#Global Display Market report

[aviationanddefence1]

Global Heads Up Display market reports

When it came to instrumentation, the first aircraft were equipped with dial gauges, which meant that the pilot had to look down into the cockpit to see all the information needed to fly. These gauges were located on the instrument panel. To make aim easier, military aircraft began using optical reflector gun sights, which displayed images on a glass pane in front of the pilot. Since the Blackburn Buccaneer attack aircraft was designed to drop bombs while flying at very low altitude and very fast, the British Royal Navy created a new kind of gun sight for the aircraft in 1958.

Air speed, attitude direction via compass, angle of attack, acceleration, flight path vector, and other navigational data are displayed on the HUD of military combat aircraft. In addition, it shows the direction, range, and target designator box for missiles as well as cannon targeting information. The Global Heads Up Display market reports were split into modes that show the most pertinent readouts for each in order to keep the amount of information presented to a reasonable level and prevent oversaturation. These modes consist of landing and takeoff navigation. Communications from air to air and from air to ground.

Main factors affecting defence Notice: Expanding Display Industry:

For both synthetic and improved vision, a standard HUD is integrated with these components. By using data from several sensors on board the aircraft, enhanced vision systems give pilots extra information in low visibility situations. The application of algorithms to produce three-dimensional visuals that provide a pilot with a more naturalistic depiction of their environment is known as synthetic vision. One significant advancement in the sector that will boost market growth is the application of sensor fusion to enhance vision.

Factors impacting the Defence HUD Market Capacity:

Heads-up displays, or HUDs, will still be transparent screens that fit inside military pilot helmets or in front of windscreens.AR HUDs and holographic optics are still a few years off. Large field-of-view head-up displays are becoming more and more important for augmented reality applications, but the huge size of the optical components currently limits their design. Large fields of view screens will be the primary industry development driving the heads-up display market's expansion.

Market Forecast and Dynamics for HUDs:

Growing defense spending will stimulate the market for new procurement initiatives as well as platform upgrades with more advanced features and technology. Increasing the defense budget will stimulate the purchase of new aircraft and HUD-using platforms. Procurement will also be impacted by the present geopolitical environment in Europe and the Asia-Pacific area.

Defence Chiefs Draw Attention to Market Analysis of Recent Developments:

The original target of August 2022 for the "roll out" of the first Tejas Mk2 prototype has been rescheduled to the end of 2022. The first flight is anticipated to occur in late 2023. Initially, four prototypes are intended. Described as a fighter aircraft of the 4.5 generation, the Tejas Mk2 will be classified as middleweight instead of lightweight. This single-engine supersonic combat aircraft is produced by Hindustan Aeronautics and serves multiple roles (HAL). The focal points of the glass cockpit will include a wide-angle holographic head-up display system that can be used with night vision goggles and a touch-sensitive broad area display.

[futuretonext]

The Global Next-Generation Display Materials Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 7.10% during the forecast period, i.e., 2021-26. The growth of the market is driven primarily by the surging demand for next-generation display materials across the consumer electronics industry to manufacture high-quality display panels in devices like tablets, laptops, smartphones, etc. 

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Keir Starmer appoints Jeff Bezos as his “first buddy”

Picks and Shovels is a new, standalone technothriller starring Marty Hench, my two-fisted, hard-fighting, tech-scam-busting forensic accountant. You can pre-order it on my latest Kickstarter, which features a brilliant audiobook read by Wil Wheaton.

Turns out Donald Trump isn't the only world leader with a tech billionaire "first buddy" who gets to serve as an unaccountable, self-interested de facto business regulator. UK PM Keir Starmer has just handed the keys to the British economy over to Jeff Bezos.

Oh, not literally. But here's what's happened: the UK's Competitions and Markets Authority, an organisation charged with investigating and punishing tech monopolists (like Amazon) has just been turned over to Doug Gurr, the guy who used to run Amazon UK.

This is – incredibly – even worse than it sounds. Marcus Bokkerink, the outgoing head of the CMA, was amazing, and he had charge over the CMA's Digital Markets Unit, the largest, best-staffed technical body of any competition regulator, anywhere in the world. The DMU uses its investigatory powers to dig deep into complex monopolistic businesses like Amazon, and just last year, the DMU was given new enforcement powers that would let it custom-craft regulations to address tech monopolization (again, like Amazon's).

But it's even worse. The CMA and DMU are the headwaters of a global system of super-effective Big Tech regulation. The CMA's deeply investigated reports on tech monopolists are used as the basis for EU regulations and enforcement actions, and these actions are then re-run by other world governments, like South Korea and Japan:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/10/an-injury-to-one/#is-an-injury-to-all

The CMA is the global convener and ringleader in tech antitrust, in other words. Smaller and/or poorer countries that lack the resources to investigate and build a case against US Big Tech companies have been able to copy-paste the work of the CMA and hold these companies to account. The CMA invites (or used to invite) all of these competition regulators to its HQ in Canary Wharf for conferences where they plan global strategy against these monopolists:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cma-data-technology-and-analytics-conference-2022-registration-308678625077

Firing the guy who is making all this happening and replacing him with Amazon's UK boss is a breathtaking display of regulatory capture by Starmer, his business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, and his exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

But it gets even worse, because Amazon isn't just any tech monopolist. Amazon is a many-tentacled kraken built around an e-commerce empire. Antitrust regulators elsewhere have laid bare how Amazon uses that retail monopoly to take control over whole economies, while raising prices and crushing small businesses.

To understand Amazon's market power, first you have to understand "monopsonies" – markets dominated by buyers (monopolies are markets dominated by sellers – Amazon is both a monopolist and a monopsonist). Monopsonies are far more dangerous than monopolies, because they are easier to establish and easier to defend against competitors. Say a single retailer accounts for 30% of your sales: there isn't a business in the world that can survive an overnight 30% drop in sales, so that 30% market share might as well be 100%. Once your order is big enough that canceling it would bankrupt your supplier, you have near-total control over that supplier.

Amazon boasts about this. They call it "the flywheel": Amazon locks in shoppers (by getting them to prepay for a year's worth of shipping in advance, via Prime). The fact that a business can't sell to a large proportion of households if it's not on Amazon gives Amazon near-total power over that business. Amazon uses that power to demand discounts and charge junk fees to the businesses that rely on it. This allows it to lower prices, which brings in more customers, which means that even more businesses have to do business with Amazon to stay afloat:

https://vimeo.com/739486256/00a0a7379a

That's Amazon's version, anyway. In reality, it's a lot scuzzier. Amazon doesn't just demand deep discounts from its suppliers – it demand unsustainable discounts from them. For example, Amazon targeted small publishers with a program called the "Gazelle Project." Jeff Bezos told his negotiators to bring down these publishers "the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle":

https://archive.nytimes.com/bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/a-new-book-portrays-amazon-as-bully/

The idea was to get a bunch of cheap books for the Kindle to help it achieve critical mass, at the expense of driving these publishers out of business. They were a kind of disposable rocket stage for Amazon.

