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perfactiongeeksblockchain · 1 year

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The Business of Cloud Hosting Is Growing Faster than Ever

What is the cloud?

The cloud refers to software, applications, and other services that run on the internet rather than a remote server. Many firms operate cloud technology in some capacity to augment or streamline their current processes, including hosting, data storage, and app deployment.

In short, cloud technology lets companies reengineer their back-end architectures (servers, databases, application software, and more) and put them in virtual environments where they can be accessed remotely without needing physical server hardware of their own. Cloud services (also known as web services) are a blanket way to convey these computing powers. The cloud also lets any worker with an internet connection access authorised company systems and programmes.

8 advantages of moving to the cloud for companies

There are many advantages companies can encounter when moving to cloud technology. This change can not only help trim budgets but also positively improve the way your workforce communicates.

Cost savings: before cloud technology, firms were required to pay for on-site wait people or even off-site data hubs. Cloud technology preserves space and reduces costs by allowing your firm to pay a hosting company instead of hosting the servers in-house. For instance, Oracle Cloud clients save approximately 30%-50% by switching to the cloud.

Improved data security

Data stored on the cloud is encrypted, making it more secure than other hosting solutions. In addition, since cloud technology is updated continually and is newer than older data centres, cloud hosting businesses can keep up with the latest cyber security dangers, while off-site servers are more at risk. In addition, the company doesn’t have to focus as much on in-house security since cloud hosting firms present a variety of options to select from, including tokenization, firewalls, and virtual private networks (VPNs).

More transparent data insights and analytics

Cloud technology can bring much-needed wisdom and analytics to your fingertips in seconds. You can gain access to these insights quickly, and it’s more comfortable to share, unite, and assess these findings with all workers. Many cloud solutions also present additional analytics tools and functionality, depending on your company’s needs. The four major analytics tools include descriptive, predictive, prescriptive, and diagnostic analytics.

Better data recovery

You won’t have to stress about losing data with cloud technology; even if an emergency transpires, you’ll be able to access your files from anywhere. Cloud security includes fail-safes like storing your data and media on a secondary site in case of an emergency for better catastrophe recovery and company continuity.

Ability to scale

Numerous cloud technology firms suggest a pay-as-you-go estimate for their services, letting you modify as your business expands or changes. This authorises you to rise quickly when required or slim down your cloud services as your company model adapts.

For example, if you’re a start-up, you might not require CRM or data research tools right away. Still, if your firm were to improve, you might need to make your cloud technology include CRM programmes and more insightful analytics.

Increased collaboration

Cloud technology is perhaps best known for getting employees and teams together, letting users work in documents and spaces at the same time while automatically syncing and keeping updates. No more transmitting hundreds of copies of the same documents; cloud technology always provides you with the most recent version.

More environmentally friendly

By eliminating the necessity for an off-site warehouse or a data centre in-house, your company can save money on power, directly affecting the environment. In addition, since your cloud platform will only deliver the services you require, you’ll only be using the power needed to run your operation and nothing more.

increased time savings

Cloud technology delivers time savings in numerous ways. First, rolling out cloud technology permits for more quick training and updates than outdated software. But, often, cloud companies provide in-house training when required, and communicating and working remotely is also quicker and more comfortable thanks to cloud-based collaborative tools.

Potential risks of moving to the cloud

While cloud technology is, no doubt, the future for multiple firms, there are some threats you should comprehend before migrating. A few common threats you’ll want to consider include:

Migration can be time-consuming

Migrating to any new technology requires a time investment, and cloud technologies are no exception. While adopting a SaaS model may allow you to slowly upgrade over time, more wide-ranging cloud technology, like that offered by IBM, may require longer periods of investment since they operate their engineers.

Potential for existing data loss

Not all software plays well together. Unfortunately, when embracing a cloud technology system, there’s always the possibility your old data can’t be easily imported. Whether this represents a gap in data or manually having to input old data, prepare yourself for the chance that your existing data could be lost or no longer efficiently accessible.

Potential change in data architecture

Even if you can transfer your old data over, it may not examine the way you’re expecting. Each cloud technology has its own method for storing, filtering, and accessing data. The hierarchy might be distinct, indicating that your old data must be resorted, categorised, or not ideally re-entered to fit the new information architecture.

The decline in data control using a third party

There’s no way around it. Transitioning to cloud computing signifies communicating your data to a third party. And the path its control might extend is up to you. Instead of accessing the data through your server, your assets and systems will now be controlled by the cloud provider, restricting your access to your data.

Loss of visibility

Along with reducing the control you have over your data, your IT team’s visibility into how your data is stored and accessed may also be reduced. The trade-off when moving to a cloud storage firm is that a third party is now operating the hosting of these techniques. As a consequence, you’ll lose some visibility into your procedures. For example, you may not be able to resolve technical problems or issues with your firewall any longer, thus leaving your cloud provider to tackle these problems.

New data stored on the cloud can be lost

While data is deemed more secure in the cloud, that doesn’t mean it can never be lost. The third-party company could accidentally delete or migrate your data without backing it up, forcing you to lose valuable data, programmes, or upgrades. This part of the procedure is almost entirely outside your authority.

Technical assistance is outsourced

Imagine your company or any of your employees experiencing technical problems with your cloud provider. In that case, you’ll typically be required to reach out to a consumer assistance line via chat, phone, or email. Depending on your miracle level and the cloud provider you’ve chosen, answers to technical problems could take days, slowing down your company’s productivity.

#Cloud Hosting Is Growing #blockchain app development company #cloud hosting #cloud computing #hosting services provider #ios app development #perfectiongeeks #web design #iot application development #iot application services #app development #web development usa

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web-seo1 · 2 years

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Power Marketing International is the right choice if you want effective and measurable control over your company's web design, branding, digital presence, and impact. We will assist you in moving to the next level, regardless of where you are currently in the online space. We have experts in each key area who are eager to help you. From WordPress websites to eCommerce websites to brand recognition, we've got you covered. We offer everything from Pay-Per-Click and SEO services to Social Media, Content Creation, and Public Relations. We collaborate to ensure that all of our clients receive the best results possible by utilising integrated design and internet marketing strategies and campaigns. The name of the game at PMI is results and transparency.

#organic seo marketing company #organic seo marketing services #organic seo marketing agency #web hosting and email services #webdesigninginflorida #digitalmarketingagencyinflorida #digitalmarketingservicesinflorida #local seo marketing agency #organic seo agency #digitalmarketingcompanyinflorida #web design and development in usa #website care plans

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sunny-day-jack-official · 1 year

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URGENT! Stop KOSA!

Hey all, this is BáiYù and Sauce here with something that isn't necessarily SnaccPop related, but it's important nonetheless. For those of you who follow US politics, The Kids Online Safety Act passed the Senate yesterday and is moving forward.

This is bad news for everyone on the internet, even outside of the USA.

What is KOSA?

While it's officially known as "The Kids Online Safety Act," KOSA is an internet censorship masquerading as another "protect the children" bill, much in the same way SESTA/FOSTA claimed that it would stop illegal sex trafficking but instead hurt sex workers and their safety. KOSA was originally introduced by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass. and Bill Cassidy, R-La. as a way to update the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Act, raising the age of consent for data collection to 16 among other things. You can read the original press release of KOSA here, while you can read the full updated text of the bill on the official USA Congress website.

You can read the following articles about KOSA here:

EFF: The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online

CyberScoop: Children’s online safety bills clear Senate hurdle despite strong civil liberties pushback

TeenVogue: The Kids Online Safety Act Would Harm LGBTQ+ Youth, Restrict Access to Information and Community

The quick TL;DR:

KOSA authorizes an individual state attorneys general to decide what might harm minors

Websites will likely preemptively remove and ban content to avoid upsetting state attorneys generals (this will likely be topics such as abortion, queerness, feminism, sexual content, and others)

In order for a platform to know which users are minors, they'll require a more invasive age and personal data verification method

Parents will be granted more surveillance tools to see what their children are doing on the web

KOSA is supported by Christofascists and those seeking to harm the LGBTQ+ community

If a website holding personally identifying information and government documents is hacked, that's a major cybersecurity breach waiting to happen

What Does This Mean?

You don't have to look far to see or hear about the violence being done to the neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ communities worldwide, who are oftentimes one and the same. Social media sites censoring discussion of these topics would stand to do even further harm to folks who lack access to local resources to understand themselves and the hardships they face; in addition, the fact that websites would likely store personally identifying information and government documents means the death of any notion of privacy.

Sex workers and those living in certain countries already are at risk of losing their ways of life, living in a reality where their online activities are closely surveilled; if KOSA officially becomes law, this will become a reality for many more people and endanger those at the fringes of society even worse than it already is.

Why This Matters Outside of The USA

I previously mentioned SESTA/FOSTA, which passed and became US law in 2018. This bill enabled many of the anti-adult content attitudes that many popular websites are taking these days as well as the tightening of restrictions laid down by payment processors. Companies and sites hosted in the USA have to follow US laws even if they're accessible worldwide, meaning that folks overseas suffer as well.

What Can You Do?

If you're a US citizen, contact your Senators and tell them that you oppose KOSA. This can be as an email, letter, or phone call that you make to your state Senator.

For resources on how to do so, view the following links:

https://www.badinternetbills.com/#kosa

https://www.stopkosa.com/

https://linktr.ee/stopkosa

If you live outside of the US or cannot vote, the best thing you can do is sign the petition at the Stop KOSA website, alert your US friends about what's happening, and raise some noise.

Above all else, don’t panic. By staying informed by what’s going on, you can prepare for the legal battles ahead.

#stop KOSA #KOSA #censorship #us law #somethings wrong with sunny day jack #the groom of gallagher mansion #dachabo

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

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'We buy ugly houses' is code for 'we steal vulnerable peoples' homes'

Tonight (May 11) at 7PM, I’m in CALGARY for Wordfest, with my novel Red Team Blues; I’ll be hosted by Peter Hemminger at the Memorial Park Library, 2nd Floor.

Home ownership is the American dream: not only do you get a place to live, free from the high-handed dictates of a landlord, but you also get an asset that appreciates, building intergenerational wealth while you sleep — literally.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/11/ugly-houses-ugly-truth/#homevestor

Of course, you can’t have it both ways. If your house is an asset you use to cover falling wages, rising health care costs, spiraling college tuition and paper-thin support for eldercare, then it can’t be a place you live. It’s gonna be an asset you sell — or at the very least, borrow so heavily against that you are in constant risk of losing it.

This is the contradiction at the heart of the American dream: when America turned its back on organized labor as an engine for creating prosperity and embraced property speculation, it set itself on the road to serfdom — a world where the roof over your head is also your piggy bank, destined to be smashed open to cover the rising costs that an organized labor movement would have fought:

https://gen.medium.com/the-rents-too-damned-high-520f958d5ec5

Today, we’re hit the end of the road for the post-war (unevenly, racially segregated) shared prosperity that made it seem, briefly, that everyone could get rich by owning a house, living in it, then selling it to everybody else. Now that the game is ending, the winners are cashing in their chips:

https://doctorow.medium.com/the-end-of-the-road-to-serfdom-bfad6f3b35a9

The big con of home ownership is proceeding smartly on schedulee. First, you let the mark win a little, so they go all in on the scam. Then you take it all back. Obama’s tolerance of bank sleze after the Great Financial Crisis kicked off the modern era of corporations and grifters stealing Americans’ out from under them, forging deeds in robosigning mills:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-breaks-down-93-bln-robo-signing-settlement-2013-02-28

The thefts never stopped. Today on Propublica, by Anjeanette Damon, Byard Duncan and Mollie Simon bring a horrifying, brilliantly reported account of the rampant, bottomless scams of Homevestors, AKA We Buy Ugly Houses, AKA “the #1 homebuyer in the USA”:

https://www.propublica.org/article/ugly-truth-behind-we-buy-ugly-houses

Homevestors — an army of the hedge fund Bayview Asset Management — claims a public mission: to bail out homeowners sitting on unsellable houses with all-cash deals. The company’s franchisees — 1,150 of them in 48 states — then sprinkle pixie dust and secret sauce on these “ugly houses” and sell them at a profit.

