#otp: structured complexity

[yingdu-lover]

Vortex We Took Every Breath to Follow : Shiguang and Their Companionship Through Life and Beyond

Hi, *awkward giggling*

First, a few words from me :

Even though I love engaging in fandom spaces and enjoy ship fanarts, fanfictions etc, till today my heart truly belongs to a very few ships. Shiguang is one of them. As long as one is not blinded by homophobic delusions, I enjoy discussing any kind of interpretation of my OTPs, be it 'Platonic', just friends™, romantic or whatever. But I have a fixed category (which very ironically is not quite fixed if you read the whole discussion) that fulfills my idea of true love.

for me, Love is a dialogic discourse with your existential other.

The terms I used are very loaded terms; 'dialogue' and 'other' come from the Bakhtinian philosophy of ethics, 'discourse' is a Foucauldian term and existentialism has a long postmodern and post-structuralist philosophical tradition. The reason I LOVE Link Click is because of their postmodern lens and the narratives of the characters, not only the protagonists fundamentally question what is the real purpose of life? Why do human bondings matter? The answers reside in the simplest vignette of everyday life. Grief, trauma, hope, memory, reconciliation, remembrance, love, family - these are the central themes of Link Click. Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi's separate existence and their interpersonal dialogue thematically and structurally complements the main ethos of Link Click.

When asked about the nature of Shiguang relationship Director Li Haoling answered : 是生死之交咯! (Shì shēngsǐ zhī jiāo gē! - It's a life and death relationship!)

source :

Fate, mortality, death, remembrance are the building blocks of their relationship as we perceive it.

Now let me talk about something. When I first watched Link Click on September 17th, 2024, the first Intertexual connection I drew was with another text called Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Funnily enough, early in this year I wrote a crossover Hamlet adaptation (and won the second prize in a competition hehe) interweaving a few elements from Godot. Time loop, fragmentation of time and space, panopticon with no exit - all these elements featured in that. I recommend Waiting for Godot to you all, you'll understand why it resonates so much with Link Click.

Now,

Lu Guang is a person who is shown to be a character who has some mysterious powers to manipulate time and space. Even from the very beginning, he has this dominant (and sometimes seemingly monologic that feels problematic to new viewers) voice with which he guides Cheng Xiaoshi through the dives. He is apparently headstrong and has acquired all kinds of praises ™ like hypocrite, selfish (lol) and what not. Again quoting Li Haoling "Lu Guang is a complex and delicate character." But after the release of 'The Eye' and 'The Lull', I think we are pretty sure that Lu Guang has been trapped in a rewind, like a Sisyphus figure. A friend of mine told me the other day, "Superficially, Lu Guang is presented as an archetypal strategist, the one who guides, the one who keeps things in control, but in reality, he has no agency whatsoever." Lu Guang lacks the fundamental agency in life (we all do but we have to accept it one day or other) and that mortifying realisation comes to him with the death of Cheng Xiaoshi. What is unacceptable to him is the most obvious outcome of a mortal life : death. Lu Guang's tragic flaw stems from this unacceptability of Cheng Xiaoshi's death and him attempting to manipulate time, very Sisyphus of him. Till now, we are yet to see Lu Guang's character traits without any reference to Cheng Xiaoshi but this does not reduce his character depth. His denial is actually very delicious ( I almost wrote a paper on this, taking the popular sci-fi trope of time travel as an allegorical and symbolic means of resistance and subversion but anyway, it's not relevant here)

Lu Guang's character makes me fall in love with the song Flash by Gorilla Attack. It is from Lu Guang's character, no one can convince me otherwise.

Just a loop A bored 'n loop Should I do this now 'til the end? Into the story As just an extra You are the reason I live But you don't remember me? Oh, can I be with you?

And

The only thing that I got, just like a little lamp I gotta go in one-way smoke Resist the lifeless scenario Become the person The person I wished for that day The room like a coffin, too bright A groove that I lost faraway Blanket, I need a blanket Not a synthetic one Notice the regret engraved so hard

And the line that keeps coming back as a haunting refrain :

Flash me, flash me Gotta get the power to rewrite I just wanna deny, I just wanna rewrite, yeah

Every time I listen to this song, these lines send a chill down my spine. But Lu Guang's obsession with 'rewrite' echoes with what my professor said to be Hamlet's constant meta-theatrical discomfort with the script, role, play he has been provided with. He does not comply with the playwright's words. Apart from time and death, I think Lu Guang's most wretched enemy is Li Haoling himself. That's why he constantly wants to 'rewrite', but all he has got till now is 'rewind'. Now whether his 'urge to rewrite' will turn into a successful 'write back' is the central play of the plot we are looking up to. What is my personal opinion on the ending?

The ending which is so dryly plausible in our real world is Lu Guang accepting his defeat and carries within him the remembrance of Cheng Xiaoshi.

But my question is, my brother in Buddhism Li Haoling, why the fuck would I watch your Link Click to know that death is the node that can't be changed? Is it not the given fact? It's a cultural text, however modern or postmodern a text might be, it ultimately uses the plot to defamiliarise and convey well known concepts and emotions with a critical engagement. A plot is just a vehicle, a crucial one, to help us have a greater and more nuanced vision of life. Due to non-linear narrative and active subversion of chronotope, complex plot will have plot twists and cliffhangers BUT it still has to perform a crucial, non negotiable role - the arc. If the beginning point and the ending point have the same temperaments, what kind of significance will it even achieve?

If Lu Guang can't write back at the end of Link Click, the structure of the plot will be like this :

1. Exposition, rising action : Cheng Xiaoshi died at the very beginning, Lu Guang is fucked.

2. Climactic stage : shit and shit and complex quantum physics, hallelujah hot villains, 'I am a great writer I can kill any character TeeeHeeeeHeeee', backstories, parallel narratives, foil characters have no relevance and rendered completely meaningless,

3. Falling action and resolution : Cheng Xiaoshi is still dead to the very ending, Lu Guang is still fucked.

No catharsis, not a milimeter of displacement from the beginning point.

What is the fucking point?! From the perspective of a writer and a critical reader, I can say it will be a sheer waste of money, time and potential. I would rather watch... whatever.

The friend I mentioned before told me, " You know why Emma or Chen Bin die? They had to die. Emma had a loving family, she got the job she wanted, she had her hardships but she didn't begin with tragedy. And when tragedy came, she was so not ready to negotiate the problem and considered self-annihilation as her first choice. She actively erased the possibility of dialogue with herself. If Emma were an orphan, struggling with unemployment and other hardships from the very beginning, I don't think Emma would die that easily. Emma was denied the conflict of life which very ironically tests human agency itself."

And for Chen Bin...during my first watch, the moment I saw him my instincts told me he was going to die. He had a loving wife, a daughter, he loved her, she accepted the proposal and they married soon. Conflict where? To bring his story to a full circle, he had to die.

I can say every parallel story in Link Click can be judged from this lens. People who had a point of conflict (the noodle lesbians, the couple who lost their child, Xu Shanshan, that old man) engaged in dialogue with themselves, others and social forces ultimately got a happy ending. Even in the earthquake episode, it's a story of reconciliation with the past, the man got his mother's photos and it's plausible and satisfying (and bittersweet resolution). He got his (absent) father back.

Another thing, we as a fandom have a collective amnesia about....*drumrolls* Cheng Xiaoshi's character! Congratulations! The man, the freaking protagonist just dies at the beginning, accepts his death, and remains dead. Doomed yaoi allegations are just nonsense. Link Click is doomed if Shiguang doesn't get a happy ending. Link Click is NOT a dramatic monologue told from Lu Guang's perspective, engaging with his perpetual trance of melancholy and him holding onto Cheng Xiaoshi's memento mori.