Deep discounts aren't the only way that Amazon feeds off its suppliers: it also lards junk-fee atop junk-fee. For every pound Amazon makes from its customers, it rakes in 45-51p in fees:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/29/aethelred-the-unready/#not-one-penny-for-tribute

Now, just like there's no business that can survive losing 30% of its sales overnight, there's also no business that can afford to hand 45-51% of its gross margin to a retailer. For businesses to survive at all on Amazon, they have to jack their prices up – way up. However, Amazon has an anticompetitive deal called "most favoured nation status" that forces suppliers to sell their goods on Amazon at the same price as they sell them elsewhere (even from their own stores). So when companies raise their prices in order to pay ransom to Amazon, they have to raise their prices everywhere. Far from being a force for low prices, Amazon makes prices go up everywhere, from the big Tesco's to the corner shop:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

Amazon makes so much money off of this scam that it doesn't have to pay anything to ship its own goods – the profits from overcharging merchants for "fulfillment by Amazon" pay for all the shipping, on everything Amazon sells:

https://cdn.ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AmazonMonopolyTollbooth-2023.pdf

Amazon competes with its own sellers, but unlike those sellers, it doesn't have to pay a 45-51% rake – and it can make its competitor-customers cover the full cost of its own shipping! On top of that, Amazon maintains the pretense that its headquarters are in Luxembourg, the tax- and crime-haven, and pays a fraction of the taxes that British businesses pay to HMRC (and that's not counting the 45-51% tax they pay to Jeff Bezos's monoposony).

That's not the only way that Amazon unfairly competes with British businesses, though: Amazon uses its position as a middleman between buyers and sellers to identify the most successful products sold by its own customers. Then it copies those products and sells them below the original inventor's costs (because it gets free shipping, pays no tax, and doesn't have to pay its own junk fees), and drives those businesses into the ground. Even Jeff "Project Gazelle" Bezos seems to understand that this is a bad look, which is why he perjured himself to the American Congress when he was questioned under oath about it:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58961836

Amazon then places its knockoff products above the original goods on its search results page. Amazon makes $38b selling off placement on these search pages, and the top results for an Amazon search aren't the best matches for your query – they're the ones that pay the most. On average, Amazon's top result for a search is 29% more expensive than the best match on the site. On average, the top row of results is 25% more expensive than the best match on the site. On average, Amazon buries the best result for your search 17 places down the results page:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/03/subprime-attention-rent-crisis/#euthanize-rentiers

Amazon, in other words, acts like the business regulator for the economies it dominates. It decides what can be sold, and at what prices. It decides whose products come up when you search, and thus which businesses deserve to live and which ones deserve to die. An economy dominated by Amazon isn't a market economy – it's a planned economy, run by Party Secretary Bezos for the benefit of Amazon's shareholders.

Now, there is a role for a business regulator, because some businesses really don't deserve to live (because they sell harmful products, engage in deceptive practices, etc). The UK has a regulator that's in charge of this stuff: the Competition and Markets Authority, which is now going to be run by Jeff Bezos's hand-picked UK Amazon boss. That means that Amazon is now both the official and the unofficial central planner of the UK economy, with a free hand to raise prices, lower quality, and destroy British businesses, while hiding its profits in Luxemourg and starving the exchequer of taxes.

The "first buddy" role that Keir Starmer just handed over to Jeff Bezos is, in every way, more generous than the first buddy deal Trump gave Elon Musk.

Starmer's government claims they're doing this for "growth" but Amazon isn't a force for growth, it's force for extraction. It is a notorious underpayer of its labour force, a notorious tax-cheat, and a world-beating destroyer of local economies, local jobs, and local tax bases. Contrary to Amazon's own self-mythologizing, it doesn't deliver lower prices – it raises prices throughout the economy. It doesn't improve quality – this is a company whose algorithmic recommendation system failed to recognize that an "energy drink" was actually its own drivers' bottled piss, which it then promoted until it was the best-selling energy drink on the platform:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/release-energy/#the-bitterest-lemon

There's a reason that the UK, the EU, Japan and South Korea found it so easy to collaborate on antitrust cases against American companies: these are all countries whose competition law was rewritten by American technocrats during the Marshall Plan, modeled on the US's own laws. The bedrock of US competition law is 1890's Sherman Act, whose author, Senator John Sherman, declared that:

If we will not endure a King as a political power we should not endure a King over the production, transportation, and sale of the necessaries of life. If we would not submit to an emperor we should not submit to an autocrat of trade with power to prevent competition and to fix the price of any commodity.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/20/we-should-not-endure-a-king/

Jeff Bezos is the autocrat of trade that John Sherman warned us about, 135 years ago. And Keir Starmer just abdicated in his favour.

Check out my Kickstarter to pre-order copies of my next novel, Picks and Shovels!

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

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/22/autocrats-of-trade/#dingo-babysitter

Image: UK Parliament/Maria Unger (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keir_Starmer_2024.jpg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Steve Jurvetson (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeff_Bezos%27_iconic_laugh.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[edutainer2022]

There's a bit of headcanon backstory of Scott's disastrous trainwreck of a lovelife I always kinda mean to write out (shout out to @janetm74 and @liseylou!). So it features here. Gordon watches celebrity news. Fischler's brother (of all people!) gets married. Nothing goes as planned. Scott is NOT having a good time. Nor has he been for a while. Bereznik gets mentioned. An OC that might be relevant later gets mentioned. The GDF units I think may have IR on the radar get mentioned. Scott has great brothers and good friends. He's still not having a good time.

PAGE SIX

Ever since Kat Kavanaugh buried a hatchet and wasn't chasing conspiracy theories about them on Global Holovision anymore, watching the news live was a once in a blue moon activity in Casa Tracy. They followed the major world events through John and Eos (maybe a bit of social media on a relatively quiet morning), and they were likely to be part of those in some capacity at least a third of the times. Sometimes a half. But it was one of those days. A relative lull in rescues compiled with the exhaustion of the previous fortnight streak of disasters bred mildly numb boredom. Batteries too low to pursue their usual hobbies, they gravitated to the lounge.

Scott was ever at the desk with holo screens full of quarterly budget reports, because their biggest brother did stock market numbers for LEISURE, apparently. Virgil was playing, as usual, but the music was slowly fading to a halt. Alan was gaming, or pretending to be while napping, his VR goggles on. Kayo was going through some specs, half leaning on the couch cushions. Even John was in a quiet lull up in orbit, his hologram just bobbing at the comms unit, hanging out with everybody, but not really a part of any conversation. That left Gordon scrolling lazily through newsreels. The sudden yelp sent Alan tumbling on the floor and Scott at least half an inch closer to a cardiac arrest under thirty. A keen observer would have noticed Kayo reaching for a knife in the ankle holster. The piano music keened on an abrupt note and stopped. Several pairs of VERY unamused eyes stared Gordon down.

