#so instead of figuring out how to integrate them most effectively they just have to expend most of their efforts

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

so i was infodumping about vatborn, as one does, and laying it all out i have come to the conclusion that mogadorians as a whole--vatborn and trueborn both--lean heavily toward varying flavors of autistic. and BOY does it explain a lot

[sprout-fics]

Poly TF141 x Omega! Reader Headcanons

(Poly TF14 x F! Omega Reader)

(Part Seven: Gentle)

Tags: Omegaverse, Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics, Hidden designations, Alpha! John Price, Alpha! Simon 'Ghost' Riley, Beta! Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick, Omega! John 'Soap' MacTavish, Omega F! Reader, Group dynamics, Poly TF141, Slow burn, Courting rituals, Near-death experiences, Man-handling, Gentling, No NSFW

Masterlist

You think things might be different once the 141 starts courting you

And to be fair, they are

The group accepts you into the fold easily, integrates you as one of their own. In the work setting it’s strictly professional, and it takes you a while to figure out the degree of separation between work and…the rest of it

You run drills with them, train alongside Soap and Gaz on the obstacle course, listen to Ghost’s orders in the training maze, and listen to Price as he demonstrates advanced weapons skills. You learn more with them in a few weeks than you have in years of service, and at the end of each day you find yourself exhausted by trying to absorb every inch of information, trying your best to earn your keep, remind yourself you earned this on your own merits

Your work consumes most of your waking hours, but in the soft in-betweens, there’s a gentler, more tender element to your relationship with these men

You’re not sure what you’re expecting, really. You’ve never been officially courted before. You think about the stories of alpha suitors swaying the affections of their omega interest with a dozen roses, with candlelit dinners and passionate kisses under twinkling stars

The idea, romantic as it is, is not the 141’s style

Instead you find yourself having a much unchanged relationship with the rest of the team

Gaz and Soap drag you off to movie night still, sit you between them and lean up against you so your scents intermingle. Each of them catches you alone, asks for your company for various reasons

Gaz takes you grocery shopping, and while not necessarily romantic, the time you spend with him after cooking a meal for the group makes a tender warmth flutter in your chest

Soap takes you hiking, smoothes a hand down your back when you double over for breath, and bares his teeth at a nearby alpha hiker who mistakes Soap for another alpha, leaving well enough alone

Price invites you to him, and while he doesn’t offer a gesture so grand as outings or flowers, the quiet, beloved gentleness of your evening hours spent together talking and reading have the same effect

Ghost, much to your surprise, is strangely hesitant with his efforts. It takes you a while to realize he’s never once courted someone, not even Johnny. You’re not sure what you expected, given his propensity to act as a tall, foreboding guard dog around you. Yet the instinct of defense, protection, is so very different than the gestures the other men give you, and Simon struggles with the gentler aspect of romance

You don’t mind, not really. The idea of Ghost showing up in a suit with a bouquet, of a fancy restaurant or anything so cliche has you smirk wryly when he isn’t looking, think about how silly it is

He does approach you one day, in the evening when the base is quiet, and pushes a small, wrapped package into your hands, waits for you to open it

A knife. A very good one, just the right size for your tac vest, and with an edge so sharp it seems to slice across your wide-eyed expression caught in the silvery reflection. 

Figures that, of all things, it would be a weapon that Simon would give you as a courting gift. Something to protect yourself with if he wasn’t there

When you thank him, Simon’s shoulders relax, as if he was somehow afraid you’d reject this. He nods, moves to excuse himself, when he pauses

A hand reaches out between you both, raises to your soft bump on the side of your neck, and a gloved thumb traces over your gland. Gently, a featherlight touch, just enough to scent you

You shove your head into your pillow that night, face warming like a schoolgirl with her very first love

It turns out you need the knife much earlier than you thought

The mission you and the team are on turns sour. A partial building collapse leads to you being separated from the group, and you call the tell them you’re safe, that you’ll find a way around

Only to stumble into a nest of enemies

There’s nowhere to run, no bodies at your back, your team likely hearing gunfire but with no way to reach you

You plant your feet, refuse to concede, fire rapid, calculating shots until your clips run low and even then the enemies just keep coming

You operate entirely on instinct, adrenaline, centuries old evolutionary adaptations boiling in your blood as your omega instincts see only threat, danger, escape, survival

When you run out of ammunition, you resort to your knife, forcing it into wet flesh and bone, fangs popping out, wild-eyed, snarling. An untamed, feral animal that’s been cornered, lashes out with all its might in desperate, vicious fear

You’re soaked in blood by the time the team forces their way to you, hands trembling, crimson smeared across your gear, muscles taut, and when Gaz reaches for you to look for injuries you snarl, snap at him. Instincts still on overdrive, not recognizing your allies, heart thrumming so loudly in your ears you can’t make out their words to you

You fight them off, chest heaving violently as they try to calm you down, hyperventilating and looking past them for a way out, for escape-

A hand settles across your nape

You growl at first, ominous, a threat. Yet all you’re answered with in turn is a deeper, more commanding growl, one that slithers into your hindbrain as it demands surrender, submission

A body cages yours into the wall before you, and even when you writhe the alpha captain above you doesn’t relent. Instead his thumb grazes up to your gland, presses down with just enough force to make your limbs grow a little more relaxed

There’s a low, soothing purr that replaces the sharp warning growl from Price, one that rumbles deep in his chest and slides silkily across your wired senses, cools the searing awareness from your tautly held form

“Good.” He tells you breathily as you whine placatingly, stretch your neck for better access in a gesture of submission

He’s gentling you, you realize belatedly. Calming you down from your hyper driven state, manhandling you into submission so you relax, letting the adrenaline rush fade so you can come back to your senses

The sudden clarity of the act makes the remnant stress in your body collapse, figure sagging into him as he keeps you upright

“That’s it.” Price purrs into your ear, a little husky in a way that makes something delicious pulse between your thighs. “Easy does it, love. You’re safe now.”

Safe. With an alpha you trust, one who’s protected you, who’s rescued you, who saved your life all that time ago

Your eyes flutter as you whimper, a heavy sluggishness descending upon you as you reach the end of your adrenaline, head dropping with fatigue

When Price releases you, it’s through his strength alone that you don’t drop to the ground. Gaz steadies you on your other side, and together they held you until you’re strong enough to stand on your own once more

You lean on them willingly, let their familiar scents assuage your overheated senses, relax into Gaz’s hands once it’s safe to check you over, eyes fluttering

You’re injured from the chaos. A gash where a bullet grazed you. Inches from devastation. It’s not bad, but it leaves a scar in the weeks to come

A reminder, you think, of your survival, of the thing you did despite your own doubts, without them. Earning your place.

Knowing they’re there to catch you when you fall

Taglist:

(Please have an 18+ or similar age disclaimer in your bio to be tagged in this fic)

@alicesfracturedmirror @emrzennn @scatter-mind001 @josieguts @angryvengeful @ramadiiiisme @mutuallimbenclosure @waves-against-a-cliff @sunnynomoar @miyabilicious @piratesfromspace @sofasoap @soapskneebrace @writeforfandoms @waltzthegenderfluidpan @ghosts-goldendoodle @cherrycoloredfunk86 @lostagoodcigar @tbrfic @appleschloss @tizylish @misshoneypaper @kkinky @reaper-chan666

Please comment below to be added to the taglist

[daportalpractitioner]

the triple goddess in astrology

the triple goddess is represented by 3 archetypes in 1 to describe the multi-layered experience of the divine feminine. they are the maiden, the mother, and the crone.

the maiden: venus

the maiden is the archetype of the young woman who is grounded in her identity, her sexuality, her gifts, her desires, and her standards. she's confident in herself and what she wants, allowing her to cultivate meaningful connections that elevate her on this soul journey. she recognizes that this is her world and you are just living in it. the sign of your venus tells you how you are meant to embody this maiden innerG.

☾⋆｡ for example, a virgo venus is meant to embody her maiden energy through being of service to herself and others with integrity. this means that she doesn't let people take advantage of her and she doesn't do shit for people with manipulative intentions. she only allows what serves her highest good into her life, from what she eats to the environments that she takes space in, because when she focuses and allows only what serves her, she is also of service to The Most High.

the mother: moon

the mother is the archetype of the woman who gives birth to her creations + nurtures them so that they can grow to sustain life on their own. this is deeper than just having kids —this applies to all creations which once started off as a desire. she is an effective nurturer because she recognizes the importance of taking care of herself first. she uses her heart space to heal her wounds through compassion + forgiveness and in turn cultivates a loving community through the love that she fosters. her first home is herself and her life is a desired reflection of everything she already holds within her. the sign of your moon tells you how you are meant to embody your inner mother innerG.

☾⋆｡ for example, a capricorn moon is meant to embody their mother innerG by reconciling the energy connected to family trauma (especially their parental relationships) and not letting their childhood traumas + resentment bleed into the way that they care for themselves and others. she doesn't add unnecessary pressure to herself and shows grace to self + others. she leads by not being too hard on herself and those that look up to her and depend on her. she trusts herself to lean into her femininity + allows others to support her instead of always being the one that others are always relying on.

the crone: saturn

the crone archetype is the wise, older woman who is a pillar in the community, being able to provide support and insight for others due to the hardships + lessons that she experienced. people look up to her as an authority figure because she has the wisdom to guide others in the right direction. she isn't distracted by what's going on in the world + uses her time wisely because she's aware that she won't be here forever. she doesn't entertain bullshit and while others may call her mean, she stands firm on her boundaries. this is that grandmotherly innerG that is very supportive + protective of our highest good by holding us accountable. the sign of your saturn is meant to show you how to embody your inner crone.

☾⋆｡ for example, a cancer saturn is meant to embody their crone by holding herself emotionally accountable to cultivate healthy connections with others. she is aware of the "generational curses" that she has karmically acquired though the bloodline and doesn't play the blame game, recognizing that it is her duty to break those curses so that those same karmic patterns aren't played out in her connections and the family that she has/will create for herself one day. she is aware of the complexity of humans + their emotions and is able to teach + heal others through her own experiences with family + other loved ones that are or were once near and dear to the heart.

