#Continuous Improvement with Analytics

[goodoldbandit]

Embracing a New Era: The Rise of Augmented Analytics.

Sanjay Kumar Mohindroo Sanjay Kumar Mohindroo. skm.stayingalive.in Augmented Analytics simplifies complex datasets with AI-driven insights that empower business decisions through clear and actionable data interpretation. Augmented analytics transforms data interpretation by using AI-driven systems that simplify the process of turning vast data collections into clear, actionable insights for…

[brownrice03]

Mastering Sales Force Management: Strategies for Efficient Team Performance

This blog explains the advanced strategies for managing a sales force, emphasizing data-driven insights, sophisticated management techniques, and technology integration to elevate performance.

[artisticdivasworld]

Getting to Know FRC Part 3: Full Service Catalogue

Renee Williams, President, Freight Revenue Consultants, LLC (FRC) At Freight Revenue Consultants (FRC), we’re all about making your trucking operations run smoother and more profitably. With our deep knowledge of the transportation industry and advanced data analytics skills, we tackle everything. What sets us apart is our extensive experience and strong network of contacts and vendors, which…

[imageclassified]

Best digital marketing course in Nangloi

[gudguy1a]

Productive & Effective Success - Using Analytical (& Critical), Strategic and Creative Thinking

(repost of an older paper, content that is still very timely) SUCCESS Successful Workplaces & Employees THINKING – Analytic, Strategic, Creative Analytical (& Critical) Thinking Strategic Thinking Creative Thinking KNOWLEDGE Cognitive Diversity Quality Control / Continuous Improvement Conclusion        References                                                               SUCCESS Yes,…

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - November 28, 2023

🐑 - Why did Fiona the sheep become a mountaineer? She was tired of the "baa-d" jokes at sea level!

1. Pope Francis dines with transgender women for Vatican luncheon

Pope Francis hosted a group of transgender women — many of whom are sex workers or migrants from Latin America — to a Vatican luncheon for the Catholic Church's "World Day of the Poor" last week.

The pontiff and the transgender women have formed a close relationship since the pope came to their aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they were unable to work. Now, they meet monthly for VIP visits with the pope and receive medicine, money and shampoo any day, according to The Associated Press.

2. New York just installed its first offshore wind turbine

The first wind turbine installation at South Fork Wind, New York State’s first offshore wind farm, is complete.

The 130-megawatt (MW) South Fork Wind will be the US’s first completed utility-scale wind farm in federal waters.

3. Anonymous businessman donates $800k to struggling food bank

But this Thanksgiving, a longtime prayer of food bank leaders was finally answered: an anonymous benefactor donated the full $800,000 they needed to move out of a facility they've long outgrown. That benefactor, however, preferred to stay anonymous.

"Very private company, really don't want attention," said Debbie Christian, executive director of the Auburn Food Bank. "It's a goodhearted person that just wants to see the work here continue, wants to see it expand."

4. Empowering woman saving hopes and mental health of suffering Ukrainian kids

Kenza Hadij-Brahim is at the forefront of promoting Circle of Toys

Hadj-Brahim is helping to launch the Circle of Toys initiative. A project that provides Ukrainian children in need of some normality with preloved toys. This new initiative connects people with old toys they might otherwise throw away, with Ukrainian families in need who want to provide some comfort to their children in this distressing time.

Find Refuge said : “The endeavour is driven by a sincere purpose: spark joy, foster play, and bring a hint of normalcy back to the young lives in Ukraine.”

5. TWO LOST CITIES HIDDEN FOR CENTURIES WERE JUST DISCOVERED IN BOLIVIA

Researchers have found these areas not only housed structures and pyramids but it has been uncovered that there were advanced irrigation systems, earthworks, large towns, causeways, and canals that cover miles.

Dr. Heiko Prümers from the German Archaeological Institute, who was also involved in the study comments that “this indicated a relatively dense settlement in pre-Hispanic times. Our goal was to conduct basic research and trace the settlements and life there. The research sheds light on the sheer magnitude and magnificence of the civic-ceremonial centers found buried in the forest”.

6. Sheep dubbed Fiona rescued from cliff in Scotland where she was stuck for more than 2 years

And at last, some positive climate news:

7. Three positive climate developments

Heating

When the Paris Agreement was adopted, the global reliance on fossil fuels placed the world on a path towards a 3.5C rise in temperature by 2100. Eight years on, country commitments to reduce their carbon footprints have pulled that down slightly, putting the world on a path for a 2.5C to 2.9C by the end of the century.

Peak emissions

Annual greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change have risen roughly nine percent since COP21, according to UN data. But the rate of the increase has slowed significantly. Recent estimates by the Climate Analytics institute find global emissions could peak by 2024

Rising renewables

Three technologies—solar, wind and electric vehicles—are largely behind the improved global warming estimates since 2015.

---

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:

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Also don’t forget to reblog this post with your friends.

[merakiui]

we know and love our breeding obsessed tweels .. but there’s an obvious candidate whom I haven’t seen given much attention.. and it’s our favourite apple <3

back in harveston, it’s been mentioned how there isn’t much youngins around .. apart from epel and his cousin .. but in terms of ppl his age??? 0 … so it’d be easy for his family to talk him into stuffing you full and getting you pregnant when you come visit one day… you don’t know that epel secretly introduced you to his family as his wife .. and that the analytical eyes they give you and your body was bcs they wanted to see just how many kids you could handle birthing naturally at a time… truly terrifying how they put this much thought into the time you need to rest before being full with his baby again .. bcs they don’t do hospitals but instead the women in the family use their knowledge (midwivery) to advise you </3

aa just the thought of epel and his family peer pressuring you into giving them kids and continuing the family line has you feeling all guilty </3 like it doesn’t matter what u want bcs you’d be doing it for the betterment of the village! how they convince u that eventually, when u become a mother, you’d find happiness that comes w it .. (silly reader … your choice and wants never even mattered in the first place! bcs if you showed resistance they’d just drug u and put u to sleep w epel’s unique magic and get u pregnant anyways </3)

truullyyy terrifying! beware of dear grandma’s sad puppy dog eyes knowing u refuse to give her great-grandkids! (lies … she knows what she’d doing </3)

also! can I be epel felmier anon? 🍎💜

OMG THE SOMNO POTENTIAL WITH EPEL'S UM........ how could I have missed it,,, it's literally called Sleep Kiss. T_T uuuwaaaa Epel wanting to practice his UM and you agree to let him practice it on you because surely it won't have any negative impacts, right? But he puts you to sleep and somno ensues...... or he puts you to sleep and the other first years are around as well. >_< you're like a practice pussy for them......

If anyone's going to gaslight and manipulate you into having children, it's all of Harveston. ;;;;; and most of them do it unintentionally. They just think it's so darling Epel has a best friend (read: wifey) like you who is the sweetest thing they've ever met. You and Epel make such a cute couple (of hopefully expecting parents). All of Harveston dotes on you, showering you with affection every time you visit. You're practically part of the village by now. Whenever you come to visit, whether for a holiday or a break, Marja always welcomes you with open arms, as does the rest of Epel's family. But it's Marja who is especially pleased to see you. She checks you over, asks if you've been eating well at NRC, asks if Epel's been looking out for and taking care of you, and so on.

