#react element 55

[pedroscurls]

training partners (pt. 12)

summary: without another word from jack, you and hugh continue your relationship without any issue or distraction. filming comes close to an end and there's one scene that hugh needs your assistance with. pairing: hugh jackman x fem!reader warnings: smut (18+, mdni), lots of oil (duh, someone's gotta lube hugh up for that end scene), dirty talk, teasing, sex in hugh's trailer, oral - f & m receiving, unprotected p in v, swallowing, missionary, hugh covers your mouth (to keep you quiet), implied age gap (hugh is 55, reader is in late 20s-early 30s), no use of y/n. word count: 3.6k a/n: ok, this is complete filth lol. i had to write something about this scene because when hugh said that there were people whose sole job was to lube him up??? well, let's just say my mind went places lol. hope y'all enjoy! (needed some good fluff / smut before we get back into the angst hehe) as always, this is purely fictional! i mean no disrespect to hugh jackman. prev part. - next part.

Filming continues and you’re grateful that Jack hasn’t tried to reach out to you nor does he try to look for you either. Knowing that he got the hint that you no longer are giving him control of your life, it gives you relief. You feel like you can finally breathe again, can finally move forward with your life, with Hugh. 

Without worrying about Jack coming back, you’re able to get back to enjoying your day-to-day responsibilities of continuing to take photographs on set of the movie. Every day, you wake up feeling immensely grateful for Hugh, Ryan, and Shawn for giving you this opportunity. While you normally take photographs of couples who have recently gotten engaged and have occasionally worked a small wedding, being an on-set photographer and capturing behind the scenes content is so much more enjoyable. It gives you a glimpse of how movies are made, shows you the passion and dedication of each cast and crew member. 

But Hugh… you had always been a fan of his work and being able to see him in his element left you speechless every time. The way he’s able to switch into character so easily and become Logan Howlett - a character that you’ve always loved. 

Throughout filming, you’re just in awe of everyone on set and to be able to see the movie unfold right before your eyes is an experience that you’re sure will only happen once in a lifetime. 

And as the end of filming fast approaches, you embrace every second of every day you’re on set. You find that you fall more in love with Hugh, watching him interact with every single person and making sure that they feel seen and heard - he truly is perfect, and a really good man, and you have to wonder what you did to deserve him. 

Hugh hadn’t brought up Jack in months since the last argument you both had and you’re grateful. You never wanted Jack to ever be the reason to get in between you and Hugh. While you feel partially responsible, you have come to realize that it was bound to happen eventually. It was naive to think that Hugh wouldn’t have reacted the way he did. 

“So,” Hugh says, pulling you from your thoughts as you both remain lying in bed, limbs entangled after yet another intimate session of lovemaking. 

“Hm?” You ask, turning to look over at him as your fingertips run across his bare chest. 

“How are we going to go back to New York and not be with each other every night and morning?”

You arch a brow in his direction. You know what he’s implying and he’s just staring at you with a small smile. A hopeful smile. “I don’t know about you, but I’m glad to have my own space after–,” you tease, trying to keep a straight face. 

Hugh narrows his eyes and moves to hover above you, hands grabbing your wrists and pinning them above your heads. You’re both still naked and he makes sure to press his hips into you. You can feel him getting harder and harder by the second. 

“Wanna say that again, baby?” 

“How are you getting hard again?” You ask, lifting your hips to roll against his. 

“You make it easy,” he winks. “Now, don’t go and change the subject.” 

“Well, that’s really difficult when you’re literally distracting me!” 

Hugh smirks, his grip around your wrist tightening as he leans down to brush his lips against yours. “You ain’t gonna miss me?” He whispers, moving his hips as his tip brush against you. “Not gonna miss sleeping next to me and waking up next to me, baby?” 

“Hugh…” your eyes flutter and your legs wrap around his hips, locking your ankles at his lower back. “I will… I will miss you. I was just teasing and–”

Hugh grins and slides into you in one thrust, growling as your walls surround him. “That’s what I thought.” 

—

Later that week, you’re staring up at Hugh who’s grinning down at you. You’re in his trailer and he’s already in his Wolverine suit - albeit a little dirtier than when he first put it on and his arms now in full display. 

“You’re telling me that I will need to oil you up?” You ask, eyes wide. “For what? Why? Oh my god, I’m gonna– How will I do that?!” 

“Well, you put oil on your hands and–”

“Okay, ha ha.” You roll your eyes playfully, feeling his hands move to your hips. “Hugh…” 

“What? You want someone else to oil me up? That it? First you say you won’t miss me when we go back home, that you want your space, and now you don’t wanna touch me?” He teases with a smirk. “What’s next, baby?” 

“Oh stop, you’re being dramatic.” You laugh quietly, looking into his eyes. 

“So, you’ll oil me up?” He grins. 

“If I must,” you tease. “But you owe me.” 

“Oh, baby, just you wait.” He winks. 

“What does the scene even consist of where I have to put oil on you?” 

“You’ll see.” 

“Not even a hint?” 

Hugh shakes his head and leans down to peck your lips lightly. “Nope. I will say, though,” he whispers, moving his lips along your jawline to your ear. “I’m gonna try my very best not to get excited when your hands are all over me.”  

“Oh my god, you’re going to be shirtless, aren’t you?” 

His lips grow into a wide grin as he gently nips along the side of your neck, hands gripping your hips. “Yeah, baby.” 

You look at him from top to bottom, biting down on your lower lip as your gaze darkens at the thought. You clear your throat and look back into his eyes, slowly shaking your head. “Yeah, you owe me because I don’t know how I’m going to oil you up without wanting to–”

“Oh, I know,” Hugh chuckles, interrupting you. “Good thing it’s the last scene to shoot before we call it a day.”

“So, what I’m hearing is that after that scene, you’re going to take me back to the hotel and…” you wiggle your brows together. “You know.”

Hugh smirks, hands slowly moving from your hips to wrap around your waist, dipping low to rest on your backside. “I don’t know,” he lies. “Why don’t you tell me what I’ll be doing when we get back to the hotel room?” 

“You’re gonna let me have my way with you,” you grin, nodding excitedly. 

“Oh, I’m gonna let you, will I?” 

“Yes.” you answer, matter-of-factly. 

“Love the confidence, baby,” Hugh grins as he leans down to peck your lips lightly. “Gotta get back on set. I’ll see you later.” 

“You’re such a tease.” 

“Am I?” 

“Yes, Hugh,” you answer, pulling back and looking up at him with a small pout on your lips.

“I’ll make it up to you,” he winks. “You know I will.”

“You better.”

“I promise,” Hugh says. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” you smile. 

—

Throughout the rest of the day, you find yourself distracted with the thought of having to oil Hugh up for the last scene of the day. While you’re still in awe of the acting from both Ryan and Hugh, you can’t help but your eyes deviate to Hugh’s arms as he says his lines. 

And even as that scene approaches, Shawn is the first one to walk up to you, a teasing grin on his lips. “So, you’re okay with oiling Hugh up for this last scene?” 

“I think it’d be weird if I wasn’t,” you tease, biting the inside of your cheek in anticipation. 

“That’s true,” he chuckles. “Ryan’s been teasing him all day about it,” Shawn points out. 

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” you smile. “How much oil will I have to put on him, by the way?” 

“Um,” Shawn grins. “Quite a lot and depending on how many takes we’ll need to get the right one…”

“Okay, so we might need more than one bottle.”

“Oh, we have plenty.” 

“And this scene…” you begin, playing with your camera strap. 

“It’s a good one,” Shawn finishes for you. 

“I mean, it wouldn’t be Wolverine if there wasn’t at least one shot of him without a shirt, right?” 

Shawn laughs quietly. “That’s right… Speaking of the devil,” he nods his head over your shoulder and you turn slightly to see Hugh without his shirt, simply dressed in only the yellow and blue pants with the matching boots and cowl. 

