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overdrivels · 5 years ago

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Imploration

This is a sort of prequel to an old fic of mine, On Guard. Mostly talks about conspiracy and the stuff that led up to the events of that fic. I wrote this long, long ago, but just never finished it. Apparently the last edit was back in 2018, so I’m actually happy I got my ass back into gear to finish it up.

It’s basically just a tangent of potential lore-weaving and what-if Sojiro Shimada wasn’t an asshole and knew Gabriel Reyes.

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「Sapporo, please.」

“Water.”

The two men waited in silence for their respective drinks to come. They sat side by side at the counter in the furthest seats away from the door with a great view of the dinky ramen shack that could barely seat ten people. One was obviously a foreigner to this place. The other patron was obviously from the area, dressed in nothing but jinbei, and personally greeted by the shopkeeper warmly in his thick dialect (「Welc–oh! So-chan, long time! How are th'boys?」)

Their drinks were placed in front of them not too long, and they each took a pull, relishing in the relief the liquids brought them in this humid weather. The cicadas were loud, and combined their voices with the cheap electrical fan overhead, almost enough to make up for the simmering silence in the shop. Though, one of the patrons decided that cicadas make for terrible conversationalists, and that perhaps the man next to him would be better.

“Are you a perhaps a tourist?” Sojiro asked coolly in near perfect English, eyes crinkling in mirth. Gabriel’s eyes swept the shop before focusing on the man. There were very few who would know English in this part of town. Both were able to speak freely in this nearly abandoned shop. The shopkeep himself was tending to his broth unhurriedly.

Gabriel took a sip of his water, condensation already forming on the side from the hot summer air.

“Yeah, something like that. You a local?”

“Something like that,” he repeated cheekily. Gabriel snorted. His new friend had a sense of humor.

“Are you here for business, then?”

The air shifted briefly when Sojiro said that, and Gabriel had to grin. It reeked of danger and shady dealings. “I’m just here for…sight-seeing. Heard that Hanamura was quite…magical this time of year.”

Sojiro mirrored his expression, a knowing look in his eyes. “Of course. Hanamura is very beautiful. You’ve come at a good time, friend.” He jerked a chin at the shopkeeper behind the counter.

「Koma-chan!」

「Ay, So-chan? What can I do fer ya?」

「My new friend here wants your Tonkotsu special. Double eggs, extra firm noodles, make them wavy. Oh, and don’t forget the garlic. Two heads of it.」

With a knowing nod, and a curt, 「Sure thin’,」 the shopkeeper clicked off the fire to his broth, provided the two a pitcher of water to drink at their leisure, and disappeared into the back, leaving the two customers by their lonesome. The lights above their heads flicked momentarily, and a dull buzzing current that Gabriel could feel crawling up the back of his bare neck. Neither of the patrons moved until they could hear the wooden door to the shop click shut, and a body leaning heavily against it–basic assurance that no one will come in.

In the privacy of the shop guarded by a man who’s paid to keep secrets, both men were able to drop their pretenses.

“Where are my noodles, Shimada?” Gabriel gestured grandly at the kitchen just behind the bar table they sat at. “You promised me noodles when I got here.”

Sojiro laughed out loud. “You’ll get them, Reyes-san. Where is your hat?”

The Blackwatch commander ran a hand over his bare head, seeming annoyed now that he was reminded that he was bereft of his signature beanie. “At home getting tossed ‘round like a toy by some ingrate. Probably.”

The Japanese man had to raise an eyebrow at that. “Oh? A dog, is it?”

The image of Jesse McCree as a dog–the correct analog was a roadside mutt, really–wasn’t entirely wrong, but Gabriel waved it off. “Something like that. But enough of this bull.”

“Yes,” Sojiro said coolly. “Welcome to my Hanamura, I am very pleased you were able to make it.”

The possessiveness does not go unnoticed—a dual invitation and a threat.

“’was getting tired of talking to you through stupid cigarette paper.” From one of his inner pockets, Gabriel tossed out a rolled up piece of scrap onto the table, which Sojiro picked up, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger, amused.

“I had assumed you liked my style. Apologies.” The paper disappeared into the inside of Sojiro’s sleeves as he crossed his arms.

Gabriel snorted in disbelief. “If you were really sorry, you’d get your ass on one of our comms already and not send one of your mechanical birds. You’re a damn hack, Shimada,” he said, pounding the table just once to get his point across.

“You flatter me.”

“That ain’t a compliment.”

“Then I’m afraid I misunderstood.” He pressed a mocking hand to his heart. “Forgive the ignorance of this old man.”

While the runaround was annoying, Gabriel could appreciate the sarcasm, it’s much better than listening to the straight-laced Jack Morrison all day. “Just get on with it. You said you had a favor to ask Blackwatch?”

“Ah, yes.”

Sojiro leaned against the bar counter with one elbow, suddenly donning the posture of one more fitting of his actual position. Comfortable, unhurried, but menacing. “But first, allow me to tell you the tale passed down from our family throughout the generations.”

The Blackwatch commander drained the last of his water, and waved the bottom of it at him, willing him to continue. He had a feeling that he’d be forced to hear it whether he wanted to or not.

“My family tells of an ancient legend about two great dragon brothers…”

By the time the story was over, Gabriel was leaned over the counter, his palm digging another crater-sized dimple into his face. "And? What does that have to do with your clan?”

“We, the Shimada clan, descended from those dragons,” he paused, looking thoughtful for a moment before he looked at Gabriel with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "or so it’s said. Though, some have interpreted the story to mean that the two dragons were once the rulers of the Shimada clan. When the Dragon of the North killed his younger brother, he did not fall to the ground. He fell on a Shimada.”

The image of a multi-ton mythical snake falling onto some poor soul made Gabriel laugh out loud, and he slapped the table, shaking the empty glasses in his mirth. Sojiro was not particularly bothered by this, and let him laugh it out–he’s dealt with worse, he has two sons that could disappear at a moment’s notice (one of which does it on a nearly bi-hourly basis).

Gabriel finally calmed down after a couple of minutes, he was clutching his stomach, tears at the corner of his eyes. By that time, Sojiro has already drained the last of his alcohol. “That’s hilarious, Shimada.”

His lips quirked upward and he shrugged far more casually than a man who just had his family legacy laughed at should. “There’s more–”

“Did he fall on more than one?”

“–to this theory. When the elder Dragon was asked to descend, he did not descend onto any land, but into a Shimada. Possessed a human body.”

“That interpretation’s a stretch, isn’t it?”

Sojiro shrugged again. “Regardless, these dragons are in our family. And the Shimadas have the ability to control them.”

“And? If you have those mythical dragons running around, why do you need our help?”

Sojiro laughed humorlessly. “Because, Reyes-san, you are a smart man. You should understand.”

“Flattery gets you nowhere, Shimada. I’m not making my people do your dirty work for you.”

“Of course not, and this request is not without adequate compensation.”

Sojiro poured water into Gabriel’s empty glass and then into his own. Gabriel watched quietly as the man turned away from him and ran a hand through his hair slowly, the streaks of grey a testament to how difficult his life must have been. The man’s chest expanded with a deep breath, unwilling to actually sigh, before he faced the Blackwatch commander again.

“They killed my wife, Reyes-san,” Sojiro said solemnly. “Now they seek to kill me to control my sons.”

His eyebrow raised. “The news said she died of heart failure.” Not that Gabriel believed everything he heard in the news, but he was admittedly not very concerned with Japanese politics at the time. The Shimadas always kept their affairs to Japanese soil, though there were always rumors of the clan being seen in various areas of South and East Asia.

The widower scoffed, downing his new glass of water as though it’ll cleanse him of this reality.

“They lie,” Sojiro huffed bitterly. “They killed her. Because she was a strong woman. She frightened the clan elders.” A flash of fondness crossed his face. “She was beautiful. Powerful. But then…”

He gnashed his teeth, and Gabriel could’ve sworn he was imagining it, but something beneath the clan leader’s clothes seemed to glow. “The filthy cowards. They thought I would not discover it.”

“Discover what?”

“They did something to her. She became different.” The older man’s hazel eyes became hard, glaring holes into the wooden counter. “It was still my wife, but she—she began to lose sight of herself. She looked the same, but she…” He shook his head roughly. “I do not know what happened, but only that the clan elders were responsible.”

“You said something about killing you to control your sons?”

“Yes, yes.” He waved a hand, nonchalant, as if his life was a trivial matter. “My sons are still young. In the case of my eldest, Hanzo, I’m afraid his burden is a much heavier destiny than he can bear.”

“How so?”

“The eldest’s role is to lead the clan.”

“So, he’s just a you 2.0.”

Sojiro shakes his head. “It would be my greatest joy, but my greatest sorrow if he were to become like his father.”

“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“If only my second son fell nearer. Wild and rambunctious; capricious.”

“Why? Second son belongs to the milkman?”

Even Reyes knows when he’s crossed the line, regretting those words the instance they left his mouth. There was a threatening crackle in the air, every sense in his body running rampant and screaming danger was near. Sojiro’s face remained carefully neutral, but there’s hardness to his eyes that even Reyes, a hardened soldier and having given the look himself many times, felt compelled to retract his statement.

“My bad.”

Sojiro nodded. “Do you know our clan’s symbol?”

He’s seen it several times before in pictures of the mobster in the reports he’s given occasionally. Sojiro normally wore it proudly on his back during the day, unlike now, in an unassuming set of the equivalent of lounging clothes. The two dragons like an ouroboros–eating the other rather than itself. Normally, an ouroboros signifies the cycle of creation and life, all as one. Ana had taught this to him before among other things during their times of idleness.

But two of them trying to eat the other? Gabriel could fathom a guess, but he’s sure it’d be a poor one. He’s not much for this sort of philosophical thinking. (It was honestly more of the space gorilla’s favorite pastime.)

“It is rare that both dragons, North and South, are born together in the same generation. Both my sons have received the blessing of dragons.” Sojiro swirled his glass, the water formed a mini-tornado within. “It was supposed to be joyous. The strongest generation, the elders claimed. Finally, the two dragon brothers have been reunited.”

“Isn’t that a good thing for you guys?”

“But there is a problem. My son, Hanzo, has two dragons.”

The meaningful look Sojiro gave him forced the truth upon him so quickly, he got figurative whiplash.

“So they only require one of the brothers, then.”

Sojiro’s eyes were downcast, the grip on his empty glass so tight, it was clattering against the table. “Once they have Hanzo, they will have no need for Genji.”

“Didn’t know the dragon legend had a third brother.”

“Not explicitly. But if one were to read between the lines of text, you could infer the existence of an East and West Wind. But that is hardly relevant. Who would believe such a thing?”

Gabriel shrugged. It’s true. If it’s not mentioned anywhere, there’s no reason for anyone to believe such a thing. “But why kill your other son? Isn’t the more dragons the better? More auspicious, isn’t it?”

“No. It has to be two dragons, or one of the two.”

“In that case, Genji has no use. They could just oust him or something.”

Sojiro slammed his glass against the table in anger. “It is because Genji still has a use that the clan elders want him dead. They cannot control him, so they will seek his death.”

It would be easy for another faction to challenge Hanzo’s legitimacy. Hanzo may have two dragons, but they could argue it’s the result of some defect—one dragon split into two. It’s a stretch, but a very compelling possibility. Genji, on the other hand, is whole. If a branch family were to rally behind Genji and claim him as the true heir, the clan elders would either be forced to recognize it or forced to have a civil war. Neither options were desirable.

Genji, from Sojiro’s account, is a force of nature; untameable and unflappable. A cheeky young thing with no regards toward tradition or hierarchy. A walking nightmare for a band of traditionalists stewing in their own filth they call “order”.

“Should you really be leaving your sons alone, then?”

“My eldest cousin, Asahi, is guarding my youngest, Genji. My other cousin is guarding Hanzo. I trust them both to watch over my sons properly.”

Gabriel took a contemplative sip of water, staring off into space. “Cousins, huh? So they’re branch members?”

The unspoken implication hung heavily over their heads, but Sojiro responded, “Reyes-san. I trust them.”

“Glad someone does.”

It’s not unheard of for the branch members of a family in the middle of a power struggle to take sides or drastic measures. It’s natural, even. Some members may even want to lay claim to the Head seat themselves. But the case of the Shimadas, whose worth was determined by the family’s dragons, they could only make due with manipulating the leader. Gabriel has seen more than his fair share of skirmishes over seats of power, and the inevitable mess of an aftermath.