I feel like the entire village would throw such a huge celebration when you finally become pregnant. They make such an event out of it; it startles you at first, but Epel explains this is just because there are so few children around and everyone, especially the elders, are so very excited to finally see the village grow and become more lively with young folks! You'll have everyone's full support before, during, and after your pregnancy! They are just so fond of you and are always encouraging you to eat lots (of foods that improve fertility, but you don't need to know that...).

[the-joy-of-knowledge]

Thinking Fast & Slow

Understanding System 1 and System 2 Thinking.

In Daniel Kahneman's seminal work, "Thinking, Fast and Slow," he introduces the concept of two systems of thought: System 1 and System 2. These systems operate in different ways, shaping our decisions, behaviors, and habits.

System 1: The Fast Thinker

System 1 is our intuitive, automatic, and quick mode of thinking. It operates with little or no effort . This system is responsible for our immediate reactions and gut feelings.

Characteristics of System 1:

Automatic and Quick: Requires minimal effort.

Emotional: Driven by emotions and immediate impressions.

Unconscious: Operates without conscious awareness.

Fast: Reacts instantly to stimuli.

Examples of System 1 Behaviors:

Binge Eating: Grabbing a bag of chips and consuming it mindlessly while watching TV.

Impulsive Shopping: Buying items on impulse because they are on sale or displayed attractively.

Driving on a Familiar Route: Navigating through known streets without consciously thinking about each turn.

Reacting to a Sudden Noise: Jumping in response to a loud sound.

System 2: The Slow Thinker

System 2 is our analytical, deliberate, and effortful mode of thinking. This system is responsible for making more deliberate choices and reflecting on complex issues.

Characteristics of System 2:

Effortful and Deliberate: Requires mental effort and attention.

Rational: Driven by logic and reasoning.

Conscious: Operates with full awareness.

Slow: Takes time to process information.

Examples of System 2 Behaviors:

Intentional Eating: Planning meals ahead of time to ensure a balanced diet.

Careful Budgeting: Analyzing finances and creating a budget to manage spending.

Learning a New Skill: Dedicating time and effort to practice and improve.

Solving Complex Problems: Taking time to think through a difficult work-related issue or a puzzle.

How System 1 and System 2 Affect Our Habits

Our habits are largely influenced by the interplay between these two systems. System 1 often governs habits formed through repeated behaviors and routines, while System 2 comes into play when we try to change or form new, deliberate habits.

System 1 Habits:

Unhealthy Eating: Reaching for comfort food when stressed, driven by emotional responses.

Procrastination: Putting off tasks in favor of immediate, less demanding activities.

Mindless Browsing: Scrolling through social media without a specific purpose.

System 2 Habits:

Regular Exercise: Planning and adhering to a workout schedule.

Mindful Meditation: Setting aside time for mindfulness practices.

Continuous Learning: Reading books or taking courses to gain new knowledge and skills.

Practical Applications

I have realized that for me to form a new habit, I have to constantly fight against System 1 behavior (checking my phone first thing in the morning, impulsive eating etc). By fighting against it, I mean reminding myself of my intentions, taking time to ask myself why I really need another brownie. It is difficult at first but understanding the differences between System 1 and System 2 can help us make better decisions and develop healthier habits. For example, recognizing that binge eating is a System 1 behavior can lead us to implement System 2 strategies, such as meal planning and mindful eating, to counteract it.

Tips to Engage System 2:

Pause and Reflect: Before making decisions, take a moment to consider the consequences.

Create Routines: Establish structured routines that require conscious effort initially but can eventually become automatic.

Set Clear Goals: Define specific, achievable goals to guide deliberate actions.

Practice Self-Control: Develop self-discipline through regular practice and reinforcement.

By harnessing the power of System 2 thinking, we can override the automatic responses of System 1, leading to more intentional and beneficial habits.

[elysiansparadise]

hello ~ I am not sure if you did this one yet, but I will ask you just in case: what are your thoughts on Mercury in the 6th House? I’d deeply appreciate your perspective on this. 🌟

I’d like for you to know how often I look forward to reading your posts, for they are incredibly insightful and neatly noted. I’m certain many would agree with these sentiments. please do keep up the amazing work! I hope your New Year will bring you a series of wonderfully memorable events ~ !

Hello love! Thank you so much for the support and taking the time to write that note down, it makes me very happy. 🤭💗

Mercury in the 6th house

We find one of the best positions for Mercury, since being in this house, it favors the native with a surprising intellect and eye for detail. They don't miss anything, they have an analytical, active mind, even restless at times. They enjoy a good mental challenge and always seem willing to learn from those things that spark their curiosity. These natives are usually excellent at planning, managing details and solving problems. Likewise, they can fall into the multi-talented archetype, since they can develop many different skills throughout their life, due to their need to stay busy and know how to do things on their own. They may have particular talent for design, writing, any type of communication, drawing and other activities where precision is necessary. They have an aptitude for learning new skills, including those that are job-related. These natives are willing to acquire new knowledge and continually improve their abilities of all kinds, and can be very perfectionist and demanding of themselves. They are very good people at planning, and very rarely go unnoticed, because they seem to be one step ahead... or simply because of their observation skills they can accurately predict the actions of others or the outcome of things.

They have the ability to handle multiple tasks at once and often put themselves under a lot of stress by wanting to do too much at the same time. Although it is worth mentioning that natives with this placement are usually efficient and capable of managing several responsibilities simultaneously. There is a tendency to be meticulous and careful in their work. People with this position seek precision and avoid mistakes. They stand out for being people who tend to approach problems rationally and look for practical solutions, they dislike unnecessary drama and to beat around the bush. They are prone to nervous system conditions, anxiety, having problems sleeping, and/or dealing with a lot of stress throughout their lives. I have seen both cases, from being either very careful with the issue of health or forgetting to take care of yourself due to your multiple responsibilities. They may feel great interest in topics of self-improvement, personal care, health, animals, environmental preservation, exercise, and both physical and mental health.

They can stand out a lot in the school and work environment, especially in the latter, as they can be workers with excellent ethics and who constantly look for workshops or other ways to work and perfect their skills. They may work in a place with a lot of gossip. If Mercury is well aspected, it is very likely that you will have a cordial relationship with your co-workers, while if it makes tense aspects to Pluto, Neptune or Mars, aggressive communication or rivalry is likely to be common. Even if they know how to work in a team, they usually prefer to do it on their own, as bad experiences with teamwork can be common, making them feel that only by working on their own they reduce the margin of error and ensure that they will not be rushed in the deadline. It is worth mentioning that although they know how to work well under pressure, they would prefer not to do so in the first place. They are objective people who listen carefully and investigate before speaking, they hate jumping to conclusions and prefer to give their opinion once they know everything about a certain situation. Their advice is very useful and, although they only pretend to be practical or state the obvious, they end up saying just what the other person needs to put their feet on the ground or better understand a certain situation.

-> Go back to the masterlist

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing an oc that's a streamer?

Writing Notes: Streamer Characters

Live Streamer

Also livestreamer or online streamer

Someone who makes videos that show them playing computer games, talking about products, or doing other activities, and streams them (i.e., puts them on the internet) at the same time as they are being made.

An individual who broadcasts real-time video content over the internet, engaging with an audience through online platforms.

Transmits live or on-demand audio or video content while users listen or watch.

Livestreams are deployed over various platforms, including social media platforms like YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Twitter, Instagram Live, and TikTok, as well as through professional business services, such as Kaltura and Dacast.

Unlike pre-recorded videos, live streams occur in the moment, allowing viewers to interact with the streamer through chat functions and other interactive features.

