#bewildering business strategy

[disneyprincemuke]

mastermind * op81

oscar did not expect that he had to share a bed with you during his trip to visit you over his break

pairings: oscar piastri x fem!reader

word count: 2k

notes: guys omg i've just been so squashed mentally so i've kinda been struggling to write but no worries,, here is a long overdue and that promised forced one bed trope with oscar <3

(f1 masterlist)

leaving you behind so he could travel the world was never part of the plan that oscar had mapped out in his head. and you packing up to move several hours away for grad school also was not the plan.

it just makes it all the harder during his short breaks to come and see you. his breaks are truly barely considered one, always asked to come down to headquarters for meetings and strategy talks.

but this time is different. he’s finally managed to shake off his duties this one time, taking a train to finally go and visit you.

there’s a festival nearby, or maybe a concert — he can’t remember which specifically — that didn’t allow him to book a hotel room for himself. besides, the solution is easy when you’ve been friends your whole life; he was just looking for a room out of courtesy and respect for your space.

but when you stepped forward and told him he’s being silly for looking at hotels, he knew that was your subtle way of telling him that he will be staying with you during his stay.

so here he is, a heavy and bulky backpack over his shoulders as his eyes bore on the door of your apartment. he hears some shuffling on the other side before the lock clicks, followed by squeaking as the door is pulled open.

it reveals you, hair up in a bun with your glasses sitting on your nose. you’re still in your pyjamas, he’s guessing you never left your apartment to prepare it for him.

“oscar!” you squeal, throwing your arms into the air. “you’re here!”

he beams and holds his arms out. “you knew i was coming!”

“i know, but i’m just so excited to have you here!” you finally take a step forward and bury yourself into his chest. “it’s been a while — you’ve just been so busy and unattainable.”

“unattainable is a bit much,” oscar chuckles as you open the door slightly wider and beckon to let him in, “just didn’t have the time to come down to you. but i still talked to you.”

you shrug, “i know.”

“well anyway,” he says, putting his bag down on the empty spots next to your couch, “thank you so much for letting me stay. if i didn’t know any better, i’d assume that you somehow hijacked the odds of all the hotels not having rooms available for my stay.”

you laugh, looking over your shoulder to give him a bewildered stare. “i’m not that powerful, oscar.”

it’s only then he realises that your couch was not prepped to be a bed, unlike what he had been expecting when he took up your generous offer to stay in your apartment. it’s not exactly his first time sleeping over at your place, but you almost always prepared your couch to be a bed when he pays a visit, which does not seem to be the case this time around.

“hey?” he calls out hesitantly, looking over his shoulder to get your attention as you trudge the kitchen by yourself. “the couch isn’t made up like a bed… did you forget or something?”

you tilt your head, convincingly confused at him. your eyes trail to the couch behind him before realisation hits you. “oh!” you break into a soft laugh as you approach him. “well, you see… it’s a new couch and it’s so fancy and pink — you can’t possibly sleep on it!”

oscar scans your couch. and to your defense, it does look very pristine and new, and very pink. he can understand where you’re coming from when you claim that he should not sleep on it.

“so, you know,” you say in a slightly softer voice, looking down to the ground to avoid his gaze, “we can share my bed — it’s more comfortable anyway. you wouldn’t get a good night’s rest on this tiny couch.”

oscar turns to look at you before he shrugs. “sure, i guess you know best.”

“i swear!” you squeal, guiding him towards your bedroom to let him settle his things inside. “the couch is too small for you.”

he can only keep laughing at the way you continue to defend your decision to let him share the bed with you.

this situation is less than ideal for him. not only has he spent years of your friendship silently pining for you, but now he is forced to share a bed with you for a week.

though, arguably, this is the best way to finally ease himself into asking you out. but he just can’t be too sure unless he hears it from your lips, telling him that you feel the same. but you’re not saying anything directly to his face.

oscar tries to push away the nerves from sharing a bed with you for the rest of the day. you go out and explore the town you’ve spent the past couple of months in, trying new dishes and taking him to your favourite spots. he enjoys the day with you, not having realised that he missed having you around this much in the time you spent apart.

he couldn’t make it out for your graduation, which sucked, but you claimed that it’s okay because he’s got a big boy job unlike you.

he completely forgot about the situation at hand. the one he spent almost half the afternoon thinking and stressing over, but went away the minute you were laughing at a joke he had made nonchalantly.

it wasn’t until he stepped out of the shower and saw you already passed out on the bed that he suddenly remembered that he was going to have to share the bed with you for the next few nights. you were comfortably nuzzled into one side of the bed with the blankets pulled up all the way to your chin.

oscar almost bails on sleeping on the bed with you, weighing how much more painful it could be if he just made up some stupid excuse and slept on the floor instead. ultimately, he deemed that it would be completely not worth the body pain if did that.

so he sucks it up and dragged his feet against the floor to join you in bed. he tries to carefully lie on the bed without waking you up, suddenly feeling slightly claustrophobic even though you had pushed yourself so far to the edge of the bed that he fears you might fall out at some point in the night.

alas, when the bed dips, he flinches at the way your eyes fluttered open and a lazy grin stretches your lips. “hey,” you croak out before turning to the other side of the bed to give him his space.

“sorry i woke you up,” oscar whispers, hesitantly climbing under the blankets. “goodnight.”

“goodnight, oscar.”

it takes him a while, but he does eventually fall asleep. all he could think of until he passed out was the fact that he is sharing a bed with you for the first time in your friendship. he truly doesn’t know how to act knowing that your back was pressed up against his as he drifted off to sleep.

however, he does have a very good rest. perhaps it was how soft your bed was that contributed to how well he slept. or maybe it’s the pair of arms strewn loosely over his stomach or the face nuzzled into his arm and– wait a second.

oscar opens his eyes, hyperaware of the way your body is now tangled in his with the blankets loosely covering both of your bodies. he wants to move your hand away or excuse himself before he lets his heart take over his mind and do something he might spend the rest of his life regretting.

you don’t seem to be bothered, because as if you had sensed it out of him, you pull your arm back to rub your eyes. “morning.”

“uh,” he hesitates to look at you, “hi?”

you hum, squeaking at the end. “something wrong?”

“you were um,” oscar clears his throat. he should just ask you out, shouldn’t he? he tries to reason out with him as fast as he can without worrying you. you’ve practically cuddled — for god knows how long through the night — and shared a bed; what could go wrong, right?

he will deal with the consequences if your answer is not as expected.

“what is it?” you pull back slightly and furrow your eyebrows. “what do you think we should have for breakfast?”

he blurts it out, which is not the way he envisioned himself ever asking you out. he considers himself calmer than the average person but there was something about your somehow forced proximity. “i like you a lot.”

“what?” you laugh, pulling back even more as your eyes widen.

oscar stares at you as he feels the whiplash of his decision hit him. he knew it. he should not have asked you out now; the rest of his trip would definitely be awkward the rest of his trip. he should have just asked you on his last day so he could spend the time apart getting past the embarrassment of getting rejected.

of thinking that asking his friend out is a good idea.

“oscar,” you laugh again, scrambling to sit up. his cheeks heat up, clenching his jaw as the embarrassment consumes his body whole. “of course, i like you too.”

he looks at you from the corners of his eyes, arms folded over his chest. he hears his heart in his ears, his entire body running from the sheer adrenaline of finally confessing to you about something he’s had to keep in his chest for years. “seriously?”

“you are so cute,” you put a hand on your chest and tilt your head. “how can i not?”

oscar lets out a heavy breath, his airways clearing at the positive ending the situation is seeing. “so can i take you out on a date today? if you don’t mind that we stray from your itinerary, of course… i know you spent a long time coming up with it.”

you shake your head, unable to contain the growing smile on your face. “i don’t care — we’re going on a date!”

— bonus

oscar stands up from his seat, starting to gather the used plates that littered your dining table. he’s found the time to be the one to visit you once more, after a long triple header of races, so he came down instead of having you travel out for him.

your first date went well, of course, and that eventually led to a second date. by the third date, oscar mustered up the courage once more to ask you to be his girlfriend.

you’d been friends for so long that it didn’t really matter when he asked you to make it official. at that point, it just felt long overdue when you also admitted that you’d had feelings for him for a while.

he catches a glimpse of your neat couch, pillows and a throw blanket stacked in the corner again like clockwork. he hears you walk out of the kitchen, handing him a glass of cold water. “you know… if you weren’t so weird about your new fancy couch, i probably never would have confessed my feelings to you.”

you put your glass down on the table and walk over to the couch without another word, pulling the cushions off and throwing it on the ground nonchalantly. oscar’s eyebrows shoot up as you unfold the bed, revealing the sofa bed that you had owned this entire time. “i know!” you beam, throwing your arms in the air.

he stares at you. “you… what?”

“yeah!” you squeak, now returning the cushions to show him the set-up of the sofa bed. “i orchestrated it all!”

“you’re sneaky!”

@33-81 @darleneslane @namgification @nikfigueiredo @happy-nico

[pumperpup]

In the heart of a lively metropolis, Felix, a mischievous prankster with a sly grin, was infamous for his peculiar antics. He wielded a special dart gun, a bizarre device that, when fired, caused the belly of his target to swell to comical proportions. His favorite targets? Handsome men around the city.

Felix spotted a gym trainer, muscles rippling as he ran. With a swift shot, the trainer's tight athletic wear struggled to contain his now enormous belly. He stopped, bewildered, poking at his new girth.

The barista, engrossed in crafting the perfect latte, didn't notice Felix lurking nearby. A quick shot, and his apron stretched comically over his expanded belly, causing a stir among the cafe's customers who burst into laughter.

The two victims, initially embarrassed but soon finding humor in their situation, realized they shared a common prankster. They decided it was time for a little payback. Joining forces, they embarked on a playful mission to turn the tables on Felix.

They tracked Felix down, their determination matching their temporarily altered physiques. Surprising him on a busy city street, they cornered the prankster. With a mix of strategy and a dash of luck, they managed to snatch his special dart gun away.

Now, the prankster became the pranked. With a swift press of the trigger, Felix's belly began to swell, just like his victims'. The sight of the notorious prankster with a massive belly caused an uproar of laughter among the crowd that had gathered.

[pisupsala]

One for The History Books [Chapter 3] [Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw]

[Summary] You are an archivist at the Pentagon, sent on assignment to TOPGUN to catalog and report on a top secret mission. In the days under the Californian sun, a certain naval aviator puts your once orderly life in a tailspin that you might never recover from.