Gabriel tapped the counter. “I don’t see why I’m here, though. If we’re talking allies, Talon should be higher on the list than us.”

Sojiro’s lip curled in derision. “They do not know their place.”

“Oh, and we do?”

“You’re much more preferable to work with. And many times more trustworthy than Talon.”

“Well, I’m honored,” Gabriel answered sarcastically, putting a hand to his chest. “That you think we could do something that even you or Talon cannot do.”

That Sojiro spoke of his sons and the sticky matter of his clan’s politics to an outsider was extremely telling. It’s a weakness that Gabriel never thought he’d ever get to see.

“It must be funny to you that the head of the Shimada clan–ruler of all Hanamura–can’t even protect his own children,” Sojiro spat out bitterly. “It is shameful for me to ask an outsider this, but…”

Gabriel did not expect the man to suddenly get on his hands and knees, pressing his forehead to the ground. “Please, protect my sons. I beg you as the father of these two children, please.”

“Get up, Shimada.” Despite his words, the Blackwatch commander was already trying to pull him up. This look does not suit the head of the Shimada empire. Such a powerful man grovelling at his feet when he was only stomping around on things unmentionable just the week before was unsettling.

The man refused to budge, as though the weight of his request and the lives that rested on Reyes’ answer kept him glued to the floor.

“I beg you.”

“Don’t be an ass, Shimada.”

“When I die, I have no power to protect them. They are too green. They lack power.”

“Isn’t that your damn job as a parent?”

“I cannot!” Sojiro shouted. “I have failed as a parent. I cannot hope to pretend to be one now. I can only entrust this to someone I trust.”

“You’d trust an enemy, Shimada?”

“Yes.”

It was a peculiar thing that most people would never understand. Multiple encounters of their teams clashing, outsmarting each other, outmaneuvering the other forged an ironclad trust that many people would never have the privilege of experiencing. Someone who knows all your weaknesses, your strengths, morals, and respects the rules which you play by. It’s how they were both able to meet in such a place, neither with weapons or additional guards. This was a peculiar bond that perhaps only enemies would ever know.

Gabriel sighed, dropping his ass onto the ground. “You’re a real piece of work, Shimada.”

“So I’ve been told,” Sojiro replied, a hint of a smile in his voice. He slowly raised his head from the ground, a red mark maring his forehead. “Is that a ‘yes’, then?”

Again, Gabriel sighed. What Sojiro was asking of him was not only going to be difficult, but risky as well. It could put Overwatch (and Blackwatch) at serious political risk with the Japanese government. Even worse, it would make them the target of the Shimada clan and all of its affiliates and stakeholders. Jack would definitely be opposed to such a plan.

Even if they managed to protect the two brothers, the only thing Blackwatch would get out of this is the lukewarm gratitude of two brats who would not know the desperate lengths to which their father went to protect their lives and future. And they would likely never understand or appreciate it.

High risk, low reward was not how Blackwatch liked to operate.

But Gabriel Reyes was a different story.

“We’ll need a proper plan. Can’t guarantee it’ll work out, but we need your cooperation if we’re going to maximize our chances of getting either of your sons out of this in one piece.”

“Of course. You have my thanks, Reyes-san.”

The deal was sealed with a handshake and the ramen that Sojiro owed Reyes. Both men made small talk for the rest of the night before leaving to don the mantle of their respective roles.

When Gabriel returned, the details with Sojiro were confirmed. Blackwatch’s mission is to keep a watchful eye over the two brothers and ensure they stay alive. If possible, get them out by force.

He assigned you to Hanamura under the pretense that you will be gathering information about their arms trade by becoming the bodyguard of a Shimada heir. You will get close to them, get them to divulge their secrets. While it’s true that the Shimadas were involved in the exchange of weaponry, he did not disclose to you the real reason—it’s better if you didn’t know. You will protect them anyway, keep an eye on both brothers regardless.

After all, it goes without saying that in order to fool your enemies, you must first fool your allies.

The implant goes without a hitch, at least, from his part.

Sojiro continued to communicate with him through the tiny scrolls delivered by his robotic birds—entirely indistinguishable from ordinary ones. His coded messages were short, but expressed his gratitude and trepidation.

The news of Sojiro’s death does not surprise him.

What did surprise him was your insistence on leaving.

“I’m with the wrong Shimada!” you hissed into your communicator, and Gabriel stopped himself from telling you just how wrong that statement was.

Instead, he carefully considered your words. If you were to leave, there’d be no one around to report on either Shimada brother. It was hard enough for Sojiro to get you accepted in their fold, and it wouldn’t do to waste such an opportunity.

But on the other hand, the oligarchy surrounding the new Shimada head would be considerably less cautious if the outsider finally leaves their midst. Their guard might even be down for a short while as they take the chance to eliminate you which meant a short window of opportunity.

It might be worth taking this chance. They could get you and one of the brothers out alive. From your reports, you’ve built a fair amount of trust between yourself and your charge. A few words and the promise of freedom might convince the younger Shimada to go with them.

“Jack, we’re storming Hanamura.”

“What? Gabe! We don’t have jurisdiction over Japan! What are you thinking?”

“I have an agent who wants out. This departure is going to turn the Shimada’s inside-out, I can’t imagine the clan will let a foreigner leave so easily.”

Moments of silence later, Jack heaved a shuddering sigh. Gabriel could just imagine the man rubbing his forehead, trying to formulate a speech for the media when this all goes to hell in a hand basket. “When?”

“A week from now. Dead of night.”

Little did he know, a week from now, they’d be storming Hanamura for very different reasons.

#my writing #back on my bullshit #general #no real pairing here just two old men talking to each other

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haringdyke · 5 years ago

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#business #good business ideas #business ideas #online business #business entrepreneur #home business entrepreneurs #generate business ideas #brainstorming business

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devilsknotrp · 6 years ago

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Congratulations, SB! You have been accepted for the role of Kenneth “Ken” Hawker with the faceclaim of Kyle Chandler. This is a sample application to demonstrate one way you can fill out your application form! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to us and we'll do our best to help. The application process is not meant to be overwhelming; we're all here to write. If you would like to apply for a character connected to Ken in some way, just shoot co-admin SB a message over on her account, @principal-hawker!

OUT OF CHARACTER

Name: SB Age: 28 Pronouns: She/her Timezone: PST Activity estimation: I’m online just about everyday! So get ready to get sick of me. When work picks up I’ll be a tad more sporadic, but chances are I’m lurking throughout the day anyway. Triggers: (REDACTED)

IN CHARACTER:

BASICS

Full name: Kenneth Michael Hawker Age: 55. Born January 12, 1941 Gender: Male Pronouns: He/him Sexuality: Heterosexual Occupation: Principal of Devil’s Knot High School Connection to Victim: Ken was familiar with Linda’s teens through the school. He’s struck up a friendship with Linda through their shared time at the PTA. Alibi: Ken was preparing for that evening’s PTA meeting and finishing up some paperwork in his office. Faceclaim: Kyle Chandler

WRITING SAMPLE

“Alright, alright, now everybody settle down so we can get the hell outta here, okay?” The raucous crowd settled quickly, each and every one of the citizens knowing full well what kind of ear full they’d get if they disobeyed. Ken had run these PTA meetings with an iron fist for as long as most of the town could remember. Before him, his mother, and before her, well let’s just say the Hawker family has been around a long while. “Now, first order of business-”

Ken barely got the meeting started before a barrage of frantic hands shot up into the air, whispers beginning to echo around the room. The man raised a weary hand to his face, dragging it down over his mouth. It was gonna be one of those nights. He could already hear the questions, the concerns, the fear. Was it was happening again? How could we be sure our children were safe? Will this affect their midterms? Why are we even having school? Shouldn’t we all be out looking?

Ken had nearly lost his mind after Phillip and Pete had gone missing. His best friend was dead and implicated in the attempted murder of his own son. Of course, he hadn’t done it, but the wounds were still there. Even now, even after twelve years, Ken hadn’t recovered. But he’d at least made it back to a point of relative peace. His kids grew up, no one else vanished, Aisha and he were finally doing well. Until Saturday. It was like his entire world had been held up by a straw foundation and this was the one gust of wind to take them all down once and for all.

With one raised hand, Ken silenced the whispers. He stared out to his friends and neighbors, all with children who they loved, who they feared for. For god’s sake, the man was just a principal! What could he possibly do to lie to these people? To tell them everything would be alright? He wasn’t his father. Somehow Abel always had a handle on situations like this, a way to calm everyone down while keeping them in line. Ken never felt comfortable wielding that kind of power. He knew it was his legacy, and he tried to be a pillar for the community, but it was days like this that Ken remembered why he’d denied joining the Council for so long.

“I know y’all have a lot of questions about the recent disappearance.” His eyes drifted over to Linda’s face. He was surprised she was even here. He wanted to reach out and tell her it would all be okay. They had found Pete after all, hadn’t they? He wasn’t sure if that information would help or hurt at this point. “Unfortunately, I know about as much as anyone here. I will say, we’re doin’ everything we can to keep your kids safe. Y’all know I keep an eye on ‘em as much as I can, even when they’re not on school grounds. We’re working with the Sheriff’s department for added security, but most of that will be going towards the elementary school. I hope you understand.”

Vaguely, Ken wondered if anyone could see the heartbreak in his eyes. He tried hard to mask it, and had been trying for over twelve years, but it was days like this that he wasn’t sure it mattered. But he had to try. Every person here, every person in town, every member of his family looked to him for the answers. They always had.

And now he had nothing to tell them.

With a rough cough, Ken cleared his throat and let his eyes fall down to the stack of papers in front of him. Tests and papers and fundraising carnivals all seemed so useless tonight. Tonight, when an eight year old boy sat somewhere alone, freezing, afraid. If he wasn’t already – Ken stopped himself at the thought. They would find Brian. They had to.

The man sighed and looked up to the room full of parents. “Okay ya know what? How about we call this meeting done and get out and try to find that little boy?”

ANYTHING ELSE?

Ken heads up the PTA. Originally he had taken up the job when his kids were in kindergarten as a way to bond with them and the other parents (and to keep an eye on everyone involved), but he’s found that he loves it more than most of the parents. He runs the meetings with an iron fist, and you best be sure you’re on good behavior if you’re in attendance.

Overzealous with rules, Ken has always been a stickler for things being done the proper way. Even as a kid, he religiously read the rules for every board game, much to the chagrin of his brothers. Eventually, Ken learned he had to be authoritative if he wanted his siblings to play by the rules rather than make them up as they went along. This turned into one of his biggest traits in his adult life, much to his kids’ (mainly Mary’s) dismay.

Ken and Phillip had monthly fishing and camping trips. While he knew Phillip mostly craved the trips as a chance to get away from his family life, Ken never felt the need to be away from Aisha. He would have happily invited her along if Phillip didn’t make it completely clear they were to be “boy’s only” outings. What Ken mostly enjoyed was cracking open a few beers and enjoying the silence of nature, and of course, bonding with his best buddy.

He deeply regrets his infidelity. He was drunk, Aisha and he had bickered, and he wishes with everything he is that he could take it back. Not only is he madly in love with his wife, Phillip was his best friend. It’s the one regret he has in life, and while he’s ordinarily a very stand up guy, this is one secret he would take to the grave. He can’t even imagine how hurt Aisha would be if she ever found out (though plot wise, this would create so much drama I would LOVE for the secret to come out).

Along the lines of being drunk, despite it being a mistake, Ken doesn’t regret the birth of their latest son in the least. Not only has it brought him and Aisha closer together after years of turmoil, but it’s brought life back into Ken. With Mike and Mary grown and having lives of their own, Ken feels needed by his family again in a real way.

With the kidnapping of the Goode boy, Ken is more overprotective than ever before, even going so far as to reach out to his twins on a daily – if not hourly – basis. He’s terrified of history repeating itself and doesn’t know what he would do if one of his own children was taken.

Sees himself as unshakable and unbreakable, or at least he tries to be. Since Phillip’s passing, Ken is finding it harder and harder to be the rock for not only his family, but the entire town. There is a part of him that blames himself for Phillip’s death, though he refuses to acknowledge it. Due to this, he’s tried to find solace in a variety of vices, most commonly in gambling.

Ken has a hard time being around Pete. It’s been so long, but every time he looks at the kid all he sees is his father and all the birthday parties, all the father’s days, all the Christmases that were stolen from them.