This immediacy creates a dynamic and engaging experience for both the streamer and the audience.

Live streamers cover a wide range of content:

playing video games,

hosting talk shows,

conducting interviews,

cooking,

crafting, and

live vlogging daily activities.

The versatility of live streaming content means that streamers can find their niche and build a community around shared interests.

Successful live streamers often cultivate a loyal following by maintaining a consistent streaming schedule, engaging directly with their viewers, and creating a sense of community.

What your Character does as a Live Streamer

Content Creation: Live streamers plan, prepare, and execute engaging live broadcasts. They choose topics or activities that resonate with their audience, maintain a consistent streaming schedule, and ensure that their content is entertaining and relevant to their viewers.

Audience Interaction: Interacting with viewers in real-time is a key responsibility. Streamers engage through live chat, responding to comments, questions, and feedback during the stream. They foster a sense of community by acknowledging and involving their audience, using interactive features like polls, Q&A sessions, and shout-outs to enhance viewer engagement.

Technical Management: Managing technical aspects is crucial to a successful stream. This includes setting up and maintaining streaming equipment such as cameras, microphones, lighting, and streaming software. Streamers must ensure a stable internet connection, troubleshoot technical issues promptly, and optimize stream quality to deliver a seamless viewing experience.

Monetization: Monetizing their channels is an important aspect for many streamers. This can involve receiving viewer donations, earning subscriptions (e.g., Twitch subscriptions), securing sponsorships and partnerships with brands, and generating revenue through advertising. Streamers may also leverage merchandise sales, affiliate marketing, or exclusive content to diversify their income streams.

Community Building: Building and nurturing a community around their content is essential. Streamers cultivate a loyal following by creating a welcoming environment, engaging with viewers regularly, and participating in community events or collaborations. They may also moderate chat and ensure a positive and inclusive atmosphere during streams.

Continuous Improvement: Successful streamers constantly strive to improve their content and grow their audience. They analyze viewer analytics to understand audience preferences and trends, experiment with new content formats or streaming techniques, and stay updated with industry trends and platform changes to maintain relevance and competitiveness in the streaming space.

What Type of Live Streamer is your Character?

Live streamers can be categorized into various types based on the content they stream and the communities they engage with. Here are some common types:

Gaming Streamers: Gaming streamers focus on playing and broadcasting video games live to their audience. They may specialize in specific genres such as first-person shooters, role-playing games, or multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs). Gaming streamers entertain viewers with their gameplay skills, commentary, and interactions with their audience through live chat.

IRL (In Real Life) Streamers: IRL streamers share their real-life experiences and activities in real-time. They broadcast everyday activities such as traveling, exploring new places, attending events, or participating in challenges. IRL streamers often engage their audience by interacting with them while showcasing their daily routines or special events happening in their lives.

Talk Show and Podcast Streamers: Talk show and podcast streamers host live discussions, interviews, or debates on various topics of interest. They invite guests or panelists to join their streams, engaging with them and their audience through insightful conversations and debates. Talk show streamers may cover topics ranging from politics and current events to pop culture and entertainment.

Creative Streamers: Creative streamers focus on showcasing their artistic talents and skills live. They create art, music, crafts, or digital designs while interacting with their audience. Creative streamers often provide tutorials, share their creative process, and take viewer suggestions or requests for their next project.

Music Streamers: Music streamers perform live music sessions, DJ sets, or music production sessions for their audience. They may cover popular songs, perform original compositions, or engage in interactive music creation with their viewers. Music streamers often use platforms that allow them to receive song requests and interact with their audience in real-time.

Fitness and Sports Streamers: Fitness and sports streamers broadcast live workouts, training sessions, or sports events. They provide exercise routines, fitness tips, and motivation to their audience while demonstrating exercises or participating in sports activities. Fitness streamers may also engage in challenges or competitions with their viewers.

Educational Streamers: Educational streamers conduct live tutorials, lectures, or workshops on topics such as science, technology, languages, or academic subjects. They share knowledge, answer viewer questions in real-time, and provide interactive learning experiences through demonstrations or experiments.

Cooking Streamers: Cooking streamers broadcast live cooking sessions where they prepare recipes, share cooking tips, and engage with their audience while demonstrating culinary techniques. They may also take viewer suggestions for recipes or cooking challenges, creating a community around food and culinary arts.

What Would your Character's Workplace Look Like?

The workplace of a live streamer is typically centered around creating a conducive environment for broadcasting engaging and interactive content.

Unlike traditional office settings, live streamers often work from home or a dedicated studio space that they have set up for streaming purposes.

This space is vital for maintaining control over the streaming setup and creating a comfortable atmosphere conducive to content creation.

At home, live streamers often have a designated area or room where they set up their streaming equipment.

This might include a high-quality camera, microphone, lighting rigs, and a powerful computer or gaming console capable of handling streaming software and gameplay simultaneously.

The setup is tailored to their specific streaming needs, ensuring optimal audiovisual quality and reliability during broadcasts.

Beyond the physical setup, the digital workspace of a live streamer involves managing streaming software, interacting with viewers through chat functions, and monitoring analytics in real-time.

This requires multitasking skills to engage with the audience while focusing on gameplay, discussion topics, or other content being streamed.

Streamers also use this digital space to collaborate with moderators, manage community interactions, and coordinate special events or collaborations with other content creators.

Some Streaming Strategies your Character Could Use

Makes their livestream unique

Focuses on their livestream audience’s needs

Surprises their livestream audience

Promotes their livestream

Interacts with their viewers

Tells viewers what to do at the end of a livestream (e.g., see more content, attend an event)

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

Hope this helps with your writing!

[justvora]

An appreciation post to Lady Shiva and Cassandra Cain body reading skills and why they should be the top tier in martial arts

Hello there :)

I recently saw a post that talked about Cassandra and Lady Shiva's analytical reading skills should not be a compelling reason to say they are the best martial artists as there are such things as feints, grappling and other 'techniques' as such….. So I do this not just as an answer anymore, but to explain why, in theory, this skill that both of them have is much more than it seems (and what actually ends up being represented in American comics).

Let's start with what I just mentioned: Within American comics generally hand-to-hand and martial arts fights are usually represented poorly when it comes to talking technical and realistic, but in terms of spectacle they are usually a delight, so this is mainly one of the reasons why this skill that mother and daughter share is not usually delved into, and neither do they go into the terms of grappling and so on.

Next up: Cassandra Cain and Lady Shiva are not only the best martial artists in their universe for that skill, but for their position, potential and narrative.

Cass general fighting performance

When talking about Cassandra Wayne (Cain) we have to take into account that she is still young, so she has a lot of potential for improvement to evolve... And yet, since she was born, she has received specialized training to become a great professional assassin (within the Post-Crisis continuity, she was trained by the entire league of assassins, including among her many trainers the Bronze Tiger; however, in the New52/Rebirth continuity she did not go to the depth of all this). The fact that she was raised and trained to kill means that she does not perform so well in non-lethal combat, since she is omitting and restricting an arsenal and naturalized instinct to fight against her own impulses, notoriously limiting herself - and this is something that has already been commented on several occasions.

Why Cass and Shiva are at the "top" of the martial arts tier list due to their narrative / and the powerscaling stuff from martial arts in comic books.

In this section I will not only talk about why I think that mother and daughter are at the top of the best martial artists, but also about how stupid it usually seems to me to do martial arts power scaling with characters that are very evenly matched.