But Propublica’s investigation — which relied on whistleblowers, company veterans, court records and interviews with victims — tells a very different story. The Homevestor they discovered is a predator that steals houses out from under elderly people, disabled people, people struggling with mental illness and other vulnerable people. It’s a company whose agents have a powerful, well-polished playbook that stops family members from halting the transfers the company’s high-pressure salespeople set in motion.

Propublica reveals homeowners with advanced dementia who signed their shaky signatures to transfers that same their homes sold out from under them for a fraction of their market value. They show how Homevestor targets neighborhoods struck by hurricanes, or whose owners are recently divorced, or sick. One whistleblower tells of how the company uses the surveillance advertising industry to locate elderly people who’ve broken a hip: “a 60-day countdown to death — and, possibly, a deal.” The company’s mobile ads are geofenced to target people near hospitals and rehab hospitals, in hopes of finding desperate sellers who need to liquidate homes so that Medicaid will cover their medical expenses.

The sales pitches are relentless. One of Homevestor’s targets was a Texas woman whose father had recently been murdered. As she grieved, they blanketed her in pitches to sell her father’s house until “checking her mail became a traumatic experience.”

Real-estate brokers are bound by strict regulations, but not house flippers like Homevestors. Likewise, salespeople who pitch other high-ticket items, from securities to plane tickets — are required to offer buyers a cooling-off period during which they can reconsider their purchases. By contrast, Homevestors’ franchisees are well-versed in “muddying the title” to houses after the contract is signed, filing paperwork that makes it all but impossible for sellers to withdraw from the sale.

This produces a litany of ghastly horror-stories: homeowners who end up living in their trucks after they were pressured into a lowball sales; sellers who end up dying in hospital beds haunted by the trick that cost them their homes. One woman who struggled with hoarding was tricked into selling her house by false claims that the city would evict her because of her hoarding. A widow was tricked into signing away the deed to her late husband’s house by the lie that she could do so despite not being on the deed. One seller was tricked into signing a document he believed to be a home equity loan application, only to discover he had sold his house at a huge discount on its market value. An Arizona woman was tricked into selling her dead mother’s house through the lie that the house would have to be torn down and the lot redeveloped; the Homevestor franchisee then flipped the house for 5,500% of the sale-price.

The company vigorously denies these claims. They say that most people who do business with Homevestors are happy with the outcome; in support of this claim, they cite internal surveys of their own customers that produce a 96% approval rating.

When confronted with the specifics, the company blamed rogue franchisees. But Propublica obtained training materials and other internal documents that show that the problem is widespread and endemic to Homevestors’ business. Propublica discovered that at least eight franchisees who engaged in conduct the company said it “didn’t tolerate” had been awarded prizes by the company for their business acumen.

Franchisees are on the hook for massive recurring fees and face constant pressure from corporate auditors to close sales. To make those sales, franchisees turn to Homevana’s training materials, which are rife with predatory tactics. One document counsels franchisees that “pain is always a form of motivation.” What kind of pain? Lost jobs, looming foreclosure or a child in need of surgery.

A former franchisee explained how this is put into practice in the field: he encountered a seller who needed to sell quickly so he could join his dying mother who had just entered a hospice 1,400 miles away. The seller didn’t want to sell the house; they wanted to “get to Colorado to see their dying mother.”

These same training materials warn franchisees that they must not deal with sellers who are “subject to a guardianship or has a mental capacity that is diminished to the point that the person does not understand the value of the property,” but Propublica’s investigation discovered “a pattern of disregard” for this rule. For example, there was the 2020 incident in which a 78-year-old Atlanta man sold his house to a Homevestors franchisee for half its sale price. The seller was later shown to be “unable to write a sentence or name the year, season, date or month.”

The company tried to pin the blame for all this on bad eggs among its franchisees. But Propublica found that some of the company’s most egregious offenders were celebrated and tolerated before and after they were convicted of felonies related to their conduct on behalf of the company. For example, Hi-Land Properties is a five-time winner of Homevestors’ National Franchise of the Year prize. The owner was praised by the CEO as “loyal, hardworking franchisee who has well represented our national brand, best practices and values.”

This same franchisee had “filed two dozen breach of contract lawsuits since 2016 and clouded titles on more than 300 properties by recording notices of a sales contract.” Hi-Land “sued an elderly man so incapacitated by illness he couldn’t leave his house.”

Another franchisee, Patriot Holdings, uses the courts aggressively to stop families of vulnerable people from canceling deals their relatives signed. Patriot Holdings’ co-owner, Cory Evans, eventually pleaded guilty to to two felonies, attempted grand theft of real property. He had to drop his lawsuits against buyers, and make restitution.

According to Homevestors’ internal policies, Patriot’s franchise should have been canceled. But Homevestors allowed Patriot to stay in business after Cory Evans took his name off the business, leaving his brothers and other partners to run it. Nominally, Cory Evans was out of the picture, but well after that date, internal Homevestors included Evans in an award it gave to Patriot, commemorating its sales (Homevestors claims this was an error).

Propublica’s reporters sought comment from Homevestors and its franchisees about this story. The company hired “a former FBI spokesperson who specializes in ‘crisis and special situations’ and ‘reputation management’ and funnelled future questions through him.”

Internally, company leadership scrambled to control the news. The company convened a webinar in April with all 1,150 franchisees to lay out its strategy. Company CEO David Hicks explained the company’s plan to “bury” the Propublica article with “‘strategic ad buys on social and web pages’ and ‘SEO content to minimize visibility.’”

https://www.propublica.org/article/homevestors-aims-to-bury-propublica-reporting

Franchisees were warned not to click links to the story because they “might improve its internet search ranking.”

Even as the company sought to “bury” the story and stonewalled Propublica, they cleaned house, instituting new procedures and taking action against franchisees identified in Propublica’s article. “Clouding titles” is now prohibited. Suing sellers for breach of contract is “discouraged.” Deals with seniors “should always involve family, attorneys or other guardians.”

During the webinar, franchisees “pushed back on the changes, claiming they could hurt business.”

If you’ve had experience with hard-sell house-flippers, Propublica wants to know: “If you’ve had experience with a company or buyer promising fast cash for homes, our reporting team wants to hear about it.”

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Calgary, Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

[Image ID: A Depression-era photo of a dour widow standing in front of a dilapidated cabin. Next to her is Ug, the caveman mascot for Homevestors, smiling and pointing at her. Behind her is a 'We buy ugly houses' sign.

Image: Homevestors https://www.homevestors.com/

Fair use: https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property

#pluralistic #the rents too damned high #house flipping #llc brain #scams #elder abuse #ripoffs #weaponized shelter #predators #homevestors #we buy ugly houses #ugly houses #real estate #propublica

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starsainzjr · 11 months

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Old Money

Pairing: Carlos Sainz x show jumper!reader Faceclaim: Jessica Springsteen

A/N: This one is incredibly INCREDIBLY self indulgent. Carlos is my favorite driver and I'm a show jumper and I'm projecting super hard

✷✷✷✷✷

yourusername Madrid, Spain

Liked by teamkpf, usajumping, carlossainz55 and 12,745 others

yourusername That jump off 😮‍💨 Never a dull moment in Madrid!

View all 963 comments

usajumping Yet another thrilling win!

teamkpf The Padawan becomes the Master

yourusername Never! You'll be world number 1 long after I'm dead

carlossainz55 Thank you for your hospitality! I hope to get you to a race sometime soon

yourusername My pleasure! Consider it a professional courtesy 😉

chiliwilicarlos Carlos??? What are you doing here????

jumpingtoconclusions Our QUEEN! Her rule of the ring will last a long, long time @/teamkpf you did a good job with this one

carlossainz55 Madrid, Spain

Liked by f1, yourusername, charles_leclerc and 427,745 others

carlossainz55 Bit of a different look this weekend. Thank you to @/yourusername and @/usajumping for hosting me!

View all 61,474 comments

yourusername Thank you for coming! My favorite cheerleader all season ☺️

carlossainz55 Come out to a race and take a turn!

yourusername Give me a time and a place and I'll be there!

usajumping Show jumping meets F1!

f1 Now this is a team up we can get behind!

chiliwilicarlos Stop that horse reminds me so much of Carlos why are they actually twins

blackfireproofs HELP WHY ARE YOU RIGHT

blackfireproofs Carlos and his old money era is continuous

yourusername Barcelona, Spain

Liked by usajumping, carlossainz55, charles_leclerc and 11,982 others

yourusername I think I did the cheerleading thing pretty well! Thank you @/carlossainz55 and @/scuderiaferrari for the invite!

View all 1,004 comments

carlossainz55 Red looks good on you! Glad to return the favor

yourusername You should see me in the Team USA jacket 😉

chiliwilicarlos The flirting is killing me

scuderiaferrari Swapping out horseshoes for tyres!

usajumping Are we going to need to figure out a shared custody schedule for our athletes?

jumpingtoconclusions ...I'm gonna have to get into F1 aren't I....

chiliwilicarlos I can become a show jumping fan. I can be a show jumping fan for them

scuderiaferrari Spruce Meadows

Liked by carlossainz55, charles_leclerc, yourusername and 825,374 others

scuderiaferrari Different kind of paddock for C² this weekend! Thank you @/usajumping and @/yourusername for being the best hosts!

View all 87,645 comments

usajumping Did we just become best friends???

scuderiaferrari Give us the name of your catering and you've got a deal

yourusername Glad I could put on a show for you! Thank you for coming! ☺️

charles_leclerc Never seen Carlos that invested in a sporting event before

carlossainz55 Try being more interesting on the track if you want me to pay attention to you

yourusername Them's fightin' words 🥊

chiliwilicarlos I'm calling it now, these two will be dating by the start of next season

blackfireproofs Wait why is this actually so adorable I love this matchup

justaninchident Charles third wheeled hard this weekend

yourusername Prague, Czech Republic

Liked by usajumping, carlossainz55, brainmoggre and 14,468 others

yourusername Couldn't bring it home this time, but we'll go again harder next year. Thank you Prague for such an amazing opportunity!

View all 1,964 comments

teamkpf Keep your head up, kid!

yourusername Thanks, dad ☺️

carlossainz55 Good company in second place in the meantime

yourusername Little too much crying on the kiss n' cry for my liking

chiliwilicarlos 👀

usajumping An all USA podium is nothing to bat an eye at!

jumpingtoconclusions Calling it now, Yn will be the Max Verstappen of show jumping next year

blackfireproofs You've been doing your research!

chiliwilicarlos I've never watched show jumping before this but I can see why Carlos loves it! Yn is a powerhouse and even my inexperienced eye can tell that

carlossainz55 Prague, Czech Republic

Liked by yourusername, charles_leclerc, landonorris and 614,194 others

carlossainz55 Nice to get a quick break, but it's back to the grind 💪

View all 99,735 comments

charles_leclerc Carlos, call me.

blackfireproofs Ooooooh someone's in troubleeeeee

landonorris CARLOS. CALL ME.

chiliwilicarlos I would kill to be a fly on this wall

chiliwilicarlos Okay, I'm revising my bet. By Christmas.

jumpingtoconclusions So this is the man that has my idol's heart

blackfireproofs The way that I am dying for these two to get together

scuderiaferrari @/usajumping Our driver is in the wrong paddock

chiliwilicarlos ADMIN WHAT DO YOU KNOW

yourusername Yas Marina

Liked by carlossainz55, scuderiaferrari, usajumping and 31,037 others

yourusername Second place is the best place

View all 2,002 comments

carlossainz55 Next year is our year, chula

yourusername Gonna kick some ass, lindo

chiliwilicarlos THE NICKNAMES KILL ME NOW

charles_leclerc You're partying with us tonight tho right????

yourusername You couldn't get rid of me if you tried 😉

blackfireproofs Okay but the old money vibes with these two...

chiliwilicarlos The way she unabashedly posts him 😭 Girl is head over heels

blackfireproofs If I were this close to Carlos I would post him all the time too tbh

yourusername Mallorca, Spain

Liked by carlossainz55, teamkpf, charles_leclerc and 32,089 others

yourusername Rest and Recharge

View all 3,163 comments

charles_leclerc Why wasn't I invited

carlossainz55 We were lost without our professional third wheel

yourusername I'll come spend a week in Monaco to make it up

teamkpf Kid, you don't tell me anything anymore

yourusername Sorry, dad

jumpingtoconclusions Oh she's gonna be unstoppable

justaninchident Charles is gonna become their kid mark my words

chiliwilicarlos I will protect them with my life

blackfireproofs Relationship confirmation 👀👀👀

chiliwilicarlos Even if they're not dating their friendship is enough to make me believe in love again

carlossainz55 Wellington, Florida

Liked by yourusername, scuderiaferrari, charles_leclerc and 582,946 others

carlossainz55 Today we discovered that I'm allergic to hay

View all 41,046 comments

yourusername I really am so sorry

carlossainz55 I will brave it for you, chula

charles_leclerc I wanna meet the ponies 😭

yourusername I'll give Carlos' next ticket to you

carlossainz55 HEY

chiliwilicarlos I can see Carlos being a horsey boyfriend

blackfireproofs He would carry her ring bag with reverence

jumpingtoconclusions Our king and queen

usajumping Paris, France

Liked by yourusername, teamkpf, carlossainz55 and 3,183 others

usajumping Presenting Team USA for the 2024 Summer Olympics! These riders are heading to Paris! Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut, and Yn Yln will be the main team while Natalie Dean and Bliss Heers act as substitutes.

