#number 12945

[thatwritingho]

Kloktober day 14: Kreate a Klokateer

Number 12945

Name: Santiago Herrera, also known as Stalkateer(affectionate) by Olive, as he was in charge of surveillance over her for a few days prior to her job offer.

Gender/Sexuality: Cis male, demisexual

Appearance: Large, broad, and beefy, medium complexion with a variety of scars covering his body from the numerous brushes with death over his career, the most obvious one spanning the entirety of his face from jaw to adjacent temple. His hair is dark and thick and silky, and he keeps it pulled back into a low pony majority of the time

Personality: He's Mr. Calm Cool and Collected at all times, and exceedingly polite and formal. But deep down, he's a big ol' softy, with a fondness for children and animals, and a rather large protective streak over those he cares about.

Hobbies: Swordsmanship and hand to hand combat, practices sparring in his spare time. Loves baking, but rarely has a chance to indulge. Smokes a lot of weed.

Bio: Born in Medellín, Columbia, and raised by a single mother, who passed away from illness when he was only 6. He went into the care of his uncle, who taught mixed martial arts at a self owned school, and began taking lessons. He was a natural at it and began earning belts and participating in competitions. 

When his uncle was killed after getting mixed up in cartel activity, Santiago was devastated, and ended up joining a gang to avenge him, but got caught up in the lifestyle and made quite a name for himself. Eventually, though, he started to lose interest in the money and power, feeling lost and without a purpose. Then he saw an open tryout for bodyguards for an up and coming metal band, Dethklok. Something about it called to him, so he went to a show to see what they were like and was blown away, immediately dropping everything to try out, and got a bodyguard position easily. 

His natural talent helped him stay in top ranks easily as the number of employees grew and grew, and because of his seniority, he was able to choose his own number, which is his uncle's birthday, 12-09-45. His specialty is swordsmanship, but he's excellent in hand to hand combat and not too bad with a gun either. 

He works closely with Charles, being kind of a jack of all trades, and helps with various jobs like scouting, recruiting, and strategizing, as well as being the leader of the Commando Squad, and holding the #1 rank of all the Klokateers. Or, well, he was #1, until Olive joined and bumped him down to second.

[trialanderrorblog]

Is high income associated with high life expectancy?

After reading through the codebook for the Gapminder study, I have chosen life expectancy as main topic of my research. The codebook provides several factors that could be included (e.g. breast cancer rate, HIV rate, suicide rate). Depending on literature I’m planning to take a selection of these factors but for now I will consider all of these variables and include them in my personal codebook. 

I use life expectancy (i.e. 2011 life expectancy at birth; the average number of years a newborn child would live if current mortality patterns were to stay the same)  in different countries to begin with, however, I will still need to decide which related factors are worth investigating. Suicide rate (i.e. 2005 Suicide, age adjusted, per 100 000; Mortality due to self-inflicted injury, per 100 000 standard population, age adjusted) is clearly linked to life expectancy, with high suicide rate resulting in lower life expectancy. Factors like breast cancer rate (i.e. number of new cases of breast cancer in 100,000 female residents during 2002) and HIV rate (i.e. 2009 estimated number of people living with HIV per 100 population of age group 15-49) also implicate higher mortality.  Secondly, after taking into consideration the implications of health conditions on life expectancy, I would like to investigate the relation between high income (i.e. 2010 Gross Domestic Product per capita in constant 2000 US$ ) and life expectancy across the different countries. 

Current research comes up with various factors that impact on life expectancy and often explores just a restricted amount of countries if not a single one. Here are some relevant conclusions and how I will use them for my hypothesis:

- Preston, concludes after investigating life expectancy in relation to regional income data with different techniques that between 1930 and 1960 ‘some 75–90 per cent of the growth in life expectancy for the world as a whole over these three decades is attributable to factors exogenous to a nation's contemporary level of income.’(1) He excludes improved nutrition and higher literacy as relevant factors. (1)

That said ‘the cross-sectional relation between income and life expectancy remains strong’(1) and among lower income countries changes to income levels were related to changes in life expectancy. An aspect that interferes with this relation is income distribution, i.e. mortality in countries with huge differences in income like Venezuela, Mexico, and Colombia differs from expected levels. (1) 

Income distribution may explain outliers among low-income countries, but the article also states that higher income is related with higher life expectancy, in particular in lower income countries. I will not cover the aspect of how life expectancy changes over time and the period (1930-1960) that Preston investigates is out-of-date. However, Preston’s assumptions are still reflected in newer research and seem to be relevant.

