#Top Cars Marketing Agency

[ipopi-ads]

Benefits of Digital Marketing for Automotive Businesses 

Digital marketing plays a very vital role in the automotive industry. The automotive industry often uses digital ads and has reached a new height in terms of success. In a nutshell, this can be said to be a meaningful process which is undeniably an integral part of a healthy business process.

For B2B automotive businesses to succeed, digital marketing is essential. 

For Effective and Efficient Digital Marketing Services and for Social Media Marketing Services, Visit Us!

Ipopi Ads – # 1 Digital Marketing Company in Mysore. 

Sales are increased as a result of effective brand building. It helps to Boost Sales and Build Brands.

The B2B automotive sector should ultimately execute an effective Omnichannel Strategy for greater market penetration.

The automotive industry is a very fast growing industry. It experienced a lot of technological changes, which forced it to adopt the use of digital marketing to stay competitive in this rapidly evolving market.

We are the No 1 Digital Marketing Agencies in Mysore. We are helping the Automotive Industries in their Digital Marketing Presence.

Ipopi Ads helps in providing Digital Marketing Strategies for Car Dealers In India to get more number of Customers and also helps in Better Conversions and Sales.

Automotive Industries is a leader in innovation, technology and customer service. This puts the focus on digital marketing, where the customers can get access to new features and product availability.

Digital Marketing is the process of integrating all digital media channels in order to create, maintain and manage customer interaction through the use of technology. The focus on Digital Marketing is to have a strong understanding of digital marketing and its approaches to consumer engagement.

Ipopi ads – #1 Social Media Marketing Company in Mysore.  

The benefits of digital marketing for the automotive industry include: –

Online reputation management can be enhanced through digital marketing.

Brand loyalty can be maintained through constant engagement on social media.

Digital marketing can help you dominate search engine results.

Keeping Customers engaged on social media helps brands to Build Customer Loyalty.

You can measure the results and outcomes of your digital marketing campaigns.

Through social media, digital marketing identifies potential influencers in the automobile industry.

Digital marketing helps to enhance online reputation management. 

Constant customer engagement on social media helps to retain brand loyalty.

Digital marketing can help you dominate search engine results. Interested buyers search for potential automobile brands online using generic keywords.

From promoting content, Posting and Handling Social Media pages,  Ipopi Ads can help you in digital marketing for businesses.

“ Ipopi Ads  in Mysore are helping Automotive Brands like – KIA, Hyundai, Volkswagen, BMW, Benz, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and TVS Brands in Digital Marketing”.  

We will help your business grow by making you stand out from the crowd. We take the time to understand your business, objectives and goals before we set up anything. This helps us create a special strategy designed to match your needs that is dedicated to your success.

Ipopi ads – Top Digital Marketing Agency in Mysore.

We at Ipopi Ads – # 1 Digital Marketing Company in India are riding on the Digital Marketing swell and working with all our clients to help them work their Digital presence on a full scale.

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How Important Is Digital Marketing in the Automotive Industry?

Although most vehicle purchases are still carried out in dealerships, the research that consumers conduct online beforehand is growing.

There is a vast amount of information online about products, including product specifications and customer reviews as well as comparisons between similar items from different manufacturers.

Consumers are exposed to marketing content throughout their buying process, and this exposure can impact the decisions they make before visiting a dealership.

Digital Marketing for the Automotive Industry enables business owners to easily promote their products and services, enabling them to be more competitive in the business.  

Ipopi Ads provide Digital Marketing Strategies for Car Dealerships in India.

Why is Digital Marketing essential for the automotive industry?

Digital marketing is essential for automotive industries, as it allows them to keep up with the competition and stand apart from others. Ensure your branding extends to every aspect of your business.

The use of digital media is increasing over recent years. Consumers are more dependent on the internet when it comes to researching and purchasing products.

Though the actual purchases and sales happen in dealerships, the research is mostly done on the internet. 

Digital marketing is a valuable tool in the automotive industry. It helps in generating new leads, enhancing and improving customer retention, brand recognition and value, as well as increasing purchases. Digital marketing gets the attention of customers and increases sales for companies in the auto industry.

Automotive Industries is a leader in innovation, technology and customer service. This puts the focus on digital marketing, where the customers can get access to new features and product availability.

Successful Digital Marketing & Effective Brand Building Helps in Greater Visibility, Enhancing Brand Awareness, Brand Differentiation, Increasing Engagement, Customer Loyalty, and Conversion Value and Product Value.

Ipopi ads – Best Digital Marketing Company in Mysore. 

[reasonsforhope]

"The man who has called climate change a “hoax” also can be expected to wreak havoc on federal agencies central to understanding, and combating, climate change. But plenty of climate action would be very difficult for a second Trump administration to unravel, and the 47th president won’t be able to stop the inevitable economy-wide shift from fossil fuels to renewables. 

“This is bad for the climate, full stop,” said Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at the Columbia Business School. “That said, this will be yet another wall that never gets built. Fundamental market forces are at play.”

A core irony of climate change is that markets incentivized the wide-scale burning of fossil fuels beginning in the Industrial Revolution, creating the mess humanity is mired in, and now those markets are driving a renewables revolution that will help fix it. Coal, oil, and gas are commodities whose prices fluctuate. As natural resources that humans pull from the ground, there’s really no improving on them — engineers can’t engineer new versions of coal. 

By contrast, solar panels, wind turbines, and appliances like induction stoves only get better — more efficient and cheaper — with time. Energy experts believe solar power, the price of which fell 90 percent between 2010 and 2020, will continue to proliferate across the landscape. (Last year, the United States added three times as much solar capacity as natural gas.) Heat pumps now outsell gas furnaces in the U.S., due in part to government incentives. Last year, Maine announced it had reached its goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps two years ahead of schedule, in part thanks to state rebates. So if the Trump administration cut off the funding for heat pumps that the IRA provides, states could pick up the slack. 

Local utilities are also finding novel ways to use heat pumps. Over in Massachusetts, for example, the utility Eversource Energy is experimenting with “networked geothermal,” in which the homes within a given neighborhood tap into water pumped from underground. Heat pumps use that water to heat or cool a space, which is vastly more efficient than burning natural gas. Eversource and two dozen other utilities, representing about half of the country’s natural gas customers, have formed a coalition to deploy more networked geothermal systems.

Beyond being more efficient, green tech is simply cheaper to adopt. Consider Texas, which long ago divorced its electrical grid from the national grid so it could skirt federal regulation. The Lone Star State is the nation’s biggest oil and gas producer, but it gets 40 percent of its total energy from carbon-free sources. “Texas has the most solar and wind of any state, not because Republicans in Texas love renewables, but because it’s the cheapest form of electricity there,” said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, a climate research nonprofit. The next top three states for producing wind power — Iowa, Oklahoma, and Kansas — are red, too.

State regulators are also pressuring utilities to slash emissions, further driving the adoption of wind and solar power. As part of California’s goal of decarbonizing its power by 2045, the state increased battery storage by 757 percent between 2019 and 2023. Even electric cars and electric school buses can provide backup power for the grid. That allows utilities to load up on bountiful solar energy during the day, then drain those batteries at night — essential for weaning off fossil fuel power plants. Trump could slap tariffs on imported solar panels and thereby increase their price, but that would likely boost domestic manufacturing of those panels, helping the fledgling photovoltaic manufacturing industry in red states like Georgia and Texas.

The irony of Biden’s signature climate bill is states that overwhelmingly support Trump are some of the largest recipients of its funding. That means tampering with the IRA could land a Trump administration in political peril even with Republican control of the Senate, if not Congress. In addition to providing incentives to households (last year alone, 3.4 million American families claimed more than $8 billion in tax credits for home energy improvements), the legislation has so far resulted in $150 billion of new investment in the green economy since it was passed in 2022, boosting the manufacturing of technologies like batteries and solar panels. According to Atlas Public Policy, a research group, that could eventually create 160,000 jobs. “Something like 66 percent of all of the spending in the IRA has gone to red states,” Hausfather said. “There certainly is a contingency in the Republican party now that’s going to support keeping some of those subsidies around.”

Before Biden’s climate legislation passed, much more progress was happening at a state and local level. New York, for instance, set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 40 percent by 2030, and 85 percent by 2050. Colorado, too, is aiming to slash emissions by at least 90 percent by 2050. The automaker Stellantis has signed an agreement with the state of California promising to meet the state’s zero-emissions vehicle mandate even if a judicial or federal action overturns it. It then sells those same cars in other states. 

“State governments are going to be the clearest counterbalance to the direction that Donald Trump will take the country on environmental policy,” said Thad Kousser, co-director of the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research at the University of California, San Diego. “California and the states that ally with it are going to try to adhere to tighter standards if the Trump administration lowers national standards.”

[Note: One of the obscure but great things about how emissions regulations/markets work in the US is that automakers generally all follow California's emissions standards, and those standards are substantially higher than federal standards. Source]

Last week, 62 percent of Washington state voters soundly rejected a ballot initiative seeking to repeal a landmark law that raised funds to fight climate change. “Donald Trump’s going to learn something that our opponents in our initiative battle learned: Once people have a benefit, you can’t take it away,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee said in a press call Friday. “He is going to lose in his efforts to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, because governors, mayors of both parties, are going to say, ‘This belongs to me, and you’re not going to get your grubby hands on it.’”

Even without federal funding, states regularly embark on their own large-scale projects to adapt to climate change. California voters, for instance, just overwhelmingly approved a $10 billion bond to fund water, climate, and wildfire prevention projects. “That will be an example,” said Saharnaz Mirzazad, executive director of the U.S. branch of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. “You can use that on a state level or local level to have [more of] these types of bonds. You can help build some infrastructure that is more resilient.”

Urban areas, too, have been major drivers of climate action: In 2021, 130 U.S. cities signed a U.N.-backed pledge to accelerate their decarbonization. “Having an unsupportive federal government, to say the least, will be not helpful,” said David Miller, managing director at the Centre for Urban Climate Policy and Economy at C40, a global network of mayors fighting climate change. “It doesn’t mean at all that climate action will stop. It won’t, and we’ve already seen that twice in recent U.S. history, when Republican administrations pulled out of international agreements. Cities step to the fore.”

And not in isolation, because mayors talk: Cities share information about how to write legislation, such as laws that reduce carbon emissions in buildings and ensure that new developments are connected to public transportation. They transform their food systems to grow more crops locally, providing jobs and reducing emissions associated with shipping produce from afar. “If anything,” Miller said, “having to push against an administration, like that we imagine is coming, will redouble the efforts to push at the local level.” 

Federal funding — like how the U.S. Forest Service has been handing out $1.5 billion for planting trees in urban areas, made possible by the IRA — might dry up for many local projects, but city governments, community groups, and philanthropies will still be there. “You picture a web, and we’re taking scissors or a machete or something, and chopping one part of that web out,” said Elizabeth Sawin, the director of the Multisolving Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes climate solutions. “There’s this resilience of having all these layers of partners.”

All told, climate progress has been unfolding on so many fronts for so many years — often without enough support from the federal government — that it will persist regardless of who occupies the White House. “This too shall pass, and hopefully we will be in a more favorable policy environment in four years,” Hausfather said. “In the meantime, we’ll have to keep trying to make clean energy cheap and hope that it wins on its merits.”"

-via Grist, November 11, 2024. A timely reminder.

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Hello! I hope you're doing well and I'd like to thank you for being the rad trans uncle of Tumblr. I'm in a fuckin' crimson state that's quite unfriendly to trans people and I'm afraid I won't be able to leave until 2028 at the earliest. Might I ask if there's anything you'd recommend doing? Anywho, I hope the leaves were great where you are! Peace!

It's been weird, but I'm glad to be here. :) As for recommendations, well, while you are not in a great place for trans rights, thinking ahead towards a move a few years down the road *is* good. Stuff you should be considering:

Get your finances in order.

Start with making a budget (I like the tool YNAB), tracking your habits, and looking for places to reduce spending. I know that can mean squeezing blood from a stone, but even saving up gas money for a cross-country trip can move up your moving timeline.

You also want to start planning your moving expenses. For example, buying boxes, using a moving service, cost to service your car, calming meds for your pets, etc. Just make a spreadsheet and keep adding as you think of things. Have a rolling total and track against your savings.

Lastly, get your credit score in order. A free service like Credit Karma is fine, but as you get closer to having to apply for rent or a mortgage, sign up with each credit agency and pull your report. Get caught up on any delinquencies asap and do not miss any payments from now until you are moved - missed payments take the longest of ANYTHING to fall off your score.

If you've changed your legal name, make sure it matches with all the credit bureaus. If you feel responsible with credit, ask for a credit line increase every 6 months - that will help with your debt ratio if you are currently trying to pay down a balance. Plan a credit score timeline with a hard stop at least 2 months before you apply for a loan/rent -- after that, no more making any big purchases or applying for new cards. Try to have no more of 10% of your total credit line actually on your cards by the end of your timeline. Aka, if your line of credit is $1,000, you only want $100 on the cards.

2. Start paring down your stuff

Gt crafty hobbies? Stop adding to your stash. Stop it. Start getting rid of broken things, clothes that don't fit, stuff you don't see yourself using, or stuff that is cheaper to sell & buy at your new place, rather than pay to move. If this all feels hard, put the items you're questioning in a box now, and then open it next year and see how you feel. Don't buy anything you wouldn't want to move.

3. Start your research

Make lists of towns that look promising. See how their local government works. Check the local reddits and facebook groups to get the vibes. Make lists of "must haves" and "nice to haves" at the state, city, neighborhood, and even house level. Get an idea for what the cost of living will be in your new place. Decide what your deal-breakers will be.

4. Work on your job skills

Four years is a lot of time to improve yourself for a good salary hike. It's a lot of time to get marketable for remote jobs, which will broaden your opportunities to live where you want. If remote work interests you, start looking at job listings and note the requirements. Make a plan to be qualified within 3 years.