#literate rp #original rp #ken hawker #accepted #sample

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xoknowssmut · 2 years ago

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The Brat's Cage - Part 2

My sub kept me busy, sending me videos of her masturbating in my bed on my sheets and dress skirts, her juices staining them, marking them with her scent. Masturbating on my dining room table, leaking her arousal on my priceless china and sterling silver. Masturbating on my desk with my Mont Blanc pens in her pussy and her ass.

And I'm here at work, locked in a chastity belt she put on this morning.

I've been to the bathroom on almost an hourly basis. I ran out of pads on the last trip, a futile effort, wiping my own wetness that's leaked through the ports on the bottom of the cage, where I'd normally pee from. My clit is alive, raging, and untouchable. My lips swollen, engorged. And my attention is focused more on my bratty sub than my work.

After a day of snapping at my coworkers because of my horny aroused state (and unable to do literally anything about it,) I get in my car and drive home, the ding of texts from my little bitch as she's either sending me more pictures or videos. I'm not usually a road rager, but she knows how to get under my skin, and I'm gonna take a piece of her flesh tonight when I get home.

I open the door. The smell of pussy is thick in the air. Her pussy. I'd know that smell anywhere.

She runs to the door, naked, and jumps in my arms. "You're home momma," she says, and assaults my mouth with deep tongue kiss, sucking on my tongue. Her slick thigh presses against the thigh of my hose, just below the hem of my skirt. I feel her arousal. Her warmth.

Her hand slides in the waistband of my dress, and cups my ironclad pussy. "You pissed your panties, momma. Bad momma!"

I take a handful of her brown hair, my fingers clenching into a ball. "Ow momma, that hurts," she cries out, but I'm beyond caring. I drag this wench to my room, seeing the evidence of her self spoiling while I work hard to pay the rent. I toss her on the bed, and she bounces on the disturbed sheets. I see the stains from her masturbation, and I am both furious and jealous of her access.

"You liked playing with my pens, huh pup?" I take three fingers and slide them in her mouth. "You have ten seconds to get them slick with your spit, then I'm fisting you. Let's see how much you enjoy being filled then!" I count down out loud, looking around at the hundreds of dollars of dry cleaning I'm going to have to get done, before pulling out my fingers and shoving them in her hairless cunt.

My fingers slid in easily, her aroused pussy loose and ready for my fingers. With a twisting motion, my thumb curled against my palm, and my full hand entered her. With a sudden pull, I yanked it out. It made an audible pop, and she screamed in pain. I repeated the action, fingers in, thumb curled, hand enters, fist removed. Pop. Pop. Pop. The sound of my removed hand. Her pussy gaped, and her screams turned into moans. The bitch was enjoying it!

I got off the bed, and went to my desk. "Are you already done? I'm not even out of breath," my bitch of a sub called from the bed. I looked at her, furious, and grabbed a handful of binder clips. I went back to the bed, then applied the binder clips. One on her upper lips, sealing her mouth shut first. She moaned in half-pain, half pleasure. One on each nipple, clamped, and twisted to get her attention. Then one on her swollen clit. That elicited a scream in her throat, trapped in her lips.

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robininthelabyrinth · 7 years ago

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For the fic mashup: coldwave or coldflashwave with 59 (interrupted confession of love) and 100 (accidentally saving the day).

coldwave or coldflashwave with 59 (interrupted confession of love) and 100 (accidentally saving the day).

Imagine, if you will, a gigantic battle - truly gigantic this time, the entirety of Central City risen up to fight against this new threat (there’s always a threat: army of gorillas? fleets of insectoid aliens? mind-controlled citizens? something, but this time it’s a legion of killer robots intent on reformatting the city to be their own, no matter how destructive that would be), and Barry is leading the charge, Len and Mick at his side.

It’s very much a last ditch effort, and what Barry knows and the citizenry doesn’t is that the robots are jut drones, governed by a single hivemind Queen, and the Queen is burrowed deep into the earth, and if they can’t disable her in time, she’s going to send out a pulsewave strong enough to cause terrible earthquakes. They haven’t been able to get anywhere near her; they don’t know what she wants, how she’s motivated, how to stop her, anything.

Felicity can’t hack her, Cisco can’t vibe her, their best attempts to spy have determined nothing.

(They even consulted Brie Larson, the Bug-Eyed Bandit, to try to get some insight and if that’s not desperation, Barry doesn’t know what is.)

At this point, their best hope is to try to fight their way into the Queen’s lair and…well, from there, they’re going to need to wing it.

Len and Mick have been told, but they stick around anyway; Len in particular is very protective of his city, and Mick’s not letting Len out of his sight so soon after he got back from the Oculus, and at any rate both of them have been working with Barry on this robot problem for the last two weeks straight. There’s nothing quite like intense life-or-death battles happening on a near-hourly basis to make old resentments melt away and friendships form.

Possibly more than friendships.

Barry hasn’t said anything about it yet, because he’s a coward and after the thing with Iris went south, he’s been scared, and they’ve been busy, and now they’re fighting their way into the big last-ditch apocalyptic battle and he still hasn’t said anything.

He hasn’t gotten the chance.

And, when they get to the Queen’s lair and realize how well-armed it is, how well-protected, how everything they’ve fought up to this point has been child’s play in comparison to this, well, Barry suddenly realizes…he never will.

So, like an idiot, he decides now is the time to tell them. Since they’re fighting, the only way to do it is by yelling his love confession in between punching robots.

“I really -” PUNCH “ - care very much - ” SLAM “ - about you both - ” HEADBUTT “- and I would be honored - ” BAM “ - if you would consider - ” POW “ - maybe -”

“Is now really the time, Scarlet?!” Len shouts back, moving this cold gun from side to side frantically.

“If not now - ” BOOM “ - then when?”

“Let him keep going!” Mick calls.

“I’m trying!” Len shouts. “I’m about to be overcome here -”

“But I’m not done yet!” Barry exclaims, horrified by the thought that he’d never finish the speech he’d worked so diligently on.

Except, just as he says that, all the robots abruptly - freeze.

No, not freeze-with-Len’s-gun sort of freeze, just…freeze. Stop moving. All at once.

And the gigantic carpace of the Queen shifts in her burro beneath the earth, turning and lifting her metallic bug-like head with its large bulbous eyes to gaze upon them, and she opens her gigantic maw and says, “Oh my god! Well? Go on!”

“…what,” Len says flatly. He’s very good at flat.

“He’s proposing!” the Queen gushes. “It’s so cute! I want to see it!”

Barry had not, in fact, been planning on proposing, but as long as the Queen’s attention is diverted, they’re not, you know, dying, so he just…goes with it. He comes up with an impromptu speech which he drag on for as long as he can - citing all the instances he’s ever seen Len and Mick and trying to make it sound super romantic, which honestly he feels he should get an award for because do you know how hard it is to turn “that time you kidnapped my friend to lure me into a battle royale” into a romantic gesture? Really hard, that’s how hard.

But weirdly enough, it works. The Queen is blubbering by the end of it, happy tears, and she keeps repeating, “It’s so cute! So cute!”

Apparently, the Queens of the species have so many drones to do things for them because they have too many emotions. They get distracted.

Somehow they manage to convince her to leave Planet Earth lest she accidentally destroy the beautiful scene, and she takes her drones with her, all but the ones she give them as servants in honor of their impending nuptials. She demands to be invited to the wedding, and they promise they will (with the caveat that engagements can be fairly long).

Afterwards, they look at each other and blink.

“Did we just save the world?” Len asks. “With feelings?”

“You get used to it,” Mick says. “At least no one turned into a giant stuffed animal this time.”

#coldflashwave #my fic #meme #mick roy #barry allen #leonard snart

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exitexpo · 6 years ago

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Emergency Lighting

How A lot Does it Value to Replace an EXIT Sign?

The cost of changing an EXIT sign has numerous components. Let’s break it all down.

I do know you’ve seen EXIT indicators in each constructing, workplace, theater, grocery retailer, school and what not! Well these indicators are very important. When you’ve ever been caught in a blackout, you recognize what I’m speaking about! Maintaining those indicators is just as important as having them. What good are they if they don’t work?

Every state has the identical primary requirements for kind of signal, height of letters and materials, except New York and Chicago! Do you assume they’re making an attempt to Safety Lighting be troublesome? Fuggedaboutit! No way. They just have specific guidelines governing their EXIT signs. The indicators for New York and Chicago are particular due to the supplies and letter height. The fabric is metal for these two locations. New York takes it a step additional by rising letter top to eight” from the standard 6”. Perhaps it’s harder to see in New York? I’ll verify with the Mayor subsequent time I’m on the town!

Out With the Outdated, In With the New!

Nonetheless, you’ve been a sufferer of some hooligans and so they’ve broken a few of your signs, so time to interchange them. Or perhaps you’ve been in enterprise so lengthy they’ve simply worn out? Any state of affairs is fine. We don’t judge!

Overall, it seems simple, proper? Climb up the ladder and possibly put a light bulb in? Properly, no. It’s a bit more than that. Let’s take a look at substitute on an indication by signal basis. As soon as we've the fee for one, extrapolating for your whole is a straightforward matter of multiplication.

There are a number of EXIT signs. We have to take a look at location as in state and then kind of sign. Would you like emergency lights coupled with the sign? It’s simply one in all many decisions. Is your sign electrically driven? Is your EXIT sign up a hazardous condition space? These are all gadgets to contemplate when purchasing signs. Well, in addition to the qualities of excellence discovered at ExitExpo. Those are qualities like quality materials, dependability, wonderful customer support and trust. Belief is a worth we hold dearly and therefore we all the time deal with our prospects with the utmost respect and trust. We belief that you'll know high quality if you see it. We additionally belief that you simply acknowledge confidence and dependability. We provide all this and extra to our valued customers.

Take a look at complete line of EXIT Indicators: http://www.exitexpo.com/c/Exit-Signs.html

Exit Signal Costs Signs range in price from $30-$3,000. The standard plastic, electrically pushed EXIT signal is about $30.00. Something that has to work in hazardous conditions is closer to the $three,000.00 finish of the range. So let’s talk turkey. Do you want one thing to put up inside, to mild the best way out of a museum? Or are we speaking about one thing that has to function below say an outdated Halon system in a pc room? I think you get the picture. Costs differ based on kind of sigh, supplies used and function. Bear in mind if it’s simply an EXIT signal it’s less expensive than an EXIT sign and emergency lighting combination.

youtube

Next consider the cost of shipping. The typical shipping price for one sign is approximately $8.00, based on floor, 5-7 days shipping. That determine is per sign.

Keep in mind, once more that New York and Chicago are different. New York requires these special 8” letters. The rest of the United States uses a minimum of 6”. The wrestle is real. No one likes to confess they need glasses! (I’m just kidding!) So, particular 8” letters are an up-cost to your complete cost. Each Chicago and New York require metallic signs and sometimes they even have to be bigger. Do they know one thing in New York and Chicago that the remainder of us don’t? I’ll look into that further. That is also a more expensive material than the standard plastic used for many signs.

Electricians

Labor prices for set up fluctuate by location. Typically each sign takes about quarter-hour to swap out an previous one for the new one. Within the US, the common hourly fee for an electrician is $50-$100. In fact you'll be able to ask for pricing by the job. The job is install 10 indicators, etc. In most cities there's a call cost as well. The standard is about $150.00 just for the call. Now we’re at $175.00, utilizing the upper end of the range. However, guess what? He’s not charging you only for the quarter hour it takes to do one sign. Normally there's a one hour minimum. You’re taking a look at $250.00. Nice cash if you can get it, proper?

Recycling

What about recycling? Sure, recycling the batteries within the sign, the signal itself and wait nuclear signal…oh that’s the next charge for sure! Recycling one nuclear powered signal costs about $100.00. Don’t worry. That features delivery! Final however not Least!

General the full cost for just one sign, excluding stated check in New York or Chicago is about $288.00, also unique of recycling. Most supplies could be recycled along with your local trash company. Test with them first for any specific charges.

Upkeep

A regular program of signal upkeep and replacement of each indicators and bulbs can alleviate the terribly excessive cost of replacing just one sign. Are you questioning why? Properly your electrician is popping out whether or not you change one or say 8 signs. 8 indicators will take about 2 hours to replace. You can verify gentle bulbs your self and hold a stock of the light bulbs that your indicators use in your workplace or business and exchange them as necessary. In reality, scheduling common maintenance with your electrician may even garner you a discount. Speak to him about it. The promise of repeat enterprise might sway him to your side.

Lastly, get your indicators and bulbs from ExitExpo as a result of you recognize we are dependable. You know we are trustworthy. We are your team. ExitExpo is right here to serve.