[banavalope]

Hello, I'm a Homestuck and Good Omens fan and just saw your post about coffee. I came to the Homestuck fandom way late, though, and don't know what the coffee theory was. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share that story from the trenches if it's not too traumatic :)

I'll preface by saying, this all happened near about the time I began to step away from Homestuck, as this was late 2011 to early 2012. My recollection could very well be missing some juicier deets, because I always managed to avoid the worst of it. In all I had a pretty benign time floating about the Homestuck fandom, I'll say that. My knowledge is as a fly's.

If you want the short version: once upon a time, the Homestuck fandom was so stupid it had discourse over the way coffee was drawn in a single panel, because the stylistic choice used to show the way cheap potted coffee has that oil slick sheen on the top Really got the gamerz thinking Gamzee was putting troll blood in the coffee.

The long version is this: this Act was annoying. All the Acts had been annoying, there'd been rather more than six of them so far. The fandom's toxicity was at its most potent, and the main fandom exodus hadn't happened yet. But the stylistic choice brewing on page 4702 of A6I2 suggested a discourse was on the horizon, and it was the size of planet fucking Jupiter.

To understand the affairs of 2011/12 Homestucks, a few things are important to mention: first, nobody enjoyed Act 6. Ask anyone from the tumblr era First Wave, we all agreed that Cascade would have been a better place to start wrapping up the comic as a whole. When Act 6 opened introducing the alpha kids, a whole new plot derivative, and we all realized we'd have to go through the same slog again, that the story wasn't over, the collective exhaustion was palpable. SWATHS left unhappy; worse yet (for some), the alpha kids brought us away from the game of SBURB and the over-aching plot, to instead place our focus on their interpersonal relationships. It was a bad time to take your audience away from a well crafted climax.

Reading it now as a completed work makes this not so bad, because the book is wrote. You can consume it as a finished piece and clearly interpret a through line for yourself, start to finish. Skip it even, if you want. When you've no idea at what time the next update will come, while all the pieces remain necessary to tell the story, any pacing is bad pacing.

Second, while Homestucks are known for many things - all of them cringe - the one that goes overlooked most, in spite of the ripple effect we still feel from it today in every corner, is the sheer amount of over analyzing done to the story itself. Every panel, every inch of every pixel, was a part of a puzzle we all collectively made up. Theorizing was an integral part to the Update Culture era of Homestuck's fandom, that we Figure Out the Story, you had to be the one who predicted what came next. Impressive how none of us came up with some kind of fandom Nobel Peace Prize, for how much we lauded it as a lifetime achievement.

I'll give you, Homestuck does have a very rich narrative. Much of it, I'll favor, is even intentional. It made worldbuilding choices captivating enough to get people painting themselves grey, for fun, so surely it had a few right ideas in some places. And there's nothing wrong about analyzing your media, picking apart its references to tie together a background story, even if it's just one you make up based on how you experienced reading it. That's kind of the whole point of consuming art. It's to be discussed, share your personal conclusions on. Theory is the breath of creativity.

It's the whole part about wanting to be right, where Homestucks as a collective force wanted to start eating each other alive on the spot. We were fucking OBNOXIOUS with theory posting. I'll be honest with you, I really ate that kind of thing up, and even I was getting annoyed. People were beginning to stretch, likely to cope with becoming bored.

Finally, the sober Gamzee controversy. This came about a while before coffeegate, but the effect the inciting update had on Homestucks is comparable to a haunting. It was fucking chernobyl, and a bad day to be a nuclear scientist because now it was your problem. Vriska fans - equally insufferable, as we all were by some respect[1] - and Gamzee fans fought with each other VEHEMENTLY, just to see whos gang was better. Keep that in the background of your mind as the theme music to what's playing. Everyone was anxiously wondering what had happened to Gamzee, because for the last several some-odd panels, we'd lost the boy. He was full of murderous intent, we were down to precious few characters on the meteor left, and we'd lost the boy.

So here we are. It's 2011. We're standing now at the end of the world, we've lost the boy for several panels, and finally the plot is trying to move along. We're all tired, and irritated, and divorced, doing this song and dance one more time but god willing the LAST TIME, when a joke about the look of shitty potted coffee gets made.

And some harbinger of the fucking apocalypse takes to tumblr dot com, drafting up a post about how Gamzee - living in the meteor walls - is putting troll blood into the coffee. Because, otherwise, how is Kanaya as a rainbow drinker doing so fine? Dave called the taste metallic, like blood. Something something long forgotten theories about trolls blood here something something. People would chime in to say "that's just how coffee looks", somehow it dissolved into actual discourse of people violently discussing back and forth how it could ONLY BE BLOOD, because coffee drawn in a prior panel UPDATES AGO didn't have the film on top, only now AFTER SOBER GAMZEE. Etcetera. It was just the worst case of reading too hard into something that you done ever did see.

Shortly following this, many people who were already growing exhausted with Homestuck's narrative direction at this point decided to take this coffee theory as their sign the flood was coming and to board the ark or learn how to swim. Anyone who learned to swim subsequently left during the exodus of 2015.

Again, my memory is pretty hazy. Thanks to Requiem Cafe, surprisingly difficult to google these days. Certainly another old still following me will have something more to add that I'm forgetting, as your handy dandy unreliable narrator.

[1] Said the Eridan fan.

[nikikikiko]

hello it is 3 am today we talk about kid’s humanity and how it is vital to him being the way he is mainly by comparing him to the other two shinigami we see in the series. if u expect a coherent structure my excuse is that it IS in fact 3 am and i just woke up from my slumber

but Kid is a character who is mainly defined by three things:

1. He has a huge amount of skill and power alone

2. It is typically overshadowed by his need for perfection

3. He is human. He is also Lord Death’s son.

now, one of these holds seemingly conflicting traits: how can Kid be human if he’s Lord Death’s son? Well, he’s not. He says as much. He’s not human and he’s very easily able to identify this fact. So, how IS he human? How can something inhuman become human?

This , listeners in my walls, has an answer that can be considered very simple:

Lord Death INTENDED for Kid to be human. He intended for humanity to become an integral part of Kid.

At the time of Lord Death’s creation, we understand that inhumanity is needed to deal with immediate threats while humanity is still trying to thrive. This is showcased to us by how Lord Death creates Asura, deals with the Witches, and overall eliminates threats. He’s quick, decisive, and seemingly without any regret. Lord Death does what is best for humanity with a stern hand because that is his purpose initially: to be a present god for humanity, to light the way. Now a god is not, and never will be, human in the ways that they need to be. Especially in Soul Eater where almost all depiction of a god or god like character have them be inhuman in some shape or form. Eibon, Excalibur, the Great Old one of Power, and even Asura have appearances that can be considered monstrous: they are not human.

Speaking of Asura, I would like to call Asura a case of incomplete humanity in the wrong era. Asura is the embodiment of Lord Death’s fears culminated into a person, he did not grow up with a childhood, he simply just was. This, as everyone knows, has had a very negative effect on Asura and led to him becoming paranoid and yearning for power. He is an incomplete human who’s not quite god in the way Lord Death or Excalibur are, but not quite human either. But since he’s not quite human, Asura easily falls into morally wrong temptations to achieve power that would take some or most people at least a few more days of contemplation, and he does so without a drop of guilt or remorse. Can you imagine the absolute betrayal Vajra must have felt in their last moments? The horror and dread? The sadness that this is who Asura is? That it only gets Worse?

Now I mentioned Asura’s incomplete humanity but what exactly does that mean? In my opinion, Asura has some mechanics of a human— the shape to be exact and the general self preservation instincts of one. But where he fails at being human is how he operates. His own paranoia and fear drove him to madness yes but he acts in a way that feels logical to HIM. He does what feels best for himself in incomprehensible wonderland noise, the same way that Lord Death does what feels best for humanity. And because they are gods, they are correct at the time even if they are wrong eventually. Asura, despite having human-esque things about him, is no different than the other gods that walk among the soul eater world.

So how does this all tie back into Kid? Well, Kid is the reverse of Asura. Kid, rather than being an incomplete human, was made to be an incomplete GOD. Intentionally so, since it was the most logical thing to do to keep another Asura from happening. Lord Death created Kid to be an heir but he didn’t want Kid to become Asura 2.0 somehow, so he figured out that reversing the way Asura operated would do the trick. Instead of creating an incomplete human, he would make an incomplete god and that is the Kid we start out with in the manga.

This allows Kid to be human and a god at the same time, allowing him to learn humanity and understand it in ways Asura and Lord Death really just /can’t/. They CAN’T understand it, they simply just aren’t able to. Kid acts emotionally, he takes logical routes yes but he’s very emotional too. He can be impulsive, reckless, everything a human is expected to be. He has a drive to protect humans not because he simply should but because he has walked among them. Kid is friends with and cherishes so many humans, he finds the good in even criminals and that, in a new age where Humanity no longer needs immediate protection of it’s present god, is necessary now.

Kid can create peaceful solutions in place where Lord Death, who can only ever ensure the survival of humanity in a direct way, cannot. He can change and react and evolve in ways Asura cannot. He is human, and the two other shinigami are not. Not to mention, Kid is extremely indulgent in smaller human behaviors: we are shown time and time again that Kid has hobbies he has put time into like skateboarding and he will not hesitate to simply engage in his hobbies, but in comparison, we’re not really shown the hobbies of the other god characters. We don’t even know what Lord Death even does for fun, even though we know what Spirit does for fun.

But Kid’s also not human, and there’s no dissonance created either in this because he simply was made to be human. He knows he’s not human, he admits as much constantly, but he’s not broken up about it. He doesn’t feel disconnected from being a shinigami or from being human, he is both and he is what he is. He is what he was made to be, and his humanity is vital to make him who he is. Without that humanity, we’d most likely be left with something similar to what Kid became under the influence of the Madness of Power: a god determined to make the world into perfect nothingness.