If Lu Guang is attempting to write back to Li Haoling and the doomed yaoi allegations, Cheng is attempting to write back to Lu Guang himself, not in confirming his own death, but saving Lu Guang from the loop of eternity and by being together. Cheng Xiaoshi is always seen to be guided by Lu Guang, he has to witness repercussions of his actions. Even with all this knowledge I will say, Cheng Xiaoshi has way more agency than Lu Guang has. During my first watch, I could feel Lu Guang has this barrier of guilt and unsettled emotions wrapped around him which denies Cheng Xiaoshi access into the deepest core of his subjectivity. Even though he achingly wishes to be together with Cheng Xiaoshi, the burden of his past actions and PTSD holds him back from being together with him, as if his existence is antithetical to Cheng Xiaoshi's existence. Cheng Xiaoshi is that glitch in the matrix that messes up Lu Guang's plans of withdrawing himself from Cheng Xiaoshi. Cheng Xiaoshi should not listen to everything Lu Guang orders. In season 1, he mostly conforms to Lu Guang's ideals, but in season 2, when Lu Guang was hospitalised, Cheng Xiaoshi became more active and you could tell a layer of barrier melted away. He was less of a stone statue, showed more emotions (the S2ep1 lmao when he said "would you prefer if I die?" abhimaan we call it), then the unique high five that feels like Lu Guang accepting Cheng Xiaoshi's proposal or something :

(LMAO ignore my comments, but what I said is true)

My point is, Cheng Xiaoshi is Lu Guang's existential other and vice versa. They cannot live without each other. They cannot exist without each other. If one dies, the other will die and I want them living happily ever after in heaven. Cause 'Break' clearly depicts them as soulmates. I personally take Break as the ultimate canonical ending

Do you see? each of them has one wing missing, meaning that it's their cumulative effort that will make them fly successfully. FYI, there is another Haoling directed, Haoliners Animation League animated canonical queer donghua called 'Beryl and Sapphire'. A separate episode, episode 13 just explores this 'one wing soulmate trope'.

Now take them as friends, platonic friends with no erotic feelings, pure familial feelings or whatever, they are like Yin and Yang, like Shiv and Shakti, and Yin changes to Yang and Yang changes to Yin actively as they interact. You will have a hard time pointing out who is who. I have watched TGCF and Beryl and Sapphire and a tiny bit of Spiritpact - all three directed by Li Haoling and I am well aware of his narrative strategy to represent soulmates and Link Click seems to be the one of the greatest (and my favourite) product of that genius mind.

I began with team Lu Guang cause he is a scorpio, I understand him, his birthday almost coincides with mine, we share some identical issues. But the fandom's often yeeting Cheng Xiaoshi out of the narrative phenomenon brought back my due attention to him. Is Cheng Xiaoshi so willing to be doomed? Does he not yearn to be with Lu Guang? Let me whisper to your ear...he yearns for him too.

so he

does understand that the person who dies...dies, death affects them the least who dies, it's the people, the family and loved ones who actually suffer. This man will leave his Lu Guang on his own volition? eh.

Also I wanna talk about Link Click's strategy of deliberate misdirection. The first and second seasons are so deliberately crafted (manipulation of narrative you can say) to actively erase Lu Guang's subjectivity and nuance. We are just denied access his perspective. He is mysterious but not that aligns itself with a viewer's emotions. In fact, during my recent re-watch, I felt "wtf Lu Guang, why are you interacting with Cheng Xiaoshi like a straight dudebro?" He is a menace, the kind I usually don't like. But there also seemed to be a critical undercurrent which I couldn't really grasp, but it was surely there. It was adding up to my increasing discomfort and made me question - "was it just my wishful projection? they do not share that bond at all." I was so pissed at that thought that I almost decided I am not gonna abandon Link Click. BUT BRO, BRO

'The Eye' and 'Lull' just blew my mind. I was not that affected by Cheng Xiaoshi's corpse advertisement agenda (that corpse is drawing people's attention who is suddenly aware of Yingdu release, great tactic, Haoling) what pleasantly brought me out of despair is Lu Guang's love for Cheng Xiaoshi was acknowledged in these songs. You will read between the lines on your own in season 1 and season 2 if you have that critical method to engage with a cultural text, but the silencing narrative was also very prominent. I very much felt that the Shiguang story is actually the central action, and not the creative sci-fi archtexual exercise of genres, which again, is just the vehicle. But The Eye and Lull focus upon them, them and them. Their emotions are acknowledged, they are no longer behind the veils of symbolism, parallel narratives, intense defamiliarisation; their emotional dialogue now not only demands a voice of their own but also has the potential to reclaim the central part of the stage as they struggle and negotiate power and agency. And I am here for it.

@guangshi-091305 I present to you my rubbish.

[pumpkinstrawbrew]

💀_is this deviant enough for you, my dear? _💀

or jon makes some deliberate changes to his outfit, after catwoman said that he's not 'a real pervert'.

...

(i was re-reading all those 'crow vs 'cat issues recently, an' i gotta say i don't ever get tired of how much those two genuinely loathe one another. there is smth beautiful about one part of my otp pretty much having it out for a character, who is canonically supposed to be the 'main' love interest for the other part of my ship. internalized jealousy is delicious.

that's bit aside, i do find crane n' selina's antagonistic relationships pretty entertaining in the void as well. they are both petty n' tend to take a lot of things personally, while dehumanizing others with ease. looking at selina n' jon side by side, their hatred toward one another makes a lot of sense. they are similar in certain *smaller* ways. selina might have not crossed the line n' becoming a murder, but in few versions, it came very close to it. or even come to it. not to mention, that while her own motivations are different from crane's, she also driven by her bitter life experience, when it comes to how she sees others n' how she acts. at times, she'd be doing shitty things just bc she felt like it. her sociopathy is latent in most cases, but it is there.

but regardless of complexity of all those themes, this whole thing was born only bc i found it funny how out of all things, selina n' jon had an argument about who get offs on fear harder lol. n' then, bc of how the very moment catwoman hallucinated batman, jonathan was literally almost in her face lol. listening to all those things with rapt attention.

as result, i ended up thinking about what if crane took selina's comment a bit too seriously. i imagine, he was sitting there trying to study what makes 'pervented' n' 'sexy'. but in like very nerdy way. drawing diagrams an' all.

the scarecrow historically has no impressive man bossom or ass, so he has to be clever about it. expose some skin, but like 'naugthy' bits. it helps that the way his costume is structured, fabric will always poof up a bit. so even his semi-muscular man pecs n' narrow hips can work too. an' then it should be short too. v-cut. n' stockings? yeah, sure. the greatest detective would take it upon himself to figure out what they're cliping to. an' what else is hidden underneath.

i still stan by my belief that jonathan can only be seductive or sexy by pure accident. but it is fun to think about how far he can go, if he's challenged n' his pettyness is what drives him to go out of comfort zone.

in general, i love how different this version of jonathan's costume is compared to his other looks. it's still classic, but so colorful an' whimsical. i wish he wore it at least one time in front of batman in canon. like come on, let my dude live out his goth fantasy. n' let bruce have some fun on his usually hard n' grim job.)

[onehopefuldreamer]

Challenging a Queen - a love letter

Look, at first this post was going to be about Look into me (my first love when it comes to this game's soundtrack and still one of the songs I adore the most).

Then I wanted to wax poetic about You and I and You and I reprise (three different versions of the reprise depending on what you do with the throne and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's glorious voice, yes, please! Plus Persephone and Grace is my personal OTP).

