#nightmare workplace dynamic

[rootmash]

smth i wont finish

[arsenicpanda]

#this whole sequence was so funny #like #they all think of each other as toxic manipulative bastards #and the funniest thing of all is that they all prove it #house (who did it) accuses cuddy to start drama #cuddy assumes it’s Wilson because Wilson is an enabler #Wilson ADMITS he is an enabler and lies and pretends it was him for manipulation purposes #Wilson tries to manipulate Cameron into feeling bad for him for being accused of doing a thing he didn’t do but confessed to doing #Cameron hears that the thing happened but wasn’t perpetuated by the one of the three people alive who are protective of house #immediately accuses chase #and accuses him of doing it NOT out of love or care like the others had been accused of herself included #but just to be a dick #and chase immediately works out ‘oh it was house all along’ and manipulates house into confessing #toxic workplace full of toxic people toxically codependent on each other #perfection (via @effloresoteric)

[eaterofman]

Yandere Harem Coworkers x New Hire Reader

Now with a part 2 <3

Good news: You landed your dream job! Bad news: Your coworkers are fucking insane.

CW: Yanderes, workplace harassment, possessiveness, implied stalking, power dynamics, dubcon touching

You hadn't expected a job like this to come so easily.

It really had been a dream job from the moment you laid eyes on the job posting, and they'd even offered you better during the interview! They'd even thrown in an extra sign on bonus! You couldn't believe your luck. You were finally going places.

Really, how could you say no?

Your interviewer was the HR manager, Leon Jacobs. He was a stern looking man, clearly in his late 40's, and didn't seem to have a single flaw in his appearance. His age showed in the beginnings of grey hairs atop his tidy, shortcut black hair, and the creases beneath his eyes. His appearance was beyond intimidating. Dark, scowling eyes picked you apart from behind his glasses as you fidgeted in your chair. Whatever nightmare of an interview you thought was coming, never happened. Instead, you were surprised when he almost immediately offered you not only the job, but an even better salary and bonus than was advertised. You were almost too stunned to speak, as he held out his hand to shake, his dark expression lifting with the slightest twitch of his lips. You took his hand shakily in agreement. In your excitement, you didn't notice the way his hand gripped yours a hair too tight, or how his touch lingered for a few moments longer than it should have. The way his gaze intently followed your figure as you walked out was also missed by you.

"We're so happy to welcome you to the team. Our team will make sure your time working here is as pleasant as possible."

Your trainer is a well respected man, Warren Pen. Warren is a huge man, easily towering over you. While he'd be otherwise intimidating at his size, his warm expression and demeanor quickly puts you at ease. How could you be afraid of him, with his warm brown eyes and bouncy red curls and gentle smile? You quickly learned that he must have a pretty high position in the company. His office alone was almost as big as your entire apartment! The office they give you is nearly as big, much to your surprise. Warren reassures you that it's not a mistake, that they just want you to be comfortable in your new position. You are so very important to the company, after all. As he helps you settle in, you're amazed by his generosity and kindness. You're too happy to question why there's such a big office space right next to his open for you, or why such a high ranking worker would be assigned to train a newbie. You're initially confused about why all your other coworkers seem to cower away from him... until you see him lose it on a poor intern. His demeanor changed from a gentle giant to a raging monster within the blink of an eye, screaming at the intern over a simple filing mistake. You find yourself suddenly on your toes around him, waiting for a verbal barrage over one of your mishaps, but it never comes.

"Don't worry, I'd never treat you like that. They deserved it. You're doing perfect."

Your department's boss is a man named Jax Wright. Jax is a charming man, and the childhood best friend of Warren. He's slim and tall, with black hair and a slightly rugged appearance. He always seems to be in a rush, hair usually rustled and a 5 o'clock shadow a constant on his face. Yet, he somehow takes time out of his busy day to visit you. Or, more accurately, he finds the time to corner you when you're alone or with Warren. You don't want to lose this dream of a job, so you don't mention the way the childhood friends always find a way to crowd around you in the more narrow hallways or the breakroom. They insist you have lunch everyday with them, why would you want to eat by yourself? You really shouldn't deny your superiors' lunch requests, y'know. You ignore the lingering touches as he leans in far closer than necessary to examine your work, hands placed possessively on your shoulders. He loves to give you overwhelming praise, even for the most minor of accomplishments. You're afraid your other coworkers will think the worst of you because of the special treatment, but they seem to be avoiding you nearly as much as they avoid Warren.

"Good job. You're exceptional as always. It's been an absolute pleasure to work with you. Keep being good and you're bound for a raise."

With the rest of the department seeming to avoid you like the plague, you start to believe that you're stuck with just the overbearing childhood friends to talk to. That is until the secretary, Jake Moor, begins to talk to you. Jake is flamboyant, to say the least. He's bright, from his beaming white smile to his wide array of cute, colorful ties he matches with his suit. He's young, in his early 20s, and his bright blonde hair only adds to his youthful appearance. He's almost too much, talking at light speed and somehow being more touchy than your boss. He always finds a reason to pull you into hugs, or rustle your hair playfully. It doesn't bother you much though, he's just being friendly, right? And you really don't want to lose one of the few friends you have in the department. He has some sort of treat for you everyday, usually a homemade meal or pastry you have to find the time to eat alone before you're coworkers steal you away to have lunch with them. His cheerful nature motivates you to stay with the company, he really is your "beacon of light". You even find yourself giggling to yourself as he sends you silly motivational cat pictures throughout your day. He's so cute you don't even question how he got your number when you never gave it to him yourself. You do find it a bit odd that he knows exactly where to go when your car breaks down one day and he gives you a ride home, but you'd told him you lived in those apartments on the east side, remember? He'd never use his position to look at confidential paperwork. Never.

"I brought you in some cookies I baked last night, and here, I even made some dog treats! I've never made them before, let me know how he likes them! How did I know you have a dog? ...you told me, remember? Silly!"

As the weeks pass, you start to become more accustomed to your coworker's odd mannerisms. They still wear on you, but the money is just so good. You need it, where else would you even go? There's no chance you'd find anything near as good, if you found anything at all. You needed this job, Jax and Warren's overbearing natures aside. At least you had Jake, who always seems to know exactly what you need whenever you need it.

You can tough it out... right?

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Eddie hated this and he'd just started.

See, he was so proud when he made it, when he got his first office job. He saw what decades of physical labor did to Wayne's back, his hands, and he wanted to make his uncle proud. So he kept applying and applying and getting ignored and rejected and finally, finally he got a job in a pretty large corporate. Not exactly something prestigious, but hey, it had potential. The experience counted and all that.

He thought maybe workplaces would be different, that the good ol' high school dynamic would fuck off, but no. He was sitting at his desk, trying to fill in paperwork after a taxing phone call, but all he could focus on was whispering from the neighboring cubicle that was ostentatiously loud. He didn't know who sat there yet, the guy had been on vacation for the two weeks Eddie was in the company. From the stuff he was hearing, he was getting introduced anyway and not exactly the way he'd have liked to be.

"Can you believe they actually let him work here?" It was Carol, of course it was, the office gossip and mean girl knockoff. "I mean, he doesn't even look decent! Did you see that hair?" Okay, that hurt. He actually pulled his hair into a neat bun every morning, but you can't please some people. "And he has tattoos, what would our customers think if they actually met him, plus you should have heard the rumors about his past-!"

But just as he was about to slam down the pile of paperwork and either take an extended smoke break or gently ask Carol to go fuck a polar bear, he heard another voice. Bored and wonderfully bitchy.

"That's absolutely fascinating, Carol. Please tell me more, what could this guy possibly have done? It must be something juicy. Did he perhaps fuck his boss during the Christmas party and then lie about it to his boyfriend of five years? Oh wait no. That was you. Silly me."

Eddie had to bite his pencil to stay quiet, but his whole chest hurt by trying to keep the snickering in. And then the offended gasp. "I- you promised you wouldn't-!"

"I didn't promise shit, Carol. You just came to me, cried your eyes out - bad move by the way, invest in some waterproof mascara for god's sake, mascara in wrinkles doesn't good on anyone, and yes, you do have wrinkles - and tried to play the victim. Except I heard your small proposition to the guy before so it didn't really work out. But it's fine, you know," and oooh, the tone was smug, so bored, Eddie loved this guy already, "Tommy saw you as well and had a good time with Nicole to get even. So there's nothing to worry about. Now tell me, what did this horrible Eddie Munson do to summon wrath of such a righteous woman such as yourself?"

Eddie heard a sharp sound as Carol got up from the desk. "Fuck you, Steve Harrington," she spat out and sped past Eddie's seat. He just gave her a small salute.

When the sound of high heels faded, Eddie leaned over the cubicle wall and knocked to draw the guy's attention. And yeah, maybe he was a little bit biased because he'd just obliterated a textbook definition of a shrew, but this Steve was fucking gorgeous, light brown eyes looking at him, a smug smirk tugging at his lips.

"Oh hi," said Steve and offered his hand, shaking Eddie's. "Sorry for that. I'm Steve Harrington and whatever deepest, darkest secrets you're hiding, I don't care, I'm pretty sure I've heard them all. What did you do? Shave your head in school? Join a cult? Cut dolls apart and chant hail Satan?"

That had Eddie laughing again, but he still had an introduction to make. A proper one. "Nice to meet you, Steve. Eddie Munson, and I'm worse than your darkest nightmares. I sometimes wear socks in sandals."

Steve's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, Carol was right, you are a monster!" he muttered. "Speaking of monsters..." His head leaned to the side, towards Carol who was angrily carrying her coffee mug, her mascara running again.