- Newer research criticises Preston stating the opinion that economic development, which includes higher national income, clearly brought improvements in medical and public health and hence, higher life expectancy.(2) 

This may be reflected in the higher life expectancy of high income countries, i.e. countries with a certain level of economic development. 

- Sub-Saharan Africa, a region with low-income countries, had the lowest levels of life expectancy in 2017. High-income regions had the highest life expectancy in 2017; According to Samuel Preston’s research one third of decreased mortality is due to growing income per capita, one third is due to better educational attainment and one third to improvements over time driven by technological progress.(3)

This states again the positive relationship between high income and high life expectancy. Nevertheless, lower mortality is not only driven by high income, there are other factors such as educational attainment and technological progress that need to be taken into consideration.

- Behavioral factors such as physical exercise and obesity play a role in the differences between high-income-countries, but it cannot be exactly measured how these factors have an impact on differences in longevity due to interdependencies (’e.g., obesity can lead to lack of physical exercise and poor health but poor health can also lead to lack of physical exercise and obesity’). (4).

This may explain differences in life expectancy between high-income-countries. I will not include behavioural factors in my research as the Gapminder study doesn’t measure them.

- At a national level, higher income was related to higher life expectancy in the United States between 2001 and 2014. However, it differed per area and income group as a result of different health behaviours and local area characteristics. (5) 

This indicates high life expectancy is linked to high income.

- At a steady level of real income life expectancy grows over time. Also countries with growing income don’t show an increase in life expectancy at the same proportional level. This means economic development cannot be the only factor that drives life expectancy. The relationship between high income and longevity is shifting and one assumption is ‘scientific understanding and technological progress makes some very efficient public health interventions – such as vaccinations, hygiene measures, oral rehydration therapy, and public health measures – cheaper and brings these more and more into the reach of populations with lower incomes.’(6) 

This demonstrates again the impact of economic development on life expectancy but includes technological progress as factor. I will not look at changes in life expectancy over time but I take this article as an interesting outlook that life expectancy in higher income countries will not always be higher than in low income countries in the future as it currently may be.

Research concludes that high income is associated with higher life expectancy but other factors need to be considered as well such as technological progress, income distribution, educational attainment, behavioural factors. Due to the limited data set that I have available as per Gapminder codebook I will focus on the positive relationship between income and life expectancy. My hypothesis is higher income is associated with higher life expectancy. Factors such as breast cancer rate, suicide rate and HIV rate will be investigated in addition to explain differences in life expectancy in countries with similar income.

Bibliography

(1) Preston SH. The changing relation between mortality and level of economic development. Int J Epidemiol. 2007;36:484–490. 

(2) Johan P Mackenbach; Commentary: Did Preston underestimate the effect of economic development on mortality?, International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 36, Issue 3, 1 June 2007, Pages 496–497, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dym080

(3) GBD 2017 Mortality Collaborators. Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018;392(10159):1684-1735.

(4) National Research Council (US) Panel on Understanding Divergent Trends in Longevity in High-Income Countries; Crimmins EM, Preston SH, Cohen B, editors. International Differences in Mortality at Older Ages: Dimensions and Sources. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2010. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK62592/doi: 10.17226/12945

(5) Chetty R, Stepner M, Abraham S, et al. The Association Between Income and Life Expectancy in the United States, 2001-2014. JAMA. 2016;315(16):1750-66.

(6) Max Roser (2018) - "Life Expectancy". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy' [Online Resource]

[curiouskeedaindia]

3 Powerful Practices That Help Women Advance At Work

3 Powerful Practices That Help Women Advance At Work

There are many organizations that help women as well as men to flourish. But, if we look closely at the corporate landscape, it is clear that as leaders, it’s often men who get promoted to executive leadership positions. Last year, Fortune 500 featured several female CEOs than ever before. But the number was just 33.