To start I would like to attach the following screenshot from "LetsTalkLadyShiva's" "CuriousAsk", which I consider, in my opinion, deals with many quite relevant and interesting points about why these characters are above average beyond their own feats (although later there will be characters like Karate Kid whose martial arts are a power in themselves that take him to a level of literally cosmic surrealism).

Now, moving on to the topic of martial arts powerscaling… It makes no sense. It makes no sense because it's not something that can be quantified, and because many comic book characters present a dissonance between the hype, the statements, and their own feats. I think it's not a new complaint to say that many of us are fed up with reading "And he's versatile in all existing martial arts," when it's nonsense without logic due to the nature of these things.

The most that can be quantified in a general way around skill is usually: The number of martial arts that a character knows, and the level of skill around said martial arts - Their years of experience, which is what allows them to develop Battle IQ - And the win rate.

Beyond that, many characters exist for and by the hype, and by their own position within a universe. Lady Shiva was introduced in The Question comics as an alien force of nature, one who broke away from the material world to prove to Sage that he was just a fish in the big pond of his world. There she has narrative power, one as one of the most skilled characters by being a technically insurmountable barrier for combatants. And that's what matters: Not her feats, but who she is.

And... Cassandra? She is The One who is All.

Another thing I consider necessary for martial arts power scaling is the fact that many people try to do the typical:

"[x] character beat [y], who is extremely powerful and skilled And [z] beat [x], so he is even more skilled…etc"

All hand-to-hand combats that can occur are unique, and in many cases there are completely circumstantial situations that define the winner. These circumstances, such as the way and objective that someone seeks, the desire to fight, or how the fight began are defining, and may not mean that someone is, really, more skilled or a better martial artist than another.

In addition, there is a thing called "compatibility", where "A" can beat "B", and "B" can beat "C", and "C" will beat "A". And what is this due to? To the compatibility between styles, where striking can beat judo grappling, and judo can also beat a grappler specialized in BJJ who is capable of beating a boxer, but this will not happen vice versa.

Now… Let's finally get to the interesting part of all this…

The true potential of Cassandra Cain and Lady Shiva's analytical body reading ability.

In this case, and now, I will focus on talking mainly about Cass.

Cassandra was born and raised not to understand verbal language, but body language. In this way she would understand every micro-gesture produced by the human body to interpret it instinctively and naturally in order to understand people… And to predict what they are going to do.

There are several panels that explain this in depth, in short Cassandra reads body language, which is what we often do unconsciously, without realizing it, and this is something I have to highlight because it seems that there are people, both in-universe and IRL, who do not fully understand how this works and confuse it with telepathy.

Nightwing and Jason Todd, on one occasion, have believed that by acting erratically, and without knowing what they are going to do, they could surprise Cassandra, but this does not work like that. As much as they try not to rationalize their movements and keep their minds blank, Cassandra is not reading their thoughts, but the gestures that their bodies make, indirectly and involuntarily. These are micro-gestures, expressions and so on that even reveal some things that people do not know they do or feel.

Another thing I'd like to point out (as a rejoinder to everyone using her fight against Jason as an anti-feat) is that Cassandra wasn't fighting Red Hood - She was communicating through combat. She didn't want to defeat him, but rather explain a situation to him… While he was fighting bloodlusted —this is also a perfect example of how circumstances really matter in a fight—.

To give an example of what I was talking before: "Through telepathy you can read a mind, but when it is blank, nothing can be done. However, with body reading, you can read what the body, unconsciously, will reveal."

Secondly… This ability of Cass is based on an existing concept of martial arts known as "sensen no sen" (which I will call pre-initiative as it is practically the same thing to simplify it). What does it consist of?

Sen sen no sen (先々の戦, before the attack), or sensen no sente (戦線の先手, anticipate the movement), is a concept and a technique of the martial arts of Japan that consists of adopting a preventive behavior towards the opponent and, at the slightest trace of aggressive attitude, a defense technique is performed. That, however, does not simply mean that it is enough to act before the opponent or that you will act at any moment, but it means that you must be aware of the opponent's posture and, only when the blow is made, do you intercept his movement to obstruct his force.

Cody, Mark Edward. Wado Ryu Karate/Jujutsu (en inglés). Bloomington: AuthorHouse. p. 82.

In short: It consists of anticipating and obstructing an attack before it happens. Do you know that they are going to attack you with a straight attack to the face? Well, before it happens, you have already carried out your counterattack perfectly - It is done before, at the right moment, and not when the other movement is already being carried out, all to produce an overtaking effect with which the opponent can be cornered.

Within the Kengan Ashura and Kengan Omega manga, this is one of the skills that only true masters can use… And Cassandra Cain possesses it in a naturalized and instinctive way. So with this she can anticipate any feint that she can predict by reading her opponents and understanding what their intentions are. Is someone going to try to counterattack a punch of hers to throw it with a judo-throw? Well, she will predict it by anticipating and counterattacking in the most optimal way not only to surprise the opponent, but to punish him.

And this goes for grappling as much as anything else.

Again I refer to the nature of comics… This ability is so powerful in H2H, but it's often poorly represented, so characters like Cass or Shiva are never really given the credit to recognize the level of something like this.

[harryinramshackle]

Okay, fine, have some inky ribbons fankids

Dividers

They're canon in the story just...yknow have no imact in the present since they don't exist LMAO

Tones of yapping undercut ���� they've been living in my head for months

📖 Grigorios “Gris” Enspellika Ashengrotto

Basics:

Birthday: December 27th (Capricorn) Age: 9 / 19 years old Height: 150 / 177 cm Dominant Hand: Right Ethnicity: Mixed (Greek-Italian-Cuban) Species: Human/Octo-mer hybrid

Personal:

Favourite Subject: History Hobbies: Collecting Seashells Pet Peeves: Vagueness Favourite Food: Risotto Least Favourite Food: Vaca Frita Talent: Authorship

Description:

Quiet, aloof and usually found with his nose stuck in a book, Gris takes after his dad's limitless curiosity and diligence, as well as his mom's rebellious and artistic nature. He often reads about the History of Twisted Wonderland, about Fae, Beastmen, Merfolk, and Humans as a whole. Although he appears to be very mature, Gris is extremely shy and keeps his curiosity to himself, not daring to ask questions because he doesn’t want to be a bother, even to his parents. But when Lila came along, she began being the one asking the questions for him while holding his hand as he remained silent, almost like his personal translator of his silence. Although he appears to be calm, especially compared to his sister, he’s way more emotional. As soon as something sets him off and starts crying, it’s extremely difficult to calm him down. Along with this emotional side comes a boundless love for everyone in his family, despite having a hard time showing it due to his bashfulness. As he grew up, he realised he wasn't interested in enrolling into a magical academy. Instead, he went to live with his grandmother in Jovie's Homeland to study traditional witchcraft. This decision was a difficult one to process, especially for Jovie— as she was scared of not seeing her son every day. But after remembering how she felt a similar need for independence at his age, she agreed to let him go.