The Fish was on his feet already, bursting with excitement, sending the news holo to the center of the lounge.

"Did you guys know Fischler has a brother?!?!"

The assorted grumps and groans across the lounge indicated that they not only didn't know, but weren't in the least thrilled by that information. Only John and Kayo shared a quiet look, because OF COURSE they would know.

Gordon surveyed the lounge in triumph, setting the stage for a punchline.

"He has a brother and he's getting married!"

"Who, Fischler?"

Alan was still scrambling up from his hardwood landing and making a show of rubbing an ouchie. Scott at least looked ready to switch gears to the full "hurt brother!" mode. Gordon was not deterred.

"No, dummy, not Fischer! His brother is getting married!"

"And that's any of our business how?"

Alan was still not ready to relinquish attention from his boo-boo. Not with so many big brothers in attendance. But John, Kayo and Virgil were already sharing concerned LOOKS. Any widely publicized event with cameras rolling and hundreds in attendance, involving Fischler, could potentially turn into a showcase of his latest "invention", or ten. Which would mean potential casualties and work for IR. They would need to be on the look-out and on standby. Scott waved at the comm to get the volume up.

The holo displayed a close pic of a younger and significantly more polished version of Langstrom Fischler, hair sleecked back, but a weaselly smile just a tad on the manic side. The celebrity news anchor was gushing about a "dashing fresh face on the World Senate, a philanthropist and patron of innovation, a devoted brother and a consummate athlete, setting off to be a force of a positive change in the world" and "his drop dead gorgeous fiancée, a once Miss Brazil runner-up, who dedicated herself to the selfless life of service, decorated for honor and courage". The picture on the screen changed for an official GDF snapshot of a tall young brunette in dress blues. The insignia on the collar indicated the rank of Captain and breastplanks - several high ranking awards for valor. The picture changed to a series of candid paparazzi snaps of the "happy couple". The show host droned on with one corny cliche after another about the "match made of dreams" and a " high profile dream wedding" scheduled to take place on a cozy remote island.

Gordon interrupted the stream of saccharine platitudes:

"Huh? How come we're not invited? Scott, you know like everyone in the World Senate!"

But his voice was drowned out by the deafening snap of the metal stylus, broken in Scott's fingers. The sound of the desk chair hitting the floor, as Scott stood up and all but ran from the lounge, was even louder.

"Huh?!"

Gordon, yet again, surmised the bewilderment of everyone present. Virgil was half out to follow Scott, when a ping came through on Gordon's comm. The sign flashed pink.

"Yay! Looks like I'm going after all! Penny needs a plus one! John, can I borrow your tux?!"

John half waved his brother off, brows furrowed and hands already flying over invisible files, when another pink ping came through. It was Kayo's turn for a "Huh?" moment.

"Looks like Penny needs a plus two, as well. I'm invited".

That deflated Gordon's initial excitement enough to notice Virgil leaving in the general direction of Dad's office, where Scott had locked himself. Before he reached the door to try and reason with big brother to talk about... whatever that was, John sent two files to his comm. One - a picture they all saw a hundred times on Dad's desk back in Kansas, but it didn't compute out of context. Scott's Airgroup Wing after a training flight. All hugging and laughing, still in flightsuits. Scott and the girl from the news today - Fischler Jr.'s fiancée - at the center. The other Virgil never saw before. It would figure since it was a screenshot from, what he recognized with some dread, was Dad's old phone. There was a picture sent to a private chat with Dad of the same girl, in a sundress, and Scott in a polo shirt, apparently both on leave. An almost ten years younger Scott was smiling like he could power up a sun. The message to Dad read "SHE SAID YES!!!". The date of the message indicated about a month and a half before Scott's mission to Bereznik. Virgil sank to the floor, leaning on the wall, never going through with the knock on the locked office door.

***

It was such an unbelievable cliché it felt surreal. The thunderstorm, the lightning, the lash of downpour across his face. Then again, it was fitting, as his world was going crashing down around him. Yet again. There was nothing surreal about the hard edges of Mom's ring she just gave him back. For about six weeks he was the happiest man alive. Dad's IR project was well underway, and he was to share that dream not only with Dad and brothers, but with the love of his life. He should have known better... The words were real too - hard and ruthless. About Dad yanking his leash, and expecting nothing but dutifully following in his footsteps and his vision, concealed by his looming shadow, and giving up what they both dreamed about and worked so hard for - test flights, command ranks, career in service. The echo came back to him often, in one dark hour or another, after his world shattered to pieces yet another time. Dad voiced his reservations clearly, but did agree to give him Mom's ring. "When you know, you know". Wasn't it how he and Mom got married? It WAS too soon, they WERE too young, and frateenization within a unit WAS an issue, but with IR lifting off that wasn't to be a problem, once he told her the full scale of the classified project. He should have known better...

He last remembered the ring yanked off his neck with the dogtags chain by a smirking Berezniki guard. He put up a hell of a fight for that and was beaten within an inch of his life. The first time. Next time he found it, inexplicably, in Dad's safe on the island, after the search for Zero-X was called off. He meant to ask Kyrano, as he wasn't conscious or coherent enough for the extraction op, or for months after, but the man never returned his calls anymore, sending in a resignation after half a year of following leads on the Hood. There wasn't much room in his mind or hours in his days to give it more thought for years after. Or more pieces for his heart to break into. He should have known better. And now she was getting married. To someone bright and promising, changing the world for the better, who wasn't him. He should have known better as well. The sound of glass shattering against the wall and a visceral scream finally sent Virgil in, wild-eyed, breaking past the lock.

***

John lifted an eyebrow in a perfect quizzical arch, putting the tablet down, as the "wedding party" poured, or rather, limped into the lounge. Gordon's tuxedo sleeve was torn clear off, his bowtie, undone, served as a makeshift tourniquet. Parker sported cuts, bruises and a glorious shiner. Penelope's elaborate updo was in disarray, one heel of a golden pump broken. Kayo's slip dress hem was torn, exposing a garter holster. As John hurried to the kitchen for the first aid kit, he heard her hiss something to the effect of "You should have seen the other guys".

The villa was quiet. Grandma had Alan on the mainland for the weekend. Virgil chased Scott up the volcano. There was a good chance biggest brother and his stormy mood was best quarantined at the Round House for the rest of the day. John was waiting in the lounge for the fallout, one way or another. He wasn't quite prepared to the sight on display, handing out ice packs.

Gordon hissed too and bit off a curse, as John set about cleaning the bullet graze on his arm.

"Pen, do all your friends whip out a standard issue gun at the altar and read the groom Miranda rights instead of vows?"

Lady Penelope was busy trying to look poised while breaking the second heel off a designer pump, to make them even.

"It was a deep undercover mission to round up a drug and slave trafficking ring. A destination wedding was a most fortunate venue for the occasion."

Kayo looked up from the kitchen isle at that, not pausing to stop extracting a considerable arsenal of throw-knives from her bodice.