But uh, this is all a 3am ramble ? so. take it with grains of salt LMAOO

[genderqueerdykes]

Hi! So I’ve been on T for almost 3 months now and my voice has dropped some already which I’m really excited about! But I’ve noticed I don’t really know how to speak in this new voice yet? Like it’s trying to come from lower in my chest but I keep subconsciously pitching it up into a higher voice from the top of my throat instead of letting it come naturally… is this like a thing when it comes to voice drops having to get used to talking with a new voice?

ayyyy im so happy for you!!!! i'm glad youre already seeing some of the effects you want to see!

this is definitely super normal, i struggled sooooo hard to adjust to my voice deepening, for quite a long time. i still speak with my customer service voice even now lol so don't feel bad. you have to learn HOW to use your new voice and that's totally okay, your voice will be deeper by default from the hormones, but it takes some personal attention and training to teach yourself how to speak from your chest. most people regardless of agab speak from their nose or throat naturally, especially when speaking to other people (humans pitch our voices up to sound friendly or more approachable, and pitch them down to sound serious, solemn, intimidating, or threatening), so it's okay if you have to like. adjust to that

i would recommend taking just a little bit of time, even 15 minutes, daily or every few days where you just practice speaking for an uninterrupted length of time from a lower part of your throat, or your chest if you're able to. you can just read off a passage from a book or roleplay or whatever you'd like. it's not easy to do at first and it will sound forced and awkward in the beginning, it does take a long time for it to become natural, but as you practice more, it'll acclimate itself into your natural speaking patterns. you can try to speak in short sentences like that as well, like for example if you're speaking briefly to a cashier. it's okay if your voice sounds weird in front of a stranger, they won't remember it. it's okay to practice around people you may never see again, honestly, that's a tip that saved me. who cares if the cashier at circle k thought i sounded like a teenage boy in puberty? never gonna see em again

AmaRoseLessons, Zoey Alexandria, and Trans Vocal Training are YouTube channels that can help with vocal training exercises, and i can also recommend the r/transvoice subreddit as well if you need help figuring out how to practice and ways to integrate what you learn into how you speak naturally! it takes time, but i believe in you!! i'm happy to hear that you're already seeing effects you want to see, that's badass! keep it up and don't be afraid to ask again, take care of yourself

[kivaember]

APV worldbuilding ramble

this is just me rambling about the worldbuilding for my AC6 fic alis propriis volat, specifically C4-621's backstory prior to Walter and Rubicon, since parts of it will be touched on in the story but never in depth and like, man, so much of it has actually shaped apv!621's character a lot. Me making a super detailed backstory for a character that will mostly never come up except in passing, rip.

So, if you wanna read someone's deranged manifesto (it's really long sorry) of their Raven, dive on in:

Coral Integrated Technologies (CIT)

Before we get into the nitty gritty though, I need to explain the biggest part of 621's backstory: his previous 'employer' before Walter. About a decade before the Fires, a big technological gold rush kicked off when Coral was discovered on the planet Rubicon and how it could be used as a limitless source of energy, amongst other things. The Rubicon Research Institute spearheaded most of this, but after a while a few splinter groups formed that specialised on certain parts of Coral research as they gradually learned more about it, each with their own ideas and vying for control over Coral.

However, RI had a big monopoly on the Coral and was very aggressive about defending their scientific territory. Quite a few of these other groups got muscled off Rubicon or were outright subsumed into the Institute entirely. One of the groups exiled from Rubicon was CIT - but that was fine, as they managed to achieve some breakthrough research that secured them a sponsor on Earth. While they didn't have access to near limitless Coral, since they had to work from Earth and purchase Coral (thus, restricted by limited shipments of the stuff), they had a niche they were focusing on, and hoo boy, they focused on it well.

Augments.

Er, technically.

As far as the public knew, CIT was a very small research group that studied how Coral could be used to augment humans generally, as opposed to augments for AC pilots and the like. They wanted to explore how Coral could be used to vastly expand human lifespans, cure diseases, improve the species as a whole, etc. Of course, to achieve these things, they needed a lot of warm bodies, and on paper they were all willing volunteers properly compensated!

In reality, CIT's Earth sponsors fed them lots of warm bodies via illegal human trafficking and setting up black sites on frontier colonies. Since the sponsors would be the first ones to benefit on CIT's promises on achieving 'immortality' via Coral-Human symbiosis, they were willing to leapfrog over multiple lines that the RI hesitated to toe. So, lots and lots of people were subjected to horrific experiments and the like, and CIT did actually make a lot of headway towards figuring out how to achieve symbiosis between Coral and Human - mostly because of the Assets.

ASSETS

Right, now we're onto the topic we care about: Raven, aka Asset 04. He was born about fourteen years before the Fires happened (which means by APV time, he's over 60 years old, though he admittedly spent a good chunk of that in 'cold storage', as it were), and when he was ten, was caught up in CIT's net for 'Coral compatible subjects'. They did a project that had them seeing if the augmentation process would be safer/stable/more effective if the subject started, ah, young. This gave rise to a small handful of successful augmentated humans numbered Asset 01 to Asset 05, but the high death toll had CIT quickly abandoning the project as untenable, especially as the project required constant improvements to the augments as the subject grew older - and since the Fires happened partway through, vastly restricting their Coral supplies to what they had stockpiled, the project was deemed a failure and they set aside the Assets as useful research subjects instead.

And money makers.

Augmented humans made very good AC pilots - since that's what the augments were initially made for through RI - and there were always corporate wars to be fought in the galaxy. CIT thus loaned out their Assets after appropriate training as corporate mercenaries to generate income, exert their influence and... rob, steal and borrow whatever technology/AC designs/augmented human bodies they could get their hands on. With the Fires, Coral was gold dust, and CIT weren't above, um, recycling it from dead Old Gens - or robbing existing stockpiles from rival groups, so having your own in-house AC squad loyal to you was very important here.

Assets 06 to Asset 12 were created during the 'Coral Drought' era, which began roughly ten years after the Fires, where an emphasis was put on trying to achieve the same results as the earlier Assets with minimal Coral (compartively, as compared to the RI pioneered Old Gens, they had insane amounts of Coral in their bodies). This research was done in lockstep with other companies reinventing the augmented human wheel with Coral-substitute augmentations, and much like Gen Five to Gen Seven, the augmentation surgeries were unsafe and usually fatal, if not disabiling. It also lacked the benefits that Coral brought - the benefits that CIT needed to have their overarching mission succeed. CIT began to get a little desperate by the time they created Asset 12.

While they touted Asset 12 as their most cutting edge product, internally they deemed her an abysmal failure and inferior to the older Assets. This prompted CIT to return to their older Assets and 'sacrificed' 02 and 03 in a very risky yet successful experiment that informed them of something they'd been completely unaware of before: the Coral was sentient.

ASSET 04 / RAVEN

But that's a spoiler for APV, so I'll focus on Raven properly now. Asset 04 suffered a devastating injury on a mission that went horribly wrong, where his AC's Core had been breached and the shrapnel very nearly decapitated him. The only reason he didn't die was because his partner, Asset 06, abandoned his mission to deliver emergency first aid, allowing him to live long enough for a successful medevac.

The damage was already done, though: Asset 04 suffered a complete loss of memory, as well as permanent side effects from the brain damage he had suffered. Not getting into how his throat had to be reconstructed, robbing him of the ability to speak and eat solid foods properly.

While this didn't actually change things for Asset 04 in terms of his employment or how CIT saw him (in fact, they viewed his new, more submissive personality as an improvement), it completely destroyed his relationship with Asset 06, who had been his mission partner ever since Asset 06 had been 'made'.

Asset 06 became resentful and angry that Asset 04 couldn't remember him or their time together, and how Asset 04 exhibited irritation at his bloodthirsty nature on the battlefield. He hated that Asset 04 was 'looking down on him', but was also disgusted that Asset 04 was now 'weak', as before his injury he'd been a ruthless killing machine who had enjoyed the hunt perhaps a bit too much. In Asset 06's eyes, Asset 04 was now a pathetic shade of himself, and he constantly stated how he regretted 'saving' him, that it would've been kinder if he had died, etc.

The relationship was pretty complicated between them, though. Asset 04 felt like he was constantly walking on eggshells around Asset 06, knowing that it was impossible for him to match up to this template of 'him' that existed only in Asset 06's head. Asset 06, meanwhile, was desperately trying to find a glimpse of his old partner in this weird pod person that had replaced him, and became increasingly bitter the longer time passed without finding it. It didn't help that they'd been romantically involved, which just added another layer to this shitcake they were both stuck eating.

So when did he become C4-621?

The mission that went wrong... I won't go into that, because that is something that'll be brought up on APV in detail (eventually... sort of...), but basically when Walter purchased him, Asset 04 lacked an identity entirely. Since he'd need something to tie to a mercenary license, Walter obtained an identity chip of a deceased C4 augmented human - one of his old hounds - and the nameless augmented human became C4-621 without anyone the wiser.

By that point, no one really checked the legitimacy of Old Gens. They're a dying breed by the time of AC6, and with them increasingly thought of as outdated when Gen 10 augmentations were far safer and superior, no one really bothered to keep track of how many were alive and how many were walking around with fake identities. No point.

So, yeah. It's gonna be pretty funny when Rusty realises that C4-621 is also a fake identity... who is this guy? Not he even knows.

(Saying that though, C4-621 does remember his 'real name'... but he won't tell anyone it. It's the only thing that's truly his, so long as he tells no one :') )

Anyway, that's my ramble about some worldbuilding/backstory stuff in APV. It got... super long, fucking hell. But if you read all that, and you have specific questions about APV!621 or any other worldbuilding stuff with the characters, (Rusty, Flatwell, etc), then hit me up! I'm always happy to ramble.

[softguarnere]

For Whatever We Lose

Lewis Nixon x OFC (slow burn, enemies to lovers)

Chapter Five: Enchanted

Summary: She may not be fond of Guarnere, but she would rather have a group than be the odd one out. A/N: Battling through burnout this weekend to post a chapter for the first time in forever 😰 Fun fact: it was originally over twenty pages long! Amazing what ADHD can allow you to do when you're avoiding other things, huh? I've split it into two different chapters for everyone's sake, though, but it does make the end of this one feel very sudden The title for this chapter comes from "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift because of course I'm using her lyrics for titles again, it's me we're talking about here Warnings: mentions of the Boarding School Era Taglist: @dcyllom @kujofam

The morning is muggy. Fog clings to the camp like a wet blanket, the moisture so heavy that no one can tell if they’re sweating, or if their shirts are clinging to them because they’re heavy with the water that seeps out of the air all around them. Either way, it’s uncomfortable, and people are complaining about today’s activity before it even starts.