After that I moved on to The Throne because I think it's both absolutely awesome and absolutely bonkers you get two themes to mix and match there instead of only one (1st theme based on your first choice and the 2nd on your answer to Orpheus' question). It's still a huge, HUGE personal favourite.

(I will still write love letters to these three songs eventually.)

But then I read Austin Wintory's commentary on the Pantheon version of the soundtrack he posted on YouTube and it caught my attention that he called Challenging a Queen the most complex song in the game. Previous to reading that I had thought it was the same as a lot of the other songs - three main themes that you just get to mix and match but aside from that nothing much changes. Oh, how wrong I was!

Reading that comment made me curious about trying different combinations to see what would happen and once I started doing that I was completely blown away. Because it turns out that this song is anything BUT simple! The choices are even more interlinked here than in most other songs and the possible combinations that lead to different outcomes are so, SO many!

Based on my experimentation (8+ hours of gameplay that's only replaying this one song)  I have discovered the following:

1. The first choice you make directly influences the second. So if you go from Green to Red for example you get a completely different outcome than if you had gone from Red to Green.

2. The first choice also influences the third/middle one. BXGXX is not the same as RXGXX or GXGXX (X stands for any colour). In the case of middle Red, I think, there's the most possibilities because there the second choice also comes into play. For example the banter between Grace and Persephone is different if you go with RBRXX (which is the same as RRRRR) or RGRXX.

3. Then the third and fourth choices also influence each other and lead to different combinations. Say, XXBRX is decidedly not the same as XXRBX.

4. Last but most certainly not least that pesky first choice continues to have an effect until the very end. The combination between it and your fifth or, sometimes, fourth and fifth choice/s is what leads to all sorts of different and unique endings you can get.

That's already a super complex song structure that I'm still not sure I have figured out completely, to be honest. I continue to experiment with different combinations and plan to try to see if I can compile a guide to all the possibilities here. I'm very much not statistically or mathematically inclined so this has been a bit of a struggle but I'm also having so much fun trying to pick apart this song that I don't really mind.

I've never experienced anything like this in any game before and honestly playing around with this song has been a revelation. The amount of screaming I have done in front of my laptop every time I come upon something new is insane. I've come to a point where I have bits and pieces of Challenging a Queen rattling around my head at all times and I LOVE it! Because, as weird as it sounds, I have not become bored with this song even after so many hours of listening to it. I happen to love all the different permutations and listening to Laura Bailey and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn try to outperform each other is far, FAR from a hardship. In fact it's an absolute joy.

I'll leave you with what's probably my most favourite discovery about this song: there are 17 different endings you can discover. 17!!! That's insane! Or at least that's as many as I have personally discovered and I am still very much in awe. If you're curious about checking them out on your own, here goes:

1-4 - RRRRR, BBBBB, GGGGG with a Charming Grace and GGBGG or GGRGG with a Clever or Kickass Grace. These are what I call the regular or classic endings. You're pretty much guaranteed to discover these.

5-8 - BXXBG, RXXBG, GXXBG with Clever or Kickass Grace and one extra XXXBG ending for Charming Grace. The first choice does not matter for Charming Grace, the ending is always the same no matter what.

9-11 - BXXGR, RXXGR and GXXGR

12-14 - BXXBR, RXXBR and GXXBR

15-17 - BXXRB, RXXRB and GXXRB

What I find impressive (aside from the huge number of endings) is that the endings from 5 and onward are all genuinely combined endings. They're not just alternative versions of the RR, GG or BB endings, they're a combination of approaches and/or musical styles and I cannot even begin to express how much I adore that.

I'm not going to lie, doing the experimentation for the GR, BR and RB endings in particular hurt my feelings a whole lot because I'm a Persephone stan and hate to see her trounced by Grace so thoroughly when I know she's actively grieving Calliope. But what really broke my heart (again as a Persephone stan) is those BG endings. Those have made me cry actual tears (the only other ending that's had this effect was GG with Clever or Kickass Grace). They're also the only endings I've been able to discover that have the camera panning down instead of sideways and come with their own backdrop. Discovering my first version of them had me squealing like mad and feeling like an archaeologist who'd discovered priceless ancient treasures. They're probably my personal favourites, all of them. Both because they're so unique and because I love how compassionate Grace is in them. As much as I do think Grace is badass when she wins, I love her being soft and understanding towards Persephone a whole lot more.

I'll stop here because this is already a wall of text for which I'd apologise but this is not even all my thoughts and feelings on this song. I just have so many! Now off to listen to it again and work on my guide.

[erinelliotc]

What do you like about Eddy? Do you really think him and Double D will work out?

I think Eddy is the most interesting, deep, complex and well-written character on the show. It seems contradictory to say this, but even though Double D is my favorite character, I think Eddy is the best character. He's full of content for psychological analyses, something I'm passionate about doing because I love psychology and writing, I love analyzing human behavior, so complicated characters like Eddy are perfect to me in that sense (just as I am fascinated by Jinx from Arcane). I have so much to say about Eddy, I feel like every day I think of something new about his character, and I find this so exciting!

My analyses of each Ed will only be done in the future after I rewatch the show another two or three times, so I won't write here everything I have to say about Eddy. But you can find some of my EEnE analyses by scrolling through the posts in this tag. I talk about him in some of them.

But about Eddy and Double D... EddEddy is my OTP, you know? I've already talked a lot about them, and of course I'm going to talk much more in the future too. You can read a little about what I think of their relationship here.

In "short":

Eddy's backstory and his character development fascinate me. Characters who are emotionally broken to the point of developing a problematic personality fascinate me. Characters with mental disorders or traits of mental disorders fascinate me (I personally see him as ADHD with borderline and narcissistic traits, and perhaps a bit of histrionic traits too). I love analyzing and understanding what led them to that point, what made them so difficult to deal with, what hurt them so much that they developed an emotional armor and/or that makes them act like selfish jerks. The way Eddy's brain works fascinates me, his behavior, his defense mechanisms, everything. And to me the best part is seeing the little moments where the show shows us how he actually has a terrible self-image deep down and is not as confident and secure as he tries to show himself to be. I love seeing a character who isn't just a jerk, but someone who acts like a jerk because of things that happened that he tries to hide or that he doesn't even understand or realize happened (Eddy's reality denial defense mechanism is very strong, so I think a lot of the things related to his brother he genuinely didn't realize were problematic and had hurt him because his brain denied them to protect him. And it's common for our brain to block memories as a way of protecting us from the truth because it thinks we'll not have the emotional structure to deal with it, and I believe it may have happened to him), someone who is deeply hurt and does everything he can to hide it, someone who doesn't want to be emotionally vulnerable and tries to act like the most confident person in the world... Characters like this are the most interesting to me. And besides, I find Eddy extremely funny and annoying in an adorable way. I love his chaotic behavior, his voice and the way he talks (God bless Tony Sampson)

He and Edd were made for each other. Would they kill each other if Ed wasn't around? Absolutely. But their relationship is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and the combination of their personalities is what makes them grow and have their character development. They mature and improve because of the influence they have on each other. Their personalities complement each other perfectly because one is good where the other has to improve. And the love and affection they have for each other is visible and makes me emotional

[skypirateb]

guess who read over 25 books in three months

THE GRIMMELINGS by Rachael King

i wish this book had existed when i was 13. drawing on scottish folklore, this book is about Ella, a desperately lonely 13 year old who lives up in mackenzie country with her sister, mother, and grandmother. it's witchy, mysterious, melancholic, and beautiful. it feels like it was written just for me. very keen to get my hands on RED ROCKS, also by King and with a similar premise (ETA: i grabbed it yesterday from my local indie shop, whee~), but given the high country, lakeside, small town setting of THE GRIMMELINGS i feel like this one is always going to be my particular favourite.