"Looks like the Fischler brothers were bankrolled by mafia. The crazy inventions AND the World Senate election. In exchange for some... perks."

Kayo snorted and went back to her inventory of weapons.

Gordon perked up as the anesthetic cream kicked in and forgot to NOT wave the injured hand around to assist his narrative.

"It was actually kinda cool! The bride barked out "Hands up!" instead of "I do"! The bridesmaids all dropped their bouquets and brandished guns. The bridal party were all Organized Crime and Counterterrorism. Well, and us... A little  heads up wouldn't have hurt, Penny. Then all hell broke loose. Rose petals and confetti everywhere. You should have seen Fischler's face!"

Gordon was nearly flailing with excitement, so John's hands pushed him mildly back into the seat. Turquoise eyes found Penelope's line of sight:

"So... no wedding?"

"No wedding indeed."

Up on the Tracy Volcano Virgil's comm vibrated, switched to silent mode hours ago. John's message read "No wedding."

Virgil exhaled a sigh, but didn't yet know how to break the subject with a brother, seated next to him on the sun-warmed boulder, overlooking the ocean. Blue eyes were fixed on a point far away in the distance, or maybe far away in the past, Scott still wouldn't talk about.

[yuzurujenn]

[2024.12.17] Yuzuru Hanyu x Haier & Aqua New CMs

Yuzuru Hanyu: "Everyone is taking on new challenges in their daily lives"... Appears on video at home appliance brand launch event

On the 17th, figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu made a video appearance at the "Haier Group Global Strategy and Haier Japan Market Branding Announcement" event held in Tokyo.

When Du Jingguo, Vice President of Haier, said, "I am moved by Hanyu's attitude of continuing to challenge himself without being satisfied, even after conquering the Olympics," Hanyu smiled happily and responded, "Thank you. It's truly an honor," before continuing.

"I don't think I'm particularly special. I believe that everyone is challenging something in their lives. It might be something big or small, visible or not, or something that gets reported in the news. I think that’s the only difference, and I’ve been thinking lately that this is what living is all about."

Hanyu was appointed as the brand ambassador for "Haier" and "AQUA" in November. Despite his numerous successes, his ongoing pursuit of greater heights aligns with Haier's corporate philosophy, which led to his selection. "Since I was given this opportunity, I’ve had many chances to look at Haier and AQUA products, and I was impressed by their high level of design. Each product has an unforgettable design. The eco-friendly features and energy efficiency also made me feel a strong connection as an athlete," he shared.

On this day, the new commercials were announced, and television broadcasts will begin on the 24th. In Haier's "Self VS Self" commercial, Hanyu wears a blue outfit and delivers a powerful performance, while in AQUA's "Never-ending Challenge" commercial, he dons a white costume and displays a graceful glide.

Yuzuru Hanyu performs quadruple toe loop in new commercial... to be aired from the 24th "Blue Hanyu" and "White Hanyu"

On the 17th, the home appliance brand Haier Japan Region announced a new commercial featuring Yuzuru Hanyu, a professional figure skater who is the brand ambassador for "Haier" and "AQUA". It will begin airing on television on the 24th.

In Haier's "Self VS Self" commercial, Yuzuru Hanyu wears a blue outfit and delivers a powerful performance, while in AQUA's "Endless Challenge" commercial, he dons a white costume and showcases a graceful glide.

In the "Self VS Self" version, Hanyu performs a quadruple toe loop, a move not originally planned, fully expressing his commitment to the performance during the shoot. He focused intensely, checking the fit of his costume and perfecting his execution, retaking the skating scenes until he was satisfied.

Hanyu appeared via video at the "Haier Group Global Strategy and Haier Japan Market Branding Announcement" event in Tokyo, where he shared his thoughts on the filming of the two new commercials.

In Haier's "Self VS Self" commercial, which features the key message "Surpass Yourself," Hanyu said, "I focused on expressing the challenge to my past self, as well as strength and speed. I repeatedly attempted the quadruple jump, and tried to express the power that I can only showcase on the ice, as well as the strong will to challenge, which only comes from truly giving my all."

In AQUA's "Endless Challenge" commercial, with the key message "Innovation," he commented, "I tried to express the kindness that can only come from something strong. I worked hard to express something that would warm the hearts of viewers and make them realize that their lives could become truly richer."

Source:  https://hochi.news/articles/20241217-OHT1T51047.html?page=1 https://hochi.news/articles/20241217-OHT1T51050.html?page=1

[blessed-curse]

The Energy Drink That Changed Everything:

Extreme Pulse (EXP) – The Drink That Changed Humanity

Origins & Creation (2078):

In 2078, Nikolaev Biotech, under the direction of Arseny and Alexei Nikolaev, launched an energy drink called Extreme Pulse (EXP)—a seemingly ordinary product designed for athletes, gamers, and the general public looking for an energy boost.

Marketed as a "next-generation performance enhancer," EXP quickly gained traction due to its unparalleled effects on stamina, focus, and recovery. What no one realized was that EXP was laced with a heavily diluted extract of Ambrosia, designed to awaken dormant genetic codes in the human population.

Nikolaev Biotech disguised the active compound under the name "Bio-Optimized Neural Stimulant (B.O.N.S.)," claiming it was a revolutionary organic performance enhancer derived from deep-sea superfoods.

In reality, B.O.N.S. was nothing more than Ambrosia diluted to safe levels.

Rise in Popularity (2078–2084):

EXP quickly dominated the global energy drink market, outpacing traditional brands like Red Bull and Monster within just three years.

• Athletes reported unrealistic stamina gains, faster reflexes, and sharper instincts.

• Gamers experienced heightened focus, reaction times, and cognitive speed.

• Casual drinkers found themselves stronger, faster, and more energetic than ever before.

By 2080, EXP had become a worldwide phenomenon, with hundreds of millions consuming it daily. Governments, however, started to take notice when a strange pattern emerged—a rise in individuals developing unnatural physical and cognitive abilities.

By 2082, a small percentage of consistent EXP drinkers began displaying superhuman traits—some subtle, others extreme. Cases of unexplainable regenerative healing, enhanced senses, and even minor telekinetic abilities began to surface.

This led to the first whispers that EXP was not what it seemed.

The Nikolaev Scandal & EXP’s Downfall (2084–2086):

By 2084, Nikolaev Biotech was forced into legal battles when a whistleblower leaked confidential research data linking EXP to abnormal genetic mutations.

Governments launched full-scale investigations, revealing that:

• EXP altered human biology on a fundamental level.

• Some users developed extreme mutations, leading to enhanced abilities but also unpredictable side effects.

• The drink contained biological compounds that did not exist in any known terrestrial organism.

The truth about B.O.N.S. and its deep-sea origins was still hidden, but it was clear that EXP was no ordinary energy drink.

Amidst the backlash, Nikolaev Biotech went bankrupt in 2086, and all production of EXP was shut down. Governments seized all remaining stock and banned its distribution.