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learningfrommiley · 4 years ago

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Looking Low and High for Lean

By Jill Jusko

A common misperception about lean is that it doesn't work in low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environments. Don't believe it. We'll show you why.

Lean is a management philosophy rife with misconceptions: Its goal is workforce reduction. It’s useful only on the manufacturing floor. It eschews technology as a tool for improvement.

None of these statements is accurate, yet they all endure. Perhaps the most persistent misconception of all, however, is that lean has no place in a high-mix, low-volume manufacturing environment. It’s meant for long, highly repetitive production runs, and used anywhere else it is doomed to fail.

That belief is wrong, too, experts say.

“This is a myth grown from failed attempts and word-of-mouth stories over the years that some now take as fact. Nothing could be further from the truth,” says Larry Fast, a veteran of 35-plus years in manufacturing and author of The 12 Principles of Manufacturing Excellence. “Continuous improvement by any name starts with the mindset that there’s always a better way, and our jobs as leaders are to find it. No excuses.”

Moreover, lean’s roots are in high-mix, low-volume production, points out Fernando Assens, CEO of Argo Consulting. As evidence, Assens cites Taiichi Ohno, who is considered the founding father of the Toyota Production System, from which lean evolved.

In his book, Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production (English translation), Ohno wrote: “The Toyota production system evolved out of need. Certain restrictions in the marketplace required the production of small quantities of many varieties under conditions of low demand … These restrictions served as a touchstone to test whether Japanese car manufacturers could establish themselves and survive in competition with the mass production and mass sales systems of an industry already established in Europe and the United States.”

So why does the myth persist that lean in a low-volume, high-mix environment isn’t meant to be? Assens has a theory. He notes that in the United States, lean implementations were first embraced by high-volume automotive producers, so they are whom other manufacturers looked to when developing their own lean deployments.

“The way (lean) is implemented in that environment is actually very different than the way you would implement it in a high-mix, low-volume manufacturer,” the Argo CEO says, citing quick changeover as one simple example. An emphasis on quick changeover—the ability to quickly convert from running one product to another—is essential for a manufacturer that has a highly variable mix of product. It’s less important for manufacturers that have long runs of the same product.

In truth, lean was never meant to be a one-size-fits-all solution for process improvement. While the lean principles of improving flow, reducing waste and building greater consistency are universal, the means to get there will vary.

Nevertheless, there are rules of thumb to help improve the opportunity for lean success among low-volume, high-mix manufacturers, as well as lessons to be learned from such companies traveling the lean path. IndustryWeek spoke with several low-volume, high-mix manufacturers engaged in lean manufacturing, as well as lean consultants, to capture their lean ups and downs, their advice and their cautions.

A Lean Refresh

Dorner Manufacturing Corp. has recently undertaken a lean refresh, with assistance from Argo Consulting. The low-volume, high-mix company, which manufactures industrial monitoring, precision and sanitary conveyor systems, has been on a significant growth mode in recent years. It produces approximately 20,000 conveyor systems annually and gives customers a nearly infinite number of conveyor system combinations to choose from.

“I believe very strongly that the lean principles can and do apply in every business,” says Dorner CEO Terry Schadeberg. “It’s about continuous improvement and finding the means and the vehicles to make that happen.”

Dorner’s lean refresh was no small thing. The company reconfigured the entire manufacturing process at its Hartland, Wisconsin, location. Bolstered by quick changeover techniques and a kitting process for components, manufacturing flow improved, output increased and the manufacturer freed up nearly 20% of its workspace for future expansion. “We got an immediate lift in the capacity of our facility and our equipment,” Schadeberg says.

Lean actions taken away from the manufacturing floor contributed to the improved flow as well and included addressing bottlenecks in Dorner’s engineering release process.

However, Schadeberg says the most significant action taken in the facility was the introduction of performance boards in each work area. The team uses the boards to track performance against goal, to review obstacles that prevent goal achievement and to develop action steps to remove those obstacles.

While such actions may seem typical to a lean setting, Schadeberg says establishing daily and hourly goals is challenging in a high-mix environment. No two conveyor builds are the same, so how do you set goals? Dorner has answered that question by taking its manufacturing process and breaking it into subsets, each with a time element attached. So, for example, the manufacturer knows it takes X minutes to assemble Option A, Y minutes to assemble Option B, Z minutes to machine a part, and so on.

The dynamic nature of a high-mix environment adds to the value of having those numbers, Schadeberg says. “You may have a 50% swing in production needs, capacity needs, from one day to the next, one month to the next, and so you have to have a workforce that is well-trained, that you can slide people back and forth, very quickly, almost on a dynamic basis. It’s those [engineering] standards that allow you to do that.”

Not just the standards, however. Schadeberg’ comment hints at what Argo’s Assens identifies as another key to lean success in a low-volume, high-mix environment: cross-trained employees. You want to be able to move workers where you need them in highly variable environments, Assens says. If your employees specialize in a single skill, you run the risk of having the wrong skill available at the wrong time.

Let’s Talk Strategy Deployment at Lucas-Milhaupt

Over at Lucas-Milhaupt Inc., lean is everywhere. “We try to do it from top to bottom,” explains Jeff Allen, vice president of operations for the producer of metal joining alloys. Lucas-Milhaupt is a Handy & Harman company and follows the company’s Steel Business System, which is underpinned by lean.

“We have a lean cadence on our policy deployment that comes out every year, so we have processes that start at the very top of the business," Allen explains, "and we flow that all the way down to the shop floor, all the way down to KPIs, all the way down to how we do CapEx, what do we spend our money on, what do we want to change in our business.” The process, which encompasses strategic planning, drives alignment across the business.

Like Argo Consulting’s Assens, Jeff Allen sees no contradiction in deploying lean in a low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment. Who wouldn’t want to minimize waste, the very essence of lean? Allen asks.

The Lucas-Milhaupt vice president promotes the idea that every lean tool has applicability to low-volume, high-mix manufacturing. It’s just a matter of degree. For example, his company uses pull systems, but only for certain products that move quickly. He develops standard work but not to the same detail or with the same focus that he did in a previous position in the automotive industry.

And despite acknowledging that his work day rarely repeats, Allen is a proponent of standardizing as much as possible “without adding waste.” Lucas-Milhaupt, for example, has standardized its order entry process.

Where has Lucas-Milhaupt’s embrace of lean taken it? It has helped the company improve its on-time delivery and strengthened its ability to address problems. “And at the top level, if we weren’t doing [policy deployment] and all the pieces that go with it, we could have people going a hundred different directions because we have the ability to make thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of different styles of parts,” Allen says. With policy deployment, “we all get funneled in the same direction.”

Don’t Expect Easy

That’s not to say implementing lean in a low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment is easy.

“If anyone tells you ‘implement this stuff and it works right away,’ they are lying to you,” says Dorner’s Schadeberg. “Your natural reaction is going to be to go back to how you were doing things before because you actually end up taking a step backwards as you try to go forwards.” Stick it out, he says, because lean works.

Sustaining lean’s gains have always been a challenge as well, regardless of whether the environment is repetitive manufacturing, low mix or even off the manufacturing floor. Chicago-based Freedman Seating Co. has felt that pinch. “Sustaining [gains] and not slipping back is a challenge,” says Craig Freedman, CEO of Freedman Seating. His company, which manufactures seating primarily for the bus market, worked with Argo Consulting to help drive process improvement around its heavy-duty transit bus business, a small but growing piece of Freedman’s operations. It is also much more complex than the company’s higher-volume seat business for the small to midsize bus market. “We were struggling to manage the complexity,” the CEO says.

Freedman says the process improvement initiative at his company included taking apart and reassessing every process (metalworking, welding and final assembly) that comprises the manufacturer’s build process for the heavy-duty transit bus seating. Multiple kaizen events provided both immediate improvements and helped the company develop a list of additional projects to tackle.

The lean effort delivered. Freedman says his company had been building slightly more than 10 seat sets a day in the heavy-duty transit bus business at the time the lean engagement began. “Today our throughput is roughly 15 a day. That’s a 50% increase in output.”

Still, Freedman believes sustaining gains is more challenging in the high-mix environment of Freedman’s heavy-duty transit bus business than it is in the manufacturer’s less-customized, higher-volume small and midsized buses business. That’s because the higher-volume business is less variable, he says. In the transit business, “everything changes on a daily basis. It really requires constant oversight, and diligence and dedication.”

Ultimately, these three manufacturers have found measures of success with lean in their low-volume, high-mix manufacturing environments, and their efforts are ongoing. Their tactics, tool and strategies vary, however, which in Assens’ view is how it should be.

“There are so many people who have their own version of lean," he says. "What’s important is not so much the tools and how the companies have done it. What’s important is to understand the original philosophy and why lean was created and then to be able to translate these into your existing situation.”

Remember, that’s what Toyota did.

#industrial monitoring

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austinsdarcy · 4 years ago

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Website design near me1

There are countless website design firms and each one claims to provide the best solutions in comparison to all the other firms. For a business looking at all the different providers it can become quickly confusing and when faced with a deadline and a growing need for a better online presence, making a choice is difficult and critical. In order to make the best choice for your current situation you must evaluate each design firm you are looking at and make an informed decision based on your research and not the firm's sales pitch. There are several key factors you have to determine before you contact a single designer. Following are 5 of the most important traits that should influence your decision before finalizing a particular firm.

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Does the company offer unique custom solutions- Having a unique design is very important in distinguishing yourself from your competitors. If a company uses readily available templates for your website then you will be unpleasantly surprised to see your exact layout and design on numerous other sites. Look at the firm's portfolio of past projects and see if they offer a range of different design solutions or if they look very Website design near me much the same with the biggest difference being the color palette. The design firm you choose must be professional enough to provide you with new ideas and concepts that will further promote your business and help it stand apart in your industry.

Does the company design with your business goals in mind- Even though a unique and attractive site is a necessity, your website also has to perform the goals for which it was built. A beautiful website without a clear call to action telling the visitor what to do is useless as a marketing tool. A professional firm will be able to incorporate unique design and functionality to promote your targeted products or services, capture new visitors and turn visitors into customers. If a design firm does not begin their initial research with the proper information about your company goals, then the website they produce will fall short of those goals also. You can learn quite a bit about a design firm by the initial questions asked during your consultation. These questions point specifically at the area the design firm is most interested in and if your company needs and goals are not at the forefront of those questions, then they are not the most important driving force to the design firm.

Does the company use the latest web technology available- The software and languages used in website design are constantly improving and being updated by the companies who developed them. If your website is not being updated in order to be compatible with new technology you will one day find that your website does not physically perform any longer. It may be something as simple as a slider stops working and remains on a single image or it may be as drastic as your website has rearranged itself and is no longer legible. Even the software people use to view your site is constantly changing and being updated to allow the use of more advanced features. How your website appears when viewed in FireFox may be completely different than what visitors see when using Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. A professional design firm can produce websites that work as expected in all the different browsers and devices that access it. Make sure the designer offers websites that are cross browser compatible and mobile responsive to ensure your website can be viewed from anywhere and on any device. Also look at their support policy to ensure your site will be updated in the future as new technology is introduced and current technology is improved.

Does the company allow you to make changes to your own site- If you cannot access your own website in order to make changes then you are not in control of your website, the designer is. Your website is a marketing tool and as such it should be updated with fresh current information on a regular basis. This is only accomplished in one of two ways which will drastically affect your wallet and your marketing efforts. You call or email your designer and request the changes, paying whatever fee they charge for the service and then you have to wait until they can complete those changes, or you have complete control of your website and can easily make changes yourself whenever you see fit. A professional design firm can create a website that allows you to have complete access to content, images, pages and posts and allows you to make changes on a regular basis without the need to pay them an hourly fee. This should be a free feature and you should never pay to have access to website you already own. Ask if you will be able to easily make changes, if there is any special software needed and if there will be any charges for this access. If you will not have full access, or if the designer wants to charge extra for that option, then you have not found a professional.

We have covered a lot of information so I would just like to sum it up into key points that you should take with you. A professional design firm will have SEO expertise and apply that knowledge to your website starting on day 1 of the design process. They will also provide unique website designs tailored specifically for your company and will not repeat designs in layout and presentation. They will focus their efforts on upholding your company goals during the design process and will offer a site that can meet those goals. A professional will use the latest technology to create your website and will ensure that future updates to those technologies are incorporated into your site as a standard update policy. And last but not least, a professional design firm will always allow you access to your website in order to make changes at no cost. Without special software I might add.

