#Online Assignment Bank

[liojack]

How is Engineering So Much Essential in Today's World?

Engineers actively experiment and discover; they cannot just expect things to happen. Engineers have a unique impact on the world due to their creativity, inventiveness, and wealth of information.

Engineers are primarily to blame for the way the world is changing. Most of today's services and products were created with some degree of engineering in mind, making it possible for those using them to live long, fulfilling lives. Without the dedication of engineers, it's been impossible to create microprocessors, wireless connections, high-speed motors, automated conveyor belts, transmission lines, and a host of other mechanical marvels. Without engineering, our society would have become obsolete very quickly.

Today, engineering is employed for various purposes, including deep-sea expeditions, space travel, and more. In the present day, it seems impossible to find a field wherein engineering still needs to leave its imprint. Everything from construction to aircraft, medical services to the environment, you're sitting on uses engineering.

Regardless of a potential student's preferences, there is guaranteed to be a component of the sector they are drawn to because engineering spans such a wide range of subjects. If you appreciate researching, producing, designing, or building, the industry has a place for you, whether in electrical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, or chemical engineering.

Major Areas Where Engineers Have a Bigger Impact

As an engineer, a person who creates methods for utilizing resources for a viable future for humanity. This individual uses scientific information, mathematics, experimentation, instinct, and judgement. Additionally, their applications can be seen everywhere. Engineers have contributed to society's advancement with their creative brains.

Healthcare sector -

The achievements of engineers unquestionably have a substantial impact on the worldwide healthcare sector. It is also evident that without healthcare professionals, the only diagnostic equipment used in healthcare institutions would be those created by engineers. Without engineers or engineering principles, including computing, medical instruments, the eardrum, and diagnostic tools, it would not have been conceivable. Machine learning, telecommunications, and other engineering techniques have even simplified and successfully improved the diagnosis, administration, and other elements of healthcare.

Agricultural sector -

Agriculture used to be about people labouring arduously to raise crops for food and livestock. But as time passed, machinery, irrigation, fertilizers, and agricultural instruments were developed, and cultivation became much more effective and straightforward. Additionally, cutting-edge innovations in technology like robots, organic agriculture, CRISPR, genome editing, robotics, and others have completely changed how agriculture is practised worldwide. Engineers deserve all the credit for devoting their lives to studying and creating breakthroughs that benefit humanity.

Automobile sector -

One of the industries having the most societal impact is the auto sector. Before, it was inconceivable to consider utilising a car to travel from one location to another. Nowadays, the three different forms of transportation are land, air, and water, and all these are now possible thanks to engineers. Aside from that, technological developments have created biogas-powered cars, ships, and self-driving vehicles. They are indeed being developed and tested to streamline, automate, and make them eco-friendly.

Banking sector -

Sometimes people wonder what an engineer would do in a bank. Banks have created and used various software developed and supported by engineers, along with technological improvements. The era of laboriously counting coins and maintaining documents and books on paper has long passed. Engineers have created and implemented gadgets, algorithms, and techniques for anything from detecting theft to conducting financial transactions.

Marketing sector -

The marketing sector is the one where a company is advertised. These marketing services constantly evolve, and digitalization has dramatically enhanced the industry. Engineers brought about this digitalization, and online marketing has taken the world by storm. The development of e-commerce is also due to digitalization, which has made online shopping more straightforward, accessible, and relatively safe.

Educational sector -

In the global educational industry, engineers have also left their mark. Engineers have made education engaging, effective, and enjoyable, from implementing digital and electronic education in numerous schools around the globe to implementing the study of robots, various latest developments, programming, and others.

In the twenty-first century, engineering is one of the most rewarding careers. Engineers can alter the Earth's axis and continuously improve contemporary society to make it more practical and viable for the upcoming generation.

These are the industry where engineers have made a tremendous impact. If you are looking for additional details, you may connect with assignment help. Over the internet, you will find hundreds of thousands of websites delivering the best assignment help in different cities of Australia. Apart from Engineering Assignment Help, these websites offer editing, proofreading, and more assistance. Receiving help in engineering assignments from a renowned website is not easy as it requires effort and time to find one. Don’t worry, because the engineering assignment help is being offered by the Online Assignment Bank. This website not only assists students in completing assignments but also assists in proofreading, editing, reviewing, citation, references, providing samples, and more. So, no needs to waste your valuable time researching Assignment Help services over the internet when Online Assignment Bank is just a single click away. Hence, connect now and experience world-class assignment help.

[headspace-hotel]

An attempt at summarizing the controversies that embroil mycorrhizal network research:

a bunch of scientists are miffed at how the media has taken "plants communicate and distribute nutrients through the mycorrhizal network" and run with it, finding the "mother tree" thing too anthropomorphizing and too presumptive about something very poorly understood

unfortunately all of the major models for understanding the mycorrhizal network are anthropomorphizing, even the more competition-centered ones...to the point that papers discuss whether the network is a "capitalist" or a "socialist" system

other researchers, screaming STOP USING LOADED TERMS THAT PROMOTE AN ANTHROPOCENTRIC INTERPRETATION

But, setting aside the question of whether trees can "intentionally" do something or be altruistic...how do we know the plant is the one in control? Are the trees "sending" nutrients or is the fungus taking the nutrients and sending them to other trees? Wait, how do we assign agency in a system like this at all? Isn't it unscientific to assume that any part of the system, fungus or plant, is consciously acting? Wait...are they actually separate organisms with their own interests, or is it more accurate to view all the members of a mycorrhizal network as one big super-organism? (Wait, is it anthropomorphizing to consider organisms as having interests? If yes, how do we describe what's happening using language?)

Basically, yes we have demonstrated and established that nutrients move from one plant to another plant in the mycorrhizal network, including from fully grown trees to saplings, plants in sunlight to shaded plants, and other things that are definitely fun to interpret as one plant "helping" the weaker plant. However, we don't actually know the intentions of plants, so for all we know, the fungus could be doing everything. Or it could be completely stupid to describe any of it as "one individual organism in the network Intentionally Does A Thing."

Big Problem: Although a shit ton of research is being done, most research in the mycorrhizal network is done on very simple networks of 1 or 2 plant species with a handful of selected fungal inoculants in otherwise sterile laboratory settings. These conditions do not reflect the natural world at all.

in fact, experimental conditions used to study mycorrhizal networks are mostly completely unlike anything that would ever exist...you know, Outside,

most of the research pertains to agriculture and there are many demonstrated benefits, and many farmers are ALREADY using methods to promote mycorrhizal networks, but my guess is that it's not as simple as matching crops up to fungal inoculants that help them for instant 20% yield increase, at least in Real Outdoor Soil with an existing microbiome and seed bank.

Roughly speaking, 50% of mycorrhizal associations benefit seedling establishment, and the remaining 50% are themselves split halfway between "no effect" and "negative effect." Doesn't this mean that the mycorrhizal network is not always chill and altruistic?

Well, those findings might mean absolutely nothing either way, since in a field-setting plant community, there are dozens if not hundreds of fungi species (the diversity and number of specialists increases in later-successional communities) that are part of the mycorrhizal network, and through them any given seedling might be linked to a thousand different plants.

Some researchers find it puzzling how so many mycorrhizal partnerships seem to have no effect. Maybe the effect only comes online in certain conditions?

Parasitism, mutualism and commensalism aren't fixed types of relationship, and two partners in the mycorrhizal network can and do switch between the three constantly. This is another problem: the experiments don't usually follow both partners in a plant-fungal pairing to the end of their natural lives, and it's been shown that a fungus can be mutualistic early in a plant's life and later on become more parasitic (for example). Or that a fungus can be beneficial in poor soil conditions and become parasitic in rich soil conditions.

But...is this really best understood as a situational switch between types of symbiosis, or can we judge it by the net effect on both partners throughout their life spans, or...my brain is breaking

Like, a fungus that mostly decreases the fitness of the host plant, BUT becomes very helpful in the presence of extreme drought...is it a parasite or mutualistic partner?

Some researchers lean toward a source-sink model where nutrients tend to flow toward plants that are most lacking and away from plants with most abundance. This is a rough approximation of something ridiculously complicated

Plants can and do select fungal partners to pair with and reject fungi that contribute fewer benefits.

Fungi also appear capable of selectively distributing resources based on the fitness of the host, or at least they did this one experiment where the fungus was connected to two different trees and researchers ripped all the leaves off one of the trees. This caused the fungus to divert its nutrient flow to the undamaged tree (throwing in its lot with the tree most likely to survive). However, we're not sure if this would happen in a forest or other natural plant community, since in the lab, the fungus was totally dependent on the two trees for survival and there were no other participants in the network. So basically, it's kinda like those behavior studies on captive wolves?

[chlorinecake]

🎙️ star-crossed lovers 【 薄幸な恋人 】 ⛦

summ✩ry While collabing with your girl group and Enhypen for a special stage, forbidden feelings spark between you and the main dancer upon dorming together

p✩iring idol!niki x popstar!reader ✩ requested ✩

-> PART 2 HERE

genre band au, fluff, secret romance cw swearing, mild bullying, the word ‘sexy’ like once, kissing, girl drama, reader is younger than Niki wc 4.4k

“Ugh,” Serenity groaned as the hairstylist applied yet another thick layer of chocolate brown hair dye to her scalp.

“This gig better bring in some serious bank, because never in my life would I willingly collab with those overrated wannabes,” she exclaimed, taking a frustrated sip from her vanilla latte.

“Hey, people used to call us wannabe's, too, you know,” Haerin said quietly as she tucked her hands under the UV light.

“Yeah, you should be more mature about this, Serenity... like I always say, professionalism triumphs pride," you added, only half-engaged in the conversation as a certain online article caught your attention.

As the band leader, you were always in charge of everything, so Serenity and Haerin were used to you talking to them this way...

“I’m just glad that we're getting exposure,” Haerin smiled, thinking of the countless nights you and your group spent practicing routines and writing songs for auditions, "it's not often that artists like us get opportunity's to perform internationally."

“For real,” Serenity cheered, “Riot Grrlz for the win!”

The three of you put your hands out to make a circle, “Riot Grrlz for life,” Haerin exclaimed, forgetting that her nails hadn't fully dried yet.

"Whoops," she giggled, just as Jade, the oldest of your group, made her way from the bathroom.

“What took you so long in there?” Serenity asked cheekily, “I thought we were gonna have to call the fire department.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Jade returned, taking a seat beside Haerin so she could get her nails done, too.

“You were talking to the enemy, weren’t you,” Serenity accused.

“No, Ren, I didn’t go behind your back and sell my soul to the devil for fame.”

“Not that enemy,” Serenity grinned, “I'm talking about Mr. Six Foot Moon Eyes.”

“Oooooo,” Haerin amused, pulling your attention away from your phone.

“Ugh, let it up guys. My crush on Sunghoon is long gone, especially now that we’re gonna be working together. Besides, I would never act so recklessly over romance.”

“Who said anything about reckless romance,” you teased, unintentionally giving Jade a full view of the article your were reading on your phone.

"Nobody,” she began, “but I’m surprised you even heard that over all your internet-stalking.”

You were scrolling through a K-Pop news feed when you came across a post.

It was titled: "Enhypen Rumored By Netizens To Be Collabing With THIS Rookie Western Girl Group."

"Shush," you whisper-yelled at Jade, "unless you’re trying to get our record deals pulled!"

Just last week, your management team made you and your group sign a contract of secrecy, swearing silence regarding unpublicized business projects and associations: this included your upcoming collab with Enhypen that Jade nearly just spoiled.

Although, in all honesty, the blog's use of the word "rookie" bothered you more than potentially breaking any contract rules.

"Relax, boss, it's practically a ghost town in here," Jade defended, drawing your attention to the near vacant salon space.

Ding.

It was an email from your manager.

He wanted to inform you all that your chauffeur would be ready around 2:45am to bring you guys to the airport.

"Jeez," you mumbled to yourself, "looks like I'm not getting much sleep tonight."

“Shit,” Serenity whined, “I haven’t even made enough time to brush up on my Korean yet!”

“Luckily me and Haerin here are bilingual baddies,” Jade giggled, giving the cat-eyed girl a fist punch.

“Ahh, watch my nails!!”

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

Your company's fashion crew was experimenting with different concepts, assigning each of your members an individual color to permanently represent: Serenity was teal, Jade was purple, Haerin was white, and you were pink.

Some time passed, an you and your group arrived in South Korea around 3:00pm.