Let's cheer Team USA on to gold!

View all 491 comments

yourusername Let's go! See you in Paris!

teamkpf Get the countdown started!

carlossainz55 @/maxverstappen1 Can I borrow your jet?

maxverstappen1 You kidding??? I'm coming with!

chiliwilicarlos Yn won over Max too 😭

jumpingtoconclusions This is going to be the most star studded kiss n' cry ever

jumpingtoconclusions The sheer power in this team announcement 😮‍💨

yourusername Paris, France

Liked by carlossainz55, teamkpf, usajumping and 50,745 others

yourusername What a dream! Silver in the individual and gold in the team event! Could not be more grateful ☺️

View all 3,038 comments

teamkpf No one else I would rather share the podium with! You'll be kicking me off the top step soon

yourusername Still a long way to go to catch you! Best mentor ever

usajumping Now that's how it's done!

scuderiaferrari A member of the Tifosi is a gold medalist! Congratulazioni from everyone here at Scuderia Ferrari!

yourusername Grazie mille!

carlossainz55 So so proud! Cannot be happier to call you mi amor this weekend!

yourusername My biggest fan! Could not have done this without you mi vida!

chiliwilicarlos She called him her life 😭 I'll be sleeping on the train tracks tonight

carlossainz55 Paris, France

Liked by yourusername, charles_leclerc, landonorris and 718,364 others

carlossainz55 Mi campeona

View all 42,748 comments

yourusername Mi amor ❤️ I love you

carlossainz55 Never been more proud ❤️

landonorris Damn, someone stole my bitch

yourusername I can share

carlossainz55 No, Lando needs to learn to share

charles_leclerc Professional third wheel reporting for duty

yourusername Thank you for your service 🫡

blackfireproofs Oh he's in LOVE love

jumpingtoconclusions But can we discuss the picture of her in front of the Eiffel Tower? Proud boyfriend moment

chiliwilicarlos THEY'RE SO CUTE IT CAUSES ME PHYSICAL PAIN

yourusername Zandvoort

Liked by carlossainz55, teamkpf, scuderiaferrari and 40,467 others

yourusername Proud doesn't even begin to cover it! The trophy shelf is getting crowded

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carlossainz55 Mine can go in the closet, your gold medal takes priority

yourusername ABSOLUTELY NOT

carlossainz55 Mi amor ❤️

yourusername Mi vida ❤️

scuderiaferrari Our biggest flex is having a power couple like this in our garage

usajumping Ferrari garage 🤝 Team USA barn

chiliwilicarlos They love each other so much it's so damn cute

blackfireproofs The power couple we didn't know we needed

✷✷✷✷✷

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#carlos sainz x reader #carlos sainz x you #carlos sainz social media au #f1 social media au #f1 x you #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #carlos sainz fanfic #carlos sainz #social media au

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sc0tters · 6 months

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Night to Change | Rutger McGroarty

summary: when Rutger is cleared for sexual activity all he can think of is the team physio.

request: yes/no

warnings: sexual themes, fingering, oral (fem and m receiving!), underaged drinking, swearing.

word count: 3.87k

authors note: I forgot how much fun it is to write for Rutger! we all have to thank @fantillisdaylight again for letting me bounce this idea off of her. I straight up loved the middle parts of this, I wrote it at like 2 am and got all the chaos that came with it.

The boys were happy to be back.

Rutger felt like he was on cloud nine coming back as the captain of the USA wjc team that won. Not only was the hockey team hosting a party to celebrate the first win of 2024, but it was also their champions that held their medals proudly. For most they were just happy to be back, even if it meant that they were in their uncomfortable beds that colleges seemed to love so much. Yet for Rutger it was like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, being cleared by the physio’s for sexual activity and he was ready to explode “you okay Rut?” Your hand pressed against his back pulling him out of the daze he was in.

His throat went dry as his eyes went wide seeing the concerned look on your face “just need a drink.” He confessed forcing a smile onto his lips, you were the girl he had a crush on since freshman year. You were the sweet student physio for the hockey team who made it impossible for the boy to fall in love with.

Tonight you were in this black dress with your white converse as your hair had been freshly curled “you want some company for that?” Your offer made him freeze watching your rake your fingers through your hair “you can say no Rut.” His silence made you frown causing you to turn your foot wanting to leave him.

The boy however was quick to wrap his hand around your wrist “just didn’t think you’d want to come with.” Rutger confessed seeing your sorority sisters sending you both a smirk as they knew all about your feelings for the sophomore.

It was originally just the mere thought of him being cute and sweet. But when he got injured and was then spending almost every day. It was tough for feelings to not come into place and you were both fools for ignoring the way you felt about each other.

The day had been dreary, rain coated the glass panes of your window. You took the day off after you learnt your boyfriend had cheated on you. The poor weather did little to make you feel better this resulting in you practically rotting under your blankets all day. Or at least that was what you were doing until the sudden sound of knocks at your window caused you to groan.

Emotions served worse than a hang over as you wrapped your blanket around your head looking to where the noise came from. Your jaw dropped seeing Rutger perched on the rose wall that climbed up your side of the house “oh my god.” Your hand cupped your mouth as you held back a laugh pushing off of your bed making your way to him.

You were quick to open your window as it let the rain fall in “what on earth are you doing here?” A dry laugh left your lips as the boy pushed his now soaked hair out of his face “missed you today.” The new year had barely started and preseason training was all that the team had their minds on.

It warmed your heart that he cared “needed some space.” You shrugged dropping your blanket “but come in before you get a cold.” You ushered him inside caring little for the rules of your sorority.

Rutger had never seen your room yet if you had asked him this was exactly how he thought it would have looked “you’ve been crying.” He frowned seeing your bloodshot eyes that brought out the clumps your mascara had sticking to your eyelashes “what happened to ya?” The hockey player asked noticing the empty pint of ice cream that sat next to your bed with an unopened bottle of vodka “Jake cheated on me.” Your star boyfriend of three years and the captain of the wrestling team was disliked by the entire hockey team.

In that moment Rutger wanted to go hunt him down in his frat and punch his face in “are you okay?” Your sniffles reminded him of the fact that you were still suffering from a heartbreak “honestly she thinks she took my man but she just took my problems.” You pointed out sitting on your bed.

The boy let a laugh escape his lips as he sat next to you “I don’t think he ever appreciated you.” Rutger sighed placing his hand on your knee “you know I’ve already been through the pity speeches from everyone else.” You pointed out which made him frown.

His thumb was soft against your skin “because he was an ass.” His nonchalant tone made you laugh “y’know you could have texted me.” You confessed letting out a yawn as the rain soothed your mind.

Rutger shook his head as he raked his fingers through your hair “wanted to see you.” His tone was sickly sweet. It made you crawl to the head of your bed only alarming the boy “come lay with me.” Your words made him worried as he knew he would be a deadman already then he’d also be a loved up man too.

Because of course whilst his intentions were pure, his feelings were powered by love “look I’m already sad so don’t leave me lonely too.” You warned shooting him a serious look to highlight that you weren’t kidding. All he did was nod shuffling up the side of your bed before he was then sat next to you.

He kicked his shoes off allowing him to lay on your bed for less than a second before you practically crawled into him “can I do anything for you?” Rutger enquired rubbing his hand over your back. But as he looking down expecting a response you had already fallen asleep, clearly needing it.

It calmed his mind to see you so peaceful and asleep as you lay there “goodnight y/n.” The boy mumbled leaning down to kiss your head before he lay back in his original position, leaving two hours later as there was no sign of you waking up.

Sentiments of that night echoed in his mind as you smiled at him “always like to be with you.” He surely had to know how his words made your knees buckle “you want to lead the way f’me then?” You locked your hand with his as he nodded.

Rutger didn’t hesitate to pull you through the crowd “now what kind of drink am I getting for the lady?” His voice was louder trying to get over the speaker that was in front of them “whatever you want baby!” You laughed kissing his cheek.

For the reminder of the night you were practically stuck by the boys side “how the hell did she get him on that dance floor?” Luca furrowed his eyebrows seeing the sight of Rutgers hands gripping at your hips as your ass was against his shorts “because she’s hot and he’s obsessed with her.” Ethan laughed as she turned around with a grin on her face singing along to the song that was playing.

Both of you were feeling a buzz as alcohol roared through your systems “fuck you’re so pretty.” Rutger confessed letting his head drop to your shoulder “such a sweet boy ain’t ya?” Your lips smacked together as your fingers ran through his hair enjoying how he moved in your rhythm.

His “mhm.” Sent vibrations through your body making you force your thighs together “been thinking about how much I’m gonna miss you.” The song ended changing into something slower.

You knew you were progressing your career getting into an NHL team as a physio and you didn’t know what the next year held for the boy “you still got me for a couple of months.” Rutger pointed out turning his head up to look at you “yeah but you’re no longer gonna be in the office.” The confession made your cheeks burn.

Part of you hated admitting that you were going to miss the boy more than you were meant to “you telling me I’m your favourite hockey player?” A grin painted his face “you’re my favourite boy Rut.” You corrected him letting your lips hover over his.

Rutger felt his throat grow tight like he could no longer breathe “you are playing a dangerous game.” He warned licking his lips like it was going to help “you gonna stop me?” You cocked your head letting a smirk form on your face as you waited for his answer.

But instead the boy stayed quiet “let’s get out of here.” He offered holding his hand out to yours “mine is just down the road?” He smiled like you read his mind.

It took the two of you less than five minutes to sneak back into the silent sorority building. Not that it mattered anyways, the president already knew she was going to keep her mouth shut about seeing you leave with the sophomore. Rutger did his best to keep his hands to himself until you shut the door to your bedroom “you want to finally kiss me pretty boy?” You ran your thumb over his lip.

Rutger wasn’t ashamed of the whimper that left his lips “please.” He nodded gripping his fingers at your sides when you pulled your legs over his thighs to straddled him.

The air in the room grew hot “you get any special attention in your injury?” You wanted to make him sweat, to make him almost work for the pleasure that the mere thought had your mouth watering. The boy shook his head “only thought about you.” The confession made you smile as your heart swelled doing flips.

Your hand scratched at the nape of his neck “always such a sweet boy.” You mumbled as you kissed his lips. The moment was soft as he melted into your touch letting his lips graze yours “fuck.” He moaned feeling you nip at his lower lip.