You clear your throat at the sight of him, his muscles clearly defined as you bite your lower lip. Your eyes linger on his chest and abdomen, moving along his strong arms and shoulders. Ryan’s voice breaks you out of your thoughts and you turn your gaze on the other man, who’s dressed in his entire Deadpool gear.

“You might want to pick up your jaw off the floor,” Ryan chuckles. 

“Oh, shut up,” you reply, gently smacking his chest. “I see this every day, it’s nothing new to me,” you lie.

Hugh places his hands on his hips, staring at you with a slight tilt to his head and a small smirk on his lips. He can see your eyes flitting back to him, can see the way you're gently gnawing at your lower lip and he knows exactly what kind of look you’re giving him. 

“I know,” Ryan sighs dramatically. “Lucky you.” 

“Got the oil for you,” Hugh says, handing it to you and breaking you out of your thoughts. You take it from him slowly, fingers brushing against his. 

“Right. So, we’re doing this now.” you say, gripping the bottle of oil tightly in your grasp. 

Shawn nods and then looks over at you. “Don’t put too much,” he advises. “Just enough to make his skin glisten, like he’s sweating.” 

“Right, right,” you nod, clearing your throat. “Not too much, but just enough.”

Ryan and Shawn quietly chuckle to themselves before giving the both of you some privacy. You look up at Hugh and bite your lower lip, eyes lingering on his lips as it moves down the side of his neck, to his chest and down his abdomen and back up. 

“You nervous, baby?” Hugh whispers. 

“N– No,” you stammer. “I just don’t want to mess up.”

“I don’t even think that’s possible,” he chuckles. “I’m ready for you, love.” 

You nod slowly and then open the bottle of oil, squeezing just enough onto your palm. You set the bottle aside and rub your hands together to evenly distribute the oil before you reach out to place your hands on his shoulders, slowly moving them up and down before you move to his chest. 

Hugh smirks, flexing his chest for you and he lets out a quiet chuckle when he hears you quietly gasp. “Love feeling your hands on me, baby,” he whispers. 

“Stop distracting me,” you tease, pouring just a bit more oil onto your hands before you reach out to spread it along his chest down to his abdomen, feeling each ridge and muscle of his abs. Your hands move dangerously closer to the waistband of his pants, feeling Hugh’s hand immediately dart out to rest on your hip. 

“Careful, baby.”

“Just making sure I got everything.” Slowly, you pull away and look at him, his upper half glistening with the oil you just applied. “I think– I think you’re ready to go.”

Hugh smiles and leans down to peck your lips lightly. “Thank you, baby.”

“I miss seeing your eyes,” you point out, motioning towards the cowl that’s placed atop of his head. “But I can’t lie… this is just as good a view.” 

Hugh opens his mouth to say something, but hears his name being called by Ryan and Shawn. “Duty calls.”

“Try and get this in one take so you can take me back to the hotel.”

Hugh smirks. “Impatient, aren’t you?” 

“Do you see yourself? I’d jump you right here if I could.” 

“Naughty girl,” he whispers lowly. 

“Hugh!” Ryan calls out. “Come on, buddy. I’m sure she will oil you up soon enough.” 

“Go,” you say quietly. 

Hugh nods and then turns on his heel to take his place on set. 

—

It takes more than one take to complete the scene. After about two and a half bottles of oil and intense sexual tension radiating off you and Hugh, Shawn finally calls cut. Hugh walks over to you and takes the towel from your hands to wipe off the immense amount of oil that’s dripping from him, but he can’t help but watch your eyes ogle him. It always made him feel so special and borderline shy when your eyes linger on him, especially with the way you’re staring at him now. 

“Just gotta head back to the trailer and change,” Hugh says. “Then we can go back to the hotel.”

Anticipation courses through your veins as you keep a tight hold on Hugh’s hand, fingers laced together as you walk alongside him. Once at his trailer, Hugh shuts the door and locks it behind him. 

Before you can even ask what he’s doing, Hugh turns to face you and removes the cowl to set it aside. His gaze darkens at the sight of you and in just a few strides in your direction, he’s wrapping his strong arms around your waist and lifting you off your feet. 

Your legs immediately wrap around his waist and your arms move around his shoulders. Letting out a quiet gasp, Hugh gently rests you on your back against the couch, kneeling on the floor between your legs.

“Hugh, what are you–”

“Been wanting you all day,” he says, his large hands moving to your jeans and undoing the button and zipper of it all too quickly. “Can’t wait anymore.”

“Baby–”

“Shh,” Hugh whispers, tugging your jeans down your legs and tossing the fabric over his shoulder. He looks up at you and then moves his hands to the waistband of your black lace panties, slowly tugging them down your legs as well. Once your lower half is completely exposed for him, Hugh holds your legs apart and growls at the sight of your slickened sex. He leans in and brushes the bridge of his nose against you, hands gripping your legs tightly. “Goddamn, baby. You’re already so wet for me.”

“It was because of all that oil,” you whimper, moving your hands to rest in his hair. “Please…”

“And here I thought you were gonna have your way with me,” he grins, pulling back just enough to brush the pad of his thumb against your bundle of nerves. Hugh looks up at you, watches you tilt your head back and your eyes fall shut at the lightest of touches.

“Oh, I will,” you groan. “But first, how about you do what you need to do and–”

“So demanding lately,” he grins, leaning in to lick a stripe along your soaking heat. A loud moan escapes your lips and Hugh smiles, pulling away. “Baby, you gotta stay quiet for me. There are still people on set and we can’t have them hearing you, hearing what I’m doing to you.”

“Fuck,” you whimper, nodding and moving your hands from his hair to cover your mouth instead. “I’ll try my best,” you mumble.

“Atta girl,” he praises and leans back in to lap at your juices, your wetness slowly beginning to trickle down his chest. Hugh grips your hips, holding you firmly against the couch as he moves his lips to your clit, flicking his tongue against it as he brings one hand between your legs. Without hesitation, he slides in two fingers as he sucks at your clit, beginning to pump his two digits in and out of your depths. 

The sounds of your wetness squelches with each thrust of his fingers and he stares up at you to see how hard you’re trying to stay quiet. He smirks against you and slowly adds a third finger, a loud whimper escaping your lips at the intrusion. 

Hugh turns his head and places soft kisses on the inside of your thigh as he leans back, continuing to move his fingers in and out of your depths as he leans over you. With his free hand, he gently removes your own from your mouth and leans in to brush his lips against yours. 

“Feel good, baby?” he whispers, keeping his fingers deep within your depths as he begins to curl them inside of you. “Oh yeah, I can feel you trembling…”

You stare up at him, biting your lower lip as you try to hold back your moans. “Hugh, baby…” 

“Doing so good for me, staying so quiet,” he grins, his fingers curling inwards as your walls begin to tremble and he knows you’re close. Knows that you’re about to reach a heightened pleasure that he leans in and presses his lips against yours in hopes to quiet your moans. 

You reach down and grip his wrist, fingertips digging into his skin as you arch your back. You moan against his lips, feeling his tongue slide past your own and the sensations are just too much, too overwhelming. Hugh pumps his fingers in and out of you to help you ride out your climax, slowly pulling away to hold up his fingers in your direction.

“Look how wet you are for me,” he grins. 

You look up at him, biting your lower lip as you watch him suck on his fingers, cleaning your slick free from his digits. “Hugh…”

“So fucking good,” he winks. 

You’re breathing heavily, but you reach down for his pants and tug on it, seeing the length of his manhood pressing against the yellow fabric. “Take these off.”

Hugh smirks. “Yes, ma’am.” He makes quick work to remove his boots and his pants, kicking them off to the side carelessly. He looks down at himself, his manhood at attention and he settles himself once more between your legs. He holds onto the base of his length and runs his tip across your sex, growling lowly. 