5. Make a bucket list of things to do in your current state

There must be some good things about your state. There were in mine. Afford yourself grace and do some fun things that you might not have the chance to do again when you move. Hang out especially with local friends and family you care about.

6. Keep an eye on what's happening wrt trans rights.

Follow trans pundits and your local trans rights orgs. Get in the habit of learning what's going down in your municipality, down to the school board level. Be prepared to have to adjust your moving timeline if shit hits the fan.

7. Stay on top of your healthcare and legal stuff

No passport yet? Apply now. Forgetful about getting your HRT renewed? Set reminders and work hard to stay on top of everything. As you get closer to moving, research healthcare options in your new home and get appointments lined up asap.

8. If you're selling & buying a house, be prepared for it to take nearly a year

Seriously, it can take forever for everything to work out. Work with realtors in your new state who specialize in remote sales & relocations. Start repairing your current place by year 3 and start packing months in advance of the final move.

tldr; Treat the next 4 years like you're at college and your degree is Getting the Hell Outta Dodge. Plan as much as you can with to-do lists and spreadsheets, with some kind of monthly goal at first, then weekly and daily goals as your move approaches. It can feel overwhelming, but knowing *now* that you are going to move means you can plan as much as possible and reduce the amount of panic-decisions.

Good luck!

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

Boston Bears: Fake Out - Rugby Player! Ari Levinson x Reader (Part 1)

A/N: Just a quick reminder that the reader from Off-Limits has now become an OFC called Elena and Tommi is now our reader!

Word Count: 5.8k words

Warnings: Language! Mention of Masterbation! Angst! Cheating! Brief SMUT! 18+ ONLY! Minors DNI!

Rugby Explained

Dividers by Me!

Fake Out Series Masterlist /Boston Bears Masterlist / Masterlist

Chapter 1

A/N: Just a quick reminder that the reader from Off-Limits has now become an OFC called Elena and Tommi is now our reader!

It was Saturday morning and you were at work trying not to pull your hair out. Today was supposed to be your day off, one that you desperately needed. You were supposed to be having a long lie-in, cuddled up to Dan your gorgeous fiancé, then you were supposed to go to a market together to see if you could find some cute decorations for your wedding reception.

But instead one of your clients had made a minor PR hiccup which caused them to spiral and panic. Your boss had called you and a couple of others in to talk them down from making a statement about something barely anyone knew about. 

“Look right now the news is only circulating in one small pocket of the internet” you sighed running your hand through your hair as you leant back in your chair “Very few people know, if you made a statement to your millions of followers, millions of people will know about it and then the gossip mags will sink their fangs into it and the even more people will know and you can kiss any deals goodbye”

Your client shook his head “I don’t care there’s a disgusting rumour going around about me! I need to shut it down!” He argued.

“Y/N is right,” your boss said from her seat at the head of the conference table “We understand that you’re anxious about this, so we’ll do our best to squash it on the down-low and keep monitoring the situation so if the time does arise when a statement is needed we’ll be ready”

The client sighed “You swear?” 

“There’s a reason we’re the best PR agency in the state” your boss promised. 

“Fine, I’ll hold off” he sighed before ending the Zoom call.

You slumped down in your seat letting out a long sigh “Why is it the men that cause us the most issues?” You muttered as you rubbed your forehead tiredly. 

“Because they’re less evolved” your boss sighed as she got up from her seat “Look you’ve been working so hard recently, on top of planning your wedding so why don’t you head home” 

She wasn’t wrong, the summer was a busy time in the PR world. It was like everyone decided to go crazy over the summer months and there were more messes to tidy up than normal. This year it seemed to bleed into September too, much to your annoyance. You had spent any time off you had trying to plan for your wedding, even with a wedding planner it was more stressful than you thought it would be.

“Are you sure? I’m happy to help out” you said even if the idea of going home and having your afternoon back sounded incredible. 

You probably wouldn’t go to the market now but you could relax, have a bath, and spend some quality time with Dan. God knows it had been a while, both of you too busy or tired to do more than relaxing on the couch together.

“Yeah we can handle the rest now, you deserve the break after talking him down, get on home” she smiled patting you on the shoulder.

“Well I can’t argue with that, I’ll see you Monday” you smiled as you got up and shouldered your bag.

You glanced at the time as you got in your car, it was lunchtime so you decided to grab some bagels from your and Dan's favourite bakery. You didn’t text Dan, wanting to surprise him, and made your way home.

As you opened the door you heard a strange noise. You paused waiting to hear it again, you heard it almost immediately. You realised with a start that it sounded like moaning. 

You silently crept through the apartment following the noise, which was getting louder and louder. You followed it to your bedroom door which was ever so slightly open. You peered inside but instantly regretted it. Because inside you saw Dan and your wedding planner naked in bed, getting busy, getting very intimate. 

“Oh god don’t stop” she moaned as she wrapped her leg around his waist.

“Fuck you feel so good, I’ll never get enough of you” Dan groaned as he thrusted deep with far more passion than you’d ever seen.

You stumbled back as your world crashed down around you. You turned on your heel and rushed back out of the apartment and to your car. You went into autopilot mode as you drove away, only snapping out of it when you pulled up outside of Elena’s old apartment remembering she didn’t live here anymore. She moved back to Boston in the spring after a horrific incident with her ex Bryce Langley.

You slumped back in your car seat as your mind began to replay everything. This wasn’t a one-time thing, they’d clearly been doing this for a while now. Maybe since you hired her over a year ago. Everything suddenly made sense, the way Dan always seemed to be busy, how he seemed to be dragging his feet with the wedding planning.

How could you have been so blind?

You didn’t know what to do. You knew that if you confronted him he would end up talking you around. He promised he wouldn’t do it again and you’d want to believe him. You would end up married to a man who would willingly cheat. 

You glanced over to the passenger seat where your bag and bagels you brought were. Your blood boiled as you looked at the bagel you got for him. You had done a nice thing, you got his favourite bagel and he cheated. You snatched his bagel and stormed out of your car to a nearby trash can, throwing it away with force. 

That act alone made you feel better. You realised you just needed to cut ties. No confrontation, which was something you absolutely hated to begin with so avoiding it was perfect. You just needed to leave and get as far away as possible. 

Climbing back into your car you started planning. Your parents had moved to the UK so you couldn’t just up and leave to them. You didn’t have any close friends in LA anymore, not any that you could live with until you got yourself somewhere new to live.

You glanced up at Elena’s old apartment, she was the only friend you wanted to see right now. She was like your sister. The only reason you hadn’t already called her was because you knew the Boston Bears were playing today and she was busy as their medic. 

You knew what you needed to do. You grabbed your phone and started searching for flights to Boston. The earliest you could find was tomorrow night at 10 pm that stopped in Denver meaning you wouldn’t get into Boston until 10 am on Monday. It wasn’t ideal but it worked out pretty nicely, you could sleep the entire flight and while Dan went out with his mates you could pack up as many of your belongings as possible.

The next thing you needed to do was quit your job. You needed a clean break from LA, you didn’t want anything to draw you back or tie you to this city. So you sent an email to your boss, you didn’t tell her you were leaving because you had been cheated on. You said that you had a family emergency that meant you had to go back to the east coast and you were handing in your notice effective immediately. You made sure to schedule the email to be sent on Sunday evening just in case she reached out to Dan. 

Soon enough everything was planned and ready to go. You would call Elena tomorrow during her day off to warn her, then you’d pack and get the hell out of LA for good. You slumped back into your seat feeling more exhausted than ever. Your stomach growled so you grabbed your bagel and took a bite trying to ignore how it now felt tainted with betrayal.

You spent the rest of the day alone trying to keep yourself busy until the time you were originally supposed to return home. The last thing you wanted was to intrude on them again. You just hoped that Dan changed the sheets.

You were so exhausted that you got Chinese takeout on your way home. As you walked in you made sure to make a racket just to be safe, dropping your keys and bag down by the door. Thankfully Dan was alone this time, sat reclining back on the couch.

“Hey, how was work?” He asked walking over and pressing a kiss to your cheek.

You had to fight the urge to recoil away in disgust. You didn’t know and didn’t want to know where those lips had been.

“Exhausting but we’ve got it under control now” you sighed “I got us Chinese”

“Oh nice did you get spare ribs?” He asked eagerly.

“Uh no sorry I forgot but I got you chow mein” You lied, you knew they were his favourite and you deserved to be a little spiteful.

“No worries” Dan shrugged as he took his food and walked back over to the couch.

You resisted the urge to heave out a heavy sigh as you grabbed your food and moved to join him. Sitting down on the opposite side of the couch.

The two of you ate in silence, the only noise coming from the TV which was playing some program that Dan liked but you didn’t care for. Normally you’d sit and read your book but you were too exhausted. 

When you decided to call it a night you walked into the bedroom to find the bed made but still the same sheets as before. Your body shuddered at the thought of sleeping there where they had gotten busy. You had no choice though, so to make it more bearable you decided to sleep in leggings and a long-sleeved tee.

When Dan joined you, you pretended to be asleep. Trying not to flinch when he kissed your shoulder. You tried to fall asleep but couldn’t, you stared up at the ceiling and listened to Dan’s snores which never irritated you before but now you wanted to smother him. 

You looked over at him and saw him in a completely different light. You wondered how you ended up in this position, and whether there was something you could have done. You wondered whether than man you considered the love of your life ever loved you.

Ari woke with a long sigh. He should be feeling properly rested, he’d had all of Sunday to recover from the match but instead of relaxing, he’d flown to and from New York to deal with something. He was exhausted, the last thing he wanted to do was go to training. A good portion of the day would be going back through the game on Saturday but that didn’t help Ari since he got sent off with a yellow card. He was expecting another chewing out from the coaches for that. 

He let out a long yawn before sitting up, he checked his phone relieved to see no missed calls. He then stood up and grabbed some boxers to slip on, he ran hot so often slept in the nude but didn’t want to give any neighbours a show. He walked out of his bedroom and towards his kitchen to grab himself a much-needed coffee. 

As he drank his coffee he made himself a quick breakfast before sitting down in front of his laptop. He had a few things he wanted to search up and look into before he had to make his way to training. 

Soon enough he got dressed and made his way to the training centre. He was one of the last to arrive, his nose buried in his phone as he walked into the media room finding a seat near the back. 

“Look all I’m saying is that girls who love NFL players should love us too! More so! We don’t need a helmet or padding” Johnny exclaimed as he leaned back in his chair spinning side to side. 

“Maybe but it is two completely different sports, they get more funding than we do, they’re like gods” Jensen pointed out. 

“Minor gods are still sexy” Johnny smirked “Don’t you think so Levs?” 

Ari looked up from his phone “huh?” he hummed.

“That us minor sports gods deserve the girls just as much as the regular gods” Johnny repeated. 

Ari just shrugged “Maybe they just didn’t like you storm” he said before returning his attention back to what he was doing. 

“I beg to differ” Johnny scoffed. 

“Hey, you okay?” Chris said as he sat down in the seat next to Ari. 

Ari nodded as he put away his phone, out of sight “Yeah, just tired” he said.

Chris smirked “Celebrated too much yesterday?” as he leaned in to whisper.

“Yeah something like that” Ari said clearing his throat. 

Thankfully the conversation died out as the coaching team walked in ready to start the game review. Ari reclined back in his chair ready to relive Saturday, not that he particularly wanted to. 

Ari kept pretty quiet as the coaching team ran through each passage of play, highlighting all the good moments and moments where something went wrong. His fists clenched when it got to the moment when he got his yellow card. It was a ridiculous yellow, the opposition got away with the exact same thing he did. 

“We need to remember not to argue with the ref, leave it to the captain to deal with,” Andy said, his arms crossed as he surveyed the room. 

Ari tried his hardest not to huff in annoyance. Thankfully they didn’t linger on it too much longer. They then moved on to watching clips of the Washington Wolves play, they were the team they were facing next week. The coaching team ran through the different clips highlighting the weaknesses the Bears could exploit. 

“Right, that’s it for now, get yourselves into the gym” Head Coach Rogers said “We’ll call you in for your 1 to 1 reviews, Levinson we’re gonna start with you”

Ari made an effort to keep his face straight as he nodded, walking over to go join the coaching staff, all of them sitting down at a small table.

“Have a good day off Levinson? Get up to much” Coach Rogers asked as he tapped on his laptop. 

“Uh yeah,” Ari muttered in response.

Coach Rogers arched a brow, exchanging a glance with Andy before returning his attention back to his laptop “How do you think you played on Saturday?”

“Pretty good, I didn’t miss any tackles, won a few turnovers” Ari shrugged.

“And the yellow card?” Andy asked.

“Unfair, the other team got away with it the entire match” Ari huffed shaking his head as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Well we’ll get to that, but first let’s look at this” Coach Rogers said as he turned the laptop so Ari could see the screen.

They spend the next 20 minutes going over different passages in play where Ari made an impact or could have made more of one. They went over the yellow card in more detail than Ari would have liked.

“Look Ari” Coach Rogers sighed “you were right that you shouldn’t have been penalised for the same act that our opposition got away with, but that’s not why you got the yellow, you got the card because you argued with the ref” 

“But-“ Ari went to argue, he wanted to explain that Chris wasn’t nearby to argue for him.

“No,” Coach Rogers said holding up his hand to silence him “You should have let Evans deal with it, he’s the captain it’s his job to talk to the ref, not you”

Ari shook his head. He knew that Coach Rogers was right, he shouldn’t have argued but sometimes his temper got the better of him.

“Look Ari” Coach Rogers sighed “you want to make the National Team don’t you, get called up for the World Cup next year” 

“That’s right sir” Ari nodded, it was something he dreamed of ever since he first picked up a rugby ball, but had been overlooked every time.

“Well I’m good friends with the new head coach, Sam Wilson, he’s even asked me for my opinion on a few players” Coach Rogers continued.

“Right,” Ari said sitting to attention, this might be his best chance at finally getting the call-up. 

“You’re a great player Levinson, it’s criminal that you haven’t been called up yet,” Coach Rogers told him, Andy and the other coaching staff nodding in agreement.