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universtudy · 8 years ago

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Weekly Scheduling Tips

Platforms to Use

A great online option is Google Calendar -- you can add in repeating events so each week is the same, and make different events in different colours!

If you just want to print it and use as a reference, I recommend using Excel (or another spreadsheet program, like on Google Docs)! -- just put the days of the week across the top, and the time intervals of your choice down the side!

You can also do it by hand by using printables like these. There are lots more out there, these are just some favourites!!

@emmastudies -- printable here

@theorganisedstudent -- printable here

What to Include

Start with your classes, labs, tutorials, etc. These are obviously the core of your weekly schedule, and you won’t be able to do anything else during those times.

Next, add in times that you will be at work, volunteering, at club meetings, etc. These should be times that remain the same every week.

Tip: If you don’t have a set schedule at your job, just put your availability at work into your weekly schedule

Then, add in things you do weekly that could be subject to change if needed. For me, this is going to the gym (and also showering, lmao). But things like a regular weekly movie night with friends, doing laundry and cleaning, or a study group would also apply.

The leftover space represents your study or leisure time! You should have quite a bit leftover in a day, because that is your only time to study. I prefer to stop there with my weekly schedule, so I have some blank space to visualize my study time.

I have a post here with more detail on how to prioritize commitments to make sure you have enough time in a day to study and sleep.

This is what my weekly schedule looks like, made in Excel:

Overscheduling

Some people prefer to schedule exactly when they will study for each class on an hourly basis, but I don’t recommend that unless you know it works for you!

I have two reasons for not liking to schedule my studying hour by hour:

I find that having my days scheduled from morning to night stresses me out a lot. It makes me feel like I don’t have control over what I get to do in a day and makes me feel like my life is super monotonous.

I am a perfectionist, and if I schedule something to be done from 10:30 to 11:30 and don’t get it done in time, I end up feeling really bad about myself for not “sticking to the schedule.” In reality, the schedule might just be too demanding!

Instead, I recommend making a to-do list for each day and fitting the tasks in the time you know you have leftover.

I have a more detailed post about how overplanning leads to procrastination here.

Schedule without Overdoing It

If you aren’t adding in every daily task on your schedule, what was the point of making it??

I have my weekly schedule at my desk to look at when I am doing the rest of my weekly planning in my planner.

It helps you visualize which days you have a lot going on, vs. when you have a lot of free time to study.

It also helps me when making appointments or plans with friends because I can glance up and know exactly when I am automatically busy.

Basically, I like having a weekly schedule to use as a reference point, but not as the be all end all in organizing my life.

#my posts #studyblr #organization #weekly planning #weekly schedule #planner #bujo #bullet journal #organized #studyspo #study inspo #overplanning #procrastination #universtudy #smartblr #collegeblr #college #university

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saraalexandrablr · 5 years ago

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Want to i lease a far off digital marketer or an in-residence employee?

You’re an active commercial organisation with a groundbreaking products or services and intelligent, devoted personnel. Your brand’s vision internal and out. However now you need to market that vision to the general public. Must be easy, proper? Especially with this sort of proficient crew? Even as it’s real which you have a rock-big call group of workers, developing and executing a digital advertising and marketing technique can suggest masses of extra paintings for them (this is, on top of your team’s every day responsibilities). For this reason, many brands choose outsourcing their Digital Marketing Companies in Jacksonville, i. E., selecting to pay for the offerings of an enterprise organisation vs. Hiring a full-time marketer. Is hiring a far off virtual marketer simply properly well worth it, despite the fact that? Allow’s have a look at each alternatives to discover. In-house advertising personnel:

Pros

Your in-residence employees are already immersed to your organisation subculture, however what do they convey specifically to the group at the same time as as compared to operating with an employer? Right here are some potential perks. Saving coins permit’s address the elephant within the room right here: one in each of the most critical perks (and one of the most not unusual reasons) for hiring marketers in-residence is simplest charge range-associated. On an hourly basis, hiring internally costs relatively an awful lot much less than the organization preference. But at the same ti me as you element in a entire-time profits and blessings, how an awful lot are you definitely saving?

Read Also: Best digital marketing books to buy in 2020

Short conversation

You can want to name an emergency institution assembly or reevaluate your industrial enterprise approach within a second’s be aware. Your personnel are already, quite surely, in-residence. What’s extra, an in-man or woman verbal exchange (in vicinity of, say, an email or skype call) will let you affirm the desires of your project nearly proper away. In-residence personnel:

Cons

For all its consolation, there are various downsides to hiring in-residence entrepreneurs—many of which aren't obvious earlier than the entirety glance.

Hazard of employee turnover

In case you hire and train a person internally to manipulate your digital advertising affairs, you risk that employee departing at any given moment. Worker onboarding and training takes time and money. And then you definitely actually’re nonetheless vulnerable to the ones future personnel quitting—and taking their marketing and advertising information along side them. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Great employees ≠ fantastic virtual marketers

You examine that right. Your personnel must thoroughly be exemplary at what they do, whether it’s conventional advertising and marketing or penning powerful newsletters. They might even analyze the nuances of the digital advertising exercise over the years. However a lot of them in truth haven’t been educated in it and received’t had been uncovered to the breadth of information and era that organizations have get proper of access to to, which means that your virtual advertising and marketing approach won't produce the outcomes you need to look.

Faraway virtual marketer: specialists

Hiring a advertising agency or a single far flung digital marketer may additionally mean spending a touch greater up the front, but there may be a few sizeable payoff to be gleaned. Allow’s observe what dipping into your commercial enterprise organization finances receives you in this situation.

Flexibility for every lengthy and short-term obligations

If you lease internally for a brief-time period challenge, your personnel may have educated simplest to move returned to what they had been doing in advance than whilst the venture ends, which can be a tough transition all-round. Outsourcing Digital Marketing Company in Louisville, however, lets in you to paintings with an enterprise company on one-off tasks or persistent retainers—something you make a decision you want. It’s the proper preference for each sporadic and evergreen advertising campaigns. And in case you want to hold your a ways off virtual marketers around for even longer? No problem in any respect. At snap, we’ve worked with clients on the entirety from quick net builds to years-lengthy virtual techniques.

Proficient marketers with years of experience

We referred to earlier that a first-rate worker doth now not a wonderful digital marketer make. Nicely, virtual entrepreneurs are in particular inside the enterprise of making killer techniques so that you can decorate your online presence. They've years and years of enjoy honing their techniques and make it a factor to stay on pinnacle of the current equipment, technology, and developments in seek engine advertising, pay-in line with-click on on advertising and advertising and marketing, and extra. What’s greater, you won’t discover yourself faced with the burden of education in a brand new worker—groups all have their own onboarding methods with a purpose to allow them to research the whole thing they need to recognize approximately your brand and business enterprise.

Follow On: Facebook & Twitter

Connect With: Linkedin

Subscribe On: Youtube

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mcccleaningomaha-blog · 5 years ago

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Industrial Lot Snow Removal snow removal services near Omaha NE: We meet with you prior to commencing work to discuss designated areas to clear, service requirements for clearing snow and applying deicing agents, obstacles to avoid, and where to relocate snow if necessary. Then we develop a site plan with aerial images and stake out your property. We do a return site visit with our staff so they can view the site prior to the first snow storm. We utilize multiple private meteorology services to determine when to dispatch crews to your location based on time of day and forecasted rate of snowfall. We are available at all times of the day if you have any questions or require any additional services.

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Snow Plowing / Shoveling Service Levels:

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Industrial Lot Snow Removal snow removal services near Omaha NE: ZERO TOLERANCE: During open hours, we will apply de-icing material as needed to keep your paved surfaces bare and wet except during heavy snow falls. De-icing services will resume once the heavy snowfall has been cleared and it is reasonable to expect that the salt will create a bare and wet condition that will last over two hours.

STRATEGIC: During open hours, we will apply de-icing material during key time periods defined by the client (example: first thing in the morning, before the lunch hour, and/or before the evening rush hour).

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Industrial Lot Snow Removal snow removal services near Omaha NE: MCC Cleaning Omaha also provides industrial snow removal services to Greater Omaha NE business properties that require state of the art techniques, materials, and equipment to keep their industrial property and entrances clear of snow and ice. Our snow service ensures the safety of your hard working employees and valuable customers. No matter how large your industrial property is, our snow plowing crews work with each client to mark out areas of removal, areas of snow placement and provide you with updates on the removal process during each snowfall.

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Industrial Lot Snow Removal snow removal services near Omaha NE: Removing snow from your home costs an average of $110 with a typical range of $48 and $173. Larger properties with longer drives, more sidewalks or requiring roof clearing can run upwards of $400 or more. Hiring someone to plow costs $30 to $50 per visit while sidewalk shoveling or snow blowing runs $25 to $75 per hour. Most companies also clear roofs for an additional $250 to $500.

Living in a colder climate inevitably means dealing with the snow. While it may look pretty and can be fun for kids to play in, it can be a headache - or backache - to deal with when it comes to your driveway or sidewalks. On average, 11,500 people go to the emergency room each year in the US with shoveling-related injuries - from strains to heart attacks. Hiring a plowing professional to take care of it can save a lot of time, hassle and pain.

Snow Removal Service Costs

Though most professionals charge seasonal or event prices from $50 to $450 or more, they almost always figure costs based on hourly rates. Pricing is figured by how long it will take one person to move a certain amount of snow in an hour plus equipment and overhead.

Snow Removal Pricing Calculator

Industrial Lot Snow Removal snow removal services near Omaha NE: Professionals charge using multiple cost models. They don't charge per square foot but do almost all their pricing by figuring the amount one person can move in one hour plus overhead and equipment costs.

Pricing is done one of the following ways:

Per hour - $25 to $75. Usually used for manual removal with shovels or blowers/throwers.

Per season - $350 to $450. Typically has an upward limit of visits/clearings.

Per event - $30 to $75. A snowstorm is an event. This pricing method is typical in areas with either short periods or not much total annual accumulation.

Per push/visit - $30 - $50. Each time the area is cleared, even if it's multiple times per storm.

Per inch - $60 to $95. This is typical for up to 6 inches of snow. Add $30 for each additional 6 inches.

Snow Plow Rates

Plowing runs $30 to $95 per visit. You can also hire them on a seasonal basis for $350 to $450 with a maximum limit of visits per season.

Snow Shoveling Prices

The average homeowner can expect to pay $25 to $75 per hour for shoveling services per crew member.

This is one area that homeowners can consider hiring less-experienced local providers. Though you may be tempted to hire the neighbor's kid, consider who ends up paying for the scratched car or torn lawn if something goes wrong. Always hire a service that provides guarantees and insured work.

Snow Blowing Estimates

Snow blowing services tend to run about the same as shoveling services or $25 to $75 per hour. In some cases, the two are synonymous. The service has slightly more overhead with gas and equipment costs, but they make up for this with the volume of work they can accomplish.

Salt Application Rates

Expect to pay $20 to $40 per application. Some areas require that sidewalks remain clear and free of ice for public use, especially if you're near public spaces like schools and parks. HOA's typically cover some or all the plowing as part of the HOA fees. Check with you homeowner's association and city government for what is and is not your responsibility.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How to Find a Good Commercial Snow Plowing Company?

Are you a business looking for a qualified snow plowing company? This page is designed to give you the information to make an educated choice. Below is a compilation of the top snow and ice management industry practices and a list of questions you should be asking your current/ potential provider.

Does the company have commercial liability insurance?

Snow Plowing companies should carry at least 1 million dollar commercial liability insurance. In addition, an umbrella policy can cover any additional expenses incurred from accidental damage.

What backup equipment is included in the fleet?

The constant barrage of snowfall can take a toll on any vehicle. Be sure that the company you choose has plenty of equipment available to handle the job.

Is the equipment used adequate for your location?

Snow plowing a small parking lot can be done with a standard truck. However, larger lots may require an additional truck or even a loader to clear snow in an appropriate time frame. In addition spreading salt with a small tailgate spreader may work for some locations but others require a large dump truck to perform this task.

Can referrals for the company be provided to ensure credibility?

Snow Plowing is a service based industry right? Providing referral contact names, email addresses and phone numbers should be a must. Use this information to inquire how the company has handled service and resolved any concerns in the past.

Does your estimate include the entire parking lot or loading docks?

Be sure to clarify what areas of the lot are to be plowed and where snow will be stacked. If you have areas of concern such as loading docks inform the company upon initial contact. If you do not require the entire lot cleared this will allow for a saving in the cost of your contract.

Do you require sidewalk service including shoveling and salting?