Before he could catch himself, Eddie leaned over the wall and whispered as loudly as he could muster. "Can you believe some people wear dotted dresses with stripes on their stockings? We can't all be born with taste, I guess...tragic."

And again, maybe Eddie was just biased, but Steve's laughter was so pretty that it actually made dealing with Carol's bullshit worth it.

[astrogre]

The Planet that is Pluto

Words: power, control, obsession, the underworld, intensity, intense emotions, intense everything, domination, taboo, depth, sex, repressed emotions, shadow self, the survivor, detective, alchemy, dark arts, superiority, fear, bravery

Astrological placements associated with Pluto: Scorpio, 8th house, Aries

Character I associate with Pluto: Femto-Berserk

The way Griffith sacrifices the souls of his people to transform into Femto and have dominance over others. What he does to Casca as well. He is the epitome of an extreme Plutonic character.

Honourable mentions: Homelander- The Boys, Laurie- Euphoria, Makima- Chainsaw man, Erik- Phantom of the Opera, Gaara-Naruto

Places: hades underworld realm, chess tournament’s, hell, anywhere with hierarchy aka corporate workplace, government institutions (because of power play/dynamics), caves, underground tunnel, escape rooms, secret society hidden meetings, nightmares,

Random somewhat astrologically influenced things that personally remind me of Pluto: Rigger, black grapes, death by strangulation, wine, babushka dolls, long nails, snakes, a public executor in the medieval ages, chess, cults, BDSM, the colour black, power play

Song I associate with Pluto:

Listen to this while you read it to immerse yourself in Pluto energy and surroundings, also read the lyrics too it’s very much Pluto energy

For you Pluto dominants:

(Pluto 1st house, Pluto 8th house, Pluto conjunct asc, Pluto conjunct Sun, many strong aspects to Pluto & Honourable mentions: 8th house stellium, Scorpio Stellium.)

This is entire post is dedicated to you

Plutos Traits:

Regenerative and transformative

Think of a snake shedding skin to become anew or when you’ve overcome and left abusive relationships and you’re back in your self confidence. Pluto is a phoenix bird it has a DEEP urge for regeneration and can transform itself from its own ashes into a diamond, Pluto itself is the pressurising machine. Say ashes represent the shittiest moments of our life e.g abuse, relationships, trauma, Pluto has the ability as an alchemist to use this horrible event to make something of more value, it transmutes basic base metal to gold. Transmutes pain and death to renewal. Pluto sees trauma as fuel. Without ashes (intense emotions or experiences) Pluto cannot show up and do it’s thing. Check where you have Pluto in the houses, this may be where you can get hurt most but it’s purposefully for a reason you’re supposed to use those intense emotions and make something beautiful of them

Eg. Pluto in 11th houser may have intense traumatic social circles or communities that ostracise, diminish, use or control them. As a Pluto 11th houser YOU have dominion here, you guys are social climbers the real life underdogs to Royalty stories. Use their exploitation of you as fuel, motivation and a resources to your success.

(Kylie and Kris Jenner have this placement and we all know how they absorb the drama, publicity and negativity from others like a champ, embody it, all to gain constant relevancy, power, influence and fame in their careers. Scandals make their profits go up like the whole Jordan woods drama and using it as marketing to do a sale on Kylie Jenner lip kit, Kris having their children’s private lives scrutinised and publicly available all so her family can gain relevance and wider opportunities)

Dominance and control

The reason why Pluto is known for obsession is because it urges to have the upper hand, Pluto won’t argue when defied he simply acts unbothered but exacts revenge in a cold manner, it wants to dominate and will go to extreme lengths to do that, it will go at all costs, the obsession manifests in an illogical, ego based way think of Gabriel Agreste from miraculous ladybug- how he prioritises triumphing ladybug over saving his wife, that kind of obsession. In my personal opinion I see Pluto as the second ego after Sun. It’s better if I explain by comparison… Think of powerful and dominating planets like Saturn and Mars, imagine if you owed each of these planets money and were in deep debt with them this is how they would respond:

Saturn: would employ you to do gruelling long hard work for many years, no retirement so that you’d die working on their behalf. If you refuse or die before debts are paid they would simply pass your debt onto your children make them do it to repay the money you owe. (If you’ve seen Chainsaw man, Saturn would work/treat the debtors children kind of like the way Denji was treated he had to pay off his fathers debts; in burdensome conditions where his health was being compromised for repayment.)

Mars: if you owed money to mars and were not able to pay it back, mars would most probably threaten you, beat you up, do a drive by shooting, physically destroy your assets like keying cars, graffiti and bulldozing your house, may be very aggressive think of loan sharks and mafia

Pluto: Now if you owe Pluto money.. Pluto is the kind to go further than mars, he would make you pay for it personally, in a way that can be grotesque/dark think of maybe rue from euphoria. When she owed money she just randomly woke up in a strangers bed and the house being filled with men implying she had been sex trafficked. Pluto is very wicked, obsessive and can be unsympathetic. It would not care if you feel pain and regret for inconveniencing them, it does this to put you in your place and prefers you repay the money with your suffering. Pluto may not even want the money anymore but rather the control and prioritises the debtors torture or will get the losses at your expense. eg. Sex trafficking you, have you wake up on the road after being unconscious and notice your kidneys are missing, hold you hostage, torture you, sell your body parts at an elite auction house, make detestable arrangements behind your back like forced marriage etc. This is how Pluto exacts its power and control.

Power obsessed

Pluto gets what it wants and exerts control over others while it does. That’s why it’s described as “scary” and associated with fear, a combination of ego and revenge. This is why wherever Pluto is in your houses it can show where you are intimidating, relentless and powerful and what you have constantly been resiliently obsessing over for years.

E.g Pluto 1st housers feel the desperate need to be in control and that they are seen to be dominant. They’re kind to get insulted if you call them “cute” or make jokes about their authority. (Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Justin Beiber all have this placement and came out of being typecasted or known as the “sweet good girl/boy” stereotype to powerful and to be taken with caution.

Taboo

Pluto is labelled taboo because it inserts itself into light AND darkness. It doesn’t mind and in fact rather enjoys exploring sex, defiance, repressed emotions, any subject that the general public refuse to speak of, Pluto relishes in that. I remember as a child there was a myth that I was told. It was that if you say “Bloody Mary” three times in the mirror you’ll get haunted and a ghost will appear to attack you, while other children may scream and dread in fear to even think of doing such an act, Pluto ruled natives may be the kind when alone to quickly run into the bathroom turn off the lights and try it out alone. That’s why they’re known to participate in dark arts, have interest in disturbing topics, they are fearless, like the challenge and find the minuscule information available on it a challenge. It’s not that Pluto ONLY has interest in taboo topics it’s just that it doesn’t hold as much fear of it as everyone else, talking about sex or death to Pluto is like talking about the weather, it’s no different, after all it’s just another subject.

The reason why they’re so fascinated by such topics and affiliated with them is because they see wasted energy and potential in these dark topics, abandoned resources that nobody wants meaning there’s more for them, and that’s why Pluto wants to explore it. Pluto isn’t wasteful. If Pluto were to kill a cow it would use its meat for food, bones for medicine, skin for rugs and teeth for necklaces, not a part of it would go unused. It gets excited when someone hits them because it means they can hit back.

Hidden self

Pluto is the hidden shadow part of yourself self you may want to hide and refuse to acknowledge. This is because as mentioned before Pluto loves the darkness and inside the subconscious there’s the good stuff and the bad stuff, our subconscious holds our fears, our beliefs, our desires and Pluto brings out all that stuff as conversation starters and wants to explore it and use it as fuel. This is why Pluto is known to be triggering because to be honest who wants to remember the fact they are afraid of touch and their abuser that caused that? But Pluto does. Pluto wants to remember them, Pluto wants to bring it up, Pluto wants to know who they are, Pluto wants to get revenge on them and put them in their place. Wherever Pluto is in your houses can also show how you can exact revenge so that it hits hard on others.

E.g. Pluto 4th house can suggest native can use powerful resources in their family, or their family has status, control, authority over others and can utilise it against others to contribute to their downfall.

(Megan Markle has this placement and she certainly lives up to it. She’s able to use the traumatic experiences she endured as a royal as fuel against them and is slowly contributing to the downfall of the monarchy by using her name and her affiliation to the royal family).

How to activate Pluto

Pluto can only transform and use its powers of Alchemy, transformation, control and power if you tap into its energy otherwise Plutos potential will be ignored. The same with any placement really. If you have a Venus 1st house, you want to be a beauty influencer but don’t put yourself out there, it’s energy will never manifest and remain as wasted potential.

The way you’re supposed to use Pluto is by confronting your fears. When you are most afraid, do it anyway.

E.g. Pluto 7th housers when you’re laying in bed and you’re thinking of that traumatic experience in your relationships instead of suppressing it, allow Pluto to remember it and allow that level of disrespect you feel to take action in the way of your Pluto sign.

(Shakira, Cardi B and Megan Thee stallion all have this placement and exacted revenge on their partners in different ways, Shakira and Cardi did it by artistically exposing them in music and making money form it, Megan did it the same way and also by lawsuits, doing public interviews on torey Lanes and pressing charges)

Anything Pluto touches is where you hold the most power in your birth chart. Usually people say how come i’m not good in that area?? It’s because you’ve not utilised Pluto. It’s because you won’t let Pluto explore it and turn your tribulations into gold.

What can Pluto tell us:

The best way of how you can exact revenge for it to successfully hit hard on others.