“Gonna fuck you now,” he groans. 

“Please,” you whimper. 

“Being such a good girl, baby,” Hugh smirks, slowly sliding into you in one thrust. He groans at your wetness, your warmth walls surrounding every inch of him. He leans down and rests his forehead against yours, pulling his hips back before he slides back in. 

“Hugh, I don’t think…” you moan, moving your hands to his shoulders. “I can’t– I can’t stay quiet and–”

“Shh,” he whispers, moving his large hand over your mouth as he delivers a sharp thrust. “Yeah, you can, baby.” 

You let out a loud moan, muffled by his hand as you stare up at him. Hugh pulls out to his tip and slides back into you in one thrust, your legs moving to wrap around his waist. 

Hugh rests his forehead against yours, staring into your eyes as he keeps his hand over your mouth. Your moans and whimpers are muffled by his large hand and with each thrust, he can see the way your eyes flutter. Hugh’s thrusts continue at a rhythmic pace, your walls sliding along each inch and vein of his manhood. You’re so wet, so tight and warm and Hugh knows he can’t keep this up any longer. 

“Fuck, baby, I’m gonna–” Hugh’s hips begin to stutter, but you reach down and push him away from you, causing a loud groan to escape his lips. He’s quick to grasp his manhood to slide back into you, but you shake your head and sit up on the couch, urging him to stand up. “What?”

“I want you to come in my mouth,” you tell him, biting your lower lip. “That’s one way you can keep me quiet.”

Hugh growls and nods, standing up like you asked. He brings a hand down to your cheek, brushing his thumb across your soft skin and gently tucking a fallen strand behind your ear. “Well?” 

“Now, who’s impatient, hm?” you grin, reaching up to wrap your hand around his slick coated base as your lips move to his tip. Wrapping your lips around him, you begin to bob your head, hollowing your cheeks as your hand strokes the rest of him. You keep your eyes focused on him, watching as he tilts his head back and a hand moves to tangle his fingers into your hair. 

“Oh, baby,” he groans, the grip in your tightening as you continue to bob your head in time with your strokes. Hugh can feel the tightness build once again in the pit of his stomach. He looks down at you and groans at the sight, your eyes staring up at him with his cock in his mouth. 

God, if he could spend the rest of his days like this, Hugh would die a happy man. 

“I’m close, I’m gonna–” Hugh’s voice cuts off as you take him even deeper into your mouth and he can feel the tip of his length hit the back of your throat. He groans loudly and gently brushes your hand away from him as he takes a hold of his base. He strokes himself once, twice, three times before spurts of his come release into your mouth. 

You feel his warm spend fill your mouth, a mixture of salty and sweet taste. You swallow it eagerly, slowly bobbing your head as you feel him shudder against you, his hand in your release loosening its grip. When he pulls away, you smile up at him and gently place a soft and light kiss on his tip. 

“Did you really just–”

“Swallow?” you finish for him and nod. “Yup… Is that okay?” 

“Is that okay?” Hugh repeats. “Baby, you’re fucking perfect.”

---

taglist (if links don't work, i'm sorry!): @corvusmorte - @dragonqueen89 - @whimsiwitchy - @kellyxo1

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@jules-and-gemss

[jazeswhbhaven]

Falalalala, Michael is Sold~ (Christmas Miracle Card Spoilers|Summary)

Howdy there lovelies, sorry it took me fucking forever to drop this, I've been distracted with Amy and Sitri (which I still need to finish out the last parts of that lmao) But, alas here we go with seeing how things play out with this bratty, brother-complex angel being sold at an auction... To view the prologue parts for the card I already went over HERE YA GO <3

If you've already saw all of that, I'm jumping right in. Same format as Raphael's Summary. As a reminder since the angels are paid banner only per PB's warning I am only allowed to really just paraphrase and heavily summarize his card story instead of the usual reacts I do.

Enough of the boring yapfest let's go lol

First I would like to thank my friend for continuously sharing card content with me. I wouldn't be able to do these things without such blessing, ;w;

Second, I would like to let the public know Michael was my fave at first due to aesthetics only. The pretty black hair, the one wing on the side of his head, but goodness doesn't he have some demons in him. (I want this to be a joke and a literal thing because..)

Anyways

We lead in with Michael being pissed off that he's having his body shown, and everyone is infauted with his skin describing it as porcelian white. So marks show up very easily.

I like the continued theme that every seraph does not show their body to anyone but God.

The bid was high, like 55 million. Makes sense Tarataros is rollin' in dough.

Some important things to note for Michael's card is that unlike his brother Raphael, he made a lot of expressions each time he was touched.

Instead of cursing and vocally trying to say anything, his body is simply reacting as he's thinking about how he shouldn't be showing ANYONE this and that MC needed to be stopped.

We still have the elements of "non-consent" but it seems it's different with Michael. He's wordlessly threatening everyone's demise but he doesn't put up as much of a fight.

MC ofc is getting turned on by everything he's doing

The guests have started masturbating in their seats (imagine being that one person just wanting to be there for the auction and your neighbor just starts jackin' it/flicking the bean. lmao)

Oop. We're punching them in the stomach again. I think that's going to be a reoccurring thing for Gabriel too.

This is interesting...Michael slumped forward? I don't even think Raphael did that. I wonder without his powers poor Mike is possibly the weakest? He seemed to be the most powerful aside from Lucifer.

Michael is and has been getting turned on by the way since MC started touching him. He doesn't understand, but I'm like...my guy you almost came when your brother plucked out your eye I know what you are....

Now I don't remember if Raphael was branded, but Michael is branded for the auction. His halo starts glowing around this time too. Again I know what you are.

Also, Michael is so pissed off and horny random objects are shattering and he's basically crying buckets. Also his emotions are affecting the weather too. Neat.

Alright so now he's really upset. He doesn't want MC to touch his cock because it's only for God to see and touch. He was not doing much before but he's definitely putting up a fight now.

Even auctioneer was like "Uh head for the decks folks he may cave the walls in on us" and everyone was like "Nah, stfu" like damn ya'll really want that angel bussy.

So as common theme of sounding continues...as you guessed Michael gets a metal rod stuck in his pee hole and well he's losing his mind ya'll.

I bet he would like being called a good boy by his favorite person...

Anyways, after all the poking and probing from MC it appears that he only needs the rod stroking the inside of his cock for him to get to his climax. Nothing anally is being done to him for his story.

So after he cums he basically leaves in a beam of light. The other devils came on him too. They say though that he left wordlessly he stared at MC as if he wanted to say something. Interesting.

Though that's over and done with, basically the end of the story are the devil's bidding on MC's tormenting as if that's something to bid on lmao but Mammon was like yah 10 billion and it's being donated for the end of the year party in MC's name. What's cute though is that MC is referred to as His/Her Majesty along with Mammon. It's like his citizens shipped them already.

ANDDDD that's all folks. That's Michael's Christmas Story. If you want my blunt opinion????

5/10

I'm sorry ya'll, this card story wasn't really worth the money for Michael fans. It falls short in terms of what's done to him, he kinda just sat there for the majority of it until his cock was touched, and he just kinda poofs back home without confirming any feelings whether negative or positive towards MC like how we see in Raphael's card.

However, I did like the elements of Michael being able to withstand being touched and stayed still for the most part. This has me believe something that I will explain in my theories below. Also in adore mode you can play with his tiny head wing, like pulling on it and such. Wings are sensitive I imagine so it's a fun element.

THEORY TIME

I want to say that I think Michael didn't put up much of a fight because to him any other part of his body being touched, though it hasn't been touched by anyone before...is not that big of a deal to him and perhaps he's had these feelings faintly but just didn't push himself to explore that any further.