Including sidewalk clearing and/or salting will increase the cost of your contract. However, paying for this service to be performed may save you in the long run. Paying employees to do such work takes away from their regular duties. Be sure to notify your potential snow plow contractor of such service needs.

Is salting/sanding included in your quote?

Salting adds an additional level of service to your agreement with a snow plowing company. If you have a high amount of elderly, children, trucks, or tow motors at your facility then salting should be a consideration. Avoiding potential safety concerns lowers liability and allows for your business to run smoothly and maximizes your concentration on what matters most.

What are your business location hours/shifts?

An office building that is only open from 9-5 requires less effort than a 24-7 manufacturing location. Be sure to clarify your business’s snow and ice management hours to eliminate any additional cost that may have been added or subtracted from your pricing.

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profitablepractices · 5 years ago

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How to Get an Affordable Receptionist, Assistant, Bookkeeper, and other Support Staff!

Are you just looking for a reliable receptionist to answer your phone on a "pay by the number of calls answered" basis? Someone who will take messages, answer basic questions from callers about your practice fees, location, insurance, and other simple questions, and then coordinate a callback time so that you don't waste time with phone tag? If yes, you may be better off using this service (click here) than going through the steps below, but totally up to you! Feel free to experiment and find the right solution for your practice!

Many people have asked me how I source, hire, and retain such incredible support staff from the Philippines. So many people have asked that I’ve finally decided to just put it all down into a blog so you can find my “crash course” here anytime you want! You can find excellent receptionists, bookkeepers, personal assistants who can also do basic WordPress updates, general admins, and basically any other type of role you need. Not only is the price low, but I find the culture to be incredible. As an entrepreneur, I have an innate sense of pride and ownership of all the work that happens under my umbrella. I find that Filipinos are generally eager to share in that sense of dedication to working in a high quality, courteous, and reliable manner. Here are my to tips:

Where to find them? There are several websites where you can hire people from the Philippines. Personally, the one linked here is my favorite. I actually purchased the lifetime membership package from this site, which includes lifetime ability to post as many jobs as you want, as well as tons of MP3 files and written literature on how to have a successful experience with your virtual assistant. However, even if you don’t want to start off with that particular level, you can easily place a one-off ad for just a few dollars.

How to attract them? Show off! You may not realize this, but you’re probably a very desirable employer. Place an ad that indicates you’re seeking a full time, long term employee that you’re willing to train, groom, and respect. You may not think you want a full time employee, but I encourage you to consider it because the best Filipino employees tend to want full time; if you hire them part time they’ll probably look elsewhere while they work for you. So, place an ad with a subject line that conveys all this, like “New York City Entrepreneur Seeks Permanent Full Time Assistant” or “Busy USA Person Needs Permanent Support!”. If possible, be even more specific (“New York City Therapist Seeking Friendly and Capable Receptionist!” or “NYC Real Estate Agent Needs Reliable Exec Assistant!” In the body of the ad, reiterate that you’re seeking someone who will stay for years. When you indicate pay, describe a starting salary and indicate how it will rise over a two year period (ie “Pay starts at __ per month, and rises to __ per month over a two year period”). Also mention that they can accrue paid sick time and paid holidays. I have a chart that shows how this is accrued at my company over time; I show it to them during the interview process but I at least mention that they can accrue paid sick time and holidays in the body of my ad. Also mention that you pay the “13th month bonus”. This is the Philippine equivalent of a year-end bonus. It is equivalent to one month’s salary. (Don’t worry! It can be prorated, so that if you hire someone in September you only need to pay a bonus of ⅓ of a month’s salary at year-end.)

How to screen them? You will likely get hundreds of applicants. You’ll need an easy way to screen them. I suggest creating an ad that provides a lot of information about how to apply, and then disregard any applicant who doesn’t follow all of your directions. This is a great starting point to rule out anyone who is unable or unwilling to be detail-oriented. Here are some ideas:

a. In the body of the ad, indicate that you’ll need them to work Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EDT (or whatever your desired schedule is). Ask them to confirm in their application that they’re available for this schedule.

b. In the body of the ad, tell them to use a certain subject line when they apply (ie “FT Assistant for NYC Entrepreneur”).

c. If you’d like someone who can speak English clearly as well as write, indicate it in your ad. To screen for spoken English skills, do the following: In the body of the ad, ask that when they apply they include an MP3 of their own voice reading a sample sentence. This will let you easily screen for how they sound on the phone. Many applicants are great in every way but they just can’t speak English clearly. You don’t want to waste everyone’s time by arranging a Skype interview just to discover this. Listen to MP3s before attempting an interview.

d. Consider requiring applicants to take a short test as part of the application. I use a company linked here that me the percentile ranks for the person’s scores in Math, Verbal, and Spatial domains. It is an easy way to separate applicants. Someone’s verbal skills might seem fine on their application materials because they’ve spent lots of time on their application, and they might do fine in a 1:1 interview where the conversation is very structured, but how quickly can they keep pace with a ton of emails on a busy day? How carefully can they read and track complex conversations? I rely on their Verbal percentile to give me a ballpark. The company also has skills tests for things like bookkeeping and other specialized areas. I’ve known several entrepreneurs who have found it to be a good investment.

e. Ask them to also include a screenshot of their results from a place like Speedtest.net. You need someone who has a strong internet connection with a good speed.

f. Disregard any applicants who don’t follow all of your application directions.

g. Make an alias within your email account like jobs@(your domain) Set your filters so that anything coming to this address will skip your inbox and go into a folder for this (soon, your assistant can handle these types of tasks for you!). This will let you easily review applications on your own schedule without getting pinged every time someone applies.

Related: Money, Honey: How to Get a Good Biller

Interview the applicants who catch your eye and pass your basic starting measures. I use Skype for this. If they can’t show up on time to the Skype interview, I disqualify them. If the interview goes well, I ask them to email me a summary of what we discussed. This helps me check their ability to pay attention, as well as to recognize, retain and convey important points. I tell them at the start of the interview that I may be asking them to do this. I only do this if it’s important that the person has an ability to understand spoken English.

Once you’ve narrowed down to 2-3 really good applicants, tell them the truth: You’ve found 2-3 great applicants and you’re not sure which one to choose. Tell them you feel that part of a good Filipino hire involves not only skills and attitude, but also the ability to show up for work every day in a reliable manner. Many Filipinos live in areas where storms frequently disrupt their ability to be online by cutting off their internet or electricity. You don’t want to spend a week training someone only to find that they actually need to miss work about 2 of every 10 days due to issues like this. So whatever your monthly pay equates in hourly pay (for a 40 hour week, multiply your monthly pay by 12 and then divide the total by 2080 to determine this), tell them you’re taking that hourly pay and adding a dollar to it during this final selection period to show that you appreciate the chance they’re taking by focusing on you for 40 hours per week without a promise of permanent employment.

Give each person the same tasks during your trial period so you can see how they do in terms of speed, accuracy, attitude, and their ability to show up for work in a timely reliable manner. We have several long “busywork” test tasks that can be mundane, but offer good ways to check someone’s ability and willingness to follow directions carefully. If you are trying to select a receptionist, provide them all with the same scripts and then do a conference call where you review the scripts as a group. Record the call so you can have future applicants listen to it if for some reason none of your current applicants works out; or if you want to add an additional person. Next, do 1:1 calls to see who is really mastering the information best. Likewise, whatever tasks are most important for whatever role you’re seeking to fill, make sure you record as much of your training as possible so that it’s easily repeatable if needed in the future. Ask the candidates to type “step by step” directions of whatever you teach them so that you can simultaneously check their learning while also building your training library.

How to structure the actual day to day work? Once you choose an applicant, congratulate them and give them a warm welcome. Tell them that you know the first 30 days are the hardest, so you’ll give them a $100 training bonus when they complete their 30th day on the job, and a $250 Successful Hire Bonus at the 90 day mark. This helps them to stay motivated during what is typically the most stressful period. Tell them to send a daily report of all they did that day, and to indicate which task was the hardest or most time consuming. Also have them send an email of their workplan at the start of each day. I also have them send me a chat in Skype or g-chat at the start of each day, and I let them know that real time communication is essential so I expect an immediate response whenever I chat during working hours. I tell them that if they need to step away from their computer for a moment during the day to please chat me when they leave and when they return; so that I”m not staring at the chat window waiting for a reply if they happen to be away from their desk for a moment.

I also have a checklist of things I want them to do every day (ie check my business Facebook page for any new Likes to posts and invite the liker to Like my page). I make the checklist WAY too long for any one person to do every day; the idea is that I never want them asking me “what do I do now?” when I’m too busy to think of what would be helpful. Do yourself and your assistant a favor by making a long checklist and explaining that you don’t expect it to all be done every day; but that you just want them to have lots of ideas of what to do. Of course, you can highlight certain tasks that actually do need to be done every day. I use Google Sheets and list all the tasks in Column A, and then have the assistant put the date in row 1, and then mark in each cell which tasks were done. I have them indicate more than just an “X” to show it was done; I get specific info (ie “Indicate the number of new post Likers you invited to Like the FB page). Making it specific lets you see how their workflow is moving, and gives them a chance to be recognized for all the work they’re doing. Also have them add a tab to their checklist doc called “Logins”. Anytime they create a login, have them add it. Also have them list any logins there they may need from you. Also have them add a tab called “Docs” where they put links to any docs they are creating for you (ie powerpoint slides etc). This lets you easily keep track of all the “balls in the air” as things get busy.

Another handy tool I have found is Jing, which is an excellent free screencast tool to show what I need done in certain situations that fall outside of a “daily checklist”. Whenever I send a Jing, I always require the person responds with a summary of what my Jing said. This ensures we are “on the same page”, and it gives me a text-searchable way to find/view my original directions in my email if there’s ever a question about the project.

How to pay them? When I’m working with them in the trial period, I just use Paypal or something . Once I actually hire the person, I use this company. There are lots of companies; this one is the best I’ve found in terms of fees and reliability; also a lot of Filipino people are familiar with them so it builds trust. They may want to be paid daily during the trial period since many of them have been scammed by unscrupulous people; so be willing to do this while you’re building trust. Obviously, never pay in advance since you don’t want to be scammed either.

Conclusion

I hope you have found the tips here to be helpful. Just like when you do business with someone in the USA, be prepared that the relationship may not work out. There’s no magical panacea that fixes every issue; but these tips have been helpful for me as well as the myriad people who have asked me over the years. Feel free to let me know if you have other questions; I'm here to help!

#private practice #private therapy practice #private practice tips #management #business management

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magzoso-tech · 5 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/diet-autopilot-thistle-raises-5m-for-health-food-subscriptions/

Diet autopilot Thistle raises $5M for health food subscriptions

What if it was easier to eat salad than junk food? Most diet routines take a ton of time, whether you’re cooking from scratch, making a meal kit, or seeking out a nutritious restaurant. But on-demand prepared food delivery companies like Sprig that tried to eliminate that work have gone bankrupt from poor unit economics.

Thistle is a different type of food startup. It delivers thrice-weekly cooler bags customized with meat-optional, plant-based breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, sides, and juices. By batching deliveries in the less-congested early morning hours and optimizing routes to its subscribers, or by mailing weekly boxes beyond its own geographies, Thistle makes sure you already have your food the moment you’re hungry. Whether you heat them up or eat them straight out of the fridge, you’re actually dining faster than you could even place an Uber Eats order.

The food on Thistle’s constantly rotating men is downright tasty. You might get a sunrise chia parfait for breakfast, a chicken tropical mango salad for lunch, a microwaveable bulgogi noodle bowl for dinner, with beet hummus and kale-cucumber juice for snacks. Thistle’s not cheap, with meals averaging about $14 each. But compared to competitors’ on-demand delivery markups and service fees, wasting ingredients from the grocer, and the hours of cooking for yourself, it can be a good deal for busy people.

“We see Thistle as part of a movement to make health convenient rather than a high will power chore” CEO Ashwin Cheriyan tells me. What Peloton did to shave time off getting a great workout, Thistle does for eating a nourishing meal. It makes the right choice the easiest choice.

Thistle COO Shiri Avneri and CEO Ashwin Cheriyan with their daughter

The idea of button you can push to make you healthier has attracted a new $5.65 million Series A round for Thistle led by its first institutional investor, PowerPlant Ventures. Bringing the startup to $15 million in funding, the cash will expand Thistle’s delivery domain. Dan Gluck of PowerPlant, which has also funded food break-outs like Beyond Meat, Thrive Market, and Rebbl, will join the board.