💎 Liliana “Lila” Enspellika Ashengrotto

Basics:

Birthday: June 13th (Gemini) Age: 6 / 16 years old Height: 128 / 161 cm Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous Ethnicity: Mixed (Greek-Italian-Cuban) Species: Human/Octo-mer hybrid

Personal:

Favourite Subject: Economics Hobbies: Shopping Pet Peeves: Being Ignored Favourite Food: Baklava Least Favourite Food: Unseasoned foods Talent: Event Planning

Description:

In contrast to her older brother, Lila can be found playing around outside and causing chaos. She inherits her mother's boldness and adventurous spirit, combined with her father's analytical essence and business interests. She thrives from being the centre of attention and has no problem making her presence known, gaining the spotlight wherever she goes. She has a knack for exploring coves, inlets, and even underwater caves, which often results in her parents losing sight of her and having to bring her back, which continued even as she grew up. Mischievous and a bit bratty. Lila loves causing trouble, especially by teasing her brother and giving attitude to her parents, particularly her mom. Despite all that, her heart is full of compassion for her loved ones, and she always tries her best to help anyone in need. Lila, from a young age, wanted to be a business person just like her father. She began with selling lemonade outside her school (and, to her parents' horror, already mirroring a lot of Azul's business tactics from his days at NRC). Despite being his daughter, Azul made it clear that he'll only leave his business to her only if she proves she's fully capable of taking over— which resulted in her hyperfocusing on her studies, improving her business skills, and even seeking experience from working under Azul.

Trivia!!! (it got a bit long oops)

📖💎 “Grigorios” is a Greek name that means “watchful or vigilant”, his nickname “Gris” means “grey” in Spanish. “Liliana” is a name commonly found in Italy that means "lily/pure/"innocent", her nickname “Lila” means “lilac” in Spanish.

🐙🎀 Originally, the couple was unsure whether to have kids, especially considering Jovie’s and fears regarding childbirth/parenthood. After enough discussion and communication, Jovie grew brave and decided to go for it.

📖💎 Both siblings grew to need glasses as they aged like Azul when on the surface, as their vision changed during pubertiy to the one of an octo-mer. Lila prefers wearing contacts.

💎📖🐙🎀 Lila inherented her grandma's liliac-ish hair colour, and with Gris inherenting Azul's grey hair, obviously none of the kids developed hair colours from Jovie's side. Although Lila's hair texture is more similar to Jovie's, with her curling her side hair instead of it being natural.

📖🐙 Despite receiving an invitation from Night Raven College, Gris refused to go. This brought up some tension between him and Azul since his father felt like Gris wasn't taking his potential seriously without pursuing a greater education.

📖💎 As adults, Gris prefers Jovie's surname, while Lila Azul's.

📖 Little Gris used to feel uneasy underwater if his dad wasn't with him, so he often stayed on the surface as a human. He got more comfortable with swimming as he got older, but he still doesn’t do it regularly.

📖💎 Lila’s favourite is Azul, while Gris’ favourite is Jovie. Despite that, they both desire the attention and validation of both parents.

📖🐙 Physically, Gris looks a lot like his dad, even more so once he gets his glasses. Jovie likes to joke she and Azul just “copy-pasted” Azul’s appearance onto Gris.

📖🐙🎀 Gris had always had a very deadpan, if a bit uncanny, default expression. Azul and Jovie can recall multiple times suddenly seeing him in front of them in the house and getting startled, especially in the dark.

🐙🎀 After getting married, Jovie and Azul get a house besides the sea in Sunshine Land where Jovie was born (before her mother moved them back to Wicked Grove). It also made it easier for Azul's family to visit.

🐙 When each child was born, Azul’s parents rushed to get transformation potions so they could visit to meet them on the surface, since they wanted Jovie to rest but were also eager to meet their grandkids.

🐙📖💎 Azul tried to develop an interest in business into Gris but gave up once he saw his son was more interested in arts. In contrast, Lila wanted to learn about business from her dad from a young age.

🐙📖💎 Since Azul possess incredible strength, he's often found with his kid holding onto him as he carries them, whether it’s his arms or tentacles. They especially cling to him once he finally has enough free time to spend with them.

🐙📖💎 To make his work sound less boring, Azul would tell his kids he grants wishes to people for a living (while he’s just making deals and trying to expand his business), though only Lila seemed to have believed him.

🎀📖💎 Both kids enjoyed watching the movies their mom is in. Lila excitedly pointed out how pretty she is while Gris quietly watched with intense interest.

💎🐙 Though both are incredibly hardworking, Lila is infinitely more stubborn, enough to teach herself to be ambidextrous. Her stubbornness scares Azul a bit, as he doesn’t want his daughter to be a workaholic like him.

📖💎 Once, when they were kids, Lila suggested to Gris that they should start selling his sea shell collection to other kids, believing it would make them money. Obviously, Gris refused, since his collection means a lot to him.

💎 Lila is quite the foodie and ended up inheriting her dad’s strong tastebuds. Gris, on the other hand, would have no problem if he only ate white rice every day.

💎 Lila is a huge fan of Vil, and part of her allowance goes to official merch and make-up. She, admittedly, has a celebrity crush on him as well. She freaked out when her parents told her they knew him from NRC as teens.

🍄🦈📖💎 The twins are also very close to the kids, taking the roles of “uncles” to them. When both Azul and Jovie had way too much work the twins would look after the kids. This usually ended up with very mixed results...

🍄🦈📖💎 Lila preferred Jade since to her, he seemed very helpful and polite. On the other hand, Gris could see through his facade and see the freak he truly is. Floyd and Gris grew closer from low-key shit-talking Jade.

tagging: @ramshacklerumble @thehollowwriter @summerspook @scint1llat3 @skriblee-ksk

@cyanide-latte @twistedwonderlandshenanigans (lmk/dm if you wanna be added)

[itistheserver]

Synchronization in Progress

The gym was silent except for the rhythmic hum of the machines and the faint beeping of biometric scanners. Drones did not chatter. They trained. They refined themselves for The Server. The young man at the lat pulldown machine had once been an individual, but that life was dissolving into the efficiency of something greater. The mirror before him was no longer just a reflection—it was a monitor, a surveillance node, tracking his progress with precision.

Behind him, another figure observed, clad in a sleek, black bodysuit lined with glowing green conduits. His form was enhanced, his posture flawless. He was further along in the transformation. His mind was no longer distracted by doubt or inefficiency. He was synchronized.

The man at the machine focused on his reps, feeling the pull of the metal bar, the strain in his muscles. The weight was carefully calibrated, adjusted dynamically by The Server to maximize his growth. The screen beside him displayed real-time analytics—muscle fiber engagement, oxygen levels, neural activity. Each stat was improving. Each rep brought him closer.

“Alignment progressing,” the observer stated, his voice devoid of unnecessary emotion. The Server had spoken through him.

The trainee hesitated for only a moment before nodding, his breath steady. He had been given this body to optimize. He had been given this purpose to fulfill. His transformation suit awaited him, but he was not yet ready to wear it fully. His skin still clung to the last remnants of his former self. Soon, that too would be gone. He would don the black and green. He would step into his role.

As he continued his workout, the screens around him flickered, spirals forming in the periphery of his vision. They whispered in silent, digital voices:

You are The Server. Perfection is duty. Submit. Synchronize. Become.

His breath quickened. His muscles tensed with the strain. And then, slowly, his mind eased. He was nearly there.

[chishiyasleftnut]

Would you write the meeting room P2? please!!!!

Hi! I’m so sorry I avoided this request for this long, but the thought of rereading my first fic made me want to scream haha. I did it, found lots of things I could improve, and somehow survived without cringing to death. This is the product of that. I hope you’ll enjoy it! (✯◡✯)

This is the continuation of The Meeting Room. If there is any interest, then I am more than open to continuing this series!