Now also, we note that his chastity belt was not removed by MC. I feel that the reason this did not happen is because Michael has 0 feelings for MC and thus the miracle didn't extend to that possibility. Now to compare with Rara's card...maybe during the event he started feeling things for MC, curiosity, and some kind of need for them, in that moment perhaps he felt as if this is what God wanted for him so he gave in 110%.

Michael resisted feeling that way for MC, because he simply did not want those feelings. He just wanted to experience being in pleasure only. Because perhaps...those feelings are deep for "someone else" that keeps getting implied ._. But anyways. That's more for those who ship that to go about, I personally do not lol (brother complex is brother complex)

I also think that perhaps the relationship between MC and Rara is meant to build more than the other two seraph angels. I'll just have to see Gabe's card and see what we're working with. I do not have a prologue for him because he was in the Nightmare Pass only last time....I wonder how they will pan out his story and what differences I will notice.

As always thank you lovelies for tuning in ^^ see you in the next react <3

[winters8child]

It´s been a long, long time

Chapter 55

I was sprinting through the dense, snowy woods, each step crunching through the icy blanket beneath me. Explosions and gunshots echoed around me, a relentless cacophony of chaos. Our team, a motley crew of heroes, had banded together, pushing through enemy lines toward the Hydra Research Base, the elusive Loki's Scepter our objective.

Above me, Tony streaked through the air, his gleaming red suit a stark contrast against the wintry sky, dispatching foes with precision. "Shit," he yelled, his voice crackling through the comms. Steve, ever the paragon of virtue, immediately quipped, "Language," his tone exasperated but familiar, drawing a chuckle from my lips despite the tension.

"Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs?" Steve asked, his motorbike roaring in the background of the transmission. Jarvis's voice, cool and efficient, responded, "The central building is protected by an energy shield. Strucker's technology is far more advanced than any other Hydra base we've encountered."

Out of nowhere, Thor descended with a thunderous crash, his landing sending a shockwave through the ranks of Hydra soldiers. He struck with unyielding force, each blow incapacitating those foolish enough to challenge him.

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker could not mount this defense without it. At long last," he declared, his voice a mix of determination and excitement as he effortlessly felled more guards, his strength and skill on full display.

I was pretty busy myself, surrounded by three guards, each armed with semi-automatic rifles, their eyes gleaming with confidence. They moved in a loose triangle formation, their steps deliberate and predatory. The leader, a burly figure with a scar running down his cheek, smirked. "Give it up, lady. You're outnumbered and outgunned."

My eyes flicked from one man to the next, calculating. My mind was a whirlwind of possibilities, strategies, and outcomes. I couldn’t afford to make a single mistake.

With a sudden, fluid motion, I dropped to one knee, my body a blur. The first man caught off guard and hesitated for a split second too long. That was all I needed. I fired a single, precise shot, the bullet finding its mark between his eyes. He crumpled to the ground, his rifle clattering uselessly beside him.

The other two men reacted instantly, their rifles coming up to aim at me. But I was already moving. I rolled to the side, my movements graceful and controlled. Another shot rang out, hitting the second man in the chest. He stumbled, shock etched on his face, before collapsing.

The leader, now alone, snarled and fired a burst of bullets. I ducked behind a rusted metal crate, the bullets sparking off its surface. My breathing was still steady, my focus razor-sharp. I waited for a brief pause in his firing, then sprang up, my handgun aimed with deadly precision.

The leader barely had time to react. My shot was flawless, the bullet striking his shoulder and causing him to drop his rifle with a howl of pain. I advanced swiftly, my eyes cold and unyielding. With a final, calculated shot to his head, he went down, writhing in agony.

"At long last" is lasting a little long, boys," Natasha's voice crackled through the comms, punctuated by the thuds and groans of the enemies she dispatched. "Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise," Clint replied, releasing arrow after arrow with deadly precision.

"Wait a second. No one else is gonna deal with the fact that Cap just said 'Language'?" Tony's voice cut in, dripping with sarcasm.

Steve sounded exasperated, his voice weary from Tony's relentless teasing. "I know," he replied, the frustration clear in his tone, which only made the exchange more amusing. "It just slipped out," he added with a sigh, resigning himself to the inevitable ribbing.

When Strucker attacked the city, Tony quickly deployed his Iron Legion to evacuate the citizens. I stood amidst the trees, the silence around me almost surreal when suddenly, a blinding flash from my left struck me square in the chest. I went down with a grunt, a sharp "Fuck," escaping my lips. Wincing, I muttered, "Yeah, I know, language."

“Was that a human?” I asked over the comms, my voice tinged with disbelief. The impact had been incredibly swift, yet it packed a punch, judging by how it hit me with full force.

“We’ve got an enhanced on the field,” Steve’s voice crackled over the comms, carrying a hint of urgency as if he had faced the same overwhelming force.

“Clint’s hit,” Natasha’s voice came through, laced with clear concern. “Is anyone going to handle that bunker?” she added quickly, her tone urgent.

Hulk’s roar reverberated through the forest, causing the enemy to recoil in fear at the sight of the massive green giant.

I dashed to the clearing and crouched beside Clint and Natasha. “Let me check him over,” I said, my experience as a nurse kicking in. I pulled bandages from my thigh bag and pressed them firmly against Clint’s wounds. “You’re going to be fine, Clint. Just hang in there,” I reassured him, trying to infuse my voice with calm.

Natasha gave me a grateful smile and clasped Clint’s hand, offering him support and strength as he grimaced in pain. The fortress’s shields deactivated with a buzzing hum, finally granting us access to the scepter.

“Clint’s hit pretty bad, guys. We’re going to need an evac,” Natasha’s voice crackled over the comms, her worry palpable even through the static.

“We’ll handle the rest,” Steve responded, his voice steady and reassuring. “Thor is heading your way to help out. See you soon.”

Fifteen minutes later, we were all back aboard the Quinjet, the scepter securely housed in its case. I was focused on setting up an IV for Clint, but there was not much I could do on the field. He would have to see a specialist when we landed. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Natasha engaged in a conversation with Bruce. She was the only one who seemed able to soothe the Hulk’s agitation.

I nudged Steve, drawing his attention to the scene. With a raised eyebrow, I subtly pointed out Natasha’s obvious flirtatious glances towards Bruce. Steve caught on and a knowing smile tugged at his lips.

"Thor, report on the Hulk.", Nat called out, as he looked at her, his face etched with a mix of worry and insecurity. “The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims,” Thor declared with an air of pride. Bruce’s head drooped in embarrassment, while Natasha shot Thor a look of clear irritation. It was evident that this was not the response she had hoped for.

Thor quickly caught on and tried to backtrack. “But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, it’s mostly the wounded—whimpering, a lot of complaining, and tales of sprained deltoids and gout,” he mumbled, his voice trailing off as he realized the absurdity of his words.

“Gout?” I mouthed to Steve, who barely managed to conceal his grin as he shrugged in response. It was a relief to have the Scepter back in our possession, and with Dr. Cho flown in from Seoul to assist, Clint would be back on his feet in no time. The two enhanced individuals we had faced remained a mystery, but that would have to wait. Tony was adamant about throwing a farewell party now that Thor was heading home.

I suppose it was time for me to hit the shops and get ready for the festivities.

Next Chapter

[iced-blood]

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Ice.

I’ve been quiet this year.

This isn’t to say I haven’t been doing anything, as folks may have noticed. I’ve put up a whole mess of links to the work I’ve been doing in 2023—a grand total of 105 chapters—and that’s what I want to touch base on, at this tail-end of the year.

I found out early on in January that a dear friend of mine, my creative partner and the reason for my Paved with Good Intentions series, passed away in 2021. I’m not sure what it was, but that news hit me in a particular way. I realized that two of the projects in that aforementioned series, Blue Eyes, Violet Eyes and Lightbringer, were unfinished.

That didn’t sit right with me.

I set out to fix that.