Thanks to the fashion tech your management team hired, it wasn't obvious that you and the girls had been in and out of sleep for the past 13 hours.

You couldn't help but stalk the headlines about your group, as rumors about your Enhypen collab continued to spread like wildfire.

So much for swearing silence and secrecy, you thought to yourself.

South Korean pop media had already seemed to build a vendetta against your group, given that you were young, talented, and most importantly, from the states. The xenophobia of most K-netizens was disheartening at best, but you understood that hate was a part of success.

Besides, you were living the dream of many engenes at the moment — most of them would sell their siblings to be in your shoes right now.

“Ahh! This is unreal!!” Jade cheered excitedly in the back of the limousine. You guys had just left the airport around thirty minutes ago, after getting past the pesky crowd of paparazzi.

“I know right? Korean McNuggets slap way harder than back home,” Haerin added while munching on the salty snack.

“Don't get too comfy, Rinnie. We will leave you here,” Serenity joked.

You hadn't even realized the radio was playing until a certain guitar riff blared from the ceiling speakers.

"Oh hell no," Serenity immediately cringed, covering her ears as you, Jade, and Haerin exchanged knowing look, bringing imaginary microphones to your mouths in unison.

It was Enhypen's song Blessed-Cursed, Jay’s voice singing "We go!" over the radio.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, GO!!" The three of you cheered, obnoxiously dancing to the choreo while sitting.

Memories of your group (minus Serenity) binge watching music videos at sleepovers resurfaced in your mind.

Usually, you'd only listen to throwback hits like Britney Spears or Rihanna, mostly because Rnb and Pop beats inspired your own art.

Still and all, Blessed-Cursed was one video that the three of you fell in love, way before your upcoming collab was even a thought.

"Don't get mad when I start recording you clowns," Serenity threatened, thoroughly amused by your behavior.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

Upon arriving outside the Hybe Building, a trio of body guards guided you and your girls to an office room where the seven boys stood awkwardly around a large table.

Part of you still couldn't believe this was all actually happening, despite it being right in front of you.

“Hello! We are Enhypen,” Jungwon bowed as the guards exited the room.

Jay visibly cringed at his leaders words, “I promise we were told to introduce ourselves like that. Please don’t judge us.”

“Well, uhm… H-hi,” you stuttered, feeling a bit nervous, “We are the Riot Grrlz. It’s a pleasure being able to work with you all.”

Niki, the tallest of the boys, caught your attention immediately as he greeted you with a peace sign.

Was he always this cute?, you thought to yourself.

That’s when a lady dressed in all black barged through the glass door on the other side of the room.

“Sorry to interrupt… well, not really. Me and the Enhypen boys are already well familiar with each other, but you ladies can call me Kim,” she greeted, waltzing into the office as if owning the place.

She was a fast talker, so you knew you’d have to pay attention to what she was saying or else you might miss something.

“I hope you made use of each others time and gathered everyone’s names? Phone numbers?”

”We were just in the middle of that before you came in, Miss Kim,” Sunoo clarified.

“Very well then. You have a total of 15 minutes to lock in dorming arrangements. As you’ll see on this clipboard here…”

She paused mid-sentence, holding the clipboard dumbly.

“God, can one of you take this thing already?”

“Oh- sorry,” Heeseung chuckled nervously, taking the clipboard from the fiery woman.

“As I was saying, there are four rooms for the eleven of you to somehow divide. And no, just because you’re all hormonal young adults, none of you get a free pass to break the no-dating rule.”

“No-dating rule? What is this, a detention center,” Serenity mumbled.

Kim cleared her throat, feigning a smile as she glared at Serenity with narrowed eyes, “This is a place of utmost professionalism, Princess Land of The Free. If you have a problem adhering to the rules in place here, you are more than welcome to leave.”

“A-and after that? The fifteen minutes, I mean,” Haerin blurted out shyly.

“All of you will meet back in the main lobby, where you will be guided accordingly.”

Miss Kim turned of her black boots, beelining to the door with powerful strides, “The timer starts now” she called out, closing the door behind her.

And with that began your group discussion of rooming arrangements. Unfortunately, though, things didn’t get off to a particularly nice start.

“Are you effing kidding me?” Serenity asked rudely, screwing her eyes toward a now annoyed Heeseung, “Why can't we just get separate hotel rooms?!?”

“Look, there's no perfect way to go about this," he sighed, crossing out the roommate pairs you all had just agreed on. "So you either humble yourself, or sleep in the bathtub for the next two weeks."

“Really guys, the math is simple,” Jake started, “There’s eleven of us and only four rooms to choose from. Nine of us will be divided in groups of three, and the remaining two will share the last room together.”

"Cool! Me, ____, and Jade can share the first room together!" Haerin obliged with a smile.

"Perfect, and where will I go?" Serenity questioned, mocking Haerin's excitement.

"The bathtub, right?" Jay teased, provoking Serenity to argue with him.

Meanwhile, you attempted to make peace with everyone willing to listen, “Guys, I agree with Jake. We need to make a decision quickly before Kim gets back.”

“Right. Everyone in favor of room number 1, provide a show of hands,” Heeseung said, Jay and Jake raising their hands with him.

"And for room 2?" Jungwon initiated, raising his hand with Jade and Haerin.

A pout formed on Jade's face once she realized that Sunghoon wasn't in the same pair as her.

"3's the magic number, I guess…" Sunghoon offered, Serenity raising her hand with him.

Now it was just you, Sunoo, and Niki remaining.

"I'll group with 3, too. All of our name's start with "S," so it just makes sense that way," Sunoo joined shyly.

"Welp, now that leaves the final room for me and..."

"Me..." Niki spoke with a deep voice, flashing a mysterious half-smile-half-smirk that you knew would haunt your mind later.

"Me and me... the odd one's out! Wow, that's actually perfect!" Jake cheered just as the lady in black strut back in.

“Times up,” she said, taking the clipboard from Heeseung to analyze the finalized dorming plans.

“Hmm, interesting,” she mumbled to herself, tucking the clipboard under her arm.

You all made your way down to the main lobby, just as Kim instructed.

One of the security guards mentioned that Hybe suggested a dinner outing for your group and Enhypen as a way to end the night before you started work the next day… or maybe it was mostly a way to officially confirm the rumors about your collab.

Upon arriving, everyone sat at separate tables, divided according to who they agreed to room with.

Although Niki seemed quiet at first, you and him were giggling the babies the entire time you ate.

“Poor Jungwon. He’s gonna be sandwiched between Jade and Haerin for the next two weeks, his biggest fans,” you joked.

“Nah, Sunghoon and Sunoo have it way worse. Serenity’s attitude is enough to send me running,” Niki chuckled, shaking his head.

"Speaking of running, how come you were appointed leader over your group even though you’re a baby," Niki teased.

"Not you baby-shaming me! I was born in 06', you've barely got any experience on me."

"I've had an entire YEAR to catch up on things, for your information."

"Things like what? Potty training?"

"Pfft, probably..." he replied, going quiet for a second before continuing, "If you ever need help, though, I don’t mind practicing with you after hours.”

"Sounds like fun, but that might be past my bedtime," you pouted playfully, taking one of the fries off his plate.

"Hmm."

"Hmm what?"

"Nothing, I just didn't take you as the type to follow rules," he smirked, taking a sip from his soda.

"I guess it depends on what rules we're breaking. Whether it’s worth it or not."

"So rule breaking is a “we” thing now, huh?"

"Probably..." you smiled, the cool breeze of the foreign air sending shivers down your spine.

Or maybe that had something to do with Niki?

Before you knew it, it was time to head back to your dorms for the night. You knew rehearsals in South Korea were taken a lot more seriously than where you're from, so you needed all the rest you could get.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

Day one was easy.

The main focus was recording voice samples in the studio, experimenting with different harmonies, and training your vocals as needed.

Now you were on day two, which started with a quick vocal session, leading into the dance rehearsal warm-up right after. After stretching, the studio was split in half, girls taking the left side and boys taking the right.

You all wore numbers on your back. This way, there wouldn’t be any confusion when any of your were being called.

Niki was assigned number eleven, and you had number one.

According to Jake, the numbers were disseminated based on skill level, and out of the 11 of you, that made Niki first place… and you the very last.

As rehearsals went on, your placement was proving to be true.

You were struggling to keep up with the choreography and it was really starting to bug you.

"Are you feeling okay," Niki asked as you sighed for what sounded like the hundredth time.

"Yea, I'm fine, it’s just this footwork is a bit tricky," you admitted.

“Aww, the smallest number for our most inexperienced contributor,” Serenity teased, making a pass at both your age and inability to get this one move right.

“I may be the youngest out of all of us, but I was appointed head over our group for a reason,” you snapped back.

“Yea… and it still shocks me to this day,” she mumbled, Jade and Haerin pausing to listen now.

You scoffed at her ignorance, putting your hands on your hips, “As if you could lead the Riot Grrlz any better.”

Serenity gave you a look that made you wanna drop here right there in front of everyone.

You never understood why she always had an attitude over the simplest things, and given the current work setting, your tolerance for her bull crap was at an all time low.

“Right, the Riot Grrlz. “Rookie Western Girl Group,” huh? And you expect me to be proud of that?”

“With pride of lionesses, of course,” Jade pitched in, leaning down to fasten her shoelaces.

“We should really keep working on our routine, guys,” Haerin mumbled quietly, causing the raging brunette diva to roll her eyes.

Meanwhile, the boys seemed to be getting along rather well with their part of the routine, completely blind to the chaos brewing at their left.

And by the boys, I mean all of them except Niki and Jake, who were both too distracted by your girl drama.

Way to go embarrassing myself again, you thought to yourself

“You’re new to this sort of training, aren’t you,” Jake asked curiously.

“What, did my shitty dance moves give it away?”

You know it wasn’t Jake’s fault, but you were started to doubt your abilities as an artist and performer.

Even Serenity felt as though you were letting your group down.

“You’re not a shitty dancer, ____,” Niki answered, walking closer to you.

“Yeah, Niki’s right. You shouldn’t put so much pressure on yourself,” Jake added.

“Exactly! Just focus on your strengths,” Serenity pitched in, “your vocals, for example. You might ruin the dance routine, but at least you’ll save all the high notes with Heeseung.”

It was clear that you and Niki were equally fed up with Serenity’s toxicity.

“Okay, can everybody clear out for a moment," Niki clapped, causing everyone to back up against the walls almost instantly.

He pulled you by the hand, turning you to face him as he called out to Sunoo, "Put on a random dance track, real quick. Something upbeat, please."

“Gotcha!”

Turning back to you, Niki took your chin in his hand, making your eyes meet his. “Just follow my lead, okay?” He whispered, taking off the bracelet he wore before sliding it on your wrist, “Do you trust me?”

“Niki...” you started, not sure of what he was trying to do.

“I need you to feel the music, ____. Let it control you," he said, stepping away as a short remix of "Buttons" by the Pussycat Dolls blared from the radio.

You could hear an amused Serenity and Sunghoon chuckle a bit at Sunoo’s choice of song, but Niki remained serious.

His gaze met the ground before he started freestyling to the song, letting his mind and body get used to the rhythm as he flowed to the beat. You stood awkwardly beside him, not feeling up to dance at the moment.

He caught sight of you standing and nudged your shoulder, "Loosen up, ____," he smiled, finally starting to feel the song himself.

You started by mirroring his movements at first, adding a few steps to make it fit your own style more.

"See? Now you're getting it," he encouraged again, pulling you toward him so you could dance together.

Your friends and the boys cheered you and Niki on while you two danced as if choreographed.

The track ended with Niki's had on your waist, both of your chests heaving from all the action.

Haerin's jaw dropped as she struggled to find the right words or any words to say, “That was…”

“Sexy!” Heeseung smirked while playfully fanning himself, making Niki turn his face in embarrassment.

You could feel your own face getting hot now, too, especially with everyone staring.

"Relax, Rinnie, you're acting like you've never seen a guy dance with a girl before," Jade chuckled.

"N-not... n-never like THAT,” Haerin said with a shocked face, “____, you're amazing!"

"Thanks," you smiled shyly, eyes falling back the bracelet Niki put around your wrist.

"Keep it... it's a good luck charm," he replied softly.

"Alright, alright. You guys can loosen up each other's buttons on your own time," Serenity snapped, interrupting everyone's gawking.

"Right... On second thought, it’s time for our break," Jay called, handing you and Niki a rag for your sweat.