“Thank you sir, that means a lot coming from you,” Ari said gratefully, Coach Rogers had been one of the best players in the league back in his day. He led the Boston Bears to multiple championship wins. 

“Coach Wilson is interested but not sold yet, he doesn’t like players that are too much of a wildcard, players he can’t trust, players that get sent off for dissent” Coach Rogers explained with a pointed look. 

Ari felt his shoulders deflate “So I have no chance is what you’re saying”

“No, but you need to sort this sort of behaviour out, he’s going to be watching the entire season on and off the pitch so you need to show him that he can trust you,” Coach Rogers told him, Ari failed to hold back a scoff as he shook his head “Ari you are a great player, you just need to keep your cool more”

“Well that’s easier said than done when the ref is as blind as a bat” Ari snapped his fists clenched as his anger got the better of him again.

To his credit, Coach Rogers didn’t react “It can be done, we’ll help you on the pitch but it’ll be up to you off the pitch” he continued.

“How? What could I possibly do?” Ari huffed.

“I leave that to you to sort out,” Coach Rogers said “We want to see you in the Team USA jersey as much as you do”

“Sure” Ari muttered as he shook his head.

“Levinson is everything okay?” Coach Rogers questioned with an arched brow “Everything at home?” 

Ari felt his defences go up all of a sudden “Perfect” he stated “Can I go to training now or is there more to say on how I won’t represent my country?”

Once again Coach Rogers didn’t react, nothing more than clenched his jaw “No” he said gesturing for Ari to leave. 

Ari did exactly that, storming out of the media room. The door slammed loudly behind him. He couldn’t wait to get to the weight room where he could work through his frustrations which were only getting worse. 

He was so caught up in his anger that he wasn’t really looking where he was going. He turned a corner and ran straight into someone. He looked down to see a woman he didn’t recognise, her hair up in a messy bun, and baggy clothes. She certainly didn’t work here, and only staff and players were allowed in the building.

She stuttered an apology but Ari’s anger and frustration that had been simmering since the match on Saturday boiled over “Who the hell are you? You know you can’t be back here? What are you a fan desperate for an autograph or media desperate for a scoop?” He demanded.

The woman stuttered slightly before completely breaking down in tears. Ari scoffed in frustration and moved to step around her, he’d have to go find security to deal with this. 

He’d just stepped around her when he heard someone speak up behind him “Y/N? What on earth are you doing here?” Elena said.

Ari turned around and saw Chris and Elena stood there. Elena had a look of shock on her face, while Chris was frowning at Ari. He then glanced back down at the woman beside him who was sobbing. It took him a moment but he then recognised you. You were the bombshell that had him by the balls from the moment he met you back in late April. 

“What the fuck Levinson” Chris demanded as Elena rushed over and hugged you. 

“I- I didn’t-“ Ari stuttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

“What's wrong? Why on earth are you here?” Elena asked you softly.

“I’m sorry I meant to call yesterday but I forgot and- and-“ you stuttered before breaking down into sobs again. 

“Hey, hey, hey it’s okay let’s get you out of here” Elena said shooting a glare up at Ari before wrapping an arm around you and leading you away.

Chris watched as Elena took you away and out of sight before turning back to Ari “What the hell man? Why’d you yell at her? Why’d you upset her like that?” Chris demanded.

Ari shook his head unable to think of a reason “I didn’t even recognise her” he muttered “I thought she was a crazed fan or something”

“You shouldn’t have yelled at her even if she was!” Chris argued shaking his head at him.

“I know… I- I fucked up” Ari admitted.

Fucked up was an understatement. From the moment he set eyes on you in that hotel bar you captured his attention and never let go. You looked absolutely stunning in the red sundress you’d been wearing, a beautiful smile on your face as you laughed with Elena. He’d felt this tugging sensation that drew him closer and he knew he had to at least say hello. 

He’d been secretly devastated when you held out your hand and showed off your engagement ring. He’d only just met you, he knew nothing about you but he found himself cursing the universe that he’d met you too late. He hadn’t missed his chance, he never had one. Yet despite all that he couldn’t just drop it, he wanted to get to know you, flirt with you. Maybe he hoped that your relationship was on the rocks and he had a chance, that he couldn’t leave LA without even trying. Maybe he hoped it would get you out of his system.

It didn’t.

He hadn’t stopped thinking about you for the last 5 months. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d fantasised about you, and thought of you whenever he needed to find a release. Ari was no stranger to finding hookups but he hadn’t even managed to do that because he couldn’t get you out of his mind.

He kicked himself for the way he behaved. If you didn’t want him before, you definitely wouldn’t want him now after he made you cry. His heart ached as he replayed the moment your face crumpled, your left hand moving to cup your mouth as if you could stop yourself from crying.

Wait.

“She wasn’t wearing her ring” Ari muttered as he looked over at Chris.

Chris frowned as he glanced in the direction Elena had taken you “Wasn’t she?”

Ari shook his head “No she wasn’t, she seemed upset before I said anything, maybe they split”

Chris hummed “Maybe, I hadn’t heard about it if they have but you still need to apologise,” he said with a hard look.

“I will I swear, next time I see her I will” Ari promised. 

“Good, now get to the gym and work off whatever is going on with you” Chris ordered before walking off back towards the media room,

He’d probably need to tell the coaches what happened since Elena was Coach Rogers’ daughter. This probably meant Ari was in an even worse position now if he wanted to get called up. He let out a long sigh before heading off towards the gym, not before popping into the PR and Coms office.

“Ari, what can we do for you?” Steph, the head of PR asked as he walked into the office.

“I need some good PR, something that shows I’m not a wildcard and can be trusted so I can get a call up to the national team” Ari explained.

“Right that shouldn’t be a problem, have you got any ideas?” She asked.

“No but I’ll do whatever is needed” Ari said with a small shake of his head.

A lopsided grin grew on her face “That’s exactly what I like to hear, give me a couple of weeks to come up with some strategies and I’ll get back to you”

You were sat wrapped up in a fluffy towel on the edge of El’s bath. You hadn’t realised how much you’d been running on adrenaline until you literally bumped into Ari and promptly broke down after he yelled at you. Under normal circumstances, you probably would have ripped into him but you were too exhausted.

You hadn’t been able to sleep Saturday night. You felt too disgusted, sleeping in the bed and on the same sheets that Dan had cheated on. You had been so tired and busy packing up as much as you could on Sunday that you forgot to call Elena. You barely slept on the plane either so you were running on empty when you got to Boston.

Now you just felt empty. Unable to bring yourself to move. Just static in your mind.

A gentle knock on the bathroom door pulled you from your stupor “Hey food’s here” El called out softly.

“Okay,” you said with a quick sniffle “be right out”

You finished drying off from the bath El had run for you before getting changed into a new set of comfies. You shuffled out of the bathroom to join El and Chris in the living room, a couple of pizza boxes open on the coffee table.

“Here,” Chris said as he passed you a glass of wine, a plate full of chicken, veg and pasta in his other hand.

“Thanks” you muttered as you accepted the glass sitting down on the floor by the coffee table “Aren’t you having pizza?” 

Chris shook his head as he sat down next to El on the couch “Diet plan” he explained as he dug into his large meal.

You shouldn’t be too surprised, you remembered all the times El mentioned the diet plan the players had to stick to. Especially over the summer when she was helping Chris recover from his broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder. You didn’t know much about it all but it was a testament to both El and Chris that he’d recover enough to be fit again in time for the season. 

“Wanna talk about what happened?” El asked gently as you took a bite of your pizza slice.

You took your time chewing before eventually swallowing to give you a bit more time “Dan’s been cheating on me with the wedding planner” you finally admitted.

That clearly wasn’t what either of them expected. El nearly spat out her wine while Chris choked on his mouthful. 

“Shit,” El said as she patted Chris’ back “What did he say when you confronted him?”

“I didn’t” you sighed “I just left, left him a note and the ring and left”

“Wow… god I- I never expected him to do something like that” El muttered as she shook her head.

“Me neither” you sighed “I was supposed to be working all day but my boss said I could take the afternoon off since I wasn’t supposed to be working in the first place, I decided to surprise him with his favourite bagel but when I got back to the apartment I saw the two of them going at it on our bed”

“Oh god” El muttered a look of horror on her face “and you just left straight away?”

“Not straight away no,” you said looking down “I knew I needed to get a few things sorted, so I stayed the night and pretended everything was okay before packing up as much as I could yesterday, quitting my job and flying out here”

“God, I could never do that, I would have smothered him in his sleep” El commented, slapping Chris’ hand away when he went to grab a slice of pizza after putting his empty plate down.

“Ow,” he complained as he rubbed his hand “and noted” he muttered.

“I just still can’t quite believe it, I thought everything was good between us,” you said “Yeah things were tense but I thought that was just the stress of the wedding planning” you sighed rubbing your forehead tiredly “I- I don’t know when it started or why or-or if I could have done something different”

“You did nothing wrong, he’s to blame in all this,” El told you “And the wedding planner, she was supposed to relieve you of the stress not steal your man” 

“But-“ you started.

“But nothing, I know there’s that little voice in your head that’s telling you all the things you could’ve done, tearing you down,” El said, her voice shuddering. 

Chris gave her a sympathetic look, placing his hand on her back and rubbing it soothingly. She’d gone through hell last spring, her ex Bryce had told the entire LA Lions team what her naked body was like except he lied and made up hurtful rumours. Like you she ran away, you had tried to pick up the pieces for her, tried to help and guide her. You originally didn’t like the idea of her dating Chris after everything she’d been through but after you met him in LA and found out what he’d done for her you knew that she’d found her special person. 

Like you thought you had.

“But don’t listen to it, none of what it’s telling you is true” El continued “What is true is what we’re telling you, that nothing is your fault and you are deserving of so much better“

“and when you are ready… you’ll find someone who won’t even want to look elsewhere because he knows he found the best woman he’ll ever find” Chris added as he smiled softly over at El.

“Thank guys, I’m glad I came to you” you sighed as you wiped away a few stray tears.

“It’s okay and just let us know what it is you need” El smiled “Chris stop it! Diet plan!” She scolded when he reached for the pizza slice again earning a huff of annoyance from him.

“Thanks, I- I um, I guess I need to find a job and somewhere to live” As you said it all the consequences of what you’d done hit “god I have no job or home” you muttered dropping your head into your hands and breaking down. 

You heard El get up and move to sit beside you, wrapping her arms around you and holding you close as you broke down. 

“It’s okay you did the right thing” she reassured you. 

“Yeah he clearly didn’t realise what he had right in front of him if he looked elsewhere, you deserve better than him” Chris said taking advantage of El moving and grabbed a slice of pizza. 

“But what am I gonna do now?” You stuttered as you wiped away your tears.

“We’ll work it out don’t worry” El reassured you as she rubbed your back soothingly.

“Yeah, you work in PR right? I’m pretty sure they’ve been looking for someone to join the team at the Bears for a while” Chris suggested.

“There we go, we can get you a job with the Bears, we can see each other at work all the time” El said, nudging your shoulder trying to get you to smile.

“That would be nice” you admitted, it would be like college again when you and El were practically inseparable, but then you remembered your encounter with Ari “But I don’t know anything about rugby, and wouldn’t I need to work close to the players” you gulped nervously.

“You don’t need to know much” Chris reassured you “and Ari said he was sorry”

“Yeah my dad said the 1 to 1 had been pretty tense so he was probably just in a bad mood and took it out on the first person he came across, you guys got along great in LA” El reminded you. 

You sighed, Ari did seem different to the man you met in LA but still he shouldn’t have shouted at you “I don’t know”

“Just give it a go, and it can just be somewhere you work until you find somewhere else” El suggested “And you can stay with me until you find somewhere, we can either share the bed or take turns sleeping on the couch”

“Why don’t you move out?” Chris interjected.

“Huh?” El muttered in confusion.

“I mean why don’t you move in with me El? You spend most of your time at my place anyway and it means Y/N can have this place” Chris explained.

You watched as El’s face softened, the look of love shining in her eyes. You were so happy for her but it also broke your heart because you used to look at Dan like that. 

“Really?” She whispered in disbelief.

“Yeah move in with me Elena Rogers” Chris smirked.

El grinned as she blew him a kiss “I’d love to”

You had to look down unable to see such pure love while your heart was so broken “I’ll um have to get the rest of my stuff at some point not that I particularly want to be back in the apartment” you sniffed.

“We’re playing the Lions in LA the last weekend of November so we can get anything you want” Chris suggested.

“Yeah, just give us a list and we’ll get it, you won’t ever have to step foot in the state again” El promised you.

“And if you want us to destroy anything of his, glitter bomb the apartment or slash his tyres just let us know” Chris winked.

“Chris” El gasped shaking her head at him.

“What?” Chris laughed “You know you were thinking it” 

“I’ll let you know” you chuckled weakly.

“Good, well I better head off back to Dodger” Chris said standing up from the couch “I’ll leave you ladies to curse the male species and do whatever else it is you girls do” he bent over to quickly kiss El goodbye.

“See you tomorrow” she smiled.

“See you tomorrow,” he said grabbing yet another slice of pizza “One for the road” he reasoned before heading out.

“How can he eat so much?” You muttered in amazement. You didn’t have much of an appetite to begin with but even if you were ravenous you couldn’t eat as much as Chris just did.

“It’s insane isn’t it, my dad showed me the food bill at the club once… eye-watering,” El said shaking her head in disbelief “Now let’s forget about all mankind and just have a girl's night,” she said grabbing her glass of wine.

You let out a long sigh, part of you just wanted to wallow but you knew that would only make you feel worse. Maybe getting wine-drunk, talking shit about men and distracting yourself from everything was the way to go for now.

You grabbed your glass “Girls night” you said forcing a smile.

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This series has no schedule, please don’t ask when it will be updated! Same goes for Masterlist, AO3 and Wattpad!