There are many projects I’ve started that I never finished, and have been left languishing for . . . ten years? Yeah. Ten years.

That’s just ridiculous.

I decided that 2023 was going to cooperate with me whether it wanted to or not.

So, I bought a day-planner and set to work. Let’s go over the list, shall we?

Coronam Crepusculum

This was first on my list because it was a work that I owed a good friend of mine, who is no longer a regular user of Tumblr. It’s a take on the Soulsborne universe, built around a series of personal interviews with relevant characters conducted by an OC I created specifically for this purpose, Wandulfin of Vinheim.

(the latin title translates, hopefully, to “crown of twilight”)

                                51,377 words.

Paved with Good Intentions: Blue Eyes, Violet Eyes

The first of the two stories I knew I needed to finish in memory of my departed friend, I resolved to write the 19 chapters required to reach a clean finish line for this one-shot collection of 100 installments. It felt like the right way to go about things, and I think I worked out a lot of important elements of the Kaiba brothers through those 19 chapters.

                                165,386 words.

Paved with Good Intentions: Lightbringer

The second of the two stories written in my friend’s memory, this is still being published every Saturday. I wrote what amounted to the second half of this story, 55 chapters to be exact, for a grand total of 110 (of which 98 are published as of this post). I think it’s some of my best work to date, and I can only hope my partner would have appreciated what became of it. Have you ever wondered how Seto and Mokuba would react to meeting their parents again? If so, this is the story for you.

                                Published + Rough Draft: 159,930 words.

The City That Wouldn’t Die

The first full storyline of my personal take on World of Warcraft and my main character’s place in it, this story has undergone a lot of changes since I last touched it. This year, I resolved to end it at a part that made at least some amount of sense, but I won’t pretend that it’s entirely satisfactory. All I can say at this point is that I do intend to come back to Azeroth eventually. And this time, I hope to give my characters the story they deserve.

                                41,890 words.

Cult of the Dragon King

I’m pretty sure this is the one that’s been left alone the longest; if it isn’t, it’s close. The basic thrust of this story is that Atem failed in his quest to gather the Millennium Items and put them to rest properly, and so it falls to Seto Kaiba to try this time. I could go into detail why I picked Seto to be Atem’s successor, but I think y’all know what to expect here. I picked Seto because he’s my favorite. Anyway, this one isn’t ready to resume publishing, but it has been drafted. Anyone who’s been waiting for this one to continue will want to pay attention to this blog in 2024.

                                Published + Rough Draft: 175,246 words.

The Lost Dragon's Lullaby

Another AU centered around the Kaiba family (what can I say? I'm a creature of habit), this story wonders what it would have been like if Noa had lived. What if Seto and Mokuba had another brother when they were adopted? What if they had a mother? What would the Kaiba family look like if it were whole?

Approx. 62,609 words.

Watching the Lights Go Down

One of two stories I revived this year, and will resume publication in the new year. Do you Blueship? Do you wonder how Seto and Kisara might interact in the modern world, regardless of romantic intentions? This is the story for you. I took a set of 100 words to use as prompts to build this story, and through these 100 snapshots I think you’ll get a pretty clear picture of how I imagine Seto’s relationship with his favorite dragon would unfold if said dragon was a woman. And his bodyguard.

                                Approx. 52,789 words.

Letting the Cables Sleep

This is a sister story to the one I just outlined. Taking place concurrently with Lights, this story explores the relationship between Noa Kaiba and Ryo Bakura. Why these two? Why not? I don’t really have an answer, except to say that I found their dynamic interesting. Unlike its other half, Cables is explicitly romantic. So if you’re interested in Domino City’s resident white-haired cryptid hooking up with an android, well, here’s where you wanna go. I used the same list of 100 words, but in reverse order, to build this story.

                                Approx. 52,708 words.

Butterflies and Hurricanes

The other contender for “story Ice left to languish for the longest time,” I’m not sure I have to explain to anyone reading this why I might have stopped working on a Harry Potter story. Put basically, this story is an exploration into what would happen if a fae prince took an interest in taking down Lord Voldemort, and then settled on Sirius Black as his instrument. It’s a time travel story at its core, with all the nonsense you might expect from such a thing.

Regardless of anything this series’ author might have to say on the matter, my writing this story does not in any way endorse or condone transphobia or any of her other myriad bigotries. I have not given this woman money in 20 years. I do not support her in any way, shape, or form. This story’s completion is for my own satisfaction, and for the interest of anyone who might want to read it. That is all.

                Published + Rough Draft: 80,506 words.

The Whitest Lace of Light

A continuation of my pet take on the Bleach setting, focused again on Toshiro Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto and their Tenth Division. Throughout the 50 chapters of this story, they face off with a new threat to Soul Society as they try their hardest to rebuild after the Thousand-Year Blood War. Throughout this . . . suspense? Thriller? Thing. They come across new faces and old, and might just learn some things along the way. Or something. Look, I just wanted to write one of my favorite ships again.

                                Rough Draft: 30,033 words.

At Sixes and Sevens: A Prince for His Kingdom

The shortest work I completed this year, but certainly not the least important. This is a continuation of my pet take on the “Kaiba Bros Age Swap AU” as first shown to me by my dear friend @kintatsujo. How might Seto have handled an invitation to Duelist Kingdom if he’d been 9 years old when it took place? What about Mokuba, if he was 15? Shenanigans abound. I hope you like where I took this one, Kinta.

                                5,000 words.

Last but not least, I resolved to break my record for my longest NaNoWriMo project this year, because I’m ridiculous and don’t know when to quit.

Much like I approached World of Warcraft,I take every MMORPG I play as an excuse to build a story. Nowhere is this more obvious than Final Fantasy XIV. My take on Eorzea and its various magical idiosyncrasies—which I call The Song That God Forgot—set me on a road to 125,000 words this past November.

These projects, alongside various redrafts of my older stories in preparation for what I hope to be 2024’s migration from Fanfiction.Net to AO3, netted me a grand total of 902,580 words written in 2023.

I don’t say this to brag or to pat myself on the back (okay, maybe a bit), but to say . . . just hold on. Keep going. You’ll hit your stride eventually, even if it doesn’t seem like it. I’ve struggled to write regularly and with consistency for a decade now, and here I’ve got nearly a million words in a single year.

I believed in me this year, and I believe in you too.

Keep on truckin’. You’ll get there.

Happy New Year, y’all. I love you.

[unrooms]

A moment after you watch the hour change, you feel... something. Similar to how you had the solution to the puzzle, it feels like a random thought or instinct, only this time it’s... you can’t put words or concepts to it. It’s like something in the wrong format, like your brain is trying to read it the wrong way. You can’t make anything of it.

You put down your phone.

Last time with the puzzle, it was right after the hour changed. And the first hour I was here... I didn’t notice anything, but... Is there something in my head?

You put a hand to your forehead as though trying to feel a foreign entity in there.

...If it is every hour, I’ll just have to wait for now, I guess...

You set an alarm on your phone for 4:55. Then you eye all the doors. You weren’t thinking about it before 4, but now you(?) think you should check each of the doors; get an idea of what’s behind each one before going through another one. You’re kind of suspicious about whether that’s really your idea, but... it doesn’t seem like a bad one, so you’ll go with it.

First, you check the door to the water room again. It isn’t locked. When you peer in, nothing seems to have changed, at least not at a glance. The symbol on the back of the door is the same. Going further in, you can see that the writing on the pillar hasn’t changed either. Glancing around the pillar, though, you notice that the fake door has disappeared; the water is just running into a blank section of wall now.

You head back to the pool room and eye the remaining doors. If you’re just checking, it shouldn’t matter what order you go in, right? You start with the crescent door.

...Oh

Before you can figure out how to react, a strange, not-quite-right voice comes from somewhere in the web of shifting limbs.

“Hello.”

You’re highly creeped out, but also your instinct not to be rude is kicking in.