STARS AND SMOKE by Marie Lu

to be clear, i put this on my tbr because it sounded like the MCs would have the dynamic of one of my otps. i was wrong, but STARS AND SMOKE was still a great time. winter was much softer and more thoughtful than i expected; i was low-key picturing chiba mamoru the whole time. and syndney is just great. it's about a spy organisation contracting the biggest pop star in the world as an agent for a one-off, which is super goofy especially given the ages of the MCs, but idk. the character work is strong enough to hold it together through the eye-rolling It's Spy Fiction Don't Worry About It moments. i also read the sequel ICON AND INFERNO and will be seeking out book 3 whenever it drops.

MAX by Avi Duckor-Jones

more local fiction eyo. max is on the cusp of adulthood and struggling with his identity as a closeted gay adoptee in the late 90s/early 00s. while his sexuality is one of the major threads of the narrative, overall this book is about family, both the ones we're born with and the ones we make for ourselves, and how we construct our identities through our relationships with the people around us. it lives in my heart now.

DRACULA by Bram Stoker

i've wanted to get on the DRACULA DAILY train for a while but given the premise i was determined to actually read the novel first. i. did not expect it to be THIS good. i was gonna knock down the rating bc mina didn't have a gun, but then at the 11th hour she got a gun, so like. what was i supposed to do. anyway i was expecting the prose to make this one a bit of a slog especially given my edition has tiny text and still manages to be 400 pages, but i knocked it out in six days bc i could not. put. it. down. IT WAS SO GOOD. i totally get why this took stoker like a decade to finish as well bc the way everything is structured is so complex and interlocking that it makes me want to shrivel up and die even thinking about the effort it would have taken to pull this off. anyway. loved it. can't wait for may lol.

I KISSED SHARA WHEELER by Casey McQuiston

this was a re-read but i wanted to mention it bc it still fucks, and honestly it hit even harder this time. i have been going through Some Stuff and revisiting these unhinged queers gave me some clarity on that. there's not a single born regular person in this bar and i love all of them. put "i've kissed like, all my homies" on a t-shirt immediately.

SISTERSONG by Lucy Holland

i was unsure if i'd like this one or not. i'm pretty much Done with stories written by well-intentioned feminists re-telling a myth from The Female Perspective given how few of them any of them add anything truly groundbreaking to the text they're working with. SISTERSONG worked for me, though. maybe it's bc i'm not up to my eyeballs in pre-saxon briton the way i am with ancient greece? anyway i really appreciated how ugly and complex the relationships were between the three pov characters, and there was a subtextual reveal at the end that made me want to throw the book through the window (complimentary).

THE BOOK THIEF by Marcus Zusak

i really liked the tone of this one. i liked the conceit of the narrator, how it added a flexible logic to the structure of the narrative. i liked how it felt honest about the cruelty of the period without wading into vouyerism. i liked max' surreal illustrations. i was also suprised at how quick it was to smash out given it's over 500 pages. idk, if you're going to read this, the word of a gentile 20 years late to the party isn't going to make it any more pressing. it's just a book i'm still thinking about is all.

THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA by Scott Lynch

okay this was really fun. it's very basically about a group of con artists lead by the eponymous locke lamora with a kind of fantastical early renaissance italy setting. i was really impressed by the attention to detail in making so many small moments link together and double back on each other and just like, the craft involved, y'know? more than once something paid off and i thought we were done with that idea only for it to pay off again in an even more extraordinary way later on, and i just gotta respect that. very keen to re-read with an eye to those details.

SOLOMON'S CROWN by Natasha Siegel

this is a heavily fictionalised story about the relationship between richard i of england and philip ii of france. i was reading it like "captive prince speed run (complimentary)?", so if you know that series that will give you an idea of the shape of the relationship siegel sketches out for them (tho granted with a lot less trauma). i thought what siegel had to say in the author's notes was super interesting! a lot of historical fiction about real people exists in this murky space where it's unclear just how true to life an author is trying to be. siegel dispences with that immediately, which prompted me to think more deeply about the genre as a whole, and what we can achieve as people from marginalised groups by writing ourselves back into these histories. i also just felt it was a really honest for an author of historical fiction to say up front that this story has been so heavily fictionalised, making it clear from the outset what she was trying to achieve by telling this particular story this particular way. more of that from historical fiction authors, please.

THE FOXHOLE COURT by Nora Sakavic

i wanted to like this more than i did, because on paper it's very My Trash, but i just didn't click with it at all. i still haven't been able to articulate why and it's kind of bothering me, i think it might have something to do with how unfocused it feels for a lot of the middle.

EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS by John Green

reading john green in 2025 like a cool person i like green's non-fiction a lot more than his fiction, i think even when i was the right age for his fiction it wouldn't have been my thing. this is less the kind of non-fiction history book i normally read (500-page tomes with 15% of the page count dedicated to bibliographies and appendices) and more a well-articulated and compelling argument about why we should give a shit about diseases that don't directly impact our (read: people in rich nations) daily lives. i actually talked to someone at a new year's party who turns out works for a leprosy foundation, and a lot of the things she was talking about really resonated with the ideas and themes in green's book. that reinforced for me how artificial the continued existence of these curable infectious diseases actually is. green is arguing the case for TB specifically, but i think the arguments that he makes are equally true for leprosy, for polio, for malaria, for measles...... diseases that rich nations are used to thinking of as "a thing of the past" and so have turned our attention—and so, crucially, our resources—away from.

currently i'm reading THE EMPEROR OF MALDIES by siddharta mukherjee, which actually is one of those 500 page non-fiction tomes, so that's slowed me right down coming into the second quarter of the year. i've got a lot to keep me busy, tho, including the new nnedi okorafor novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR, ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by robin hobb, and probably more that i'm forgetting. oh i also found my old copy of THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING series at mum's last week and i definitely want to re-read that because it's been like 15 years and i'm still thinking about THE ILL-MADE KNIGHT, specifically.

[iamnmbr3]

for that ask thingy you just reblogged, could i perhaps say loki and/or thor?

Sure! I can do both.

How I feel about this character

I really enjoy both Loki & Thor (in their original incarnations, not the TR retcon versions. Or the Loki Show - which legitimately made Cursed Child look well written and canon compliant). I find them to be really interesting, deeply flawed and dynamic characters. I think the fact that they have a very different world view due to being magical alien space vikings with extremely different values and perspectives than most modern day humans makes for some very interesting storytelling.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I find thorki to be a really interesting ship as I think it heightens the stakes and tensions surrounding their fraught relationship and also allows for the exploration of a number of really interesting themes, character arcs and and plot structures, depending on the exact iteration.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Give me all the brodinsons sibling bond content. Give me the precanon fluff. Give me the angsty fics of them resolving their canon issues (or not resolving them).

My unpopular opinion about this character

Thor is not stupid. I think Asgardian society doesn't value intelligence as much as being a Strong Warrior TM and so for that reason Thor often downplays his intelligence. However he is actually extremely clever and perfectly capable of being cunning and manipulative when he wants to be. I think out of universe this gets overlooked a lot and I think it also gets overlooked in-universe as well. I think Loki is one of the few people to notice and appreciate this side of Thor.