"Great job, you guys. See you in 20," Jungwon added.

"Come on, girls," you chirped, picking up your gym bag as you took a sip from your water jug, heading towards the studio exit.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

The rest of the day continued according to your work schedule. One vocal practice followed the other as the initially difficult routine felt more natural with each retake.

You also made a stop by Hybe's fashion team, getting your measurements taken so they could design your outfit for the upcoming stage.

Although this was a work trip, you were having a blast in Korea so far. You liked getting to work with the new people and trying different foods. You especially liked being roomies with Niki.

He was super talented, chill, yet flirty at the same time.

No wonder his fans go so crazy over him, you thought to yourself.

“Hey, ____,” Niki called out, jogging to catch up as you made your way from the dance studio after going back to get the pair of headphones you forgot near the water cooler.

“I wanna show you something…,” he announced, “Well, a thing I like to do.”

“Mhm, and what’s that?” You asked playfully.

He chuckled, “Just a thing that I can’t get away with while in idol mode. My secret escape... Are you interested?”

You meditated on his words before answering, considering the early curfew outlined by both your managers, and how it was already 8:00 at night, “It’s getting pretty late, you know… Is it gonna take long?”

He giggled again, this time leaning into you. “Only if you’re indecisive.”

The sounds of your sneakers tapping against the shiny tiled floors bounced off the hallway walls.

Like you said, girls would sell souls to be in your shoes right now: there’s no way you were gonna pass up on a chance to hang out with Niki…

A chance to explore this reckless romance.

“Ok, let’s go, but we have to be back by midnight,” you agreed.

“Ok, Cinderella. We’re not too far from where I wanna show you,” he beamed, fighting the urge to hold your hand as you followed him out of the Hybe Building, clashing into the night.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

The place was reminiscent of a skate park, graffitied ramp-like walls cupping you and Niki in the surface of the arena.

There were a few other people present, but they seemed more wrapped up in their own little worlds to even look your way…

The moon shined behind the thin clouds of the sky, basking you and Niki’s skin with an ethereal glow.

“This is it!” He gestured with open arms, “my secret escape.”

You tucked your hands in your pockets as it was a bit cold out, “A shared secret place?” You corrected, pointing out the tiny groups of people hanging around.

Niki pushed the hoodie from over his head, revealing his two-toned mane, “I guess you could say that… they’re all idols, here. Just like me. They get why I do this.”

“Why you do what,” you inquired, stepping over a few random rocks that decorated the path.

“Why I dance,” he answered almost immediately, looking you in the eyes, “for myself.”

He took a few steps away from you, swaying to the music that rippled from one of the mystery people’s carry-radios.

Like earlier, you mirrored his moves at first, adding your own adjustments based on intuition.

Feeling.

You had so many more questions to ask, but in this moment, you focused on Niki and the way he moved.

The small groups of people developed into a crowd within a matter of seconds, joining you and Niki along with the music.

Although everyone was doing their own thing, in a strange way if felt harmonious.

Some people danced calmly, others were more wild. Either way, you were starting to understand what Niki meant.

Being able to express yourself away from prying eyes, scornful comments, flashing cameras, or a number 1 sign on your back was invigorating.

The music was still going when Niki grabbed your hand and pulled you to the side, a soft look taking over his features.

“Kiss me,” he whispered, staring into your eyes.

“W-what?”

“I just need to know that what I’m feeling right now is real.”

You took his face in your hands, trying to make yourself feel more in control of the situation, “Niki, I don’t think we should do this. Your manager outlined pretty strict rules.”

He paused before responding, “Remember what you said at the restaurant the first day we met?”

His grip on your hands remained delicate despite how strongly he felt for you.

“About us breaking rules together… only if it’s worth it.”

“Exactly,” he smiled, leaning in, “I knew they didn’t call you a riot girl for nothing.”

His lips connecting with yours like a puzzle piece, both your hearts fluttering as if they’d grown butterfly wings.

You felt like your world was spinning at twice its original speed, but at the same time, the moment felt still.

Niki tilted his head, deepening the kiss as he braced a hand at your waist, pulling you closer before finally letting go.

“I like you, ____. Like, a lot,” he confessed, taking in the dreamy expression displayed on your face.

Your mind went blank.

“Say something? Please,” he urged, taking your hands in his.

A smile wavered over your features as you kissed him back on the lips, feeling as though you both stopped breathing for a moment.

“I like you too, Niki. But isn’t this pretty risky?”

“You said so yourself, risks don’t count if it’s worth it,” he nearly whispered.

“Well,” you began, still holding onto him, “if we’re gonna do this, it has to stay between us… no one else can find out.”

And just like that, you were now secretly dating your roommate / coworker / Enhypen’s main dancer and maknae / one of K-pop’s most sought after It-Boy’s, all in a three days.

Great.

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

You and Niki made it back to you dorm rooms undetected. It seemed like everyone else was either too tired or too busy to notice that you two were out for so long.

Unlocking the door to as quietly as possible, you and Niki took light steps, trying not to disturb anyone or draw attention to yourselves.

Once the door was closed, you both bust out in a fit of laughter for reasons you didn’t understand nor cared to understand.

You didn’t need a reason laugh when Niki was around… it’s kind of just something that started to happen over the last couple days.

“What’s your secret to performing so well?” You asked him, both laying face-up on the lower bunk bed together.

“Hmm, I feel like nervousness is a strength. It pushes you to go forward in a sense…”

“Yeah… I get that. Sometimes, I feel like being calm is dangerous. It puts you in a safe space, when performing should be all about taking chances.”

“Right,” he agreed, resting a hand over his stomach, “Speaking of chances, they’re precious, you know? I never just assume I’ll get another opportunity to dance.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Like…” he sighed, trying to find the right words, “Every time I get on stage… in front of those lights… in front of my fans… I perform-”

“As if it’s your last…” you answered for him.

“Yeah, that,” he chuckled, running a hand through his hair, “You know, it’s really nice talking to someone who gets me… the dancer part of me.”

“Of course, it’s really nice talking to you, too, Niki,” you smiled softly.

Breaking the calmness of the moment, he sat up in his elbows, meeting your face.

“Top or bottom?” He asked, referring to where you wanted to sleep for the night.

You crawled over his body, climbing into the upper bunk of the bed and laying down to finally rest.

“Good night, number 11,” you teased, snuggling into the mattress.

“Rest well, number 1. Big day tomorrow.”

🎙️ For my baby, @microwvdstrawb3rri3s, I hope it was worth the wait ~ And yes, before you ask, there will be a second part 💕

⛦ Additional tags for my fellow Niki enthusiasts: @fanficfactoryfoxxx @nikisblkgf @yourmomscuntis2tighy @nikimeows @kimjiho1 @nikipedia07 @nishimuradaniel

🎙️ Feel free to check out more fun reads on the pinned post at my home page ~

@ashgonedash, I still felt bad about forgetting to tag you earlier 👑 so here you go, my love :3

Update: THANK YOU ALL SM FOR 400 NOTES!!

[bambifornia]

huuUOOoLRgGghh fiinnne I can't stay away from you all

i bring more autobot!swindle. plus my attempt at writing his backstory

disclaimer : most of the stuff below isn't canon i just wrote this for fun. if u guys wanna make ur own swindle backstories i invite yall to do so :D we will make our own swindle content

swindle came online during cybertron's early years of the age of expansion. the autobots (with their goal to expand cybertron's empire) engineered a set of bots who would serve cybertron as its intergalactic merchants, programmed to be ambitious bots who sought profit. they also came with bigger processors (for storing transactions and whatnot) and versatile frames (so they could withstand organic climates)

shortly after coming online, swindle was assigned a teacher (another merchant) who'd pass down the knowledge of the trade. swindle did his best to keep up with his lessons

as a student, swindle was determined and clever. as a bot, though...eughh...

- he had less of a filter, and didn't know how to keep a poker face

- his little new England accent used to be a lot thicker (think earthspark swindle)

- very friendly, had a lot of amicas back in the day (he was definitely the "I know a bot" guy). it was a struggle for him to keep quiet

- loved hands on activities, hated sitting still

- kept a journal detailing his intergalactic trips. tried to doodle any organics he found interesting

- LOVED shiny stuff. he was like a crow lmao

- his sharp glossa would sometimes get his aft beat

- despite being a chatterbox, he wasn't as suave back then. he'd often get himself in awkward situations, which he'd try to talk himself out of the embarrassment but he'd end up digging a deeper hole for himself

- petty king. also kinda nosy and had a thing for gossip

- loved pranking, and teased the bots he liked

once he was ready, swindle was given a ship and assigned a trading post (as a starting point). from that point, swindle was a rootin tootin merchant and nothing bad ever happened to him again :D...

...

until the quintessa skirmishes

the age of expansion ended with border disputes between cybertron and quintessa. multiple skirmishes sproutted along the border, and while swindle didn't fight in them, he was certainly caught in the crossfire. swindle ended up with a broken ship, a looted inventory, and a bungled up frame. he had to return to cybertron for repairs

back on cybertron, swindle finds a planet wildly different from the one he knows. tensions between autobots and decepticons are rising, and the banks aren't holding up that great. swindle finds himself in a tight spot (financially speaking) since he still has to deal with his losses from quintessa. unable to go back to his actual merchant job, swindle resorts to taking odd jobs to keep himself afloat (yes, even stealing)

when the war breaks out, swindle gets drafted into the front lines (a decision that still baffles him to this day). since he's not much of a fighter, the autobots have swindle work as a spy, ordering him to smuggle weapons out of decepticon servos...

in future hindsight, that was a poor decision

---

wrapping it up here because i don't want this post to get too long LMAO but I still have more ideas for him if yall are interested. just know that this is not the end of swindle lore

ALSO I finally came up with autobot!swindle designations :D I've narrowed it down to 3 and I need help deciding. it's either between

quickdime - cuz. you know. he's always looking to make a quick buck

treasury - his subspace acts like a treasury if you kinda think about it

fortune - idk it sounds cute. besides fortune tends to "favor the bold and clever"

if u made it this far then congrats. thank u for listening to me yap. have a bonus doodle

[enterpris]

Caught in Orbit, Chapter 1

Pairing: Reader x Gojo

Summary: Cursed energy has many expressions- inherited techniques, reversals and maximums. 

Occasionally, cursed energy of a sorcerer will react with another sorcerer’s cursed energy, or perhaps their soul. In these cases, a bond is formed that can tie families together, increase power, or spark love.

When your soulmate is discovered, you have to decide what the bond will mean

Warnings: cannon typical fighting, moderate injury, reader is a jujutsu sorcerer, soulmate au

Length: 3.9k

Ao3: PlaidSparrow

It’ll be a Grade one curse- easy in, easy out. 

You page through the assignment folder, as country roads pass in Ijitchi’s rear window, driving you to the remote town that’s housing the spirit. Beyond the estimated grade of the spirit, the notes in the folder are sparse and messy, with few details about the two incidents that have occurred so far. Near the back of the file there’s a graph depicting the level of cursed energy in the building over time though, and that catches your eye. 

“So there’s been activity here for months? Why are they just sending a sorcerer now?” 

“There’s been low level activity, yes, but a teller was killed last week. Cursed energy spiked, and there was another death yesterday.” He looks at you through the rear view mirror. “Since then, the levels of cursed energy have remained level, so we have reason to suspect there will be more casualties if this spirit is left unchecked.”

You hum assent and put the file down. “It’s better to exorcize it now, before things get any worse.”

It doesn’t appear that anything connects the two victims outside of the location of the attacks, it’s likely just an amalgamation of poor feelings over the years that finally coalesced. 

“Any further incidents may cause this branch to close down- there’s been posts made online connecting the two deaths, and we want to minimize fear for the people who live in the town. An incident of any higher magnitude would be a disaster for a small town.”

You nod and stare out the window, the vast green fields and craggy mountains would be quaint and idyllic in another circumstance. This far outside of the city there’s not much traffic, and you should arrive soon. As it is, you can’t help from evaluating yourself, cataloging your physical state and diverting your focus into mentally preparing. While you didn’t have enough time to fully rest and recharge after your last mission, sleep doesn’t often come easy anymore, the hot meal and couple hours of sleep had provided a much needed boost. 

The rest of the ride is quiet, Ijitchi pulls up to the bank and you hop out. He rolls down the driver’s window and gives you a once over. 

“I’ll be waiting just down the street. Text when you’re finished here I’ll come pick you up. Good luck.”

