#organic waste management company

[recyclinghub1]

Organic Waste Recycler in Gujarat

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[jonsonmoond123]

A Secure Option for CSR Managers and Local Marketing Executives We help businesses jump start their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program Nowadays, many companies have a solid focus on their Corporate Social Responsibility to make sure that their contribution to the environment goes beyond the CSR manual. Many companies need to demonstrate their commitment to

[reachartwork]

"The Goon Economy: Why People Choose to Work for Supervillains"

Leslie Lester, for Psychology Today, October 2022

When asked why anyone would choose to work for supervillains, most people imagine costumed henchmen cackling maniacally while fighting Spider-Man. The reality is far more mundane - and more economically fascinating.

"It's just a job," says Former Employee X under the condition of anonymity, who worked security for a major East Coast villain organization. "Better benefits than Netsphere, better pay than private security, and yeah, higher risk, but you've got clear procedures for hero encounters. Most guys never even see a cape."

The numbers support this pragmatic view. While exact figures are difficult to obtain, conservative estimates suggest supervillain organizations employ hundreds of thousands of workers across the U.S., from direct muscle to legitimate business employees. The total economic impact likely rivals major corporations.

But why choose such high-risk employment? Dr. Sarah Chen, economist at MIT, suggests three key factors:

Economic Pressure: "In cities with active supervillain presence, these organizations often control major employment sectors - construction, shipping, waste management. Sometimes working for them isn't really a choice."

Risk vs. Reward: The average "muscle" for a villain organization makes 1.5-2 times standard security work, with comprehensive health coverage and legal protection. "When you're living paycheck to paycheck," Chen notes, "guaranteed medical care becomes very attractive."

Systemic Integration: Many workers start through legitimate businesses, becoming gradually involved in illegal activities. "It's rarely a conscious choice to 'become a minion,'" Chen explains. "It's more like finding out your company has mob ties - but you've got a mortgage and kids in school."

The psychology is equally complex. Dr. James Morrison of Harvard explains: "These organizations offer what many legitimate employers don't: clear advancement paths, protection from both heroes and rivals, and often a sense of belonging. They're filling gaps in our social safety net."

The rise of powers-based crime has only increased this trend. "Supervillain organizations have better protocols for superhuman encounters than most legitimate businesses," Morrison notes. "If you're working in a city where hero-villain battles are common, that matters."

[whosblackcat]

mini thread abt how to help riize & seunghan + info 🩷🫧

note & warning: please don’t engage with ANY content of riize, for example don’t comment in their tiktoks saying “riize is 7” even if your intention is good, it breaks the purpose of the boycott!!

mass report sm's US office!! you can report using the template in the link attached in the tweet or via email!! email: hrus@smtown.com

riize boycott version (mv, songs, shows, etc.)

reporting to korea’s human rights foundation site: koreahumanrights.org

sm will pull fake scandals to distract our attention from the matter, for example as they did with sungchan yesterday! don’t believe anything, exols warned us

tweet the trending tags on twitter!! big official fan accounts always share which ones we have to use

don't buy or watch anything related to riize & sm, we’re boycotting

don’t interact with any post of sm and riize even if it’s to use the tags or supporting the boys, we’re boycotting

all the info of what did one of the persons who sent the death wreaths

ot6 are complaining to the police & government abt the displays and flowers for seunghan in front of the sm building, and according to this person now it's not possible to put them in commercial facilities

sm is buying followers and likes due to the impact of the boycott

ot6 are monitoring every movement and project in every language and reporting them. @/RIIZEUSACENTRE kofi was reported because of them while raising trucks money

seunghan's leaked photo with his girlfriend was leaked by hybe

riize is seven movement schedule. day 1 october 28th

mass review 1 star to all sm facilities on google maps (note: they’re deleting the bad reviews but we have to keep going)

hybes’s ceo lee jae sang issues apology letter for the ‘music industry report’ document (a sorry is not enough after destroying hsh life & career)

seunghan town will be removed due to ot6 reports and company that they reported the project, causing making hard getting the needed permits

pineapple manager passed in front of the protest today, he def saw the protest

manager passed in front of the protest again, they know what’s going on

manager passed in front of the protest for the third time, and tomorrow is the meeting

riize is seven movement schedule november 6th

there’s a very popular lawyer who has won a case against sm before that right now is representing fans

riize doesn't have any schedule, comeback or tour for the first quarter of 2025. the boycott is working, keep going!