[Pairing] Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x fem!reader / Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x fem!oc

[Warnings] Mature content: swearing, eventual (explicit) smut. 18+ only.

[Words] 1.9k

[Index] All Chapters | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Epilogue

[Library]

One for The History Books - Chapter 3: Strain “So, are you fucking him?” The question stops you dead in your tracks. You stare at Riks, who has not stopped walking and is not looking back. You speed up to catch up with him, arms full of paperwork, and a bewildered look on your face. You left the chow hall a few minutes ago, and are en route to your offices. You have less than an hour to fix the report that was rejected, but you are not worried about that. As an archivist, you are kind of a digital hoarder, and you've saved the file with all your edits in there. It will take longer to print it again and run it to the Vice Admiral's office than to actually edit it. “Who—what are you talking about?” Was this a new deflection strategy? He's angry he just got reprimanded, and you were entrusted with fixing it by a commanding officer, so he's looking to take you down a peg?

“You and Bradshaw were getting quite cozy at breakfast.” He still hasn't even spared you a glance. “Do you need reminding about the rules around fraternization?” “It's hardly strange for people to have polite conversation and a meal in the workplace, Riks.” You keep your voice purposefully light. “And the chow hall is hardly cozy.” You walk in silence for half a minute. Riks finally glances at you over his shoulder and scoffs.

“Yeah, you're right. Whatever could someone like Bradshaw want with someone like you, anyway.”

You blanch. But he continues:

“You're just a plain civilian dust bunny from the archives.” That stings, as much as you hate to admit it. Sure, you probably don't stand a snowball's chance in hell with Bradshaw, but there's no need for Riks to attack your persona like that. You hold the folders against your chest like a shield. What an utterly shit thing to say. Unprofessional to boot.

“That comment was uncalled for, Corporal, and you know it.” Your voice steely. Another scoff. “Learn how to take a joke, Williams.” Sometimes, you just can't win.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's nearing noon, and you haven't had a moment to sit and think. So much so, you've barely had time to register your missed breakfast through the never-ending stream of coffee you were pouring yourself.

Which is as well, you think, somewhat bitterly, as you really don't want to dwell too much on whatever happened that morning—be it the precarious flirting (was it flirting?) or the shitty comments that followed. It's good to keep busy. A large crate has been deposited in your office, and you need to start fitting in all the cartons of paperwork in there to be sent back to the Pentagon. God, why was there so much paper to deal with? It's giving you more of a workout than anticipated. The crate is high and comes up almost about to your waist. Pushing the boxes and cartons around to line the bottom snugly, forces you to practically bend over completely at the waist, face down into the crate. Which pretty much describes your current predicament. Your upper body stretched down the crate, straining to push a carton into a somewhat too-tight space at the bottom of the crate. “Come on…you'll fit.” You sweetly cajole the carton. “Just a little more, don't be scared…” Lifting one leg off the ground to give yourself a bit more leverage, you feel your shoe slipping off your heel and dangling by your toe. Classy. The carton is almost in, but you're losing patience. The edge of the crate is digging into your waist, the blood is slowly going to your head. You grunt and give the carton a resounding smack, and it finally slides in. You plant your fist against the offending object again for good measure.  “Told you you'd fit.” You sigh as you finally stretch yourself back upright. Your neck prickles, as you feel someone staring at you. As you turn towards your office door, you kind of wish you could just disappear into the crate and off this plane of reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Almost on a whim, Bradley Bradshaw had picked up a coffee and some pastries at the on-base store on his break after morning briefing. Dropping off a little pick-me-up to someone who missed breakfast over work, was just a gentlemanly thing to do, after all.

Nothing more, he told himself. Just friendly.

As he arrived at your office door, which had been open to letting fresh air in, he stopped short of knocking on the frame to announce himself. Instead, he stopped at the sight before him. As you are bent over into the crate, your skirt is pulled tight over your ass, the seam almost straining. He swallows. You softly sweet-talking the carton is conjuring images in his mind that would be, in the nicest way possible, unprofessional. As your leg lifts off the ground, and you bend your knee, your skirt rides up more than would be acceptable in the workplace. Lt. Bradshaw feels torn. Just a little bit more, and you would probably flash him your underwear. He wonders idly what kind you wear… No. This is no good. He has enough on his mind with the mission and Maverick suddenly showing up again, and adding an office romance to that is not a good idea. An awful, horrible, no good idea. He watches your shoe dangle off your foot. It's almost deliberately provocative. He allows his eyes to rake over your form—dark thoughts filling his mind. Do you blush as sweetly when you're turned on, as when you're angry? He feels the urge to find out how far down that blush goes. How good would you look, legs wrapped around his waist, flustered, eyes glazed…or bent over your own desk.

A smack shakes him from his thoughts. Oh fuck. He dropped by with good intentions, but spending the last five minutes just staring from the doorway, was decidedly ungentlemanly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You swallow heavily and nervously smooth down your skirt. Leaning against the door frame, in all his flight suit-clad glory, is Lt. Bradshaw. You are keenly aware the quick bun you put your hair in is probably looking like a bird's nest on your head from hanging upside down in the crate.

Nervous fingers start pulling out the hairbands as you try to smooth down your hair into a semblance of normalcy. You put a shaky smile on your face, anxious, as Lt. Bradshaw hasn't said a single word yet. “Ah - I  -” You close your eyes for a second, letting out a strained breath, Start again. “What brings you all the way here, Lt. Bradshaw?”  You steel your spine and look straight at him, smiling politely, and continue: “Is there anything I can help you with?” Yes, be professional. Poised. Not a dumpster fire. Or a dust bunny. He quirks an eyebrow at you and smiles: “I was actually dropping by because I have something for you.”

Oh? You blink at him. He makes no move from the doorway, still just casually leaning against the doorpost, his eyes fixed on you. His cheeks have a dusting of pink on them, although his posture gives away nothing but ease. “Well, come in, you've piqued my curiosity now!” You smile. Your lips feel dry, so you run your tongue along them for a split second. You see his eyes widen a fraction. He is approaching you now, just a few steps away from you in the small office.  “So eh -” Lt. Bradshaw seems lost for words for a second. “I hope you don't think it's too forward from me, but I thought you could use a late breakfast—or brunch? — since you were called away this morning.” Is he…rambling? That's actually adorable. “So… I thought you could use a coffee and a snack.” He concludes almost sheepishly.  He holds out a lidded paper cup and a white paper bag. You hadn't noticed he was holding it in the first place, so transfixed by his presence. Your heart jumps.

“I…- ehm- thanks.” You say softly, looking down and taking the coffee and bag from him. Your fingers brush against his, and your stomach clenches. His fingers feel so warm. “I really appreciate it, I-” You stop yourself from talking and smile up at him. A big, genuine smile. He actually thought about you, and even if it was a small gesture, happiness is bubbling up in your chest. He thought about you.

“I suppose you could use all the energy you can get if Simpson is on your case.” He laughs, a devastatingly handsome smile on his face. His eyes are glittering as he regards you. A warmth spreads through you—not the prickly, uncomfortable heat of anger and embarrassment—but a soft glow. “He is quite… particular, but nothing I can't handle.” You quip. “I'm sure you do.” Lt. Bradshaw replies. “He seems to favor you, and he's not easy to impress.” “Trust me, I know.” He adds, almost sardonically. You let out a small giggle. He's only about a step away from you—you can smell his soap and see the thin scars on his sun-kissed face. Just one step closer… You shake the thought. You are in an office, on a naval base— no matter how sexy it sounded to pull an officer down by the collar for his flight suit for a heated kiss, run your fingers through his full honey caramel-colored hair, feel his mustache brush against the column of your neck as he nips it… maybe brush it up against—holy fuck where did this train of thought go? Two things.

One: that's a one-way ticket to unemployment—you are reporting on a mission he is part of. Can you say conflict of interest?  Two: as if you have the balls to do that. Some thoughts are better filed away for late nights when you are alone in your room. He suddenly takes half a step forward. “I have to get going—training prep and stuff.” His fingers brush your upper arm. You blush at the sudden touch, and as you look at him with large eyes, you see a light blush return to his cheeks too.   “Oh yeah, of course.” Your heart is suddenly beating so loudly you're scared he'll hear, standing so close. “Yeah, I have my… files… to sort.” Everything sounds boring compared to flying a fighter yet—but god, sorting files is positively dusty and sleep-inducing.

You quickly change the subject. “But, brunch first! Thanks again. I was so busy, I had completely forgotten.” He smiles as he turns to leave. “See you around, Miss Williams.” “Have a great day, Lt. Bradshaw” He stops in the doorway for a second and looks back at you over his shoulder, a mischievous look on his face. “And don't forget, you owe me two now.” He winks, and disappears into the hallway. You feel as if your legs are going to give out from under you. So you stumble around the crate and sag down to the floor, shielded from the doorway. Oh my god.

What kind of cruel universe would make him not only so good-looking and also nice to you, when you will never have a real chance with him? It almost pains you, how this is the most thoughtful thing someone has done for you in a while, and it's coming from the man you have an unrelenting crush on. A crush. You scoff. Like you're back in college, or worse, high school. Let's be real: he is a hot shot fighter jet pilot, he carries himself with ease and confidence, and he's clearly very, very good at what he does. Precise, thorough—and thoughtful to boot. You can only imagine these character traits extend to other… activities.  It's unlikely you'll ever find out—on pain of losing your job on that one hand, and him being, you know, out of your league. You don't actually think you're particularly unattractive, it's not like you've never been romantically involved before.   But you are an archivist, nothing exciting or sexy about that. And ultimately—hot shot fighter pilots don't go for plain civilian dust bunnies, you think bitterly. You take the lid off your cup—it's a cup of steaming black coffee, and it smells heavenly. You take a small sip. It's so much better than what comes out of the staff coffee maker. You put it down next to you and take a look into the white paper bag.  A flaky strawberry pastry, only a little banged up. You quickly peek over the edge of the crate—no one is near. Good. Eating, flaky pastry no less, near archival material, is a huge no-no. But something in you wants to enjoy this with a modicum of privacy. No one needs to go how you got coffee and pastry from a store from far down the base. Carefully, you take a bite. The moment you taste the sweet and buttery pastry, you realize how incredibly hungry you are. Skipping breakfast sucks at the best of times, but when you are going for an extra early start, doubly so. Maybe, just maybe, it's okay to bask in the illusion that Lt. Bradshaw was being a bit more than polite. That just maybe, he, somewhere, somehow was at least a little bit attracted to you too. And while realistically nothing will come from it, it's a little dream you can dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[note] Oof, this week was a lot busier than expected, as my side gig suddenly really picked up. I really know how to pick my timing with picking up new projects! The next chapter should be coming out faster (famous last words!). Hope you enjoy! [edited and updated March 2023] [taglist] @ponyboys-sunsets | @thatchickwiththecamera | @littlewhiterose | @katieshook02 | @straightforwardly | @zazzysseoul | @rororo06 | @datingbtr | @notalxx | @fresh-new-yoik-watah

[aphilosopherchair]

Confession 91-02

This is a tale of three time-defying knights, but we shall start with humdrum glory.