A terse nod is the only response you give, already attuning yourself to the waves of cursed energy radiating from the building. He nods back and peels away. A few moments later, a veil drops over you, casting the small bank in shadow.

Through the focus you’ve cultivated for the mission, you can’t help but be intrigued- you’ve never encountered a curse attached to a commercial building like this, and something pretty significant must have happened to infuse this place with enough negative energy to spawn a Grade 1 curse. The case notes didn’t include grisly details of a natural disaster or crime, though. After scanning the outside of the building and quickly stretching out your shoulders, still stiff from the ride, you step towards the entrance. The curse likely already knows you’ve arrived, the energy rolling off the building feels particularly strong. The front door opens without any fuss, and the stench of cursed energy is like a fetid tide within the building. The death of the two tellers hangs in the air as you walk through the small entrance hall.

It’s silent in the lobby save your soft steps across the laminate and the underlying buzz of electricity running to the tellers’ computers. Between the veil and the electric lights being turned off, the interior feels dingy and a little claustrophobic. Nothing really looks amiss, but there are cursed energy residuals drawn across the room like a web, no hint as to where the body of the curse might be.  You leap over the low divider to get to the area for bank employees. If two tellers were the casualties, it’s possible that the curse is lurking somewhere clients don’t have access to, or the attacks happened outside of normal business hours. You can’t recall whether any times were posted in the notes. 

Before you explore the back, you scan the lobby once more. You can imagine the small branch bustling on the weekend, business owners and families coming to make deposits or pull out money for a day trip. You brush your fingers over the black screen wistfully. Maybe in another life you would have helped customers in a bank. 

Or perhaps you would have gone on to college. When you enrolled in Jujutsu Tech as a high school student, you hadn’t thought much about your future, but you could have studied any number of subjects.

Something shifts unnaturally somewhere down the hall and your hackles rise, the distinct feeling of eyes on you. You spin to the back and allow your cursed energy to flow freely through your body- ready to be released.

Keeping your attention high, you creep towards the back of the building. The noise repeats itself, and you can hear more clearly now- a rhythmic clatter, not quite the scutter of an insect, but something similar, that's coming from the back rooms. The pattern of noise stops and starts again. 

Measured steps bring you closer to the belly of the bank, here there are low tables in a wide back room, with private rooms that branch away to speak privately with a banker. The furniture seems to be undisturbed, wherever you look there’s perfect order, still no indication of how the bank tellers were murdered. But the curse is making just enough noise to let you know it's lurking somewhere. It’s got some degree of intelligence, then, to taunt a sorcerer. You tilt your head, trying to determine where the noise is coming from.

You scan the floors, then the walls, steadily working your way back through the hallways to an area that’s only accessed by employees. There’s no more decorations here, only shadows cast by the meager light let through the veil, yellow-gray and sickly like a bruise. But the rustling noise has gotten progressively louder. As you approach the curse’s lair, the noise begins to sound louder and more distinct. You had to have walked through nearly the whole building now, save the vaults. Hopefully that’s not where the curse has taken up its roost. 

The vault is huge and silver, set into the wall of the building itself. The cursed spirit has got to be in here, and you’re ready for the fight. With a deep breath, you increase the output of cursed energy in your arms, letting the strength ground you, then turn the handle of the vault door. Your heartbeat is loud in your ears that are trying to listen for any drop of sound, any discernible shift.

But the door is firmly locked, the handle shifts only a fraction of a degree. You process where else the curse could be- your initial sweep had been fairly thorough, could the curse be small enough to slip into one of the crevasses you’d left unturned?

Cautiously turning, you step back down the hallway you’d come from. Something in the air changes in that instant, and you step to the right, pivoting back to the vault entrance. The cursed spirit materializes out of the wall, pursing a grossly oversized pair of lips and greedily grabbing with stumpy appendages. 

You intensify the cursed energy running through your arms, waiting for the cursed spirit to dart in and try to grab you, but it maintains its distance, instead spitting a noxious ball in your direction, but you pivot out of the way. You sprint towards the spirit, ready to swing, but it darts down one of the hallways, bringing you back towards the front of the building. 

The employee-only areas blur past until the curse turns back towards you in the open room right before the lobby. It puckers its lips again and spits a second glob of steaming cursed energy at your body. You dodge again, then rush the curse. 

But something feels wrong. After the second attack, the spirit makes no move to shoot again, or try to evade as your steps bring you closer to its disgusting body. While you analyze the curse’s behavior, its bulbous eyes flick towards the ceiling of the room. 

The curse must have hidden a projectile there before you brought it into the open. Your eyes snap to the roof of the building, but instead of a projectile you find the sinuous legs and writhing body of a second curse. Its long appendages twitch and undulate in a sickly wave that you now realize was the noise you heard earlier. You can’t even see how many arms there are. A wave of cursed energy stronger than the first curse rolls off of it now. Icy fear cuts through the adrenaline pumping through your body. The second curse is strong too, and clearly working with the first somehow. You’ll have to scramble for your life.

You have to make a split second decision, choose which curse to focus on first. If you can exorcize the spitting curse quickly then pivot to the second curse, you’ll probably have the best chance of coming out on top. The second spirit hasn’t moved from its roost above the fight yet, you have no idea what its abilities are or whether you’d be able to beat it first.

Clambering backward to avoid being caught directly under the second curse, you’re nearly backed against the wall. The furniture in this room is all low and sleek, nothing to use as a shield or small enough to use as an extra weapon. The booths and computers in the lobby may give you more to work with, but between you and the hallway there is the spitting curse. 

The second curse stretches its legs towards you, and it descends from the ceiling. Fuck. 

Without any more time to form a plan, you run towards the spitting curse and pass it on your way to the front of the building. The narrow hallways won’t give you any tactical advantage, and would make it easy for the two curses to gang up on you.

You look over your shoulder and see the first curse hurl a projectile, and you desperately push your body to the right. 

Not fast enough. 

The mass of cursed energy collides with your left shoulder, and your vision whites out for a moment. Warm blood seeps from the wound and soaks your shirt, now you’ll be vulnerable and slower than before. You grit your teeth and scowl at the mass of hateful energy. 

The second curse opens its mouth, grotesquely stretching the muscles until it could swallow you in a single gulp. Its twitching legs begin to move in sequence, crawling down the side of the wall in a trembling mess. 

The first curse floats along ahead of the second, and it looks like it could shoot another projectile at any moment. You duck and huff a few deep breaths from the outside of the lobby divider. Then, you infuse your arm with cursed energy and punch the spitting curse with the strength you’ve saved for this mission. 

The force of the hit wracks your body, and pain screams from your left shoulder. The spitting curse gets knocked to the ground coughing, but isn’t exorcized yet. You breathe through the piercing waves resonating from your shoulder and pull out a short knife to finish the job. 

Cursed energy flows again through your arm and into the blade, but the second curse flings its knobbly body down from the wall. Its sinewy legs tangle around you, and the small cutting edge can’t pierce deep enough to really do any damage. The legs sweep you towards the main body of the spirit, and you see the first curse rise back up from the corner of your eye. You shove at the countless appendages and slash where you can, fighting against the nebulous legs to reach a longer weapon. Once it’s in hand, you allow the built-up cursed energy to infuse the cells of your body with all of the strength and speed you can afford to spare. 

The boost (and the longer knife) allow you to hack through the second curse’s legs, and come face to face with the spitting curse. It puckers its lips once more and you hold your position a moment longer, then duck under the following projectile. Before the beast can make another, you stab the longer knife directly through its head. 

You’re pretty sure that finished it, but there’s no time to double check, as the second curse has recovered from the limbs you took from it, and ambles back towards you. Dodging its legs again, you leap towards the entry room of the bank. A quick spin puts you facing the curse once more. 

The legs skitter and twinge against each other, and there’s another noise too, a low drone coming out of the curse’s mouth. Whatever its muttering, you’re not interested in finding out. Now that it’s a fair fight, you’re feeling more confident about your odds of walking away from this bank. 

You raise your left arm to throw one of the knives as the curse, but the joint can’t extend all the way. Swearing, you switch the larger blade to your other hand and try to gauge what this curse’s MO is. So far, it’s mostly kept out of the way, using the legs to pull you towards its body. 

Now, those legs scuttle faster, it darts in towards you. You brandish the weapon and take a few quick steps back, but the curse keeps coming. You shove one of the doors open with your bad shoulder and turn to see if the curse will follow you outside. You’ve barely got time to pant in a few deep breaths. 

It catches the door nearly as it closes, pushing out and gnashing its horrible teeth. You can’t pass up the opening though- as the spirit maneuvers through the door, you dash forward, infuse your arm with cursed energy and fight through the legs, then sink the knife into one of the bottom of its body. 

The curse lets out a terrible wail and thrashes through the doorway, entangling you as it rampages out of the building. The smaller knife is still in your other hand, and you funnel cursed energy into it and slice shallowly into the nearest leg. The curse howls again and the legs holding you loosen but don’t release completely. 

You writhe and kick your legs against the curse until you can wiggle your arm free, then drop to deadweight. Your heart is beating fast as the curse drags you in towards the body. You can hear the muttering clearly now, kodoku, over and over.

You allow the curse to drag you closer, no more than an arm's breadth away, then you  pour every last ounce of cursed energy into the knife and bring it sharply down, impaling the spirit directly in its skull. 

The curse collapses, a moaning pile of open wounds before disintegrating into the tiled floor. Its stink pollutes the greenery and bright day. You pant and the adrenaline that had kept you afloat leaches out of your body. The world blurs in front of your eyes, and you’re sucked back into your body- exhausted, bleeding heavily, and abruptly feeling every bit of your injury. 

You lean against your knees, putting weight on your good shoulder. The energy you had expended to exorcize the first spirit held the pain at bay for a time, but the blood in your shirt is cooling, and you’ve run your body ragged by finishing the fight. 

It was technically a win, desperately fought and barely won. You may be barely standing, but that curse is exorcized. 

Staggering to the larger commercial entrance, you unwind the jacket and grasp the material near your bad shoulder. The blood has soaked through the thicker material, and you can feel a pulse of pain each time your heart beats. 

You pat down the pockets of your pants, not sure where your phone is. After locating it, you try to pull up your messages to alert Ijitchi. Your vision blurs again and you groan in frustration. This injury is clearly bad, and if you can’t contact Ijitchi, you’ll pass out soon. If that happens, who knows how long it will take for him to return and pick you up. 

After a few moments, you pour all of your focus into just calling him. With a shaking hand, you slowly click through the menu and hear the phone ring. 

He answers, and you could cry from relief. 

“Kodoku.”

It was a traditional magic, where small bugs or creatures fought to the death in an enclosed space. The fluids of the final survivor could be used to poison an individual. The spitting curse- it must have spit that liquid in its projectiles. You’re nearly delirious thinking about it. 

“What?”

“Things didn’t go well.” 

“I’m on the way. What’s wrong?” 

He sounds concerned. You must sound worse than you thought.

“More than one, I was hit.”

Before you can provide any more details, you see the unassuming black sedan pull back up the driveway. He drives over the grass to get closer to you, then hops out. 

You hobble towards the back of the car while he takes in your state. 

“It looks like you’ve lost a lot of blood. Is it a cursed wound? We should be able to make it back to Shoko within an hour if I speed…” he trails off, likely calculating the distance back to school on different routes. 

“Not cursed, just nasty. I’ve got pressure on it now, but I’ll probably ruin these seats.” You pant the words out, not totally sure that they’re true. The pain is radiating from your shoulder, it could be a cursed wound, but that wouldn’t get you back to campus any faster. 

In what feels like a blink, you’re back at Tokyo Jujutsu, Ijitchi supporting your weight on the walk down to Shoko’s medical bay. He helps to set you down on the low operating table and says something. It’s probably important, but the sound is drowned out by the pain singing in your veins. Absently you wonder if you’re going to pass out from blood loss. The hit was worse than you thought. 

Shoko technically had a medical degree, but because of her Curse Technique, most of her knowledge and skills were intrinsic. You’re not sure if getting her doctorate degree even helped her or if it was just part of the school’s cover. 

She’s standing in front of you, speaking lowly with Ijitchi. She pulls a pair of scissors from somewhere. The metal is cold where it touches the skin of your stomach, and Shoko shears the remains of your shirt away. She’s wearing gloves now. You’re not sure when she put them on. 

“Oh,” you hear her voice floating above you. 