Where your wasted potential is. Basically where you allow your fears, desires, trauma to lay dormant instead of using that intense energy for Pluto transformation

Where we get excited when someone hits us because it means we can hit back. (Applies only if native is used to Plutos energy, otherwise you won’t be able to hit back. You’ll know if it’s active if when you have challenges under the themes of the house Plutos in you trust you can fight back like you have in the past)

Where you hold the most power

What you obsess over

How you deal with fears, death, change and trauma

Which part of your life you experience extreme transformation and changes

What you like to fight for

I will most likely be making a series that incorporates all of this for each house. However due to the fact that I am unfortunately very detail oriented this may take a while for me to commit to.

Pluto Series:

Pluto in 1st House

[spotaus]

Gonna be sick (New Age thoughts are consuming me-)

Just a quick jot of ideas to ruminate on for myself lol.

1) Geno, Dust, and Reaper drabble. Whether that's expanding on their first visit from Dust's pov or that snippet where his shoulder gets obliterated idk. Maybe even Killer's teasing as a b-plot. Just. Those three make me feel big emotions and I feel crazy-

2) Cross rooting around in the castle on his spy mission. If I were more interesting it would be proceeded by a fluff drabble about the month or two he sticks around to prepare, either from Blue or Dream's perspectives even, but I'm not that cool. Instead, probably gonna jump-cut straight into the Him Arriving bit.

3) Blue and Dream meeting. Dream is so so distressed upon arriving to this allied kingdom, and the people are kind enough, but everything is so different and scary and his brother, his *brother* is different abd sent him away. Now he's alone. He's holding together poorly, but tries to at least keep up appearances and train. (Training helps distract him) and during a training session with one of the Knights, he's introduced to Blue. The squire about his age who is always around for Dream's combat lessons. And. The squire who runs into Dream when he's had enough and makes a reckless choice.

4) Rewrite the first drabble (the starting chapter if you will-) I need to add in the dynamics I've made since then, and also slip in Ccino.

5) Nightmare getting his first cold since becoming young again. His immune system is trash, now that the pollens and germs are hitting him after years of being atrophied beneath the magic. So ofc he catches a cold very. Very quickly. And who is better to help him than Ccino, and who's better to keep watch than Cross? (Just wanna write a ting of angst in this one too.)

6) Dust. This would *probably* be a world building piece that focuses on Dust before he was imprisoned, and then how he was caught, and how he ended up with Nightmare. In theory this could span up until Killer was put in charge of Dust, but I can imagine it would stop after Dust accepts Nightmare's offer of work, then continue somewhere after.

7) Ccino-centric one! I just need to get an idea of a single day of his. Maybe one of his few days off? Just slice of life, him enjoying the day, paying tribute, visiting friends in the city.

8) Cross and Lust domestic drabble. Along the same vein, I just think a quick look into their lives would be nice. Maybe from Lust's perspective, since Cross kinda has red alarms going off in his brain because he's full of puppy love, and while it's definitely not shallow/all he thinks about, it is very... him. Lust is a lot more composed about it.

9) Same vein again, Crop and Horror. I like to think Crop was one of the folks Horror visited while trying to find fixes for farms. Crop was abroad for a long time and recently came back when he heard of his brother's plight with the messed up farm. The two of them did a lot of brainstorming and, in return for using their plot as an experimental lot, they were paid handsomely by the royal treasury. Horror and Crop were in contact for a *long* time, and eventually it became a consensual workplace relationship lmao. Just one of Horror's days off he goes home to visit his family, and finds Crop was there to visit as well as a surprise!

10) Away from Ship stuff, Error perspective, post running away! Probably from Geno leaving up until he was hired by Nightmare. Error is a chaotic little shit, but he was also like. 11 or smth. Miracle he wasn't killed. He's crafty and silly and so so sad.

11) Cross and his fucked up dog. That borzoi haunts the narrative in the funniest way physically possible. It's such a funny dog, and I think it'd be such a menace and very fun to write about Cross losing it and panicking. Maybe. Maybe Dog perspective even.

12) Some scene. Dunno which one. Cat perspective. Limited knowledge, only seeing eyes. Would be pretty cool.

13) Dust with his horses. Maybe the wild one he tamed even!

[time-is-restored]

okay like listen i know a lot of people have been talking abt this specific aspect of 3x3 already but. im just having a bit of a moment w the amount of lgbt ppl who saw trent's expression at the end there, and like. Knew.

like to be clear i am aware that at this point trent being gay is, at best, subtext + fanon. its incredibly beloved subtext, but its entirely possible that it could get blown out of the water in the coming episodes. but within the reading of trent being a gay man, seeing colin in that terrifying moment of exposure + vulnerability... that look says So much. its fear, its worry, its an instinctive protective response. its helplessness, its shame from feeling powerlessness, its the grim certainty that comes from knowing just how much is at stake.

(cw: discussion of homophobia + discrimination below. its long. i very much rambled.)

bc the thing that i personally keep coming back to is like. everyone on the team is colin's friend - his family, even, according to the themes of the show. the show is literally about the team + staff working together to break down their toxic/unhealthy behaviours and build up a culture of trust + respect. that's why i think it's so significant that while isaac is the one to use the word gay pejoratively, he's also the one checking in on colin when he gets moved to the bench. he's arguably colin's closest friend at the club! and that's not enough. the fact that the richmond club is made up of demonstrably good and well-intentioned people isn't enough.

don't get me wrong, its fucking terrifying + awful being closeted around ppl who are ACTIVELY bigoted and cruel and who u KNOW would be nothing less than awful to if u were out. but the uncertainty of being around people you love, and not knowing what would happen if you told them? of never truly being sure of your place in the dynamic, since there's always that risk hanging over your head? its exhausting, and terrifying.

because what if they aren't accepting? even avoiding the worst case scenario where his bosses (the coaches, higgins, rebecca - hell, even keely) don't outright cut his career short, he's obviously extremely aware of how being on the outs with the team could lead to his life being made miserable. he was harassing nate himself! and, again, putting aside the (very real! he's a football player! he spends half of his time in a locker room!!!) threat of physical violence, we JUST saw how quickly a member of the team can be shunned + labelled as an outsider (and in the context of this arc, i rlly don't think its a coincedence that trent, specifically, was the one to experience that treatment). and that's without even getting STARTED on the absolute nightmare britain's press + papparazi would be if they put a target on his back (the show has spared no gory detail for their treatment of rebecca + ted, after all).

this is the type of weight colin's been carrying around for the past three seasons. and trent, in that split second before he looked away and continued walking, must've felt it all right along with him. colin works for the fucking premier league in fucking britain. it's harder to think of a workplace LESS hospitable to anything other than the most cishetero, toxic, hyper conformist displays of masculinity.

and that's what fucking GETS me abt the reading where trent is gay! because in the exact same moment where trent would be feeling such a sudden sense of connection + solidarity w colin (you are not alone!!! im here too! i see you! i know you!), there comes the crushing weight of wanting to protect him, and not knowing if you can. trent may be a notoriously incisive + unflinching reporter, but w/ all of his power + armour stripped away now that he's no longer with the independent, it's damningly obvious that trent doesn't have anything close to real power at richmond. if they wanted to make colin's life hell, what could he really do to stop them? again: they're fucking footballers. he's only even allowed at the club on ted's word, a word which could presumably be revoked at any time.

i just. the fear. the guilt. the shame. and above all, the desperate, heart aching need to keep another member of the community safe, even with the odds so blatantly stacked against you both.

and like. idk. to me that is the point of this scene. i think whether you've been in trent's position, or colin's, or neither, the vast majority of us went through a very similar emotional journey when we saw colin exposed like that. love -> fear -> protectiveness. and its an urge so strong, ppl are (lightheartedly, for the most part) threatening the Literal Writers of the show! like, the fact that rn there are SO many people out there tweeting + liveblogging and threatening trent, threatening isaac, threatening the WRITERS - threatening literally anyone and everyone over the CHANCE that any of them will hurt colin/out him/expose him to homophobia in any way? like, yes, colin isn't real. but i'd like to hope that that solidarity is.

and just to be clear, ted lasso is ultimately a comedy show. while it has never shied away from frankly portraying dark subject matter, i don't think this story will have an unhappy ending. but if this arc comes with any takeaway at all, i just really fucking hope that its about how that solidarity is what we all need to embrace + run towards, rather than try and stifle. and that colin is fully + unconditionally supported by his community, whoever that may be.

[help-me-find-a-name-please-lol]

CM HOTCH/REID HEADCANONS

My headcanon about Hotch leaving in Season 12, Reid's reaction, and trying to have it make some kind of sense.

Disclaimers:

This is the first rewatch of the later seasons I've done since it aired on TV, and I've only just finished Season 12 episode 4 (I do, however, know the early seasons ridiculously well).

From LDSK onwards, I only ever really watched it for Hotch, Reid, and the Hotch/Reid dynamic. I didn't really watch it after Hotch left, but caught bits and pieces because my roomates did.

Yes I know why Thomas Gibson left the show and why they had to suddenly wrap up his character. No, I don't condone violence in the workplace. I also never dove deeply into the behind-the-scenes lore of this show, cast and crew interviews, etc etc. This will purely be relating to the show as it was depicted on screen, and my love for the characters as their own entities.

I am not going back to fully source which eps all my observations come from, cos I'm supposed to be working on an assignment rn and CM transcripts are a ducking nightmare. I just wanted to put this idea out there cos I think we all need a bit of self-soothing after the crap they fed us to write Hotch out of the show.

Also fun story I just came back to finish writing this after being interrupted by what I though was someone trying to break into my house at 4am (heard a noise, gate wide open, can't see anyone but damn, scary. My town's big on crime, too). SO my thoughts may now be even more disorganised thanks to the adrenaline crash headache I'm currently experiencing.