Source: i.ytimg.com

So, how do we overcome the hurdles that keep women…

[strike-back-now-info]

Executive Orders view all Presidential Documents The President of the United States manages the operations of the Executive branch of Government through Executive orders. After the President signs an Executive order, the White House sends it to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR). The OFR numbers each order consecutively as part of a series and publishes it in the daily Federal Register shortly after receipt. For a table of Executive orders that are specific to federal agency rulemaking, see https://www.acus.gov/research-projects/tables-executive-order-requirements. Executive Orders issued since 1994 are available as a single bulk download and as a bulk download by President, or you can browse by President and year from the list below. More details about our APIs and other developer tools can be found on our developer pages. • All Executive Orders since 1994 CSV/Excel JSON • Donald Trump CSV/Excel JSON • Barack Obama CSV/Excel JSON • George W. Bush CSV/Excel JSON • William J. Clinton CSV/Excel JSON Executive Order Disposition Tables Donald Trump Donald Trump issued 93 executive orders between 2017 and 2019. • 2019 EO 13857 1 • 2018 EO 13820 - EO 13856 37 • 2017 EO 13765 - EO 13819 55 Barack Obama Barack Obama issued 276 executive orders between 2009 and 2017. • 2017 EO 13758 - EO 13764 7 • 2016 EO 13716 - EO 13757 42 • 2015 EO 13687 - EO 13715 29 • 2014 EO 13656 - EO 13686 31 • 2013 EO 13636 - EO 13655 20 • 2012 EO 13597 - EO 13635 39 • 2011 EO 13563 - EO 13596 34 • 2010 EO 13526 - EO 13562 36 • 2009 EO 13489 - EO 13527 38 George W. Bush George W. Bush issued 291 executive orders between 2001 and 2009. • 2009 EO 13484 - EO 13488 5 • 2008 EO 13454 - EO 13483 30 • 2007 EO 13422 - EO 13453 32 • 2006 EO 13395 - EO 13421 27 • 2005 EO 13369 - EO 13394 26 • 2004 EO 13324 - EO 13368 45 • 2003 EO 13283 - EO 13323 41 • 2002 EO 13252 - EO 13282 31 • 2001 EO 13198 - EO 13251 54 William J. Clinton William J. Clinton issued 254 executive orders between 1994 and 2001. • 2001 EO 13186 - EO 13197 12 • 2000 EO 13145 - EO 13185 41 • 1999 EO 13110 - EO 13144 35 • 1998 EO 13072 - EO 13109 38 • 1997 EO 13034 - EO 13071 38 • 1996 EO 12985 - EO 13033 49 • 1995 EO 12945 - EO 12984 40 • 1994 EO 12944 1 https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders

[shunlongwei]