You pulled away with a smirk “think it’s about time I give you a reward for being such a loyal boy.” You dropped to your knees going eye level with his aching bulge that had been pressed against his shorts since you two started dancing.

As you licked your lips looking back up at him Rutger couldn’t help but grow embarrassed “you don’t have to.” This was the moment that he was so used to picturing before he wrapped his hand around his cock in his room imagining that it was yours instead.

You shook your head hooking your fingers under his waist band of his shorts “need you to push your hips up for me.” You we’re glad that he was fast as you added as you were barely able to get his shorts and boxers pulled down two or so inches “you’re so big.”You almost complained feeling as though you wouldn’t be able to handle it.

The tip of his cock was swollen with precum oozing from it “please baby just do something.” Rutger begged seeing you stare at him “since you asked me so nicely.” You smirked dropping your head down to send kitten licks to the mushroom head of his cock.

The boy groaned clenching his hands in your duvet “such a desperate boy ain’t ya?” Your hand wrapped around his boner making it almost impossible for him to stay up straight “god you’re gonna kill me.” The hockey player gasped as he watched your lips wrap around him.

Rutgers eyes fluttered at the sight as you began to control your movements letting yourself take as much of him as you could “fuck.” His hands gripped at your hair doing its best to form a makeshift ponytail.

You hollowed your cheeks out allowing yourself to take more of him as your nose hit his pelvis bone “this is heaven.” He moaned as you tilted your head in a way that let you take even more of him into your throat. Gagging noises echoed off of your rooms walls “I’m gonna.” Rutger cried out as you replaced your mouth with your hand.

It pumped the boys cock as his thighs began to bounce to meet your hand as your other cupped his balls “you wanna make a mess?” You taunted pushing your knees up so that you could kiss him “so bad.” Your cherry lipgloss made him feel drunk all over again as his eyes screwed shut.

Rutgers jaw went slack but he couldn’t find a way to get any words out “please.” He begged letting his lips graze against yours “want to to make a mess f’me okay?” You didn’t give him a chance to answer you as you replaced your hand with your mouth once more going back to swirling your tongue around his cock.

Rutger tugged at your hair not knowing how much longer he would last with your new movements “fuck fuck fuck!” He cried out feeling his lip shake as his release shot into your mouth.

You lapped up all of his release as you continued to help him ride out his orgasm “sugar I’m gonna need you to stop before I come again.” His confession make you smile as you let his cock slide from your mouth with a pop.

The boy watched you swallow his release letting slide down your throat as your saliva coated his cock “god that was the hottest thing I think I’ve ever seen.” Rutger gasped watching you get up to straddle his thighs “there is plenty more from where that came from.” You teased running your fingers along his jaw.

You loved watching him squirm “think it’s my turn to make you feel good first.” Rutger announced as he pecked your lips “you don’t have to.” You shook your head wanting to focus on him.

Yet that was no match for him as he flipped you over laying your head on your pillow “now I think we need to get you out of some of this.” Rutger pointed out as he kicked his shorts to the floor.

A smirk formed on your face “what do you suggest then?” It took him seconds to pull your dress off “wow.” He muttered at the sight of you in your bra and panties “knew you were getting fucked tonight?” The dark blue lace complemented your skin making his mouth water.

You nodded with a soft smirk coaxing your lips “took a risk.” You joked seeing the boy settle between your legs “such a pretty girl sugar.” There was a new nickname that he seemed to adore going to kiss you.

He loved the way you responded as his lips moulded into your “please make me feel good.” You mumbled spreading your legs open when you drove your hips up to meet his “won’t make you wait any longer then.” The hockey player nipped at your jaw letting a trail of sloppy kisses down the valley of your breasts to your stomach.

He stopped when he was met with the waistband of your panties “been thinking about you like this for so long.” His thumb massaged a circle on your hip “what’s the point in waiting any longer?” You cocked your head as your teeth caught your lower lip.

Rutger couldn’t find a way to say no “want to make you feel so freaking good.” He announced pulling your panties off of your legs letting it add to the pile that was on the floor “god you’re gorgeous.” The boy murmured thinking he was dreaming at the sight of you.

His lips grazed each of your thighs spreading his attention between them both “been thinking about you all through our sessions.” He confessed stopping at each side “wondering if I’d ever get you like this.” The boy gasped propping his face by your cunt “god Rut do something before I-” you were cut off when he licked a stripe up your slit.

It made you jump when you felt his teeth nick your clit “fuck!” You whined making him freeze with concern “you okay?” He furrowed his eyebrows wondering if he had gone too far.

You shook your head “Rut baby how many times have you gone down on a girl?” Your question made his cheeks turn red “you’re safe here.” You reminded him as you sat up straight still with him between your legs.

Rutger chewed at the inside of his cheek “twice but with one girl.” The girl he had slept with in his freshman year was privy to both of those attempts “you gotta go softer baby.” You confessed gripping at his hand.

You weren’t against helping to teach him “you feel this?” You asked pressing his thumb against your clit “yeah.” Rutger nodded watching how responsive you were to his new movements.

He continued with his thumb but then let his fingers tease your cunt as he let them tease your core “just like that.” You muttered beginning to feel your eyes flutter “then you wanna suck where your thumb is.” You explained letting your head drop back to your pillow.

Rutger nodded to himself as he continued to thrust his fingers into your cunt letting your walls hug his fingers “there you go.” You moaned as he swirled his tongue around your clit causing your fingers to latch to his hair.

The boy groaned at the sensation sending shivers through your body “god Rut.” You complained gripping your feet in the sheets as you squirmed against him.

Rutger treated the moment as though it was his last on earth. As you were so focused on the feeling of his tongue against your clit that you didn’t notice him insert a third finger into your cunt “god fuck don’t stop.” You only had your vibrator to help you in the recent months after your break up.

So this was now a welcomed change for you as that device only got you so far “so sweet sugar.” Rutger mumbled arching his hand in a way that let him hit even deeper in your cunt like it was possible.

You watched him through hooded eyes as he smiled looking up when the feeling of your clit against his tongue made his cock grow hard again “I’m so close.” Tears formed in your eyes as your thighs squeezed the sides of his head, only acting as encouragement to push him to go even faster.

Your hands left him and went to your bra pulling the straps from your arms “please Rut I need it.” You begged grazing your thumbs over your nipples as your eyes rolled back into your head. White spots painted your vision as moans escaped your lips.

Your cunt clenched around him in these spurts as you reached your high “fuck that was so hot.” He let his fingers slide into his mouth to taste your release.

Rutger watched as you took a moment to breathe catching your breath “think you could give me one more?” He asked trying his hardest to avoid the sight of your breasts when you reached behind you to take your bra off “lay down f’me and I’ll show ya.” You wriggled your eyebrows making him pull his shirt off of his chest leaving you both naked.

His last act before he went to lay down was reach into his wallet as he grabbed a condom “here.” He muttered handing you the silver package “lay on your back f’me.” This time when you kissed his lips it was soft and almost caring as you ran your fingers against his jaw.

You wanted to make sure the boy was comfortable as he nodded laying his head flat on your pillow “trust you.” His words made your heart grow warm “you’re so sweet Rut.” You giggled as you shook your head.

You went to straddle his lap when your phone began ringing. It was Ethan by the stupid ring tone he had given himself weeks prior just to piss you off “that’s nothing.” You shook your head ignoring it as you went to kiss the boy again.

Both of you tried to ignore it yet as you heard the phone go off again it made you roll your eyes. You reached down to grab your phone quickly answering it “you better be dying.” You grumbled running your fingers along the boys chest.

The Canadian laughed “Luca got into a fight with Jake and now he looks like he has a broken nose.” Your eyes rolled at the news as you looked at Rutger who grew concerned “and what do you want me to do about that?” You asked trying to ignore the way he kissed at your neck.

The junior went quiet for a second “you are kind of our physio and basically the team mom at this point.” Ethan spoke in a duh tone “is his nose still bleeding?” You chewed at the inside of your cheek as you heard the inaudible noises that Luca let out.

Rutger grew alarmed watching you get up “I’ll be there in five.” Realistically you were the only one who could check him out without him getting into any kind of trouble with the actual staff of the team “thank you.” Ethan let out a sigh of relief hearing you hang up.

The American in front of you on the bed however had a different reaction “we gotta go check on Luca.” You explained watching him smile “what?” You furrowed your eyebrows trying to understand what was going on.

But instead he just laughed “it’s cute you care for us all sugar.” He confessed as he got up following suit “so you’re not mad?” You felt relieved as the boy stood almost a foot taller than you.

His hand tucked your hair behind your face “not when I know I’ll get you soon.” Rutgers voice was barely above a whisper as he kissed your lips.

It turned out that Rutger would only get one final chance with you in your sorority. The night before graduation left you desperate to have your way with him.

Yet it seemed that luck was going to be on your side because just as Rutger was starting to settle in to Winnipeg after a year away from you when you traded Michigan for Florida. A job came up you couldn’t say no to “you tell me you’re single but you have never been out with us once.” One of his teammates pointed out making Rutger laugh.

The question came off innocently “got a girl I still like from back home?” He shrugged watching his teammates walk into the locker room as it gave him a chance to think about you “hope that means I still have a chance Rut.” You swore you’d never seen him happier to see you before.

It took him seconds to run over to you before he got the chance to embrace you like a crazy man “Sugar what are you doing here?” He couldn’t help but spin you around with joy upon the realisation that you were indeed real “someone had to come take care of you pretty boy.” You shrugged with a smile more than happy to be back with the boy.

#rutger mcgroarty smut #rutger mcgroarty imagines #hockey imagines #hockey smut #umich hockey #umich oneshot #umich x reader #umich smut #Rutger McGroarty x reader #amber writes fics

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octuscle · 1 year

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Sustainable changes

Nicolas had just been promoted to Senior Product Manager. But the condition was that he had to take a foreign assignment for two years. He had reckoned with Germany, the USA or maybe Japan. India would also have been okay. But he was supposed to go to Turkmenistan. His employer had just bought a large agricultural cooperative there, which was now to be converted in the direction of ecological and sustainable agriculture. On the one hand, this sounded like a completely unknown field of work. Nicolas had previously worked more in the consumer goods sector. On the other hand, anything that bore the label "sustainable" was naturally a career driver at the moment. So he took a cautiously optimistic approach.

Once Nicolas arrived at his new workplace, the optimism quickly evaporated. He had arrived somewhere in the middle of nowhere. There was no office building, there were only barracks. Mostly not air-conditioned. He had expected to be put up in some hotel. But he had been given a room with a farmer. Toilet in the yard. Bathroom was an outdoor shower served from the cistern. He felt infinitely silly in his outfit.

In the first service meeting, a colleague asked him if they could tweak Nicolas's resume a bit for the presentation to the workers. It might be good for his credibility if they could give him some local roots. Nicolas was tired. The trip had been exhausting. He remembered his parents' Russian gardener. A picture of a man. Former combat swimmer. And of the Turkish cook. So he answered, one may mix in there with pleasure something Russian and Turkish. The main thing was that he was allowed to retire now.

The night had been hell. It smelled like a pigsty in his room. And he could hear the pigs too, as if they were sleeping in bed with him. There was no hot water to shave with. And company policy forbids the use of shower gels containing microplastics without functioning wastewater treatment for environmental reasons. So all he can use is a bar of curd soap. When introduced to the staff, he looks appropriately a bit bedraggled. One of his colleagues asks Nicolas to say something in Russian. He has to think a bit. His grandmother sometimes spoke to him in Russian. But it's enough for a "I'm happy to be here and look forward to working with you. The employees cheer for their new boss.

Before Nicolas takes a shower the next morning, he drives the pigs out of the barn. If he's going to share the roof with them, he might as well make himself useful. His hosts invite him to breakfast. The conversation in Russian is still a bit bumpy. Nikolai hasn't spoken his father's language for years. And his host family, of course, actually speaks Turkmen. But with hands and feet it works. And so it goes on in the office. The team meeting was supposed to take place in English. But the interpreter dropped out. With every hour it gets better. The memory of his father's language comes back.