So anyway like I said, just finished watching S12E04 Keeper, during which Reid gets a call we don't hear, is visibly upset by it, and takes a bit of prodding to discuss it with JJ and Rossi. He then reveals that he was just told his mother left her care facility on her own and was found wandering confused around a casino. He takes minimal convincing to head back to Quantico and lines himself up another couple of days off to visit his mum (yes I'm Australian, this is how we spell it lol).

MY HEADCANON: This is when Hotch called Reid to tell him that he was going into witness protection and wouldn't be coming back. (Exactly how much was discussed on the phone vs possibly being discussed/explained later in person is of course open to interpretation, but enough for Reid to know Hotch wanted to say goodbye and to not tell the rest of the team).

I know that his mum's issues are an ongoing valid storyline. But this is why it was also a plausible excuse for Reid to come up with on the spot as to why he was upset.

Another thing that makes it entirely plausible that the phone call was about Hotch is the long, significant staring Reid did at Prentiss as she walked away after they discuss what supposedly happened with his mum. To me that could scream that Reid was actually dealing with something team-related, and was already grieving how it would affect the other members of his team that he's keeping it from. He could have gazed down or elsewhere to communicate his worry for his mum to the audience, but he specifically turned and watched Prentiss leave, looking all angsty.

What's a heck of a lot less plausible:

His mum, who has been in care since Reid became a legal adult, suddenly escaping her care facility, despite having been in care for well over a decade and who now needs even more supervision due to Alzheimer's on top of her Schizophrenia. Yeah, escapes happen, but to make it all the way into a casino and being found in a confused state? When this didn't happen before Reid flew up and got her diagnosed her with Alzheimers? Even though she'd been getting some increased freedoms for doing well on her new meds prior to her sudden worsening with the Alzheimer's onset?

Hotch leaving without saying something directly to Reid first. Yeah, I'm a shipper, and I know Hotch has his son to think about, but I call BULLSHIT. Hotch knows all about Reid's abandonment issues and there is no way he'd want to end up on the same mental list Reid keeps alongside Reid's father and Gideon. When Gideon went AWOL, Hotch returned from suspension, despite the fight he knew it would cause with his wife, because "the team" needed him. Then Haley stressed "no, they need Gideon". Fully believe this was all just about Reid (I also kinda low-key believe Haley had an inkling about Hotch's thing for Reid but anyway). Hotch, Reid and Morgan functioned as a team while Gideon was on leave after the bomber case, Morgan didn't even really want Gideon to come back and would not have been that thrown by his absence. Reid however we all know was very emotionally-involved. And it's Reid that Hotch pulls aside to get his head back in the game (and who then gives them a breakthrough in the case shortly after, at Hotch's encouragement). When Gideon had officially left and Hotch addressed the team about it, he mostly directed what he was saying towards Reid, when he said that he couldn't explain why he'd left the way he did, etc. And when Hotch was trying to decide whether he'd take over as section chief after Strauss left, again he was addressing the team but pretty much turned and spoke directly to Reid when he said something along the lines of "if I decide to leave the BAU, you'll be the first to know". He also saw how much it killed Reid to be lied to about Prentiss (and you can see he felt like shit about it during Reid's assessment). This man. Would NOT. Have left Reid without saying goodbye. That's the hill I'm dying on. On top of that, Hotch is always the most emotionally-compromised whenever Reid is in danger, and he knows it (he let Gideon know he was currently a terrible example of "handling things emotionally" while Reid was being held by Hankel, resulting in Gideon's weak reassurance of "We'll get him"; when Reid got on that train with Elle he tried to stop it then immediately went to chat with the sniper; when Reid was in the cult compound he had to hand off negotiations to Rossi; when Reid was protecting Owen Savage; heck he practically yeeted Morgan out of the way when Reid was trying to talk down Maeve's stalker and they heard a gunshot. Etc etc.). And whenever Hotch gets emotionally affected by other things (eg that defence attorney for amnesia/coma guy, or regarding his brother), Reid is the one who can break through that and keep him steady. Reid is VERY IMPORTANT to Hotch and I don't see him hurting Reid in what to him is the worst way someone could do it.

Reid being so chill about Hotch suddenly leaving without saying goodbye. Goes without saying, yeah? But I'll say it. I get that they've been trying to paint him as more emotionally-mature and that he was able to handle Morgan leaving, but it is SO not the same relationship or circumstance and Reid would not have taken Hotch's departure in stride like that. I get that they also wanted the show and its characters to move on as quickly and as apparently unaffected as possible, but it still clearly flies in the face of proper characterisation. Reid is brilliant and back when he was being held by Hankel, I'm sure he could have found any number of ways to communicate with a specific team member at that moment, but he chose Hotch. He knew Hotch would be the only one capable of putting his ego aside at being "picked to die" and to listen properly to the rest of Reid's message. Once he confirmed that his message was correct and that he was in a cemetery, Reid was so sure that Hotch understood his message and would be coming to save him that he let his guard down for the first time. I think he only picked up that gun and shot Hankel with it in the end to just superstitiously make sure that the bullet never did reach Hotch (and to "free" Tobias, or whatever. Either way Hankel wasn't going for the gun or to use Reid as a shield when he turned to face off with the FBI and any of them could have taken him down easily). They've only been getting closer and closer over the years, on-screen and off (Fist-bump anyone? Always standing close together? Plus Reid's been teaching Jack magic tricks and was the one to get him smiling and laughing after Hotch got arrested by SWAT, which you know would make Hotch even more gooey for him). They're 100% an army of 2/hyper-competent power couple (take for instance the way Hotch and Reid were mirrored against Garcia and Kevin when she referred to her own pairing as the President and Vice-President after the bank blew up?) who can probably achieve 90% of the team's success level on their own. That super-serial-killer chick may have talked about Reid losing a "protector" in Morgan, but Hotch has always been the one Reid has come to or looked to. He was pretty distraught about the idea of Hotch leaving to be Section Chief, not that long ago, too. Also, constant super-crush behaviour which I could list but this post is already very long. Reid would not just immediately go "Prentiss is our leader now, this'll be great!". FFS.

Anyway we all know the way they wrote Hotch off was bullshit, hence the suuuper-long monologue to explain everything that's apparently happened off-screen, and yeah he'd totally enter WITSEC without even telling the team (until he decided to resign) when Peter Lewis had already hacked it once and killed the person on it before the team figured out who he was after and got there 🙄. All of it is super implausible. But to me, nothing more so than Reid's poor imitation of shock/surprise and almost total lack of emotional reaction. Him knowing beforehand, because Hotch already said goodbye to him, is the only thing that will ever make me be at peace with this crap from an in-universe POV.

This could all be shot to pieces in the next ep lol, but for now I'm just glad my brain has a way to make sense of it.

[grim-echoes]

Any thoughts on what's up with the Accelerated Dynamics nightmare dungeon? The obvious surface is about corporate greed, but how does that relate directly to Jimmy's life like the other nightmare dungeons do?

i've been slacking on the analysis posts a hell of a lot but this is one of the dungeons i've been looking for an opportunity to talk about because it's another one of those inclusions in jatpm that i think gets overlooked because it doesn't have an immediately obvious interpretation like some others do (or, as obvious as is possible for your average jimmy fan). i've done a lot of thinking about it, and a while back had this realization (slight tw for very very brief suicide mention, also obvious spoilers ahead):

kasey definitely put a lot of his own personal grievances with capitalism into accelerated dynamics, but in my opinion it's an incomplete picture without taking megatropolis as a whole into consideration. terminal illness is extremely costly to treat and particularly in the US, it's (in my experience) much more terrifying to imagine being unable to afford the cost of healthcare than it is to actually fall ill and require treatment. even with insurance covering the cost of medical supplies and bills most people continue to struggle to feed, clothe, and house themselves, and that's assuming they do have health insurance that covers the right necessities to begin with.

i say this because i doubt jimmy's cancer treatment was at all affordable given that he's already been through chemotherapy once before, and has spent the entirety of his second battle comatose while his family continues to work not just to support themselves, but to try and save his life. this isn't to argue that money troubles were absolutely a factor in his family's life because of his illness because we don't know much at all about their financial situation--more that this is a terrifying reality for many, many families fighting illnesses, and megatropolis is representative of something that jimmy and his family don't have the luxury of anymore: leisure.

accelerated dynamics is set in a sprawling city landmarked by arcades, shopping malls, theaters, toy company headquarters, and a massive school campus, all adjacent to a high-class beach resort. it's a stark contrast in atmosphere that was likely very intentional--accelerated dynamics is devoid of personality and wonder in comparison to bonita vista or even shinryu and features workplace ambience as its area theme and visuals of skeletal employees hanged outside the office windows. i think a lot of people were incredibly disappointed in mr grouse as a character to see that his humble beginnings had led him to this point, but i think the commentary runs a lot deeper and touches on this incredibly grave aspect of illness and thus jimmy's personal life that can be easy to miss for the trees; mr grouse tells jimmy before the fight that he used to dream of his banking business growing bigger and bigger and that now, with the advent of it having grown so big that it's now expanded into an entire enterprise, he understands the power and influence that money can buy him, but more than anything he now conceptualizes how terrifying it is to lose that wealth.

his dialogue after the fight is an admission that wealth completely and utterly eroded his morals and that jimmy should enjoy his innocence while he can--this is the incomprehensible, horrifying world of adulthood that he couldn't possibly understand at this age--and it's very clear that this is (one of) the intended angle(s) of this dungeon's theme where jimmy will never live long enough to understand the complications of growing older and losing his innocence to concepts like late stage capitalism, but mr grouse phrases his dialogue like an earnest request for reflection, something for jimmy to consider in a way that his brain can more easily deconstruct--think of all the things you could do if you had practically infinite wealth, and the only thing you had to worry about was not having money.

if jimmy and his family had infinite wealth, then maybe they'd be able to afford luxury resorts and theme parks and theaters and shopping trips again. if jimmy and his family had infinite wealth, maybe they wouldn't need to work themselves into an early grave over their child's deathbed.