16 years felt like half an eternity within the high walls of a mansion with seemingly as many rooms as there were visible stars in the night sky. Is there a better half elsewhere? Ilera often pondered. Born to parents who were slaves themselves in this aristocratic household, she spent her days hauling up trash, scrubbing off grime and wringing wet rags while other slave girls giggled among themselves when they could, sharing gossip about its master, who was always hanging out with a Somaku game buddy who practically lived in a house of ill repute. Hear no evil. That was the natural gift of her complete hearing loss. Why not finish the work quickly so that all of us could have time to teach ourselves to read and live second lives in the worlds of books, where we may travel anywhere we want?

Determined to dissuade her husband from spending time with his friend anyway, her mistress was busy mastering the board game herself. Fascinated by the strategy plays, Ilera would watch the piece patterns shift and shape between the couple, bringing life into the once blank numbness of her servitude. Back in the servants' quarters, she would picture the board on the tattered walls and test out move sequences while lying on her pallet.

One fateful night, the master teasingly left a difficult game situation for the lady to solve. As the frustrated lady went for a bathroom break, Ilera toyed with the pieces and found the correct move. Just then, the lady returned and saw Ilera's solution. Enraged, she accused Ilera of trying to seduce the master with her smart aleckiness, gave her a hard slap and tortured her with a burning iron. Ilera felt like she was in a world of fiery torment, her body writhing and wracking in anguish and her mind reeling, trying to escape the torture she was being put through.

As Ilera cried out in pain, two identical knights whose armor glowed with a bluish energy suddenly appeared in the room to save her. Their footsteps were muffled by the pads that lined their boots, and their swords were made of a glossy black material, their sharp edges glistening in the dim light. The knights moved with grace and precision, their movements carefully calculated as they stepped forward to whisk away Ilera. The shocked aristocrat lady could only nod in fear as they admonished her on the girl's rights. Ilera thanked the knights and gestured for their names and addresses so that she could repay them someday.

"Hold up. There's something you should know," one of the knights suddenly spoke up. "We may look like two people, but in fact, we are actually just a single man, a professional bodyguard from the temporal cluster 91-02. We have traveled back in time using a mechanism that caused us to emerge as multiple individuals in order to ensure moa-antimoa balance across spacetime according to the understanding of physics in our time."

"You mean to say that you're actually just one person?" Ilera wondered to herself, completely bewildered as she read his lips. But as they spoke on, she could tell that they were telling the truth.

Her mind blown by this incredible feat, Ilera spent years studying and eventually figured out how to travel to the time zone referred to as temporal cluster 91-02. However, upon her arrival, she realized that a person traveling forward in time would turn up at their destination invisible. Not used to speaking, she could not verbalize her existence either, for fear of startling the bodyguard. Being touched by an invisible entity or seeing writing or the like appear from nowhere would also make meeting again a one-time acquaintance he did not plan to see anymore eerie.

So Ilera merely watched in silence as the bodyguard went about his everyday life, shielding him from danger without him knowing. Sometimes, it involved diverting human and cyborg enemies with noise in a different direction. Sometimes, it involved altering the trajectory of an optoelectronic dart. Sometimes, she blocked off blows with her thin body, taking the hit for him. At night, she traded her imaginary game board for an imaginary map of hazard zones in his next work day's mission, and her shabby pallet for cold pavements.

On one mission, attack from assassins was so intense Ilera frenetically but astutely pulled off a spectacular series of stunts she picked up in the cluster. Just when she defeated the last assassin, a container of glistening rejuvenation capsules overhead toppled over, the translucent pills of liquid blinking with icy golden hues on contact with her body. Touched by the shimmering silhouette of her fighting pose, the bodyguard was finally certain someone invisible had been protecting him. He expressed his thanks out loud and invited Ilera to dinner.

As Ilera sat down at the dinner table, she was surrounded by a sea of colors and shapes, each formed by light bouncing around in seemingly endless layers of reflections and refractions. She reached out to touch the shining crystals forming the table, which rippled outwards as ripples in a pond, bending the light and creating a brilliant display of optical phenomena. The bodyguard gently smiled. As she explored this new world of physics and light, she couldn't help but find herself utterly transfixed. Bokeh spots then danced around, sharpened into focus and arranged themselves into words: I have traversed grand and unforgettable ancient millennia / But now I only want a future with you / No matter your age or gender.

Blushing in her surprise, Ilera never considered this before but at least had the assurance to type out her story on an airbound screen for him now. However, when the bodyguard learned Ilera's true identity, he choked in disbelief.

"Is this what it is? I am a highly trained professional, yet I … (laughs) I rely on the assistance of a deaf peasant girl from an ignorant, oh okay, bygone era to protect myself and my job? And I cultivated feelings for a mockery of me!" He pointed at her with a fat finger on impulse.

Ilera was shaken as his mouth trembled in rage. Repaying a kind deed was all that was previously on her mind. Never had she been in love with him. In the end, her fellow exponents, no matter the field of practice, place or time, saw her only as a rival or potential object of desire. We forever voyage on Atlantic trade ships propelled by our threatened primitive interests and our lurking thirst for power, every one of us bound by each other's history, ravaged by rich seas of little. Another light shone. With determined steps, the former slave girl disappeared into the mists of time. The cosmos was now her board, and she would be its game architect.

Credits

Plot + scifi terminology: Human

Prose: Human + 3 AI services

Atlantic trade note: Human's musing on Liu Cixin's afterword in the English edition of The Three-Body Problem

[cosleia]

Tell Him What You Really Think

Originally written for a kiss prompt on Twitter. @starkillersbae said, "I did art for V3, want to collab it? :3" See the art here.

--

Ren had been acting…peculiar, lately.

Adjusting to the idea of Ren as Supreme Leader had taken longer than Armitage had wanted it to. It was unthinkable, but it was the First Order's new reality, and he had to accept it.

He'd done his best to get on board from the very beginning, when Ren had claimed the position over Snoke's dead body, but old habits died hard, and it took weeks—all right, months—before Armitage could be in the same room with Ren and think about ways to help and support him rather than ways to murder him.

He'd held such disdain for Snoke that it had sometimes been impossible to hide it in his presence. Snoke knew, of course, because he was a bloody mind reader, but for some reason he didn't care.

Ren, on the other hand, demanded abject loyalty and was quite unpleasant when he didn't get it. Armitage had decided that his best strategy was to actually try to be loyal. There might be opportunities in the future, but for now, it was dangerous to be seen as a threat.

Actually, Ren's odd behavior had started right around the time Armitage had first started being helpful. Maybe he went quiet when Armitage spoke, rather than cutting him off rudely with a demand, because he was busy probing Armitage's mind looking for betrayal.

Well, he wouldn't find any. Armitage was prepared to go the distance for his new Supreme Leader. For his own survival, and for the good of the Order.

Except…Ren had also started testing him. Coming up with strategies for campaigns that would be far too costly. Suggesting that each member of the Knights of Ren be given their own Star Destroyer. Demanding that every stormtrooper meal be supplemented with fresh fruit. The ideas were more and more ridiculous, and Armitage had to simply keep agreeing to them.

He'd thought he'd managed to repress his anger over not being the one in charge, but apparently he hadn't. One day Ren said something so ludicrous that before he could stop himself, Armitage snapped, "You're wasting time and resources on these petty tests of my loyalty. Do you have an order that actually makes any sense at all, or may I be dismissed?"

Before he even finished his question, Ren thrust his face forward and smashed his lips against Armitage's mouth.

Armitage stared. Ren's eyes were screwed shut and a flush was rising to his cheeks. For a long moment they stayed like that, utterly frozen, their noses squashed against each other and their mouths pressed firmly together.

Finally Ren stepped back. "Um," he said. "That. Yes. What you just said."

"What?" Armitage asked, bewildered. He was having trouble focusing on Ren's eyes; his gaze kept dropping to his lips.

"Don't pretend bad ideas are good. Be yourself," Ren said. He looked away, bringing his hands together in front of him and then quickly shoving them back down to his sides.

"As you wish, Supreme Leader," Armitage said crisply.

"I miss you," Ren blurted.

"I…see." Armitage looked at Ren's mouth again. "Well. All right. In that case, your plan for an assault on Corellia is the height of folly—"

Ren swept Armitage up in his arms and kissed him again. "It is?" he murmured, breath hot against Armitage's lips. "Tell me more."

And so, between long, deep kisses, Armitage told him everything.

~The End~

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Vapors 54

Tsunade wiggled her feet between the couch cushions in an attempt to get comfortable. Her toes felt like blocks of ice. No amount of adjusting for comfort could put off the upcoming conversation for long, however. Besides, she was already much more comfortable than usual and consequently in a good mood. With Shizune out of town, there was no one to aim big mournful eyes that made Tsunade feel guilty for relocating to her front room to work instead of her office. She was sick of the office.

She had already given the different ways this dialogue could go considerable thought while her ANBU guard had resentfully plodded off to fetch her guest. It probably wouldn't be a particularly enjoyable conversation. But since she was already busy working on rearranging her most loyal pieces, it made sense to get this done and out of the way now.

To that end, she'd picked out her rhetorical strategy and decided to keep this brief. It was best to get to the point and only subtly move the conversation in the direction she wanted without actually attempting to persuade her target. Independent personality types didn't react well to being obviously herded.

That was fine, to be honest. She could see multiple directions for this shinobi to choose from, and how Tsunade stood to gain from all of them. Of course, she did have one she thought was more likely…

"Aiko, have you thought about your Jounin examinations?"

The question threw Aiko for a bit of a loop. It took a moment to recalibrate. To buy time, she asked, "Hokage-sama?" and just hoped that clarification would be upcoming.