“Um, hi..? ...Are you uh, okay?”

“Perfectly.”

You are, truly, deeply unsettled. But at the same time... you’ve been aching for answers this whole time. You try to swallow your immediate disgust response and focus.

“...Are you... do you know... what this place is? Can you explain it to me?”

“What do you mean by ‘this place’? The room, or the world? I am only a part of this room. I know less than the walls, the floors, the ceilings, and everything within them know.”

“Uh... the walls, floors... I don’t understand, aren’t you within them?”

“Yes, I’m a part of it. But not all of it. Like your left arm. It controls me, I know what it wants from me, and a little more, but not everything it knows.”

“...What’s ‘it’?”

“The walls, the floors, the ceilings, and everything within them. That is its name. It is the structure we are inside of. It is the flesh that controls all the rest here.”

You take a minute to digest this, trying to ignore the eyes watching you. You’re kind of struggling to figure out what exactly you should be saying, there are so many questions you have.

“...What do you know about the elements?”

“Hm... you have the water key. You need three others. I am the flesh you need. -I’m supposed to tell you...” It clears its throat raspily, and takes on a different, more formal tone. “...Flesh; for the agency to choose your destination. Having the ability to choose its own self... And to change its form in the way it desires... You must convince it to take the form you want.”

“Oh- so- it’s not exactly a puzzle like with the water. I just need to get you to help me?”

“So it seems.”

“Well... will you help me? I’d... really like to get back home.”

“I’m not supposed to agree right away.”

“Um... Hm. ...Why is it even like this? I mean, all of this, the puzzle for the water key- it’s like a game or something. -I know you’re not in charge or whatever, but, can you explain why I’m here? Why the, um, the walls, the floors, the ceilings and everything within them won’t just let me go?”

The eyes blink at you from the corners of the room. There’s a moment of silence.

“...Flesh, as an element, has the ability to choose its own form. I suppose the walls, the floors, the ceilings, and everything within them has just chosen to be this way. Or perhaps it just is this way. It is more stone than flesh, after all. But I can’t say for certain.”

You sigh. You don’t get the sense that... the entity you’re talking to... is really hostile, but it’s hard to understand. It doesn’t seem to think the same way as you. You’re also getting a lot of new information from it.

“...By the way, do you have a name? I’m Tyler.”

“Oh. I don’t have a name. I suppose you could just call me the flesh.”

“...Okay. I’m... gonna go look around at the other rooms for a little bit, okay?”

“You don’t need to ask me.”

“Sure, right, I just thought it would, um, be polite.”

The flesh doesn’t respond, so after a moment, you back away. You remember, right before you’re about to leave, to check the back of the door. It has the same symbol as the back of the splash door. Then you close it. The pool room is refreshing in its non-fleshiness.

You look at the pool rim. It’s... smooth. It doesn’t say anything anymore.

You sit down, pull out your phone, and write down some notes about your conversation with the flesh, especially its little monologue about the element of flesh. Then you just rest for a little. You’re slightly overwhelmed. Also kind of starting to get thirsty. You try to ignore that for now, though.

Eventually, you move on to the next door; the leaf one. You’re now kind of worried about what might be behind it, but you open it anyway. It’s actually quite pleasant; like a little garden almost. The floor is dirt, the walls are criss-crossing wooden trellises covered with flowering vines, and there’s even what at least feels like sunlight coming through a glass ceiling. The glass is hard to see through, but what you can see looks like blue sky. In the center of the room, a big tree is growing. You’re not sure what kind of tree. You wonder if it’s even a kind that exists anywhere else. There’s a wooden sign hanging down from its branches but you can’t read it from here. You try using your phone camera to zoom in, but the text is too small. You check the back of the door and are by this point unsurprised to find the same spirally symbol again. You think that’s all you can see without going further in, so you back out.

Your hand is on the handle of the hexagon door when you’re startled by your phone alarm going off.

Oh, right!

After turning it off, you sit back down on the pool rim. You close your eyes and think hard.

I think there’s something or somebody in my head giving me directions. If you’re there, and you can hear this... well, it’s kind of creepy that I didn’t notice you at first, but you seem like you’re on my side, right? Thanks for the help with that puzzle. I’m not sure what this is like from your side of things, but if you can, let’s try to talk. Tell me what you know about this whole situation. And what you even are, I’d really love to know that. ...You seem to be giving me instructions sort of? So, if it helps, you could like... get me to write a message to me in my phone? I don’t know, I’m just spitballing here. Um, so... yeah. That’s all.

You open your eyes and look at your phone, watching intently until the hour changes.

5:00 am.

What now?

--HOUR FOUR--

[lazar-codes]

21/07/2023 || Day 55

Frontend Mentor Social Media Dashboard - Log # 2

Made some small progress on this today. I managed to get some stuff done, namely getting the different main social media cards to display:

I also learned how to change the colour of an element depending on certain criteria. Yes, I already know how to do that in vanilla JS, but it's a little different with React. I can't just use "document.getElementById().style.color = myColor"; that will give an error due to the node not being rendered yet. So, I did some googling and saw that I can store the colour in a state, and then once the node is rendered I can change the state of the colour, like so:

Then, when I'm actually calling the element, I can directly change the colour of that element with the in-tag style keyword (the last <p> tag, notice it has "style = { {color: rateStateColour} }:

All in all, this function will display the rate in green if the rate is positive, and red if negative, as denoted by the direction of the triangle (as we can see in the first image). This is also good because it's given me an idea of how to tackle switching between dark mode and light mode, but that's a later problem.

However, despite this progress, I'm currently struggling with CSS, more specifically with adding the border colours to the top border of each card. All the cards are fine except for the "instagram" card, and the only difference is that this colour is in fact a gradient. As a result, I can't use the border-top-color attribute, but instead have to use the border-image attribute. Now, this isn't normally a problem, except for the fact that the border-image attribute doesn't respond to the border-radius attribute. In other words, the edges for the border are straight where my border image is, while the other borders are round. You can see this in the first image in the "instagram" card. I've been doing some digging and it seems like I need to MacGyver it to work, so that'll be something for later.

Also, can a component itself not have a className? Does the component's className only take into effect inside the component's return statement? As in I have to wrap everything in my return statement with a div with that className, and only then will my CSS take into effect? It's weird, but it seems to be the case.

Anyways, that's it for today! Working with React is proving to be fun!

[thoitrangmastodon]

Nike React Element 55 Ocean Cube Size 40-41

Tin cá nh��n đăng 16 giây trước Nike React Element 55 ‘Ocean Cube’ Mua mới 3 triệu 500k, độ mới cao 99℅ giá chỉ hơn 400k Giới thiệu giày Nike React Element 55 Ocean Cube – một đôi giày phong cách và thoải mái được thiết kế bởi Nike. Với gam màu xanh tươi sáng, những đôi giày này không chỉ thu hút ánh nhìn mà còn bền bỉ theo thời gian, phù hợp cho mọi hoạt động hàng ngày. Với công nghệ đệm React…

[frontend-development-services]

The Ultimate Guide to Frontend Development: Crafting Engaging User Experiences

In today’s digital world, where user expectations are higher than ever, frontend development plays a crucial role in shaping the success of a website or web application.

A well-structured, visually appealing, and responsive frontend enhances user engagement and ensures a seamless browsing experience.

Whether you are a business looking for a frontend development company or a developer seeking insights into frontend trends, this guide will walk you through the fundamentals, best practices, and why investing in frontend development services is essential.

What is Frontend Development?

Frontend development refers to the process of designing and implementing the visual and interactive aspects of a website or application. It involves using technologies like:

HTML (HyperText Markup Language): The foundation of web pages, defining their structure.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): Enhances the visual appeal with styling, animations, and layout control.

JavaScript: Brings interactivity and dynamic content to life.

