Marketing and Viral Marketing Strategies. These are just a few of the items that are covered.  Rest assured that each month someone is working to get you on top of the game on-line.

Recommended Time Per Week – 4 – 8 Hours

WE GUARANTEE RESULTS!

Take a look at still how feasible that is to do by going to the ‘digital marketing services’ Page

How It Works

How It Works

There is a simple hourly charge dependent on the lengh of time you choose to run with us. If you are just starting out, we recommend just one hour hour a week.

Packages start from as little as $49.00 + Gst/month and for that you can have all your on-line Digital Marketing requirements handled for you – not like print where you pay and it get’s thrown away soon after it’s been read and what’s more, it is very hard to track.

Remember taking some steps is better than none!

Fill in the Contact Form below and we will touch base with you to help you with any questions you may have.

Please note:- Limited numbers apply.  Unfortunately it is a bit like ‘The Exclusive Club’ but we cannot take everyone on-board as there would be a conflict of interest eg if we have a Day Spa in a specific town already on-board we cannot work with another Day Spa in that same town for the period of the contract as this would be unethical.  So be quick to contact us so as not to miss out! And don’t forget …

WE GUARANTEE RESULTS!

Blog Spot

This is an area that will keep you abreast of the everything that is happening in the Technology Field:-

New releases What’s happening in the SEO/SEM field Up-to-date information on Social Media Conversion Techniques Interesting infographics so you can understand the psychology of buying on-line And generally a whole lot of ways to get a Lead then Convert them into a paying Customer.

Enjoy