Instead of replying, Tsunade offered her a platter of circular tan cookies. She took it awkwardly and suddenly wondered how many it was appropriate and polite to take. She'd never been invited into a Kage's home before. The bizarrely informal atmosphere was actually making her highly uncomfortable.

The older woman undoubtedly knew that.

Aiko settled for two cookies and gratefully slid the platter down onto the glass table between the two of them like a protective shield. The entire time, amber eyes were watching her closely as if waiting for something. She shifted uncomfortably and wished she could stand.

"I'm not in the business of having A and S class Chuunin," Tsunade pointed out dryly. "You're well on your way to that range by dint of the Hiraishin alone."

"I can't be," Aiko said, honestly bewildered. "Kakashi and Yamato bat me around like a cat toy."

"Oh, boo hoo." Tsunade rolled her eyes with a mischievous smile. "You mean that two of the best shinobi to ever come out of the ANBU program are still stronger than you? Oh well, I suppose I should just demote you back down to genin status." She flashed white, white teeth in a charmingly lopsided grin. It seemed sincere, for some reason. "Please tell me you hear how ridiculous you just sounded. I wouldn't pit most of my experienced Jounin against those two. I don't think you understand just what kind of career you were slated for when you were handed off to Hatake as a student."

She could feel heat rise in her cheeks. 'Okay, that was a little naïve,' she allowed. In lieu of verbal reply, she bent her head to let her loose hair slide forward in a reddish wave that hid her face.

Tsunade actually giggled. "I'll take that as a yes. Drink your tea, it's getting cold. And you'd better enjoy those cookies. They were painstakingly baked by Shizune."

Aiko eyed them uncertainly. Shizune-san had never seemed like much of a cook to her, but she wasn't going to say that. It was a pretty rude thing to think about such a nice lady, and one she really didn't even know on a personal level. Judgments like that were wrong all the time. Carefully she took a delicate bite—and struggled to maintain a straight face.

"Yes, they're awful," Tsunade allowed. "But if I throw them all away…" She trailed off and waved a hand irritably. "I find the tea helps. If that's not strong enough, I have this too." Long, pale fingers retrieved a narrow, colored bottle hidden down the front of her shirt. Aiko raised her eyebrows, downright impressed. She'd had no idea that was there, and it wasn't like Tsunade's cleavage was ever truly unobserved. It was like being in a room with a sleeping tiger: even if you weren't consciously thinking about it, you were making sure it didn't move too much.

Wordlessly, Aiko drained half her tea and held the cup out for Tsunade to pour a little alcohol in. She instead poured in a lot and then they exchanged the bottle so that Aiko could pour some for the Hokage. It was rude to pour your own drink, after all.

And those cookies tasted suspiciously like medicine underneath all the sugar.

"What do you know about how Chuunin become Jounin?"

The question was simple enough. So was her answer. "I don't really know anything," Aiko answered honestly. 'I suppose you get promoted when someone notices that you've advanced skill-wise? It can't be normal for the Hokage to do individual counseling meetings like this…' That was vague enough that she was sure it wasn't what Tsunade was looking for. Better to admit ignorance than try to bullshit the Hokage.

It must have been the right decision, because red-painted lips curved into a faint smile over a blue and white china cup.

"A more intelligent answer than one would think. Most don't know, because Jounin promotions are as much about politics as they are about reflecting skill levels. Sometimes that takes the form of promoting shinobi who had skill sets we desperately need at higher clearance, and sometimes it means keeping otherwise qualified shinobi out of the public eye where they can't make too much trouble."

"So… are you saying that there's some vacant space on a roster that you need me to fill?" That made some sense… but Tsunade shook her head.

"Not precisely. There isn't any one particular role I've slotted you for. You're going to be going to a personality and aptitude evaluation first, at which point you will be further counseled on your options. Unless of course you already have a preference, in which case we can skip directly to evaluating your aptitude for that position." She frowned slightly and lifted a shoulder to acknowledge, "I cannot force you to accept a promotion, but I can promise that this is not an attempt to break up your team. You will likely still be placed with team Kakashi on missions where your skill sets align, after an introductory training period into your new niche."

The next words were delicately phrased, but her eyes bored into Aiko as if they could see straight into her soul. "You would be with that team much more often, of course, if you were to take a path that would lessen the gap between your mutual experiences and training."

It didn't take a genius to figure that one out. Only a minute ago Tsunade had credited ANBU training for Kakashi and Yamato's advanced skills to some extent. She was being told to aim for ANBU. But why not tell her directly?

Tsunade's face was devoid of any hints.

Aiko swallowed, mind working furiously. 'I can't avoid promotion forever,' she noted. 'And… and I need to get stronger. Will ANBU do that for me?' Doubtlessly, Naruto had far surpassed her by now, even with her headstart. She didn't know much about what other Jounin did—they could be teachers, she knew, but wasn't she too young for that? Jounin led teams of Chuunin in various specialties, but she didn't want that path. It would put more pressure than she wanted on her and take her too far away from her team. No, she was fine being a subordinate.

When shit started to go very wrong in less than a year, would she be trusted to accompany Team Kakashi? She hadn't been exaggerating about the gulf between her and Yamato, even though they shared similarly powerful bloodline abilities. She wasn't sturdy enough to take the kind of hits Naruto did, and she certainly didn't have Kakashi's skill.

She really didn't know the answer, and she could only think of one basis for comparison that indicated she was skilled enough to be on the team: She was still stronger than Sasuke as a combatant. Would Tsunade trust this apprentice with those missions? Perhaps Sakura would have been more prepared than Sasuke was, or perhaps they were less desperate now than they would have been if that had happened?

Would ANBU work really change her life? Tsunade had implied that the harsh requirements often affected members. Aiko thought she could handle almost anything... but she didn't really know that much about what ANBU did. No one knew. She would be going in partially blind. That was terrifying.

The uncertainties welling up, she took too long to respond.

"Yes?" Tsunade prompted, mild irritation in her tone. "Do you need more time to think?"

Her heart was beating a harsh staccato against her ribs.

Yes. She needed more time to think. This wasn't a decision she could make on such short notice.

"No," Aiko found herself saying impulsively. "I want to accept a promotion and apply for a position in the ANBU unit, Hokage-sama. What do I need to do?"

"Leave it all to me." Tsunade idly dunked a cookie in her spiked tea and spun it around to make a current. "All that you need to do is report to the blue-roofed office building on the intersection of fifth and Inu tomorrow morning by four am. Tell the secretary that you have an appointment with special evaluations."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," she muttered hollowly, committing the details to memory. That was terribly early, but a full hour after the bars closed so the streets should have been cleared of those stragglers. It was probably arranged so that as few people as possible saw applicants like her entering the building. She'd never noticed a building like that before. Genjutsu? Possibly. Or it might just be nondescript.

A thought occurred. "W-will my team know?"

Tsunade snorted. "If they pull their heads from their posteriors and pay attention," she allowed. "Officially, you are not allowed to inform anyone outside of ANBU headquarters, but it is strongly discouraged to share your identity with anyone but your actual ANBU team. You might want to get a wig, by the way." She pointed absently at Aiko's reddish-orange mop of wavy locks. "In practice, I would follow most of that advice, except you can feel free to tell your team members in ANBU of your appointment, as well as one outside individual who will be your psychological contact. They will be expected to keep an eye on your mental state, as the added stress of ANBU work sometimes bothers people more than regular work."

Aiko felt a little green.

"I don't anticipate that being a problem with you, however," she allowed generously. "Your current profile indicates that you're about as stable as expected, with healthy compartmentalization techniques."

'Only a ninja would say something like that,' she thought vaguely. She cleared her throat, fingers tugging unconsciously at her hair. It grew fast and was long now—almost to the thinnest part of her waist. "A wig, Hokage-sama?" She had no idea where to get one of those.

Tsunade gave a restrained huff. "I would recommend as far from your natural coloring and current cut as possible," she pointed out, examining the girl in front of her. The wickedly amused expression in her eyes reminded Aiko startlingly of Naruto. "Either a plain black or something really…. Wild," she drew out teasingly. "How do you look in blue?"

Aiko was surprised into a giggle. She hadn't even considered that—her concern had been on actually acquiring a wig, but she had sort of thought that it would make sense to get something completely non-distinct. But it was true that the purpose of that sort of disguise wouldn't necessarily be to make her inconspicuous. Everyone looked at ANBU when they walked down a street, so she couldn't hope to hide among civilians or anything. It was just that they couldn't look at her and recognize that the girl in the mask had to be Aiko.

"Blue is fine," she managed, not entirely certain as to whether or not her Hokage was joking. It wasn't like she particularly cared one way or another, so why the hell not.

"Excellent." Tsunade snickered. "I'll present it to you tomorrow after your evaluation. Assuming you meet requirements for entrance, of course," she quickly qualified. "If you don't, we'll find another position for you."

By seven the next morning, Tsunade was parsing through the freshly stamped report on her desk with a smug expression. A series of spars and demonstrations, a short counseling session, word-association tests, and other devices had painted a clear picture for her that aligned well with Tsunade's own suspicions.

The girl was good. Tsunade had expected that skill-wise, of course, but she was also functionally stable and looked to be highly reliable. Agents that relied heavily on human interaction to detoxify after stress often suffered in ANBU when they couldn't discuss their duties, but Aiko was a recluse by nature. However, unlike many of those reclusive characters, she did a fairly good job of faking social interest when needed, a potentially valuable skill.

When her personality profile was added to her natural intelligence and sturdy ties to the village center, Aiko was as strong a candidate as Tsunade could have hoped for. Kakashi wouldn't be pleased, of course, but a month of heavy conditioning would easily mold her into an ANBU operative… one who Tsunade could trust without a doubt to be unaffiliated with Danzo's root. How much easier would it be to start picking at oddities with an extra set of ears directly in the small but crucial organization, especially when that operative was a paranoid little genius trained by Hatake Kakashi? She would be informed of her constant secondary mission soon, after Tsunade had managed to hunt her down a role in the roster.

Although the answer seemed obvious, she didn't really need another tracker right now. She had four Inuzuka alone in the ranks—there were plenty of experienced shinobi who were much less capable of transitioning to another role. Tsunade flipped through her options contemplatively, holding up a hand to silence Shizune. The girl obediently backed out of the office and quietly shut the door, recognizing that her mentor was thinking.

Infiltration was a possibility that Aiko in particular could excel at. Her characteristic emotional detachment would make it much harder for her to succumb to the typical foibles of shinobi stranded alone in enemy territory for extended periods…. But it wouldn't help Tsunade with her Root problem. No, that wouldn't do at all. She needed to be able to interact frequently with other operatives.