Frameworks & Libraries: React, Angular, Vue.js, Bootstrap, and Tailwind CSS streamline development.

A frontend development company specializes in these technologies, ensuring that the user-facing side of a website is not just functional but also visually stunning.

The Importance of Frontend Development in 2024

As digital experiences continue to evolve, businesses need to prioritize frontend development to remain competitive. Here’s why investing in frontend development services is more crucial than ever:

1. User Experience is King

A well-designed frontend improves navigation, readability, and overall user satisfaction. When users find a website intuitive and easy to use, they are more likely to stay longer and convert into customers.

2. Mobile Responsiveness is a Must

With more than 55% of internet traffic coming from mobile devices, a mobile-first approach is essential. Modern frontend frameworks enable developers to create highly responsive designs that adapt to different screen sizes.

3. SEO and Performance Optimization

Google ranks fast, mobile-friendly, and user-friendly websites higher in search results. A strong frontend ensures faster load times, proper HTML structuring, and optimized images—helping businesses improve their SEO rankings.

4. Brand Identity and Trust Building

Your website is often the first impression users have of your brand. A sleek and well-optimized frontend builds trust and reflects professionalism, increasing brand credibility.

Key Frontend Development Trends in 2024

Frontend development is constantly evolving. Here are the top trends shaping the industry:

1. AI-Powered UI and Personalization

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming frontend development by enabling personalized user experiences. Smart UI elements that adapt based on user behavior enhance engagement and retention.

2. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

PWAs offer app-like experiences on web browsers, providing faster performance and offline functionality. Businesses investing in PWAs see higher conversion rates and improved user experience.

3. Motion UI for Interactive Websites

Animations and micro-interactions add depth to web experiences. Motion UI techniques help create engaging interfaces that capture user attention.

4. Low-Code and No-Code Development

Platforms that allow businesses to create frontends with minimal coding are on the rise. However, for custom and high-performing solutions, professional frontend development services are still the best choice.

Choosing the Right Frontend Development Company

When selecting a frontend development company, consider these factors:

1. Expertise in Modern Technologies

A reputable company should have experience with the latest frontend frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue.js.

2. Portfolio and Client Reviews

Check their past projects and client testimonials to evaluate their design quality and technical expertise.

3. Performance Optimization Strategies

The right team ensures your website is not just visually appealing but also fast, responsive, and SEO-friendly.

4. Customization and Scalability

Every business has unique needs. A good frontend development company should offer tailored solutions that scale as your business grows.

Conclusion

Frontend development is the backbone of user engagement in the digital space. Businesses that invest in high-quality frontend development services gain a competitive edge by delivering seamless, visually appealing, and high-performing web experiences.

If you’re looking for a trusted frontend development company, choose one that understands modern trends, follows best practices, and prioritizes user experience. Your website is the face of your brand—make sure it stands out!

[mikhailhiggins]

Surveys on Burnout and the Frontline Workforce

Burnout is a broad term encompassing emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion related to chronic stress and feeling overwhelmed by work demands. While not an illness in its own right, it often leads to more serious conditions affecting the mind and body. Some common symptoms of burnout are lack of sleep, nausea, and headaches. Those burned out may also develop a persistent sense of cynicism or defeat and exhibit low satisfaction at their workplace.

Researchers have studied real-world manifestations of burnout, often tied to providing essential services for which there is no ready substitute. In November 2024, researchers at the University of South Florida’s (USF) College of Public Health (COPH) published a study titled “Occupational Burnout: Florida Public Health Workforce during the COVID-19 Pandemic” (Occupational and Environmental Medicine).

The cross-sectional survey involved the participation of 891 workers at the Florida Department of Health and examined burnout-related elements, including job demands, available resources, and overall satisfaction. It also considered factors such as organizational support and turnover intention. Around half of respondents reported burnout in 2021, as the harsh realities of containing a pandemic took hold, manifested in emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and dissatisfaction with work.

The findings aligned with a parallel Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, which found significant increases in burnout, turnover intention, and poor mental health days among frontline workers as COVID-19 continued into 2022.

Despite these negative findings, many respondents also reported robust levels of confidence in the effectiveness, quality, and meaningfulness of their work. Boosting salary and staffing levels was among the strategies successfully employed in supporting essential workforce members. Organizations are also reoriented to provide greater resources, flexibility, training, and motivational leadership.

A COPH instructor who coauthored the study noted that a burned-out and less-motivated frontline public health workforce could cause the entire health response system to crumble. The lessons are profound, as demonstrated by the combined impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton on South Florida in late 2024. The initial late September storm surge was followed by an even more devastating hurricane that hit less than two weeks later, stretching first responders and relief workers well beyond the expectations of their duties. However, lessons from the pandemic that were applied to this unfolding situation ensured that appropriate services were provided.

Another recent study by UKG and Workplace Intelligence involved surveying 13,000 people worldwide. It found that 75 percent of surveyed frontline workers felt burned out. By definition, frontline positions, common in the public-facing health care and law enforcement fields, require that employees maintain physical presence in a specific location at a specific time. Some 55 percent of respondents noted that work schedules and work-life balance were among the factors they looked at most closely when deciding whether to take a job. The only factor higher was pay/compensation, selected by 71 percent of those surveyed. In addition, 27 percent indicated a willingness to resign in cases where employers did not provide sufficient workplace flexibility.

The survey also revealed a major shift in workplace preferences. Gen Z respondents (age 18 to 27) reacted strongly against the often rigid scheduling associated with health care and education jobs, warehouse, factory, and retail settings. Sixty-two percent of frontline employees surveyed reported that interactions with people on the job eroded their mental health, rising to 72 percent among Gen Z respondents. Overall, 83 percent of respondents in the latter age bracket reported feeling burned out, compared with 75 percent among all age brackets.

[bonastudios]

Punirunes, Interactive Digital Toy with 55 Squishy Characters Inside, Reacts to Touch, Color Display, Kids Toys for Ages 5 and up

Price: (as of – Details) Introducing Punirunes digital pet toys for kids. Combining the fun of caring for digital pets with a squishable tactile element, build your own utopia full of super cute, lovable characters. Place a finger inside the Punirunes toy and discover a squishy button that responds to touch. The LED color display mirrors your movements on screen, as if you’re really touching the…

[alongi-24]

Mobile App Development: How to Tap Into Digital Potential in a Mobile-First Environment

In the digital age of today, mobile app development has become an integral part of every business as it helps in reaching user engagement and boosting productivity and growth. With mobile apps you get direct access to the devices of users, enabling companies to reach their customers in a whole new way – with nowhere near that amount of immediacy and personal engagement. With mobile accounts surpassing desktop usage, having a well-designed mobile app can be your competitive edge as it allows companies to gain the attention of their audience, improve customer satisfaction, and find new revenue streams. In this article you can find the crucial parts, advantages and procedure of mobile app development to realize why it has turned become basic positive for any business in now dates.

Mobile-First Solutions on the Rise

Mobile devices have changed the way people communicate, view products, shop and work during the last 10 years. Companies from all industries have noticed this change in customer habits and adapted their strategies accordingly, starting with mobile-first strategies. Recent research states that 55 percent of internet usage worldwide comes from a mobile device, meaning we need more platforms that can be accessed via a mobile phone. Custom solutions: These are custom-built solutions and can be tailored according to the user behaviors of a business, providing personalized and interactive experiences. Companies focusing on mobile app development create a notch for both attracting users as well as retaining them, and act as an efficient medium to creating brand loyalty in an ever-competitive space.