However, the damage had already been done.

By 2088, millions of people worldwide had already consumed EXP, and the genetic awakening process had begun.

Legacy of EXP – The Birth of "The Descendants"

Though EXP was discontinued, its effects were irreversible. The drink had kickstarted human evolution, activating dormant genetic sequences in thousands of individuals.

By 2090, scientists had officially classified these first-generation superhumans as “The Descendants.”

Many of the world’s first superheroes and villains could trace their powers back to their exposure to EXP.

The drink had unknowingly reshaped the course of human history, all because of two scientists who believed evolution had stagnated for too long.

Even today, EXP is spoken of in hushed tones, a mythical elixir that forever changed humanity.

Some believe black-market variants of EXP still exist, circulating among underground circles, while others claim that Nikolaev Biotech’s research wasn’t completely destroyed.

If that’s true… the Age of Superhumans may not have been a one-time event.

Author Thoughts:

Extreme Pulse (EXP) was never just an energy drink—it was the catalyst for the modern superhuman era.

[rjzimmerman]

If you've been following COP29 (aka the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), you probably quit about 10 days ago. I paid scant attention to it after day one. It was doomed to failure, and with trump approaching the entrance ramp to global climate chaos and the latest iteration of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, I figured I didn't want to waste my time.

Excerpt from this story from Truthout:

Another year of climate breakdown approaches its end, marked by reports that 2024 will be the first year in which the world’s average surface temperature exceeded the pre-industrial average by 1.5 degrees Celsius (1.5°C) — and by another COP climate conference. Would the 29th in the series, held in Azerbaijan, be more of the same, a fossil fuel-friendly cop-out?

It began with poetry. The COP29 president, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources H. E. Mukhtar Babayev, addressed a 9,000-word letter to delegates, laying out areas to be discussed. At its head, an epigraph from a Persian poet, Nizami Ganjavi, warning humankind that it could “destroy itself” if harmony “between people and nature” is lost.

The president’s concern, needless to say, was entirely feigned. Babayev’s epistle evaded mention of fossil fuels, except in a positive light. This was predictable. Prior to entering politics he worked for SOCAR, an oil company that stands accused of large-scale pollution as well as violations of human rights and workers’ health and safety. Even as its former employee presided over the COP’s opening ceremonies, SOCAR was pressing ahead with a massive expansion of drilling operations.

Altogether, COP29 was a shambolic and fractured event. The host nation used the opportunity to arrange new fossil fuel deals and granted access to 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists plus 480 lobbyists for carbon capture and storage — Big Oil’s latest dangerous and dishonest ruse to justify continued drilling. The conference’s other failures include Saudi Arabia’s attempt, with considerable impact, to stifle any discussion of transitioning from fossil fuels; the rich countries’ refusal to pay poor countries remotely near the requisite figure to help cover decarbonization efforts and their “loss and damage” from climate change; and a revival of markets for carbon “offsets” — the scam by which rich countries and corporations pay for climate-related activities in low-wage economies in order to justify by some supernatural calculus their own failure to cut emissions. Absent were the leaders of most of the jurisdictions responsible for the climate crisis: the United States, China, the EU, Russia, Germany, Canada, Australia and France.

On the other side of the climate justice scales, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape announced that his government would not attend, in protest at the big polluters’ refusal to provide “support to victims of climate change.”

The perfidy, venality and “bullshit” on display at COP29 prompted Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, to veer off script in a moment of emperor’s-new-clothes candor: “What on Earth are we doing in this gathering over and over,” he said, “if there is no common political will on the horizon to go beyond words and unite for meaningful action? And adding insult to the injury, some major and minor players even boycotted this annual global event.”

[mariacallous]

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate was met with enthusiasm from Democrats across the party, including from the party’s left wing. A big part of this is Walz’s solidly pro-labor governing record and his appeal to working-class voters, which was on display on Wednesday when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Although his championing of working Americans’ jobs, pay, and rights has obvious and important domestic appeal, it also has a potentially significant implication for foreign policy under a Harris-Walz administration.

One of the Biden administration’s most important projects, sometimes summarized as “post-neoliberalism,” has been the move away from unfettered so-called free trade—the pro-corporate theology that dominated the past few decades of economic policymaking. The government is now fully back in the business of investing in U.S. workers and communities. (A 2023 report tracking this progress was published by the Roosevelt Institute, a think tank helping to drive this transformation.)

As vice president, Harris has played a key role in this pivotal project, and selecting one of the  most pro-worker governors in the country as a running mate signals that she is all-in on this shift. This is great news, because not only is this post-neoliberal, pro-worker agenda likely where the election will be won, but it is also central to the larger goal of defending global democracy.

Conservatives have noticed. “By picking Tim Walz as her running mate, Harris has gone a long way toward bolstering her left-populist flank and neutralizing [Republican vice presidential candidate J.D.] Vance’s potential appeal,” wrote Sohrab Ahmari, the founder and editor of the conservative nationalist magazine Compact and a leading voice of the populist new right, when the pick was announced. “Walz can’t be framed as a neoliberal Democrat in the Clinton-Obama mold.”

Vance’s own speech at the Republican National Convention in July was billed as foreign policy-focused, but it was really all about how U.S. elites had failed the country’s struggling workers. Playing up his family roots in a small Ohio town—“a place that had been cast aside and forgotten by America’s ruling class in Washington”—Vance attacked U.S. President Joe Biden for his past support of the North American Free Trade Agreement, for China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, and for “the disastrous invasion of Iraq.”

“At each step of the way, in small towns like mine in Ohio, or next door in Pennsylvania or Michigan, in other states across our country, jobs were sent overseas, and our children were sent to war,” Vance said. While larded over with common right-wing tropes and xenophobic invective, the speech sounded like a road map for how the Republican Party intends to capture the working class.

In its own way, Vance’s speech was a darker, divisive version of a more affirmative and unifying  address that U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan gave in April 2023, which laid out the Biden administration’s global economic agenda. Confronting the flawed assumptions that dominated U.S. statecraft in the past 40 years—“that markets always allocate capital productively and efficiently”—Sullivan rejected the philosophy that “championed tax cutting and deregulation, privatization over public action, and trade liberalization as an end in itself.”

Like Vance a year later, Sullivan acknowledged that elites had failed working people in the United States. He said that not only had an economic integration approach failed as a geopolitical strategy—not stopping China from military expansion or deterring Russia from invading its neighbors—but it also radically increased economic and political inequality, both globally and domestically. The speech marked an important step forward in Washington’s thinking.

However, much less noticed was a speech that Sullivan gave a week later at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which showed how the Biden administration still had one foot in the previous era. In that speech, Sullivan laid out the administration’s plan to maintain U.S. hegemony in the Middle East by buttressing relationships with various repressive, undemocratic regimes and stitching together an alliance intended both to contain Iran and box China out of the region.