[mermaidsirennikita]

2023 Weekly Book Recs: 11/3-11/10

The Master by Kresley Cole

Lothaire but make it mafia! I am a hUGE fan of the "crazy powerful man kidnaps woman and then realizes she's a nightmare" thing, and this... really DOES that. Maksim and Cat's interplay is so sharp, so hot. Yet (and this is again something I would say Kresley perfected first in Lothaire) the inherent darkness and sexuality of their dynamic is softened by like... goofy snark and little snaps of soft affection. There's a warmth between them at points that I just LOVED; and then there's a chastity belt to keep it from getting too warm. Also: features a "local romance novel hero stands in rain like bedraggled rat" moment. Which I always love. (I will note: I did not love how Kresley used random Spanish with Cat, who is Cuban. It was cringe at best, if very of its time in contemporary romance. I did love the book otherwise, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that.)

The Player by Kresley Cole

It's so good when a series gets progressively better with each book-and the Game Maker trilogy does just that. It's the least mafia of the series, yet somehow the darkest, in large part thanks to our traumatized hero (content warning for discussions of childhood sexual abuse). But there's also like. All the things you want from this series. Ridiculous money, heroine running a long con, iNSANE sex (one of my favorite sex scenes... ever... is in this book), and absolutely bonkers moments (when he punches the car door... be still my heart). There's a real beating heart here, however, and somehow, through all his batshit behavior... Dmitri became baby? Like, I think this man is baby.

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley

The Nanny But Make It Victorian. He's a hot, stern, scolding (dare I say... daddy?) single father whose lawyerly skills have earned him the nickname of The Scottish Machine (yeah he is). She's a snarky, defiant pickpocket/street urchin who accidentally ends up being his children's governess. All the workplace violations in this book were GLORIOUS. He has an oral fixation; she stalks him; there are two kids who actually aren't annoying because Jennifer Ashley knows how to use romance novel children sparingly. I was frankly gone for this book as soon as I realized that Bertie was basically going to mindfuck Sinclair into being in love with her. I mean, what more can you ask for in a governess romance?

[quokkahans]

Double Catfished! [Part 2/3]

After months of talking with each other online, Changbin decideds to confess to Jisung. Then, they plan themselves a date, nothing could go wrong right?

Or a chapter that the two lovers accidentally catfish each other as they gained weight over the course of a year.

A/N: INTERACTIVE CHAPTER ALERT!! Read until the end to find out the question that is up to you, the fate of this very story. Enjoy!

WARNING: This fic contains feederism, and intentional weight gain which are all SAFE FOR WORK / SFW. If you are uncomfy with this type of story, please look away and scroll before the cut.

AO3 VERSION

Remember when Changbin hasn't slept well lately due to his conflicting feelings towards Jisung? Well, he isn't making this up, unfortunately. The black-haired has been experiencing dreams about a certain man holding him hostage, and certainly obsessed about the boy. 

Most often he would be abruptly awoken by a sudden noise, such as his alarm or something within the dream (more like a nightmare at this point) which left Changbin rattled. But he still had work to do and bills to pay, so he would often go to his workplace like nothing happened a few seconds ago.

"Stupid dreams..", the assistant muttered bitterly before ripping half of the sandwich he made because he was in a rush. Then, Changbin went inside the broadcasting network's building and headed to the sounds office while checking if he had to oversee the audio in a news program today.

He and Seungmin were partnered most of the time during broadcasts or news segments, their experience proved a cohesive dynamic between themselves despite the two having different personalities. 

A head of chestnut hair suddenly popped out of the door and the older knew that it was the puppy boy. "Hey! Good morning, hyung.", the younger boy snorted before looking at the slightly messy look of Harry and shaking his head. "What happened to you? Did you see a ghost?", he teased but recieved a hard nudge.

"Shut up, Seungmin. Nothing's good in my morning.", a blunt mumble came from Seo's mouth before sighing quietly. "Sorry for making it seem that I'm mad though, I had bad dreams lately-"

Seungmin's head perked up at the mention of bad dreams before gasping, "What?! Tell. me. everything."

Changbin nodded solemnly, "Okay, here it goes.."

Changbin explained everything from start to finish on how he would have a "blind date" with a particular man before hitting it off to how they became boyfriends and suddenly.. he was in a different house.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!", that was what Seungmin could only muster but his appalled reaction said it all. 

"Seungmin, language."

"I'm sorry but what?! Did you not sleep well.. Who hurt you?"

"No one! But I haven't really slept well to be honest."

"Because?"

Changbin froze at the question, hesitating whether or not he should tell Seungmin about his budding feelings towards Jisung but as if it was planned, their boss told them to prepare the sounds for a broadcast scheduled for a few minutes.

"I'll tell you later.", he finally responded to the younger before the two were now beginning to work.

With that, let's go on over to the Bbokari Bakery and Jisung. Over the past few months, the quokka has also sported a softer body compared to before, but was more noticeable. It doesn't come as a surprise though, he works at a bakery and had a sweet spot for pastries (especially cheesecake). Good thing Felix doesn't really care about whether some cookies end up missing, he knows it was the owner's best employee who ate it.

Speaking of the devil, Jisung arrived to work and the blonde Australian couldn't help but notice on how Hannie (Lix's nickname to him) had a cuter appearance, not to mention a small mound of fat settling on his belly.

"Hey, Hannie! You're early today.", Felix snorted as he patting the older's shoulder. "Remember, if I catch you hoarding another cheesecake box, I won't hesitate to tell Changbin hyung that you like him.", he threatened playfully while Jisung whined softly.

Felix then laughed at the reaction, playing with his best friend's hair. "Just playing with you, just be more discreet about it.", he teased. 

"Yeah yeah, let's get back to work now, Lix.", Jisung rolled his eyes playfully but his blushed cheeks said something else. 

"Ooh, you're in love!~", Felix said, receiving a slap on the arm from Jisung. "Stop it, I'm not!", the older responded defensively as a cream puff was shoved in Sung's mouth. 

"Nuh uh, don't lie to me! Remember that we don't keep secrets.", the head baker said, placing a hand on Jisung's lips before the older shut up and went back to work.

"Isn't it obvious to you now?", Jisung replied and heard a chuckle from Felix. "It is, just confirming."

"Well, you know my answer to that then.", the other responded and the two went back in preparing the bakery for opening.

And you could see that the two "online friends" were busy with their own jobs, but despite that, they still found time to talk with each other through voice calls and even chats. But one thing that they rarely did was a video call, due to Changbin's shyness of showing his face since the last time but he's planning to look past that.

Maybe today was the day that they could see each other on a screen without any awkward feelings? But it wouldn't still be the same as seeing each other in person, that was the closest option to choose from.

So after the broadcast was done and he was in a break with Seungmin, Changbin took the chance to message Jisung about what bothered him: his shyness.

【   ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘)   】

== QUOKKA.SUNG (Active Now) ==

( Hey, Sungie! Can I ask you something? )  *SEND*

Seo.Binnie: Hey, Sungie! Can I ask you something?

Sent 12:16 pm

Seen 

Quokka.Sung is typing..

Quokka.Sung: Sure! You chatted right on time, actually. I'm on break.

Seo.Binnie: Well.. How do I say this? Do you want to..

                   video call?

【   ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘)   】

Jisung just squealed at the message coming from Binnie, his Binnie. A video call? He would drop anything just to see this cutie's face. Okay, Jisung, you need to answer him or else he would think you are turning him down.

( Of course, handsome hyungie. Let me just start the call. )  = SEND =

Sent at 12:18 pm

Seen

Seo.Binnie: Hey, don't call me like that! >//< But go on.

Quokka.Sung: Haha, I'll still call you that, hyung! 

== Quokka.Sung wants you to join in a video call ==

[ACCEPT]   [DECLINE]

[ACCEPT]   [DECLINE]

【   ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘)   】

The first thing that Jisung could see was Changbin's face before waving shyly towards the camera with blushed cheeks. "Oh my god, hello!", he said in a hushed but squealing voice that made the older laugh. Cute, he thought. 

"Hello, Sungie! It's been a while since we did a video chat.", the black-haired piped up with a small smile before the younger responed with his own sweet smile. "Yeah, you finally got over your shyness, huh? Congratulations!", Jisung clapped his hands as if it was something to celebrate (but it was!).

Changbin could only laugh as a response, shyly hiding his face before looking straight to the camera with an amused look. "Well, you could say that. But thank you! I wish I was like you at first though, not shy and very confident.", he retorted before the baker pouted softly at the older's words which slightly bloomed his heart but Jisung also felt bad.

"Hey, it's not easy though! At least you took a small step and I'm proud of you, that's what matters in life.", the quokka tried his best to reassure any doubt that the dark-haired expressed, and his efforts were recognized based on how Changbin was enthralled by the advice. "Wow.. I didn't know you would be the type giving advice, but thank you.", the other responded as his smile grew wider.

Jisung hummed happily before nodding his head, "Well, I experienced a lot so that's where I learned those pieces of advice.", he replied before asking a question about how was Changbin's day and work.

During the call, the two not only talked about their work but also about their lives in general. Not to mention the amount of baby pictures that Jisung showed to the camera, showing off how cute he was and that he used to live overseas somewhere as a kid. "So you used to live in Malaysia?", the older asked in astonishment.