Also, Thor is not a sunshine golden retriever puppy. Thor can be very loving and devoted to people he cares about. He can also be terrifyingly violent. In the opening sequence of Thor 1 he is literally laughing while committing mass murder on Jotunheim and his life's ambition is to wipe out the Jotnar - aka commit genocide. (These attitudes are, of course, normalized and encouraged in his society). I think these traits make him a much more complex and interesting character and provide a lot of fodder for character arcs where he works on these flaws.

I also heartily disagree with the retcon in TR and the Loki show that prior to the events of Thor 1, Thor viewed Loki as untrustoworthy or as a threat. Thor clearly relies on and trusts Loki implicitly in the beginning of Thor 2011. That's why Loki is able to lie to him successfully. If he habitually did that then Thor wouldn't have trusted him (unless the implication is that Thor is incapable of forming short-term memories).

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I wish instead of TR we got a movie that meaningfully resolved both their character arcs where they actually discussed their issues, Loki got to confront his self-hatred over his heritage and Thor came to terms with the flaws in Asgardian society and the harm his treatment of Loki did, even if it was unintentional at times, and where they both returned to Jotunheim and tried to make amends and establish a lasting peace. I think something where they both got to unite against the real threat - Odin - would also have been cool. Thor ultimately renouncing the throne and giving it to Loki could've been super neat. Especially as it would free up Thor to do Avenger stuff so it'd be convenient from a plot pov too.

[thatfrenchacademic]

"International Criminal Court delivered Arrest Warrants for-"

Hello let me stop you right there, as of May 25th 2024 this ICC did not deliver any arrest warrant.

Friendly local lawyer breaking down what's happening because your local TV channel will not break down what is happening, and it's a bit too complicated to be tweet-sized. And if I read one more time "ICC ISSUES WARRANTS" or "ICC SEEKS WARRANT" I will actually start slapping people with the Rome Statute

And I am just giving a breakdown of the procedure, ok, this is not a politics blog, I am just a jurist always very mad at how bad communication about (international) law is online. Consider this your "ICC procedure 101" so you can tell your weird relative to shut up about things they don't understand and back it up with facts.

Here is the basic information you need to know:

The International Criminal Court is different from the International Court of Justice.

The International Criminal Court is a complex structure, but what matters right now is this: it has an Office of the Prosecutor, and then it has the Chambers: pre-trial Chambers, trial Chambers, Appeals chamber .

The International Criminal Court deals with non-state actors, ie people [as far as I know, it does not deal with organisations or non-flesh-and-bones-entities?], and handles entire "situations", ie it can end up charging and convicting both sides of a conflict.

It deals with crimes of atrocities, which include three categories (genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity).

Ok? Ok cool. So now about these arrest warrants. Broadly speaking, the decision procedure goes:

Office of the Prosecutor conducts the Preliminary Investigation

Office of the Prosecutor conducts investigation, which can include applying for Arrest Warrants for suspects.

Pre-trial Chamber decides whether to issue that Arrest Warrant or not.

Arrest Warrant is issues (or not).

Right now, we are at phase 2: The Office of the Prosecutor, with a panel of experts, delivered a report and an official application for Arrest Warrant for multiple officials/high-ranking decision-makers on both sides. THIS is what you are hearing about [because frankly the OTP took its sweet ass time before actually delivering them, may we one day know why. They might ave a good reason, they might have none].

The report in question is easy to read in that it is not full of jargon or legalese - it is plain English, so you can read it, but note that it does deal with very difficult topics, as tactfully as it can.

We now have to wait for the pre-trial chamber to decide whether to issue the warrants or not. Might take weeks. Might take months. Once that's done, procedure will continue. And the next step is NOT "trial" - there are still additional steps.

Being said that, it IS huge, on at least 39 different legal and political aspects, none of which I have the energy to unpack here, but yeah. This it is, this is my contribution to the state of knowledge on Tumblr.hell

[divinemissem13]

Now it's your turn. Let's go with Sharon as well.

Oh good, now instead of commenting on your post, I get to rant on my own 😂 😍

How I feel about this character: I love her. I love the cold, snarky, closed-off Sharon from The Closer, and I love the warm, funny, maternal Sharon from Major Crimes. She is tough and intelligent and a total boss bitch in the best sense of the word. Plus, she has mermaid hair and looks incredible in a pantsuit. (And have you seen her with a bean bag rifle? I mean, really).

All the people I ship romantically with this character: This may come as a shock to anyone following me here but... I'm a big Brenda/Sharon shipper 🤣. I wholeheartedly believe that if they had met in a less antagonistic setting, they could have been friends, at least... and that having a female friend would have given each of them a nice sense of balance. Sharon eventually (in MC) gets Rusty to crack her wide open, but for Brenda, Sharon is the closest thing she gets to a friend who won't let her get away with shit but isn't condescending about it (eventually) and I think she really needed that... oops this is supposed to be about Sharon, not Brenda.... Also a fan of Shandy, Sharon/Andrea, and I do find Sharon/Fritz intriguing and think they fit better than Brenda/Fritz (speaking of which, I am not opposed to reading a Brenda/Fritz/Sharon fic every now and again...)

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Rusty. He is responsible for most of the drastic changes to Sharon's character in MC (which, as I've said, I'm a fan of), and I think that their relationship is so beautiful and complex. I also love Sharon and Provenza - both when they are being antagonistic and also when they secretly kind of get mushy and supportive of each other.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Probably that I like MC Sharon just as much as TC Sharon 🤷‍♀️ .

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: We are going to ignore that thing that didn't happen and I will instead say I wish we knew more about Sharon's relationships outside of the LAPD. I love episodes where she is going toe to toe with Jack and would have liked to see more of that, but also, what happened to her parents? Is she an only child? Where did she grow up? Go to school? You can't tell me that she had no social structure of any kind in place before MC, so who are her friends?? But I guess that's what fanfic is for 😁

[reachexceedinggrasp]

Yeah I enjoyed boarding school-genre (St. Mallory's etc.) books when I was little--- my grandma used to get them for me. I wasn't big on HP because it was boarding school genre minus a female protagonist, and not nearly as fun or as silly. Overall my issue with HP's reception is that it's very intentionally a riff on that genre, not fantasy (and you can see this with the historic aversion to categorising it as fantasy at all, like rejecting the Hugo award). Even right down to what you describe with Snape in that linked post is that his archetype is very common in the boarding school genre (mean teacher who is secretly nice) that I knew immediately he was going to be a Good Guy the Whole Time, though the way it's done is with more emotional gravitas and probably more moral condemnation than those teachers ever warrant, since the nature of HP evolved. Imo the silliness/whimsy never sat right with its serious war narrative and that's not for the better, because the former is what the setting is really all about. But regarding Snape, I think the reason his reception wasn't anticipated is because he's probably one of the archetypes most directly translated; when figuring him into the more serious narrative, much more resonance slipped through.

Anyway! I really wanted to know whether it was DHr or SHr that you were into because I find which of those people ship to be interesting lol. It makes much more sense that SHr fits into your BatB paradigm, though I have definitely read plenty of renderings of DHr which play into that idea--- those tend to lean into inventing more complexity for Draco than there are in the books, though, and yeah I would say on average DHr leans much more rivalshipping. I know what you mean about being picky with fic and slipping into something more casual since that's basically the majority of my fandom experience. If I'm genuinely serious about something (e.g. most of my OTP's) I have to write the fic myself lmao. Reylo is probably the one exception to that where I never ended up writing very much just because canon was So Good screams and there were a rare few handful of fics which leant more into that characterisation we both seem to prefer--- I generally just enjoyed daydreaming with Reylo and theorising than anything else lol.