They stand in groups. Easy Company’s men stand to one side, clustered in their small cliques that have already formed, and the women stand to the other, doing the same. Although no one is brave enough to bridge the divide between them, there are curious glances thrown across it, like a scouting party being sent ahead into the unknown before the adventure can officially begin.

Nixon has a feeling that this is either going to go very well, or very poorly – which, to be fair, is how most of life works. But either the men will begin to include the women and successfully integrate them into the company, or they will effectively ostracize them, thereby causing Sink’s great experiment to fail. No pressure.

He, for one, has no intention of ostracizing the women. Quiet the opposite, actually. He’s already searching the scene for Sergeant Revels as he and Dick approach the group.

But Dick stops suddenly. Nixon stops, too, looking back at his friend.

“Wait a second,” Dick commands, his voice quiet, yet firm. Although Nixon has never been in the habit of doing as he’s told, he obeys his friend’s order, taking a step back toward him so that they won’t be overheard. Dick’s voice is low when he says, “Whatever you’re planning – don’t.”

Nixon can’t help but blink. Feigning surprise, innocence, has never worked that well for him, but here it’s at least half true; he has no clue how Dick has figured out what he’s been thinking, and is rather surprised that he’s noticed at all.

“What?” He asks anyway.

“What if it were Blanche?” Dick says, very straightforward, as usual. “Or my sister? What if they had this opportunity, only to end up being sent home because some guy couldn’t help fraternizing with them. Because we both know the consequences for the man would be nothing in comparison to what the women would face.”

Before his friend had spoken, Nixon had planned on teaming up with Sergeant Revels for the scavenger hunt. Now, though, he’s too busy considering what Dick is saying to worry about what he was going to say to her. Instead, he has to figure out what to say to his friend.

“Dick, I was just gonna – “

“You’re married,” Dick reminds him. He raises a gingery eyebrow to punctuate the point. “That wouldn’t look good for anyone.”

“That’s never stopped anyone with the last name Nixon before,” he mutters, mind flashing back to his own father, his own mother, his own childhood – everything from before the Army that mostly feels very distant and easy to forget nowadays.

“Nix,” Dick warns. “Getting the women integrated into the company is going to be hard enough with Sobel accusing everyone of fraternization left and right. Don’t give him any more excuses to revoke a pass. And don’t be the reason that someone gets sent home.”

Nixon hasn’t even done anything yet, technically, but the look of disappointment on his friend’s face is so strong that some terrible feeling that he hasn’t felt in a very long time begins to fester in his chest. Dick can’t really tell him what to do like this. And yet, Nixon is sure that if he doesn’t obey, he might lose the best friend that he’s ever had.

And, okay, maybe Dick does have a point. If someone ruined Blanche’s career, her future, he would probably hunt the bastard down and kill him. He prefers being alive . . . most of the time.

After a moment of doing nothing but staring at his friend, openmouthed – how embarrassing! His mother would kill him if she could see! – and hesitant, he finally snaps it shut, forces his lips into a firm line, and acquiesces. “Fine.”

Dick nods. “Thank you.”  

And with that, he approaches the group ahead of them like nothing has happened.

Silence falls as the lieutenants approach the group. Men and women alike stand at attention, ready. Dick nods, smiles, and they all fall at ease.

“Not the most agreeable weather,” he begins casually. “That’s part of why today’s exercise is optional.” He pauses while a sigh of relief runs through the crowd in front of him. “However, I think you will find the reward for those who do choose to participate to be far greater than for those who bow out.

“Somewhere in this camp, there is something that you need to find. You may find it immediately, or it might take you all day. But trust me when I say that it will be much easier if men and women work together.”

No one speaks, but everyone glances at each other in question. Together? Even with the fraternization policy?

“Don’t worry about your passes,” Dick assures them. “You can’t learn to be a real, cohesive company if you’re never allowed to interact. It’s encouraged from now on.”

The men and women glance at each other again, much less shyly, and much less confused than before. Some people clearly seem more excited about this news than others, though. That part becomes even more obvious when Dick allows them to split into groups. Some of the men throw glares at the girls before turning on their heels and heading back to the bunkhouse. It is their day off, after all, and they’ve been told that this is optional.

The rest of them, however, tentatively begin to break away into groups. Some men band together, creating all male groups, but others whisper amongst themselves before glancing over at the girls, figuring out which ones to ask to join them, and how to go about doing so.

“Oh, Anna! He’s looking at you again!” Lucinda teases as Floyd Talbert throws a look in her direction.

The singer keeps her cool, though, only shrugging. “Well, he’ll have to do more than that. Skinny Sisk is the one coming over here.”

On cue, Easy Company’s favorite reprobate swaggers up to her, smile bright. “Hello, Anna.” He nods to the rest of the girls in greeting before putting his full attention on the Tennessean. “Would you like to join my group?”

“Depends.” Anna glances behind him. “Who else is coming?”

“Shifty, Popeye, and McLung.”

“Okay then. Sure.” With that, she follows him off, casting a smile back at the other girls and completely ignoring Talbert, who watches with wide, forlorn eyes as she goes.

Liebgott is the next to approach, which may or may not be because Talbert, looking so crestfallen, whispers something to him before beginning to stalk over himself. Ed Tipper follows them, but he doesn’t look as aggravated as Talbert, or as determined as Liebgott.

“Bianca,” Liebgott says with a smile. “You wanna join us?”

The Italian girl’s eyes widen. For a moment, she stands stock still, like a deer in the headlights. Ever since they joined Easy Company, everyone with eyes has been able to see that Liebgott likes her – except Bianca, that is. Though some argue that she knows and that the real problem is that she’s just too shy and too Catholic to do anything about it.

Finally, she nods. “Sure.”

More men have plucked up the courage to approach them now, and the other girls find themselves receiving invitations that range from bold and bordering on flirtatious to hesitant and downright painful to watch.

It’s not until a familiar face approaches that Lori thinks she’s been saved. For there, out of the crowd, approaches none other than David Webster. She hasn’t seen him in ages. If she’s being honest, she never really cared for him much at social events – he was a bit socially awkward and always managed to find a way to turn the conversation into one about literature or about sharks, neither of which have ever really sparked Lori’s interest. Nevertheless, he’s walking over, and Lori is willing to put all of that aside for the sake of finding a group to join; the comfort of finding something familiar within the unfamiliar.

That is, until he walks straight past her.

“Lori,” he says, offering her a polite nod.

“Hello, David,” she replies, making sure to show off her brightest smile.

But then he continues walking, his friends by his side hardly giving her a glance. What’s worse is that she has to watch in disbelief as he approaches Minerva.

“Good morning, Sergeant Revels,” he greets her.

Minerva smiles. “Hello, Webster. Nice to see you again.”

“Care to join our group?”

She doesn’t know the other men standing with him. And even though she hardly knows Webster himself, he’s always been polite to her, right from the first moment that he came over and introduced himself. The gesture is much appreciated considering all that the women have been through.

“I would,” Minerva agrees. “Thanks.”

She’s just about to take off with him when a hand takes hold of her elbow, stopping her in her tracks. Keziah is staring at her, brown eyes wide as she watches the sergeant go. She doesn’t have to say anything – her eyes dart toward the next group of men approaching, and Minerva can see the problem immediately.

Bill Guarnere is at the head of the group, and he’s heading straight for Keziah. Anyone could have guessed that this would happen. He always seems to have an eye on her.

“What am I supposed to do?” she hisses.

“Kez,” Minerva says, patting her friend’s shoulder. “Just give him a chance.” Guarnere might be boisterous and laugh a lot, but none of the girls have ever had a bad thing to say about him, and it seems like the men don’t either. Besides, when he looks at Keziah, it’s completely different than the expression that he uses when surveying the rest of the company; he’s like a man trying to piece together a puzzle. “I’m sure he’s not as bad as you think.”

Keziah fixes her with a hard look that seems like she’s resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “He’s always looking at me.”

“But I don’t think it’s for the reasons that you think it is.”

He’s upon them now. His friends all greet the girls, flashing bright, handsome smiles. It’s clear that Bill is the leader of this expedition, though.

“Keziah, do you wanna join us?”

A beat passes where it looks like she’s going to say no, to laugh in his face, to refuse him. What no one else seems to notice, though, is the way Lori is edging in at the periphery of Keziah’s vision. She may not be fond of Guarnere, but she would rather have a group than be the odd one out. And if she wants that, then she’ll have to accept before Lori can throw her hat into the ring.

“Sure.” There is no pleasure in her voice, but no malice either. There is nothing but resignation, an acceptance of one’s own fate as she follows Guarnere and his friends away through the camp.

With that sorted, Minerva turns to her new group and offers them a smile. “Well, boys. Where should we start?”

At least Guarnere’s friend is funny.

Keziah has heard about George Luz, though she’s never noticed him much. She recognizes his voice, though, as soon as he introduces himself. He’s Easy Company’s funny man. And his other friend, Joe Toye, is quiet, reserved, but polite enough. Luz’s polar opposite. He offers Keziah a nod when she joins the group.

“Well, fellas,” Guarnere starts. As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he pauses, corrects himself. “I mean, er – Well, you know what I mean. Should we start with the mountain?”

Luz groans. “Bill, we climb that thing every damn day. This was supposed to be our day off, and here you are, wanting to make us go right back up there.”

“If something is hidden in this camp, don’t you think it would be up there?” the NCO asks.

“That seems too obvious,” Keziah cuts in before she realizes what she’s doing. All eyes are on her. Clearly no one else expected her to offer up a contradiction, either. “I mean, most people are probably going to assume that it’s on the mountain. Everyone will be going up there.”

“Unless they think it’s too obvious and avoid it,” Toye points out. He shrugs. “Could all be a mind game.”

In the end, they decide it can’t hurt to hike up Currahee just in case. Especially since no other group seems to be doing it, and it might be, like Toye said, the obvious answer.

Keziah wishes that they would run. Then they could get this thing over with. But the boys seem intent on walking – almost at a leisurely pace – and talking the whole time. And talking to her, no less, which was not something that she expected when they set out on this expedition. When she was invited to join the group, it was obvious that it was Guarnere’s idea. She didn’t expect his friends to welcome her with such openness like this.