Currently Thistle delivers in-person to the Bay Area, LA metro, San Diego, and Sacramento while shipping to most of Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. Thistle actually held off on raising more since launching in 2013 to make sure it hammered out unit economics to prevent an implosion. It’s also planning broader meal options, additional product lines, and fresh distribution strategies like getting stocked in office smart kitchens or subsidized by wellness plans.

“The reasons that so many food delivery companies have failed likely fall into two buckets: one, a lack of focus on margins and unit economics, and two, premature geographic expansion before proving out the business model” says Cheriyan. “Thistle makes money similar to how a well run restaurant would make money – by having strong gross margins, efficient customer acquisition costs, and solid customer retention / lifetime metrics. We currently deliver tens of thousands of meals on a weekly basis to customers on the West Coast and our annual average growth rate since launch has been 100%+.”

It’s nice that Thistle hasn’t gone out of business because I’ve been eating its salads 6X a week for three years. It’s been the most efficient way for me to get healthier and lose weight after a half-decade of ordering takeout sandwiches and then feeling sluggish all day. I legitimately look forward to each one since they often have 20+ ingredients and only repeat every few months so they’re never boring.

It’s helped me keep my work-from-home lunches to about 20 minutes so I have more time for writing. Thistle is one of the few startups I consistently recommend to people. When asked how I lost 25lbs before my wedding, I point to Peloton cycling, Future remote personal training, and Thistle salads — none of which require me to leave the house.

Cheriyan tells me “We wanted the better-for-you and better-for-planet choice to be the default choice.”

Growing Out Of On-Demand

Thistle has already pivoted past the business model burning tons of cash across the startup world. The company started as an on-demand cold pressed juice delivery service, sending hipster glass bottles of watermelon and charcoal extract to doors around San Francisco. It was 2013, yoga was booming, and people were paying crazily high prices for liquified lemongrass. Health made simple seemed like a sure bet to the founding team of Alap Shah, Naman Shah, Sheel Mohnot, and Johnny Hwin, some of whom run Studio Management, a family office and startup incubator. [Disclosure: Hwin and Shah are friends of mine but didn’t pitch or discuss this article with me.]

Thistle eventually straightened things out with a shift to subscriptions and batched delivery under the leadership of the hired executives, Cheriyan and his wife and COO Shiri Avnery. “I came from a family of physicians – both my parents, brother, and enough aunts, uncles, and cousins are doctors that they could start a small hospital” Cheriyan, a former corporate attorney in M&A tells me. “A common point of frustration was about patients suffering from diet related illnesses who were unable to make a lifestyle change because it was too hard.”

Avenery, a PhD in air pollution and climate change’s impact on agriculture, had become exasperated with the slow pace of policy change and the inaction of governments and corporations. The two quit their jobs, moved to San Francisco, and searched for a point of leverage for positively influencing people diets and interaction with the environment. They teamed up with the founders and launched Thistle v1.

A lack of experience in logistics led to the initial detour into on-demand. But rather than trying to fix the problem with VC money, Thistle stayed lean and discovered the opportunity nestled between UberEats and BlueApron: sending people food they don’t have to eat now, but that takes low or no time to prepare when they’re peckish. Through its app, users can customize their meal plans, ban their allergens, pause deliveries, and see what they’ll eat next.

A sample of Thistle 8 meal plans

“The unit economics problem most heavily plagued the early on-demand food companies. Food / labor waste and inefficient deliveries were likely the biggest reasons why the economics were unsustainable without venture life support. We know this personally as Thistle started our delivery service as an on-demand company before quickly realizing that the unit economics couldn’t sustain a healthy business” Cheriyan explains, regarding companies like Sprig, DoorDash, and Grubhub. Beyond unsold food, “the margins very likely did not support ordering a $12-$15 single meal for immediate delivery when average hourly driver wages reached $18-20.”

Meal kits were supposed to make dining healtheir and cheaper, but they proved too much of a chore and led customers to boxes of ingredients piling up unused. Munchery and Nomiku went out of business while giants like Blue Apron have incinerated hundreds of millions of dollars and seen their share prices sink.

“The meal kit companies fared a little better from a gross margin perspective (due to preorders and more efficient deliveries) but suffer most from an easy-to-copy business model. This led to a rise in copycats, and, as a result, heavily rising customer acquisition costs, low switching costs and poor retention” Cheriyan tells me. “Fundamentally the meal kit companies face another challenge, which is that people have less and less time to cook and are increasingly looking for ready-to-eat options.”

Push-Button Health

A slower, steadier approach with less overhead, more convenience, and fewer direct competitors has helped Thistle grow to 400 employees from culinary to engineering to logistics.

Still, it’s vulnerable. It may still be too expensive for some markets and demographics. Logistics experts like Amazon and Whole Foods could try to barge into the market. Cloud kitchens without dining rooms are making restaurant food more affordable for delivery. And another startup could always take the gamble on raising a ton of cash and subsidizing prices to steal market share, especially where Thistle doesn’t operate yet.

Thistle could counter these threats would be further eliminating delivery costs by selling through partners like office smart fridges where employees pay on the spot, or equipping gym lobbies with more than just Muscle Milk.

“One opportunity we’re excited to test is attended and unattended retail – it would be great to be able to pick up Thistle products at your local grocery store, gym, or coffee shop” Cheriyan says. As for offices, “Today’s corporate lunchtime solutions often require a tradeoff between health and convenience: either wait in line for 30+ minutes at your favorite salad spot for a healthy option, or opt into catered restaurant meals that leave you feeling sluggish and unproductive.” Thistle could help employers prevent the 3pm energy lull.

The startup’s focus on plant-forward meals also centers it in the path of another megatrend: the shift to environmentally-conscious diets. Almost 60% of of Americans are trying to eat less meat and 50% are eating meat-alternatives like Impossible Burgers. That stems both from interest in the humane treatment of animals and how 15% of green house emissions come from livestock. But 45% of Americans say they hate to cook. That’s why Thistle makes pre-made meals where meat and egg are optional, but the food is healthy and delicious without them.

In the age of Uber, we’ve acclimated to an effortless life. The new wave of ‘push-button health’ startups like Thistle could finally take the hassle out of aligning your actions in the gym or kitchen with you intentions.

#Miscellaneous

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drivelings · 8 years ago

Text

63.

「Sapporo, please.」

“Water.”

Gabriel took a sip of his water, condensation already forming on the side from the hot summer air.

“Yeah, something like that. You a local?”

“Something like that,” he repeated cheekily. Gabriel snorted. His new friend had a sense of humor.

“Are you here for business, then?”

The air shifted briefly when Sojiro said that, and Gabriel had to grin. It reeked of danger and shady dealings. “I’m just here for…sight-seeing. Heard that Hanamura was quite...magical this time of year.”

Sojiro mirrored his expression, a knowing look in his eyes. “Of course. Hanamura is very beautiful. You’ve come at a good time, friend.” He jerked a chin at the shopkeeper behind the counter.

「Koma-chan!」

「Ay, So-chan? What can I do fer ya?」

「My new friend here wants your Tonkotsu special. Double eggs, extra firm noodles, make them wavy. Oh, and don’t forget the garlic. Two heads of it.」

In the privacy of the shop guarded by a man who’s paid to keep secrets, both men were able to drop their pretenses.

"Where are my noodles, Shimada?" Gabriel gestured grandly at the kitchen just behind the bar table they sat at. “You promised me noodles when I got here.”

Sojiro laughed out loud. "You'll get them, Reyes-san. Where is your hat?”

The Japanese man had to raise an eyebrow at that. “Oh? A dog, is it?”

The image of Jesse McCree as a dog--the correct analog was a roadside mutt, really--wasn’t entirely wrong, but Gabriel waved it off. “Something like that. But enough of this bull.”

“Yes,” Sojiro said coolly. “Welcome to my Hanamura, I am very pleased you were able to make it.”

The possessiveness does not go unnoticed—a dual invitation and a threat.

“I had assumed you liked my style. Apologies.” The paper disappeared into the inside of Sojiro’s sleeves as he crossed his arms.

“You flatter me.”

“That ain’t a compliment.”

“Then I’m afraid I misunderstood.” He pressed a mocking hand to his heart. “Forgive the ignorance of this old man.”

“Ah, yes.”

The Blackwatch commander drained the last of his water, and waved the bottom of it at him, willing him to continue. He had a feeling that he’d be forced to hear it whether he wanted to or not.

“My family tells of an ancient legend about two great dragon brothers...”

By the time the story was over, Gabriel was leaned over the counter, his palm digging another crater-sized dimple into his face. "And? What does that have to do with your clan?"

“We, the Shimada clan, descended from those dragons," he paused, looking thoughtful for a moment before he looked at Gabriel with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "or so it's said. Though, some have interpreted the story to mean that the two dragons were once the rulers of the Shimada clan. When the Dragon of the North killed his younger brother, he did not fall to the ground. He fell on a Shimada."

The image of a multi-ton mythical snake falling onto some poor soul made Gabriel laugh out loud, and he slapped the table, shaking the empty glasses in his mirth. Sojiro was not particularly bothered by this, and let him laugh it out--he's dealt with worse, he has two sons that could disappear at a moment's notice (one of which does it on a nearly bi-hourly basis).

His lips quirked upward and he shrugged far more casually than a man who just had his family legacy laughed at should. "There's more--"

"Did he fall on more than one?"

"--to this theory. When the elder Dragon was asked to descend, he did not descend onto any land, but into a Shimada. Possessed a human body."

"That interpretation's a stretch, isn't it?"

Sojiro shrugged again. "Regardless, these dragons are in our family. And the Shimadas have the ability to control them."

"And? If you have those mythical dragons running around, why do you need our help?"

Sojiro laughed humorlessly. "Because, Mr. Reyes, you are a smart man. You should understand."

"Flaterry gets you nowhere, Shimada. I'm not making my people do your dirty work for you."

"I understand that, and this request is not without adequate compensation."

“They killed my wife, Reyes-san,” Sojiro said solemnly. “Now they seek to kill me to control my sons.”

His eyebrow raised. “The news said she died due to heart failure.” Not that Gabriel believed everything he heard in the news, but he was admittedly not very concerned with Japanese politics at the time. The Shimadas always kept their affairs to Japanese soil, though there were always rumors of the clan being seen in various areas of South and East Asia.

The widower scoffed, downing his new glass of water as though it’ll cleanse him of this reality.

“Discover what?”

“They did something to her. She was different.” The older man’s hazel eyes became hard, glaring holes into the wooden counter. “It was still my wife, but she—she began to lose sight of herself. She looked the same, but she...”

He shook his head roughly. “I do not know what happened, but only that the clan elders were responsible.”

“You said something about killing you to control your sons?”

“Yes, yes.” He waved a hand, nonchalant, as if his life was a trivial matter. “My sons are still young.

“In the case of my eldest, Hanzo, I’m afraid his burden is a much heavier destiny than he can bear.”

“Do you know our clan’s symbol?”

But two of of them trying to eat the other? Gabriel could fathom a guess, but he’s sure it’d be a poor one. He’s not much for this sort of philosophical thinking. (It was honestly more of the space gorilla’s favorite pastime.)

“It is rare that both dragons, North and South, are born together in the same generation.” Sojiro swirled his glass, the water formed a mini-tornado within. “It was supposed to be joyous. The strongest generation, the elders claimed. Finally, the two dragon brothers have been reunited.”

“But there is a problem.”

“My son, Hanzo, has two dragons.”

The meaningful look Sojiro gave him forced the truth upon him so quickly, he got figurative whiplash.

“So they only require one of them, then.”

Sojiro’s eyes were downcast, the grip on his empty glass so tight, it was clattering against the table. “Once they have Hanzo, they will have no need for Genji.”

“Didn’t know the dragon legend had a third brother.”

“It is because Genji still has a use that the clan elders wants him dead.”

“Should you really be leaving your sons alone, then?”

“My eldest cousin, Asahi, is guarding my youngest, Genji. My other cousin, is guarding Hanzo. I trust them both to watch over my sons properly.”

Gabriel took a contemplative sip of water, staring off into space. “Cousins, huh? So they’re branch members?”

The unspoken implication hung heavily over their heads, but Sojiro responded, “Reyes-san. I trust them.”

“Glad someone does.”

It’s not unheard of for the branch members of a family in the middle of a power struggle to take sides or drastic measures. It’s natural, even. Some members may even want to lay claim to the Head seat themselves. But the case of the Shimadas, whose worth was determined by the family’s dragons, they could only make due with manipulating the leader. He’s seen more than his fair share of skirmishes over seats of power.