I noted to administration colleagues at the time that the second speech was a formula for squandering the opportunities of the first. While the Biden administration had discarded some of the flawed foreign-policy assumptions of the past, it continued to hold fast to the idea that Washington can purchase security and prosperity for U.S. workers by exporting insecurity and repression to others, whether in the Middle East, China, or anywhere else. The past 10 months of catastrophic war in Gaza should have discredited that notion, if it wasn’t already.

The United States can build a more equitable global order, or it can frantically try to maintain global primacy, but it can’t do both. The Harris-Walz team has an important task and a big opportunity to diminish this contradiction and complete this transformation. Just as the neoliberal era proved that giving carte blanche to big corporations—whether they’re car companies or weapons manufacturers—is not a means for achieving broad economic progress or security, the past 20 years of the “war on terror” showed that a heavily militarized foreign policy feeds global insecurity and shreds the fabric of international norms.

As outlined by Trump and Vance, the Republican vision is essentially zero-sum: The United States and its workers only win by others losing, and vice versa. The Harris-Walz team can offer a vision of contrasting solidarity, which doesn’t seek to build political consensus by vilifying the foreign enemy of the moment but rather seeks ways to uplifts workers and their communities in every country.

The U.S. public needs to hear more about how diplomacy and cooperation—including with China, can provide other benefits for Americans, as evidenced recently when China imposed new controls on fentanyl precursor chemicals—and about how the issue of irregular migration, which has been a driving force in far-right populism, can only be addressed by improving conditions and reducing violence in the home countries of those migrants—a shared struggle that the labor movement understands and embraces.

A real pro-worker foreign policy doesn’t pit the security and prosperity of Americans against workers in other countries but recognizes that our security and prosperity are bound together. We saw the outlines of that in the speech from Walz, the good neighbor and the inspiring coach, on Wednesday. That is the winning global vision that he and Harris should embrace.

[eaglesnick]

“No government that is for the profiteers can also be for the people, and I am for the people, while the government is for the profiteers.”— Rose Pastor Stokes

There is a cost of living crisis and it is not about to end anytime soon.

Food and non-alcoholic drink inflation reached a peak of 19.2% in October 2022. Although food and drink inflation is now much lower, it is never the less still rising, being 1.8% higher than a year ago. Today, the Uk  has the highest core inflation rate among the G7 countries as well as the highest level of food price inflation. A study by BravoVoucher predicts the cost of everyday food items will increase rapidly by 2030.

“This research provides a scary look into the future of food prices if current inflation trends continue. The dramatic increase we’ve seen in prices for everyday essentials like olive oil and baked beans is particularly concerning. It highlights the urgent need for effective economic policies to stabilize inflation and protect consumers.” (Social Equality: 22/07/24)

While food inflation is set to rage, super markets continue to make record profits. 

Asda reported  £1.1bn in profit for year ending 31st December 2023, a 24% increase on the previous year. Tesco reported raking in a massive £2.83bn in profit, a 12.7% increase on the year before. Simsbury’s is predicting profits of £1bn in 2024, and Waitrose has reported a 17% increase  in profits.

The lower end supermarkets are making even bigger profits. Lidl reported a quadrupling of profits for the year ending February 2022, and Aldi tripled their profits over the same period.

The point I am making is that while the cost of living crisis continues unabated the major supermarkets are busy increasing profits for their shareholders. There are many reasons the cost of food has increased, from global supply chain disruption, a rise in energy costs, to increased food production costs, but one that is never mentioned is the massive spike in supermarket profits.

Yesterday I talked about dynamic pricing – the practice of changing prices to match demand and supply – the most ridiculous example of this new form of greed being walking into a Stonegate pub at 8pm and being charged 20p more for a pint than if you had ordered the exact same drink a few hours earlier.

Tesco already use dynamic pricing for their online shopping platform, to allow:

“the company to optimise its pricing for maximum profitability” (The Strategy: Tesco Marketing Mix)

OK, so dynamic pricing is employed for Internet food sales. Most of us still prefer to go to the supermarket in person and “feel the goods” as it were. So we are safe from dynamic pricing. NOT SO!

More and more of British supermarkets are introducing dynamic pricing to the “in-store” experience in the form of electronic shelf-edge labels. (ESL’s)  Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and M&S are all reported to be experimenting with ESL’s using Artificial Intelligence to generate algorithms to determine price minute by minute. Electronically displayed prices on the edge of shelving means prices can be changed minute by minute depending upon demand and supply.

Gone is the notion of value for money. The only thing that will matter  will be how much the customer is willing to pay for any particular item at any given particular moment in time, regardless of what it cost to produce.

If price is going to be determined by how much people are willing to pay, how long before we have the scenario of the  sole remaining can of baked beans on a Tesco shelf being sold not at its current price of  £1.40 per can but at £2.50 simply because one shopper has more money than another?

Profiteering has been described as:

“The practice of making or seeking to make excessive or unfair profit, especially illegally or in a black market”

Profiteering now has another definition: dynamic pricing.

[marketsndata]

[dailyreportonline]

Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 5G India Launch Teased as Phantom V Fold Gets Sold Out on Amazon | Daily Reports Online

Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 5G could launch in India soon, the company teased on social media on Thursday. The foldable smartphone made its global debut on September 13, boasting features such as MediaTek Dimensity chipset, AMOLED display and 50-megapixel camera. In recent weeks, the rumour mill has suggested that the Phantom V Fold 2 5G could mark its entry into the Indian market as the successor to…

[brandulox]

Forget Samsung: Xiaomi 14 Series Ready to Dethrone Galaxy S24 as King of Android

The Xiaomi 14 series has been officially unveiled in China, and it looks like it will be the Android flagship series to beat in 2023. The new Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro come with improvements across the board, including bright displays, the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, upgraded cameras, super-fast charging, and a titanium frame option for the Pro model. While we wait to get the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro in for full reviews, here is a preview of the key specs and features to expect from Xiaomi's latest flagships. We'll update this preview once we have the devices in hand and can provide more details from our hands-on testing. Xiaomi 14 Series Key Specs Xiaomi 14Xiaomi 14 ProSize, Weight152.8 x 71.5 x 8.2 mm, 188 g161.4 x 75.3 x 8.5 mm, 223 gDisplay6.36" OLED, 120Hz, 3,000 nits6.7" OLED, 120Hz, 3,000 nitsProcessorSnapdragon 8 Gen 3Snapdragon 8 Gen 3RAM, Storage8/256GB, 12/256GB, 12/512GB, 16/1TB LPDDR5X12/256GB, 16/512GB, 16/1TB LPDDR5XCameras50MP main (f/1.6), 50MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 50MP 3.2X telephoto f/2.0, 32MP front50MP main (f/1.42-4.0), 50MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 50MP 3.2X telephoto f/2.0, 32MP frontBattery4,610 mAh4,880 mAhCharging90W wired, 50W wireless120W wired, 50W wireless The highlights include the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, fast LPDDR5X RAM, bright 3,000 nit displays, and extremely fast charging speeds. The Pro model also introduces a variable aperture main camera and titanium frame option. We'll need to thoroughly test out these phones to see how all these specs translate to real-world performance and experience. Stay tuned for our full reviews! Xiaomi 14 Series Design The Xiaomi 14 series retains the premium design identity of the previous generation, with curved displays and backs, rectangular camera modules, and slim profiles. The Pro model introduces an eye-catching new titanium frame option. Both phones also utilize Xiaomi's new proprietary Ceramic Glass material on the front and back for added durability.