“So, Keziah,” Luz begins as soon as they’re past the initial incline that starts the trail. “Am I saying that right?” He stops to say it slowly, Kuh-zai-uh, working each syllable and then looking to her for approval.

She nods. “Yeah. Like from the Bible.”

“Job’s daughter,” Guarnere muses.

“Anyway,” Luz continues. “Where are you from, Keziah?”

That’s a good question, and one that she’s not too fond of answering. “Oklahoma.”

Guarnere raises an eyebrow. “Really? You don’t have the accent, though.”

Toye scoffs, checking Guarnere’s shoulder with his own. “What? Should she talk like a cowboy, or something?”

Guarnere shrugs, rolls his eyes. “I don’t know! I’ve never met anyone from there.” He turns to Keziah. “Do people have accents in Oklahoma?”

“Usually.” At a younger age, she would have said no. But now that she’s older, and after spending time away, she can hear it every time that she returns, and can note the different types, too. Her grandpa and father have the distinct tone that comes from speaking Choctaw, whereas her little sister probably sounds more like the cowboys that Guarnere is imagining.

“You don’t have an accent,” Guarnere notes.

“No. I was sent away for school.” Where they would rather die than let you hold onto any semblance of home, she doesn’t add.

Toye’s eyes go wide with realization. Guarnere, however, doesn’t pick it up as easily and plows ahead.

“Oh yeah? Where’d you go to school.”

“God,” Toye sighs.

“What?”

Keziah watches him for a moment, waiting to see if he’ll catch on. When he doesn’t, she tells him. “A boarding school. You know, the kind for Indians.”

“Oh.” The Philadelphian cringes at his own mistake. For what it’s worth, he looks like he wants to kick himself for that one. “Sorry.”

At least he sounds sincere. “It’s fine.” Keziah shrugs it off. She may only be nineteen, but she knows better than to let it weigh her down, to turn the situation awkward. She’s stuck with these men until they find whatever it is they’re looking for.

So she takes a page from Luz’s book and makes light of it. “That’s why I’m the best at close-order drills. Been doing them all my life.”

“The best, huh?” Guarnere raises an eyebrow, his embarrassment at his earlier mistake ebbing away. “We’ll see about that.”

[amateurcritic]

I just had a weird dream about an OFF au invented by someone on this site. I know it’s not even close to canon, but you know what the ghost said: “everything is canon.” So I thought it would be worth sharing.

Before events of OFF: Once upon a time there was a huge pandemic. Although it wasn’t that fatal, the disease seriously messed up people’s heads, to the point of trying to murder anyone/thing in sight. Especially loved ones. They didn’t seem to age, sort of like a zombie virus without active decay. It was also incredibly contagious, but that’s important later. It was so bad that most healthy people forgot that the infected were still actual human beings, so “putting down” loved ones became a normal occurrence.

The Cure: Then, during some highly experimental 80s style research, a definitely not licensed doctor discovered that the disease could be cured by slowly replacing the patient’s blood with oil. Side effects included: severe memory loss, body disfigurement, emotional instability, and childlike learning/imprinting behaviors (among other things). As a result, a Cave Johnson-esque person(can’t remember if it was the person who discovered the cure or not) decided to use the cure as a sort of re-education tool. Discount Cave basically cured these people for free, brainwashed them, stuck them in uniforms and rented them out as a semi-competent labor force.

Government: Obviously, it didn’t take long for these cured people to be selectively brainwashed for specific tasks based on demand, like blue collar or white collar work. Or the military. That’s how Discount Cave got into the government. Since he provided the armies and several countries wanted his backing, governments gave him more and more power (and money) to use his resources. He eventually used this to take control of these customer governments and integrate them into a multinational corporation/governing entity.

Holocaust: From there, he could pretty much do whatever he wanted, so he started having his minions capture millions of sick people(who the public didn’t care about) and quite a few healthy people too. He claimed the disease had infected people without anyone noticing. He turned out to be right, because the cure worked the same for the not crazy violent people as it did everyone else. Since the disease was so contagious, most, if not everyone was already infected, just not everyone went crazy trying to kill people. Discount Cave used the resulting panic to justify putting all his dissenters in trains and brainwashing them too.

Relapses: Unfortunately the emotional instability of the “cured” individuals was not conducive to constant slave labor. Resulting in more than a few “relapses”. Relapses are basically the Elsens when they become burnt. Their oil-blood explodes out their heads and they go back to trying to kill everyone. Some people find a way to stop the relapses at home, but the majority of relapsed people just got killed.

Rebellion: Some people rebelled against Discount Cave and ended up either killed by relapsers or brainwashed. Eventually Discounted Cave is killed by a rebel mole who had been his protégé. This mole was Enoch. Now without a leader/father figure, the relapse rate grew out of control and the remaining “uncured” citizens were literally ripped apart. Followed by the “relapsed” ripping each other apart.

The Room: The events in Hugo’s picture took place, but instead of Japhet helping Enoch out of a literal hole, he helped Enoch out of the metaphorical hole caused by killing Discount Cave. He somehow either got rid of the “relapsed” population or he got them back to their brainwashed selves the same way some did during the relapse outbreak.

TL;DR:

The cure to the Zombie Pandemic is used to take over the world. Enoch kills big baddie and Japhet helps.

Edit: Animals were also infected, however their symptoms were somewhat different. Pablo and Valerie were pet cats that left their owner after the pandemic started. Japhet was a wild bird who gained sentience around the time relapses started happening.

[mariacallous]

In late November, at a meeting with “soldiers’ mothers,” Vladimir Putin told a woman whose son had purportedly died in Ukraine that “we all leave this world sooner or later,” and that her son “didn’t leave this life in vain” because he “accomplished his mission” rather than “dying from vodka or something.”

Russian propagandists have increasingly voiced ideas like this one in recent months. In early January, for example, TV host Vladimir Sovolyov said on the air that Russians shouldn’t fear death because “we’re going to end up in heaven,” while actor Dmitry Pevtsov said in December that Russians know how to “love, befriend, and die” like nobody else. The trend has prompted some Russian sociologists to start using the term “death propaganda.”

Historian and sociologist Dina Khapaeva spoke to the independent Russian outlet Verstka about the “joy of death” as an integral part of Kremlin propaganda, and the logical extension of Russia’s state ideology. Meduza has summarized the interview in English.

In 1994, a Russian Orthodox bishop named Ioann Snychov published a book called “The Autocracy of the Spirit.” In it, he argued that terror is the best way to govern the Russian people, using Ivan the Terrible as an example: the famously brutal 16th-century tsar, in Snychov’s telling, was a “naturally soft and gentle” ruler who suffered greatly when he had to dole out punishment. The sect Snychov founded advocates for the canonization of all of Russia’s leaders.

Snychov’s ideas were embraced by other extreme figures like Eurasianist philosopher Alexander Dugin, who has written, among other things, that the task of the Russian people is to bring about a “purifying apocalypse.”

According to historian and sociologist Dina Khapaeva, these concepts and others like them have helped fill a void in Russia over the last few decades: the ideological one left in the wake of the Cold War and the chaotic 1990s.

“When Putin came to power, he needed some kind of ideology to rely on,” Khapaeva told the outlet Verstka. “‘Westernism,’ with its human rights and valuing of every life, wouldn’t work. The ideas of alternation of power and political competition, so important for Western ideologies, ran counter to the president’s aims. Communism wouldn’t work either, since the communists were his main political domestic opponents. Then radical nationalists and Orthodox extremists came to his aid. For Putin, they were understandable and organic with their anti-Western and autocratic ideas.”

In Khapaeva’s view, it doesn’t matter whether Putin has actually read the works of Russia’s far-right thinkers or whether he’s receiving them second-hand. The net effect is clear: “Putin and the Kremlin’s ideologues are systematically using [these ideas] and passing them off as their own.”

And the culmination of years of Russia’s top leaders giving these “radical nationalists” their attention, according to Khapaeva, has been an official rhetoric that holds dying for the country as an unmitigated good.

“Instead of a meaningless, hopeless, impoverished life, Russians are being offered a chance to die ‘for the Motherland.’ [By that measure], what matters most is that [the country’s] enemies be destroyed. And the fact that this requires people to die in the process isn’t so important,” she said.

While this messaging has undeniably come in handy for Putin since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Khapaeva said, his promotion of the idea that Russians should embrace martyrdom is nothing new.

“The idea of a ‘death cult’ and a ‘purifying apocalypse’ has long been deeply integrated in the Putinist discourse. You’ll even find it in his speeches from the 2010s: ‘We [Russians] will go to heaven, while they’ll just croak,’ and ‘What good is a world without Russia?’” she said.

According to Khapaeva, Russia’s politics of historical memory have developed along two main lines under Putin: “re-Stalinization” and “neo-medievalism.” “You can see this clearly in the way the memories of Ivan the Terrible and Stalin are perpetuated,” she said. “Numerous films that show these figures in a positive light have been made with state money.”

But at the same time, Khapaeva told Verstka, the rehabilitation of these former Russian rulers isn’t a sign that Putin wants to return to a past era. On the contrary, she said, “the glorification of Medieval Russia and Stalinism are tools for promoting anti-democratic values common to both Putin and those dark periods of Russian history.”

And these tools have worked. “Just look at the scale of the anti-war protests,” said Khapaeva. “Throughout the entire country, only a few thousand people went out to protest, and they were easy to suppress. The protests in the U.S. after the start of the war in Iraq were several times larger. And that’s no surprise: in totalitarian societies, which I believe Russia has been since 2014, people value their own lives much less than in democratic ones. What hope for the future can a person have in a society that denies the value of human individuality?”

Once a society has reached that point, Khapaeva said, a war like the current one in Ukraine is all but inevitable. To explain why, she cited a book published in 2006 by former Russian State Duma Speaker Mikhail Yuryev called “The Third Empire: Russia as it Ought to Be.” A “utopian” fantasy novel, the book is narrated by a Latin American subject of a new Russian empire who recounts the process by which Moscow took over the globe throughout the first half of the 21st century.

“It begins with the capture of Crimea, then wars against Georgia and Ukraine. And it ends with the conquest of America and Western Europe. In Yuryev’s imagining, Russian civilization brings treasures to the West — for example, potluck-style class-based banquets that are required for everyone in the empire and that end in drunkenness and brawls, ‘though usually without malice,’” she said.