riize lost 400k monthly listeners on spotify

clarifications on rumors regarding hsh. the thread linked below explains it really well, so please read carefully and repost it on X!

sm announced that seunghan will debut as a solo artist in the second half of 2025… they even created him a profile on ig. sm is trying to calm us down. is their final act of desperation to tame the situation. this doesn’t protect him from toxic fans, pls keep boycotting, this doesn’t end here (we protested to have him back in riize where he belongs, not to debut as solo artist is this a joke what are they doing💀💀)

this is all the info i found and i wanted to spread it here too, so thanks and credits to all the ppl on twitter!! if i find more relevant info i’ll keep updating this post. please share it 🫶🏻 (note: english isn't my first language, sorry for any mistakes in my grammar)

little motivation and some twitter accounts that organize projects/give info below the cut! 🩷

— some good info twitter accs:

@/RIIZEUSACENTRE @/SEVENRIIZE @/RIIZE_EUROPE @/PROTECT_RIIZE @/Seunghan_USA

— little motivation:

kbriize are holding face to face protests and fanbases hired an attorney. boycott properly if you don't want all the effort to be wasted! remember, boycotting takes time

"The group nearly disbanded in September of 2001, after Park Joon-hyung was discovered to be in a relationship. Their management announced, without informing him or the members, that he was to leave the group and they'd continue as 4, but it was met with strong objection from fans, who repeatedly signed petitions and threatened to boycott concerts and the company. Danny, Kyesang, Hoyoung and Taewoo held their own press conference, without the knowledge of their management, to show their support for Joon. After two months of disagreements, their company eventually backed down and allowed Joon to be in the group." if joon returned to the group after two months of protests, complains and boycott, we can bring back seunghan!! the key is persistence. please don't give up and keep fighting for his rights and justice!!

[shinobicyrus]

One thing my brain keeps going back to about Pacific Rim (besides the rad giant robots) is the whole existence of kaiju organ harvesters and their implications.

Like, you have Hannibal Chau, a bizarre and interesting character, but we’re presented with a black market operation that seems mostly interested in the “alternative medicine” uses of kaiju parts.

But my brain demands to know: what does the corporate kaiju harvesting industry look like? Sure kaiju blood is toxic, but there are plenty of toxic materials that have useful applications. Are there chemical companies studying kaiju organs? Big-Pharma jumping on the kaiju bone-powder bandwagon? Are bio-tech firms studying kaiju hide to make tougher materials? Agribusinesses clamoring to acquire kaiju crap for fertilizer?

I’m picturing something like the age of whaling, when humans hunted giant animals and carved them up to feed insatiable industries. Whale-oil lighting lanterns for entire cities, whale-bone being used in everything from knick-knacks, tools, umbrellas, and corsets. Ambergris alone was used in perfumes, medicines, cooking. It was even added to wine as an aphrodisiac.

We glimpsed how kaiju affected pop-culture. Now picture a kaiju smashing a city, but the stock market going up for construction companies (rebuilding the cities), vulture real estate (buying the destroyed land cheap), and all the other corporations that profit from the systematic dismantling of a kaiju corpse and making money off of its parts. Sure, a city was roughed up and who knows how many thousands are dead, but it’s a better windfall when a kaiju makes landfall. It’s always less profitable when jaegers kill them too quickly; sea-based extractions are so much more expensive.

Imagine entire industries, entire economies that don’t just make money from the devastation of kaiju attacks, but grow dependent on them. And then the laws, the squabbles over those valuable, resource-rich kaiju corpses. If a kaiju attacks one country but keeps rampaging and is killed in the country next door, who has claim over the body? The party who was damaged more by it or the country where the corpse physically is? Bidding wars over “cleanup” contracts that cut corners and are only interested in collecting those sweet, sweet, kaiju parts as fast as possible, even if their official mandate is supposed to be the safe removal and cleanup of a toxic substance.