Fake Out Series Masterlist / Boston Bears Masterlist / Masterlist

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[rjzimmerman]

EPA will grant California the right to ban sales of new gas cars by 2035. (Washington Post)

Excerpt from this Washington Post story:

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to grant California permission to set stronger climate rules for cars and SUVs — a move that President-elect Donald Trump could attempt to reverse — according to two people briefed on the matter.

The EPA intends to issue California a waiver as soon as next week to enforce its rule aimed at banning sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035, said the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The Trump administration will probably try to revoke the waiver, although those efforts could run into legal obstacles.

The EPA plan underscores how President Joe Biden is racing to Trump-proof his climate legacy before leaving office next month. Just this week, his administration moved to block new mining in a sensitive watershed and to ban two cancer-causing chemicals used in a variety of consumer products and industrial settings.

Under the Clean Air Act, California can receive a waiver from the EPA to set tougher vehicle emissions rules than those of the federal government. More than a dozen other states follow California’s stricter rules, collectively accounting for about 40 percent of the U.S. auto market.

The California Air Resources Board, the top air pollution regulator in the state, approved a rule in 2022 that would phase out sales of new gasoline-powered cars and SUVs, culminating in a ban by 2035. The EPA in March finalized its own rule that would require automakers to more gradually ramp up EV sales while slashing emissions from gas-powered models.

California has requested a total of eight waivers to enforce climate regulations — not only for cars but also for heavy-duty trucks, trains and commercial harbor craft. It is unclear whether the EPA plans to issue other waivers in addition to the one for cars, the two people said.

Environmentalists have vowed to challenge the Trump administration’s possible waiver revocation in court, just as they did during Trump’s first term.

“There’s no provision in the Clean Air Act that says you can revoke a waiver. There are lots of provisions that say you may not grant a waiver if you choose not to,” said Dan Becker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Climate Transport Campaign. “So see you in court, Mr. Trump.”

Ann Carlson, who recently served as chief counsel to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said it would be difficult for the incoming administration to revoke the waiver, because it stands to help California comply with federal air pollution standards.

“Is the EPA going to say you can’t set standards to come into compliance with our own pollution rules? That puts the EPA on shaky legal ground,” said Carlson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California at Los Angeles.

[growthgoddess]

Sunrise' Substantial Size

Sunrise stood by the door, her eyes scanning the perimeter for any possible threat. Conrad Grayson emerged from his office, carrying a briefcase and wearing a pleasant smile.

"Good morning, Sunrise," Conrad greeted her.

"Good morning, sir," Sunrise replied, her status as a bodyguard remaining professional and serious.

Conrad chuckled. "Loosen up, Sunrise, you're stiffening up. If you keep this up, you'll be sore all afternoon! A smile would also brighten up your 'sunny' demeanor."

Conrad light-heartedly pat Sunrise on the back. He was pretty proud of himself for giving her the codenamed she used now.

Sunrise remained expressionless, but a small part of her heart fluttered at the thought of Conrad caring about her well-being. Her codename was something she also carried with pride for it was not the agency that picked it for her, but Conrad himself.

They had been like this ever since she was assigned to be his bodyguard since they were young. Sunrise had slowly developed feelings for her boss' kind-hearted and supportive nature.

But she knew that her love is one that could not be. So instead, she devoted her life to her duty - his protection. To keep him safe, and to keep him close.

As she drove down the busy streets with him in a limousine, Conrad chatted about his schedule for the day. But Sunrise could only respond with grunts and nods as she was focused on their surroundings, ever vigilant for any potential threats.

As they were crossing an intersection, a car suddenly rammed into them from the side. Sunrise tried to stay in control, but their car tumbled around causing Conrad to fall to the ground.

The car landed upside down, but Sunrise was still conscious. Her head was spinning and her ears were ringing, but ensuring Conrad's safety was her top priority. But before Sunrise could unfasten her seatbelt, a group of men surrounded them, guns drawn.

"Give us the briefcase, and we won't hurt you." The leader of the attackers demanded. She removed her mask to reveal that she was a woman. Sunrise immediately recognized her as Kobra, one of the top assassins from the black market.

Sunrise shuffled off the car and covered Conrad's unconscious body to protect him from the gunmen.

Kobra wasted no time, she began kicking the wounded Sunrise with a look of deadly determination on her face.

"You must be Sunrise," the woman said with a smirk. "I've heard a lot about you. You're legendary, rumored to be the best bodyguard in the market. If it were open."

Sunrise didn't reply. Instead, she grit her teeth and stood up with whatever strength she had left. With a scream, she charged at Kobra head-on. Sunrise was so fast that the gunners didn't have time to react and by then, she was too close to Kobra that they couldn't risk accidentally shooting her.

The two women exchanged blows, each one of their powerful attacks landing with a resounding impact.

Kobra was faster, but Sunrise was resilient. Despite the beating she was taking, Sunrise refused to give up.

Then, sirens blared from the distance. "The cops..." Kobra hissed. She knew her time was running out. "I don't have time to look for the briefcase, but beating the formula out from Mr. Grayson will be more than enough to get me what I need."

Kobra quickly pulled out a knife and stabbed Sunrise on the chest. Kobra then mercilessly pulled the blade out to leave Sunrise to bleed out.

Sunrise stumbled, giving the woman an opening to grab Conrad and drive off with him on her bike. Her henchmen scattered to escape the cops now that their ride was totalled after ramming against Sunrise' car.

But Sunrise wasn't about to let Kobra kidnap and torture her beloved. She slowly rose with sheer willpower despite the gaping wound on her chest. Her vision was darkening and her breathing became labored. Kobra's knife must have been poisoned as well to ensure her demise.

She stumbled around the car wreckage and searched for anything that could help her. That's when she found it - the briefcase Conrad was holding is now cracked open within and inside was an experimental drug developed by his company.

Without hesitation, Sunrise winced in pain as she injected herself with the drug. She felt the purple liquid flow into her veins causing them to bulge.

She then collapsed on the road, waiting for it to take effect or for her to pass away in agony.

At first, nothing happened, and her vision darkened... but then she began to feel better, Healthier than ever. Suddenly, her body grew - and fast.

Her muscles swole faster and faster, tearing her thick jacket sleeves apart. Her chest bulged larger and larger, ripping through her blouse buttons. Her thighs packed muscle over muscle until her pants were bursting at the seams.

The police arrived at the scene of the accident and surrounded Sunrise. They all deployed from their cars, and aimed their handguns and shotguns at the hulking woman.

"FREEZE! Hands in the air!" They blared through their squad car radios, hoping to get the situation under control.

Sunrise didn't have time for this. Kobra was getting away with Conrad and that made her even more furious.

"Get..."

Her pecs bulged up beneath her blouse, popping what remaining buttons was trying to hold it together.

"Out..."

Her pants burst at every seam and her muscular thighs spilled through the openings.

"Of..."

Her entire body was bulking up and rising higher and higher, the policemen had to slowly back away from her as she became gigantic.

"MY WAY!"

The blast shockwave of her voice was enough to send the cops and their cars flying. The nearby windows shattered, and cars from distant blocks set off their alarms.

Feeling powerful and more energized that ever, Sunrise flexed her bicep and looked at her mountainous arms. Then, she clenches her fist and charges through the now narrow roads in pursuit of Kobra.

Meanwhile, Kobra was speeding through the highway when a quake caused her bike to slightly off balance. In addition to Conrad trying to wiggle free of his bindings, she had to stop for a moment to avoid losing her balance when a second quake occurred.

That was when she saw it.

Sunrise, now a walking mountain of female muscle emerging from the corner from behind one of the buildings.

Kobra's eyes widened, but now is not the time to get distracted. She lowered her helmet visor and sped off.

Sunrise' keen vision was not impaired with her newfound vantage point and immediately saw the speeding assassin down the road.

With fury in her eyes and determination welling within her, she stomped her way towards the escaping assassin to rescue her beloved.

Kobra knew her bike won't be able to outrun the 9-storey tall woman, but didn't give up. She used all her techniques to lose her.

When she tried to maneuver through busy streets, weaving between tight traffic, Sunrise simply kicked the cars in her way.

When she tried to lose the massive woman by driving through a narrow passageway. Sunrise just passed through the buildings as is they were made of paper mache.

She was unstoppable!

In a last ditch effort, Kobra gripped her bike handles and drove into a mall. Unwitting shoppers panicked and jumped out of the manic motorcycle's way to avoid getting run over.

However, from behind them, they heard a BOOM... And another. Plaster rained down from the ceiling.

And thats when it happened.

Sunrise forced her way through the mall to try and catch Kobra. She crawled through the tight halls of the megaplex. Demolishing walls and the upper floors that were in her way.

To Kobra's horror, Sunrise was faster than she thought, and before she could escape the mall through the other exit, the giantess had swatted her bike from behind.

The force was powerful enough to completely tear off the entire rear tire of her bike. Kobra's first instinct was to follow her orders to keep Conrad alive for interrogation. She held onto the bound Conrad and leapt off the bike through the exit.

The two were sent rolling through the pavement and they found themselves relatively unscathed in a construction site just across the mall.

Kobra removed her helmet and saw Sunrise smashing through the wall of the mall where they just came out from. She knew that she will have to resort to fighting.

Kobra brought out her handguns and held them akimbo. She then shot at Sunrise. The bullets ricocheted off the giant woman's skin as if it were made of steel. Each bullet causing her body to recoil slightly against every impact.

Sunrise took her time to appear intimidating. She deliberately walked slower, each step cracking the pavement below her and echoing throughout the city.

As soon as Kobra's handguns were spent, she pulled out some sticky bombs and ran towards the looming giantess.

Kobra ran with such agility that even the huge Sunrise couldn't keep up. She was able to evade Sunrise' every attack while attaching explosives on her knees.

As soon as they were all set, Kobra ran into the building under construction and detonated the charges.

The bombs simultaneously stopped beeping and exploded, causing Sunrise to trip and try to lean on the constructed building for support, but it was unable to hold up her weight for long and she crushed an entire portion of it upon her collapse.

Shortly, Sunrise opened her eyes to look for her enemy, and she found her atop the upper floors holding her knife. The blade was coated with a powerful neurotoxin that looks concentrated enough to kill or permanently debilitate the giantess.

With a nod of triumph, Kobra leapt off to stab Sunrise with her poison-laced blade. But before she could land, Sunrise was able swat if her off to a nearby wall inside the building, knocking her broken and unconscious.

Sunrise tried to stand up and held the construction building by its sides then tugged it down to kill Kobra.

With the woman defeated, Sunrise went to check up on Conrad. She lifted him up in her massive hand and held him close to her face. His leg was broken from the crash but he was otherwise fine.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry..." she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I wasn't able to protect you."

Conrad smiled and put his hand over at her gigantic cheek. It was like touching the face of a model on a billboard. "You did everything you could, Sunrise. I'm just glad you're alive and with me right now."

Sunrise felt her heart swell with love for Conrad. "I love you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Conrad's eyes widened in surprise, but then he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "I love you too, Sunrise, you know I always have." he whispered back.

With their love finally revealed, they walked home together, with Sunrise holding Conrad close to her massive chest, protecting him with every step.

[princess-material]

How to Universally be a High Status Symbol Woman?

POV: you’re curious on how to be a High Status Woman ✨. Here’s everything you need to know from Mindset, cars, SHOPPING, MEN, hobbies and so much MORE!

Social media Tip:

In Dubai everything is easy, you can Rent bags, cars and jewellery, don’t believe everything you see x

What WATCHES ✨ to INVEST in:

Rolexes - a Datejust, Daytona, and Submariner are popular choices for women!

Cartier - The Cartier Tank, Panthere, and Santos collections offer elegant timepieces!

Patek Philippe - Calatrava, Nautilus, and Aquanaut models are highly sought after!

Audemars Piguet - Royal Oak and Roval Oak Offshore models, are iconic timepieces!

What HOBBIES ✨ to ENGAGE in:

Travelling - Jet setting to exotic places, luxury resorts and enjoying cool experiences!

Fine dining - indulging in exquisite cuisines and enjoying elegant experiences!

Yachting - cruising on yachts, enjoying the sunset, engaging in water sports!

Spa days - wellness retreats and pampering sessions and FITNESS routines.

Jewellery Collecting - discovery exquisite gems, fine jewellery pieces and luxury watches!

Golf - very relaxing yet sporty. Great way to social network.

Private members club - elite country clubs, members only lounges and private societies!

Personal Development - enhance skills and overall wellbeing.

What CARS ✨ to DRIVE:

Rolls-Royce Phantom - it’s a symbol of luxury and prestige!

Lamborghini Urus - it’s a powerful SUV with a sporty edge, it’s usually a top pick.

Bentley Continental GT -the performance and conforts of this car is popular among the elite!

Mercedes-Maybach S-Class - comfortable, edgy technology and exclusive!

What HIGH STATUS MEN ✨ to MARRY:

“New Money” Guys - Successful men who do ECOM, Copywriting, Digital Marketing Agency, and social media Influencing.

Entrepreneurs - men with established and successful companies. For example… tech entrepreneurs, serial entrepreneurs, lifestyle and corporate entrepreneurs!

Real Estate Developers - men who own construction firms and property investments.

Investment Bankers - men who have an expertise on wealth management!

What CLOTHING ✨ brands to INDULGE in:

Miss Rosier - Elegant and beautiful. I adore this.

Reformation - it’s full of girly, discreet branding, substantial-able and feminine pieces!

Zimmerman - ultra dreamy and sophisticated dresses!

Self portrait - girly, elegant and feminine high end fashion!

Zara - classy yet more affordable and accessible!

Sandro - pretty princess energy.

What QUALITIES ✨ do these WOMEN embody:

They're often confident, sophisticated, and well-mannered with a strong sense of entitlement - AKA they’re used to getting what they want.

But, beneath the glamour and glitz, they're also often intelligent, savvy businesswomen who know how to manage their wealth and investments.

They're not just trophy wives 🥂; they're smart, ambitious, and driven individuals who know how to get what they want.