Her voice blends with Ijitchi’s as they continue their conversation, the indistinguishable words blending with the hum of the air conditioner to lull you halfway to sleep. 

Since finishing school you had only been injured badly enough to need Shoko’s healing once or twice. The smell of antiseptic and the morgue closeby are enough motivation to avoid hurt at all costs. It’s cold in the medical bay. 

Sharp pain pulls you out of your thoughts as Shoko prods the wound, muttering about the internal damage. Her gloved hands circle the hole in your shoulder and you feel the eerie trickle of Reverse Cursed Energy seep into your body. Feeling another sorcerer’s technique never felt right, but something feels particularly wrong right now. She sits you up and you slump against her. She’s warm.

More muttering and your head feels a bit clearer. It's a strange sensation, to feel your body rebuild itself in real time. Shoko's hands are warm through the gloves and your stomach drops as the skin and muscle knit back together. 

Noise echoes down the steps to the medical center. Footsteps, you realize after a moment. Everything still sounds distorted and dreamlike.

“Hey Shoko” a voice calls, drawing out the last vowel of her name. “I wanted to know-” the voice chokes off. 

You feel her turn away from you and the sensation of her healing stops. The loss of support makes your head loll back, and you feel distinctly separate from the rest of your body. It’s not til Shoko shifts again that you remember that someone else is in the medical area. 

Your vision swims when you turn to see Gojo standing in the doorway of the stairwell, looking aghast at you. 

“Ah, on second thought, maybe I should come back later.”

“It’s fine, we’re almost-” Gojo cuts Shoko off.

“Nope, really, I’ll be back later! Not important!” His voice disappears as he zips back up the stairs where he came from. 

You furrow your brow. 

Even in your addled state, you know that Gojo is the most powerful sorcerer on the planet, he should hardly be squeamish, surely a little shoulder injury isn’t enough to send him running for the hills. The thought grounds you a bit, and you think vaguely that it should already be halfway healed anyway. You crane your neck to look at the wound behind you and your chin brushes the bare skin of your shoulder. 

With all the movement and almost passing out, you’d kind of forgotten that you’re not fully dressed. The wound has partially closed, but there’s still blood drying on skin around, dripping down your back. 

But he’d only seen your back, nothing scandalous, and surely he’s seen a woman in her bra before.

Shoko returns the pressure to your shoulder blade and you let your mind drift as the current of her cursed energy infuses you. Who knows what’s going on in Gojo’s mind. You’re lucky really, that he didn’t stay. Healing isn’t a pretty process and you aren’t interested in having an audience as your shoulder knits itself back together. Shoko’s reverse curse technique feels more like a strong current of energy now, the sense of wrongness has passed. 

More time slips by, and then she gently lays you back down on the table. Shoko's voice is soft above you, and you pick out a few words, “more hours,” and “rest.”

Perhaps it's easier when you're using your own cursed energy to heal yourself, but the few times you've been revived by Shoko, you're left more drained than when you were injured. It’s as if the flesh itself has mended, but the weight of the injury has been transferred to your head. You don’t particularly want to remember the last time you required her services now though.  

The details of the attack are dreamily-muddled now, like maybe it happened to someone else. When you try to recall any detail, it flees from your mind and dissipates into the background.

Exhaustion drags you under, and your thoughts are silenced.

[nrdmssgs]

Is it just me

or are some episodes in the CoD franchise actually absolutely hilarious if you watch them with some in-depth knowledge of modern Russia?

Ok, this is not a critique, I'm not saying, the following scenes are bad/lazy. They make sense, ok? I'm just giggling every time I stumble upon them.

Nikolai looking at this place and commenting 'parking here sucks'.

If it was Price or Gaz - no further questions, because they assess the current situation.

But Nik saying that? Nik, darling, it's the good old Saint Petersburg, the very heart of it. You don't need to be local to know, that parking sucks not only here, but also 15 km around this area. This city was not built for cars, it changes, yes. But the historical part is anything but a parking lot. Imagine if an Italian told you that there are parking problems in the tourist part of Venice. No shit, darling?

This scene. Soap, Laswell and Ghost speedrunning Alexey Navalnys work.

So we have the ACF group in Russia. Long story short: they are investigating cases of illegal enrichment of Russian elites (oligarchs, politicians, terrorists, etc.). Each investigation involves dozens of people and takes months (sometimes years) to accomplish. Here is an example of such a case (there are English subtitles available).

The ACF is the biggest organization, specializing in such investigations in Russia now (i`m not counting the Belling Cat, because they investigate a wide variety of themes and cases, not only corruption in Ru).

One of the reasons, why each investigation takes so much energy and time is because the suspect does everything possible to ensure that his property and money are not associated with his name. All financial assets are divided, they are stored in banks and assigned not to the oligarch himself, but to dozens of companies and front people. This is done just so that one day a tall Scottish guy with his British friend does not show up to you and transfer all your personal savings with the click of one button.

And do I need to say, that a transfer of a significant sum of money is never done just online and the bank would always demand an offline confirmation of your will? Because at the end of the day, it wont be Milenas problem - it will be her banks headache, when she sues them for having a kindergarten level of security.

So when I see, as Soap and Laswell trace all Milenas fundings in mere days, as they clear her bank accounts in seconds - I just lose it. Because even the most stupid politician in real Ru looks smarter than poor Milena. But again, it's not bad, its artistic allowance necessary for the pacing of the narrative.

[nenelonomh]

question bank method of study

what is a question bank? a question bank is an archive that stores and organizes questions for a variety of purposes, including assessments, quizzes, and exams. its primary goal is to systematically organize and categorize queries based on several parameters. question banks enable educators and students to easily generate, analyze, and share questions. question banks are not just about knowledge; they also provide insights into exam patterns and previous year questions.

what are the benefits of creating a question bank? question banks provide an organised and secure storage for questions, and ensure that questions are readily available for future use. when creating online tests or quizzes, you can easily select the desired number of questions from specific categories within the question bank. students can retake tests using questions from the bank, enhancing their learning experience.

how can you use a question bank to study? question banks allow students to answer author, answer and discuss multiple choice questions. an example platform that allows this is peerwise, which is a free resource and easy to use. i

you can create your own question bank by using online platforms (qbank.app, proprofs, google forms, quizlet) or manual creation (typically with excel). when creating your own question bank, consider the length, difficulty and tone of the questions. if i create a question bank i typically assign each question 1 point each - no matter the difficulty - so that it gives me an idea of what i need to practice. ensure that your question bank covers all relevant topics (check your syllabus) and regularly update your question bank to keep it relevant and accurate.

to maintain a question bank, involve others in creating questions. this will save you time and effort in creating questions. regularly perform item analysis on the questions in your bank. assess question difficulty, discrimination, and quality. ensure that questions align with the learning objectives and course content.

if you are not using a multiple-choice site, include a mix of question types: multiple-choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions. occasionally refresh the bank to include updated questions and remove outdated ones.

you can organise your question bank through a tagging system or metadata. try to categorize by difficulty, topic, year and keyword for easy retrieval. when working with a group, ensure that you have an update log and control who can modify, add or view questions. regularly back up the question bank to avoid data loss.

[hearts401]

"do NOT ask me about ggy or patient 46 because i WILL begin ranting"

You see, I am incapable of ever listening to anyone, ever, so I must ask about GGY and patient 46

I have absolutely no knowledge of modern FNaF lore; I have not read any of the books (something I plan to fix whenever my bank account stops bleeding) so you're gonna have to do some heavy lifting here and tell me all about it

Ooh boy rubs my hands together

okay so im gonna start with ggy because i love Tony and Ellis. (i dont have the book in front of me tho so this isnt gonna be 100% every detail)

GGY is about a kid named Tony Becker who has an assignment in his 6th grade english class. He has to write a fictional mystery with side plots that tie into the main plot. He chooses to do this with his two friends. They use pen names whenever they do their english projects together (sobs and wails and cries into my hands) and Tony picked Tarbell, and his friends were Boots and Dr. Rabbit (or Rab for short).

Tony wants to start working on their project, but Boots and Rab want to go to the fazcade. Tony gives in when rab backs up boots (tony sees boots as immature and worries about outgrowing him and hanging out more with rab) tony wanders around the fazcade trying to find inspo, and then notices someone named GGY with top scores on some of the games. when he asks other people about it, they tell him the scores are seemingly impossible, but when he asks a staff member, he's told they haven't been hacked.

At some point he makes an online blog to ask about it and a girl he'd talked to in the fazcade asks him to meet her. she tells him that she thinks this is more than just high scores, and that he should stay out of it.

Oh also freddy keeps watching tony and at some point begins following him.

Tony finds out that GGY has a hacked party pass (or it was like a fun pass or smth) that gives them access to much more than it should, working almost like a security card.

Tony then finds out one of the school counselors has gone missing, and he sneaks into the librarian's office to learn more about it. he finds out two other counselors have also gone missing, all of them having gone to the pizzaplex before disappearing.

tony writes his paper and gives it to Rab and Boots to look over, and when they come back the next day, they've changed it into a fantasy story. And GGY is labled as the wizard's favorite apprentice, rather than someone getting high scores on arcade games.

tony is upset with rab and boots and begins calling htem by their actual names.

Rab is Greg, Boots is Ellis.

tony is also in trouble for sneaking into the librarian's office and using her laptop, so he has detention shelving books.

Greg come and offers to take him to the pizzaplex when he's done, and it's kind of implied he killed him there.

again i have bad memory and i dont have the book in front of my so anyone can feel free to correct anythign i got wrong or missed

now onto patient 46 who's from the therapy tapes in sb.

this'll be undeniably easier because i can just listen to the tapes. patient 46 is also not confirmed to be gregory, its just a theory, so im just gonna call them 46.

its important to note that 46 does not speak.

everything here is things implied to have been nonverbally communicated to the therapist.

Tape 2:

It starts with the therapist talking about how the day is nice, but 46 doesnt like the light, so the therapist draws the blinds. she then comments on how 46 is not talking to her today, and says that she gets reviews from patients, and when 46 doesn't let her help them, she gets bad reviews. she tells 46 she could get in trouble and get put in timeout, which 46 finds funny.

Tape 4:

New therapist is here, she asks if 46 is going to talk to her, and they dont reply. she asks whats wrong, and they gesture to the flowers. the therapist comments on them being particularly fragrant and moves them. The therapist then comments on 46 staring at something, and says they're "amazingly alert." she says shed like to have 46 tell her about themself, but 46 does not. the therapist instead chooses to look through their notes. she also comments on the chair not fitting 46, but its not specified if its too big or too small. she then asks if 46 is bothered by a new therapist, but 46 doesnt seem surprised or confused at all. the therapist says shes surprised by whats in 46's notes. she says they have a "rebellious side" and a knack for computers, and explains the word phenom to them. the tape ends with her asking if 46 considers themself a hacker

tape 6:

new therapise again! she tells 46 shes already read their files and knows what theyve worked on. 46 asks for a candy, and she gives one to them, taking one for herself as well. she says she wants to start with 46's parents, and claims it was tragic but she doesnt think 46 has processed it emotionally. she says they wrote it like they had read it off of a book. (her exact words are they wrote an objective rather than a subjective narrative, but 46 didnt know what that meant.) she says 46 spends a lot of time alone and is good at self-dialogue, which she explains is "asking urself questions and getting answers" she tells them to try asking themself how they feel about what happened to them. she tells them to let themself be upset about it so they can let it go.

tape 8:

same therapist as 6! she asks 46 if theyve thought about what they talked about. 46 had told them their past had made them sad and scared. the therapist asks if they had written down exactly what made them feel that way. she then says she works with many people who respond to tragedy differently. she asks 46 if their fantasies would be different had this tragedy not happened to them.

Tape 13:

new therapist again! she says when shes getting to know a client, she likes to find out abt their hobbies. when she doesnt get a reply, she asks if they like sports. 46 tells her they like to watch sports, but not play them. and that they like to stay inside. the therapist then reluctantly tells 46 that their previous therapists have gone missing. except one who was found dead, and they said her body looked to be mangled by machinery. the therapist also comments that 46 doesn't look concerned about it. she jokes about watching her back, which 46 finds funny.