According to Khapaeva, the book’s author had close ties to members of Putin’s inner circle, and likely even Putin personally in the mid-1990s.

“The aggressive militarism that’s enshrined in this book became the basis of Russia’s state ideology at the very start of Putin’s rule. [Namely, the idea that] the country should be feared, and that that’s the source of its greatness. […] When the president refers to a new atomic weapon as a gift for the country, is that not the best possible example of how little he values the lives of his compatriots? The current war is a consequence of this ‘cult of death,’ not its underlying cause.”

Russia isn’t the first country to be “infected” by such a “death cult,” Khapaeva noted: “This cult cost the Germans alone no less than 10 million human lives, [though] it’s not appropriate to compare the current Russian ideology to German national socialism or communism. Both of these ideologies were focused on the future, [while Russia’s] neo-medieval ideology looks to the past.”

On the other hand, she said, even outside of Russia, a lack of regard for human life has “turned into a commodity on the entertainment market” in recent decades. “The legacy of the 20th century — the Holocaust, the Gulag — dealt a strong blow to people’s faith in man and humanity,” she said. “As a result, in philosophy, in a number of social movements, and in popular culture, there’s been a rejection of the idea that everything should be done ‘for the sake of humanity.’ What kinds of stories find success in popular culture? Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic [stories, and stories about characters] who deny the supreme value of human life: mass murderers, cannibals, zombies, vampires.”

But while Western society at large still maintains a clear distinction between the value of human life in popular media, on one hand, and in the “real world” (i.e. in government and legal systems) on the other, Khapaeva said that’s not the case in Russia.

“The uniqueness of the Russian situation is that a mix of ‘Orthodox extremism,’ imperial ideology, and an apocalyptic mood has become part of the official state discourse,” she said.

Because millions of people in Russia have now been fed a steady diet of this rhetoric for a significant portion of their lives, according to Khapaeva, it would be “naive” to think undoing its effects will be easy. In fact, in her view, there’s only one thing capable of bringing lasting change.

“It appears that a military defeat and the terrible, radical consequences it will bring to the country is the only thing capable of sobering Russians and causing them to rethink their place in the world,” she said. “That’s likely the only way to heal them from this imperial virus, from this medieval desire to die for the subjugation of other peoples. And then, probably, Russians will be able to think in a new way about what’s worth living for and what’s worth dying for.”

[nerves-nebula]

Super cool that you're adding more variety to the monsters!! Makes me wonder if, during times with less available food, the bigger "boss" monsters would ever try luring the younger/smaller/less experienced monsters to eat them?

Depending on how "sentient" the monsters are too it mayyyyyyyyyyy be possible for a especially vengeful-against-humans object-head to team up with a monster to help lure in more food? Object head can promise food and bring the people into the monster's trap.

I am cradling this universe in my hands it is so fascinating also I just read the wire frame mother post and leakrgmlakermg depending on how much impact the object head has over the humanoid form there could be object heads that feel similar. Having a close bond but knowing that there's a barrier in communication and ability to comfort. that post hits harddd

OK OK OK SOOOO THE THING ABOUT THAT IS!!! I've already kind of upgraded the eyeball creatures from "Typical Animalistic Horror Beast" to "Fully Sapient Creatures" AND THAT comes with some interesting questions like WHY are they doing what they're doing AMONG OTHER THINGS. Which I (mostly) have answers for but will get to later.

The idea of bigger monsters eating smaller ones WOULD be really cool if I hadn't already decided that the eyeball creatures are fully sapient and have multiple different cultures/societies.

for example: some of the monsters think its more humane to integrate themselves into humans societies as gods/build cults around themselves for humans to worship and sacrifice themselves to. While others dont really consider humans intelligent enough/high enough beings to warrant such forethought and just prefer to hunt them whenever they want. Some of the monsters think they're inherently superior, some just think of humans as food and a respected part of the ecosystem, and some actively recognize humans intelligence and want to find a better way to coexist with them (though that third group is kind of a minority rn)

anyway, I was imagining these creatures dont eat object heads because they taste really gross or something. so object heads that aren't sought after to be USED can often become important figures in societies/camps because humans know that they're not bothered by the eyeball creatures.

BUT. another thing I was thinking of was basically,, what if a few of these eyeball creatures were "nice"? or at least not actively hunting humans? What if a few of them were even FRIENDS with humans/object heads?

SO UHHH here's one symbiotic duo!

Ezra and "Pet"!

Ezra is a human guy who was dying in the forest, bleeding out on the ground, when he was found by Pet! Pet is an eyeball creature who's been ostracized by most of the other eyes because its lesions grew on its neck instead of its sides. This deformity/genetic disorder causes Pet constant pain and irritation and makes hunting/luring humans harder for Pet. Basically, Pet deals with chronic pain and often can't feed itself.

SO for context: The way that these eyeballs eat humans is by fully absorbing peoples energy/life via their tail eye stalks. In doing so, they absorb the bodies, once connected to the corpses they puppet around the dead bodies to trick other humans into coming close. Despite their size and off-putting look they aren't actually that physically strong and it isn't impossible to kill one. There are a lot of them though, and they're very good at absorbing you once you get close enough to actually hurt them.

SO with that context, here's what happens next: Pet begins absorbing Ezra, but in doing so opens up a channel, and makes Ezra a deal. Ezra is clearly dying and wouldn't survive even if Pet left him alone. and Pet might get a meal out of Ezra, but it will likely die soon as well since it hasn't been able to hunt on its own for a long time. But if Ezra promises to help Pet find food, then Pet will sustain Ezra via an eyeball stalk. So they're effectively in a symbiotic relationship.

Ezra helps Pet trap a few people but after the first few he can't do it and says he'd rather die, so they start experimenting with other things and actually find that Pet can live off of animals too! with a few big caveats.

Animals taste awful

Animals make Pet a little bit sick

Pet has to eat a TON of animals constantly as apposed to eating a human every now and then.

its not an ideal situation for Pet, but it's better than dying. and being with Ezra is way better than being alone.

also, "Pet" isn't the creatures real name, it's more like a nickname Ezra gives it. None of the human/object head characters can pronounce or even fully comprehend Pets real name.

ANYWHO. there's definitely going to be more monster/human/object head team ups but this is the first one I thought of :)

[prince-liest]

hello! Your fics are incredible, the imagery in them is stunning and the pacing flawless. Do you have any steps/advice for writers on how to more effectively write prose and any resources that helped you to improve your writing?

Haa, thank you so much, that's incredibly lovely of you to say! I don't have any specific resources - my writing is entirely self-taught via the "oh, the way this person does that looks neat, I'm stealing that" method, hahaha, as well as figuring out what works for me and what I want to see in fiction.

That said, I do have some personal tips! Two main/favorite ones, really:

What I like to shoot for in my writing is being able to write the visceral experience of the POV character. This is my version of "show, don't tell." It's often more impactful to describe the sensation of fear rather than saying "XYZ was scared." And in turn, that lets you use telling over showing when it would hit harder, too - for me, that's as part of a character's internal narration, which I go into more in this post. Even for describing locations, I refer to how a character experiences seeing something. One of my favorite examples of this is Murderbot (from Martha Wells's Murderbot Diaries), who gives so few shits about the minute biological functions of human beings that it describes one of its crewmates as drinking from a mug filled with "a liquid." Like, that's the only degree of specificity it cares to go into. We don't even get a color. I think that's hilarious and says a lot about Murderbot. In comparison, I write Meng Yao as perpetually judging his surroundings and regularly falling into overthinking spirals filled with tangents of all the things he's constantly worrying about, because that's the kind of person he is. This can add a lot of color and entertainment into imagery that is otherwise commonly used, and also builds a lot of characterization!

I just write what I consider to be the interesting bits of a story. This helps with both reader interest and my own writing motivation. Generally-speaking, I don't really have problems with the nebulous "writer's block" - if I'm not writing, it's either because I'm too tired/busy irl, or because I'm not interested in the writing. If I happen to be in the middle of writing a story and I suddenly feel like it's a slog, it's probably because I'm in the middle of some boring exposition that I don't actually care about. Once I realized that, I started just... skipping that stuff. There are a shocking amount of things that can and should be condensed into 2-3 sentence transitions or communicated through context and actions of the characters instead of getting paragraphs and paragraphs of exposition. This is also why I like starting with cold opens pretty often! A lot of fics open without a proper hook and cause me to just scroll down 8-10 paragraphs until I find the first dialogue, because chances are those 8-10 paragraphs are stage-setting that did not add anything to the story (and frankly are often deeply unnecessary in fanfiction especially since we all know the setting already) that I'm not going to be able to figure out from reading the following conversation. (Note: Boring exposition not to be confused with a character's internal narration, which is often quite fun to read.) You just have to find your balance of how to minimize the filler and integrate it into action/dialogue/narration!

I also have a few posts in my writing advice tag, most of which are my own replies to similar questions to this! ^_^ Some of them are a little old, but I think they're mostly still good!

I hope this helped, anon! Thanks again for your kind words! I genuinely really appreciate them. <3

[optimusphillip]

OptimusPhillip Reviews – Transformers: Power of the Primes Sludge

We've made it into wave 2 of the Power of the Primes Dinobots, we're finally in the home stretch! And these last two Dinobots are quite interesting to talk about, though not necessarily for the best of reasons, as we'll see when we get into today's review subject, Sludge.

Dinosaur Mode

Like in G1, Sludge transforms into a robot Brontosaurus (yes, I'm calling it Brontosaurus. That name has made a comeback.) He's actually a heavy retool of Slug, but you may not realize it at a glance. In this mode, the only visible parts they share are the shoulders, biceps, and rump. Everything else is completely new tooling, based on his original toy. Once again, we have a lot of molded detail going on, but unlike the previous figures we've looked at, not all of it is G1 referential. Of course, all the parts he shares with Slug are going to be inaccurate, but even on the new parts, there's a bunch of new detailing not present on the original toy. The torso comes fairly close, with the same sort of sticker-based striping as Slug, the round things on the bottom, and the interlocking trapezoid detailing on top flowing into a pair of triangles. But it's interrupted by random gaps and 5mm ports., and there are extra bits of detail that just weren't there at all on the original.