Xiaomi 14 Pro Color options include: - Xiaomi 14: Jade Green, Black, White, Pink - Xiaomi 14 Pro: Titanium, Black, White, Green

Xiaomi 14 Xiaomi 14 Series Cameras The Leica-tuned cameras on the Xiaomi 14 series bring some exciting upgrades. The main 50MP sensor on the Pro model features a variable f/1.4-f/4.0 aperture for more flexibility. The new 50MP ultrawide camera promises improved quality. The telephoto camera uses a floating lens element for better edge-to-edge sharpness. New AI tricks like eye tracking autofocus and Night OIS should also help boost photography. We look forward to putting these new camera systems through their paces.

Xiaomi 14 Series Software The latest Xiaomi 14 series introduces an exciting shift from MIUI to the new HyperOS. Running on Android 14 out of the box, HyperOS promises an improved user experience focused on four key areas: performance optimization, seamless connectivity, predictive intelligence, and robust security. While full details on HyperOS are yet to come, early reports suggest substantial AI and on-device neural processing. This enables advanced contextual awareness and personalization. Software support remains unconfirmed, but if last year's models are any indication, the Xiaomi 14 line should receive major OS updates for at least four years. Xiaomi 14 Series Availability The Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro launched first in China, but global availability typically follows a couple months later. Pricing is also usually a bit lower for global markets. We expect the Xiaomi 14 series to compete head-to-head with the Galaxy S23 series in many regions later this year. The Xiaomi 14 in particular looks like excellent value if they can hit a competitive price point. In summary, the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro bring some exciting upgrades and look very promising on paper. We can't wait to get them in hand for full reviews. They have a good chance of being the top Android flagships of 2023 if their real-world performance lives up to the hype. Stay tuned for our detailed analysis. Read the full article

[electronalytics]

Display Screen Power Supply Market

[dmprosenjit]

Why Google AdWords is important for online business?

Google AdWords, now known as Google Ads, is crucial for online businesses for several reasons:

Reach: Google is the most widely used search engine globally, with billions of searches conducted daily. Google Ads enables businesses to reach potential customers precisely when they are searching for products or services related to what the business offers.

Targeting: With Google Ads, businesses can target their ads based on factors such as keywords, location, language, device, and demographics. This targeting capability ensures that ads are shown to the most relevant audience, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Cost-effectiveness: Google Ads operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, meaning businesses only pay when someone clicks on their ad. This makes it a cost-effective advertising option, as businesses can set their budgets and adjust them as needed based on the performance of their ads.

Measurable results: Google Ads provides comprehensive analytics and reporting tools that allow businesses to track the performance of their ads in real-time. This includes metrics such as clicks, impressions, click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on investment (ROI). By analyzing these metrics, businesses can optimize their ad campaigns for better results.

Flexibility and control: Google Ads offers businesses flexibility and control over their ad campaigns. They can easily create, pause, or adjust ads and campaigns to suit their goals and budget. This agility allows businesses to respond quickly to changes in market conditions or customer behavior.

Brand visibility: Even if users don’t click on your ads, just seeing them can increase brand awareness and visibility. With Google Ads, businesses can ensure that their Brand is prominently displayed at the top of search results pages, increasing brand recognition and trust among potential customers.

Overall, Google Ads provides online businesses with a powerful platform to reach their target audience, drive traffic to their websites, and ultimately increase sales and revenue.

For more information Click Here

Thank You

[edutainer2022]

UNREQUITED Ch 7

Co-written with @janetm74

Ch 6

AO3 (1-7)

This installment found a place in the tapestry of a vaster story, thanks to the amazing insight of @janetm74, making the implications so much more exciting to ponder and to explore further!

(Page Six)

Ever since Kat Kavanaugh buried a hatchet and wasn't chasing conspiracy theories about them on Global Holovision anymore, watching the news live was a once in a blue moon activity in Casa Tracy. They followed the major world events through John and Eos (maybe a bit of social media on a relatively quiet morning), and they were likely to be part of those in some capacity at least a third of the times. Sometimes a half.

But it was one of those days. A relative lull in rescues compiled with the exhaustion of the previous fortnight streak of disasters bred mildly numb boredom. Batteries too low to pursue their usual hobbies, they gravitated to the lounge.

Scott was ever at the desk with holo screens full of quarterly budget reports, because their biggest brother did stock market numbers for LEISURE, apparently. Virgil was playing, as usual, but the music was slowly fading to a halt. Alan was gaming, or pretending to be while napping, his VR goggles on. Kayo was going through some specs, half leaning on the couch cushions. Even John was in a quiet lull up in orbit, his hologram just bobbing at the comms unit, hanging out with everybody, but not really a part of any conversation.

That left Gordon scralling lazily through newsreels. The sudden yelp sent Alan tumbling on the floor and Scott at least half an inch closer to a cardiac arrest under thirty. A keen observer would have noticed Kayo reaching for a knife in the ankle holster. The piano music keened on an abrupt note and stopped. Several pairs of VERY unamused eyes stared Gordon down.

The Fish was on his feet already, bursting with excitement, sending the news holo to the center of the lounge.

"Did you guys know Fischler has a brother?!?!"

The assorted grumps and groans across the lounge indicated that they not only didn't know, but weren't in the least thrilled by that information.

Only John and Kayo shared a quiet look, because OF COURSE they would know.

Gordon surveyed the lounge in triumph, setting the stage for a punchline.

"He has a brother and he's getting married!"

"Who, Fischler?"

Alan was still scrambling up from his hardwood landing and making a show of rubbing an ouchie. Scott at least looked ready to switch gears to the full "hurt brother!" mode. Gordon was not deterred.

"No, dummy, not Fischer! His brother is getting married!"

"And that's any of our business how?"

Alan was still not ready to relinquish attention from his boo-boo. Not with so many big brothers in attendance. But John, Kayo and Virgil were already sharing concerned LOOKS.

Any widely publicized event with cameras rolling and hundreds in attendance, involving Fischler, could potentially turn into a showcase of his latest "invention", or ten. Which would mean potential casualties and work for IR. They would need to be on the look-out and on standby. Scott waved at the comm to get the volume up.

The holo displayed a close pic of a younger and significantly more polished version of Langstrom Fischler, hair sleecked back, but a weaselly smile just a tad on the manic side.