Tape 14:

same therapist as 13. she asks if 46 knows about the pizzaplex, and says the technicians who work there know them. theyve seen what they think is 46 on the security cameras. they say 46 was accused of hacking their systems. the therapist says that the hacks are causing tons of problems, but that there's no solid proof it was 46, and 46 finds it funny that the techs are having issues. she says she finds it weird that 46 would spend time in such a busy, crowded place despite their loner attitude. she asks if its the electronics that 46 likes. she also says theyve designed programs that talk to them and repeat phrases. she says it asks them questions and prompts for responses, like their own little therapist. she said at first she had thought they were talking to themself, but it seems more like they were talking to someone else. she asks who it was.

Tape 15:

same therapist as 13+14. she starts with asking if 46 wants to do an ink blot test. she shows them an image, and 46 asks to hold it. 46 says it reminds them of a mask. the therapist asks if 46 likes the idea of being disguised, and how they make you invisible. she says being invisible lets you get away with anything, and asks 46 if they like that idea. she then moves on to something else, telling 46 that it seems theyve been talking to someone else. she says the techs think that its someone trying to lure 46 away, or manipulate them. the therapist moves to where she can see 46's eyes, and says she got something different from the communications. she accuses 46 of manipulating someone, rather than being manipulated. she says they were recorded on the security cameras with someone else. she says that it looks like the person theyre with has rabbit ears, which 46 finds amusing.

Tape 16:

Same therapist as 13+14+15. she says shes gotten another message from the pizzaplex that says that theres a glitch in the system that makes the animatronics more eerie than entertaining. she says the glitch spread system-wide and infected all the machines. she also says it was traced back to 46. she says the glitch broadcasted a dangerous message. she also says that when the techs were trying to fix it, the source shifted. she says that the glitch changed from a glitch and became a set of sub-routines that were made to do exactly what the glitch was doing. (which basically means it stopped just being a glitch and became part of the system?? i think?? idk shit abt computers bruh) when 46 does not reply, she presses, saying she is on their side and wont tell anyone what is told to her during the session and that the techs have no proof it was 46, so theyre not in trouble. when 46 doesnt reply still, she brings up their past. 46 refuses to look at her, but she continues. she says it doesnt matter if they look at the floor, because nothing they told her about their parents was true. she says they had great parents, and a great childhood. she asks 46 why they lied, and tells them to look at her. she then says she understands why 46 would be upset about the confrontation, and says they can come back to this another day. the last line she says is "you're shaking your head like that's not going to happen."

UHM YEAH IM NORMAL ABOUT THEM LOL.

i have a lot of thoughts on both of these parts and i personally believe 46 is Gregory. but if i dumped all my thoughts we'd be here all day so have this long ass explanation instead

[usafphantom2]

What are the most amazing things you've seen as a Boom Operator?

Five KC-135Rs and Sixty F-16s Refueling Near Kuwait 🇰🇼

In November and December of 1990 during Operation Desert Shield I was flying out of Jeddah, Saudia Arabia. The flight lunches always had goat cheese on the sandwiches, but our quarters were ok, and the flying was good, sometime even flying twice a day.

General Schwarzkopf was attempting to plant the idea that US forces would invade Kuwait with an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf. The Marine’s plans were called Operation Desert Saber, and my understanding was that the Air Force was supporting the operation with F-16s. It was all a feint of course, but the mission was flown to make it look like that’s what we were going to do. In support of this, we were tasked with a large mission with five KC-135Rs.

When multiple tankers fly in formation at altitude, the second aircraft flies 500 feet above, 1 mile behind, and on a 30-degree offset from the lead aircraft. Each subsequent aircraft also flies off lead, but the each add an additional 500 feet of altitude, and 1 mile in distance. So, if Lead is at 25,000 ft, Two is at 25,500, Three is at 26,000, Four is at 26,500 and Five is at 27,000. That’s two thousand feet, plus a thousand above and a thousand below for other air traffic clearance. Needless to say, it’s a bit of a headache for air traffic controllers, whether they are regular ATC, or as in our case an E-3A Sentry and a USN E-2A Hawkeye.

We were lucky enough to be assigned as aircraft number five, tail end Charlie. The great thing about being last in the formation is that you can see everything, and this formation was one worth watching.

We flew toward the southern tip of Kuwait where we were to meet up with sixty F-16s. Yes, sixty! Fighters join up with tankers by flying straight at them, usually a bit lower in altitude, and then just turn in behind the tanker with whatever bank angle they need to make the turn, so it’s not uncommon to see them coming around behind you at 90-degree of bank. Each F-16 formation is called a flight, and each flight tended either two or four aircraft, but for this tasking, each tanker was responsible for twelve F-16s and we had no idea how they were going to be divided up.

As I recall, all air refueling at the time was done using radio silent operations, which meant that everything was pre-briefed, and the radios were only used went they were really needed (safety of flight issues, or to prevent mission failure.) So, while you had receivers assigned to you, if different ones showed up, you just recorded the tail numbers and refueled them. Saudia Arabia was paying for the gas anyways, we just had to record who got what.

I remember standing in the cockpit before any had arrived on our wing yet because we were at the highest level and watching all these F-16s buzzing around like bees in the spring, flying up to their tankers to get some nectar.

Eventually they swarmed on us, and I headed back to the boom pod to get to work. As each flight joined up with its tanker, they would normally form on the left wing, and when it looked like the tanker was ready, the boom down and extended to 10 feet, they would get into position.

They were using a technique known as “Quick Flow Air Refueling”. An F-16 would get into the pre-contact position and wait to be cleared to contact. The next F-16 would fly fingertip formation with the one on the boom. When the first one finished, he would move off to the right, and the next one would slide right into the contact position, we’d plug him and give him his gas and so on. They would continue this until the entire flight was topped off with fuel. It was very efficient and quick.

When they were all done, they disappeared as if the wind had blown them away, and we just hung around for a bit in case anybody needed a little extra.

Let me tell you, it was a sight to see, and I haven’t seen anything online that would compare to it. Wish I’d taken photos or better yet, videos.

@tcamp202 via X

[izicodes]

Hi! I’m a student currently learning computer science in college and would love it if you had any advice for a cool personal project to do? Thanks!

Personal Project Ideas

Hiya!! 💕

It's so cool that you're a computer science student, and with that, you have plenty of options for personal projects that can help with learning more from what they teach you at college. I don't have any experience being a university student however 😅

Someone asked me a very similar question before because I shared my projects list and they asked how I come up with project ideas - maybe this can inspire you too, here's the link to the post [LINK]

However, I'll be happy to share some ideas with you right now. Just a heads up: you can alter the projects to your own specific interests or goals in mind. Though it's a personal project meaning not an assignment from school, you can always personalise it to yourself as well! Also, I don't know the level you are, e.g. beginner or you're pretty confident in programming, if the project sounds hard, try to simplify it down - no need to go overboard!!

But here is the list I came up with (some are from my own list):

Personal Finance Tracker

A web app that tracks personal finances by integrating with bank APIs. You can use Python with Flask for the backend and React for the frontend. I think this would be great for learning how to work with APIs and how to build web applications 🏦

Online Food Ordering System

A web app that allows users to order food from a restaurant's menu. You can use PHP with Laravel for the backend and Vue.js for the frontend. This helps you learn how to work with databases (a key skill I believe) and how to build interactive user interfaces 🙌🏾

Movie Recommendation System

I see a lot of developers make this on Twitter and YouTube. It's a machine-learning project that recommends movies to users based on their past viewing habits. You can use Python with Pandas, Scikit-learn, and TensorFlow for the machine learning algorithms. Obviously, this helps you learn about how to build machine-learning models, and how to use libraries for data manipulation and analysis 📊

Image Recognition App

This is more geared towards app development if you're interested! It's an Android app that uses image recognition to identify objects in a photo. You can use Java or Kotlin for the Android development and TensorFlow for machine learning algorithms. Learning how to work with image recognition and how to build mobile applications - which is super cool 👀

Social Media Platform

(I really want to attempt this one soon) A web app that allows users to post, share, and interact with each other's content. Come up with a cool name for it! You can use Ruby on Rails for the backend and React for the frontend. This project would be great for learning how to build full-stack web applications (a plus cause that's a trend that companies are looking for in developers) and how to work with user authentication and authorization (another plus)! 🎭

Text-Based Adventure Game

If you're interested in game developments, you could make a simple game where users make choices and navigate through a story by typing text commands. You can use Python for the game logic and a library like Pygame for the graphics. This project would be great for learning how to build games and how to work with input/output. 🎮

Weather App

Pretty simple project - I did this for my apprenticeship and coding night classes! It's a web app that displays weather information for a user's location. You can use Node.js with Express for the backend and React for the frontend. Working with APIs again, how to handle asynchronous programming, and how to build responsive user interfaces! 🌈

Online Quiz Game

A web app that allows users to take quizzes and compete with other players. You could personalise it to a module you're studying right now - making a whole quiz application for it will definitely help you study! You can use PHP with Laravel for the backend and Vue.js for the frontend. You get to work with databases, build real-time applications, and maybe work with user authentication. 🧮

Chatbot

(My favourite, I'm currently planning for this one!) A chatbot that can answer user questions and provide information. You can use Python with Flask for the backend and a natural language processing library like NLTK for the chatbot logic. If you want to mauke it more beginner friendly, you could use HTML, CSS and JavaScript and have hard-coded answers set, maybe use a bunch of APIs for the answers etc! This project would be great because you get to learn how to build chatbots, and how to work with natural language processing - if you go that far! 🤖

Another place I get inspiration for more web frontend dev projects is on Behance and Pinterest - on Pinterest search for like "Web design" or "[Specific project] web design e.g. shopping web design" and I get inspiration from a bunch of pins I put together! Maybe try that out!

I hope this helps and good luck with your project!

[liojack]

What are the Key Topics in Brand Management Subject?

Understanding the definition of "brand" is the first step in managing a brand. It entails making a commitment, making it, and keeping it. It includes determining, establishing, and promoting the brand. Brand management is all about creating and maintaining a brand. Customers become loyal to your company because of your brand. Your items stand out from the competition thanks to a strong brand. It enhances the reputation of your company.

The control of a brand's tangible and immaterial attributes is a component of brand management. If we talk about the product brands, the tangibles may be the product's pricing, packaging, etc. In contrast, the tangibles in the service brands include customer experience. On the other hand, intangible is the emotional connection between the product and service. Branding is the process of combining several marketing mix components into a single entity to establish your identity. It simply involves imprinting your brand identity in the minds of your customers, and it conveys the impression of a seasoned, sizable, and trustworthy company.

When we have discussed the brief overview of brand management, the time has come to proceed further and know what brand management courses are available in Canada. So, let's read the information discussed by the Brand Management Assignment Help professionals.

Courses Available For Brand Management Study

Canada's top-notch institutes teach every single detail regarding branding strategies through their different courses in Brand Management. These short-term courses provide you with the specific knowledge to apply effective brand management strategies to increase the visibility and popularity of the product.

You can pursue a Master's in Brand Management to improve your skills from reputable colleges and universities in Canada. Universities and colleges in Canada provide the opportunity for an internship with reputed industries. This helps students to understand and work on real-time projects. Moreover, Canada offers various job opportunities to brand management professionals in reputable companies. Here are the few top-rated brand management courses in Canada –

Graduate Certificate course in Brand Management

MBA in Brand Management

Postgraduate Diploma in Brand Management

Brand management is necessary for brand visibility and popularity in today's digital world. Earning any of these degrees will help you work as an Assistant Marketing Manager, Growth Marketing Manager, Senior Brand Manager, Brand Manager, etc.

The issue does not end here. While studying brand management courses in Canada, you are required to deal with multiple topics that are frequently covered. Therefore, you must be well-

known for those topics. The Assignment Help Canada professionals list some frequently asked issues for you.

1. From a company perspective, how may brands is built?

2. How can HR management be the driving force behind brand-led culture change?

3. How can multi-brand businesses spanning cultures and locations create their brands?

4. How to analyze and evaluate brand health, including both internally and externally.

5. How to assess and acquire branding returns across the company, presenting the novel idea of employee-based brand image and explaining how it differs from the brand assessment as intangible assets.

Do you know how to answer these questions? If not, you might need Brand Management Assignment Help because here, you will find subject matter experts with vast years of experience dealing with such topics. Let's see how they approach answering the above questions.

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To provide an adequate answer to the above question, you must include

To begin with, the why, decide on your goals, objectives, and the issue you resolve.

To concentrate on what you want to reach, you must define the target audience.

Create a stated mission that expresses your goals and the value you offer clearly and concisely.

Conduct research and analysis to discover how you vary from your competitors.