Front-line combat squad assignment would have fulfilled that criteria, but she took the option off the table immediately. She didn't actually want to endanger Aiko more than necessary, and not just because Hatake would be in her office glowering (until someone lost their temper and confiscated his remaining eye to cut that shit out, at least) when he inevitably found out. No, Aiko was a bit young for that sort of general assignment when it wasn't absolutely critical. Perhaps she could take those missions on an individual basis as a consultant, but not regularly, not now. One of the things that Tsunade most wanted to change about her village was the low life expectancy rate for shinobi, and one of the most efficient ways to get people killed was to send them out in high-pressure situations early and often.

'Well, what's the safest assignment available within the most dangerous role in the village hierarchy?' Her lips twisted into an ironic little smile. 'Why, guarding the Hokage and the village itself, of course. She would interact with multiple groups… and it would also keep her conveniently close to obscure her new posting.'

She didn't have to help the girl obscure her ANBU promotion, of course, but when the opportunity to make her life a little easier just dropped in her lap Tsunade didn't see a reason not to take it.

It was decided then. Aiko's first assignment would be split between guarding her personal office (a bit of a necessary joke, as Tsunade could damn well guard herself. The average threats were papercuts and restlessness, and no amount of ANBU could prevent that) and patrolling the village as the Uchiha police force had used to do every so often. The second posting would allow her to interact with her ANBU peers, and the first would give Tsunade ample opportunity to covertly communicate and prepare the girl for her possible future role in the upper echelons of intelligence work.

It was best not to have all her eggs in one basket, after all. She damn well intended to retire in a few years, and she had not one but three young people who were visibly well on their way to being Kage level shinobi (two of whom were a previous Kage's child and the other was her adorable student and one of the last scions of a founding clan. The potential postings even made sense in the tradition of leadership roles being inherited). It would be stupid to ignore preparing one, especially since the three were close enough that the two who didn't get the hat would probably be their Kage's closest advisors. Promotions gave them credibility, prestige, and visibility that they would desperately need.

Aiko felt dazed walking home. It was early morning, but she had already been physically taxed. The intellectual requirements of preliminary ANBU qualifications had been a breeze, at least, but she had too many other things on her mind to feel relaxed.

She'd promised herself that if she passed, she wouldn't put off talking to Kakashi this time. Their last argument (minor in the grand scheme of things) had been eclipsed by the subsequent lack of communication and festered stupidly. This situation was probably similar. She knew that he would have to respect her decision, but she still didn't want to address it. She didn't try to fool herself, however: trying to hide it from him would both be ineffective and damaging to their repaired but still slightly fragile dynamic.

'I should probably find him before the end of the day,' Aiko decided. 'I don't want to be immature and avoid things that make me uncomfortable. If I'm old enough for ANBU work, I'm old enough to talk to people I like about uncomfortable things without my arm being twisted.'

"Hey, Aiko!"

Speak of the devil.

No, not Kakashi. God only knows that he was never that perky. It was the other elephant in the room she was avoiding.

'Well, I can't very well make a new resolution that only applies to one person,' Aiko sighed, and put on a game face.

"Hi, Tenten. How are you?"

The other girl came to a stop, adjusting the weight of the pack on her back and waving her team on. Neji gave her a dirty look, but didn't bother to protest. "I'm fine," she allowed. A flicker of uncertainly crossed her face, inexpertly covered by a placating smile. "I meant to talk to you earlier—you kind of ran off in the hurry the last time I saw you."

'Oh hell,' Aiko cursed. That had probably been confusing for poor Tenten. "Yeah, I did," she admitted. "It was rude of me. To be honest, I was feeling really overwhelmed by all the noise and activity and socialization, and I tend to retreat when I'm uncomfortable."

Tenten grimaced. "I thought it was something like that." She sighed, resting a hand on her hip before seeming to realize they were standing in the street. Aiko noticed her discomfort and jerked her head to indicate they should start walking. As they fell into step, Tenten fidgeted a little. "You know, I wouldn't think that was such a big deal, except that you didn't say anything to me for what… a month and a half?" She frowned. "And I had to be the one to track you down," Tenten added, a little defensively. "That wasn't fair, you know."

Aiko swallowed, unconsciously tapping her fingers against her thigh in a pattern that spelled out 'need non-combat help'. Tenten didn't seem to notice, but a thin man to her left with a sleek ponytail glanced over in alarm, noted that she was just in an uncomfortable conversation, and gave an unsympathetic snort before hastily taking off as if to avoid the awkwardness.

She was a bit envious, once she caught herself frantically repeating the pattern and forced her fingers to stop. It wasn't a conversation she should run from.

"You're absolutely right."

May as well admit it. They were both well-aware.

"I was out of the village for almost all of that time, but that's just an excuse and not a reason. I ran into a situation that made me uncomfortable and intentionally avoided getting in a similar one." (Aiko was avoidant, not unaware of her own actions.)

Tenten gave a rueful smile. "You know, you're making it hard to be mad at you when you're so factual and self-aware. I had a whole speech planned out."

Aiko chewed at the inside of her cheek, feeling awkward. When her companion made to speak, she slouched her shoulders in a little defensively. She already knew she'd messed up, and was pretty sure what was coming. She even knew she deserved it, and wasn't particularly heartbroken. That still didn't mean she wanted to hear it.

"I think I deserve someone who isn't going to do that to me," Tenten pointed out delicately. "I think we're done, whatever we were in the first place. Still…" she glanced at Aiko shyly. "Friends? I think we should start over."

The offer to be friends was probably just a way for Tenten to feel better about sort-of-dumping her sort-of-girlfriend. It smoothed over hurt egos, and allowed her mental image of herself as a nice girl not to change. Otherwise, it sort of seemed like they'd had a makeout one-night-stand. Tenten seemed like the kind of person who thought that 'nice girls' didn't do things like that. Aiko fundamentally disagreed—definitions like that were stupid and restrictive.

Aiko saw right through it, but she didn't mind indulging the maneuver. "Yeah." She gave a fake smile. Unlike Sai's inept attempts, her fake smiles reached her eyes. Tenten looked relieved at it. "Friends."

When they parted ways, it was spectacularly awkward, but at least it was over. Aiko gave a deep sigh of relief. At least it was settled. 'And hey, my talk with Kakashi can't really get worse than that clusterfuck of awkward,' she pointed out to herself. 'He can hardly dump me.' Her shishou was a bit protective, but even he had to know she couldn't avoid specialization and outside assignments forever. Granted, the change was probably going to be more sudden than he'd approve of, but he had been loosening the reins lately. Considering his precise, controlling personality, any effort in that regard was significant.

Despite her resolve, she didn't actually find Kakashi until the next day when she half-heartedly waited outside the clearing where he was sitting cross-legged in front of the memorial stone. Aiko didn't want to take advantage of the trust he'd placed in her with the Hiraishin to track him down unless it was something critical—flashing into the middle of his home (where she had never been) in order to tell him that she was signed up for ANBU training would definitely be a violation of his comfort zone.

"You can come out, you know."

'I guess that's an invitation.' Aiko slowly walked over, crossing her arms into her torso and slightly regretting not checking the forecast. She really had no tolerance for cold. It would have been a good day for a scarf and that hideous but snuggly Chuunin vest.

Kakashi deigned to look up at her and clearly noted her discomfort, though apparently not the source. A hint of dark amusement flashed in his eye. "I don't bite."

Well, okay. That was a partially accurate assessment of her unease.

"I know." She flopped down to the ground next to him, letting their legs brush to leech some of his body heat. (That was a valid survival strategy, she was sure. As well as a convenient distraction). He allowed the contact, though he seemed a bit uncomfortable with it, quickly glancing away after he looked at her.

That was new. He'd gotten used to letting her hang off of him. Apparently her recent distance had registered.

Made sense. He wasn't a man who missed much.

"I talked to Tsunade day before yesterday." He hmmed, a familiar signal for her to continue. "She told me to apply for ANBU." She indulged in a quick check of his features. He didn't appear to have reacted. "I accepted. I thought I should tell you."

"I see."

Oh no. The stiff tone made her wince.

"What exactly will you be doing?"

She wrapped her arms around her knees and stared down as if her toes were fascinating. "In-village positions on guard rosters, mostly."

'Just that and spying on an internal traitorous organization, but I can't tell you that. Not worrying at all, shishou.'

Then she dared a cringing look back to find out he was watching her steadily. It was a bit unnerving. Aiko swallowed, hard, pulse jumping. She did so desperately want for him not to be upset with her. "I'm not like, leaving the team," she explained in a rush of words, just wanting to make him stop focusing all that intensity on her. "She says that if I get the training, I can-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me." His tone was fond, but tinged with sadness. "You can't stay with your genin sensei forever. That's not how pack works."

"Pack?" she asked awkwardly.

"Pack," he confirmed, leaning back on his hands and looking up. "Puppies grow up. I'm not so forgetful that I don't remember that."

[the-greendalehumanbeings]

The hate Edwina gets is bizarre and fans go overboard with it every time. Like people go all "but we're allowed to dislike her!" no one said you're not allowed to dislike her, but when you go out of your way to whitewash her over a line that has nothing to do with her identity (not to mention insinuating like her and Kate didn't grow up together), repeatedly insult the actress and say the most vile stuff about her for simply daring to explain how she did her job that she was PAID for, you're really not just disliking her. I swear even Simone fans obsess more over Charithra minding her business and doing her work and take any chance they have to make fun of her for any slight detail while they whine about some random Burberry outfit Simone wore. Any time anyone even discusses Edwina it rolls back into hate for Charithra and repeated conspiracy theories about how she's apparently in cahoots with the PR of the show or whatever and that Simone hates her 🙄. And now no one can even mention the issue with this because they go "but what about the hate Simone got??" every time. Like the hate Simone got doesn't absolve you from your weird one-sided issues with Charithra. She's not responsible for any of the hate her costar has gotten, yet everyone is obsessed with making it look like that.

Yup, I think you pretty much summed up everything.

The hatred of Edwina is so bewildering to me because tbh she is given so little to do that there's not much to hate. I'm surprised because I thought more of the complaints would be about her character being boring or flat rather than she's a gold digger who committed hate crimes against Kate. I can understand the former. And the thing is, wilfully misreading a character's actions to hate on them is standard for fandoms. What is vile about hate towards Edwina is the constant white washing identity to prop up a white man and the hatred towards the actress.