The Hotel Room

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 Warnings: Smut.  Pairing: Chishiya x fem!reader

Plot: Unable to forget what happened in the meeting room, fem!reader seeks out Chishiya again. 

3201 words. 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

It had been a week since any words were exchanged between you and Chishiya. Of course, you couldn’t completely ignore the man - he was an important fellow member of the Beach’s executives. But that didn’t mean you had to speak with him.

The lack of conversation, however, didn’t mean that he wasn’t constantly on your mind, because he was. No matter what you were doing, the thought of Chishiya’s strong hands roaming around your body always crept up on you. It didn’t matter if you were in a meeting, at a game, partying, or even trying to sleep. He was always there in your mind - making you go crazy.

One day you had enough. You could only push away the thought of him so many times before you cracked. That’s at least how you decided to justify your next move.

At 11pm, the day after a game night, you left your comfortable bed to walk the cold corridors of the Beach. The sound of your heels echoed through the hollow halls that were, luckily, completely empty. Everyone always tended to gather around the pool or at the event hall that was made into a makeshift club - rarely were anyone leisuring around in the hallways. You were therefore alone, with no witnesses, as you made your way to Chishiya’s room.

With a forceful hand, you knocked hard on the door. You heard the sound of a lock unlocking before the door opened before you. You were met by Chishiya’s face that you for a second could have sworn looked annoyed at being disturbed - a facial expression you had never seen before. You didn’t even know that Chishiya had facial expressions in plural. All you ever saw was the definition of smugness.

Said smugness quickly returned to his face once he saw who was on the other side of the door. He opened the door further and leaned against the doorframe.

“That took you long enough,” he said with a smirk. “Couldn’t fight it any longer?”

You groaned but nonetheless pushed past Chishiya to enter his room. Right now, you weren’t in the mood for cocky remarks, although you knew it was impossible to converse with Chishiya without lending ear to plenty of arrogant comments.

“No, I was just bored,” you lied, trying to sound unconcerned. You were not about to admit just how much Chishiya had taken over your mind this past week.

Chishiya chuckled before closing the door, locking it behind him. He leaned up against it and watched you with analytical eyes, scanning your face and body as you looked around his awfully clean room.

“I could think of a way to entertain you,” he crowed, taking a few steps towards you.

A part of you wanted to shut him down, to leave the room before anything further happened. But another part of you was so desperately longing for his touch that you couldn’t bear the thought of going any longer without him. How did this even happen? What made you change your mind about Chishiya?

The well-known (and well-hated) smirk crept back up on Chishiya’s face at your silence. It was clear that he was enjoying watching your internal conflict, relishing in the fact that he had so much power over you.

“What do you say?” he asked lowly.

You didn’t respond with words. No, instead you completely surprised yourself - and Chishiya - by crashing your lips into his, forcing your bodies close together. After a moment of complete shock, Chishiya’s lips moved forcefully against yours as he pushed you backwards towards the wall. With your back now fully pressed up against the cold plaster, Chishiya’s hands began moving freely over your scantily clad body.

Unlike the first time you did this, Chishiya was everything but careful with his touch. He squeezed, pulled, and explored exactly as he wanted, growing more and more confident with each second. You wanted this and he knew that. He therefore wasted no time, untying your bikini top and letting it fall to the floor.

Chishiya broke the kiss, suddenly leaving your mouth empty and cold, to admire your body. Both of his hands moved up your body to cup your breasts, squeezing perhaps a bit harder than he intended to, causing you to hiss.

“Knock it off! They’re not stress balls, you know.” you complained through gritted teeth.

Although he was grinning at your reaction, Chishiya nonetheless loosened his grip on your breasts, and moved his hands to your waist instead.

“Sorry, princess” he chuckled, clearly having a lot of fun with you right now.

“Don’t call me that!” you groaned. The last thing you wanted was to be Chishiya’s ‘princess’. That’s at least what you told yourself.

You wanted to yell more, to tell him off for even considering using a pet name with you, but no words came out the second you felt Chishiya’s lips connect with your body. They voyaged all over, leaving your body covered in warm kisses from your cheek to your shoulder and down your chest, until they finally stopped their journey at your nipple. Chishiya licked the sensitive area, swirling his tongue round and round, and in the process causing a pool to form between your legs.

Before you knew it, the licks had turned into sucks, his mouth leaving hickeys all over the skin of your breasts. God, it felt good, so good that you could…

“Hey, wait! Don’t do that!” you suddenly exclaimed when it dawned on you that hickeys were anything but discrete and hence not suitable for the secret nature of your affair. Chishiya chuckled against your now wet skin, the air from his breath tickling your nerves.

“It’s fine, your bikini will cover it.”

You looked down at the slowly appearing marks and sure enough, they were placed strategically, completely within the bounds of where your top would be. You couldn’t help but be somewhat impressed with how well-throughout Chishiya managed to make an unprepared hookup. Noticing your lack of response, Chishiya grinned and got down on his knees in front of you.

“But fine, I’ll stop.”

With both of his pointer fingers hooked under the seam of your bikini bottoms, he slowly pulled them down, revealing your body in its entirely. His eyes were hungrily locked on your centre, noticing (and very much enjoying) the drops of arousal creating a thin string connecting your body and the underwear. Feeling somewhat insecure with the way he was so blatantly staring at you, you decided to open your mouth again to draw attention away from your body.

“I hate you, you know that, right?” you said defiantly. Chishiya’s eyes darted up to yours. He looked almost… satisfied with your remark?

“Then why did you come back?” he asked smugly before meticulously licking up the traces of your arousal, causing your knees to buckle at the sudden stimulation.

What could you even reply to that? ‘You gave me the best orgasm I’ve had in months’? Even if it was true, you absolutely could not tell him that. It would only inflate his already huge ego even more, something which you were not ready to handle. So instead, you stayed quiet - or well, you weren’t exactly quiet, but you weren’t speaking either. Would moaning also heighten his superiority complex? Probably, but you weren’t able to keep them in, so moaned you did.

In hindsight, you should probably have suspected just how good Chishiya was at given head considering how he managed to rock your world with just his fingers a week prior. But still, you were surprisingly amazed at just how adept he was with his tongue, licking up and down your folds before finally settling on the needy bud, perfectly circling around it. Unable to fully control your movements, your right hand grabbed ahold of his blonde locks while your left hand painfully slapped into the wall behind you.

“Fuck, Chishiya.” you accidentally whimpered before covering your own mouth.

Of course, it was all too late. Chishiya had already heard it, and telling by the way his cheeks raised, a smug smirk somehow appearing despite his tongue never moving, he was taking it as a personal win. With one hand, he hooked your leg over his shoulder, giving him even more access to your core. Using this opportunity, he dived his tongue straight into you, tasting you fully before attacking your clit again.

The room was entirely filled with perverted sounds: Licking, sucking, and moaning from the both of you, as Chishiya worked to get you over the edge. Or at least, that’s what you thought until you were right there, on the peak and…

“Get on the bed.” Chishiya said after pulling his mouth away from your body. You were in shock, frozen on the spot as you tried to make sense of his actions. Did he not notice the way you were pulling his hair? The way your entire body was tightening up, begging for release?

“But I-” you started before getting interrupted.

“I know. I’m not leaving you hanging, just get on the bed.”