They're fashionistas who stay on top of the latest trends and aren't afraid to show off their wealth.

PERFUMES ✨ to INVEST in:

Use La Sultane De Saba - self care products.

Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium - vanilla scent.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 - unique blend of saffron, vanilla & amberwood!

Christian Dior Hypnotic Poison - a rich vanilla note that feels alluring and enchanting.

HANDBAGS ✨ to INVEST in:

Hermes Birkin - exclusive investment!

Channel Classic Flap - timeless investment!

Tip: in Dubai you can rent Birkin bags.

[derpdino34]

Secret legacy pt. 2

Chapter 10

Following a random stranger to a pickup truck that leads to an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere is the dumbest thing Robby can do.

Yet, he’s doing that right now.

Throughout the whole car ride there was silence as Robby looked out the window. Robby was just realizing how stupid this was. He can be sold on the black market or taken to some government agency to be experimented on. They got to their destination and Robby was started to feel uneasy. Where was Mo? She should be back home With Thrash’s new alt mode or she probably noticed that he was missing and was probably looking for him. Well, if she was doing that, she better hurry up. Robby knew Mo was smart enough not to follow strangers.

Robby entered the wearhouse. It was poorly illuminated by blue lights and the inside was scarily clean.

“My assistants will transport your friend to the medical facility and as for you-“

Meridian put a mechanical hand on Robby’s shoulder.

“I want to ask you some questions.”

The wearhouse, it was old but livable. Several boxes were scattered around. Multiple screens that had some bot parts identified. But . . . In the corner of Robby’s eye, he swore he saw a random bot’s hand getting dragged away into the dark crevices of the warehouse. Multiple eyes were watching his every movement, Robby’s stomach churned.

“Are you coming?” Meridian’s voice called out.

“Yeah coming!” Robby quickly turned and started to run towards the biggest part of the whole building.

“This machine was designed to put and fix transformers and this will certainly help your friend.” The Doctor turned around and smiled at the boy. But Robby was too busy to pay attention to what Meridian was saying and staring at the giant abomination that was this machine. It had several different kinds of ‘hands’ that had different types of medical instruments on it and look like a misshapen beehive. He heard something scurrying closer. Robby quickly turned around to see those spider bots carrying Twitch’s unconscious body.

“Hey!” Robby yelled as he grabbed a metal pipe that was a desk.

“Don’t you dare touch Twitch!” Ready to strike, Robby charged at the spider bots with full force but was stopped when Meridian garbed the metal pipe out of Robby’s hands.

“Woah their my friend, where did this come from?” Meridian was holding the metal pipe.

“It- It was You!” Screamed before charging at the doctor.

“You’re the one who attacked me in the woods.” Meridian dogged Robby’s outburst.

“Oh no,no,no! There must been a huge misunderstanding.” Meridian crushed the metal pipe in his mechanical, right hand.

“These bots are fun little creatures. Don’t judge all of them just because they’re a few bad apples.”

Meridian gestured to one of these “friendly spider bots.”

“Why don’t you show them Daisy?”

“Daisy” and the other spider bots started to form a pyramid with”daisy” on the top making a little hurrah when it was finished.

Robby was dumbfounded then he heard a clapping behind him. He turned around to see Thrash clapping with Mo right behind with a lollipop in her mouth.

“Robby! Mo!” Alex yelled as he walked through the woods. A day into this move and he already lost the kids. Ohh, what’s going to happen to them? They can be murdered, kidnapped, o-or they’re stuck somewhere with nobody to rescue them.

“No! They’re probably in town getting . . . Ice cream! Yes that!.” Alex told himself.

“They’re probably, in town.”

“I’m afraid that’s not true Mr. Malto.”

Alex nearly jumped out of his skin as he turns around to see Optimus Prime right behind him, Alex wanted to die right there. Prime unsheathed his mask showing a wide grin. Even though, his grin was covered by malice.

“W-W-What d-do you m-mean?” Alex kept tripping over his words. He felt that his whole body giving up on him.

“People reported to me that some spider bots have kidnapped your children, Mr. Malto.”

Alex whole world just shattered. Robby and Morgan, his babies, taken from home. He felt his knees give up on him. He fell to his knees, Optimus did nothing as Alex was fell.

“But the good news is that Elita may have found where those rascals went off to.” Optimus knelt down to Alex’s level, he wanted the man to look at him.

“If we hurry, we may have a chance to save them.” Optimus transformed into a truck and tried to convince Alex to come inside. Alex hated to step in the alt mode of a transformer, made him feel trapped. Optimus roared as he transformed one of his arms to grab Alex to throw him into the cab.

“WE DON’T HAVE ALL DAY!”

Optimus sped out of the woods and on to the highway. He was driving like a madman and Alex was sure he was never going to see his kids again.

[mecachrome]

no wait please go on more about oscar’s winning mentality… and most of all whether/when you think there will be tension of a fracture with lando because i’m sure it’s inevitable 🤧

hi anon!!! :') haha okay well this might be an annoying hot take but the reality is that i don't think there's such thing as a "winning mentality" in the first place T__T or idk how you meant it (and of course please feel free to elaborate if you'd like!) so i apologize sincerely if i'm completely misinterpreting your question, but for me personally what i appreciate from oscar is rather certain qualities he possesses / has been said to possess that i believe put him in a favorable position to better attain an optimized performance threshold, if that makes sense, which maybe sounds pedantic and many would argue is essentially a winning mentality but i still try to be careful with how much i correlate driver intangibles with outcome-based hypotheticals because i find that many fans + journos + team personnel alike can be eager to perpetuate an ideal of a "mentality monster" or "a future wdc" as though either construct is delineated by the same universal qualities when imo that simply could not be further from the truth…

…i've started and deleted like 5 paragraphs about car/driver/team development & the service ecosystem of professional sporting industries & human tendency toward recency bias and arbitrary pattern recognition but much of this is most likely not relevant to your question at all so let me try to be a bit more brief LOL.

the short of it is: motorsport and f1 in particular are interesting because all professional sports are entertainment products that rely on human unpredictability, but the level of agency its primary actors are privy to and the degree to which certain intangibles (e.g., mentality, drive, Wanting It, Dawg/60 as i say when talking about hockey, and in some sports even individual marketability) are upheld as competitive instruments vary widely per the nature, construction, contact level, global reach, etc. of each sport. with f1 the "front-stage" end product is of course the race package media companies are contracted to present to a global audience, but its primary actors (drivers) occupy a unique position in that they are both the vehicle facilitating that product but also occupiers of another, both figurative and literal, Vehicle that is in itself its own end product, only designed and manufactured in a back-stage black box. and so most of the time in sports, the entertainment is not only the product itself but also the discussion generated around the product, which is then enhanced by the exchange of external data and anecdote, but the problem with f1 is that this sort of end-product inception and the inherent secrecy of car development makes for third-party analysis of the sport that is equally complex and limiting… as in, f1 fans are constantly being inundated with soooo so much data because it's literally a sport built on relative numbers, but all of that data is pretty much useless without proper contextualization—sure, you can look at public telemetry all you want, but you can't really present an informed conclusion on certain approaches or styles or deficits unless you also identify nuances of both the car's inherent characteristics and its specific set-up during the session. which is also how i feel about evaluating driver mentality!!!

basically i think there's no such thing as a meaningful "winner's mentality" at the top level of any sport because everyone wants to win, inherently, and without this ambition you wouldn't be in f1 to begin with. i also think the adjacent idea of a mentality uniquely crafted to becoming a winner is in itself a vague concept for f1 because there's less of a binary quality to performance than compared to other true team sports (yes you technically lose every race you don't win, but it doesn't explicitly count against your season record). in this case i'll define it as becoming f1 wdc… which of course we all know is contingent much less on driver influence than on team direction and development, and again is why i dislike the practice of saying x or y is "wdc material" because that's a very meaningless metric at the end of the day.

god okay i know i never shut up about andrea (SORRY AGAIN.) but personally i really love the way he talks about oscar because i think he understands this relativity very well, and that a driver should develop specific, identifiable, and objective actions in order to support the optimization of their processes (and thus performance!) rather than to achieve any specific outcome (winning). that is to say… i guess honestly, my idea of a "winning mentality" is simply not having a marked preoccupation with winning in the first place, because what matters most is being able to consolidate the right now of what you can control in order to support the later of what you will achieve, and letting the results speak for themselves instead of getting caught up in the idea of needing to or wanting to win (when that should already be a given). which i do think oscar embodies! some astella quotes:

“I don't look how far we can go. I just look [at] what do we have to do now to go as far as possible?" (qatar press con)

"For me what is important is just a sense of journey. The results take care of themselves, so what you really have to focus on is, every day, try to be better than yesterday." (speedcafe) 

"I'm not one that works by targets or expectations. I really work by process, by identifying what's the right approach, what's the right vision, and then let results come to you. [...] Let's not think about the results. Let's just think about ‘how do we deliver performance projects in this many areas of the car, such that we can be innovative, such that we can be fast in developing, but also developing at a pace that is sustainable over time?'" (btg)

My God… That's Oscar Piastri's Music!!! anyway i guess what i'm trying to say is that i don't really think there is any true characteristic a world champion must have because it is less about the characteristic itself and more about how it interacts with other characteristics and the way a person manages this sum total—take the idea of "consistency" for example, which is often liberally applied to drivers without any temporal/material granularity. do we mean over an entire career or a season or during a single race length? do we mean consistency in terms of race craft or qualifying pace or a specific metric like race starts and reaction time? being consistent is good if it means that you're consistently getting high positions relative to your competitors, but it can also veer into an overly conservative approach. so to me everything requires a very finetuned balance of raw pace, consistency, adaptability, and a healthy capacity for self-reflection, and it's why i really liked the way andrea talked about how oscar had natural speed as a rookie but also took this incremental approach to his weekends by working toward his maximum session over session, because pushing the limits in fp1 is useless if you're still navigating and identifying new areas of opportunity. but of course this then also relates back to the timeline of adaptability and how everything in motorsport is = the faster you can "adapt" (within a weekend but also over the course of a season) the higher your stock is, so this gradualism must also be well-managed. and the thing is that a driver's capacity to adapt as they move onto newer categories and face new technical regulations is something we as outside observers cannot truly predict or project even though we all love to try!!!

there is a whole spiel about defining what adaptability even means in motorsport here but i'll spare everyone. i think it's very fair to say that oscar is a generally adaptable driver (in that he can get up to speed with the technical components of a new car quickly, that every championship he won in his junior career was in a new chassis, that he has an ingrained "awareness of what the opportunities are" when driving and the "capacity to self-recognize where there is more to come from either himself or from the car," and he so far has shown marked improvements over the length of a race weekend that reflect positively relative to rookie expectation), and it can be assumed that his most pronounced weakness from 2023 will be much better mitigated now that he has crucial track experience in hand, since tyre degradation is expressly something simulator work cannot fully prepare you for. but at the same time i really reject any notion that ~now that he's not a rookie + because he's an adaptable driver + his mentality is sooo much better than lando's (when again it is about the Sum Total of characteristics and not how one specific characteristic is reflected in previous wdcs) his pace will immediately match/challenge lando's~ because first of all, no, and second of all the quantitative mystery is still, how much of that race-pace deficit can better management annul for oscar (or conversely how much of it is simply inherent to him)? so there are too many variables… and anyone who tells you they can predict that is lying!

also re: Potential 814 friction…!!!!!! i guess again as i always say there are really too many variables to make assumptions here... and i think it's hard to imagine, actionably, what a fracture would even look like for them, since lando and oscar are both people who manage the on/off-track separation well and i honestly don't really foresee any huge professional fallouts even if they do have to fight for positions on-track more frequently. but like andrea said, if oscar wins before lando then it means (unless it's a truly fugazi win lol) that mclaren has a car capable of winning, and i again reject this idea that lando is so mentally weak that he isn't capable of being motivated by that, and equally it is actually a Good Thing for a team to have "two #1 drivers" so long as that relationship is well-managed... will they even have two #1 drivers next season (i.e. will oscar really be that much closer to lando)? and if so will it be well-managed? that i cannot tell you!!!!!

honestly teammate dynamics are not something i'm ever confident in extrapolating much from because there are so many contingencies to Who wins first / does anyone even win at all (X to doubt) / who outperforms whom (and how do we measure that) / who "leaves more on the table"... all of that stuff......... but it is definitely a very interesting question. and i will be eager to witness how their relationship develops based on the mcl38's performance next season and of course its performance relative to rb/merc/fer!!!

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

hello! as a celebration of me finally getting my driving license (shoutout to my instructor, he is an absolute saint and has forever changed my perspective on cars and car nerds), i thought i'd ask about your opinion on the cars my family owns — the Škoda Fabia I (the specific one we have is a combi from late 2004. slowly perishing, mainly of rust) and Kia Cee'd (2013??). is there anything remarkable about these two?

Ah, the Ceed, as Kia cowardly renamed it in 2018, in a decision I deliberately reject as I keep on referring to it as Cee apostrophe d, as Top Gear liked to call the earlier model they gave celebrities to go try to get themselves killed on tape, Tom Cruise getting the closest because of course it would be him.

Notice how nary an ounce of steering was given up whatsoever. Man was just balancing the car with the throttle in the true racing driver spirit of "If I die I die and if I don't this'll be a good time".

However, this is a bit of a sidetrack, as that's not your car - that'll be one o' deez, which whether as a 5 door...

...station wagon...

...or its bafflingly named coupe version (Pro_Cee'd????)...

...looks sharp as a goddamn tack in my books. In fact, wanna know how that's not just cheap flattery? That station wagon was actually the car I was pushing for our family to get when ours needed changing! Life didn't grace us with the opportunity, however, and so we ended up replacing our grey Citroën Picasso MPV with another (the ole' Xsara Picasso to C4 Picasso pipeline) which served us decently over a couple years before developing woes and getting passed on to family friends more willing to deal with them. Weird car, that C4 Picasso. Most of the steering wheel didn't turn.