The neck is probably the most egregious, since the G1 toy was almost completely smooth aside from some collar detail. Here, you get a ton of intricate line work that looks really nice, but does make him look a bit different from the original toy. I like it, but I can't guarantee that you will. The tail is also completely different, though I will give it props for including the back fins that were omitted due to the shared Slug parts. Also, this is a little random, but I like how his teeth are rounded, referencing how Brontosaurus was a herbivore.

He has more of that clear plastic painted on the inside, recreating the layered chrome effect of the original Dinobots. You can see it in the head, as you would expect, and there is a lot of on-topic molding, but it can also be found in his hind legs and tail. The tail looks nice, gaining a lot of sharp lines that do blend in with the rest of his molded detail. The hind legs, however, are a bit of a problem. Unlike Slug, where both the outside and the inside are painted to give the impression of a clear insert, Sludge only paints the inside. There's extra molding in there, so this was clearly intentional, but I really don't like the way it looks. It makes him look like he's got glass legs, and that if he stomps too hard they're going to shatter into a million pieces. Also, there's sculpting on the outside of the legs instead of just the inside, meaning that the layered effect actually causes some detail to get lost, including the split between his toes!

Most of the articulation in this mode is carried over from Slug. The front legs are on ball joints, with swivels above the knee and 90 degrees of bend in the knee, and the rear legs simply swivel at the hip. That said, you lose a bit of poseability because of the shape of all the parts. There are a couple transformation hinges on his underbelly, which clash with his front legs if you try to rotate them flat against the body. There are even notches in the lower legs to accommodate them in a standard pose. It's not a severe hindrance, but it does limit his poseability just a little.

For accessory integration, Sludge is surprisingly well-equipped, with eight 5mm mounting points for his gun and Prime Armor. Two are on his hips, two are on his sides, one is on the bottom of his throat, and there's one on the back of his neck specifically for his Prime Armor. You need to flip the peg out on an angle, and then push it straight down into the port on his neck. It looks... weird, like the armor is just kind of floating there. Plus, on my copy, the peg hole has some stress marks just from trying to peg the Prime Armor in. I don't know if I've just been too rough with it, or if this just isn't a durable connection, but the fact that the peg hole is made of clear plastic makes me question its structural integrity.

Conversion

Once again, Sludge pulls heavily from his G1 toy to create his transformation scheme. Of course, sharing parts with Slug leads to some compromises, but nothing egregious. If anything, this leg transformation feels more at home on Sludge than on Slug, since Sludge's tail has always formed part of the legs. And the hands folding out from the dino feet actually makes him more screen-accurate than the G1 toy, who had dedicated robot forearms that were excised from his character model. Sludge also has the one thing Slug didn't have: dino shell wings! I would advise caution when folding Sludge's dino head back. There's a panel that opens up to expose his robot head, but it's difficult to open manually, and just leaving it shut can cause it to scratch off some paint from Sludge's robot head. Also, there's an added swivel to the Brontosaurus neck that allows the head to rotate around and rest in a divot on his back. As far as I can tell, this serves absolutely no purpose, but it is a thing.

Robot Mode

In robot mode, the similarities to Slug become very apparent. Pretty much the only difference between the two is the torso and head. Everything else is almost entirely unchanged. This means that he inherits all of Slug's proportional weaknesses, which is a shame considering that he should be the beefiest Dinobot.

Like in dinosaur mode, Sludge is very well-detailed, but he also takes a lot of creative liberty compared to the G1 design. Looking at his torso, the only details it has in common with the original toy are the ridges next to where the Diaclone cockpit would be, and the two dots on either of his sides. Even the Diaclone cockpit section is replaced with something more cartoon-referential, though it does have a tampograph of one of his toy's stickers. And the rest of his chest detailing is entirely original, with triangles of exposed circuitry instead of hoses on his pecs, and what looks like armor plating over his abs. And with most of his limbs being derivative of Slug, you only get so much Sludge-oriented detail there. The best I can find is some horizontal lines on his forearms, and some wide tampographs on his ankles to recreate the wraparound stickers from the G1 toy. It's really nice detailing, and he's very fun to look at, but if G1 accuracy is a concern for you, this might turn you off.

Like Slug, Sludge's head sculpt is very much inspired by his animation model, rather than his toy. The bullet-shaped helmet with the outward-facing horns is a far cry from the more classically Diaclone-shaped helmet of the toy. It's done in the colors of the toy, but unlike Slug, all that means is that the eyes are yellow, and that's it.

Being a retool of Slug, he retains most of the same articulation. The neck is on a swivel, but now with much more range, owing to the lack of Triceratops skull behind it. He has the same ball-jointed shoulders and mushroom-pegged biceps, as well as the same soft-ratcheted elbow joints. The legs are exactly the same, so he has the same soft-locking waist swivel, ball-jointed hips, thigh swivels, and the same limited range of knee bend.

For accessories, Sludge comes with... the exact same accessories as Slug. Literally, nothing is changed about them, not even the color. And the gun looks even less similar to Sludge's G1 gun than Slug's. So while it does fit securely in his hand, it does serve to make the two feel a little bit more samey. Which is kind of a shame, I really wish they would've just given them both their proper guns. There's a hole in his chest for the Prime Armor, or you can store it on the back using the same port from dinosaur mode. But between the jankiness of that port and the fact that I don't like the look of the Prime Armor on his chest, I usually just leave it off to the side somewhere.

Combination

Sludge's leg mode is easiest to get to from Brontosaurus mode. The hind legs rotate into robot mode position, and the front legs bend backward and peg into his sides. The Brontosaurus head disconnects from the torso and hinges down to lie against the back of the dino. Also, rotate the head up into the robot mode position. It doesn't accomplish much, but the instructions tell you to do so, and it does look nicer that way.

In leg mode... Sludge is basically the same as Slug. The only meaningful difference is that he has a Brontosaurus head on his knee instead of a Triceratops head knee spike. Aside from that, it's essentially the same leg, which means he's a very sturdy-looking leg compared to other Prime Wars combiner legs. The added bulk of the dinosaur mode does him a lot of favors, giving him a thickness other figures just don't have.

Like Slug, the arm mode is essentially just the leg mode, but with the robot mode legs folded out to form the forearm. And as I'm sure you're expecting at this point, the arm mode is very similar to Slug's. The same nice, bulky shoulder, and the same hollow-looking bicep. For some reason, however, Sludge seems to wear his bicep a lot better. I think the silver tail blends in a lot better with the dull metallic gray, making it look more cohesive than having a gold tail stuck inside. Or it could just be my eyesight going, who knows?

Final Thoughts

I know it sounds like I've been harsh on Sludge here, but I really do like him. I'm not a fan of how the Prime Armor stores, he's a little thin for my liking, and I wish he got a different weapon from Slug. But he's also decently posable, very well-detailed, and the new engineering is very faithful to the original toy. But I have to be honest, he feels pretty derivative of Slug, and for as nice as the sculpting is, it bears only the most tenuous connection to his original toy. That doesn't bother me, but I know it's going to be a problem for a lot of people. If you were hoping this toy would be just as toy-accurate as the other Dinobots, you're going to be disappointed. But if you like the look of this toy just on its own, or if you're primarily in this for the combiner functionality, I would definitely recommend him. He's a good toy, just a little further from perfect than his brethren.

[swapsocials]

Can Buying Fashion Instagram Accounts Boost My Business?

There's an exciting buzz in the air around Instagram, especially around the potential of Fashion Instagram Accounts. 

No, we're not just discussing or sharing outfit ideas or the latest color trends. Instagram's game is much bigger, and the stakes are significantly higher. Read on to know!

Enterprises Taking Over Instagram

Businesses are vying to boost their online presence, figuring out the best ways to engage more audiences and convert them into customers.

And who's up in the top tier for business engagement and promotion? You guessed it, Instagram. But forecast again. It's not merely about creating a new Instagram page for your business. Instead, it's about gaining a head start by purchasing an Instagram account.

Why a Fashion Instagram Account?

Among the plethora of niche segments on Instagram, why should your eyes wander towards Instagram accounts? You see, the world has an appetite for fashion. It's not just something to be put on; fashion is an identity, a language that speaks volumes about who you are.

The Perks

Once you consider it, the benefits of purchasing an Instagram account begin to count up. First off is the follower count that such an account brings in. Imagine getting 200K+ real followers ready to hear from you from day one. You won't have to spend countless hours figuring out the magic recipe to grow your page.

If you deal with men's lifestyle items or kids' fashion accessories, an Instagram account under the fashion niche can complement these areas. A Babes Instagram Account or an Entertainment Instagram Account with its own followers can also get boosted by acquiring an Instagram account.

Let's take a look at the benefits:

Increase in followers: With an already well-established fashion account, you'll have a lot of active followers who can become your potential customers.

Brand visibility: Having a large follower count on Instagram automatically boosts your brand visibility, taking your products into the homes and hands of all your followers.

Cost-effective advertising: When you have a large following, your advertisement reach increases, and you spend less per eyeball.

Time saver: Developing a strong follower base on Instagram from scratch takes time and energy. It's almost like creating a high-street brick-and-mortar store. When you buy an account, you skip all the initial work.

E-commerce integrations: With the number of features that Instagram has rolled out specifically for businesses, this platform is already eCommerce-friendly.

Trust: Accounts with larger followings are naturally considered more trustworthy, giving your business an instant reputation boost.

Remember sites like swapsocials.com, where you can purchase Instagram accounts with genuine followers.

How To Buy An Instagram Account

Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room. How do you buy an Instagram account? 

It requires some research about the authenticity of followers and engagement rates and, most importantly, finding a trusted online platform or marketplace.

With swapsocials.com, you get listed Instagram accounts complete with follower demographics engagement rates - everything you want to know before purchasing an account.

To Wrap It Up

So, can buying an Instagram account boost your business? Absolutely. It's like a shot of adrenaline, a booster engine to your online business. It's not just buying an account; it's purchasing a community that resonates with your business.

Hold the steering wheel of your business and drive into the exciting world of opportunity that these Instagram accounts hold for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Can buying a Fashion Instagram Account really help my business grow?

Indeed, it can. With all the existing followers, your business can garner instant visibility and high engagement.