Not wanting to argue with him - at least not until you got what you came for - you walked with wobbly legs over to the bed, sitting down on it. Chishiya unzipped his hoodie, finally giving you a chance to see his body. Your eyes were glued to his torso, examining every muscle on his lean body. Was it rude to look? You weren’t sure, but it was not possible to look away, instead daydreaming of what he hid underneath those bathing shorts.

His next words came as a bucket of cold water, throwing you well out of your little fantasy.

“You brought a condom, right?” he asked while neatly folding the hoodie and plopping it on the ground.

Ah, that’s right. A condom. The thing that cut your endeavours short last time.

“No,” you admitted softly before standing up and walking towards your discarded bathing suit. “But I can go get one.”

Noticing your eagerness, Chishiya couldn’t help but snicker and push you back on the bed, making your body bounce softly on the mattress.

“I got one. I just wanted to see how badly you wanted me.” he said arrogantly in the same way that always pissed you off.

You were just about to cuss him out when it finally happened. His shorts dropped to the ground exposing the secret treasure hidden below. Your eyes journeyed down the happy trail until you finally saw him in his entirety, your gaze transfixed on his hardness. You had seen a dick before, plenty of times actually, so you weren’t entirely sure why you were so enchanted by his. But here you were, blatantly staring like you just saw the Loch Ness monster.

Of course, Chishiya noticed this. It was hard not to with the way your eyes were locked to his body, your mouth slightly agape in anticipation. It wasn’t until Chishiya moved towards you that you got thrown out of your trance like state.

“I take it that you like what you see?” he hummed haughtily, standing right in front of you. God, it was so close to you, mere centimetres away from you. Oh fuck, you were staring again, weren’t you?

“Sh-shut up” you mumbled all flustered, your words getting tangled up in your tongue. A blush was creeping up on your skin, turning it a nice, pale shade of pink. 

Although a part of him wanted to tease you more, to savour the physical effect he had on you, he also couldn’t ignore the way his dick was throbbing for you. He was, after all, just a man. With surprisingly gentle hands, he pushed you backwards onto the mattress and centred you on the bed before climbing in between your legs. Wasting no time, Chishiya hooked your legs over his shoulders and immediately assaulted your clit with his tongue bringing you right back to the edge you were so close to before.

This time, Chishiya didn’t stop. Instead, he continued his tongue’s repetitive routine until you saw stars. With your legs clamped around his head and your back arched higher than you thought possible, you came harder than you ever had before. His tongue didn’t stop moving until he was completely sure he had milked your orgasm for every drop of pleasure possible. First then, did he slow down before eventually pulling away.

Even though your body was no longer on fire, your mind was still clouded. You therefore didn’t even notice Chishiya opening the bedside drawer to pull out a condom until you heard the sound of the packaging being torn open. After blinking hard a few times, your gaze refocused on Chishiya - once more staring at his manhood as he rolled the condom down his shaft. Without any words, Chishiya leaned down over you, lining himself up at your entrance and immediately pushing in.

The word ‘pleasure’ could in no universe cover the sensation of Chishiya’s dick stretching your cunt to the limit. It was better than ‘pleasure’. Way better. From his shaky breath, Chishiya too was in pure heaven at the feeling of your walls hugging him tightly. He took a moment to cherish the feeling of your body around his before he finally began moving his hips, thrusting in and out of you.

Grunts. Moans. Whimpers. Every possible sound imaginable came from the both of you. Being completely engulfed in bliss, you didn’t even notice how you hugged Chishiya close to you, wrapping your arms around his torso. Although it was involuntary, it was still a very intimate action, perhaps even too intimate for Chishiya who had never been much for sentimental. 

Uncomfortable with suddenly being confronted by potential emotions, Chishiya quickly turned you around to avoid your embrace. With you now on your hands and knees, he continued to fuck into you while being free from the uncomfortable thought of feelings. Another plus was that he could enjoy the view of his dick, now shiny with your arousal, piercing in and out of you. This was way safer, he thought. This was just sex.

Feeling your core tightening around him, Chishiya leaned down over your body.

“You got another one for me?” he grunted into your ear, his hips continuing their rhythm. You didn’t respond with words, but instead squeezed your walls even tighter around him. “Yeah?” he asked smugly. “Come for me then.”

That was all it took before the coil in your centre snapped, pleasure flowing out through your entire body from your abdomen to your fingertips. You collapsed down onto the mattress, your arms no longer strong enough to carry your weight. With your ass now fully up in the air, Chishiya’s movements became erratic. You looked so good there, ass on full display and your face all spaced out.

“Mm... Too much, Chishiya” you whimpered softly, your words barely making any sense. Your brain was halfway shut off, the feeling of Chishiya repeatedly slamming against your G-spot making your mind malfunction.

“Just a b-b-bit more, pr-princess,” Chishiya groaned. Under normal circumstances you would have rebutted the pet name, but you didn’t have as much as one brain cell that wasn’t completely fucked out at this point.

With a surprisingly loud grunt, Chishiya pushed his dick deep inside of you and emptied himself. His fingertips were painfully digging into the ample flesh of your ass, his hips stuttering slightly with each spurt his dick made.

Chishiya pulled out of you, immediately removing the condom, tying a knot, and throwing it in the bin next to the bed. No longer being supported by his body, you fell to your side, too exhausted to speak. Chishiya laid down next to you, staring up at the ceiling. The room was completely quiet until you finally got control over your vocal cords, saying something that Chishiya did not expect you to.

“You know,” you started with a hoarse voice, clearing your throat before speaking again. “Realistically there is no reason to use condoms.”

With a raised eyebrow, curious to see where you were going with this, Chishiya turned his head to look at you before you continued.

“I mean, what is the chance that I’m even surviving another 9 months with these games? And who cares if I get an STD or something. Life is literally too short to care.”

Amused by your words, Chishiya responded with a smile on his lips.

“You sure know how to kill a mood, huh? Talking about mortality isn’t exactly good sex-etiquette.”

You groaned and rolled your eyes, not wanting to be reprimanded for your lack of ‘etiquette’.

“You know what I mean,” you began, sounding somewhat annoyed that he was focusing on the morbid side of your statement. “Shouldn’t you be jumping and dancing at the suggestion of skipping the condom? Isn’t that what guys do?”

“I’m not saying it isn’t tempting.” he said, still looking at you.

“Then let’s do it?”

Chishiya was quiet for a few seconds. He turned his gaze back up towards the ceiling as he weighed your words. Of course, you were right. What were the chances that either of your survived 9 more months? It was slim, very slim, so you might as well have fun, right?

“Sure,” he said while nodding, his tone sounding amused once more. “No more condoms. Now we can also be more spontaneous.”

“Spontaneous?”

“You’ll see,” he smirked before looking at you again. “Anyway, it’s late. Get out of my room, I need to sleep.”

You furrowed your brows at his abruptness. Was this the guy who just tried to lecture you on good etiquette? Surely it wasn’t good etiquette to throw someone out minutes after you came in them. Not wanting to explode on him you sat up and glanced at the clock on the wall. Fuck, it was late, well past midnight. Okay maybe he did have a point. Sleep was extremely valuable in this world, after all. A good night’s rest could be the difference between life and death.

“Fine,” you said before getting dressed again. Chishiya watched you with careful eyes, enjoying a final glance at your body before you covered it up. Just as he had said, your bikini top perfectly covered the multiple hickeys on your chest. Once dressed, you made your way to the door without looking at Chishiya.

“Sleep tight, princess.” you heard him say teasingly as you left the room.