Regarding Charithra and Simone, I agree. I have seen so many comparisons of these two (on my dash, no less) about their interview speaking styles, thinking that their pr strategy was somehow indicative of their personalities, skin colour, upbringing etc. People need to stop pretending they know anything real about them. I also don't understand this mentality that people have where if you talk about the racism one person has faced, the immediate reaction is to go 'well, what about x person'. That is not a normal reaction to have. At that point, you (I don't mean you) don't care about Simone or Charithra or racism. You are just using these terms to win an argument rather than caring about these issues. At least be honest about it. 

I don't understand that if these people dislike Charithra so much or think that she doesn't understand her character, then why are they reading/watching her interviews? Why do they spend time worrying about what Charithra is doing? Why are you so hellbent on getting riled up? At least enjoy yourself and focus on the actresses you like, rather than ways to get angry or upset over what CC says. Seriously it is not hard to just ignore the interviews and focus on things that bring you some kind of enjoyment. I mean I dislike Polin and find them incredibly boring so I just don’t waste my time devoting any energy to them at all. 

 The most insane take I have seen is people claiming that CVD and Shonda 'set CC up' for all this hate because they focused on her so much in the promo. Anyone who believes that is an idiot. No one is being forced to say vile stuff about Charithra. Like this fandom is filled with ADULTS. Their reaction to Charithra is completely on them. Grow a spine and take some responsibility for the shit that you say.

[mamabee]

Can a Doctor Have Multiple Google Business Profiles (GBP)?

Every health care professional needs to have an internet presence. The all-important question that remains, though, is, can a doctor have more than one Google Business Profile (GBP)?Here’s OUT’s important information. 1. One Practice, One Profile: As the rule For a single practice at one address google’s recommendation for is one GBP. This excludes self-competition and at the same time ensures the topic is adequately aired and receives adequate attention. 2. Multiple Locations?Multiple Profiles! Where a doctor operates in several different places, then each place should have its GBP. This ensures that patients are able to locate the particular building or section they want easily. 3. Individual Doctor Profiles: Take A Second Thought Developing different GBPs for every doctor will only cause Google to become bewildered and negatively affect your rankings. It is crucial to examine potential SEO implications. 4. Bullzeye Media Marketing: Your SEO Partner: Managing GBP can sometimes be challenging because of the following factors:Available key services at Bullzeye Media Marketing include GBP optimization, reviews, and local SEO services.

Read more: Multi-Device SEO Strategies Explained.

[logansphotoarray]

Research Post 4- Roger Ballen

Roger Ballen was born in New York City in 1950, spent his first 5 years living there and then moved to Westchester until he was 18. He went on to graduate from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in the late 1960s. His photography interests began in the early 1970s before his mother passed because as she worked at the Magnum and started one of the first photo galleries in New York, Roger was able to be introduced to photographers like Cartier-Bresson and Streichen who she worked with. Roger would go on to create photo books from long trips he would take out of the country after his mother’s passing, and it was not until about 1996 that he would call his photos artwork when writing and expressing his viewpoint of the world for his book “Ballenesque: Roger Ballen: A Retrospective.” Then until 2005 he would make photography his full time job after his geology business he had since 1980. His photo series each take about five years to complete and oddly his strategy when taking pictures is admirable as he typically has no plans or ideas but rather, as he says, “ I just relax and keep a focused mind and make the photographs. I don’t have any particular goals. I’ve always said that if you define my pictures with words other than enigmatic or mysterious, then the pictures are bad” (Weingart). Although he says he does not have any particular goal, what he wants his viewers to describe his work says otherwise as he would need his subject matter to reflect and display the descriptions he wants portrayed in his work.

In his series “The World According to Roger Ballen”, his photos shown here are a mere example of his other work’s similarities and what I would describe as bewildering and ambiguous when I first viewed them. I would even relate them to Alzheimer's disease or schizophrenia because of their drawing depictions or drawings from people affected by such. It definitely hits the home run with what Ballen expresses in his work, “the human psyche - to explore, visually, the hidden forces that shape who we are” (Lusardy). Furthermore, his work captivates me because not only is it uncanny, but also thought provoking as it shows these abstract and disturbing depictions of human figures, like the crude drawings, and full figures themselves like the skeleton and woman mannequin. Particularly his photo of the baby figure laying beside a wall of drawings peaks my interest because although it has baby doll legs, it has an adult mannequin head and then a rat that looks like the placement of its arm. The way it’s laying down resembles the innocence of a baby yet something sinister lurks on the wall, the drawings. They appear to be of 3 different figures, a cat, human figures, and an unidentifiable animal all drawn several times but uniquely different versions. What comes to mind when putting all these thoughts together is again Alzheimer’s disease as the scene reminds me of someone trying to reminisce about their early childhood but the memory loss makes it extremely strenuous to do so, portraying what we see here. Sources:

https://www.rogerballen.com/the-world-according-to-roger-ballen/

https://lenscratch.com/2017/11/ken-weingart-interviews-roger-ballen/

[zov911]

When it comes to residential contracting, visibility matters. Whether it's the clarity of a house blueprint or the glossy sheen of a freshly-installed kitchen countertop, the details are what set leading contractors apart from the competition. In the digital age, however, this principle extends far beyond brick and mortar. Today, visibility must translate into the online realm and that is where digital marketing comes into play. As bewildering as it might seem, understanding and implementing digital marketing strategies are essential elements for success in the contemporary home contracting industry. It not only propels your reach but also exponentially increases brand credibility and customer trust. Hence, we've compiled this comprehensive guide, entitled "Demystifying Digital Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide for Home Contractors" to underline its appeal and ease your transition into the digital world. Do not be daunted by the term "digital marketing". All it means is utilising the internet to market your enterprise. The way we live has transformed; we are now more connected digitally than ever before. Take advantage of this increased connectivity to extend your business footprint. Digital marketing is no longer optional, it's a necessity for your home contracting business, and here's why. By adopting SEO best practices, home contractors can enhance their digital visibility dramatically. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, a series of techniques that can elevate your website's ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs). It brings your services front and center when local homeowners search for phrases like “best home contractor near me” or “reliable electricians in [your city]”. By organically climbing the SEO ladder, your contractor business can capture more leads and convert them into satisfied customers. Local SEO is another facet of digital marketing that home contractors should not overlook. Based on the geographical location of the search, this feature allows you to dominate local markets. High-ranking search engine positions are a great way to get your brand noticed and increase the credibility of your contracting company. In addition to SEO, harnessing the potential of social media marketing can be a game-changer. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn have vast user bases and offer the perfect opportunity to showcase your contracting work. Regularly updating your social media accounts with completed projects, client testimonials, and construction tips can garner substantial attention. Meanwhile, email campaigns can foster a personalized connection with potential clients. Sending regular updates, newsletters, or exclusive offers through email can be a powerful digital marketing strategy. It allows you to stay on the top of their mind while showcasing your expertise and commitment to excellence. The complex world of Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising also holds great potential. By paying a fee each time one of your ads is clicked, you can direct traffic to your site immediately. It's a way of 'buying' visits to your site, aiming to convert those visits into leads or sales. In conclusion, digital marketing transcends traditional marketing frameworks by offering home contractors broader reach and better results. By demystifying its intricacies, it becomes clear that this modern visibility tool is not as daunting as it may seem. With careful implementation and regular review, your home contracting business can scale new heights in no time. Embrace the future of contractor marketing – because it's already here. Case Study: The Remarkable Transformation of Thompson's Home Construction Services through Digital Marketing In the bustling city of Philadelphia, a home contracting business named Thompson's Home Construction was struggling to retain customers and stay afloat in a highly competitive home renovation and remodeling market. Owned by two brothers, Thompson's Home Construction had a rich construction experience that spanned over 20 years.

However, they were struggling to make a significant foothold in the market and maximize their brand visibility. The focal problem was their adherence to traditional marketing methods. Billboards, local newspaper ads, and word-of-mouth referrals were their main means of advertising. Despite the high expenditures on advertising, they weren't able to reach a wide client base. That's when they decided to break away from the traditional modes and embrace the world of digital marketing. Step 1: Website & SEO Optimization Firstly, Thompson's Home Construction realized the necessity of a professional online presence through a user-friendly website. They hired a digital expert to design a responsive website that would effectively demonstrate their portfolio of work and articulate their services. With impactful before and after photographs, impressive client testimonials, and insightful blogs, their website became an interactive platform for customer engagement. Additionally, the value of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was recognized. The digital expert employed keyword research to identify which specific keywords prospective customers were using to find home construction services. By integrating these keywords strategically into their website content and blog posts, Thompson increased visibility on search engine results, leading to a surge in organic site traffic. Step 2: Social Media Engagement Social media was the next domain Thompson chose to dominate. They crafted profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest to showcase their work, provide updates, and engage with potential customers more personally. Sharing interior design tips, real-time project progress, and client reviews created a buzz among their followers, which amplified their brand exposure. Furthermore, Facebook and Instagram's ad services were utilized to laser-target regional customers. This strategy drastically improved the company's leads and conversion rates. Step 3: Email Marketing & Online Reviews Thompson also wanted to enhance customer retention and loyalty. Hence, they implemented an email marketing campaign to keep clients informed about new service additions or promotions. AAA unique buyer incentive was offering a discount to customers who left an online review. This strategy not only promoted loyalty but also boosted the company's credibility through positive customer testimonials. Through their digital marketing journey, Thompson's Home Construction witnessed a 70% increase in customer inquiries within six months. Currently, their revamped web presence and digital strategies serve as a beacon for other home contractors still wedded to traditional marketing techniques. This case study not only demystifies digital marketing but also enumerates its transformative potential for home contractors looking to revitalize their businesses and gain a competitive edge. This case study underlines the fact that embracing digital marketing isn't just an option; for businesses to thrive in today's landscape, it's a necessity. "Ready to elevate your home contracting business to new heights? Dive into the world of digital marketing now! Click here to uncover the secret strategies outlined in our comprehensive guide. Don't leave your growth to chance, master your digital presence today!" Start Your Digital Transformation Now! "According to a study by Construction Dive, up to 97% of people research a company online before deciding to hire its services. This clearly indicates the importance of a strong online presence for home contractors, as it significantly influences potential clients' hiring decisions."