Sell INTERSIL ISL6208CBZ-T New Stock #ISL6208CBZ-T INTERSIL ISL6208CBZ-T New Half Bridge Based MOSFET Driver, 4A, PDSO8, ISL6208CBZ-T pictures, ISL6208CBZ-T price, #ISL6208CBZ-T supplier ------------------------------------------------------------------- Email: sales@shunlongwei.com https://www.slw-ele.com/isl6208cbz-t.html ------------------------------------------------------------------- Manufacturer Part Number: ISL6208CBZ-TRohs Code: YesPart Life Cycle Code: ActiveIhs Manufacturer: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPPackage Description: SOP,ECCN Code: EAR99HTS Code: 8542.39.00.01Manufacturer: Renesas Electronics CorporationRisk Rank: 0.73High Side Driver: YESInterface IC Type: HALF BRIDGE BASED MOSFET DRIVERJESD-30 Code: R-PDSO-G8JESD-609 Code: e3Length: 4.9 mmMoisture Sensitivity Level: 3Number of Functions: 1Number of Terminals: 8Operating Temperature-Max: 100 °COperating Temperature-Min: -10 °COutput Peak Current Limit-Nom: 4 APackage Body Material: PLASTIC/EPOXYPackage Code: SOPPackage Shape: RECTANGULARPackage Style: SMALL OUTLINEPeak Reflow Temperature (Cel): 260Qualification Status: Not QualifiedSeated Height-Max: 1.75 mmSupply Voltage-Max: 5.5 VSupply Voltage-Min: 4.5 VSupply Voltage-Nom: 5 VSurface Mount: YESTemperature Grade: OTHERTerminal Finish: Matte Tin (Sn) - annealedTerminal Form: GULL WINGTerminal Pitch: 1.27 mmTerminal Position: DUALTime Half Bridge Based MOSFET Driver, 4A, PDSO8 Shunlongwei Inspected Every ISL6208CBZ-T Before Ship, All ISL6208CBZ-T with 6 months warranty. Part Number Manufacturer Packaging Descript Qty GT24C512A-2ZLI-TRGiantec Semiconductor IncEEPROM, 989 PCSDG411CJVISHAYDIP-16SPST, 4 Func, 1 Channel, CMOS, PDIP16, 0.300 INCH, PLASTIC, MS-001AA, MO-058AB, DIP-16 12945 PCSTLV4113IDGQRTEXASMSOP10Dual, High Output Drive Operational Amplifier with Shutdown 10-MSOP-PowerPAD -40 to 125 12542 PCSLNBP11SP-TRSTMHSOP10SPECIALTY ANALOG CIRCUIT, PDSO10, ROHS COMPLIANT, SOP-10 19067 PCSSTP9NM60NSTTO-220N-channel 600 V, 0.63 Ohm, 6.5 A TO-220 MDmesh(TM) II Power MOSFET 3140 PCSS-873361CUP-AOH-T2GSEIKOSOT89-53.3V FIXED POSITIVE LDO REGULATOR, 0.7V DROPOUT, PDSO5, SOT-89, 5 PIN 3090 PCSIR3410SIRSOP-20 3507 PCSCB-1410A1ENEBGA 2758 PCSCY7C63743-PXCCYDIP24RISC Microcontroller, 8-Bit, OTPROM, 12MHz, CMOS, PDIP24, 0.300 INCH, LEAD FREE, PLASTIC, DIP-24 519 PCSCLAA090LC12CWCPT300Mcd, B/R 400 19 inch, Resolution 800 250 PCS

[marketreportsmark-blog]

Augmented Reality Gaming Market: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast Upto 2025

The Global Augmented Reality Gaming Market Analysis 2019 with forecast period 2020 to 2025 provides an in-depth analysis of market growth factors, future assessment, country-level analysis, Augmented Reality Gaming industry distribution, and competitive landscape analysis of major industry players. The report exhibits both Augmented Reality Gaming market quantitative as well as qualitative data with tables and figures displayed in the form of bar graphs, and pie charts. Augmented Reality Gaming Market report 2019 comprises strategically vital information such as compounded annual growth rate, working capital, enterprise value and the book value of major companies operating in the market.

Prominent Vendors in Augmented Reality Gaming Market:

Augmented Pixels, Aurasma, Blippar, Catchoom, Infinity Augmented Reality, Qualcomm Technologies, Total Immersion, VividWorks, Wikitude, Zappar

Get a Sample Copy of Augmented Reality Gaming Market Report @ https://www.marketreportszone.com/sample-report/augmented-reality-gaming-market-12945

Market Breakdown Data by Types:

Mobile devices

HMDs

Smart glasses

Market Breakdown Data by Applications:

Innovators

Early adopters

Early majority

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North America Country (United States, Canada) South America Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea) Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy) Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)

The higher rate of rivalry in the worldwide Augmented Reality Gaming market has led to peculiarness, efficiency, and contrivance among the top market-leading players. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and Augmented Reality Gaming market PEST (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural and technological) analysis conducted helps understanding Augmented Reality Gaming market layouts. In addition to this, this report provides worldwide Augmented Reality Gaming industry information about CAGR rate, safety responsibilities, floating frameworks of the market, Augmented Reality Gaming developmental strategy, and execution of the plan.