Now, you may ask why those French folx would do that. And the answer is in the word French. I can just imagine the designers asking feedback about the handbrake and getting all giddy as they look at them struggle to figure out where it is. Actually, go on, you try!

Wait, wait, we're once again getting sidetracked, we've still not addressed the Fabia! And that's a crime, because it was a hugely important car for Škoda: as Volkswagen's involvement with the company had turned from shareholder to owner its involvement in the cars had turned from help to codevelopment, making the Fabia a humongous departure from Škodas of old. However, for the latest Octavia, no closer to those hunksajunk, the rave reviews had been no match against Škoda's brand image, which was so terrible that even Wikipedia feels comfortable saying they were laughing stocks.

So for the Fabia, Škoda turned to marketing agency Fallon London for a very bold advertising campaign. So bold in fact that I didn't even stumble into it through my passion for cars, but through my study of marketing. And it's so simple you could miss it. (...it's in the lower right.)

This simple idea, and how hard they doubled down on it...

...completely turned Skoda's fortunes around, in a brand repositioning so successful that all of Fallon's Škoda-related ads received awards. Including this one.

That's not even an ad for Škoda. That's an ad for themselves.

Links in blue are posts of mine about the topic in question: if you liked this post, you might like those - or the blog’s Discord server, linked in the pinned post!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ilana Berger at MMFA:

In a new analysis of electric vehicle-related content on Facebook, Media Matters found that negative stories made up the vast majority of content, particularly on right-leaning and politically nonaligned U.S. news and political pages, a trend which does not align with the optimistic outlook of EV adoption and technological advancements. Since 2021, the Biden administration has allocated billions of dollars toward meeting the ambitious goal of making half of all new cars sold electric or hybrid over the next few years. Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS Act have provided tax credits and other incentives to jump start electric vehicle sales and infrastructure such as charging stations, domestic battery manufacturing, critical mineral acquisition, in addition to preparing the automotive industry workforce for the transition. 

In March, an Environmental Protection Agency rule setting strict limits on pollution from new gas-powered cars primed automakers for success in meeting these goals.  Biden’s EV push will continue to play an important role in the upcoming presidential election. Former president and current GOP candidate Donald Trump has insisted that Biden’s policies benefit China, which makes up the largest share of the global EV market. In March, while talking about the current state of the auto industry, Trump declared, “If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.” Economists disagree. 

The comment tracks with years of outrage and opposition from Republican politicians, right-wing media, and fossil fuel industry surrogates, who have often disparaged the new technology and related policy and misleadingly framed the EV push as a threat to American jobs and national security. Constant attacks on EVs from the right have helped fuel a politically divided market, where people who identify as Democrats are now much more likely to buy them or consider buying them, while nearly 70% of Republican respondents to a recent poll said they “would not buy” an EV. So far in 2024, headline after headline announced EV sales slumps and proclaimed that “EV euphoria is dead,'' despite reports of “robust” growth. In February, CNN changed a headline about EV sales on its website from a success story to a failure. Despite the positive long term outlook for EVs based on indicators like sales and government investments, the discourse around electric vehicles is often pessimistic.

[...] Right-wing media have been driving anti-EV sentiment (with help from fossil fuel industry allies) since the start of Biden’s term. This trend was clearly reflected in Media Matters’ analysis. Out of the top 100 posts related to EVs on right-leaning pages, 95% were negative, earning over a million interactions in 2024 so far.  But on Facebook, politically nonaligned pages fed into this trend as well. Nearly three quarters (74%) of EV related top posts on nonaligned pages had a negative framing. These posts generated 83% of all interactions on EV-related top posts from nonaligned pages. 

On non-aligned and right-wing Facebook pages, anti-electric vehicle content-- likely fueled by a mix of climate crisis denial and culture war resentments-- draws lots of reliable engagement, in contrast to the reality of increased EV adoption in recent years.

[thebardisabird]

I have had this stuck in my head ever since you sent it, Anonym.  Honestly I think Osomatsu might be perfect for this, so I hope you’re okay with me using him for  this scenario. Osomatsu x A VERY stressed out GN!Reader, under the cut!

To say you felt like you were on top of the world was an understatement. Sitting in your new position as Director of Digital Marketing for the Akatsuka PR firm, you would never worry about your finances again. Your agency handled names as big as Shoei and even Nyaa Hashimoto, amongst countless other idols, influencers, and musical groups. Everything was seamless - with the new job came a new house, a new car, everything new and expensive with you ever having to worry about the price tag. Your fiancé of several years, Osomatsu, constantly exclaimed how proud he was - thought you laughed at how he too was enjoying the many perks that came with your extraordinary jump in wealth. There were parties thrown in your honor; innumerable gifts given to in celebration of your status, you honestly don’t think you’d partied the way you had that week than you ever have in your life. Unfortunately for you, that was just the thing. The business that you had worked your way up in over the years became exactly that when you were at the top - constant partying. The dinners, the late night receptions that would turn into 8 am meetings, the ridiculous amount of PR cleanups that you oversaw caused by the newer, younger generation of talent. It was a continuous effort that gave you no peace. There was no off switch for you, as you were in a ceaseless loop of making sure every line was correctly in its places, and then being dressed up and schmoozing amongst the other high-on-the-totem-pole staff when things were correct. Osomatsu was by your side through all of it, but he sensed something was wrong. He confirmed it when he had gone to the bar inside the CEO’s yacht to grab you both glasses of wine, only to come back and watch you looking over the edge of the deck, your expression reading utter exhaustion. This week in particular had been hell. The news had leaked of Nyaa Hashimoto’s retirement and a surprise pregnancy - none of which you had been informed of until after the alarmed phone calls started coming in. It took a personal call from you to clear the air with her and find out what the truth was. While you understood her plight, and obliged with her wishes to retire and lead her life as a normal woman, you knew the CEO would be furious. Nyaa Hashimoto was one of your biggest clients; the responsibility of handling the press, picking up the pieces of her fanbase that the leaked information had caused, and dealing with sponsor backlash all fell on you and your team. After your final call for the day had been made, you slammed the phone down and put your head in your hands. “I’m home!” called Osomatsu from the front door. He set down the keys to the Huracán, kicking his shoes off in the process, “The guys wanted me to meet them at the race track, hope it was okay that I put us in the skybox”. He grinned at that, knowing you wouldn’t really care, but it tickled him to know that such a luxury was within his reach these days. When you didn’t answer him, his fingers curled into a fist. Something was definitely wrong. Without hesitance, he ran to your office. The door swung open, flittering a few loose pieces of paper forward. The eldest brother took in the scene of your office with horror: awards shattered to the ground, old photos torn to shreds, there were shards of glass and metals sprinkled throughout the entirety of the room. At the center of it all was you, your head in your arms, sobbing silently to yourself. In careful steps, Osomatsu approached you, “Babe…are…are you okay? Baby, what happened?” At the sound of his voice, your tear stained face lifted. Bloodshot eyes with your hair strewn about as if you had laid that way for hours was what met his eyes. Immediately you fell into the arms of your fiancé, wailing about how this had simply become too much - because it had. You poured from an incessantly empty cup, never feeling truly fulfilled with any of the work you were doing because it did not serve you. The monetary gain was fleeting - you had everything you could want or need except the thing you required most: peace. “I don’t want to do this anymore, Oso,” your choked, teary voice sounded against his chest, “I want to go back to everything being simple…I want to live in a one story house and have neighbors who have like three dogs and I want to have a backyard with a tree where I can raise beeeeeeees” and you began another round of sobbing once more. You heard Osomatsu sigh. It made you cry harder initially because you knew that leaving this lap of luxury meant taking away all of his fun. He’d supported you when you were nobody in the company, it felt so wrong to strip him of the things you both never had for your selfish reasons. To your surprise however, he would pull from you gently, raising your chin up to look at him. His thumbs brushed underneath your eyes, swiping away the fresh tears there. “I dunno anything about bees…but if that’s what you wanna do, then let’s do it.” he said, a sympathetic smile at the forefront. Your trembling hand laid on top of his own, “But..b-but what about all of this? This is everything you’ve ever wanted in life, Osomatsu…” He leaned forward, his lips pressing ever so gently to your own. Time stood still in that moment, and your tears would start to shift in their meaning from here, “This life means nothing to me if you’re not happy. I love money, don’t get me wrong,” you didn’t miss the teasing lilt in his tone, but it quickly faded, “But I don’t think I have to tell you that I love you more than that, do I?” He took the next round of bawling as a sign that you completely understood. The next few weeks he would spend with you planning your leaving the company, choosing instead to take on a role as a consultant for lower-end talent managers, a job that allowed you your freedom at home since the time was made for you and not the other way around. Your penthouse was packed up, swapped out for a one-level home with a sizable backyard and a few friendly neighbors next door. When you finally finished sliding in the last panel, you wiped your forehead. Just behind you came the sound of feet crunching on grass. “How does it look?” your fiancé asked. You turned to see Osomatsu donning a full bee suit, beaming from beneath the veil. It brought the same smile to your own face, “Now we match!”

[lovelywritersgarden]

A Bumpy Ride

PAIRING: Izuku Midoriya x Fem!Reader

WC: 2742

SYNOPSIS: First, your dinner plans get cancelled, then a villain attacks your train ride home. God, today kinda sucks.

WARNINGS: Villain attack, violence, swearing (bakugo is there so i feel like that’s a given, but i’ll put it anyways), Mentions of injury/slight gore, simp midoriya (what’s new).

———————————————————————————

You stood on the 6 o’clock train with your left hand clutching the handle that hung from the ceiling. As it was the evening train, there were only about 8 people in your vicinity. The floor rattled under your feet with the turns, and each body shifted with its strong movements. You pulled your phone out, and read the messages with a smitten smile. (you’re such a sucker for him.)

——

Izuku <3

Sorry I can’t make it to dinner tonight, but I’ll be home as soon as possible! Wait up for me, I’ll grab takeout on the way home from patrol. :)

Thanks izu <3, I'm on the train home from work right now, and I’m gonna stop for cat food. Do you want me to grab anything for you from the market?

Stop distracting him, you shithead extra

heyyy katsuki :))

Die

no u

Sorry N/N!! Kacchan got my phone again. I have to go, but stay up, I will make it worth your while ;) !! I love you!

haha I love you too, stay safe izu.

Stay safe yourself, N/N :)

—-

Things between you and Izuku have been going strong for about two years now. It was honestly wonderful. He always made sure to make extra time for you, especially when plans got canceled because of emergencies like this one. Dating as a hero can be difficult, but he makes sure that you’re aware how much of a priority you are to him.

He had gotten called in as extra force on patrol due to recent rumors of a large villain attack. So, he had to begrudgingly cancel your dinner plans.

You and Izuku met waaayy back when you both attended UA. You were not really cut out for hero work, but your affinity for technology allowed you to make top of the line gadgets for them! The support course was where Midoriya spoke to you for the first time. He stuttered over himself to ask if you could repair a piece of his suit. It was all uphill from there. Now, you help build tools, gadgets and suits working as a mechanic for a hero agency in downtown Tokyo.

Both of you working at nearby hero agencies definitely has its perks. Oftentimes, you see each other on the job, you almost always have a ride to work, and can sympathize with each other's work problems. Izuku values you like the Earth values the sun. fan behavior tbh. He couldn’t imagine a world without you in it, and each day he strives to treat you right. Such a softie.

So here you stood, adjusting your grip on the train handle and on your way to the market. You had a single earbud in and you were blasting music, tapping your finger to the beat. You scrolled through social media trying to pass the time, when the train suddenly jostled and the lights flickered. Your head snapped up and your grip tightened onto the handle. People began to frantically murmur and the emergency lights flashed on.

Uh. what the hell?

The train heavily shook once more.

Shit! What is that? An Earthquake?!

Unfortunately, your question was answered. On the outside of the train was a large tentacle that wrapped itself around the train car you were inside of. People began screaming, shaking and crying as the car of your train was disconnected from the track. You pulled up Izuku’s contact as the train was jostled around.

Calling Izuku <3….. Call Declined.

You know keeps his phone off whenever he’s on patrol, but hell it’s worth a shot.

Calling Izuku <3….. Call Declined.

‘Shit. Come on Izuku. I need you right now.’

Calling Katsuki…..

‘Come on Come on Come on.’

Accepted.

“What the hell are-”

“Katsuki! There’s a villain on th- AH SHIT”

The villain turned the car on its side, and people began to grip their seats, handles or poles in order to stop themselves from sliding down to the bottom. You held dangling from the handle and propped your legs against the car’s ceiling in order to become steady. You heard one of the children on the train begin to cry.

“What? Hell, hang on Y/N. We will get you out of there. DEKU!”

“Katsuki, I need- AH!”

The handle couldn’t hold the weight of your suspended body and tore from the ceiling. You dropped your phone somewhere and fell to the bottom of the car. You spun around midair so it was your back that slammed against the metal door, taking the brute of the fall. However, that didn’t stop you from hitting your head against the small window at the top, shattering it, but not breaking through.

With vertigo clouding your senses, you tried to sit up, but the shaking of the train car made it near impossible. Your eyes shook and your head pounded. You felt a stickiness cover your fingers and clump your hair together.

Damn. I was having a good hair day too. What a bummer. Oh also the fact the train is IN THE FUCKING AIR RIGHT NOW.

The villain peered inside of the window. He observed each of his victims meticulously, and with a curl of his lip, he began to shake the train once more, causing you to smack against the ceiling and land on your forearms with a groan. Tomorrow is going to hurt.

This was the first good look you got at the villain. He was someone you’d never seen before, skinny, very tall, a mess of dirty red hair sat on his head and eyes that pierced red and induced fear in whoever fell under their gaze. He was scarred up and he had a sadistic smile on his face. Oh, he also had eight MASSIVE black tentacles sprouted from his sides.