[techeasesupport]

Transparent Tech: Navigating Clear Pricing Policies

Clear tech pricing empowers consumers to understand costs and trust providers. Transparent policies help customers choose wisely, showing dedication to honesty and reliability. Despite pricing complexity, businesses aim for transparency and competitive rates. Market demand, competition, and regulations influence pricing, nurturing trust and loyalty. Benefits include customer satisfaction, long-term relationships, and integrity. Implementing clear strategies and transparent communication build trust in the evolving tech market. Explore navigating these policies for a successful tech service experience.

Key Takeaways

Transparent pricing in tech services fosters trust and empowers consumers to make informed decisions.

Clear pricing policies establish reliability, value, and demonstrate commitment to honesty.

Businesses face challenges with pricing complexity and transparency issues in the tech service sector.

Factors like market demand, competition, and regulations influence fair pricing models in technology services.

Transparent tech pricing leads to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and long-term relationships.

Understanding Transparent Pricing

Transparent pricing in tech services is an essential aspect that empowers consumers to have a clear understanding of the costs associated with the services they are receiving. This openness nurtures trust between the service provider and the consumer. By transparently outlining the pricing structure, technology service providers can guarantee that customers feel informed and valued, leading to stronger relationships and customer satisfaction.

Importance of Clear Pricing Policies

Transparent pricing policies play a pivotal role in establishing trust and transparency between technology service providers and consumers. Clear pricing policies help customers make informed decisions, understand the value they are receiving, and build a sense of reliability in the services provided. By outlining costs, terms, and conditions upfront, companies demonstrate their commitment to honesty and integrity, nurturing a positive relationship with their clientele.

Common Challenges in Tech Service Pricing

Exploring the pricing terrain in the tech service industry can be fraught with challenges. From the intricacies of pricing models to the struggle with transparency, businesses often face hurdles in setting competitive rates. Understanding these common obstacles, such as pricing complexity, transparency issues, and the need to offer competitive rates, is vital for companies aiming to traverse the tech service pricing terrain successfully.

Pricing Complexity in Tech

Amid the intricate landscape of the tech sector, pricing complexities often present significant challenges for companies providing tech services.

1. Graduated pricing frameworks can bewilder customers.

2. Concealed charges may result in unforeseen expenses.

3. Tailored pricing models necessitate comprehensive comprehension by both suppliers and customers.

Transparency Issues Faced

Facing the challenges of pricing transparency in the tech industry requires a deep understanding of the complexities involved in service cost structures. Common issues faced include undisclosed fees, ambiguous pricing models, and varying pricing across different customer segments. Lack of transparency can lead to customer distrust and dissatisfaction. Service providers must aim for clarity and uniformity in their pricing strategies to build trust and loyalty among their customer base.

Competitive Price Offerings

Within the technology services sector, competitive price offerings present a multitude of challenges that service providers must navigate with precision and strategic planning.

Balancing quality and affordability

Differentiating from rivals

Ensuring profitability while staying competitive

Factors Influencing Transparent Pricing

Factors that influence clear pricing in technology services are important to understand for both providers and consumers in the digital environment. Elements such as market demand, competition, cost structures, and regulatory requirements all play a role in shaping pricing strategies. By considering these factors, technology service providers can establish fair and competitive pricing models that resonate with consumers, nurturing trust and loyalty in the market.

Benefits of Transparent Tech Pricing

Transparent pricing in technology services provides several key benefits to both customers and service providers. By offering pricing clarity, companies establish trust with their clients, nurturing long-term relationships built on transparency and integrity. This trust-building factor can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately benefiting the business in the long run.

Pricing Clarity Importance

Promoting pricing clarity in technology services provides customers with a valuable sense of trust and transparency in their transactions.

Helps customers make well-informed choices.

Reduces the likelihood of unforeseen expenses.

Cultivates long-term customer relationships.

Trust Building Factor

Establishing trust through clear pricing in technology services is a fundamental component in nurturing strong and enduring customer relationships. Transparent pricing not only fosters credibility but demonstrates honesty and integrity, key factors that customers seek in their tech service providers. By being upfront about costs and pricing structures, businesses can instill confidence in their customers, leading to enhanced loyalty and long-term partnerships.

Strategies for Implementing Clear Pricing

Developing a comprehensive pricing strategy is essential for businesses operating in the tech industry. To implement clear pricing policies effectively, consider the following strategies:

1. Conduct market research to understand pricing trends.

2. Clearly outline the value proposition for each pricing tier.

3. Regularly review and adjust pricing based on customer feedback and market changes.

Communicating Transparent Pricing to Clients

To effectively engage clients with transparent pricing in the tech industry, it is crucial to articulate the value proposition of the pricing tiers clearly and consistently. Communicating transparent pricing to clients involves providing detailed breakdowns of costs, highlighting the benefits of each tier, and ensuring that clients understand the value they receive in return for their investment. By nurturing clear communication, tech companies can establish trust and strengthen client relationships.

Building Trust Through Price Transparency

Constructing trust through price transparency is a foundation of establishing strong relationships with customers in the technology sector.

Openness nurtures customer loyalty.

Clear pricing builds credibility.

Honest communication boosts brand reputation.

Conclusion

Ergo, transparent pricing in tech services plays a pivotal role in building trust and credibility with consumers. Clear pricing policies help establish a sense of openness and honesty in the digital economy, allowing businesses to effectively communicate the value of their services. By understanding the importance of transparent pricing, providers and consumers can navigate the complexities of pricing structures with clarity and confidence, ultimately nurturing strong relationships and driving business success.

[legari]

Unveiling the Role of Legalari, Your Trusted FSSAI Registration Consultant

FSSAI Registration Consultant

In the ever-evolving landscape of food business, adherence to regulations isn’t just a legal requirement; it’s a cornerstone of trust and credibility. For aspiring entrepreneurs and established businesses alike, ensuring compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations is paramount. However, the complexity of these regulations often leaves many bewildered, seeking expert guidance to navigate through the intricacies of compliance. Enter Legalari — your trusted partner in FSSAI registration consultancy.

Expertise in Food Regulations

Navigating the labyrinth of FSSAI Registration Consultant requires a keen understanding of the legal framework coupled with practical insights into the food industry. Legalari boasts a team of seasoned professionals who specialize in food laws and regulations. Their in-depth knowledge ensures that your business complies with all FSSAI requirements, minimizing the risk of non-compliance penalties and ensuring a smooth registration process.

Tailored Solutions

Legalari understands that each business is unique, with its own set of challenges and requirements. That’s why they offer tailored solutions designed to address the specific needs of your business. Whether you’re a small-scale start-up or a large food corporation, Legalari crafts personalized strategies to streamline the FSSAI Registration Consultant, keeping your business goals and budget in mind.

Streamlined Process

The FSSAI Registration Consultant can be daunting, especially for those unfamiliar with the intricacies of food regulations. Legalari simplifies this process by guiding you through each step, from document preparation to submission and follow-up. Their systematic approach ensures that no stone is left unturned, guaranteeing a hassle-free experience for their clients.

Compliance Assurance

With Legalari by your side, you can rest assured that your business remains compliant with all FSSAI regulations. Their thorough understanding of regulatory requirements, coupled with regular updates on changes in legislation, ensures that your business stays ahead of the curve. By proactively addressing compliance issues, Legalari helps mitigate risks and safeguard your business reputation.

Ongoing Support

FSSAI Registration Consultant isn’t a one-time endeavor; it’s an ongoing commitment. Legalari provides continuous support to ensure that your business remains compliant even after obtaining the FSSAI registration. Whether it’s renewals, modifications, or addressing regulatory queries, Legalari is your trusted partner every step of the way.

Reputation for Excellence

In the realm of FSSAI Registration Consultant, reputation speaks volumes. Legalari has earned a stellar reputation for excellence, thanks to their unwavering commitment to client satisfaction and adherence to the highest standards of professionalism. With a track record of successful registrations across diverse industry verticals, Legalari continues to set the benchmark for quality and reliability in the field.

In conclusion, Legalari emerges as the undisputed leader in FSSAI Registration Consultant, offering expertise, tailored solutions, streamlined processes, compliance assurance, ongoing support, and a reputation for excellence. By choosing Legalari as your FSSAI registration consultant, you’re not just ensuring compliance — you’re investing in the success and sustainability of your food business. Partner with Legalari today and embark on a journey towards regulatory compliance and business growth.

[fidvfidv12]

The Vital Role of a Tax Accountant.

Demystifying Taxation Complexities and Maximizing Financial Efficiency"

In the intricate realm of personal and business finance, one key player stands out as an indispensable guide— the tax accountant. As financial landscapes become increasingly complex, individuals and businesses alike find solace in the expertise of these professionals who specialize in unraveling the intricacies of taxation.

Unveiling the Tax Maze "Decoding the Complexity of Taxation"

The tax code is a labyrinth of rules, regulations, and ever-changing policies that can leave even the most financially savvy individuals feeling bewildered. This is where the tax accountant emerges as a beacon of clarity. Armed with extensive knowledge and a keen understanding of the tax landscape, these tax accountant perth navigate the maze of tax laws, ensuring their clients stay compliant while optimizing their financial positions.

Strategic Financial Planning

Subtitle: "Beyond Compliance: Crafting Financial Strategies for Success"

Tax accountants do more than just crunch numbers. They are strategic partners in financial planning, helping individuals and businesses make informed decisions that go beyond mere compliance. From identifying tax-saving opportunities to developing long-term strategies for wealth accumulation, tax accountants play a pivotal role in securing the financial future of their clients.

Tailored Solutions for Businesses

Subtitle: "Partnering for Prosperity: How Tax Accountants Drive Business Success"

For businesses, the expertise of a tax accountant is invaluable. These professionals understand the intricacies of corporate taxation, offering tailored solutions that go beyond routine filings. From minimizing tax liabilities to advising on structuring transactions, tax accountants become integral partners in the journey towards sustainable business growth.

Adapting to Change

Subtitle: "Staying Ahead in a Dynamic Financial Landscape"

In an era of constant regulatory changes and economic shifts, the role of a tax accountant becomes even more crucial. These professionals stay abreast of the latest developments, ensuring their clients are well-prepared to navigate the ever-evolving financial landscape. By providing timely advice and proactive strategies, tax accountants empower their clients to stay ahead in an unpredictable world.

The Human Touch in Finance

Subtitle: "Building Trust and Confidence through Personalized Service"

While technology continues to reshape the financial industry, the human touch remains irreplaceable. Tax accountants not only provide expertise but also build trust through personalized service. Understanding the unique needs of each client, they offer customized solutions that transcend the one-size-fits-all approach often associated with automated financial services.