"Yeah! It's been a while though.. Maybe when I have enough time, I could come back again, that's on my bucket list for sure!", Han smiled brightly before putting the pictures back into a secret little folder. "Hyung, you haven't even showed your baby pictures!", he pointed out before giggling softly, much to Changbin's shyness before he reluctantly gave in and sent an old picture through the chat.

"Well, I sent one through the chat but be warned. I looked like I had a bad hair day in that picture.", the older said before the brunette stifled a laugh and looked at the other boy in his screen as he took a double take, laughing even more as a result. "Whoa! This was you? You look so funny but cute at the same time!", Jisung added before Changbin was really embarrassed but not in a bad way, honestly! He was glad to get it out of his chest, plus he got called cute.

"You think so? Well.. Thank you!", the older said before hearing a ding noise and sighing. "Sorry, Sungie. But I have to get back to work now, see you later!", he winked.

"See you later, cutie.", Jisung said before the call ended. Then, the squirrel boy just squealed so loud that it can be heard from the other side of the kitchen and Felix ran to where the brunette was.

When the blonde boy saw that the older was giddy and squealing all around, his worried were dampened and all that he was feeling was amusement. "Han Jisung! What's happenin- Oh.. Oh~", he smirked before coyly clicking his tongue and looking at how blushy the quokka was. 

"Let me guess.. a cutie named Seo Changbin caught your heart again? What did you do now?", the Australian asked nonchalantly.

"We did a video call!", Han beamed softly.

"Ohh, I see~ You know what? I have something in mind.", Felix smirked even more in an almost evil voice.

"What is it?"

"Get the gifts, and Han, you write some love letters. We're gonna prove your love to this Binnie boy."

【   ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘)   】

And as soon as you know it, Changbin did recieve gifts. Every single day. But it wasn't only shipped to his house but also to the office. What surprised him though was the love letters, they were really detailed and expressed true love based on the words. Plus, they were signed by the name "J.One".

This continued for a few weeks, let alone a few months, and the gifts would often contain food other than the usual cookies and pastries from a bakery. At least he was spoiled either way and left no crumbs every time that he was sent food, but it all settled in his tummy.

He put on more and more weight, giving way for a more imposing midsection and budding love handles. Not to mention his chest melting into B cup breasts, enough to squeeze it whole with just one hand and even his lower body plumping up.

Surprisingly, Changbin loved it and wouldn't trade it for nothing less. But shock washed through everywhere in his body which turned into amusement nevertheless.

And Jisung would always avoid the topic or really decline that it was his responsibility when it came to the gifts. Weird. 

But it was eventually all forgotten anyway. Plus, the feelings Changbin was having toward Jisung became more prominent and less ambiguous. And he slept better as long as he got a good night text and the weird dreams that the older experienced disappeared like it didn't even happen. 

There was one caveat though: how was he going to confess to this cute baker? A whole slew of methods came to mind, like a simple message through the chat or over the phone but today wasn't the time to think all of that.

Also, remember Seungmin? Well, he also tried his luck on this "online dating" thing and he took the day off because he's on a date! Guess who it was? Felix, the owner of Bbokari Bakery, how cute.

Okay, enough of them. You see that Changbin was left alone to engineer the audio as well as manage the mics being placed in the reporters' suits, it was a hell of a ride for the journalist assistant. But you see, he has been doing some interesting work lately!

He also tried his hands on reports! Oh yes, after months of hard work, he was promoted to be a news writer. That journalism degree wasn't that bad after all!

"I have to tell Jisung about this, he is going to be happy!", he giggled like a kid finally getting a lot of candy after a successful Halloween party and opened the app without hesitation, finding Jisung's profile.

【   ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘)   】

== QUOKKA.SUNG (Active 2 minutes ago) ==

Seo.Binnie: Sungie, I have very good news!

Quokka.Sung: What is it?

Seo.Binnie: I got promoted, I'm a news writer now. The position I wanted for in the first place!

Quokka.Sung: Oh. My. GOD!! I'm so proud of you, hyung. You deserved it so much!

Seo.Binnie: I know! And thank you for.. basically everything. Your advice is the best, and I wouldn't even know how my life is happier if I didn't meet you on this dating app. 

Quokka.Sung: Whoa, getting sentimental now, huh? What's up, hyung? 

Seo.Binnie: Nothing, shush! It's rare that I write these kinds of long messages, dumbass. 

Quokka.Sung: Yeah yeah, I find it cute though. But I also have some news.

-- 

"I hope it is good news, but why so out of the blue?", Changbin raised an eyebrow, but he found Jisung's spontaniety suitable to his personality anyway. Then, a chat bubble appeared with three dots, signifying that the younger was already typing on what his good news was about.

Then, it suddenly hit him.

--

Quokka.Sung: I like you. More than a friend.

Changbin swore that his heart stopped for a full second after reading that message. Did Jisung just confess to him? "Is this.. a dream?", he said, blinking his eyes many times before looking at the message. It was clear. 

Will he respond back? Yes or no? What if this was a prank? The black-haired just stared at the screen and contemplated on what to do.

"You know what? Fuck it.", he muttered, typing out a reply.

--

Seo.Binnie: I like you too. I had feelings for you since a few weeks ago but I didn't know how to say it to you. 

Jisung was ECSTATIC. His crush returned his feelings! Good thing he was on his day off or he would be met by nudging shoulder thanks to Felix. 

Quokka.Sung: So, do you want to be.. my boyfriend?

                      Of course you don't have to say yes right away! We can take it slow as always. I know it can be a lot to process.

Seo.Binnie: Nope, it's fine! My feelings were just hidden from you, of course I want to be your boyfriend!

Quokka.Sung: Well, now I can call you mine then. 😉

Seo.Binnie: So flirty on the first day, huh? Cute, drop the act. I know you're blushing, Jisung. 

Quokka.Sung: Okay okay, fine! I was supposed to ask you out too.

Seo.Binnie: On a date? Sure! We can plan it right now.

【   ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ( ˘⌣˘)   】

And that's where we now go back to the present! The new couple decided in having their first date in the bar, mostly due to Jisung wanting to get wasted but Changbin was surprisingly down for it. Plus, they were in for a night only with themselves, right?

Changbin was a bit nervous, fiddling with his fitted polo shirt while the pants were trying to hold on as the button was on the brink of popping, a result of his greedy escapades which became compounded with stress from not only working as an journalist assistant but also from the possibility of his date slash virtual boyfriend flipping out on how his profile was.. different from reality.

"I'm sure Jisung would understand this, right? I'll just say I did a little bit of stress eating.", the news writer talked to himself, clutching the bottom of his slightly hanging belly which was outline in the said polo shirt.

But little did he know that Jisung was facing the same predicament, he wasn't really alone. His pants were causing the problem this time, fearing that a seam would give out thanks to the quokka's thick thighs. "Agh, why don't these fit me?", he whined, giving the pants one final push before they finally gave way.

Then, the two were set to go on their first date. But this isn't any ordinary date, it's the first time they will see each other outside of the dating app and video calls.

Jisung sent a message that he was on his way to the bar, before Changbin replied that he too was going to the meetup place. But it was Changbin who arrived first because his home was closer to the bar anyway, so it wasn't much time for the older.

Then, the black-haired saw this cute boy with very squishable cheeks and the shinest smile. But his eyes were particularly gazing on the other's midsection that jiggled with almost every step and the thick thighs below.

But Changbin's imagination stopped on its tracks because he heard a voice, "Are you.. Changbin?", he mumbled with slightly blushed cheeks.

"Yeah, that's me. Who- Jisung?!", the news writer gasped before looking at his boyfriend up and down. "It's your Sungie!", he grinned before chuckling softly before commenting that he looks cuter than suggested in the dating app picture.

Changbin just laughed and kissed Jisung in the lips, before doing it over and over again in an excited manner. "Well, I could say the same to you, baby. How has it been? A year since we first met online, and we're going to do something special.", he added before pulling the quokka into a tender hug.

"Exhausting lately, the bakery has been busier all day. But at least I have you to talk to and now, we finally saw each other.", Jisung smiled before playing with his lover's hair. "Now, let's get inside. I know you're really hungry.", he teased, patting the older's belly before the two went inside the bar together.

And their date started really well. The two lovers ended up ordering a lot of food, and I mean, A LOT. That could explain the growing appetite and waistlines but neither one of them seemed to bat an eye, plus Changbin loved big boys from the start (wasn't specific but it still holds some truth!)

Then, they talked about the current status of their jobs with the older expressing his intentions to work from home because not only how tiring it was to walk lately but he thought it was easier to write news in the comfort of his home. 

The topics they talked about varied, from about their past and how Jisung was one of the "bad boys" in college to their friends, Seungmin and Felix dating each other.

"I wouldn't imagine you as a jock to be honest, but maybe I could see it!", Changbin laughed before being shown some college pics from the baker. "Ohhhh. Okay okay, now I can see it clearly.", he added before they both laughed.

It was a good time nonetheless, and as they were munching on their food, Jisung had a brilliant idea. "Hyung, wanna get wastedd?~", he smirked softly before it was reluctantly turned down, but the younger insisted. "Come on, just some shots wouldn't hurt!"

"Fine, but after we finish the food.", Changbin replied and Jisung cheered in response.

After a few minutes, the food was completely gone with the two feeding each other and no crumbs were left to be seen as it was evident that the couple was really hungry and now they were really full. Jisung decided to order a bottle of soju before he excused himself to the bathroom and Changbin gave him the go-ahead.