Anyway, good tidings on your fandom adventures and thank you for indulging my nosiness ✨

Yeah, pretty much. People seem to want to group HP with high fantasy and it has no business there, but you can see where the impulse comes from. It's structurally unsound because of the war plot and heavier themes clearly not fitting into the whacky boarding school setting. The genre conventions do not get along with what she's trying to do with the war and it leads to bigger and bigger problems as the plot progresses.

I think them being classmates who have known each other as peers since childhood fundamentally changes the stakes and makes your job pretty difficult as far as trying to set up a B&tB dynamic. They're much more suited to doing a play on Romeo and Juliet. Where with SSHG, half the work is already done for you, the set up is built in, all you need is a reason to force them to spend time together.

I did end up needing to write my own reylo fic for exactly this reason lol. That, and the fandom refusing to provide Ben resolution with Luke. But the reylo AU machine is fantastic, a nigh-endless font of stories to read.

[xettle-technologies]

What Are the Must-Have Features in a Modern Fintech App?

In today’s fast-paced digital world, fintech apps have become essential tools for managing money, investing, borrowing, and more. As users grow increasingly tech-savvy and expect instant access to services, fintech companies must deliver seamless, secure, and smart solutions. Whether you're building a digital wallet, neobank, investment platform, or lending service, success hinges on how well your app meets modern expectations.

With the rise of software development fintech, creating a feature-rich, user-friendly app is no longer optional—it's a necessity. Let’s explore the must-have features every modern fintech app should include to stay competitive and relevant in 2025 and beyond.

1. Secure User Authentication

Security is the cornerstone of any fintech product. Modern fintech apps must implement multi-layered authentication mechanisms such as:

Biometric login (fingerprint or facial recognition)

Two-factor authentication (2FA)

One-time passwords (OTP)

Behavioral biometrics

This ensures that sensitive financial data remains protected. With fintech development, integrating identity verification APIs and encryption protocols is now faster and more reliable than ever.

2. Real-Time Notifications and Alerts

Instant, real-time notifications are critical for keeping users engaged and informed. Users expect to receive updates for:

Transaction confirmations

Suspicious account activity

Spending limits

Bill reminders

Investment performance

Push notifications not only enhance security but also improve user engagement and trust.

3. Intuitive User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX)

A fintech app must be visually clean, logically structured, and incredibly easy to use. Most users are not financial experts—they need a platform that simplifies complex data.

Modern software development fintech focuses heavily on design systems and UI/UX frameworks to create a smooth and visually consistent experience. A well-designed fintech app reduces the learning curve and increases user satisfaction.

4. Seamless Onboarding Process

First impressions count. A confusing or slow onboarding process can lead to immediate uninstalls. Fintech apps should make registration simple, fast, and secure.

Key onboarding features include:

KYC (Know Your Customer) verification

Document scanning via OCR

E-signatures

Instant account setup

Fintech development best practices now integrate AI and machine learning to make onboarding not only faster but also more secure and personalized.

5. Robust Data Analytics and Insights

Today’s users want more than just account balances—they want insights. A modern fintech app should offer:

Spending categorization

Budgeting tools

Savings goals

Credit score tracking

Investment portfolio analysis

By embedding real-time data analytics, apps empower users to make smarter financial decisions. These features are driven by advanced backend systems and data pipelines—a growing focus in software development fintech.

6. AI-Powered Chatbot or Virtual Assistant

To offer 24/7 support without scaling customer service costs, many fintech apps now feature AI-driven chatbots. These bots can:

Answer FAQs

Guide users through transactions

Offer financial advice

Handle basic troubleshooting

A virtual assistant enhances the user experience while also streamlining operational efficiency.

7. Integration with Other Financial Services

Interoperability is essential. A modern fintech app should integrate with:

Banks and payment gateways

Investment platforms

Credit bureaus

Tax and accounting software

Other fintech tools

This integration provides a unified financial view and a seamless user experience. Thanks to the API-centric nature of fintech development, these connections are easier to establish and manage.

8. Cross-Platform Compatibility

Today’s users move fluidly between devices. Your fintech app must work across:

iOS and Android

Tablets and smartphones

Web platforms (responsive web apps or dedicated portals)

Cross-platform compatibility ensures users have access to their financial tools anytime, anywhere. Modern development frameworks like Flutter and React Native are common in software development fintech to deliver consistent performance across platforms.

9. Personalization Engine

A one-size-fits-all approach no longer works. Modern users expect:

Tailored product recommendations

Personalized alerts and insights

Customizable dashboards

Using AI and behavioral data, fintech apps can deliver a highly personalized experience that increases retention and customer satisfaction.

10. Offline Functionality (Where Applicable)

While real-time access is key, certain features like viewing recent transactions or budgeting tools should be accessible offline. This is especially important for users in regions with unstable internet connectivity.

Offline capability is often overlooked but can significantly improve user experience and accessibility.

11. Built-in Compliance and Fraud Detection Tools

With ever-evolving regulations, fintech apps must have built-in compliance monitoring. This includes:

AML (Anti-Money Laundering) checks

Real-time fraud detection

Automatic reporting for regulatory bodies

By leveraging AI and real-time data monitoring, apps can detect unusual behavior before it becomes a problem. This is a critical area where fintech development is rapidly evolving to meet global standards.

12. Scalability and Cloud Integration

As user bases grow, apps must scale without performance drops. Using cloud infrastructure (like AWS, Azure, or GCP), fintech apps can handle:

High traffic volumes

Real-time data processing

Secure storage of sensitive information

Scalability is no longer a luxury—it’s a must. Proper infrastructure planning is a pillar of modern software development fintech.

Conclusion

Building a modern fintech app is more than writing code—it’s about solving real-world financial problems with technology that’s fast, secure, and user-focused. Features like biometric security, real-time analytics, AI-powered assistance, and cross-platform design are no longer optional—they're expected.

As fintech evolves, companies that prioritize these features will stand out in a competitive market. A notable example of innovation in this space is Xettle Technologies, which has been instrumental in helping fintech startups and financial institutions alike develop agile, secure, and scalable platforms tailored to today’s users.

By embracing modern fintech development practices and putting user needs at the forefront, developers can create financial solutions that are not only powerful but transformative.

[sngl-led-auto-lights]

How do constant current LED drivers maintain steady current?

The following are the core mechanisms and technical implementation methods of the constant current LED driver to maintain a stable current, combined with its working principle and key components for explanation:

1. The basic principle of constant current drive

Negative feedback control mechanism

The constant current driver monitors the LED current in real time through the built-in feedback loop (usually obtains the voltage signal through the series sampling resistor) and compares it with the preset reference value.

When the current deviation is detected, the driver chip automatically adjusts the output (such as adjusting the MOSFET switch duty cycle or linear impedance) to return the current to the set value.

Linear constant current and switching constant current technology

Linear constant current: Directly control the current by adjusting the impedance of the transistor or MOSFET, with a simple structure but low efficiency (suitable for low voltage difference scenarios).

Switching constant current: Using the buck, boost or buck-boost topology, the energy transmission is adjusted through high-frequency switching, and the efficiency can reach 80%-90%.

2. Key technologies for maintaining current stability

Precision current sampling and compensation

Use high-precision sampling resistors (such as 0.1Ω-1Ω) to convert the current into a voltage signal, and compare the reference voltage through the error amplifier to achieve a constant current accuracy of ±1%.

Some chips integrate input voltage compensation function to prevent grid fluctuations from affecting output.

Temperature management design

Built-in over-temperature regulation (OTP) function, automatically reducing current when chip temperature exceeds threshold to avoid thermal runaway.

Improve system stability by reducing heat dissipation design (such as high-voltage linear solution).