In conclusion, the role of a tax accountant goes far beyond number crunching and compliance. These professionals are financial guides, strategic partners, and trusted advisors who bring clarity to the complexities of taxation. In a world where financial landscapes are ever-changing, the expertise of a tax accountant becomes a cornerstone for individuals and businesses alike, fostering financial success and prosperity.

[rahulmaha2024]

15Mo3 Steel Plate

15Mo3 Steel Plates and Sheets is an outstanding maker and supplier of extraordinary 15Mo3 Steel Plates. Our first class extent of 15Mo3 Steel Plates has prevalence in broad daylight and overall business areas. These plates are delivered at our plant with layered accuracy, intense turn of events, and impeccable finishing. These plates are sensible for different present day applications. We are staggeringly fit for making various sizes, shapes, subtleties, and kinds of these plates as indicated by client's essential staying aware of overall rules.

15Mo3 Steel Plates and Sheets makes 15Mo3 Steel Plates under the intense oversight of skilled engineers. We have first class contraption, material dealing with system, and collecting game plan. All the creation processes are totally continued by rule working methodologies. We have an extremely dedicated workforce who are extraordinarily gifted, ready, and have enormous contribution with gathering 15Mo3 Steel Plates. Our ability to make altered things has helped us with attracting extra clients. Our things are perceived for an elegantly fulfilling appearance.

15Mo3 Steel Plates and Sheets has serious quality rules. We check each 15Mo3 Steel Plate under serious limits. We have given out incredibly qualified quality control draftsmen to do different quality tests as indicated by the quality affirmation plan. We follow zero excusal system, and to achieve this; we guarantee that there should not be any flaw in following any action or machine. We use bewildering quality material for gathering, which is procured from ensured traders. Our especially modernized material dealing with structure hinders setbacks and damage to the 15Mo3 Steel Plates in view of rash managing.

15Mo3 Steel Plates and Sheets passes blemish free 15Mo3 Steel Plates on to all of our clients across the world inside the predefined time at pocket-obliging rates. We guarantee that the plates shouldn't get hurt while going from our collecting plant to the client. The packaging is done using nature-obliging material. 15Mo3 Steel Plates are stripped with plastic lashes first and subsequently covering it with bubble sheets are kept into wooden boxes. A supportive strategy for transportation is picked for conveying these exchanges. Moves will have printed information on it, similar to sum, rate, weight, material, size, and all subtleties of 15Mo3 Steel Plates. We in like manner give all of the files, which consolidate quality reports, information booklets, execution reports, etc.

15Mo3 Steel Plates and Sheets has a colossal dissemination place where we keep a totally finished supply of 15Mo3 Steel Plates. This helps us with fulfilling squeezing necessities from our clients. We are unbelievably dedicated to meet customer unwaveringness. We offer extraordinary game plans that might be of some value to our new as well as customary clients. We respect all opinions and contribution from our clients.

[housepestcontrol]

Procedure To Purchase Promoti

Before placing an order for promotional merchandise, it's essential to follow a few crucial steps to ensure a successful outcome for your company. By taking the effort to plan and prepare, you'll be able to maximize the return on investment for every dollar spent on promotional product advertising.

What steps must you take in order to differentiate yourself from your competitors?

Know What Your Target Market Is!

When ordering promotional products, it is important to consider your target audience. Research shows that personalized items are more effective in creating brand awareness. Get to learn who you want to gain as customers and research Merch that will be of interest to this group of people. Brand each of the promo Merchs with your business logo so that every time a business client should use your product, they essential are advertising your business.

Choose items that have practical value!

Additionally, it is crucial to choose products that are relevant to your industry. This will ensure that your promotional items are useful to your customers and will be used frequently, increasing brand exposure. An example would be when you select caps as giveaways at Christmas. Get these caps or hats custom printed as well. Most people in Australia do use a cap when going out in the hot Brisbane sun, especially during the weekends and Christmas holidays. A useful product does go a long way.

High Value Products Reflect The Quality Of Your Company!

Furthermore, it is recommended to select high-quality products that reflect the values and image of your company. This will leave a positive impression on recipients and enhance your brand reputation. Don't go for cheap when planning products to have as giveaways at trade expos or for company giveaways during Christmas. Spend a dollar or two more on a item will give your clients a perceived impression you cherish their patronage and in turn your valued customers will use your gifts in public proudly.

Crafting Efficient Promotional Items refers Simpleness!

When it pertains to designing marketing items, simpleness is crucial. Studies have actually shown that minimalist designs are extra unforgettable and aesthetically appealing. Stay clear of messy formats and too much text, as they can bewilder the recipient. Instead, opt for clean and succinct designs that effectively communicate your message. In addition, it is essential to use your business logo design prominently on the item to increase brand name acknowledgment. By maintaining the design simple and including your logo design, you can create aesthetically appealing marketing items that leave a lasting impact.

Determining the most ideal distributor for your company can be accomplished by following these actions.

To guarantee the success of your marketing item campaign, it's essential to meticulously pick a distributor that can meet your high quality and timeliness expectations. Start by examining respectable firms with a history of delivering first-class items. Seek consumer responses and reviews to obtain understandings right into the distributor's dependability and consumer contentment. In addition, take into consideration the distributor's production capacities and turnaround time to ensure they can provide your things promptly. By doing your due persistance, you can self-confidence in the high quality and timely shipment of your marketing items.

Choosing the suitable channels for circulation.

A well-thought-out circulation strategy is necessary for making best use of the influence of your marketing items and guaranteeing they reach your wanted audience. Thoroughly take into consideration the most effective circulation channels for your target market, such as trade shows, seminars, or direct-mail advertising campaigns. In addition, make use of electronic systems and social media sites to expand the reach of your marketing things. By tactically dispersing your items, you can increase their effectiveness and create a favorable feedback from your target market.

Just How To Measure ROI of Projects!

To optimize your marketing item campaigns, it's essential to monitor and evaluate their effectiveness. Utilize tools like unique promo code codes or QR codes to track feedback and conversion prices, offering useful understandings right into the success of your campaigns. In addition, collect responses from customers to understand their perception of the marketing things and their effect on brand name understanding. By analyzing information and responses, you can fine-tune your marketing techniques and attain better outcomes in time.

More Information On Where To Access Your Events' Promo Items

Conclusion! To take advantage of your marketing items, it is essential to maintain several factors in mind. First, consider your target market and choose items that matter and of high quality. In addition, focus on creating aesthetically appealing yet simple designs for your things. It is additionally essential to pick a trustworthy distributor and create a critical circulation method to guarantee maximum influence. Last but not least, consistently track and analyze the outcomes of your marketing campaigns to make necessary enhancements. By considering these points, you can effectively make use of marketing items to bolster your brand name understanding and attain your marketing goals.

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[brisbaneservices]

How To Purchase Promotional P

Before placing an order for promotional merchandise, it's essential to follow a few crucial steps to ensure a successful outcome for your company. By taking the time to plan and prepare, you'll be able to maximize the return on investment for every dollar spent on promotional product advertising.

What steps must you take in order to differentiate yourself from your competitors?

Understand the demographic you are trying to reach!

When ordering promotional products, it is important to consider your target audience. Research shows that personalized items are more effective in creating brand awareness. Get to learn who you want to gain as customers and research products that will be of interest to this group of people. Brand each of the promo Merchs with your company logo so that every time a business client should use your product, they essential are advertising your company.

Choose items that have practical value!

It's essential to select promotional items that align with your business sector, ensuring they're practical and valuable to your customers. This will boost brand visibility, as they'll be used frequently. For instance, customized caps or hats make great giveaways during Christmas in Brisbane, Australia, as they're a useful item that people commonly use when spending time outdoors, especially during weekends and holidays. A thoughtfully chosen product can go a long way in promoting your brand.

High Value Products Reflect The Quality Of Your Company!

Moreover, it is advisable to choose premium goods that embody your company's principles and identity. This will create a favorable impact on recipients and elevate your brand standing. Avoid opting for low-cost options when selecting promotional items for trade expos or corporate holiday giveaways. Investing a little more in a product will convey to your clients that

Crafting Efficient Advertising Items refers Simpleness!

When it comes to making advertising products, simpleness is essential. Researches have revealed that minimalist layouts are much more remarkable and aesthetically appealing. Prevent messy designs and extreme text, as they can bewilder the recipient. Rather, choose clean and concise layouts that efficiently convey your message. Furthermore, it is essential to utilize your business logo plainly on the product to raise brand acknowledgment. By maintaining the style easy and integrating your logo, you can produce aesthetically appealing advertising products that leave a enduring impression.

How To Know Which Distributor Is Best For Your Organization!

To make certain the success of your advertising product campaign, it's crucial to very carefully pick a vendor who can satisfy your quality and timeliness expectations. Beginning by exploring trustworthy firms with a history of providing top-notch products. Look for client feedback and reviews to obtain insights right into the vendor's integrity and client satisfaction. Furthermore, think about the vendor's manufacturing capabilities and turn-around time to guarantee they can provide your products quickly. By doing your due diligence, you can self-confidence in the quality and prompt distribution of your advertising products.

Picking The Right Distribution Channels!

A well-balanced circulation strategy is vital for making best use of the influence of your advertising products and ensuring they reach your wanted audience. Very carefully think about the most efficient circulation networks for your target market, such as trade shows, meetings, or direct mail campaigns. Furthermore, use digital platforms and social media to broaden the reach of your advertising products. By tactically dispersing your products, you can raise their efficiency and produce a positive reaction from your target audience.

Exactly How To Gauge ROI of Projects!

To enhance your advertising product campaigns, it's crucial to keep an eye on and analyze their efficiency. Take advantage of devices like distinct voucher codes or QR codes to track reaction and conversion prices, providing beneficial insights right into the success of your campaigns. Furthermore, collect feedback from consumers to comprehend their understanding of the advertising products and their effect on brand understanding. By examining information and feedback, you can fine-tune your advertising approaches and attain much better outcomes over time.

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Summary! In conclusion, when getting advertising products, consider your target audience, select relevant and premium products, and style easy yet aesthetically appealing products. Select a trusted vendor and prepare a strategic circulation method to take full advantage of the influence of your advertising products. Ultimately, track and examine the outcomes to constantly enhance your advertising campaigns. By adhering to these pointers, you can efficiently use advertising products to enhance your brand understanding and attain your advertising and marketing objectives. Likewise keep in mind the adhering to points: your target audience, significance to your market, and the quality of the products, you can take full advantage of the influence of your advertising products.

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