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Global Augmented Reality Gaming market requires the gathering of qualitative and quantitative data by using key strategies, display accurate market share, along with emerging markets on the regional and country level. It provides clear Augmented Reality Gaming intuition of raising demands, modern, and future needs of the industry. Augmented Reality Gaming market capacity, assessment, and growth component from 2019 to 2025 are also covered in this research.

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[naween-raaj-blog]

SHORTCUT ON FRACTION AND MIXED FRACTION.

✓ADDING TWO FRACTIONS WHOSE NUMERATORS ARE BOTH 1. Rule: Write the sum of the denominators over the product of the denominators. The numerator is the number over the fraction line and, of course, the denominator is the number under the fraction line. To find the sum of (1/7)+ (1/12) merely add the denominators,  7 + 12 = 19  and put the sum over the product of the denominators. 7 X 12 = 84 Thus 1/7 + 1/12 = 19/84 Answer It is always a good idea to reduce any fractional answer to its simplest form by canceling any common factors. In the example above, 19 and 84 have no common factors; therefore 19/84 is the simplest form of the fraction.  ✓FINDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO FRACTIONS WHOSE NUMERATORS ARE BOTH 1 Rule: Write the difference between the denominators over the product of the denominators. Watch how a couple of simple short cuts can save a lot of work and time in solving an otherwise difficult problem.   Subtract 1/87 from 1/83. The difference between the denominators is 4. The product of the denonunators is   83 x 87 = 7,221 The answer is 4/7,221. A fractional answer should always be tested to see if it can be reduced to a simpler form by cancelling common factors in the numerator and denominator. In the case above, it is obvious that the only factors of 4 are 2 and 4. But since 7,221 is an odd number, it does not contain either a 2 or 4, so that 4/7,221 is the simplest form of the fraction.   ✓MULTIPLYING BY 3/4.  Rule: Divide the given number by 4 and subtract the result from the given number. Multiply 8,924 by 3/4. Divide 8, 924 by 4 and subtract the result from the original number. 4) 8 924 Given number     -2,231 Quotient      6,693 Answer  ✓MULTIPLYING BY 2-1/2. (Two and one by two) Rule: Starting from the first digit of the given number, double each digit and add one-half the given digit. Ignore any fractions. Add any tens digits to the previous answer digit. Add 5 if the preceding digit of the given number is odd. Affix } to the answer if the given number is odd. Use this Rule when the given number is an integer or a decimal number. Mixed numbers and fractions are difficult to handle with this method. This rule will be used in the example: 517,849 x 2-1/2. Double the 5 and add one-half of itself to obtain the first answer digit. 5 + 5 = 10; 10 + 5/2 =12 (The fraction is ignored.) Record 12 as the first two answer digits. Double 1. One-half of 1 is 1, which is ignored. But since the preceding given digit is odd, add 5 to the result of this step. 2 + 0 = 2,  2 + 5 =7 Record the 7 as the next answer digit. 127 The next given digit is 7. 7+7= 14; 14+7/2= 17 The previous given digit, 1, is odd; therefore add 5.  17 + 5 = 22 Record the units digit, 2, as an answer digit. Carry the tens digit, also 2, and add it to the previous answer digit. The answer thus far is 1292 Continue this process with the balance of the given digits. 8 + 8 = 16; 16 + 4 = 20; 20 + 5 = 25 Record 5; add the 2 to the previous answer digit. The answer at this point is 12945 The 4 is next. 8; 8 + 2 = 10 Record O; add I to previous answer digit. 129460 Next is 9. 18; 18 +9/2 = 22 Record 2; add 2 to the previous answer digit. 1,294,622 This is the last digit of the given number. Since the given number is odd, affix to the answer. 1,294, 622-1/2 Answer  MULTIPLYING BY 7-1/2. Rule: Move the decimal point one place to the right,divide by 4, and subtract the quotient from the number first divided. Since difficulties are sometimes encountered when moving the decimal point of a fraction or mixed number,limit the use of this rule to integers and decimal numbers. Multiply 63 by 7-1/2. Move the decimal point one place to the right. 63. 0→becomes 630. Divide by 4 and subtract the quotient from 630. 630 ÷ 4 = 157-1/2 630 -157-1/2= 472-1/2. Thus 63 × 7-1/2=  472-1/2 Answer.  MULTIPLYING BY 12-1/2. Rule : Move the decimal point two places to the right and divide by 8. Use this rule on whole numbers and decimal numbers only. Odd whole numbers will always end in 1/2,  i.e., the remainder after dividing by 8 will be 4. As an example : Multiply 631 by 129 · Move the decimal point two places to the right. 631. 00 becomes 63, 100. Divide by 8. 63, 100 ÷ 8 = 7, 887-1/2 Therefore 631 × 12-1/2 =7, 887-1/2 Answer.  MULTIPLYING TWO MIXED NUMBERS WHOSE WHOLE NUMBERS ARE THE SAME AND WHOSE FRACTIONS ADD TO 1. Rule : Multiply the whole number by one more than itself. Afíix the product of the fractions.M Multiply9-4/9 by 9-5/9. Multiply the whole number by one more than itself. 9 × 10 = 90 Affix the product of the fractions. 4/9 × 5/9 = 20/81 9-4/9 × 9-5/9 = 90-20/81 Answer.  MULTIPLYING TWO MIXED NUATBERS WHEN THE  DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WHOLE NUMBERS IS 1 AND THE SUM OF THE FRACTIONS IS 1 Rule: Increase the Larger of the whole numbers by one and multiply by the other whole number. Square the fraction of the larger number and subtract the square from 1. Affix the result to the product obtained in the first step. For the sum of two fractions to be equal to 1, their denominators must be the same (at least when both fractions are written their simplest form) and the sum of the numerators must equal the denominator. Multiply 15-3/4 by 14-1/4. Increase the larger whole number by one and multiply by the smaller whole number. 15 + 1 = 16 ; 16 × 14 = 224 Square the fraction of the larger number 3/4 × 3/4 = 9/16 Subtract the result from 1. 1 - 9/16 =  7/1 6 Affix the result to the product obtained in the first step. 224-7/16 Answer.