Suddenly, the older was offered a drink and he presumed to be the soju that the younger ordered but it was a single shot just for him. He said thanks to the waiter before looking at the shot in front of him, but his gut has a bad feeling. But Jisung still isn't around.

Should he drink it?

[gingerteaonthetardis]

asp is addicted to writing powerful, compelling romantic arcs and then following them up with devastatingly boring (usually very entitled) men i can't bring myself to care about

the will-they-won't-they with joel? boring back in season two, no idea why we're doing it again

benjamin? obviously, transparently boring

hr nightmare gordon? boring, mean, slightly troubling if he indicates anything at all about her perspective on workplace power dynamics—and did i mention it's boring?

even sylvio bored me. do you know how hard i have to work to get bored watching milo ventimiglia act???

fuck all these tedious little men and if you're gonna do romance, just bring back lenny, because one thing about him is that he was never, ever boring

[mysticalstrawberrysublime]

30 Inspirational Quotes About New Business Coach

Business Coaching Trends For 2024-

Business coaching is constantly evolving. New trends and methodologies are emerging as corporate demands change. As we approach 2024, it's evident that several factors--including technological advancements, generational changes in the workforce, and a heightened focus on sustainability--are shaping the future of business coaching.

One significant trend in business coaching for 2024 is the deep integration of technology into coaching practices. Data-driven insights and artificial intelligence (AI), which is a combination of AI and machine learning, has enabled coaches to provide more personalized coaching experiences. Coaches now have access to sophisticated tools that can analyze an individual's performance, personality traits, and even emotional states to provide customized guidance and recommendations. Virtual reality (VR), which simulates real-life scenarios, will make training sessions more immersive. Executives can practice their responses in challenging situations.

Your Worst Nightmare About Small Business Coach Come To Life

Another trend that is gaining momentum is the focus on holistic development, rather than just professional growth. Business coaches recognize that personal wellbeing is closely linked to professional performance. In order to improve coaching programs, mindfulness techniques, stress management strategies, and work-life integration strategies are increasingly being included. In 2024, coaches will likely place more emphasis on helping clients develop adaptability and resilience--skills that are critical to thriving in the fast-paced business world of today.

The gig economy also has a significant impact on business coaching. Professionals are increasingly in need of entrepreneurial skills as more people engage in freelance or contract-based work. Business coaches are responding by tailoring their services to these independent workers who require different insights compared to those in traditional employment roles. This includes guidance on branding oneself as a professional entity, Click here to find out more navigating fluctuations in workload and income streams, and scaling small businesses effectively.

Diversity and inclusion are also becoming central themes in corporate governance structures around the world. In response to this shift towards more inclusive workplaces--and sometimes as catalysts for it--business coaches are incorporating diversity training into their offerings more than ever before. They're equipping leaders with the skills needed to foster inclusive cultures which embrace various perspectives while combating unconscious biases that could stifle innovation and employee engagement.

Sustainability is another area that will have a significant impact on business coaching trends in the years leading up to 2024. The increased awareness around environmental issues has prompted organizations to seek out sustainable practices not only in operations but also at leadership levels. Coaches have been asked to help executives balance profitability and social responsibility while driving sustainable initiatives in their companies.

In terms of methodology shifts anticipated by 2024, peer-to-peer coaching circles are gaining popularity due its effectiveness in building collaborative learning environments where individuals learn from each other's experiences under guided facilitation from a coach. This community-focused method leverages collective knowledge and fosters networking among like-minded professionals.

Lastly, globalization continues shaping how business coaches operate; they must now be culturally adept as they increasingly deal with international clientele having diverse backgrounds and customs. Coaches who want to navigate cross-cultural dynamics and assist global leaders in overcoming the unique challenges of international markets must have cultural competence.

In summary, as we look toward 2022-24 years time frames , it becomes clear that successful business coaches will need to be tech-savvy empathizers who champion holistic development alongside professional acumen; they must be advocates for diversity and sustainability while embracing collaborative learning methods suited for a gig economy; all this wrapped up with an acute understanding of cultural nuances across borders--a tall order indeed but one that promises immense value addition within the sphere of modern-day leadership development.

[yozzers]

im thinkign about casseticons and such, if anyone has like their own strong feelings on how cassettes are portrayed in different tf media let me know bcs im interested in how ppl approach them

read more is just going to be me listing down the depictions I've seen and my own feelings on them

the cassettes just have a boss-employee relatoinship; i like this one just fine bcs its never going to be a normal boss employee relationship. nightmare workplace dynamic if funny to me and honestly I rock with the cassettes not rlly knowing eo like that until they all started working w/fr soundwave

the cassettes are family; also fine with this, but heavily depends on how its portrayed. I'm personally not a fan of the mechpreg concept esp when its like, just organic pregnancy with some fancy terms slapped on top of it to make it seem more robotic. im also partial to the cassettes being like kids. that's a grown ass man w dick n balls ykwim <-- its funny fr the jokes but like if im actually looking @ an actual series idrc fr them being like kids. LOL I SHOULDVE JUST SAID I fuck w the found family concept but yeah. my two cents ig.

the cassettes shitass roommate arrangement; kinda close to what idw was doing, I think its really funny and honestly the cassettes being familial figures in the way they're the ones who kinda "took care" of soundwave made me smile when reading idw1

this ones usually not on its own but I think cyberverse giving laserbeak (the eonly shown cassette) a more petlike role was only fun bcs how they showed soundwave calling and catching her from a group of other bird cassettes. he's like a falconer?? which is very cool to me and I thought abt blaster having a lion and rhino in his cassete ranks and its like. man. if they have to like be animal wranglers for the animalstic cassettes thats kinda cool? why there's a distinction between animal and humanoid cassettes kinda makes this one a bit "???" though

also I think depending how "sentient" you want to make the animal cassettes, whether they're cybertronian or smt else Ig also. like. says smt. idk shrug. idm if the animal cassettes are just pets but its like, again depend heavily how you decide to portray them

^^ i think my favorite interpretation so far is cassettes being their own thing from cybertronians, and the humanoid cassettes...just not being actual literal cassettes and are instead minibots that are even smaller than average that can hitch a ride in the compartment <-- a temporary thought as i think abt this a lil more cuz the cassete alt modes are still rlly fun to me but the way people decide to portray the differences is so... idkkkkkk frowning

all in all idrccc? its all fun but its like "id like to figure smt out fr my fa continuity idea", lotta diff directions u can go n its all fun to me

[znanye]

Simulating Safety: The Pioneering Role of VR in Training Modules-Part II

Welcome back for the second part of this exciting journey. 

In this part I of the blog, we looked at the Rise of VR in safety training, including the need for enhanced safety protocols in modern industries. We looked at the traditional landscape of safety training that touched upon standard methods and their limitations. We also explored how VR can be a game changer by offering immersive learning and higher retention rates. And finally, we went through a few case studies.

Let us now delve further.

 Benefits of Integrating VR in Safety Protocols

The dynamic world of Virtual Reality is not just about gaming or immersive entertainment. Its prowess is channelled into critical realms like safety training, revolutionizing age-old methods. So, what makes VR such an indispensable tool for modern safety protocols?

Reducing Real-world Accidents and Incidents

Insight: Traditional training methods have often been criticized for not being immersive enough. Reading about a hazard is a world apart from experiencing it firsthand.

VR Contribution: With VR, employees face simulated high-risk situations repeatedly until they master the proper responses. This proactive approach helps internalize safety precautions, drastically reducing potential real-world mishaps.

Takeaway: Employees who train in a controlled yet realistic VR environment are better equipped to handle similar real-life scenarios, ensuring a safer workplace.

Engaging and Motivating Employees

Insight: Let’s face it: conventional safety seminars or manuals can be tedious. Keeping employees engaged is half the battle won.

VR Contribution: VR offers an interactive experience. When training feels like an engaging simulation game, it retains attention and ensures the information is retained.

Takeaway: Higher engagement leads to better understanding and recall, ensuring safety protocols aren’t just learned but ingrained.

Real-time Feedback and Performance Metrics

Insight: Traditional training lacks immediate feedback, which can delay or even impede learning.

VR Contribution: VR training platforms can offer instant feedback. Suppose an employee makes an error during a simulation. In that case, they can be immediately informed, understand their mistake, and learn the correct approach—all in real-time.

Takeaway: With on-the-spot corrections, employees refine their reactions swiftly, ensuring that best practices become second nature.

Cost-Effective Scalability

Insight: On-site training for every employee, especially in large organizations, can be logistically challenging and expensive.

VR Contribution: Once a VR training module is developed, it can be scaled to train an infinite number of employees, irrespective of location. Moreover, VR eliminates the recurring costs associated with traditional training setups.

Takeaway: VR isn’t just a cost-effective solution—it’s an investment towards a safer, more informed workforce without the logistical nightmares of traditional training methods.

To summarize, VR isn’t the future—it’s the now. Integrating VR into safety protocols is an amalgamation of efficiency, innovation, and foresight, ensuring that safety training is not just an organizational requirement but a transformative experience.

Challenges and Concerns

As promising as the horizon looks for VR in safety training, it’s essential to acknowledge the challenges that come with innovation. These challenges can be addressed methodically to ensure seamless integration if understood well.

Technological Limitations and Learning Curves

Insight: Every piece of technology has its initial limitations. VR is no exception, and neither are its users.

VR Hurdle: High-quality VR systems can be expensive, potentially limiting their accessibility for smaller companies. Furthermore, first-time users may experience disorientation or motion sickness.

Mitigation: Companies can start with more affordable, low-intensity VR training modules, gradually moving to comprehensive systems. Proper introduction and gradual immersion can help users acclimatize to the VR environment, reducing discomfort.