The other members of the train lay strewn about on the seats. Two teenage boys were flopped over the seats, the metal arm resting uncomfortably under one’s torso. The younger girl who was with them was clutching her knees as tears streamed down her face. C’mon man. They’re just kids.Two middle aged women held onto each other on the floor of the train. An older gentleman who sat next to his wife reached his arm out to help you. He opened his mouth but before he could speak, the villain began his monologue. ugh.

“Each of you represents something more than what you are.”

Oh brother.

“Today you symbolize the faults of the beloved, pathetic heroes in our city.”

Your head throbbed and you sat up, pressing yourself against the wall. You closed your eyes as you involuntarily listened to this asshole rant.

“The heroes failed me time and again. And today, they will fail you.”

“Please sir, I-I have grandchildren at home.” The elderly man quivered.

“I don’t believe I care. You have the ability to be much more significant to me.”

His tentacles moved so he was right outside the door you were leaning on. You tried to ignore your probably concussed pounding head and swiftly slid away from the door as he ripped it off of the car.

“Hello, dear,” The villain said to the little girl as she quivered. She looked up at him. Her brother stepped in front of her. “You know, I always wanted children. However, I was unable to after your pathetic heroes failed to save me, leaving me mutilated and ugly.” He motioned to a scar on his face.

“Maybe you can’t get a girlfriend because you trap innocent people on trains. Leave my sister alone. She’s just a kid.” The aforementioned teenager only looked about 14. However, he shakily stood in front of her and put his arm out. “She didn’t do anything wrong!”

Awe. He’s kinda like young Izuku.

The villain glared daggers as his face morphed into a look of disgust. One of his tentacles moved to violently grab at the boy.

“Oy!” You yelled. “Pick on someone your own size you Ursula knock off.” His head snapped in your direction.

“Tch.” He reached towards you and grabbed your lanyard around your neck that held your keys. “Of course.” He motioned to the logo of your hero agency. “The mouthy ones always work for scum.”

One of his slimy black tentacles slid towards you and wrapped itself around your neck, lifting you off the ground. You choked out a gasp and your hands clawed at the appendage in a futile attempt to get free.

Black spotted around your vision.

“Awe. Not so mouthy now, are you sweetheart?”

You felt the pressure from the tentacle stopping air from flowing through and your arms slowly began to give up, falling as you lost consciousness.

Fuck, help.

—

“OY!” Katsuki said, jogging to catch up with the green themed hero. He looked at his phone and saw the call with Y/N.

L/N Y/N……. Call Disconnected.

“Shit.”

“What-“

“No time, Y/N’s in danger.”

Their earpieces went off simultaneously.

bzz. “Villain with an octopus quirk currently attacking the 6:00 PM Train in Tokyo.” bzz.

‘No.’ Midoriya thought. He immediately began running towards the scene, Bakugo following close behind.

—-

Green lightning surrounded Deku as he pounced from building to building, begging time to slow down enough for him to catch up to you.

He continued on his way, his mind racing with worst-case scenarios about your state. Landing on the rooftop across from the train tracks, he was about to jump right in, when a thick glove grabbed his shoulder.

“Keep your head on straight, or you will be taken off this, Deku.” Bakugo said.

Izuku didn’t say anything.

“We will get her out of there, but you need to stay level headed or more people will get hurt, including her. Don’t be an idiot.”

He reluctantly nods in response. He knows Bakugo is right, he just can’t seem to push down the anxiety that this situation is causing. He took a breath, pushed back his hair, and assessed the situation in front of him.

The villain stood in the middle of the train car with a few of his long tentacles harshly grasping onto the outside of the train and pressed against a nearby building to hold it steady above the tracks. The man was inside, bending over to speak to a quivering little girl, and you! You were sitting on the ground with your head back against a wall.

“We have to get that train car stabilized. If we go in and take him down it will fall with the civilians still inside.” Bakugo said, crossing his arms.

The young boy stepped in front of the little girl and held out a protective arm in front of her and said something that the heroes couldn’t make out.

“I’m not sure how we’re supposed to do that, we are already so short handed.” Izuku said. “I think our best bet is to get the civilians out first. They’re the priority.”

Bakugo glares in Deku’s direction.

“If we screw up, the train falls and kills those people and potentially hurts more. Wait for backup.” He says.

Midoriya clenches his fists, but agrees. That is, until the villain wraps his tentacle around your throat.

“Y/N!” Izuku watches as the color slips from your cheeks and your arms go limp. Bakugo’s eyes go wide, and he doesn’t stop Deku from jumping in your direction. But Midoriya would never risk your life. So his eyes dart around the scene and he shifts his direction to the ground directly underneath the train car. He calculates his timing, and pulls back his fist. He directs his arm at the large slimy tentacle that was propping the car up from the ground, and with green lightning and a resolved “SMASH!”, he hit the tentacle.

Immediately after the stabilization of the train car had been tampered with, Deku shot up in the air to meet it. He flattened his palms against the bottom, and albeit shakily, he softened the collision of the car enough for everyone inside to only be shaken.

After he set the car back onto the tracks, Katsuki jumped to the car.

“Well that was dangerous.” Katsuki muttered.

In retaliation to the two heroes approach, the villain wrapped two of his tentacles around the teenage passengers.

“Let the kids go, asshole.” Katsuki said, eyeing the inside of the train car for any advantage he could take over this guy.

“Ah, Pro-Hero Dynamite! What a pleasure.” Katsuki quirked (haha get it) an eyebrow, and made eye contact with him.

“Cut the bullshit. What do you want?”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Ever the conversationalist, Dynamite. I want the world to stop their baseless devotion to pathetic heroes. like you.” He spat out his words with venom. He tightened his tentacle around the torsos of the boys.

Deku slid in behind Bakugo, and tried to keep a calm, strong glare at the villain, but his eyes kept shifting to your figure. You were still unconscious on the ground. That is not good for someone who is possibly concussed.

“Tch. What do you think this will do? Villains do worse than this every day, and lose. This is baseless.”

“I will be the outlier.”

“Put the kids down.” Midoriya said.

“Ah, the number one hero. The day has come in which I will ruin the high ground that allows- why do you keep looking at her?” this villain is such an attention whore. Midoriya’s breath caught in his throat. He swallowed.

‘Dammit. My attention was split. C’mon Deku! Rookie mistake.’

“She’s the most injured. She takes precedence.”

The villain looked at Deku with a glare that shot down all of Midoriya’s efforts. He’s not buying it. In order to direct his thinking, Deku stepped forward.

“Let the civilians go, your problem is with us, not them.” He put his hands out.

The villain let out a low, psychotic laugh, invoking fear.

“The virtuous hero makes a valiant effort to sacrifice himself for their precious civilians. Tch.”

“It’s our job. Protecting them because they haven’t done anything wrong.” Dynamite said.

“I DIDNT DO ANYTHING WRONG EITHER! I had a good life. A stable job, a fiancé I made the mistake of idolizing the likes of you. But all that went away once you heroes failed to do your job.”

His grip tightened around the boys.

“Put them down now!” Katsuki reeled back, ready to throw a punch at the villain.

“No.” He pulled his tentacles tighter. “Look at this. We have an audience!” He smiled at the media outlets that were recording from a safe distance outside the train. “This will be perf-”

While he had his head turned, Katsuki jumped at the villain, taking him off guard. He hit him with a solid right hook, used his foot to launch himself off the ground, swung his leg around the villains head and kicked downward. The villain’s head hit the metal with a resounding ‘donk!’ and was reduced to unconsciousness.

That was so anticlimactic. What the hell.

You groaned as Midoriya lifted you onto his back in a piggy-back style encouraging the young girl to follow, as she luckily didn’t have any immediate injuries. Bakugo took the two boys and assisted the women off. Midoriya stood at the bottom and helped the remaining car members off the track first, and then ran you over to a paramedic.

—-

The next morning, you finally got dismissed by the paramedics with strict instructions of bed rest. Izuku insisted on taking care of you, and the coddling this man can do.

Since your apartment was only a couple blocks away, you had permission to walk. Izuku was not a fan of you moving in any way that can result in injury. Therefore, he held all of your belongings, from your backpack to your wallet, he didn’t want an ounce of weight for you to carry.

“How are you feeling?” He said with a tinge of pity.

“Izu, I already told you! I am just a bit sore. You heard what the doctor said, bed rest is just a precaution. I will be okay my love.” You put a hand against his face.

When you arrived at your shared apartment, he hurried to the stairs in order to help you each step of the way. He opened the door for you and help you up past the final step. You smiled and laughed a bit him.

“Oh my god! Wait Izuku.” Alarms rang off in his head and he began frantically searching you for injuries.

“What? Did I hurt you when I helped you up? I’m so sorry Y/-”

“No! Izuku nothing like that.” You grabbed his hands. “But yesterday I never got to go to the market, we still need cat food. Don’t take the train.” You lightly hit him on the chest. “Have fun!”

———————————————————————————

A/N: Yeah, I rewatched Bullet Train again which inspired the train crash, and I feel like there’s not enough Midoriya stuff out there. I’m getting back into my bnha phase with this one but that’s okay- also guys keep your eyes peeled for a new Katsuki Bakugo x Reader series! Cant wait for this, thanks for reading! <3

[newstfionline]

Friday, October 11, 2024

Millions are without power after Milton tore through Florida (NYT) Hurricane Milton carved an uneven path of destruction across Florida. It maintained hurricane-strength winds from its landfall on the Gulf Coast last night until its exit this morning into the Atlantic Ocean. Coastal neighborhoods were swallowed by storm surge, inland towns were flooded with rain and nearly three million homes and businesses—about a quarter of the state—remain without power. The storm also caused several intense tornadoes on Florida’s Atlantic coast that killed at least five people, including some in a retirement community. Two other hurricane-related deaths were confirmed, and emergency workers rescued hundreds of people from damaged buildings and flooded vehicles. But the densely populated Tampa Bay region appeared to have been spared from the worst-case projections of the storm’s potential damage.

FEMA spent nearly half its disaster budget in just 8 days (Politico) Eight days into the fiscal year, the federal government has spent nearly half the disaster relief that Congress has allocated for the next 12 months. The rapid spending—which is likely to accelerate as aid flows to states pulverized by Hurricanes Helene and Milton—soon will force the Federal Emergency Management Agency to restrict spending unless Congress approves additional funding [and Congress is in recess until the election]. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell disclosed that as of Tuesday, FEMA had spent $9 billion of the $20 billion that Congress put in FEMA’s disaster fund Oct. 1 for the fiscal year that runs through Sept. 30, 2025.

For Lebanese Americans, calm at home is surreal as Israel strikes Beirut (Washington Post) Rashad Assir started a recent Monday with a 45-minute phone call in which his mother described how she had cracked open the windows of their family home in Lebanon to reduce the pressure wave from potential explosions. She was about to leave Beirut for the mountains in the north to try to escape Israeli airstrikes. Then Assir tuned in to a Zoom call to discuss the language and graphics for his tech company’s next marketing campaign. Assir, a Lebanese American tech worker based in New York, was in a state of disbelief about his different realities, he said. Several people of Lebanese descent in the United States, a community of at least 685,000 people, according to the 2020 Census, told The Washington Post that they are feeling a sense of dystopia and isolation from those around them. In recent weeks, Sara Harb-Fisher, 29, a Lebanese American nursing student from southern Mississippi, said she has been worrying about her “family in Lebanon that is being bombed.” “My day-to-day is overwhelming,” she said. “As I’m dropping my girls off at school, logging in to class or preparing lunch, I’m constantly wondering if my grandmother is still alive.”

They Flew 7,000 Miles to Fight Haiti’s Gangs. The Gangs Are on Top. (NYT) If the burned-out cars, bullet-riddled schools, demolished buildings and desolate streets in downtown Port-au-Prince weren’t enough evidence of the terrible things that happened here, someone left an even more ominous hint: skulls in the middle of the street. A human head propped up on a stick with another on the ground beside it in front of a government office was apparently intended as a menacing message from gang members to the Kenyan and Haitian police officers trying to restore order to Haiti: Beware, we rule these streets. A Kenyan police officer wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet and patrolling in an American armored personnel carrier took a photograph with his cellphone, while another maneuvered the vehicle around the skulls. The patrol offered a glimpse into the enormous challenges the Kenyan force faces in trying to wrest control of Port-au-Prince from armed groups that have unraveled life in the country, killing indiscriminately, raping women, burning neighborhoods and leaving hundreds of thousands hungry and in makeshift shelters.

Iranian covert operations in Europe (AP) According to the head of Britain’s national intelligence agency, the country is experiencing a “staggering rise” in assassination attempts, sabotage plans, and other crimes plotted by other countries. On Tuesday, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum revealed that his agency had stopped over 20 “potentially lethal” plots backed by the government of Iran over the past two years, and warned that Tehran might cook up even more plots if the conflict in the Middle East continues to grow. All of those plots targeted Iranians living abroad in the U.K., not British politicians or leaders.

North Korea says it will cut off all roads to the South (BBC) North Korea will sever road and railway access to South Korea from Wednesday in a bid to “completely separate” the two countries. Its military said the North would “permanently shut off and block the southern border” and fortify areas on its side. The Korean People’s Army (KPA) described the move as “a self-defensive measure for inhibiting war”, claiming it was in response to war exercises in South Korea and the frequent presence of American nuclear assets in the region. It marks an escalation of hostility at a time when tensions between the Koreas are at their highest point in years. The declaration is a largely symbolic step by Pyongyang. Roads and railways leading from North Korea to the South are rarely used, and have been incrementally dismantled by North Korean authorities over the past year.

Israel Fires on U.N. Peacekeepers (Foreign Policy) Israeli forces fired on several positions used by United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday. According to the Lebanese mission, known as UNIFIL, Israeli soldiers targeted its headquarters at Ras Naqoura, “hitting the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, and damaging vehicles and a communications system.” Two peacekeepers from Indonesia were injured. “Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” UNIFIL said, adding that it was following up with the Israeli military, which also “deliberately fired at and disabled” U.N.-operated perimeter-monitoring cameras. Israel has not commented on the incidents. Israel has recently accused UNIFIL of failing in its mission by allowing Hezbollah to entrench itself along the Blue Line. Some Israeli operations have hit near U.N. Post 6-52, where 30 Irish UNIFIL peacekeepers remain stationed despite Israel warning them to evacuate.