Discover the facets of your company or product and the language your customers or clients react to the most.

And a whole lot more!

2. How can HR management be the driving force behind brand-led culture change?

"Successful firms are electing a culture leader under HR, who can play a vital role in bringing people across the business and assertively trying to guide a business culture that seems to fit the organisation's risk tolerance and strategy".

In several firms, the responsibility for culture evaluation and management has alternately been held by everybody and no one, with HR playing a minor role. Yet, when the emphasis shifts to reinventing culture, HR has a unique chance to own this crucial, strategically important, people-related corporate necessity. It may achieve this in five main ways:

To integrate culture with business goals, HR must do both.

The board must convey and embody the culture, according to HR.

Board members must keep an eye on how the culture changes.

Ensure that culture adapts to strategic changes.

HR needs to improve workplace culture.

3. How can multi-brand businesses spanning cultures and locations create their brands?

Globalization has significantly impacted enterprises as a whole. Numerous hypotheses have already been put up to emphasize globalization's positive, negative, and ugly aspects. Several nations from Asia, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and South America have reopened their markets and made the first step in an open market economy in recent years. As would be expected, there have been significant alterations. However, the professionals delivering Brand Management Assignment Help Canada have listed some points that can be taken into account to aspire in cross-cultural settings.

Cultural variations affect branding.

Integrate the brand into the fabric of culture.

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The experts have given you an idea to answer the first three questions out of five. If you are assigned two other topics and need assignment help, reach out to Online Assignment Bank. It is a website providing free assignment samples to university scholars who struggle with their academic tasks. Hence, connect then and bring an end to all your academic concerns.

[thumperdaetime]

A Gentle Reminder:

if you feel like you're spinning your wheels, and stuck doom scrolling this week -due to the current political landscape. I highly recommend logging off for a bit and seeing if you have the stomach to call a loved one who has political veiws that clash with your own.

social media and news coverage is fantastic for getting info out to people who want to listen, but it is an ineffective tool for actually communicating with people you disagree with.

I'm not a people-scientist but every time i see "yelling at each other online doesn't actually help" and have the energy to look into What does actually help, experts always say that it's empathetic, long term relationships between people that disagree.

so if you have a bunch of nervous political energy and no clearly helpful place to put it right now:

go call your grandmother. talk about the weather, and the way you miss her cooking. give her a real living person to picture The next time a newscaster talks about the radical-left-mob. if you talk to her regularly consider asking what she thinks about the recent political thing. you're not there to debate or prove her wrong or even change her mind. just listen to someone you love confess their fears, and then share your own fears. you are probably actually on the same side when you get down to it. you both want a safe place to live and the people you love to be happy, (most people do) its just you dont agree about how to go about that.

text your little cousin a random meme, when they send back a thing about how voting is a scam, let it go. share a vine to find out if they know the deep lore. make plans to meet up and play whatever video game they're obsessed with right now. and if the vibe is right and its not going to become an argument, try talking a bit about why the whole not voting movement scares you. don't talk down to them, talk like your two friends who respect each other's opinion (Thats The whole goal actually) ask them why they think its a good strategy, collaborate on other activist things you can do together. included them in your politics instead of dismissing their points.

and its not easy, as wild as it is to think about having a deep but pleasant conversation with your worst Uncle. the fact remains that Your Problematic & Uncle is much more likely to speak up for gay rights. if you can get to a place where you enjoy each others company, and you feel safe talking to him about your struggles as a queer person. and to be fair, you are more likely to take into account the effects of a gun ban on the local wildlife balance, if you sit through your Problematic Uncle complaining about how local restrictions made deer season hard to do last year, and now the tic population is up and the food banks are empty.

divide and conquer is a long standing tactical strategy. and we have seen that fascist in particular like to divide people into a hierarchy of ""real people""" and an ""inhuman enemy"" . when we let their rhetoric turn our peers and neighbors into an inhuman enemy, we can loose sight of what we should actually be fighting for and against.

and if you spend all your time yelling at Doug Nobody who was taking an angry shit when you were typing out that essay, you take energy away from the real fight (the systems and actual active oppressors). the best way to stop that tactic is by standing together with people outside of the box you've been assigned (as much as ethically possible). and refusing to let the system make you perpetuate usless infighting.

When we let the political fandom (yes i mean the media made around politics and not actual political action) act as a wedge between us and people who could have been in our lives, we end up with weaker support groups and less per review for political ideas. it is easy to believe Q-anon if the only people you talk to believe in Q-anon. the same way it is easy to believe that Taylor Swift is a lesbian if everyone you talk to believes Taylor Swift is a lesbian. sometimes we need a person to stop and say "wait, can you run that idea by me again? it doesn't fit my perception of reality"

and Yes. it is probably unlikely at this point to convince someone who has voted one way their whole life to change their political views before November. but that doesn't mean we dont reach-out ever. there will still be politics in September and October, you will still need a diverse support group, and people you trust to bounce political ideas off of. and if you are as worried as i am about this upcoming election, it is very possible that having a community of people who are okay with working together despite political differences will be very helpful in the coming years. (and holding a meaningful, satisfying conversation with someone you disagree with on a fundamental issue is a huge skill to have if you want to take part in alot of activism, community building, or family gatherings)

a quick list of things Op is NOT Saying in this post:

it is your duty and responsibility to do this thing and you're a bad person for not doing it.

this is really easy and everyone should be able (and willing) to take on the emotional energy needed to do this for everyone they know who doesn't agree with them.

watching news or being on social media doesn't help anything.

this is the best way to help and there are no other things you should be doing with your time/energy.

the conversations will be pleasant and/or will always have a positive outcome.

any beliefs i listed together are some how morally equivalent.

you should compromise your beliefs for the sake of getting along with others.

the best answer is most likely centrist because both sides are extremists.

voting this one time will fix all of the things and you're evil if you are conflicted about it.

voting is the best way for a single individual to enact change in their country.

i love the president, and the candidates, and the voting system, and the two parties, and the electoral college, and the bombs, and the genocide and all the death and corruption and violence its all holding up and being held up by.

we should listen to "both sides" to get a fair and balanced picture of the issue

we should let nazis, and bigots, and fascist talk openly about their ideas openly as if its not hate speech calling for violence against marginalized people.

you Have to go reconnect with your abusers and toxic relationships from your past in the hopes you can convince them to vote correctly.

the current political thing that made me make this post is The Most Important Thing!!! that has ever happened in the whole world over all of written history, and we should all be talking about it for forever, otherwise you're helping the inhuman enemy!!!

things are already fucked so theirs no point in trying to get enough votes.

things will be fine and ok if nothing changes and we just keep on this projected path forward.

i know so much and am so smart and I've solved political discourse and if only everyone listened to me we would have world peace already.

Taylor Swift is a wlw

things I am saying. now. here. at the end of the post:

be kind. go look at the sky. i love you <3

[avengerscompound]

The Interview - Chapter 12

The Interview - A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Rating:  E

Warnings: Mentions of sex

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Melody Danes

Word Count:   1831

Summary:  Melody Danes gets the break of a lifetime when as a lowly intern, she’s assigned to write a profile piece on Captain America.  Steve Rogers is a hard man not to fall for and as she and Melody get closer and Melody’s career takes off, jealousy leads to sabotage, and the potential to bring her whole world crashing down.

Chapter 12

The trip away with Steve seemed to cement what Melody and Steve had as a committed romantic relationship rather than just two people seeing if they hit it off.  In the handful of weeks since the trip they had started to dot in more domestic dates around their more romantic ones.  They were both still very busy with their prospective jobs, but he’d duck around to the DB to meet her for lunch on any day he was free.  She’d go to the tower after work a few days a week between her time in the office at the DB and her waitressing job.  On her days off she would sleep over at the tower and have dinner and breakfast in his apartment, and despite neither of them being fantastic cooks, they’d make the effort to cook together.  They’d even started doing things like going to the supermarket together, not because Steve needed to, but because he wanted to spend that time with Melody.

The weekend away had also been fantastic for Bobbi and Bucky’s relationship.  While Melody didn’t know exactly what had happened behind the scenes, Melody had told Bobbi that she should be safe telling Bucky that she was a trans woman.  A week after that, Bucky had started sleeping over.

Bobbi was busier than Melody and her moments with Bucky were stolen in the middle of the night.  He’d meet her at work and they’d sneak into the apartment together, and the following day, she and Bucky would often end up catching the train back into the city with Melody.  The development in the relationship did highlight one thing.

Melody really needed to move.

Bucky was such a quiet man in every other aspect of his life.  Snarky for sure.  Flirty.  But quiet.  That wasn’t true for the bedroom.  She could be fast asleep when they snuck in at two in the morning and they wouldn’t wake her until the moans and banging of the bed against the wall woke her up.

The time of sharing a one-bedroom apartment might be coming to a close.

When Bobbi and Melody had first moved to New York, they’d barely had a dollar between them.  They’d found the cheapest possible place they could find while staying on the island of Manhattan and keeping their travel time into Midtown feasible.  That place was the one-bedroom flat in a run-down apartment complex on the Upper West Side.  They’d both needed to work two jobs to cover rent and utilities, and their expendable income didn’t always leave enough for anything else.  Their social lives and whether they ate sometimes came down to the generosity of the people who employed them.  As they’d established themselves more, Bobbi had gotten the better paying and more reliable work and she’d practically been supporting Melody while she tried to make it as a writer.

Now Melody could officially say she’d made it.  Money was still tight, but she was making enough with the column to pay rent and expenses.  With the profile pieces and waitressing work, she was feeling fairly comfortable.  There was a little savings nest growing in her bank account.  Not to mention the Daily Bugle was looking at yet another branching off into online content of a similar vein to BuzzFeed and she’d been approached to work as an editor and curator for it, as she was the youngest person on the team, and she had built a good rapport with quite a few celebrities.  If she took the job, she’d not only be able to return the favor Melody had paid her and support her as she focused more on her acting career, but they might be able to afford to pay for a two-bedroom apartment as well.

Melody was up and dressed, sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop writing.  Which mostly involved checking her finances and browsing the internet for apartments for rent while occasionally clicking back on her document link and adding another sentence to her piece.  She had her headphones in playing music a little louder than she normally would because about an hour into her work, that now, way too familiar moaning and banging of the headboard and started up in the bedroom.

It meant that she didn’t notice when Bobbi came out of the bedroom looking disheveled in her mismatched cami set and went into the bathroom.  She didn’t notice when she came back out and knocked on the bedroom door before heading over to Melody and looking over her shoulder.  She didn’t notice Bucky coming out of the bedroom in just a pair of boxer shorts and heading into the bathroom.  So when Bobbi tapped her on the shoulder, Melody nearly jumped out of her skin.

She pulled her earbuds out and looked up at her cousin.  “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I thought you would be with Steve,” she said.  “What are you doing here?  Looking for a new apartment?” 

Melody spun around in her chair and clapped her hands on her thighs.  “I have news!”

“Please don’t tell me you and Steve are thinking of moving in with each other,” she said.  “It is way too soon for that!”

“I’m not moving in with Steve,” Melody laughed.  “Jesus, Bobbi.  He took me out of town to do the deed for the first time, you think we’d be moving in three weeks later?  We haven’t even said the ‘L’ word yet.”

“So what are you doing?” she asked, standing back and folding her arms.

“So I don’t know if you know this, but you and Bucky are extremely loud when you fuck,” Melody answered.

Bobbi yelped and covered her face.  “What?  Oh no! I mean, yes I know but I didn’t know you could hear us!  Oh my god!  Mel!  I’m so sorry!  Oh my god, please don’t move out!  I’ll muffle him somehow.”

“I’m not going to move out!” Melody laughed, taking Bobbi by the wrists and pulling her hands down.  “Look.  When we moved here and I got the internship, you told me to take it and that you’d pay a bigger portion of the rent so I could work toward getting my dream job as a writer. I know you’ve been chasing yours too, but I always said if I make it, I’d tell you to quit your job and take over that part of the rent because it’s only fair you get to devote your time to chasing yours.”

“You know I have been,” she said. “I act.  I audition.”

“Yeah, but you work all the time,” Melody argued.  “And besides - there’s been a development.  The Daily Bugle is branching out into light online content aimed at people in their twenties.  You know - quizzes, silly interviews, the kind of product reviews where you just sit and eat fifty types of cookies in a row and rank them?  And I’ve been asked to head it.”