Addressing Skepticism and Resistance to Change

Insight: Humans are creatures of habit. When presented with new technologies, especially those as immersive as VR, skepticism can arise.

VR Hurdle: Employees accustomed to traditional training methods might view VR as a “gimmick” rather than a practical tool. Their resistance can hinder the broader adoption of VR-based safety training.

Mitigation: Demonstrate the efficacy of VR through pilot programs, allowing employees to experience its benefits firsthand. Collect and showcase feedback from early adopters to convince skeptics of its practicality.

Balancing VR Training with Traditional Methods

Insight: While VR is revolutionary, completely sidelining traditional methods might not be the best approach.

VR Hurdle: Some skills are best learned hands-on in the actual environment, especially when tactile feedback is crucial. Over-reliance on VR might lead to a skills gap in such areas.

Mitigation: Adopt a blended approach. Use VR for scenarios that are high-risk or logistically challenging to replicate. Pair this with hands-on training in natural environments for comprehensive learning.

In conclusion, while the merger of VR into safety training heralds an era of innovative learning, it’s essential to navigate the transition judiciously. By addressing challenges head-on and leveraging VR’s strengths wisely, industries can pave the way for safer, more efficient work environments.

Looking to the Future: Advancements on the Horizon

The fusion of Virtual Reality (VR) with safety training has already demonstrated unprecedented potential. Yet, as the technological world is in perpetual motion, we’re merely scratching the surface. Let’s explore the promising advancements poised to revolutionize safety training even further.

Integration of AI for Personalized Learning Journeys

The AI Edge: Artificial Intelligence (AI) can analyze a trainee’s real-time performance, response time, and decision-making process in VR.

Implication for VR Safety Training: AI can tailor Training programs dynamically. For instance, if a user struggles in a specific simulated scenario, the AI can identify this and adapt the training to strengthen weak areas. This ensures every trainee emerges from their VR experience better prepared for real-world challenges.

The Potential of Augmented Reality (AR) in Safety Training

AR Explained: Unlike VR, which immerses users in a wholly digital world, Augmented Reality overlays digital information in the real world. This can be especially valuable in a training context.

Safety Training Revolutionized: Imagine a factory worker wearing AR glasses, receiving real-time instructions and safety alerts overlaid on their actual environment. This blend of the natural and virtual offers immediate context, enhancing the learning experience and allowing for on-the-job training without disconnecting from real-world situations.

Expanding the Scope: New Industries and Sectors on the Adoption Path

Beyond Current Adopters: While sectors like oil and gas or healthcare already leverage VR for safety training, industries like retail, logistics, and the culinary world are eyeing its potential. For example, simulating Black Friday crowds for retail staff or safely teaching chefs knife skills.

Global Reach: With the affordability and accessibility of VR equipment increasing, even sectors in emerging markets are poised to benefit from this technological marvel, democratizing safety training on a global scale.

In summation, the synergy of VR with other cutting-edge technologies and its expanding footprint across varied industries assures us that the future of safety training is safer, more thoughtful, efficient, and universally accessible.

How to Implement VR Safety Training

Venturing into Virtual Reality for safety training is a transformative journey that promises richer engagement and enhanced safety protocols. But where does one begin? Here’s a step-by-step guide to integrating VR into your safety training modules:

Starting with Pilot Projects

The Prudent First Step: Before a full-scale rollout, starting with a pilot project can help organizations test the waters. This means selecting a specific training module or a department to introduce VR-based safety training.

Benefits: Pilot projects offer a chance to identify pain points, gather user feedback, and understand ROI metrics. It’s a risk-averse strategy that provides insights for a smoother full-scale implementation.

Collaborating with VR Developers and Safety Experts

Finding the Right Partners: Not all VR solutions are created equal. Partnering with reputable VR developers with a track record in safety training is crucial. Collaboration ensures the developed VR scenarios are realistic, accurate, and beneficial.

Safety First: Engaging safety experts ensures the VR content aligns with industry regulations and best practices. Their expertise guarantees the training is technologically advanced and grounded in real-world safety requirements.

Training the Trainers: Ensuring Effective Implementation

A New Paradigm: Transitioning from traditional methods to VR-based training requires a paradigm shift. Those facilitating the training sessions must be well-versed in VR technology and its nuances.

Masterclass Sessions: Organize specialized training sessions for trainers, enabling them to become adept in VR facilitation. Their proficiency will ensure trainees reap the maximum benefits from VR sessions.

Feedback Loop: Establish a mechanism for trainers to provide feedback to VR developers. Their on-ground insights will be invaluable for iterative improvements in the VR modules.

To wrap up, while the allure of VR in safety training is undeniable, a systematic and strategic approach is paramount. By starting small, collaborating with the right partners, and ensuring facilitators are equipped, organizations can seamlessly transition into this new age of safety training, maximizing benefits while minimizing hiccups.

Conclusion

Reflecting on the Transformational Power of VR in Safety Training

The promise of Virtual Reality extends far beyond just immersive gaming or entertaining experiences. In safety training, VR has indeed emerged as a transformative force. VR has bridged the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience by allowing trainees to immerse themselves in hyper-realistic, risk-free environments. This fusion ensures that employees are not just informed but are also instinctively prepared for real-world challenges.

The Path Forward: Anticipating a Safer, More Informed Workforce

With the rise of VR in safety protocols, we’re not just looking at a change in training methods but anticipating a revolution in workplace safety standards. As more industries embrace this technology, we can expect a cascading effect – fewer workplace accidents, a more confident workforce, and an overall enhancement in industry safety norms. The future, illuminated by VR, promises a more skilled, safer, and informed workforce.

Your Turn to Dive In

We’ve embarked on an exciting journey, and the road ahead is filled with possibilities. Have you or your organization experimented with VR in safety training? How was your experience? We invite you to share your stories, insights, and even challenges. Your experiences could pave the way for future innovations, making industries safer for everyone. Let’s collaborate, innovate, and work towards a future where every employee returns home safely daily.

[superboy1992]

AI in Team Building: A Comparative Tale of Enhancing Collaboration and Cohesion

Imagine you're in a team-building exercise, stuck in a trust fall activity, praying that your colleagues have the strength of Hercules. Or better yet, wishing for a magic wand, or in this case, an AI tool, to make team building as smooth as a well-oiled machine. Well, welcome to 2023, where AI is revolutionizing team building, making trust falls a thing of the past. So, buckle up and get ready for a rollercoaster ride through the world of AI in team building. The Traditional Approach to Team Building In the good old days, team building was all about physical activities and face-to-face interactions. Remember those awkward ice-breakers, or the infamous 'two truths and a lie' game? Or how about the time when you had to build a tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows? Ah, the memories! While these methods had their charm, they also had their challenges. For one, not everyone is a fan of physical activities. And let's not even get started on the logistical nightmares of organizing these events. It was like trying to herd cats, but with more paperwork. The AI Approach to Team Building Enter AI, the superhero of team building. With its shiny algorithms and data-crunching capabilities, AI swooped in to save the day. Picture AI as a team-building superhero, swooping in with its cape made of binary code, ready to streamline the team-building process. AI brought a fresh perspective to team building. It introduced tools that could analyze team dynamics, facilitate effective communication, and even suggest personalized team-building activities. It was like having a super-intuitive team coach who could spot a potential conflict and nip it in the bud. Comparing the Approaches: Traditional vs. AI Now, let's get into the nitty-gritty. Comparing traditional and AI approaches to team building is like comparing apples and oranges, or in this case, trust falls and algorithms. On one hand, you have the traditional approach, with its physical activities and face-to-face interactions. It's like the comfort food of team building - familiar, but not always the most efficient. On the other hand, you have the AI approach, with its data-driven insights and personalized strategies. It's like the gourmet meal of team building - sophisticated, efficient, and tailored to your taste. For instance, AI can analyze team dynamics, identify areas of improvement, and suggest activities that cater to these areas. It's like having a personal trainer, but for team building. The Impact: Teams on a Roll With AI's intervention, team building started to transform. The time-consuming planning gave way to streamlined processes, inefficiencies were replaced by optimization, and teams became as cohesive as a well-rehearsed choir. Teams felt more connected, organizations were happier, and team building became less of a chore and more of a joy. The benefits of this transformation were evident. Teams were more efficient, communication improved, and even the office coffee tasted better (okay, maybe not the coffee). It was like a workplace fairy tale come true. Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Team Building As we look to the future, it's clear that AI's adventures in team building are far from over. Picture AI with a futuristic suit, equipped with even more advanced features, ready to take on the challenges of the future workplace. There might be new challenges to face, like more complex team dynamics or the risk of over-reliance on AI. But knowing our superhero AI, it's ready to take on these challenges head-on. With continuous advancements in technology and a commitment to enhancing team cohesion, AI is all set to continue its mission of revolutionizing team building. Conclusion So there you have it, folks! Our tale of how AI, the superhero of team building, is enhancing collaboration and cohesion. From battling planning inefficiencies to transforming team dynamics, AI has truly proven to be the hero we need. As we look to the future, it's clear that AI will continue to play a pivotal role in team building. And while it might not wear a cape or have a catchy superhero theme song, there's no denying that AI is here to save the day in our teams! In the end, team building is inevitable, just like the Monday morning blues. But with AI in our corner, managing these team-building exercises doesn't have to be a daunting task. So, let's embrace AI, let's embrace change, and let's transform our teams into teams of the future. After all, as the saying goes, the only constant in life is change. And with AI, we can add: the only constant in team building is innovation!     This article was originally published on my blog: https://www.cosgle.com Read the full article