The Fundamental Phases of Mobile App Development

Development of mobile application is a dynamic process which includes many technical and creative components. It generally consists of the following elements:

Step 1 : Concept and Design — Decide on the basic purpose of your app, who it is for and what are its main features. It involves ideation, market research and drafting the user interface (UI) of the app to create an engaging user experience through the overall UX. The purpose of this stage is to take the learning from your research and develop it into an idea that can be worked on. Things like wireframing, prototyping and getting user feedback are essential at this point in making sure development stays smooth,

Platform Choice : An app can be made for multiple platforms such as iOS, Android and web. The selection of the appropriate platform relies on which audience these are targeted to and what business goals they seek. iOS apps are mostly used in North America and Western Europe, whereas Android has a larger global presence. There are instances when cross-platform development tools such as React Native or Flutter offer the ability to develop apps for multiple platforms at once, saving both time and costs.

Development: After the plan flows earlier mentioned, developers start building the app. Front-end Development & Back-End Development Frontend development include, developing user interface components that make up the front end of an app. Backend development consists of implementing server-side functionality database integration and security features. The popular paradigm for development is to use agile development methodologies where teams work in sprints and can adapt the project, based on feedback.

Quality Assurance: Testing is performed to ensure that the app works smoothly on devices, has no bugs, and meets performance criteria. Testing during this step conducts lots of checking about the functionality, usability, how the app will perform and its security which makes sure that your app is ready to function.

Deployment and Maintenance: Once tested, the app is deployed (launched) on app stores or distribution platforms. But mobile app development how is not over yet. Periodic updates, bug fixing and feature-updates are required to keep the user engaged and adapt to changing market needs.

Advantages of Mobile Application Development for Businesses

There are multiple benefits gained by businesses through mobile application development –

Improved Customer Engagement: Mobile apps are a direct line of communication with your customer, allowing real-time notifications, personalized offers, and an overall smooth user experience that brings users back for more.

Brand Visibility: Promoting a mobile app puts your brand in front of customers; they will see the app icon every time they scroll through devices.

Higher Revenue Potential: Mobile apps can unlock new revenue streams via in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. It enables businesses to earn extra profit beyond their traditional sales channels.

Data Collection and Analysis: Apps provide insights into user behavior, preferences, and usage patterns. You can use this knowledge to optimize marketing efforts, enhance customer experience, and maximize products.

Operational Efficiency — Applications can facilitate automation, offering a significant improvement over processes and making operations run smoother, allowing employees to spend less time on manual tasks and boosting overall productivity. It is especially appealing to retail-type sectors, allowing apps to help with inventory management, customer service, and sales.

Mobile App Development Pain points

Though the advantages are many, there is competition in mobile app development which might concern businesses with;

Cost of development: It is an expensive process to build a quality mobile application, especially if you are planning for feature-rich or complex applications. Companies need to allocate budgets towards development, testing, and continuous maintenance.

Platform fragmentation: Due to the different devices, OSs & screen sizes available in the market today, making apps that work across platforms is expensive and time taking.

Privacy Protection: Mobile apps that collect a consumer's personal data need to be sure they are secure. This calls for having strong security controls and cumbersome updates to respond to new threats.

App Store Approval: The app releases can only happen once it gets approval from both Apple and Google, the strict guidelines for the app approval may lead to delay or rejection of your launching.

Developing an App: How to Choose Right Development Partner

Choosing the right development partner can have a very big impact on the success of a mobile app. A professional development team can assist a UI/UX experience while making the app cross-platform, and can even give continuous support to successfully handle this difficult job. Businesses should select a partner based on past experience in launching successful apps quickly and receiving testimonials from satisfied clients that reflect their agile, customer-centric, developing approach.

Mobile App Development in the Future

Artificial intelligence, augmented reality and the Internet of Things (IoT) are among the many trends that are only going to take mobile apps for business to a new level in the future. For instance, AI-driven personalization enables apps to give curated recommendations while AR can provide immersive experiences that deepen engagement. They enable businesses to utilize the latest technologies that help them create value-driven apps for their users, thus staying ahead of the competition.

Conclusion

Mobile app development is an ultimate source to increase customer engagement, revenue, and to keep your business active in a mobile-focused world. With a thoughtful, easy-to-use app, businesses have the opportunity to build a direct relationship with their customers and provide services that lead to valuable insights for the business. Despite the merits, it also has its challenges; however, by selecting the right development partner and being aware or familiar with emerging technologies in 2023 will allow businesses to manage app development better while taking full advantages of mobile technology.

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Prompt Engineering Overview

YouTube Lecture Summary: 00:41  Prompt engineering involves using instructions and context to leverage language models effectively for various applications beyond just language tasks. 02:18  Prompt engineering is crucial for understanding language model capabilities, applicable in research and industry, as highlighted by job postings emphasizing this skill. 03:37  Components of a prompt include instructions, context, input data, and output indicators, affecting the model's response, with elements like temperature and top P influencing model output diversity. 05:45  Prompt engineering applies to various tasks like text summarization, question answering, text classification, role playing, code generation, and reasoning, showcasing diverse applications. 09:57  Language models, like OpenAI's, exhibit impressive code generation abilities, handling queries from natural language prompts for tasks such as SQL query generation. 10:51  While language models can reason to an extent, specific prompts and techniques like Chain of Thought prompting aid in improving their reasoning capabilities, although it's an evolving field. 11:19  The lecture delves into code examples and tools, showcasing how prompt engineering techniques are applied practically, using OpenAI's Python client and other tools. 19:34  Advanced techniques like Few Shot Prompts, Chain of Thought prompting, and Zero Shot Chain of Thought prompting boost performance on complex tasks by providing demonstrations and step-by-step reasoning instructions to the language model. 23:13  Prompt engineering is an exciting space where crafting clever prompts empowers language models, allowing for powerful capabilities and advancements in various applications. 23:27  Prompt engineering aims to improve language models for complex reasoning tasks, as these models aren't naturally adept at such tasks. 24:22  Self-consistency in prompting involves generating multiple diverse reasoning paths and selecting the most consistent answers, boosting performance on tasks like arithmetic and Common Sense reasoning. 25:16  Demonstrating steps to solve problems within prompts guides models to produce correct answers consistently. 26:37  Using language models to generate knowledge for specific tasks has emerged as a promising technique, even without external sources or APIs. 30:15  Program-aided language models use interpreters like Python to generate intermediate reasoning steps, enhancing complex problem-solving. 32:35  React frameworks utilize language models and external sources interchangeably for reasoning traces, action plans, and task handling. 35:20  Tools and platforms for prompt engineering offer capabilities for development, evaluation, versioning, and deployment of prompts. 40:08  Various tools allow combining language models with external sources or APIs for sophisticated applications, augmenting the generation process. 44:45  Leveraging tools like Long-Chain allows building on language models by chaining and augmenting data for generating responses. 46:22  Prompt engineering involves combining react-based actions with language models, showcasing the observation, thought, and action sequence for varied tasks. 47:53  Updated and accurate information from external sources is crucial for prompt engineering applications, highlighting the importance of up-to-date data stores. 48:34  Data augmentation in prompt engineering involves reliance on external sources and tools to generate varied content, requiring data preparation and formatting. 50:34  Prompt engineering explores clever problem-solving techniques to engage language models effectively, like converting questions into different languages while maintaining context and sources. 52:40  Model safety is a critical aspect of prompt engineering, focusing on understanding and mitigating language model limitations, biases, and vulnerabilities, including initiatives like prompt injections to identify system vulnerabilities. 55:12  Potential vulnerabilities like prompt injection, prompt leaking, and jailbreaking highlight risks of manipulating language model outputs, emphasizing the importance of reinforcing system safety measures. 58:30  Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) aims to train language models to meet human preferences, emphasizing the relevance of high-quality prompt datasets in this training process. 01:00:06  Prompt engineering facilitates the integration of external sources into language models, enabling diverse reasoning capabilities and applications, particularly useful for scientific tasks requiring factual references. 01:01:27  Understanding emerging language model capabilities, such as thought prompting, multi-modality, and graph data handling, is a crucial area for future exploration and development in AI research.