At breakfast, Nikolai realizes that he understands Turkmen better than he thought. It definitely works out that his hosts ask him in their native language. But he prefers to answer in Russian. Nikolai speaks it again as fluently as he did when he lived with his father in the Sevastopol army barracks. At work, they discuss the tasks for the next few days. Nikolai considers the projects for preventing soil erosion and unused surface water runoff to be urgent. Everyone passionately discusses the possibilities of transforming agriculture to get by without artificial irrigation. But Nikolai realizes that it will be difficult to irrigate only naturally in the desert.

The next morning, Nikolai surprises your host family with a few words of Turkmen. With his fluency in Russian and Turkish as his mother's language, it's not that hard for him to learn the language. On the job, they speak almost only Turkmen anyway. Today, his job is to drive the fields and inspect and document the environmental damage. Nikolai doesn't even need to shower for that. It will be hot anyway. And air conditioning is only for wimps. The point is to save energy wherever possible. In the afternoon, he gets a call from headquarters. They are very pleased with his work on site. It is clear that the project would not make an economic contribution. But the advertising impact is enormous. Whether he is interested in accepting a junior director position at the headquarters in Paris.

Nikolai turns his camera, bares his left breast and says in broken French that his heart beats for his new home. He won't leave until the desert blooms again.

#male tf #muscle tf #chronivac #tank top #race change #male transformation #muscle transformation

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lilyliveredlittlerichboy · 1 year

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it's time now. it's time to imagine the brightest future you can, and talk about it.

a future where people only work 8 hours a week and everyone's basic needs are met. a future where we are more connected to nature and eat seasonal, local produce. a future where you look out for your neighbours and they look out for you. a future where you actually know who your neighbours are. a future where everyone is just a lot more relaxed and able to do whatever they want to do - this 8 hour working week has given people their lives back and now they're able to make community events, work in community gardens, sing and dance and spend time with their kids, play whatever sport they want, travel, read, create art and music.

People are interacting with each other in good faith again because money as an ulterior motive has all but disappeared. Cus you see a few decades ago they made profits illegal. All money has to be put back into the company and CEOs can take home a salary only, no bonuses and it can't be more than 3x what the lowest paid employee makes. You can go to jail if your company is found to make profits, advertise on a large scale or pay its high ranking members more than what's allowed.

Jail still exists but mostly people go in for financial crimes (greed still exists); drugs are decriminalised and available to use safely. people are not as desperate now so there's been a massive reduction of violent and petty crime and most of the people who still do this are teenagers who get away with a slap on the wrist. police are not armed anymore and are heavily penalised if they abuse their power or hurt a civilian, and their role is more that of mediator, signposter (to community services, social services, and free and accessible healthcare including for mental health) and security. together with the former military they make up an "emergency task force" which are called upon in times of need and crisis, for floods, fires, other such disasters.

the stock market completely collapsed after profits were made illegal and people had to find other ways to figure out what a company was worth: such as how they treat their staff or how accessible their processes are. as a result of this, as well as more widespread disability thanks to Covid and an ageing population, accessibility is fucking incredible now. most places are accessible to the vast majority of disabled people even without them having to ask for a single thing. If they have to ask, accommodations are made quickly and without fuss and this is completely normal now. disabled people are more visible than ever in public life and this has led to a generally kinder, more tolerant public life.

Everything is slower now. Social media as we know it died decades ago and Internet 4.0 is efficient, will find you accurate answers and the websites you're looking for very easily and fast. there's monopoly laws restricting how large companies operate online. online ads are all but illegal - there's "phone book" esque pages where you can promote your business or service and that's allowed but not anywhere else. Lots of people are still annoying and some of them are still cruel but overall living together as humans has gotten so much more chill. We've tackled climate change and reversed much of it, now it's a global day of mourning whenever a species is found to be extinct through human intervention. these days used to happen much more frequently but it's very rare these days. Most everyone gets the day off and is encouraged to read about the lost species or hold themed funerals. Globally everything has gotten better - there's much more global equality now after a bunch of western/formerly colonising countries almost self destructed and then instead decided to own up for colonialism, pay reparations to a lot of countries in Africa Asia and Latin America, as well as indigenous nations of North America, Oceania, even in Europe. The USA doesn't exist anymore instead its a whole host of separate nations all managed by the native people whose land it is. The UK doesn't exist anymore. England is still sad about it but Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall are called Cymru, Alba, Eire and Kernow again and they've formed a Celtic Union for better collective bargaining power in the EU (which still exists, somehow. Its better now. England may still be out of the EU I'm not sure). Migration is common and foreigners are welcomed into any country with open arms.

I may try to write something about this. I have a vision for a future and it's so lovely. Here, on earth, with the starting point being now. We have a lot to work with and only a few changes could make such a difference. Demilitarisation, UBI and maximum working hours, greedy financial practices made illegal. Conservation and education on local plants and nature and food. Community building on every level. Giving people their lives back.

This is all extremely possible. If it were up to me, very little in society would be left unchanged but it would all be people friendly changes. changes that aim to support the poorest and most marginalised, changes that aim to punish greed and exploitation. It's a work in progress of course. But I have a vision for a better world and dammit if I'm not going to share it with you.

#i need a tag for my own rambles #hopepunk #solarpunk #community building #decolonialism #demilitarize #ubi #universal basic income #defund the police #public healthcare #free healthcare #please feel free to add on #i need to expand on this more cus i have so many thoughts on this

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ranchstoryblog · 4 months

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PRESS RELEASE: Second Annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase’ Delivers Exciting Updates on Fan-favorite STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory Series; Reveals NARUTO: Arcade Battle for North America, and More

Second Annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase’ Delivers Exciting Updates on Fan-favorite STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory Series; Reveals NARUTO: Arcade Battle for

North America, and More

New Looks for Additional Titles in Development Include Opening Animation for

Monster Farming / Action Title Farmagia and Striking New Teaser for DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion

TORRANCE, Calif., — May 30, 2024 — Marvelous USA, Inc. and XSEED Games today shared a localized version of parent company Marvelous Inc.’s second annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase,’ which debuted today at 3:00pm PT. President Suminobu Sato hosted the showcase and was joined by key members of development teams to provide updates on titles announced in last year's event, and announce new regional and global initiatives for the Marvelous family of companies.

youtube

Farmagia (formerly Project Magia): Product Manager Takehiro Ishida revealed the official title of the project, Farmagia, and presented the game’s opening animation, giving gamers an action-packed look at the cast of characters and powers they wield. Ishida-san also shared details on key characters in the game, designed by popular artist Hiro Mashima, including Ten, the protagonist who often acts before thinking; Arche, his childhood friend who balances both kindness and a competitive nature; Chica, another childhood friend with a more reserved demeanor; and Lookie-Loo, Ten’s sidekick and de-facto mascot. The title is planned for a global release in 2024.

STORY OF SEASONS: The next, as-yet-untitled entry in the beloved franchise continues its development as the team focuses on improvements to the visual presentation and natural environments. Series Manager Hikaru Nakano joined to debut a fresh look at the results of their efforts, highlighting how aspects such as updated natural lighting and festival fireworks have been improved to enhance immersion and atmosphere. The project remains in active development and will be fully revealed at a later date. In the meantime, Nakano-san confirmed new gameplay features including a player-controlled glider and the return of fan-favorite pets.

Amusement Section: Marvelous Inc. supports more than just PC and console entertainment and announced a number of new arcade initiatives including NARUTO: Arcade Battle, which will be available in North America this summer. Players will experience the world of NARUTO on a massive 50” screen, where they’ll engage in intense ninjutsu battles and collect plates to reach the highest rank they can! Arcade titles for Japan release only were also presented.

Indie Partner Lineup: The Marvelous family continues to invest in helping creative and exciting visions from smaller indie developers become a reality with global support for titles! Titles introduced for worldwide release include Bitsummit 2023 Grand Prize winner Death the Guitar, where players become an electric guitar fighting with the power of death metal to avenge their owner, planned for a 2025 release; and Moonlight Peaks, the supernatural-themed vampire farming/life sim title from Dutch developer Little Chicken, scheduled for 2026 release. One additional title, Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, was also presented for release in Asia and Japan by Marvelous on July 28, 2024.

Rune Factory: Following a brief history on the evolution of the Rune Factory series and how it has grown across nine titles released over 18 years, Rune Factory series Director Shiro Maekawa joined the stream to reveal a new video for Rune Factory: PROJECT DRAGON sharing a look at the title’s protagonists. Players can choose to play as either Subaru or Kaguya, two new Earthmates with a twist; they will use the power of dance, rather than farming, to communicate and interact with the world around them. This new approach to interacting with the world comes with non-combat tools, including parasols and drums; series staple weapons like swords; and brand-new weapon types to experiment with, including bows and talismans.

DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion: First revealed during last year’s Marvelous Game Showcase, DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion once again closed out the show, where President Sato-san shared an evocative look at Marvelous’ First Studio’s mech-action sequel. Additional details including platforms and a release window will be announced at a later date.

To celebrate the Showcase, select STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory titles will be on sale for up to 60% off on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch™ through June 7, 2024.

More information about XSEED Games’ products can be found at www.xseedgames.com Fans can also follow XSEED Games on Facebook, X, Instagram, Twitch, Threads, get in depth info from their developer blog, and join the discussion on their Discord server at: http://discord.gg/XSEEDGames.

About XSEED Games

XSEED Games is the independent-minded publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvelous Inc., which is a publicly traded company listed in the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Formed in 2004 by a small group of industry veterans, XSEED Games is headquartered in Torrance, California and publishes video games on PC and consoles in North America. The publisher's diverse portfolio of over 100 titles includes releases from Marvelous Inc. including STORY OF SEASONS (Bokujo Monogatari), Rune Factory, and DAEMON X MACHINA, titles from third-party partners including AKIBA’S TRIP, Corpse Party, and Granblue Fantasy: Versus, and titles from independent developers including Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, Potionomics and Cuisineer. XSEED Games has grown its reputation among global gamers with its critically acclaimed localizations and commitment to fans, remaining ever dedicated to its “indie spirit, player-first” approach for quality games.

#story of seasons #harvest moon #rune factory #farmagia #death the guitar #moonlight peaks #farm sims #cozy games #daemon x machina #naruto #Youtube

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dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice · 5 months

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The Grim Reaper's Guide to Breaking Every Rule of the Universe /// Chapter 4

ANOTHER CHAPTER IN LESS THAN A WEEK. BRING ON THE GRINDDDDDD. I will warn that my motiviation for each of my fics comes in waves, so you'll probably get chapters in random chunks ngl. Enjoy!

Summary: When touring America for the sake of it, you go to stay with your aunt in New Orleans for a while, taking up a peaceful part-time job restoring objects. But a few weeks in, a package arrives containing an old radio that's seen better days, along with a note seemingly written by someone who thinks they could fist-fight the Devil.

What you didn't know, was the hell of a path that was now set out in front of you. Not fist-fighting the Devil, but instead a very smug radio host who would have no problem spending the rest of his days driving you up the walls.

But two could play that game.

Tags: Demiromantic-Asexual Alastor x Demiromantic-Asexual OC/Reader - 1920s/30s New Orleans - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Violence (It's Alastor what else)

Word Count: 4590

Warnings: Period-typical sexism, Period-typical attitudes towards neurodivergency, Swearing, Mentions of murder. MC'S RACE IS DEFINED DUE TO PLOT REASONS (also because she is based off my OC)

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

Now available on Wattpad and AO3 (please let me know if links aren't working)

< Chapter 3 // Chapter 4 // Chapter 5 >

PART 1: Chapter 4

Unconditional Violence.

Bambsquabbled (Definition): A 19th Century American slang word essentially meaning stupefied or confounded. (Adjective)

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – Wednesday, 18th December, 1929.