The celebrity news anchor was gushing about a "dashing fresh face on the World Senate, a philanthropist and patron of innovation, a devoted brother and a consummate athlete, setting off to be a force of a positive change in the world" and "his drop dead gorgeous fiancée, a once Miss Brazil runner-up, who dedicated herself to the selfless life of service, decorated for honor and courage".

The picture on the screen changed to an official GDF snapshot of a tall young brunette in dress blues. The insignia on the collar indicated the rank of Captain and breastplanks - several high ranking awards for valor. The picture switched to a series of candid paparazzi snaps of the "happy couple".

The show host droned on with one corny cliche after another about the "match made of dreams" and a " high profile dream wedding" scheduled to take place on a cozy remote island.

Gordon interrupted the stream of saccharine platitudes:

"Huh? How come we're not invited? Scott, you know like everyone in the World Senate!"

His voice was drowned out by the deafening snap of the metal stylus, broken in Scott's fingers. The sound of the desk chair hitting the floor, as Scott stood up and all but ran from the lounge, was even louder.

"Huh?!"

Gordon, yet again, surmised the bewilderment of everyone present.

Jade eyes squinted a fraction as Kayo watched Scott's outburst and hasty retreat.

Virgil was half out to follow Scott, when a ping came through on Gordon's comm. The sign flashed pink.

"Yay! Looks like I'm going after all! Penny needs a plus one! John, can I borrow your tax?!"

John half waved his brother off, brows furrowed and hands already flying over invisible files, when another pink ping came through. It was Kayo's turn for a "Huh?" moment.

"Looks like Penny needs a plus two, as well. I'm invited".

That deflated Gordon's initial excitement enough to notice Virgil leaving in the general direction of Dad's office, where Scott had locked himself.

Before Virgil reached the door to try and reason with big brother to talk about... whatever that was, John sent two files to his comm.

One - a picture they all saw a hundred times on Dad's desk back in Kansas, but it didn't compute out of context. Scott's Airgroup Wing after a training flight. All hugging and laughing, still in flightsuits. Scott and the girl from the news today - Fischler Jr.'s fiancée - at the center.

The other Virgil never saw before. It would figure since it was a screenshot from, what he recognized with some dread, was Dad's old phone. There was a picture sent to a private chat with Dad of the same girl, in a sundress, and Scott in a polo shirt, apparently both on leave. An almost ten years younger Scott was smiling like he could power up a sun. The message to Dad read "SHE SAID YES!!!".

The date of the message indicated about a month and a half before Scott's mission to Bereznik.

Virgil sank to the floor, leaning on the wall, never going through with the knock on the locked office door.

***

It was such an unbelievable cliché it felt surreal. The thunderstorm, the lightning, the lash of downpour across his face. Then again, it was fitting, as his world was going crashing down around him. Yet again.

There was nothing surreal about the hard edges of Mom's ring she just gave him back.

For about six weeks he was the happiest man alive. Dad's IR project was well underway, and he was to share that dream not only with Dad and brothers, but with the love of his life. He should have known better...

The words were real too - hard and ruthless. About Dad yanking his leash, and expecting nothing but dutiful following in his footsteps and his vision, concealed by his looming shadow, and giving up what they both dreamed about and worked so hard for - test flights, command ranks, career in service.

The echo came back to him often, in one dark hour or another, after his world shattered to pieces yet another time.

Dad voiced his reservations clearly, but did agree to give him Mom's ring. "When you know, you know". Wasn't it how he and Mom got married?

It WAS too soon, they WERE too young, and frateenization within a unit WAS an issue, but with IR lifting off that wasn't to be a problem, once he told her the full scale of the classified project. He should have known better...

He last remembered the ring yanked off his neck with the dogtags chain by a smirking Berezniki guard.

He put up a hell of a fight for that and was beaten within an inch of his life. The first time.

Next time he found it, inexplicably, in Dad's safe on the island, after the search for Zero-X was called off. He meant to ask Kyrano, as he wasn't conscious or coherent enough for the extraction op, or for months after, but the man never returned his calls anymore, sending in a resignation after half a year of following leads on the Hood.

There wasn't much room in his mind or hours in his days to give it more thought for years after. Or more pieces for his heart to break into. He should have known better.

And now she was getting married. To someone bright and promising, changing the world for the better, who wasn't him. The story of his life!

He should have known better as well.

The sound of glass shattering against the wall and a visceral scream finally sent Virgil in, wild-eyed, breaking past the lock.

***

John lifted an eyebrow in a perfect quizzical arch, putting the tablet down, as the "wedding party" poured, or rather, limped into the lounge.

Gordon's tuxedo sleeve was torn clear off, his bowtie, undone, served as a makeshift tourniquet. Parker sported cuts, bruises and a glorious shiner. Penelope's elaborate updo was in disarray, one heel of a golden pump broken. Kayo's slip dress hem was torn, exposing a garter holster.

As John hurried to the kitchen for the first aid kit, he heard her hiss something to the effect of "You should have seen the other guys".

The villa was quiet. Grandma had Alan on the mainland for the weekend. Virgil chased Scott up the volcano. There was a good chance biggest brother and his stormy mood was best quarantined at the Round House for the rest of the day.

John was waiting in the lounge for the fallout, one way or another. He wasn't quite prepared for the sight on display, handing out ice packs.

Gordon hissed too and bit off a curse, as John set about cleaning the bullet graze on his arm.

"Pen, do all your friends whip out a standard issue gun at the altar and read the groom Miranda rights instead of vows?"

Lady Penelope was busy trying to look poised while breaking the second heel off a designer pump, to make them even.

"It was a deep undercover mission to round up a drug and slave trafficking ring. A destination wedding was a most fortunate venue for the occasion."

Kayo looked up from the kitchen isle at that, not pausing to stop extracting a considerable arsenal of throw-knives from her bodice.

"Looks like the Fischler brothers were bankrolled by mafia. The crazy inventions AND the World Senate election. In exchange for some... perks."

Kayo snorted and went back to her inventory of weapons.

Gordon perked up as the anesthetic cream kicked in and forgot to NOT wave the injured hand around to assist his narrative.

"It was actually kinda cool! The bride barked out "Hands up!" instead of "I do"! The bridesmaids all dropped their bouquets and brandished guns. The bridal party were all Organized Crime and Counterterrorism. Well, and us... A little  heads up wouldn't have hurt, Penny. Then all hell broke loose. Rose petals and confetti everywhere. You should have seen Fischler's face!"

Gordon was nearly flailing with excitement, so John's hands pushed him mildly back into the seat. Turquoise eyes found Penelope's line of sight, studiously avoiding Kayo:

"So... no wedding?"

"No wedding indeed."

Up on the Tracy Volcano Virgil's comm vibrated, switched to silent mode hours ago. John's message read "No wedding."

Virgil exhaled a sigh, but didn't yet know how to break the subject with a brother, seated next to him on the sun-warmed boulder, overlooking the ocean. Blue eyes were fixed on a point far away in the distance, or maybe far away in the past, Scott still wouldn't talk about.