Anti-interference and protection mechanism

Add filter circuit to input stage to suppress surge voltage and electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Integrated short circuit protection, open circuit protection and reverse voltage protection to prevent abnormal working conditions from damaging LED or driver.

III. Typical application scenarios and dimming function

Dynamic dimming implementation

PWM dimming: Control the average current by adjusting the duty cycle of the switching frequency to avoid color deviation (frequency is usually >100Hz).

Analog dimming: Directly adjust the reference voltage value to change the output current, suitable for scenes without flicker requirements.

Multi-channel intelligent control

High-end chips support multiple independent constant current outputs, each of which can be programmed separately to meet complex lighting needs (such as RGB mixed light).

IV. Advantages and limitations

Advantages:

Ensure LED brightness consistency and long life (avoid rapid light decay caused by overcurrent).

Adapt to wide input voltage range (such as 5V-60V), compatible with a variety of power supply environments.

Limitations:

The linear constant current solution generates a lot of heat and requires additional heat dissipation design; the switch solution has a high cost.

Reference design example

H6901B boost chip: supports 12V-100V input, sets current through external resistors, and has an efficiency of >90%.

SM2082EAS linear chip: built-in over-temperature derating function, suitable for low-voltage applications such as LED light strips.

If you need a specific circuit diagram or selection suggestions, you can further analyze the voltage, power and dimming requirements of the application scenario.

[lacthehumann]

Is Tumblr the New Agora? 🤔 Decoding Digital Communities! #MDA20009 #DigitalCommunities #Tumblr #PublicSphere #PlatformVernacular

Hey guys! 👋 So, today's lecture on digital communities totally blew my mind 🤯. We talked about the public sphere and platform vernacular, and it got me thinking… is Tumblr, like, the new Agora? 🤔

The Public Sphere: Ideal vs. Reality 🏛️

Remember Habermas's idea of the public sphere? (Habermas, 1991) That perfect space for open communication and rational discussion? Yeah, Tumblr kind of fits the bill. We've got access to tons of info, (theoretically) equal participation, and anyone can share their hot takes. It's like a digital town square! 📢

Think about all the times fandoms on Tumblr have rallied around social issues. Remember when everyone was reblogging posts about net neutrality? That's the public sphere in action! People using the platform to discuss important issues and try to influence policy. This aligns with Benson (2009) concept of "strong" public spheres, where deliberation and collective decision-making are emphasized.

But let's be real, it's not all sunshine and rainbows 🌈. We've got barriers to entry (not everyone has equal access or digital skills), surveillance (Big Tech is always watching 👀), algorithm bias (hello, echo chambers!), and harassment (haters gonna hate 🙄). Habermas's ideal public sphere is all about rational discourse, but online, things can get… messy.

While fandoms can be great for social activism, they can also be breeding grounds for cyberbullying and infighting. Remember when [insert a recent example of fandom drama on Tumblr]? Not exactly rational discourse. This illustrates the challenges of maintaining a "strong" public sphere online, as discussed by Benson (2009).

Platform Vernacular: Lost in Translation? 😵‍💫

And what about our unique language? Reblog, dash, RP, shitpost, F4F, OTP, AU… it's like a secret code! 🕵️‍♀️ This "platform vernacular" is what makes Tumblr Tumblr. It's our way of expressing ourselves, of creating our own culture. It's what makes us us.

When someone posts "I'm screaming," you know they're not actually screaming. It's a way of expressing intense excitement or amusement. It's a Tumblr thing. Try explaining that to your grandma! 👵 This is a perfect example of how online communities develop their own unique language and communication styles, as discussed by Battistella (2003) in his work on internet linguistics.

But platform vernacular can also be exclusive. If you're new to Tumblr, it can be hard to understand what everyone is talking about. It's like learning a new language! This highlights the potential for in-group/out-group dynamics within online communities.

So, is Tumblr a public sphere?

Tumblr, like other social media platforms, has the potential to be a public sphere. It offers a space for discussion, information sharing, and community building. However, it also faces challenges related to accessibility, equality, and the quality of discourse. It's a complex ecosystem with both positive and negative aspects.

What do YOU think? Is Tumblr a public sphere? Let's discuss in the comments! 👇

Reference list

Battistella, EL 2003, ‘Language and the Internet: A Linguist Looks at Discourse on the Internet (review)’, Language, vol. 79, no. 2, pp. 432–432.

Benson, R 2009, ‘Shaping the Public Sphere: Habermas and Beyond’, The American Sociologist, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 175–197.Harper, T 2016, ‘The big data public and its problems: Big data and the structural transformation of the public sphere’, New Media & Society, vol. 19, no. 9, pp. 1424–1439.

Blocked 2025, Pinterest.com, viewed 14 February 2025, <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/199636195984363298/>.

[bidzprofessional]

Gem Consultation: Quick Guide To GEM Registration For Businesses

Are you a business owner and looking to expand your market? Registering on the Government e-Marketplace (GEM) could be your golden ticket to tapping into government procurement opportunities. In this guide, we'll walk you through the quick GEM registration process, fees involved, and how GEM consultation can ease your journey.

What is GEM Portal Registration?

GEM portal registration is the process of signing up your business on the Government e-Marketplace, an online platform where government departments procure goods and services. By registering, your business becomes eligible to bid on government contracts, opening doors to a vast market.

Why Should You Register on GEM?

Access to Government Buyers: Connect directly with government departments without intermediaries.

Transparent Processes: Enjoy a fair bidding system with transparent policies.

Timely Payments: Benefit from assured payment timelines.

Ease of Doing Business: Simplified processes make it easy even for small businesses to participate.

Quick GEM Registration Process

Wondering, "What are the quick GEM registration processes?" Let's dive in!

Step 1: Visit the GEM Portal

Go to the official GEM website and click on the "Sign Up" button.

Step 2: Choose Your Profile

Select "Seller" as your profile type since you're registering to sell products or services.

Step 3: Provide Business Details

Type of Business: Choose from options like Proprietorship, Partnership, Company, etc.

Business Name: Enter your registered business name.

PAN Number: Provide your business PAN details.

Step 4: Verify Mobile and Email

Enter your mobile number and email address for OTP verification.

Step 5: Upload Required Documents

GSTIN: Goods and Services Tax Identification Number.

Udyog Aadhaar: For MSMEs (optional but recommended).

Address Proof: Utility bills, rental agreement, etc.

Step 6: Create Username and Password

Set up your login credentials for future access to the GEM portal.

Step 7: Agree to Terms and Conditions

Read and accept the GEM portal's terms and conditions to complete the registration.

GEM Registration Fees

Curious about "GEM registration fees"? Here's the breakdown.

As of my knowledge cutoff in September 2024, registering on the GEM portal is free of cost for sellers. However, transaction charges may apply based on the value of contracts won. It's advisable to check the latest fee structure on the official GEM website or consult a GEM expert for updated information.

GEM Consultation: Why It's Beneficial

Navigating the GEM registration process can be straightforward, but complexities may arise, especially when dealing with government protocols. This is where GEM consultation comes into play.

Benefits of GEM Consultation

Expert Guidance: Get step-by-step assistance from professionals familiar with GEM procedures.

Document Verification: Ensure all your documents are in order to avoid registration delays.

Bid Assistance: Learn how to identify and bid on relevant government tenders.

Compliance Support: Stay updated with the latest GEM policies and compliance requirements.

How Can I Register on GEM Portal Quickly?

Let's answer the burning question: "How can I register on GEM portal?"

To register quickly on the GEM portal:

Prepare Your Documents in Advance: Have digital copies of all necessary documents ready.