[thatwritingho]

Momento Mori

Chapter 3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Olive had been given all of 24 hours to pack her things and make arrangements before she was flown out for her two week trial in Mordhaus. Now, after a day to settle in and go over various rules and regulations and what seemed to be a ridiculous amount of health and safety waivers, she found herself in a rather lavish, gothic styled guest room, her bags tossed randomly across the floor, clothes strung out on the bed as she fretted and mumbled to herself over what to wear for her first meeting with the band.

“I don’t want to look too formal, but I don’t want to seem too casual either, oh my god why didn’t I pack more options I don’t have shit to wear fuck fuck fuck… should I wear something kinda sexy? I want them to think I’m hot but I don’t want to look like a fucking groupie either, this is supposed to be a professional meeting after all… god damn it…”

Dark eyes shot over to the plastic tub serving as temporary housing for her ball python, and she quickly approached, popping off the lid and lifting the snake out.

“What do you think, Apophis? Is this outfit ok for a first meeting?”

Said snake was draped over her neck as she walked to the mirror, turning this way and that as she mentally critiqued every little detail of her appearance. Her makeup was done, skin appearing flawless, dusty rose and grey eye shadow with matching rosey lips, and a dusting of gold highlight to compliment her skin tone, nails done with pointed tips and shiny black polish.

Her hair was proving to be as wild and unruly as ever, natural curls refusing to be tamed and forming a large pink mass on the left side of her head, a stark contrast to the dark brown stubble on the right. She longed to be able to pull it back in a classy french braid, but exposing the left side of her scalp was absolutely out of the question.

The grey, short sleeve turtle neck was tight and hugged her curves in all the right ways, accentuating her large chest without being revealing enough to be considered inappropriate, and the high waisted, black pencil skirt with equally black belt cinched in her waist before smoothing over her hips and coming to a stop at a modest-but-not-grandmotherly length just below her knees.