Nearly a Million Civilians Flee War in Lebanon, U.N. Says (NYT) Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israeli towns and fought ground battles with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as the United Nations warned that nearly a million Lebanese had fled the spreading war between Israel and Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East. In a sign of the war’s growing scale, Israeli evacuation orders now cover a quarter of Lebanon’s land area, according to the United Nations, which says the calls have sent people fleeing from more than a hundred villages and urban areas. More than 600,000 people of Lebanon’s 5.4 million have been displaced within the country, threatening to overwhelm shelters, U.N. officials warned, and 300,000 others have fled abroad. Half of Lebanon’s public schools have been turned into shelters, the aid group Save the Children said on Wednesday.

Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza (NYT) Dr. Sidhwa is a trauma and general surgeon who worked at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, for two weeks in March and April: I worked as a trauma surgeon in Gaza from March 25 to April 8. I’ve volunteered in Ukraine and Haiti, and I grew up in Flint, Mich. I’ve seen violence and worked in conflict zones. But of the many things that stood out about working in a hospital in Gaza, one got to me: Nearly every day I was there, I saw a new young child who had been shot in the head or the chest, virtually all of whom went on to die. Thirteen in total. At the time, I assumed this had to be the work of a particularly sadistic soldier located nearby. But after returning home, I met an emergency medicine physician who had worked in a different hospital in Gaza two months before me. “I couldn’t believe the number of kids I saw shot in the head,” I told him. To my surprise, he responded: “Yeah, me, too. Every single day.” Through personal contacts in the medical community and a good deal of searching online, I was able to get in touch with American health care workers who have served in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. 44 doctors, nurses and paramedics saw multiple cases of preteen children who had been shot in the head or chest in Gaza.

Adré snapshot: refugee camp life (Worldcrunch) In what is probably the world’s biggest refugee camp, the desert town of Adré, Chad, the refugees from Sudan exhibit a remarkable sense of dignity. Next to some of the huts, they have built from branches and plastic sheeting, flowers grow neatly in beds surrounded by bricks. There is hardly any rubbish on the muddy paths of the town. The people organize committees to clean the toilets, which are provided by aid organizations. People help one another. Anyone who has anything left from the far-too-small food rations shares it with the community—even if they are very hungry. That is what Sudanese culture dictates. And they have brought their culture with them to the neighboring country of Chad. Since the war between Sudan’s army and the Arab militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated 17 months ago, tens of thousands have been killed in the fighting. It is simultaneously the largest humanitarian crisis and the largest refugee crisis in the world; 10 million people have been displaced, and 2 million have moved to the already fragile neighboring countries. Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world, is bearing the greatest burden with 780,000 refugees.

With roads often blocked by rebels in Congo, boats are the only alternative (AP) The overcrowded boat that capsized in eastern Congo last week killed eight members of Serge Nzonga’s family along with 70 others. Days later, he was back on the same route that claimed their lives in yet another boat lacking safety measures. Nzonga and hundreds of other passengers, including Associated Press journalists, lined up at the seaport in Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, getting ready to board a locally made boat bound for Bukavu city on the other side of Lake Kivu, a perilous journey they would rather undertake than travel Congo’s treacherous roads. The capsizing of overloaded boats is becoming increasingly frequent in this central African nation as more people are abandoning the few available roads for wooden vessels crumbling under the weight of passengers and their goods. The roads are often caught up in the deadly clashes between Congolese security forces and rebels that sometimes block major access routes. Hundreds have already been killed or declared missing in such accidents so far this year.

Virginia congressional candidate creates AI chatbot as debate stand-in for incumbent (Reuters) After Don Beyer, a Democratic congressman in Virginia, declined to agree to any further election debates before November—Bentley Hensel, a software engineer and long-shot independent candidate in the race, is planning instead to debate an AI chatbot that he has created. DonBot, as the AI is playfully known, is being trained on Beyer’s official websites, press releases, and data from the Federal Election Commission. The debate, slated to stream October 17 online, will pit Hensel and David Kennedy, another independent, against DonBot.

[sedoretu]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/07/05/chevron-doctrine-overturned-regulations-vulnerable-supreme-court/

8 policies that could be vulnerable to new legal challenges [after Chevron]

The Supreme Court jettisoned longstanding precedent that helped the federal government make regulations. Now broad policies could be determined by judges.

“No policy is at greater risk than the administration’s student loan forgiveness efforts, which spend hundreds of billions of dollars without congressional authority,” said Michael Brickman, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former senior adviser in the Education Department under President Donald Trump. Republican attorneys general in 18 states have sued to stop the Saving on a Valuable Education program, which lowers monthly student loan payments and offers a shorter path to loan forgiveness. They argue that Congress never envisioned anything as expansive as the program in the law underpinning the regulation.

...

A new Biden administration regulation protecting transgender students and laying out how schools must respond to accusations of sexual assault and harassment was already being challenged, and the new ruling gives opponents further ammunition to stop it. The regulation is the administration’s interpretation of the half-century-old Title IX law, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded K-12 schools, colleges and universities. The administration, citing a 2020 Supreme Court ruling, included discrimination based on gender identity in its definition of sex discrimination, meaning schools might be required, for instance, to allow transgender students to use pronouns and bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The provision was celebrated by LGBTQ+ advocates and derided by conservatives.

...

The Supreme Court ruling almost immediately put a check on the Labor Department’s authority. Hours after the ruling came down Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in eastern Texas cited the decision in an order to block the federal overtime expansion from applying to Texas state employees. The rule went into effect Monday and makes millions more workers eligible for overtime pay nationwide. But labor and employment attorneys say the Texas judge’s decision signals that another court will probably block the rule.

... The Biden administration’s most consequential climate rule could be newly vulnerable: The Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to boost sales of electric vehicles while slashing emissions from gasoline-powered cars and trucks. Republican attorneys general from more than two dozen states had already sued the EPA over the Biden administration’s most consequential climate rule, a sweeping attempt to transform the U.S. auto market. The top trade association for the U.S. oil and gas industry, which could see demand for its products decline as consumers shift to EVs, has also challenged the regulations in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Opponents say the agency has overstepped its authority.

[influencer-agency123]

Top TikTok Influencers in Dubai

TikTok audience soars in the land of luxury, fascination, and rich cultural diversity; Dubai, like the skyscrapers that kiss the heavens. TikTokholics, cheer! Electrifying desert safaris, the latest fashion trends, jaw-dropping theme parks, thrilling make-up tutorials, humorous pranks, tasty cuisine, fitness regimes, and more- the top TikTok influencers in Dubai, UAE let the city’s futuristic charm meet TikTok’s dynamic energy. They represent the country’s unique vibe through the window of their TikTok account.  They provide us with dynamic, and varied content.  On the other hand, they help brands reach untapped markets and strengthen their user affinity.

Marketing science from the research center; The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, reliably signified that the best way for brands to grow is by getting new users on board. Hence, brands need to reach and appeal to more people in the market, particularly those who are competitors’ buyers.

TikTok is a platform that is principally driven by an algorithm, unlike other social networks that are modeled by followers, so accounts without many followers can quickly gain traction if the content they create is interesting to the masses. Hence, it is advisable to connect with our TikTok influencer marketing strategists to find the right influencer for your campaign.

In 2024, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have the highest TikTok reach, with approximately 140% of their populations aged 18 and older using the platform. This translates to 68.6% overall adult reach for the UAE and 78.3% for Saudi Arabia (According to Statista).

As per DataReportal, TikTok had 10.73 million users aged 18 and above in the United Arab Emirates in early 2024.

Now, that we know the significance of the TikTok platform, let us understand who precisely are the Top TikTokers in the UAE.

Who are TikTok influencers in Dubai, UAE? 

TikTok is an addictive user-friendly platform, implying audiences stay using this network for a long time. Top TikTok influencers in the MENA and Gulf region are one of the major reasons behind this. They post frequently on their TikTok account and thereby have gained massive popularity. They share short-form videos spanning various arenas, like; entertainment, food, fitness, comedy, dance, beauty, health, lifestyle, and more. Moreover these top influencers have a strong connections with influencer marketing agency in Dubai to get premium brand collaborations.

Furthermore, the most followed TikTokers in United Arab Emirates change consumer behaviour, shape trends and ultimately build digital communities. Now let us move on to the most authentic list of TikTok Instagrammers in the Middle East.

List of Top TikTok Influencers in Dubai, UAE 

1. Ghaith Marwan  

USP: Ghaith Marwan keeps communications lively and fun with challenges by using prevalent TikTok trends, and memes.

About the Best TikTok Influencer in Dubai: Ghaith Marwan, shares cherished and downright fun experiences on his TikTok account.  The top TikTok creator was awarded the Kids Choice Award in 2023 and the YouTube Trailblazer Award in 2022.

He covers a wide range of topics, like; interviews and vlogs on fashion and travel. He has promoted various restaurants. He also raised awareness about social matters and advocated for righteousness.

2. Sara Alwari

USP: Drives luxurious cars to travel across the Middle East and embrace the traditions of diverse cultures.

About the Best TikTok Influencer in Dubai: Here we have wonderful Sara Alwari, a 23-year-old clinical nutritionist thriving on TikTok! She provides enjoyable narratives in her daily life. Her content rolls around from modeling, food, makeup, pranks, encounters, exercise staples, and traveling. She is also a certified personal trainer. She married prevalent Syrian TikToker Ghaith Marwan in 2023.

3. Nora and Khalid 

USP: They blend cultural education with enjoyable content, making them relatable and engaging for an extensive audience.

About the Best TikTok Influencer in the UAE: Nora and Khalid provide a beautiful combination

 of diverse cultures, as Nora Achmaoui, is Moroccan born and raised in Germany, and Khalid, is from Palestine. Their content reflects the love for adventure, home décor, entrepreneurship and fashion. Nora Achmaoui is also a business expert, author, coach, and speaker who talks about social issues. The top Emirati TikTokers have worked with Fenty Beauty, JW Anderson, Versace, Lacoste, Nissan, etc. The couple engages in many activities like; cooking, attending celebrations and exclusive events, and pranking each other.

4. Mohammad Hindash

USP: His gift of creating styles that are both high-fashion and easy to attain, combining artistic skills with exhaustive knowledge of beauty trends makes him stand out.

About the TikTok star in Dubai: Mohammed Hindash is an award-winning Jordanian-Palestinian makeup artist, entrepreneur and TikTok influencer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He is well-known for publishing cosmetic product reviews and tutorials on his MHindash channel. His content is inspired by the comic books he read throughout his teenage years. He creates beauty portraits while studying at the Visual Communication - Studio Art, American University in Dubai. He won the Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award for Fine Arts.  His work has been represented in over 20 gallery exhibitions, including the SIKKA Art Fair. He has creative and state-of-the-art thinking in cosmetics.  He has worked with brands like MAC Cosmetic Middle East, Chanel, Charlotte Tilbury, Fenty Beauty, etc.

5.    Sherin Amara

USP: she is famous for her dance concerts and lip-syncs

About the TikTok influencer in the GCC: Sherin Ammara is a Syrian-born content creator who has efficaciously established herself in the beauty, make-up, and lifestyle industry.  Her posts include; challenges, beauty tutorials, unboxing diverse beauty and fashion products, dance performances, lip-syncs, and comedy videos. She has collaborated with well-known brands like; Makeup Forever and Sephora.

6. Shahad Hassan

USP: Shahad Hassan is known for providing makeup looks using reasonably priced products.

About the TikTok influencer: Shahad Hassan, born on 11 July 1996 in Sweden is one of the top TikTok influencers in Dubai, who shares videos about beauty, lifestyle, family, challenges, food, etc. She shares content studio sessions, represents diverse outfits, and provides makeup looks using reasonably priced products. She promotes discounts and offers on numerous brands, encouraging her followers to take benefit of special deals. She created her YouTube channel on September 16, 2018. She has collaborated with brands like; She glam official & Nyx cosmetics Arabia. She unambiguously outshines at hijab-style fashion. She has a high engagement rate on TikTok 4.97%.

7. Aliona and Yazan

USP: Very high engagement rate.

About the TikTok influencer: Aliona and Yazan are some of the best Emirati TikTokers. Aliona is a public speaker and writer of "The Self-Powered Life" and an enthusiastic Political science student. Yazan is a civil engineer who bagged numerous managerial certifications. Both of them, have a strong influence on both female and male audiences (72% Females and 27% Males) and have collaborated with Ralph Lauren, Dove, Dyson Arabia, YSL Beauty, Baruni Fashion, Dee Closet, Huawei, etc. The top TikTokers in Dubai make public appearances at exclusive events, representing numerous designer outfits. The brand Aliona Cosmetics is their pride She has a very high engagement rate of around 8.93%.

8. Sherin Ammara

USP: Sherin Ammara is a Makeup pundit!

About the Emirati Influencer: Sherin Ammara is a fashion and beauty TikTok influencer known for her unique outfits and dashing makeup looks. She shares beauty tutorials, vlogs on latest fashion trends as well as provide great product recommendations. She collaborated with brands like; L'Oreal Paris, La Roche-Posay, Sephora Middle East, Nyx Cosmetics Arabia, etc. They epitomize an extraordinary talent for making short films. Moreover, her high engagement is astounding of 7.04%.

Conclusion: 

The biggest influencers on TikTok in GCC have become good cohorts for brands that are seeking increased awareness, credibility, sales, and ROI.

Within the UAE bionetwork and around, we custom-build TikTok influencer marketing campaigns that match the right maneuvers with the right storytellers to achieve the highest ROI. We are a full-cycle influencer marketing agency producing meaningful stories, purposeful engagements, experiences, and strategic content. With our exclusive, professional, and enduring influencer marketing expertise, we create the most candid influences to deliver the results you desire.