You had expected the additional Tuesday Mr LeBlanc had given you off to prepare yourself for the radio company to consist of you sleeping in until 11am. But dreams are short lived when you have an aunt who insists the ass-crack of dawn is prime time for everything.

You guessed it was fun to climb onto the roof of your relative’s vast home to collect the crystals you had both put out under the full moon, before the energy given to them was whisked away by the rays of the early golden hour. But when nerves settle in like the green spirals of nausea the night before, sleep takes the hand of another, leaving you to lay there with your over-active mind as it drags you through every possibility and event that could end up with you looking like an idiot in front of your new colleagues, or worse. Can’t think of much worse. But the universe will find a way.

It always does.

When Wednesday finally rolled around, it was barely 6am and you already couldn’t wait for it to be over. Your cousins had found you curled up on the bench swing, having dragged your duvet outside as you balled yourself up like a worm, sipping on the iced tea Agnes had bought you the day before in an attempt to settle your nerves. It did. A little.

And now here you were, the first half of your new workday having gone as smoothly as your awkward self could do.

Ethel, who’s desk was closest to yours, had dubbed you the quiet one after spending an hour running her mouth at you with barely a break for you to chime in. You had also already created quite a commotion on the third floor, a few people intrigued by the new ‘foreigner’. Well – as foreign as you can get when you’re from another English-speaking country, in the biggest cultural melting pot of a city had ever seen in your rural life. But they found you interesting enough.

The oddest thing you had experienced that day, however, was a strange request from your new boss – Mr Durham himself.

“I don’t suppose you know how to pull off a local accent?” he had asked when showing you the phone on your desk.

All you could do was blink at him. “I’m sorry?”

He gestured to the phone. “Since you’re my assistant, you’re gonna be filtering through the calls I get before passing them onto me. Now, there might be an issue if someone calls expecting to hear me, but instead find themselves speaking to a British girl on the other end. Some can be impatient and might end up putting the phone down before you explain.”

Memories of that one very unpleasant phone call flooded your mind. “Even if I answer: ‘Hello W.A.D Radio, this is Mr Durham’s assistant speaking’??” you replied monotonously.

“You’d be surprised.” He sighed. “But do you know how to anyway?”

Frowning, you recalled your time in the cities further in the North. “I guess..? A girl I rented a room from in New York insisted on teaching me for when we went into town, but I struggle to see how it’s important?”

The man put his hands together, pointing them at you in a prayer motion. “Just.. try it out? Talk like your colleagues when you see them, to see if you can get a hang of it – I’m sure they’ll be happy to help. Please?”

You gave him a wavering look, but sighed, finally giving in. “Fine, but they can’t make fun of me.”

He beamed, patting you on the back in satisfaction. “I’m sure they won’t! I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”

And with that, you sat in your new chair, trying to pointedly ignore the sign at the other end of the room that pointed you to the fifth floor, and began your attempt to settle in.

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – Wednesday, 8th January, 1930.

There wasn’t much to celebrate when the new decade rolled around. Gone were the so-called ‘Roaring Twenties’, when you would join your parents at the parties and balls they were invited to – when it was acceptable, of course; those higher up in the class hierarchy still grasped to the dwindling standard that children should be seen, not heard. The year you turned eighteen ended up being quite interesting, when the older women who had turned snooty at the sight of your teenage self wandering around their stately homes, tried to attempt a 180°, as they congratulated you reaching adulthood with strained smiles. But you paid them no mind, too busy staring at the paintings or statues that lined their corridors – a stark contrast to the more barren and plain wallpaper that coated the walls you grew up in.

But now that was far behind you, the English garden parties in the spring and summer that you adored so much were now a mere echo in the distances of your mind. The noises of tiny forks clinking on fine china as the little birds twittered in the trees now replaced by the sputtering and groaning of automobiles as you gripped the pole of the tram, your arms tight against your chest as you tried your best to not let the swaying of the vehicle toss you about into the crowd of packed bodies around you.

Making sure the scarf was tucked safely around your neck, you grasped the small briefcase in your hand – mentally preparing yourself for you first day back at the radio station after the new year. Unfortunately for Mr Durham, a small hurricane had passed over during the holiday, and radio stations across the city were temporarily silenced as their mechanics desperately attempted to repair the damaged towers. And also unfortunately for you, only the hosts were offered a couple days off as things got back up and running, though some still showed to prepare for their shows; you, on the other hand, were still expected to show up like any other day.

So here you were, pushing open the (now familiar) double doors, giving a small wave to the receptionist, who’s name turned out to be Diana, and the woman barely raised her hand in response as she continued to tiredly shift through the concerningly large stack of papers on her desk.

You were just about to climb the wide staircase when you heard her call your name (something you were very surprised she knew, considering her tendency to ‘accidentally’ throw paperwork in the bin on the daily), and your wedge heels clacked against the tile flooring as you stumbled slightly, turning to face her as her nasally voice echoed around the large lobby.

“It’s best you stay in the shadows today.” She warned cryptically. “Trouble’s in, and the mechanic’s not happy about the damages – Durham’s getting the brunt of it, but you’ll end up in the crossfire unless you hide out during breaktimes.”

All you could do for a moment was stand and stare, a million thoughts running through your mind. Mostly about who ‘Trouble’ was, and why Diana thought you couldn’t handle the guy and the other mechanic. You did handle the radio man at the repair shop after all, and speaking of the radio, you were quite proud to say you had finished the it in time for Christmas, and had shipped it off with a very passive-aggressive note that hinted for the man to basically never return. Luckily, Mr Boudreaux hadn’t replied to any of your letters since you had begrudgingly accepted the object, but you had suspected he had called the shop once or twice, and you had left Mr LeBlanc to deal with it, mostly because he was quite terrified you would call another customer every name under the sun the second they tried to give you trouble.

Glancing back and forth between Diana and the stairs, you mumbled a slow “Oookay…” before nodding your head and turning on your heel to hurry up the steps. Reaching the third floor, you didn’t stop in your path as you neared your desk, instead dropping your briefcase onto the wooden surface as you dashed by, striding towards the door that had the golden plaque engraved with ‘Mr B. Durham’ onto it. Grasping the handle, you turned the knob, swinging the door open, only to stop in your tracks as you were met with a very empty office.

You frowned. It must be really bad if your boss was no where to be seen. Whipping around, you scanned the main room for him, but only saw a few of your colleagues, the rest still yet to arrive – you were normally expected to be in early to handle Durham’s work as soon as he began.

Throwing your coat and scarf on your chair, you strode back towards the stairs, readjusting the suspenders of your wide-legged trousers as you practically jogged up the steps, and ended up rolling the sleeves of your loose blouse to your elbows as you tried to catch your breath.

On the fourth floor, you spent a couple minutes checking all of your boss’s usual haunts or hiding places, even going as far as interrogating a couple of the workers there for his whereabouts. It wasn’t until some blonde guy that came wandering down the steps from the fifth floor that you got your answer, the man looking up to take in your slightly dishevelled and feral appearance with wide eyes as he stammered out that he was in one of the radio booths. To his further horror, you patted him on the cheek with a thanks as you rounded him, ready to take another flight of stairs to reach your – apparently – floundering boss.

Ignoring the embarrassed sputtering of the man behind you, you eye the sign nailed to the wall, the painted hand pointing upwards with a very bold ‘FIFTH FLOOR’ next to it.

“Don’t go up there until I say you’re ready, okay?” Mr Durham’s words echoed through your mind.

Buuuuut, he did say he wanted to discuss the stuff you brought in your briefcase ASAP.

Yea that’ll be your excuse. You can deal with his complaining later.

Reaching your heel-clad foot out, you took the first step, almost like you were expecting an axe to come swing down and impale your forehead. But when nothing happened, you shrugged, and simply continued up.

Recalling the path your boss had taken you on during the initial tour, you managed to find the dreaded corridor that supposedly housed your greatest nightmare.

Extroverted people.

Yeesh.

At that thought, you did consider turning around, but your urge to drag your boss’s arse back downstairs drowned that thought out, and you carried on.

Surprisingly, it was quiet, but at the same time not so much when you remembered that most of them were plating their somewhat wealthy behinds on their armchairs at home as the rest tried to fix the issues of the storm.

Reaching one of the lit rooms, you heard raised voices.

“–really expect me to know? –” “– supposed to be on in an hour! How is that –”

Cautiously, you peeked around the corner to try and witness the potential fiasco. And what a fiasco it was.

Wires, cables, and any other random parts that were used for radio technology were strewn across desks, tables and even the floor. Amongst these were two men, and there was only one you recognised.

Just like you had seen him every day for the past month, Mr Durham was stood in his washed-out blue suit and concerningly shiny shoes, and at this point one hand was on his hip, whilst the other rubbed tiredly at his face as whom you assume was the mechanic, was blabbering the poor man’s ear off as he ranted on and on about random parts and problems and he gestured frantically at said random parts and problems. Wait – nevermind, you recognised one and a half.

The man from across the street was here, with his back to you. Again. For fuck’s sake.

This time he was back in the seat you first saw him in, this time with a few strands of dark-brown hair out of place, curling slightly as if to rebel against the intense styling he had put it through. Peeking your head out slightly further, you managed to get a good look at him.

Well for one, he was a triangle. Stupidly broad shoulders that narrowed into a stupidly small waist (triangle), with lanky legs long enough that you could probably chop them off and fashion them into skis. Despite his face not revealed, you could see the semi-light tan on his hands, that were busy turning knobs and dials as he listened in to whatever was coming through the headphones on his head. He was dressed to impress, to say the least, in smart, dark-grey trousers, who’s ironed out edges looked as if they could slice through skin. His high collared cream shirt was tucked away under a relatively tight looking reddish-tan waistcoat, and to top it all off, you could see the back of the black ribbon that was most likely tied in a stupidly even bow.

You didn’t want this guy to sense your staring, so you opted to look back at the other two men who were still chuntering on about god knows what. Stepping into the light that flooded through the glass, you wave slightly to try and get your boss’s attention. A couple seconds passed, and you watched as the mechanic kept glancing at you and Mr Durham, until eventually he nudged the other man on the shoulder, pointing you out.

Turning his head, Mr Durham’s eyes met with yours, and you raised your hand with a questionable thumbs up to see if all was good, only to watch in slight confusion as his eyes widened, and he whipped his head rapidly between you and the faceless man sat at his desk, before marching over to the door and pulling it open a crack, sticking his head out.

“Hey uh,” he half-whispered, surprisingly nervous at your presence. “what’re you doing here?”

You lowered your voice to match his. “You said to come find you as soon as possible this morning, you know, to go over those statistics from that other station?”

Realisation dawned on the man’s face, and he reached up to drag his hand down the side of it. “Shit I forgot,” he cursed, and glanced over his shoulder before facing you again. “I’ll – uh… I’ll be down as soon as I get this sorted. Marty’s givin’ me a run for his money right now and the second Al takes his headphones off I’m gonna feel like I’m entering an early grave.”

Surprised, you eyed the man sat at the desk, who looked far too calm to be threatening anyone right now. “Ok… I guess it can wait. I’ll bring you some coffee up!” you chirped, and Durham went to call out that it wasn’t necessary, but faltered with a frown as he realised you were already halfway down the corridor.

Balancing the tray of cups and steaming jug the best you could, you reached the final step, retracing your route to the radio booth that your boss was probably getting murdered in. Walking up, you waited patiently until Mr Durham noticed you, and watched as he reluctantly trudged over to open the door.

Taking your first step in, you were hit with the very potent smell of strong black coffee, as if someone had some brewing every day, and you figured you had made the right call of fetching the same beverage as you placed the tray down on one of the tables.

The mechanic was still going off on one, and you watched out of the corner of your eye as you slowly began pouring the coffee into the cups, listening to the greasy-looking man speak.

“– there’s literally no reason that I can find that’s causing the local outage!” he spouted at your frowning boss. “The boys have already fixed the aerial, and David’s currently on-air and that’s working perfectly fine, so it has to be something in this room!”