She had chosen short sleeves to highlight the sprawling art that made up the tattoo sleeve on her right arm, as well as the rest of the singular pieces littered across her other arm and both legs.

The ensemble did wonders for her figure, but it was still a bit plain. Missing something.

Boring.

And that was the last thing she wanted to seem when meeting her favorite band.

“If only I could wear you as an accessory, Apophis,” she sighed, walking over to the messy, tangled pile of metal that her jewelry had become in her haste to pack.

“Now… how to spice this up…”

After much frustration and cursing herself multiple times for not taking the time to properly store her necklaces, Olive finally managed to untangle her statement piece. It was simple, but beautifully crafted; a medium sized, smoky glass pendant attached to a long silver chain, a few shades darker than her top. To compliment, she fished out a plethora of silver studs and hoops to fill in all of her ear piercings, choosing plain black tunnels to make her stretched lobes stand out.

Slipping on a pair of black closed toe heels, she did one last turn, jolting a bit in surprise at the knock on her door, a muffled voice addressing her through the heavy wood.

“It’s time, miss.”

Nerves set heavy in the pit of her stomach as she returned the reptile to it’s home, and she bounced in the balls of her feet for a few moments before working up the courage to open the door, smiling politely at the Klokateer who was stationed outside her room, the very same one, it turned out, whom had been her mystery stalker a few days prior.

“Are you ready, miss?”

Olive cleared her throat awkwardly, nodding in response as she didn’t trust her voice not to crack, and began to follow after the rather large fellow who’s name she didn’t know, heels clacking against the stone floor as she fought the urge to vomit. He had introduced himself as a number, twelve-thousand-and-something, which was honestly very unnerving, and had her questioning whether she should be working for a place that dehumanized it’s employees so, but had decidedly disregarded the matter. It was probably easier for everyone involved, with the sheer amount of people they employed, to go by number instead.

Lost in thought as she was, she barely noticed as a large, medieval style door came into view, two more large, hooded men posted up on either side, and sucked in a few, hopefully discreet, deep breaths as it dawned on her that this was actually happening. Behind that door await the most famous, most musically talented men in the entire fucking world. Waiting to evaluate her. To judge her. To decide if she was worthy of their time. Worthy of their presence.

Oh, she was absolutely fucked! What had she been thinking? There was no way in hell that she was actually qualified for this!

Stalkateer, as she had dubbed the behemoth of a man, rapped gently on the wood, addressing her before entering.

“Please wait here, miss.”

Heart slamming against her chest, pounding in her ears, stomach about to implode, a cold sweat breaking out all over, she fought the primal urge to fucking run.

God I need to get myself together. I can do this. It’s just like any other stupid business meeting. Only this time it’s with fucking Dethklok. Oh god oh god…

After what seemed like hours but was in reality mere thirty seconds of Olive trying her damndest to avoid eye contact with the two guards, the door creaked open and Stalkateer reemerged, taking up post next to one of his coworkers.

“The masters are ready for you.”

.

Charles took a steadying breath, assessing the band members in various states of inebriation before him. He had requested they be sober for the first meeting with their potential physician, so of course none of them were, although he would give them credit for all being awake and semi interested, which is more than he could typically say about their usual alertness during meetings.

“So.. you uh, you really found someone, huh?” Nathan looked at him with mild skepticism, slouching in his chair, beer bottle in hand.

“Ah, yes, yes I did. And I can assure you that she meets all of your, ah, conditions.” 

“Scho then sche’sh hot, right?”

“And knows how to, uh, like, cut up corpses and stuff?”

“She’s ams a nice ladys too, rights? One whats know hows to haves fun?”

“Boys, boys, settle down,” Charles raised his hands in a silencing gesture, attempting to quiet the rapid fire questions, “why don’t you all make the call yourselves? I’ve asked her to do a two week trial, to, ah, see how she gets along with everyone. She should be here any moment now, actually, for me to introduce to you all.”

As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door, a Klokateer entering and bowing before his masters, announcing the arrival of the woman in question.

“Ah, very well. Thank you, Number 12945. You may let her in.”