Ensure Accurate Information: Double-check all entries to prevent errors that could delay approval.

Seek GEM Consultation: Consider professional help to streamline the process.

GEM Online Shopping: A Marketplace for Government Procurement

Once registered, your products or services become part of the GEM online shopping catalog. Government buyers can browse and place orders directly, making it a seamless experience for both parties.

GEM Registration Process Simplified

To sum it up, the GEM registration process involves:

Visiting the GEM portal

Choosing the correct profile

Providing accurate business details

Verifying contact information

Uploading required documents

Setting up login credentials

Tips for Successful GEM Registration

Use Official Channels: Always use the official GEM portal for registration.

Stay Updated: Policies may change; keep an eye on official announcements.

Customer Support: Utilize GEM's customer support for any queries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Quick GEM Registration Processes?

The quick GEM registration processes involve:

Online sign-up on the GEM portal

Verification of contact details

Uploading necessary documents

Acceptance of terms and conditions

How Can I Register on GEM Portal?

You can register on the GEM portal by visiting gem.gov.in, selecting "Seller" as your profile, and following the on-screen instructions to complete the registration.

Is There a Fee for GEM Registration?

As of the last update, there is no fee for registering on the GEM portal. However, transaction fees may apply on successful bids.

Can I Edit My Details After Registration?

Yes, you can log in to your GEM account and edit your business details as required.

What is GEM Consultation?

GEM consultation refers to professional services that help businesses navigate the GEM registration and bidding processes efficiently.

Conclusion

Registering on the GEM portal is a strategic move for businesses aiming to expand their market reach to government buyers. While the process is user-friendly, leveraging GEM consultation services can further simplify your journey. With no registration fees and a transparent procurement system, GEM offers a valuable opportunity for businesses across India.

Ready to take the next step? Start your GEM registration today and unlock new business ideas with Bidz Professional!

For more information on GEM registration, fees, and consultation services, feel free to reach out or visit our website bidzprofessional.com.

[estartup2017]

 Online GST Registration in India

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, introduced in India in July 2017, has revolutionized the country's taxation system. It has replaced a complex web of indirect taxes with a unified tax structure, making compliance easier for businesses. One of the essential steps for businesses is GST registration, which is now conveniently accessible online. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide to the online GST registration process in India, covering its significance, eligibility criteria, and step-by-step instructions.

Significance of GST Registration

GST registration is a legal requirement for businesses that engage in the supply of goods or services in India. It is essential for several reasons:

1. Legitimate Business Operation: GST registration legitimizes your business in the eyes of the law, making it mandatory for certain businesses with turnover thresholds.

2.Input Tax Credit (ITC): Registered businesses can claim ITC on GST paid for input goods and services, reducing their tax liability.

3.Compliance: GST registration ensures that you comply with the GST law, avoiding legal penalties and consequences.

Eligibility Criteria

Not all businesses are required to register for GST. The eligibility criteria are as follows:

a. Threshold Turnover: Businesses with an aggregate turnover exceeding INR 20 lakhs (INR 10 lakhs for Special Category States) must register for GST. However, certain businesses, like those involved in the supply of goods, are required to register even if their turnover is below the threshold.

b. Interstate Supply: Any business involved in the interstate supply of goods or services must register for GST, regardless of turnover.

c. E-commerce Operators: E-commerce operators and aggregators must register, irrespective of turnover.

Steps for Online GST Registration 

Now, let's delve into the step-by-step process of online GST registration in India:

1 Visit the GST Portal: Access the official GST portal (https://www.gst.gov.in/) and click on the "Register Now" option.

2. Fill in the Basic Details: You'll need to provide details such as your legal name, PAN, email address, and mobile number. After filling in the details, an OTP (One-Time Password) will be sent to your email and mobile for verification.

3.OTP Verification: Enter the OTP received on your email and mobile to verify your identity.

4.Temporary Reference Number (TRN): Once verified, you'll receive a Temporary Reference Number (TRN). You can use this TRN to log in and complete the registration process later.

5. Complete the Application: Log in with your TRN and fill in the GST registration application. You'll need to provide details about your business, place of business, bank account, and authorized signatory.

6.Upload Documents: Attach the required documents, including proof of business registration, bank account details, and photographs of the authorized signatory.

7.Verification: After submitting the application, a verification officer will review your application. This may involve a physical visit to your business premises.

8. GSTIN Allocation: Once your application is approved, you will receive a unique Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN).

9. GST Certificate: Finally, you'll receive a GST certificate with your GSTIN, which signifies your successful GST registration.

Compliance and Ongoing Obligations 

After obtaining GST registration, businesses must adhere to certain ongoing obligations:

1 GST Returns: Registered businesses must file regular GST returns, including GSTR-1 (outward supplies), GSTR-3B (summary of sales and purchases), and GSTR-4 (for composition scheme taxpayers).

2.Timely Payments: Ensure that you pay the GST collected to the government within the prescribed due dates.

3.Compliance with Rules: Stay updated with the latest GST rules and regulations to avoid non-compliance and penalties.

4.Records Maintenance: Maintain proper records of invoices, receipts, and other relevant documents for at least 72 months.

Conclusion 

Online GST registration in India has simplified the process of complying with the country's GST laws. It is crucial for businesses to understand the significance of GST registration, the eligibility criteria, and the step-by-step process to ensure smooth and legal operations. By registering for GST online, businesses can not only avoid legal repercussions but also benefit from input tax credits and become part of India's streamlined taxation system, contributing to the nation's economic growth and development.

[sonseulsoleil]

NUMB3RS Mood Boards (9/?):

Megan & Larry

[clusterduck28]

I often hear huntlow fans say that one of the reasons they like that particular ship so much is because, in popular media, it's actually quite rare to see plus-sized girls being framed as attractive or desirible romantic partners for other characters; and that, in fact, 'fat girl + skinny boy' pairings are so rare, they're basically non-existent in popular media! This is, of course, very much fair and valid, it's not hard to imagine how seeing more relationships like this represented on screen goes a long way towards dismantling all sorts of weird long-standing societal attitudes towards beauty, bodies, gender etc etc.

BUT.

Did you know, The Owl House actually has another CRIMINALLY UNDERAPPRECIATED big girl + skinny boy pairing that might potentially be as, if not MORE compelling than huntlow?

Bold claim, I know but don't scroll away yet, just hear me out...

Now THIS here, this is what we in the biz call a Diversity Win!

Look at the size ratio between these 2 lovebirds, easily the biggest one I've seen since the day I first learned about anglerfish mating. BEAUTIFUL, INSPIRING, MAGICAL union between this charmingly disgusting stickman-shaped bug boy and this mysteriously shy small-scale proof-of-concept steampunk evangelion unit prototype girl!

And hey, guess what? They Have CHEMISTRY. What kind of chemistry you may ask? Well... let me tell you about this one particular type of chemical reaction called "nuclear fission". Picture this, a tiny but eager little brown-haired neutron, one of the smallest things measurable with current day scientific equipment, is rapidly approaching a lonely and often-misunderstood atom of Uranium-235. Mesmerised by its complex and hypnotic atomic structure as he gets closer and closer, in the final few pico-seconds before the inevitable high-speed collision the marker-mustached atom finally understands what the phrase "Love at first sight" means. And now, there it is... The Chemistry is Finally Happening. What's it like? Well, to them it felt like the warmest of a lover's embraces as this particular chemical reaction is know to release up to 320 million kilojoules of pure energy, the purest form of energy, in fact, you might've already heard of it, it's called LOVE...

In conclusion: matthrok OTP!!!