During the man’s tirade, you noticed the rustling of papers, and looked over to see the faceless man again, still at his desk, but his hands were fiddling with no purpose, and his head was turned to the left slightly, showing his high cheekbone and the edge of his thin circular glasses.

Looked like someone else was listening in too.

Biting your smile down, you turned back towards the cups in your hand, only to have a glint of light pierce the corner of your eye, and you looked in the opposite direction to a large wooden box, with one of the panels removed, displaying the endless wires and springs that coiled and wound in every direction. But you weren’t looking at that, you were instead looking at the screwdriver that was very prominently glinting in the shine of the ceiling light. This must be the painstakingly obvious problem that the mechanic had painstakingly missed.

Giving a quick glance over at the men, you waited until they faced away, scrapping about the wire pile on the floor, and you reached for the wooden teaspoon on your tray, and inched towards the box. Knowing wood doesn’t normally conduct electricity, you raised your hand, testing it anyway against the hanging wires to see if they were live. Seemingly not, you stuck your hand further in, and began nudging at the tool, slowly loosening the wires around it as you dragged it along the bottom of the box.

When they had deemed your silence as suspicious, the mechanic and Durham turned round, only to see you elbow deep in some very expensive equipment.

“Whoa, whoa, WHOA!” the mechanic cried as he rushed over. “The hell are you doin’??”

Instead of jerking your arm back out and apologising to the man who was slowly turning purple, you gave the screwdriver one last flick, and the three of you watched as it dropped over the edge and fell to the floor with a clatter. Moments of silence passed as you all stared at it, until you decided to explain.

“It was tangled in the wires, which would’ve prevented the electricity flow,” you said plainly. “Plus, if you had tried to power it all up, it could’ve set the place on fire.”

All the mechanic could do was stare down at the tool, but Mr Durham had decided to approach, and bent down to pick up the tool.

“Nice one.” He complimented, turning the object in his hands. Though the warm smile he had put on for you quickly vanished, as his eyes set upon the name engraved on the wooden handle. He pointed at it. “This has your name on it Marty.” He said lowly, his blue eyes turning dark as he regarded the paling man with a look of thunder.

Seeing the outcome, you gestured nervously to the beverages on the table. “Coffee’s there, Mr Durham, I’ll see you downstairs.”

Just as you walked around him, he called your name. “Take ten minutes to yourself and grab some tea, whilst I deal with Marty here.”

Nodding, you curtly took your leave, swinging the door open as you power-walked out, failing to see the sharp pair of eyes following you from where they were sat at the desk.

You found the break room housed several curiosities that you were yet to explore in America. Apart from the atrocious fact that the tea station lacked the Yorkshire brand, you found yourself poking at what they called a teabag. Yes, surprise, surprise, the Americans invented something tea related before England or even China did, but you had to admit it was rather useful in helping you not gag at the slimy tea leaves that sat at the bottom of most of your beloved brews.

With the table to your right, you leant your hip against it, your back against the door as you rather noisily mixed the spoon around your large mug, making sure the sugar was dissolved properly before you went to strain the teabag. Lifting it carefully out of the boiling water, you gingerly held your other hand out below it to catch any stray drips from hitting the floor, scanning the room in front of you for a bin that you could chuck it into.

What you foolishly had failed to do however, was hear the footsteps that grew in volume from behind, and you hadn’t realised anything until a very uncomfortable prickle hit the side of your neck, as a very unwanted presence loomed over you. Though, that didn’t last long, as the presence decided to deafen you instead.

“So YOU’RE the new assistant!”

A banshee screech raised from your throat, the teabag flying through the air and onto the floor by your feet as you basically jumped three feet up. Instinctively, however, you didn’t realise what was happening until one elbow flew upwards, slamming into the nose of the man behind you, the other flying round to collide with his ribs. Teaspoon armed in hand, you spun around to face your assailant, only to step on the soggy teabag that was still on the floor, and you cried out again as you slipped and slammed into a very firm chest. Eyes screwed shut, you felt the two of you fall, though quickly broken by the table behind you.

Relieved that you were no longer falling, you swiftly blinked your eyes open, your dark brown ones meeting a pair of equally matching brown. Moments passed as you took in the scene in front of you, and you realised you finally had a face to put to the lanky man from earlier.

Said man was groaning as he rubbed at his nose, his lips twisted into a grimace as he checked for blood. What you noticed however, was the several poignant glances the man took to your right, and you followed, only to see you hand raised, teaspoon in hand, pointing down at him as if you had a machete, ready to stab the lights out of him.

A small gasp left your throat at the realisation, and you quickly pushed yourself off, pointedly ignoring the grunt the man let out as you knocked at his ribs. Taking several steps back, you distanced yourself from him. He had gotten close before, he wasn’t about to do so again.

You watched as he pushed himself up on his elbows, using the table as a support as he stood. To a disturbingly tall height might you add. Looks like you did just reach his nose after all.

“I’m uh,” you started as you eyed him, teaspoon machete still in hand, strangely, you instinctively used the southern accent you learnt – it was the one you used with strangers. “Sorry. I didn’t expect you to sneak up on me like that.” Reaching over, you snatched up a napkin, offering it to him. “Y’haven’t got anything…?”

Dark eyes flitting between you and the outstretched napkin offering, you watched as something seemed to switch in his demeanour, and a natural smile fell across his tan face as he raised his hands in mock surrender.

“No, no, don’t worry, it’s quite alright.” He assured, and you blinked at his prominent transatlantic accent. “I figured that wasn’t the best way to say hello to a stranger!” he laughed as he smoothed down his crumpled waistcoat. Reaching his lanky arm out whilst tucking the other behind him, he offered his hand out in greeting. “The name’s Alastor, my dear. And who do I have the most entertaining pleasure to be speaking to?”

You stared at his hand, then flicked your eyes up to him, scanning his grinning face with vigour.

Where, oh where, had you heard that voice before?

Your silence seemed to confuse this Alastor guy, however, and his eyes darted around in confusion as you continued to stare. From what you could see, he had come to a very wrong conclusion about your silence, and leaned over at you slightly, bringing his face level with yours.

“Cat got your tongue, my darling?” His growing cheshire grin reminding you of two very similar people. “You clearly must find me that dashing if your this speechless, haha!” he chortled, the condescension rolling off him in waves.

Oh, you knew exactly where this guy was from.

Narrowing your eyes, you scrutinised him as you quietly muttered out a single word.

“Boudreaux.”

Alastor blinked, eyes darting around your face, before raising a hand to cup at his ear. “I hate to say but I didn’t quite catch that!” he exclaimed rather loudly.

You felt your brows begin to furrow, so you raise your voice slightly. “I said, Boudreaux.”

Oh you did it now. Sparkles seemed to glitter behind his chocolate eyes as he perked up with glee, straightening up to his full height. “So you do know me after all! I was starting to think you simply had nothing going on in that head of yours!” he simpered as he tilted his head to look down at you.

Despite his clear mocking, you remained quiet for a moment longer, until you couldn’t hold it anymore.

“…You work in a radio station.” You stated flatly.

Alastor looked around, acting as if he had just realised as such. “Yes I am quite aware!” he affirmed in an obvious tone. “Did you want an award for that observation?”

You had to refrain from gaping at this man’s audacity. “… Couldn’t you have just fixed it yourself?”

The man blinked at you. “Fixed what now?”

Oh, this was it. Stepping forward, you didn’t stop until you face was a hand-lengths away from his, and you watched with satisfaction as he shifted at your invasion of his space – talk about a hypocrite as someone who clearly loved to invade the space of others. Staring at the man dead in the eye, you fully dropped the southern accent, your Yorkshire one coming back through full force.

“Your mum’s radio.” You stated simply, raising your brows to regard him with a condescending look that matched his.

You had expected him to brush it off, laughing when he realised who you were. What you hadn’t expected for his pupils to blow wide, his eyes darkening as they narrowed, scrutinising your gaze with his own, and you suddenly felt a little uneasy.

“Oh,” he said lowly. “It’s you.”

Keeping your gaze levelled, you gripped the spoon harder in your hands. That is, until your name was called.

The two of you straightened up, you leaning to look around Alastor as he spun on the spot, the both of you facing Mr Durham, who was looking between the two of you rather nervously. He called your name again.

“C’mon.” he said, refusing to take his eyes off Alastor. “Let’s go over those papers you brought.”

Without a second thought, you darted for your mug of tea, grabbing it along with an almost empty bottle of milk to put in it as you strode around Alastor, feeling the hand of your boss as he put his arm around your shoulder as he quickly led you away, and the back of your head prickled, definitely feeling the sharp eyes on your retreating back this time around.

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

ALASTOR'S HERE RAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Watch me disappear from the face of the earth for a week cuz of my executive dysfunction lmao (Blame my adhd not me she's a seperate entity at this point.)

I hope you've enjoyed what I've given you so far, see you soon for Chapter 5!!

Please let me know if you want to be added to the Taglist!

< Chapter 3 // Chapter 4 // Chapter 5 >

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#are you proud that i'm bringing on the grind for everything except my uni work?#they gave me 5 assignments again :/#also having a crisis that high school musical is turning 20 in the next two years #making me feel ancient #but not as ancient as lucifer #he's giving prehistoric #alastor #alastor x reader #alastor hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #alastor fanfic #alastor x you #alastor x oc

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seeyal8r · 3 months

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L8rboy (often stylized as L8RBOY!) made their debut on March 21st, 2017 under Hidden Entertainment with members Hana, Heather, Poupette, Mae, and Lo. Their debut single, See ya!, didn't receive the warm welcome they had hoped for. The debut was met with a wave of criticism from netizens for various reasons, including the fact that one of the members, Hana, was the daughter of the company's CEO. Hana was also criticized for her perceived lack of professionalism and inadequate preparation, particularly her subpar rap skills. Additionally, the group faced backlash because their leader, Mae, was not of Asian descent.

Although the girls started the promotion of their single with high spirits, their enthusiasm waned over time, leading to the cancellation of some of their final scheduled interviews. After several months of absence from social media, the group came back with their first mini-album, SHOUT OUT, featuring the single ICY. The same day of its release, #TheyKeepTalkinIKeepWalkin became trending topic on Twitter. This particular line resonated with the girls and fans alike, as it directly addressed the unjust hate the group had received during their debut. The hashtag quickly gained traction, symbolizing the group's resilience and determination to succeed despite the criticism they had faced.

With the initial controversy having died down, SHOUT OUT was warmly received by the few fans they had garnered during their debut as well as attracted new ones, allowing them to stabling a modest but dedicated mostly local fanbase.

After two years and three comebacks, L8RBOY silently disbanded following the release of their mini album STRAWBERRIES & CREAM, with CAKE being the last title track released under Hidden Entertainment. The disbandment was never officially announced, but it became evident as the members remained inactive for nearly a year. This period of silence ended with the announcement that INFERNO MUSIK had acquired L8RBOY's contract.

INFERNO MUSIK rebranded the group, shifting their image from a cute concept to a more mature, girl crush aesthetic. The lineup also saw changes, with members Lo and Hana staying behind at Hidden Entertainment and being replaced by two trainees from INFERNO: Achara and Silv, the latter of whom gained fame from her participation in the survival show The Bird Box, hosted by INFERNO.

L8RBOY re-debuted on 2020 with the mini album Killing Your Darlings, and its title track LOVES!CK GIRLS broke into the music charts, marking a turning point for the group. For the first time, L8RBOY was experiencing the success they had longed for, and their future seemed brighter than ever. Over the next two years, they solidified their place in the industry, enjoying a level of popularity they had previously only dreamed of.

However, in 2023, they came back with their first full album with only four members. Mae was noticeably absent from the promotions, and no official explanation was provided. Mae has not promoted with the group since then, leaving fans uncertain about her future with L8RBOY.

Despite a rocky start in the industry, L8RBOY has emerged as one of the most iconic and influential girl groups of their generation. Their journey from a troubled debut to chart-topping success is a testament to their resilience and talent, securing their place in the records of K-pop history.