Q2: What other niches could benefit my business?

Depends on your business. Automotive Instagram accounts and Babes Instagram accounts are pretty popular. It's about exploring what resonates best with your brand.

Q3: Where do you buy Instagram accounts from?

Try swapsocials.com for safe and quick transactions.

[7techcareer]

Top 6 Industries that thrive on Data Analytics in 2022

Data analytics has become a key part of business today. It's the heart of decision-making, and it's become an integral part of the corporate culture. Data analytics is a broad field, but the main use has remained constant. More and more companies utilize data analytics to streamline processes, discover new markets and opportunities, and optimize customer service strategies and operations. Of course, over time, data analytics has been applied to every industry imaginable, but there are a few industries that thrive specifically on data analytics.

In this article, we'll look at the importance of data science and top industries that thrive on data analytics.

What is data analytics?

Data analytics is a set of techniques and processes employed by organizations to draw meaningful insights/patterns from the raw data. In short, It is the process of converting that data into something understandable to humans.

Businesses that rely on data have an easier time finding new customers and meeting their needs. They often have a leg up on competitors who don't use data because they can focus more on what customers want and need instead of making assumptions. 

Why use data analytics?

Industries that have emerged in reliance on data and analytics underscore the notion that there is a lot of data out there, and it comes in all shapes, sizes, and levels of complexity. With all this new data being generated and collected every day, organizations are scrambling to figure out how they can best make sense of it. This is where data analytics comes in handy. Check out Learnbay's data science course where every steps of analytics have been explained clearly. 

Data analytics helps businesses in optimizing their operations. Implementing it into the business model enables organizations to uncover a more cost-effective method of performing business and reduce expenses.

The world is becoming a big data business. Companies can no longer function without advanced data analytics. In fact, 72% of successful businesses state that data-driven decision-making has helped them gain a competitive advantage. This doesn't just impact the major companies, though. When it comes to small-to-medium sized businesses, those with annual revenue of $100 million or less are increasingly using advanced analytics to keep ahead of their competition.

Top industries that thrive on data analytics:

Data analytics is a field that can be applied to many different areas of business and life. It's important to note that data analytic skills are not limited to one sector or industry; they can be used in almost any situation.

 The following industries will thrive on data analytics for a long time to come.

Agriculture: 

Today, Artificial Intelligence and data analytics significantly assist the agriculture industry and farmers. There are several agricultural supply chains around the world today, connecting the farmer, dealer, retailer, and customer. Thanks to Big Data and Data Analytics, which can keep track of them all and connect them for individual growth.

Farmers also use data analytics techniques to improve crop yields, monitor soil conditions, and predict weather patterns. They also use it to identify pests and other threats to plant health.

Healthcare: 

The healthcare industry is one of the most data-driven industries out there, but it's also one of the most reliant on people to interpret all that data. With so many different types of information pouring in from so many different sources, it can be challenging for doctors and other healthcare workers to make sense of it, making data analytics essential. 

Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals use data analytics to monitor patients' vital signs and track their progress throughout the treatment. They also use it to diagnose issues before they become a big issue for patients' health. Furthermore, data analytics helps them do this by providing instant access to all kinds of information about patients' health histories and past treatments so they can find treatments quicker than ever before.

Finance: 

Finance is another industry that thrives on data analytics because they need to make decisions based on complex data points and models. It was the first-ever industry to use Big data analytics to enhance its business venture. 

Banks use data analytics for everything from fraud detection to predicting customer spending habits, so they know when to offer credit cards at lower interest rates than usual.

Furthermore, Financial institutions need to keep up with current financial trends and ensure their products are relevant. This is where data analytics comes into play, helping them track the markets and make smarter decisions about what they're offering their customers.

Government and Public sector: 

Governments worldwide use data analytics for everything from helping citizens become smart and find employment opportunities within their communities. 

Data analytics, natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and image recognition are being used by public sector organizations all around the world to tackle problems before they become a crisis.

Big data, analytics, and data science have all contributed to the transformation of several cities into smart cities. The combination of data collecting, analytics, and IoT has facilitated the development of citywide public services and utilities, hence augmenting a variety of smart city programs.

Retail:

Retailers have long been interested in knowing what their customers want and how they want it delivered. And they're willing to work with third-party companies who can help them achieve their goals. Whether through direct customer feedback or by tracking sales trends over time, many retailers use data analytics tools to inform their business decisions and ensure they're promptly meeting customers' demands.

Marketing:

Marketing departments use data analytics to find out who their target audience is, what they want from their company, and how they prefer to be communicated. This helps them develop more effective campaigns and optimize their Return on Investment (ROI). If these issues are addressed properly, the company will be able to maintain its current market share and expand into new markets.

Conclusion:

Hope this blog was informative enough. Data is increasingly abundant, and the businesses that leverage data science and analytics methods continue to thrive. Every industry should acknowledge the significance of competition in the development process. The proper technique for analyzing data, learning from the results, and applying the information can assist any organization in reducing losses and ultimately boosting revenues.

These industries are here to stay and are growing at a rapid pace. Only data and analytics can help an industry or corporation thrive in today's world. Those who haven't used data and analytics yet see it as the next step.

With that in mind, there are many opportunities for analysts and data scientists in almost all industries. If you're seeking a career in data science or analytics, check out the data science course in Canada that provides comprehensive data science training for working professionals from any industry. 

[mobicommerces-blog]

How to Start a Successful eCommerce Grocery Store (App)

The worth of the online grocery store sales market is going to hit 187.7 billion by 2024. You can just figure out how rapidly this market is expected to bloom.

You can easily start an online grocery store by setting up a website, app, or e-commerce portal. You can promote your online store by offering various offers, including free delivery on your first order or promotional discounts for your customers.

These incentives will encourage more people to shop on your site, thus boosting your sales. Read this detailed guide to learn more about how to develop a successful B2B eCommerce solution in 2022.

Steps for a Perfect Online Grocery Store Development

1. Decide the Delivery Region

First, you need to decide on a delivery region. If you’re selling fresh foods, you need to deliver these products to a specific region. You can’t just deliver to any place.

You’ll also have to ensure that the product will be delivered within a certain timeframe. The best way to achieve this is to offer precise delivery windows.

Customers can choose from various delivery options, and more precise categories translate to more sales. Normally, you should offer delivery windows of 30 minutes or less. Make sure you deliver within that time frame, or you won’t get good customer retention.

2. Choose an E-commerce Platform

You’re planning an online grocery store, and you should know that all users won’t be technically smart. So, ensure that even a 60-year-old granny feels comfortable while ordering groceries from your store.

So, a simple, user-friendly navigation e-commerce platform is essential for a successful online grocery store. Smooth and effective communication between buyers and sellers will further boost the conversion rate.

The presence of multiple currencies and languages in an online grocery store can be an added advantage, particularly if you plan to cater to global customers.

Choose an e-commerce platform that provides advanced search functionality to allow buyers to search by store rather than by product category.

3. Find a Delivery System

When starting an online grocery store, you must ensure that you have the proper delivery system in place. Online grocery stores require a website and an app to be successful.

You must work with a technology partner who understands the unique requirements of your online grocery store because the process may be more challenging than you think. To ensure your business will succeed, the technology partner should understand your needs and offer solutions that meet them.

The best delivery systems allow you to keep track of every route and driver. They also allow you to manage your own deliveries and customize the experience for your customers.

Using two-in-one systems limits flexibility, and third-party delivery services will cost you money and remove control from your business. So, be sharp while choosing a perfect delivery system for your new online grocery store.

4. Integrate With Different Vendors

It is important to integrate with different vendors when starting an online grocery store. This will allow your business to grow as you add new vendors and increase inventory.

It is also important to choose an e-commerce platform that supports multiple sellers. StoreHippo is an example of an e-commerce platform that offers multiple-vendor integration and exclusive admin features. With the use of an advanced grocery app builder, you can create separate sections for vendors during the development of your application.

It also has a robust marketing module. To begin marketing your online grocery store, consider integrating with social media.

5. Marketing

If you’re running an online grocery store, you face some of the same marketing challenges as brick-and-mortar stores. But instead of spending money on expensive billboards and TV ads, you can invest in digital advertising.

Digital ads allow you to target specific segments of customers. And since most consumers are already connected on social media, your ads can be tailored to those consumers.

A strong website is the foundation of any grocery store. It should be updated and informative. There should be a blog and a newsletter sign-up form. It should also feature a video section.

If possible, make videos of your employees, or share information about which vegetables you sell, where they come from, what’s the guarantee of their freshness, etc. It will go a long way toward building a consistent buyer base as you grow your eCommerce grocery store.

6. Social Media Presence

If you’re starting an online grocery store, you need to develop a social media presence to attract customers and advertise your products. Today, social media is the new word of mouth and profoundly affects consumer buying habits. Creating a socially active online grocery store can help you stand out from your competition.

One way to use social media to promote your online grocery store is to create surveys on your site. Ask customers what they’d like to see in an online grocery store, and collect feedback through comments and polls.

A simple poll on social media platforms can reveal which products are selling well and which are not. Social media can offer exclusive offers and discounts to regular consumers. Make sure to follow your customers’ social media accounts to gain insight and feedback about your products and services.

7. Mobile-Friendly Platform

If you’re interested in online grocery store development, you need a mobile-friendly platform. With mobile phones, grocery shopping is now as simple as a few taps.

And with so many online grocery stores, people are well aware of using their phones to order items. The more mobile-friendly your online grocery selling platform is, the lesser the chances of potential shoppers abandoning the cart mid-way.

8. Multiple Payment Options

It’s obvious that we can’t go with only one payment option. A few like to pay through cards, a few prefer UPI payments, while there are people who believe in Cash on delivery.

Nothing can be more hectic than someone already filling the cart with veggies and having to abandon the cart just because the desired payment option wasn’t available!

Don’t let that happen with your online grocery store.

Conclusion

Before you begin, you need to know your target market. You need to know the typical age and gender of your audience. You also need to know your target audience’s average income and education level.

You need to know what they like and dislike and how you can market your store accordingly. Also, as you are selling food items, make sure you have the necessary permissions and fill out various types of tax submissions.

Therefore, to develop a perfect grocery store for your business, you must contact an experienced B2B eCommerce solution development company.