“Great, now that you’re lying in bed with Talon, now you want out? You’re more sentimental than I thought, for a mobster.”

“Reyes-san. I must fulfill my duties, but that does not mean my sons must suffer the consequences. I will not be like my father.”

“How laughable. The head of the Shimada clan–ruler of all Hanamura–can’t even protect his own children,” Sojiro spat out bitterly. “It is shameful for me to ask an outsider this, but…”

Gabriel did not expect the man to suddenly get on his hands and knees, pressing his forehead to the ground. “Please, protect my sons. I beg you as the father of these two children, please.”

After all, it goes without saying that in order to fool your enemies, you must first fool your allies.

The implant goes without a hitch, at least, from his part.

The news of Sojiro’s death does not surprise him.

Gabriel carefully considered your words. If you were to leave, there’d be no one around to report on either Shimada brother. It was hard enough for Sojiro to get you accepted in their fold, and it wouldn’t do to waste such an opportunity.

But on the other hand, the oligarchy surrounding the new Shimada head would be considerably less caution if the outsider finally leaves their midst. Their guard might even be down for a short while after, and there’d most likely be a shift in responsibilities which meant a short window of opportunity.

It might be worth taking this chance.

“Jack, we’re storming Hanamura.”

“What? Gabe! We don’t have jurisdiction over Japan! What are you thinking?”

“

“A week from now. Dead of night.”

Little did he know, a week from now, they’d be storming Hanamura for very different reasons.

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key2destne · 8 years ago

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Yo just RNG five or six questions for each character yourself, I'm answering right now. Ray, Dashy, Dustin, and Kenshi~

Ray (1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25), Dash (2, 3, 4, 15, 18, 22, 24, 25), Dustin (4, 6, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 24, 25), Kenshi (1, 2, 7, 8, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25)

Alright, let’s get this started!

Ray:

1: their voice

Being a bit of a harsh bastard, Ray tends to make his voice sound rude and uncaring- but that’s an actual choice on his behalf. Whenever he’s actually open about how he feels or he’s not trying to be hard on everyone and everything, he’s actually much quieter and his voice goes a bit lighter. He’s still got a fairly deep voice though- I’d call him a baritone bordering on bass.

4: their insecurities

Pretty much everything in Ray’s life is an insecurity. The reason that he keeps people away by acting like an uncaring bastard is so that he can’t get close to people- it’s a terrible way of thinking, but in his mind, it works. If he actually is close to someone, he’s still going to constantly be worrying about how to keep them happy and not have them leave. And then there’s his constant fight with his darkness, which of course he’s worried about failing... yeah, those are just the insecurities he has on an hourly basis.

5: their shortcomings

Well let’s see... He’s direct to a fault, swears worse than a sailor (though most of that is an act to keep people away), has darkness issues which stem from his short temper, has difficulties dealing with bullshit... His less obvious shortcomings, though, tend to be more about how he deals with things. He prefers to try and handle things on his own, even if it’s clear he needs other people to help him- it’s a result of having to do a lot on his own for a while. And he kind of sucks with puzzles.

7: how they like to dress

Ray kiiiind of dresses like an anime protagonist when he’s ready to fight. He likes how it looks and it has NOTHING to do with looking badass. Nothing at all. Aside from that, he likes jackets and jeans, and he’s willing to suffer through heat to keep that look dammit!

8: what they like to eat

Ray... actually tends to not eat a lot. Sure, he’ll eat, but more often than not he’s too busy training or doing something else. When he does eat, though, he likes to gorge on donuts and seafood- it reminds him of his home, in a weird way.

14: how they react to burning their tongue on food

“OW! WHAT THE FUCK!? Owww!” Then he’ll just stare at the food in horror as if it betrayed him, whoops. XD

16: their dreams

More than anything, Ray wants his home back. He misses his family, and knowing that it’s his fault he can’t ever see them again... well, it hurts him, a lot. So he does try to find out how he can bring them back... but in his heart he knows it’s a lost cause, no matter what he does.

18: how they sleep

Ray tends to sleep curled up into a ball, or while leaning against a wall. He doesn’t feel comfortable sprawled out- it makes him feel like he’s open to attack.

19: their reaction to betrayal

Well... pretty bad, let’s say that. owo’ If he even thinks someone turned on him after he let them in, he gets pissed, and his darkness tends to encourage him to... well... try to kill them. He tries to fight it unless it’s obvious the person actually did betray them, but oh man, he does NOT like betrayal if he’s close to the person, especially since it ties into his insecurities about people leaving him. If they’re not close, he’s more apathetic- especially since he has no reason to actually care about them.

22: what they're like on two hours of sleep

Lol, Ray’s constantly on two hours of sleep. He tends to keep himself awake until he runs himself into the ground- although after training, he does like to take a quick nap just to keep himself from getting too tired.

23: how they act when they’re sick

Ray pretty much ignores it. It doesn’t matter if he’s got pneumonia or what, he’ll keep trying to train. If he can’t push through it, he tends to get depressed and think he fucked up somehow.

25: why you enjoy them

Well for one, he’s an edgy fuck. Those’re fun to write. XP But more importantly, he’s an interesting paradox. He doesn’t want people to get close to him in case he hurts them or they hurt him, and yet at the exact same time, he’s dying for someone he can open up to and not be such an asshole to. When he gets it, he’s grateful, but he’s terrified he’ll fuck it up somehow, so he’ll still try to keep his walls up somewhat.

He’s a walking conundrum of feelings and problems, and that’s what makes him human to me- especially since I’ve tempted to be that way before too, even though it’s a terrible idea. He’s the living embodiment of a question mark. XD

Dash

2: their smile

Dash’s smile is the kind that practically screams confidence. She knows what she’s doing, and if anyone gets in her way of doing the right thing, they’re gonna have hell to pay!

3: their greatest achievement

That would probably have to go to her first forged weapon she ever made. It was shitty, and would probably break almost immediately if anyone ever tried to actually use it in a battle... but it was still the first thing she ever made herself, and if nothing else, she’s proud of that.

4: their insecurities

Surprisingly, Dash has a few. Sure, she’s a good fighter, but she’s worried about how good of a hero she’ll be- not to mention when she finds herself in a position of leadership. She’s constantly questioning how good of a leader she is, how she’ll lead, what to do to help others... And if she ever fails them, she tends to blame herself and take responsibilities. That’s not even getting into why she’ll never ever talk about her dad, or want to see him- she’s worried about how he’ll react to her running away from home.

15: how they react to a brain freeze

Well, Dash never really got to have a brain freeze, so the first time that happens she kind of dropped to the floor clutching her head in pain. XD Afterwards she tended to tough it out, but that first time... ho boy, that was painful for her. XD

18: how they sleep

Dash just kind of... sprawls out onto the bed. One leg’s off of the mattress, she’s drooling onto her pillow... It’s an adorable mess to watch.

22: what they're like on two hours of sleep

When she’s on two hours of sleep? She’s pretty much dead on her feet. As soon as she sits down on a desk, she’s moving to nap on her arms, she’s that exhausted.

24: what motivates them

As I’ve mentioned in her backstory before, it was her uncle’s stories about heroes that made her want to be a hero herself. But... well, it’s also the right thing to do. She wants to help people, and be as good an influence as she can be! She just... kind of has to learn what that means a little bit first...

25: why you enjoy them

She’s a fun character to write for~ A blacksmith heroine who wants to save the day and uses a hammer? What else could you ask for? owo Aside from that, she’s got the sort of energy that makes her dialogue and thoughts flow naturally, where it feels more like she writes herself, and less like I write for her.

Dustin

4: their insecurities

Dustin’s pretty much wholly focused on collecting Lux for his Union, or helping anyone he can. As a result, he sometimes worries about if others actually like him, or if they just use him to help them with their problems. There’s also the fact that without Chirithy, he used to be pretty unsure about what to do, but after RoC, he’s gotten better about it!

6: how they deal with grief

If Dustin’s grieving, he’ll put it aside to help anyone else who’s grieving, and as soon as everyone else is feeling better, he’ll go off by himself and cry and curl into a ball. He doesn’t want other people to know he’s hurting, cuz then it makes his reassuring them seem weaker.

10: their fashion sense

Dustin is a dork and his fashion sense kind of reflects that. XD Goggles, fingerless gloves, a vest... God, this kid is a dork and I love him.

13: their embarrassing memory from years ago

Back when he was 10 or so, when he first met Foreteller Ira, his first reaction was “Pretty horsie~!” Nobody who knew him when that happened will let him live it down now.

14: how they react to burning their tongue on food

Usually he cries in pain. Glares at the food in question (usually pizza). Then he gets back to eating it, rinse and repeat. He’s silly that way. XD

15: how they react to a brain freeze

Well, he reacts as you would expect from a guy getting a brain freeze- the thing that makes it funny is how he gets them. 90% of the time, he challenges Chirithy to a milkshake race and goes too fast, giving him a brain freeze in like, 2 seconds. XD

18: how they sleep

He cuddles his pillow. Like a dork. He’s a cuddler, and after he gets with Luna, he tends to cuddle her instead~

21: how they react to pain

Surprisingly, Dustin doesn’t react to pain, at all. Sure, he might groan in pain, but he’s used to getting hurt. It’s when he can get something out of it, like a hug or a kiss to the part where it hurt, where he goes over the top. XD

24: what motivates them

Dustin is always motivated by his friends. Trying to help them get through life, make them happy, and do everything he can to make them smile, even if he suffers for it.

25: why you enjoy them

Well, at first he was largely just a self-insert OC, since Unchained X’s basically all about making yourself a Keyblade Wielder. But over time, he grew into his own character, and I love watching him be a dork. owo Then there’s the fact that he’s a fun character to write, and he’s got a heroic sense of right and wrong. In a weird way, he’s someone I’d like to try and be myself.

Kenshi

1: their voice

Kenshi tends to be very quiet and soft-spoken due to how he’s grown up, but when he needs to, he can be firm. He’s more high-pitched than others, making him sound a bit more like a kid, which makes him get a little sad. He’s not a kid, dangit! ;w;

2: their smile

Kenshi’s smiles tend to be small, but honest. If he smiles, there’s a reason he’s smiling, and it means he trusts you enough with it. Too bad the kid trusts too many people, Kenshi wai do you trust so much. ;w;

7: how they like to dress

The Mizu clan tends to dress formally, with traditional Japanese-style clothing, but if he wasn’t worried about following their rules or impressing them, he’d probably wear a hoodie and shorts. He’d keep the sandals, though... he likes his sandals for some reason. owo

8: what they like to eat

Kenshi’s got a huge sweet tooth, but he’s also fairly health-conscious, so if he gets to eat berries, he’ll have as many as possible~ His favorites are blueberries and Oran berries. They’re so sweet and tasty... Once he had a blueberry muffin, and it was so tasty~ He wants another one. ;w;

13: their embarrassing memory from years ago

The first time Kenshi was given a bo staff to practice with... well... he smacked himself over the head with it. The kid is not a natural with weapons. XD His second most embarrassing memory was the time he tripped while going up stairs, largely cuz his sister never lets him live it down. ;w;

15: how they react to a brainfreeze

I have absolutely no clue how but Kenshi doesn’t get brain freezes. At all. He can just keep going and going and going, and at worst he’ll get tired of his mouth being freezing, Kenshi how the fuck?

18: how they sleep

Kenshi tends to sleep with a teddy bear his sister made him once- it’s his only sign that his family loves him, so he’ll always, ALWAYS hold onto it. Well... except for when other family members are around. Then he curls up into a ball, he needs his teddy bear. ;w;

20: their reaction to a mystery love letter

Well, first he’d be like “U-um, um, um... ;w;” as he tries to figure out what the heck why did someone send him a letter like this??? Then he’d ask his sister if this is a prank from her, and when he realizes it’s for real, he starts trying to figure out who it is so he can thank them and give them a gift in return... somehow. ;w;

22: what they're like on two hours of sleep

After getting practically no sleep, Kenshi tends to nearly fall asleep on his feet. The only thing keeping him from going back to bed is his worries of upsetting his father or his mother, which is enough of a motivation to keep him awake. Kenshi wai. ;w;

25: why you enjoy them

Kenshi’s a cute character- one that I love to write, and more importantly, one who can be serious when needed to be but is still a good cinnamon roll character. Plus he’s a pacifist- something I always love to write for some reason. He’s easily flustered, kind, wanting to please his family... and I love it.

#neko-adachi

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