“Are you serious?” Bobbi squealed, grabbing Melody’s hands and jumping up and down.  “Oh my god!  That’s amazing!  You’re doing it!  We need to celebrate!”

Melody couldn’t help the huge smile that broke out on her face.  She hadn’t told anyone about the impending promotion.  It was new, but Bobbi was the person she told these things to first.  Bobbi pulled her into a hug and rocked her side to side.

“Okay, okay,” Melody laughed, hugging the taller woman back.  “It’s not official yet.  They might decide I’m not qualified enough - which quite frankly would be fair.”

“Still,” Bobbi said, pulling back to look at her. “The fact they even came to you with the possibility is amazing!”

“And it means we can get a bigger place, and if you want you can just have a normal human amount of jobs because I can pay the bigger amount of rent now!” Melody said.

“Oh my god!” Bobbi squealed and started jumping up and down with Melody.  “Can you even imagine it?  We can have an actual living room!”

“And you guys can be super noisy and I won’t hear!” Melody added.  “And you should see the ones I think we can afford.  One is two stories!  And one has a washer and drier!”

“We won’t have to cart our stuff to a laundromat!” Bobbi squealed.

Melody stopped and pulled back, taking her hands.  “And Bobbi… I probably shouldn’t be saying this, partially because it’s still up in the air, and even if I will get the job and even if I do, I don’t know how much final say I get on every aspect,” she babbled.

“What,” Bobbi said, sharply shaking Melody’s hands to snap her out of it. “Tell me.”

“Well we need presenters, and I think I might be one of the people who get to choose.  It probably won’t just be up to me, but if you wanted it, I am fairly sure I could pull strings to get you an audition,” she said.

“What?” she yelped.  “Oh my god, that would be amazing!”

The women began to jump up and down, screaming again, hugging each other tightly.

Bucky stepped out of the bathroom and watched them with an amused expression on his face.  “What are we celebrating?” he said, his voice still gravelly with sleep.

“Mel is getting a promotion and we might be able to move into a bigger place!” Bobbi said.

“Congratulations!” Bucky said, with a sleepy smile.  “Does Steve know?”

Melody shook her head.  “No.  I wanted to tell Bobbi first.  And it’s not official anyway.”

“He’ll love to hear it.  If you want to call him we can take you out for a celebratory lunch before this one has to get to work again,” he said.  “I mean the two of us can take you if you want to keep it a secret from Steve.  I’ll pay.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Melody said. “But I will tell him.”

“Oh let him,” Bobbi said.  “It’ll be nice.”

“Okay,” Melody conceded.  “Thank you, Bucky.  But nothing too expensive.  Just a diner.”

“You call Steve, and we’ll take a shower,” he said.

He grabbed Bobbi’s hand and pulled her toward the bathroom again.

“Hey, Bobbi,” Melody called as Bucky led her toward the bathroom.  Bobbi looked back at her, and Melody pressed a finger to her lips.  “Shhh…”

Bobbi squawked and broke down into giggles. “I’ll do my best.”

When they were out of the room, Melody relaxed again, closing out the tabs on her phone.  It felt like her life had reached a massive turning point.  She was in a serious relationship.  She had a proper career that was progressing quickly, and she was close to living in an apartment with her own room.  She’d had her break, and everything was falling into place.  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and for a second, she just enjoyed that feeling before she picked up her headphones, put them back in her ears, and called Steve.

// NEXT

[jampc]

sweetener ; prologue

chapter 1

a/n:

i had so much fun writing this scenario and imagining reader's financial struggles. sugar daddy jotaro to the rescue lol :P let me know what you think and check out my other fics <3

pairing:

jotaro x fem!reader

warnings: power imbalance

abuse of power?

tags: sugar daddy, sugar baby, student, professor

you stared blankly at your bank account, sighing deeply as you mentally tallied your meager income from your part-time job at the local convenience store.

just thinking about your rent for the month was making your head spin, and you couldn't even afford to splurge on a nice meal once in a while.

you could barely scrounge up enough money to pay your tuition, let alone buy the textbooks you needed for your classes.

it didn't help that your professor was taking a sabbatical leaving you with dr. kujo as your stand-in lecturer.

dr. kujo was a no-nonsense professor who seemed to have zero tolerance for late assignments or excuses.

his lectures were strict and demanding, requiring you to keep up with every word he said.

still, you couldn't deny that he was easy on the eyes, despite his grumpy demeanor.

the way his crisp, white lab coat accentuated his broad shoulders, or how his hat hid his piercing blue eyes made your heart race.

it didn't matter anyway, he probably had a gorgeous wife or husband waiting for him after class.

you sat patiently during his lecture, scribbling notes diligently when suddenly, you heard someone clear their throat.

looking up, you realized dr. kujo had called on you, and you were zoning out instead of answering.

"where is your text book?" he asked sternly, gesturing to your empty desk.

"o-oh, um..." you stuttered, blushing hard. "i couldn't afford to buy it this semester.

"i've been copying my friend's notes and trying to look up the chapters online."

dr. kujo raised a brow, his eyes softening slightly as he watched your embarrassment deepen.

"go to the library after class," he instructed.

"get a photocopy and a notebook. don't come to my class unprepared again."

you nodded eagerly, grateful that he was allowing you a second chance.

as class ended and everyone began shuffling out, you gathered your things and headed for the library, but were interrupted by a voice calling your name.

turning around, you came face to face with dr. kujo standing before you, his large hands in his pockets as he looked down at you.

"let me drive you to the library," he offered, nodding his head toward the parking lot.

you couldn't believe your luck, not only was dr. kujo tolerating your financial struggles, but now he was willing to give you a ride as well.

climbing into his sleek, black car, you admired the interior, marveling at the plush leather seats and wood trim.

everything about it screamed luxury, and you wondered if dr. kujo always drove such a beautiful vehicle.

as you arrived at the library, dr. kujo parked and turned to you, his icy gaze meeting yours.

"come to my office tomorrow afternoon," he instructed.

"we need to talk." your heart raced at his words, wondering if you were in trouble or if maybe, just maybe, dr. kujo saw potential in you.

the next day, you anxiously knocked on his office door, shifting uncomfortably as he bid you inside.

dr. kujo gestured to the chair in front of his desk, watching silently as you sat, smoothing your skirt before clasping your hands tightly in your lap.

"you struggle financially," he stated bluntly, startling you.

"how badly do you want a better life?" you blinked rapidly, unsure what he meant.

dr. kujo stood and rounded his desk, towering over you as he leaned against the edge.

your breath caught in your throat, your cheeks burning as you stared up at him.

"dr. kujo, why did you call me down here-" "jotaro," he corrected, cutting you off.

"outside of class, you can call me jotaro." you swallowed thickly, noting his intense expression.

"answer my question. how badly do you want a better life?" you chewed your lip, uncertain of his motives.

was he mocking you? making fun of your financial situation?

"i-i do. very badly," you finally replied, unable to break his gaze.

jotaro tilted his head, a faint smile forming on his lips.

"i'm willing to offer you a unique arrangement" he explained.

"i'll become your... benefactor of sorts."

your mouth fell open, realization hitting you like a freight train.

jotaro was proposing becoming your sugar daddy.

spoon-feeding you lavish gifts and spoiling you rotten in exchange for a few dates.

part of you was repulsed, ashamed that you were considering such an arrangement.

but the other part craved the lifestyle jotaro was offering, desperate to feel the finer things you never thought possible.

"what would this arrangement entail?"

you asked softly, already knowing the answer. jotaro slipped a business card onto his desk, his long fingers gently sliding it towards you.

"discuss terms and expectations with my personal assistant."

he instructed. "when you agree, you will sign a legally binding contract.

she will handle the finances and coordinate our... meetings."

you took the card and slipped it into your purse, rising to your feet slowly.

"that is if you agree, of course," jotaro added, returning to his chair behind his desk.

you smiled shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "give me tonight to decide," you promised, excusing yourself as you left his office.

walking home, you weighed the pros and cons, torn between morals and desire.

that evening, as you rummaged through a fast food bag, struggling to budget your groceries for the week, you made your choice.

you pulled out jotaro's business card and dialed his assistant's number, excitement and shame blooming in your chest as she discussed terms and expectations.

[magpiecollectingknowledge]

prepping for new year

so i'm starting my second year of university doing biblical studies and theology soon, and doing so i have to be prepared because spiritually i am a boy scout.

notion is close to being done! when i get more information about my assignments i'll add more to it and i'll also be able to change the layout to fit the focus of my modules.

i've got a journal type thing that i've decorated to be my centre of operations. i like to have a book that i can put admin stuff like key dates, assignments, to do lists and module information to help me keep everything organised. i also like to have a place to put my post-it notes, as otherwise my desk becomes a literal mosaic of various luminous colours covered in all my scribbles, so this book helps me keep everything i need to remember and do in one place.

okay i have a confession - i have an unhealthy stationery collecting habit. i have hundreds of pens, a lot of different types of notepads and so many highlighters. an absolutely obscene very cool and normal amount of highlighters. organising them is my idea of a wild night out - except it's a nerdy night in where i sort all of my pens into three categories and pack them into separate pencils cases. in preparing for uni, i have done this organising for my pens, etc, and i've also collected my paper resources.

have you seen that vaguely problematic meme that's like 'i have two wolves inside me'? well that's me but one wolf says 'type all your notes' and the other wolf says 'handwrite your notes.' i can never stick to one type of notes and it is the bane of my existence. to try to minimise resistance when it comes to note-taking, i've got myself a few notepads that i tear paper out and file it away, along with my notion set-up, and google docs. i've found that handwritten notes work best for when i'm brainstorming, making notes on sources for assignments, and times when i want to draw diagrams, mind maps or messy notes that have lots of connections between concepts.

textbooks bought, bank account cries. (if you're in the uk i recommend an online second hand bookstore called world of books that has a lot of textbooks that are uni level and is way more affordable than buying them new or from your university)

so, i hope you're all well, and if you're going back to/starting university or college, good luck! you've got this! ciao! magpie 🖤

[darkwing-katy]

🤳🤯📝🎬

Lost ask found here!

🤳 What is your favorite behind the scenes clip/blooper?

I mentioned it in the last ask, but I haven’t watched any of the BTS or blooper reels because most of the time, they don’t have subtitles and I can’t understand most of what people are saying and it makes me angry, haha. I feel like I should look online and see if I can find bloopers with subtitles, though, because I feel like the bloopers AND behind the scenes clips would be amazing!

🤯 What do you think was the best plot twist?

Like, so many of them were good!! I absolutely loved the reveal of Henry Gale as the leader of the Others, and I loved the reveal of what was in the Hatch, and that John Locke was in the coffin at the end of season 4, but I gotta say, the best plot twist was the one that got me hooked on the whole dang show, which was the polar bear on the island. Like my brain was boggled. “Where are we?” Charlie asks. “WHERE ARE THEY?!?!?” I demanded to my mom, and then we hit play and watched the very next episode because I NEEDED TO KNOW.

📝 Pick a few characters and assign them superlatives (hoooo boi):

-Best Hair: James “Sawyer” Ford and Sayid Jarrah (I love his curls okay); be very hilarious if John Locke won this superlative though

-Biggest Celebrity Lookalike: Desmond Hume (he looks a LOT like David Tennent to me, okay?!)

-Most Likely to Show Up Late to Class with Starbucks: either Claire Littleton or Shannon Rutherford, I don’t know why, but that’s who comes to mind

-Most Likely to Break (Into) the Bank: Kate Austen. 😂 Sorry. Couldn’t help myself. Though I suspect in all reality, it would be either Sawyer or Hurley (that lottery ticket!!!)

-Most Gullible: John Locke (is it mean? a little. is it accurate? yes. poor guy)

🎬 If there had to be a spinoff/sequel/reboot, what would you want the most?

I legit think it would be adorable to see a spinoff about Hurley and Ben (and eventually Walt) dismantling the DHARMA Initiative if only so I could see Hurley take care of Ben and introduce him to pop culture and also heal all that shit the poor guy’s gone through by showing that he is cared about. But I also love Ben, so I’m very biased.

I would also love to know what happens to Aaron in the end. Like, does he ever go back to the Island? He was born there—what if he has a connection to it and it calls to him in his dreams or something? He has visions of people who died there, kinda like Hurley, maybe, and even though he shouldn’t remember it (he was just a baby!!!)? He has vivid memories of events that happen and he’s gotta figure out why. That’d be fun.

This is so much fun!!! Thanks for asking!!