All eyes turned to the door, the click clack of heels approaching the only sound in the room as a small figure appeared, dark eyes glancing over every person in the room once as she made her way to stand next to Charles, looking every bit as cool and collected on the outside as she felt nauseous on the inside.

“Everyone, I would like you to meet Olive Axworthy, your new personal doctor.”

.

A deafening silence filled the room for a few moments as Olive stood before the band, all eyes on her as everyone was frozen for a beat, a bit shocked at just how very young, how very small, and how very pretty of a doctor Charles had managed to pull out of nowhere. She fought against the need to fidget under their stare, standing straight and proud with a neutral expression like she had been drilled to by her adoptive father.

“Dood. Are ya even, like, old enough ta be a doctor?”

Finally, the awkward silence was broken, Olive’s eyes snapping over to the owner of the voice and nearly squealing in excitement as she met the gaze of fucking Pickles the Drummer, frontman of Snakes n’ Barrels turned best drummer in the world, who was talking to her.

Oh sweet jesus, he was talking to her!

Respond, you idiot!

“Oh, um, yeah. I graduated early.”

Great, real articulate, Olive…

She could have smacked herself for giving such a lame answer, but he merely raised a pierced brow at her in response, and she nearly died from how ridiculously attractive it was.

“Scho are you like schome kinda geniush or schomethin?”

Dark eyes slid over to the person sitting next to the redhead, and she felt her heart flip at the sight of William fucking Murderface slouching in his chair, arms crossed and eyes racking over her body none too subtly.

Oh my god, he’s checking me out, holy fuck.

“Uh, technically, yeah, I am.”

“Huh. How ‘bout that.”

On the other side of the table, someone cleared their throat, and Olive was sure every person in the room could hear how loud her heart was pounding as she met the eyes of Nathan god damn Explosion, his broad form even more appealing in person.

Lord, how I’d love to be pinned under him…

“You, uh.. You can, like, work on, uh, dead people, right?”

Shaking off her perverted train of thought, Olive couldn’t help but smile at that, relaxing a bit as the topic turned away from her and to corpses.

“Yeah. I’ve been working in a morgue for the past year.”

“And you, like, take out all their, uh, organs and blood and stuff? You can do that?” He had leaned forward in his chair, becoming more attentive at the change in conversation.

“Yeah. I can do autopsies, embalming, cremation.. pretty much anything.”

“Oh, wowee! That ams so cool!”

Olive practically salivated at the sight of Toki Wartooth grinning at her from beside Nathan, his long, silky hair shining beautifully as he stared at her in fascination.

“Ja, how cools ams it tos cuts open people whats already died?”

“Yous ams so means, Skwisgaar! It ams too cool!”

Said blonde scoffed at Toki, fingers plucking away at the strings of the guitar in his grasp as his icey eyes sized up the woman before him, much slower and with much more purpose than Murderface had.

Skwisgaar Skwigelf. I’m in the same room as Skwisgaar Skwigelf. He’s so beautiful. This isn’t real.

Despite her Inner Fangirl blabbering away like an idiot, Olive managed to push aside the urge to jump the blonde and ride him for all he was worth right then and there on the table in front of everyone, instead shrugging as his eyes finally met hers.

“I mean, it’s pretty fun. Better than dealing with most living people, y’know?“

There were a few chuckles around the table at that, and Pickles stole her attention once more, a sexy, crooked grin on his face.

“Fun, huh? Is dat what ya cahll it?”

Olive grinned a slightly devious grin back at him, eyes glinting in mirth.

“Yeah, I’d say so.”

“Whoah. So, like, can you, uh, show us? Like right now?”

Nathan’s face was lit up with childlike excitement, and as she glanced around the table, so were the other member’s, even Skwisgaar.

“Sure, why not?” Dark eyes turned their focus to the suited man next to her, who had been silent for this entire exchange, and he eyed her with slight suspicion as she smiled mischievously at him. Oh god, what had he done, putting this woman and Dethklok together? And with her next question, it cemented in his mind that she was going to be nothing but trouble for him.

“Got a body?”

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2