THE BASICS

COMPANY: former Hidden Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

OFFICIAL COLOR: strawberry red

FANDOM: lovebirds

GREETING: you should’ve seen it coming! Hello, we’re L8RBOY!

PAST MEMBERS: Hana & Lo

ACTIVE MEMBERS: Heather, Achara, Poupette & Silv

INACTIVE MEMBERS: Mae

GET TO KNOW THE MEMBERS! ★

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ BORN TO BE A BRODWAY STAR, FORCED TO BE MISTREATED IN THE KPOP INDUSTRY ﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Heather

BIRTH NAME: Heather Lee

KOREAN NAME: Lee Hayun

BIRTHDAY: September 5th, 2000

BIRTHPLACE: Chicago, USA

HOMETOWN: Chicago, Illinois

ETHNICITY: Dutch-Korean

NATIONALITY: American

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol

COMPANY: former Hidden Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: L8RBOY!

POSITION: lead vocalist, lead dancer, face of the group, maknae

YEARS ACTIVE: 2017-2019, 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 4 years

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Jeon Somi

VOICECLAIM: DeVita & Eva Noblezada

THE BACKSTORY

Heather Lee was born in Chicago to a loving family as their only child. Her parents had struggled for years with infertility, finally giving up hope of ever having a child. Then, by a stroke of luck, her mother became pregnant with Heather, and they felt it was nothing short of a miracle. From that moment, Heather became the light of their lives, and they devoted themselves to providing her with the best life they could.

From an early age, Heather showed a keen interest in theater, especially musicals. She eagerly joined every theater group that got on her way, taking on roles such as Karen Smith in Mean Girls and Fiona in Shrek. During her teenage years, she tirelessly auditioned for various Broadway musicals, yet each time, she faced rejection. Despite her mounting desperation and growing sense of defeat, she never gave up on her dream.

The one day a member of Hidden Entertainment’s staff saw her perform as Cinderella in her high school’s production of Into the Woods. Impressed by her talent, he offered her a trainee position at the company. Heather seized the opportunity without hesitation, believing that if Broadway wasn’t her destiny, perhaps the K-pop industry was where she truly belonged.

After a relatively short training period, Heather debuted as the lead vocalist of L8RBOY. Her genuine personality and astonishing vocals quickly made her the second most popular member of the group. Following the silent disbandment of L8RBOY and the subsequent acquisition of the group’s contract by INFERNO MUSIK, Heather was the first to sign on among the three members who survived the lineup changes.

In the group's re-debut under INFERNO, Heather kept her position and saw her career flourish. She eventually became the face of L8RBOY. Her solo success also led to her debut as a solo artist and landed her a summer contract to play Eurydice in the Broadway musical Hadestown.

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ THE SWEETEST GIRL IN TOWN! SHE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG IN HER WHOLE LIFE﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Achara

BIRTH NAME: Achara ‘Tara’ Rhitthirong

BIRTHDAY: October 21st, 1998

BIRTHPLACE: Ayutthaya, Thailand

HOMETOWN: Bangkok, Thailand

ETHNICITY: Thai

NATIONALITY: Thai

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol, coreographer

COMPANY: former YG Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: Blackpink L8RBOY!

POSITION: main dancer, main rapper, center

YEARS ACTIVE: 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 6 years (3 years at YG, 3 at INFERNO)

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Nicha Yontararak ‘Minnie’

VOICECLAIM: LE

THE BACKSTORY

Achara ‘Tara’ Rhitthirong was born in Ayutthaya, where she spent her early years. As the youngest of six children, she didn’t receive much attention from her parents during her childhood. Initially puzzled by their lack of time for her, young Tara eventually came to terms with being invisible, even finding a certain comfort in it. Her siblings didn’t receive much attention either, so Tara found solace in her own pursuits. She spent the time that most kids would spend with their families in dance classes, a passion she discovered after attending one of her older sister’s ballet recitals.

Although she danced purely for enjoyment without any professional aspirations, her instructors saw her potential and encouraged her to compete at a national level. She performed exceptionally well, securing several national titles. It was at one of these competitions that she caught the eye of YG Entertainment, who offered her a trainee position and a fully covered move to South Korea. One benefit of having inattentive parents is that they don’t seem to mind you moving alone to a completely different country at the age of 13.

Tara trained at YG for three years and was even considered for debut in BLACKPINK. However, she was ultimately replaced in the lineup by Lisa. Disheartened but determined, Tara stayed with YG for a few more months before her contract was acquired by INFERNO MUSIK.

After an additional three years of rigorous training, she debuted as Achara in L8RBOY. She quickly earned a reputation as one of the best dancers in the industry, praised for her professionalism and passion. Tara is also well known for her easygoing, bubbly personality.

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ SHE WORKED HER ASS OFF TO BE HERE. WAS IT WORTH IT? ﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Mae

BIRTH NAME: Daisy-Mae Pérez

BIRTHDAY: June 11th, 2000

BIRTHPLACE: New Jersey, New York, USA

HOMETOWN: New Jersey, New York, USA

ETHNICITY: Hispanic

NATIONALITY: American

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol

COMPANY: former Hiddent Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: L8RBOY!

POSITION: lead rapper, lead dancer, vocalist

YEARS ACTIVE: 2017-2019, 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 5 years

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Bebe Wood

VOICECLAIM: Jennie Kim

THE BACKSTORY

Daisy-Mae Pérez was born into a modest family in New Jersey. From a young age, she showed a profound interest in the performing arts. She spent her days dancing around the house, singing in the church choir, or rehearsing for her school plays. Her parents, despite their limited financial resources, were captivated by their daughter’s passion and talent. They did everything they could to support her dream, even postponing their divorce to ensure their limited funds went toward Daisy-Mae rather than legal fees.

They enrolled Daisy-Mae in dance classes, the most they could afford. It was there that she was introduced to K-pop by a friend. From that moment, debuting in the Korean industry became her ultimate goal, and she dedicated herself entirely to achieving it. She spent every moment outside of school practicing and honing her skills.

A few years later, Daisy-Mae passed the international auditions for Hidden Entertainment. After an emotional farewell with her parents, she boarded a plane to Seoul and began her training. Her hardworking and determined nature quickly set her apart, making her the top trainee of her cohort and earning her a debut spot with L8RBOY.

Being chosen as the group’s leader was the culmination of all her efforts, and for some time, Daisy-Mae was incredibly happy. She felt fulfilled and extremely fortunate for the opportunities life had given her. However, things took a turn for the worse when INFERNO acquired L8RBOY's contract. Despite surviving the lineup changes, Daisy-Mae lost her position as leader. She was heartbroken and couldn’t understand the reason why, but she continued to persevere, driven by her dedication and the support of her fans.

However, something must have happened behind the scenes, as one day, Daisy-Mae was placed on an indefinite hiatus, and nothing more was heard from her.

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ EVERYONE KNOWS HER, BUT DOES EVERYONE LOVE HER? ﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Poupette

BIRTH NAME: Zhao Jiayi

FRENCH NAME: Juliette Zhao

BIRTHDAY: July 30th, 1999

BIRTHPLACE: Shenzhen, China

HOMETOWN: Marseille, France

ETHNICITY: Chinese

NATIONALITY: French

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol

COMPANY: former Hidden Entertainment, current INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: L8RBOY!

POSITION: leader, main vocalist, visual

YEARS ACTIVE: 2017-2019, 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 5 years

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Song Yuqi

VOICECLAIM: Jung Wheein

THE BACKSTORY

Juliette Zhao, born Zhao Jiayi, was born in Shenzhen, China. However, she only spent her first year there before her family relocated to Marseille, France, due to her mother's business. Her mother, the owner of a prestigious luxury hotel chain, decided to move to Marseille to personally manage one of her hotels that was underperforming.

Juliette began singing in her school choir, where her exceptional vocal talent quickly stood out. Her teacher urged her mother to enroll her in private lessons, believing Juliette had the potential to build a career in music. Initially, her mother viewed the arts as a frivolous pursuit and not a stable career path. However, after persistent pleading from Jiayi, her mother finally agreed and payed for her lessons.

Continuing with the choir, Juliette also participated in various talent shows throughout her childhood. At the age of 12, she participated in the national contest to select France's representative for Junior Eurovision. Juliette not only won the national contest but also secured victory in the final competition. Following her victory, her mother received numerous offers from both Chinese and Korean music companies.

After considering their options, Jiayi and her mother chose to sign with Hidden Entertainment, whose CEO was an old classmate of her mother. Upon completing her training period, Jiayi debuted in L8RBOY as Poupette, taking on the role of the main vocalist. Despite the initial controversies surrounding the group's debut, Poupette was praised by netizens for her outstanding vocals and doll-like visage. She became the first member to cultivate a substantial solo fanbase.

With L8RBOY’s re-debut under INFERNO, Poupette not only retained her position as main vocalist but also took on the role of leader, a title previously held by Mae.

★﹐୨🍓୧﹒ YOUR TRUSTY COMEDIC RELIEF SIDE CHARACTER, SAD ISN’T IT? ﹒ ₊˚﹒

THE BASICS

STAGE NAME: Silv

BIRTH NAME: Silvia Kang

KOREAN NAME: Kang Siah

BIRTHDAY: February 24th, 1998

BIRTHPLACE: Daegu, South Korea

HOMETOWN: Sevilla, Spain

ETHNICITY: Korean

NATIONALITY: Korean-Spanish

THE CAREER

PROFESSION: idol, songwriter

COMPANY: INFERNO MUSIK

GROUP: BIRDS OF PREY L8RBOY!

POSITION: vocalist, ocassional rapper

SURVIVAL SHOWS: The Bird Box (ranked 5th)

YEARS ACTIVE: 2020-present

YEARS TRAINED: 6 years

THE CLAIMS

FACECLAIM: Jung Jinsol

VOICECLAIM: Na Goeun

THE BACKSTORY

Silvia Kang, born Kang Siah, came into the world on a winter's day in Seville, Spain. Despite her Korean heritage and annual family trips to Daegu, her parents' hometown, Silvia always felt more Spanish than Korean. Growing up in a city as culturally rich as Sevilla, it was hard not to be influenced by its beauty, vibrant people, and unique customs.

Silvia's first encounter with the world of music began when her mother enrolled her in the conservatory to learn to play Spanish guitar. Initially, she saw it as a chore that took away time from playing with her school friends. However, Silvia soon fell in love with music. She began singing at the conservatory, and although she wasn’t the most outstanding vocalist, she enjoyed it immensely. She began performing mini-concerts at home for her parents and family friends.

By the age of 12, Silvia had written five songs, which she recorded with her guitar and uploaded to YouTube. It was through these videos that she was discovered by INFERNO MUSIK, who offered her a spot on their renowned international survival show, The Bird Box. Although Silvia was initially hesitant to accept the offer, knowing little about K-pop or its industry, her mother was thrilled that such a prestigious company like INFERNO had shown interest in her daughter. She convinced Silvia to participate, promising it would be a truly unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Silvia's time on The Bird Box was nothing short of remarkable. She managed to avoid elimination in every challenge until the final, where she was ultimately cut from debuting and finished in fifth place. Despite the glamour, not everything was as fantastic as it seemed. Silvia’s mother was right in saying it would be unforgettable, as whatever happened behind the scenes has led Silvia to never speak about her participation in The Bird Box.

After the show concluded, INFERNO offered Silvia a trainee contract with the promise of debuting within a few years. Following much internal debate, she decided to accept and give the K-pop industry a second chance. INFERNO kept its promise, and Silvia debuted as Silv with L8RBOY. Silv writes most of the group’s songs. Her talent extends beyond her group, as she frequently appears in the credits for songs by other top groups in the industry.

formatting insp. by the lovely myah! @venusvity

#🍓 ˖ ࣪ see ya! ࣪ ★ ₊˚﹒⤻ development #fictional idol community #fictional idol group #fictional idol oc #kpop #kpop fanfic

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