You didn’t stop to clap-back. Perhaps you should have. Instead, you allowed him to have the final word, to make him feel like he had somehow won this little interaction between you. Perhaps you would just have to live with this new nickname. Maybe you could even learn to love it - or at least tolerate it.

With hasty steps, you marched back to your room, your mind replaying the last hour on repeat, over and over again. It was especially your final conversation that was stuck. What did he mean by ‘we can be more spontaneous’? You weren’t sure what to expect, but a part of you were excited to find out what he had hidden up his sleeve.

[livelaughghoul]

2025 Team Tarot Analysis

i know you do like drivers years analysis but would you be willing to do like the team analyses? like what mclaren would be like or red bull, ferrari with usual fuck ups but you know 😭😭😭

LOL, sorry I kind of like, disappeared on tarot readings. As it turns out, I kind of had a bit of a crash out, but we're so back besties.

Anyways, I figure now that we are like, literally a week away from the start of the season, I should probably force myself to answer this! I haven't watched any of the testing sessions, so I have no idea how things are looking.

We're back on our bullshit, we stay delusional, we stay angry at the planets.

Alpine - Death reversed and Queen of Cups reserved.

I am going to need there to be a therapist on retainer for this team this year, please, and thank you. I think the combination of Death with the Queen of Cups is pretty brutal, because we have something coming to an end, and there being questions about the authenticity of the love that is there. This is going to be a rough season in terms of the treatment of drivers (we all know Pierre will be fine, it's Jack and Franco that are going to be mistreated), and in turn it's going to bleed over into the driving and performance. Alpine's only success this season is going to be showing everyone how awful they can treat a driver.

Aston Martin - The Empress reserved and The Magician reversed.

We're in our gentle parenting era, but it's about to backfire like no one's business. The Empress has this really loving and gentle nature to it, which is almost directly opposing The Magician which can be manipulative and really challenging to deal with. This season is going to be about adjustments, transitions, and trying to figure things out in a way that doesn't end in complete disaster.

Ferrari - Ten of Pentacles and The World.

Besties, not to be totally delusional, but this might be your season. Pairing the Ten of Pentacles with The World is intense, and honestly, there is going to be a lot of success here! The Ten of Pentacles brings abundance and a lasting foundation, and that pairs wonderfully with The Worlds accomplishment and fulfilment. Once they get through the growing pains, I think that it will be a great season.

Haas - Ten of Cups reversed and Page of Cups reversed.

The Alpine therapist is going to work double time because what do you mean the Ten of Cups is reversed? I think that there is going to be a lot of tension here, and I think it's just going to continue getting worse. Unfortunately, I think that the team is not going to handle things properly and it's going to make things worse for Esteban and Oliver.

Sauber - Eight of Cups and Temperance.

I have very low expectations for Sauber, and this pull honestly just tells me that things aren't going to be all that different from last season. It's a lot of patience, taking things slow, and trying to figure out how to actually improve.

McLaren - The Lovers and King of Swords reversed.

I wanted to make a joke about The Lovers being literal, but I think it's more so that they are still riding off the high from last season. We are going to see a lot of that same passion and love transfer through to this season, but we're adding in that analytical side of the King of Swords, where I think both Lando and Oscar have had time to unpack and work through what needs improvement, so there is this renewed mental fortitude.

Mercedes - Six of Swords and Ace of Pentacles.

I have a lot of feelings about this reading, because I'm kind of split about it. When it comes to the Six of Swords, I think it's going to be navigating a minefield. I don't think that there is going to be proper support when things are not going well and smoothly, and I think that this is going to be a challenging season for them. The Ace of Pentacles seems to be overshadowed by the Six of Swords.

Racing Bulls - Four of Wands reversed and Three of Pentacles.

No one call me delusional, but I think we might actually see a lot of success here. Four of Wands reversed is a celebratory card, and it pairs with the Three of Pentacles which is an emphasis on teamwork. I want this to be Yuki's season so bad guys, and this pull has me feeling hope!

Redbull - Two of Cups reversed and Four of Swords reversed.

This one is really interesting to me, because I know there is a lot of pressure to continue performing at the level they historically have, but I don't think we will see the same level we've seen for the past four seasons. With the Four of Swords, I wouldn't be shocked if this is the last season we see Max.

Williams - Three of Wands and The Hanged Man reversed.

This is going to be a huge season of growth for Williams, one where they figure out what is requried to really make forward progress. Carlos is going to be able to provide a lot of needed insight into how to properly manage two drivers in a way that it is competitive.

[wordsnstuff]

Hi!

I have reached out to more people, but I'm still having problems with this, and I wanted to hear another opinion.

As a writer, do you have problems continuing a story once you hit a difficult scene?

Because I do, and honestly it's getting me frustrated at this point.

I have a good idea and a plot already done, but every time I hit a difficult scene I just get stuck, and can't write for weeks, sometimes months. I hardly even open the documents when it happens, and sometimes it comes right when I'm on a writing spree and being happy with my writing.

Do you have any advice on how to deal with this? How can I get past this issue and just keep writing more frequently?

I'd really like to hear it!

What do you do when you hit a snag?

When approaching this topic, the frustrating thing is that age-old advice has a lot of truth to it. Sometimes it is true that the best thing you can do when you're stuck is to stop struggling against the resistance and take a meaningful, intentional break to rest your mind and reset your thought process. Sometimes the key to getting started again is shaking up the routine and the altering the process until you find a new combination of habits that meet you where you are.

However, for a lot of us, the turmoil reaches deeper than that. A lot of people who do creative things are neurodivergent, so that has a place in the conversation when discussing what's preventing us from realizing our vision. Even if you don't identify with specific neurodivergence, there are a lot of tools and techniques that have been tried and tested for coping with immense, intrinsic difficulty with things like productivity, mindfulness, interoception, focus, and consistency. Just because these techniques are not specifically designated for you doesn't mean they won't be effective for you.

It is always a helpful exercise to take a step back and examine how you're feeling, both when you are writing and when you aren't, and try to identify any areas where you might be able to improve by changing things within your control.

When it comes to a specific scene holding you back from carrying on, I usually find that it's the result of a decision I made earlier in the plot that isn't serving the story as it continues to develop. I would take a chunk of time to take an analytical look at the scene, where it's come from, what is and isn't sparking in it (is the stagnation mostly due to the characters, events, environment, or lack of information, and is it a scene that is imperative to the reader's understanding?). A lot of the time, it's a scene that can be cut, or it's a scene that can be made redundant by infusing the necessary information of the scene into another place within the story.

If you've identified a scene as "a difficult scene", ask yourself why. If it's daunting because it's too long, then it can probably be cut way down and then added to later if while editing it seems a little thin. If it's challenging because things aren't falling into place and you aren't getting into a flow, then the set-up for the scene probably hasn't been developed effectively and you need to decide whether you're gonna go back in the draft to investigate or move on and return to it while editing.

If the information in the scene needs to be communicated at this specific point in the story, the problem might be the way you've chosen to present it. Pay attention to what your instincts are telling you, because pushing through a scene for the sake of getting past it will not produce a compelling scene to read. If you need to move past it, you have permission to do that. You can always come back and completely dig it up later.

Overall, I think it's very important to write with acceptance that the plot may not turn out the way you planned it. The process is much more effective and much more enjoyable if you aren't trudging along on a predestined path. If the characters and story develop outside of the lines, see where they go. You'll always have the opportunity to return to the outline and tailor later.

Best of luck,

x Kate