Once jaegers started getting efficient at killing kaiju, the people with all the money became less interested in solving the problem of kaiju attacks and switched to merely managing the industries that kaiju-killing feeds.

What? You want to put more resources into R&D to try and close the Breach? Whatever for? The kaiju comes out, jaegers kill it, and the “host country” gets the proceeds from the kaiju’s body. It’s a win-win for everyone. Why waste time, money, and effort solving a problem that isn’t a problem anymore?

Everything is under control.

[panda-writes-kpop]

two's company, but three's a crowd?

a/n: happy birthday to my lovely friend across the pond @foolish-sparrow!!! hope you have the loveliest day ever because you deserve your love. also, happy pride month everyone! I have a special fic that's been rotting in my brain that I want to release for pride month, but I also want to work on requests this month, so we'll just have to see what happens :)

tw: 'madre' is used once because it's my nickname for Sparrow but the fic is gender-neutral otherwise, Paladin! Reader that reads like a self-insert character, reader gets wasted as do the love interests, hangover symptoms including nausea, this author hates love triangles so your love interests are love interests and we all live happily ever after in a poly relationship <3

related fics: gimme all your lovin' (all your hugs and kisses too!), look at me! look at me!, sorry for party rockin'!, we're never getting back together (like ever?)

summary: You wake up in a random hotel room with no idea where Yunjin or Kazuha are. Last night's memories are blurry, but with the help of those two girls, you manage to put the pieces back together of what exactly happened at that party.

♡ Masterlist ♡

On a scale from “crystal-clear” to “holy fuck how much did I drink”, you’d rate your memory of last night as a slightly blurry highlight reel of the best parts.

This, of course, couldn’t explain why you woke up in a strange hotel room with little to your name beside your phone and the clothes on your body.

Your phone. You should check that, maybe someone’s searching for you?

Not a single phone call. Were your friends not even slightly concerned about you?

A single text pops up on your phone.

Katie: Text me when you’re headed home! I’ll save some breakfast for you. <3

Well, at least the youngest Paladin cares for you. Considering that she’s sweet to anything that breathes, maybe you shouldn’t take it as too much of a compliment.

Your phone pings again.

Katie: Love you lots, mi madre! Hope you had fun with Yunjin and Kazuha last night after you left the party.

You certainly weren’t in the apartment that Yunjin and Kazuha shared with three other girls, and hell, you weren’t sure if you were in the same city that you started the night in.

Your phone has a mapping system of sorts, right? Maybe you can turn on the WiFi and get a signal to your phone.

You’re thoroughly disappointed, albeit not surprised at this point, that this hotel doesn’t have WiFi or any signal for your phone. It’s almost as if the world doesn’t want you to figure out where you’re going… 

The only tool you have is your memory at this point. It can’t hurt to go over everything, right?

~

“Yunjin, we have a guest!” Kazuha loudly announces as you knock on the door. “Can you get it? I’m busy putting on make-up.”

“Why do I always have to get the door?” Yunjin whines before opening the door. “Hey, you came over! Glad to see you here.”

Yunjin lets you in before closing the door. 

“None of the other girls are in right now. Sakura and Chaewon are having a girl’s night, and Eunchae mentioned something about a study date.” Yunjin laughs to herself. “Kids, they grow up so fast.”

“Tell me about it,” You laugh along with Yunjin, “Katie’s the one organizing the party. Luckily, since Ryujin invited everyone and their mother, I slipped an invitation in for you and Kazuha.”

“Katie won’t be mad?” 

“Not at all, since the party is a cover to get a few of her friends together with their crushes.” You roll your eyes at Katie’s schemes, which will unfortunately work because it’s Katie.

“Sounds like Katie, alright.” Yunjin lightly grabs your arm before leading you to the kitchen. “C’mon, I made some drinks for us.”

“Already? We’re not even at the party yet-” You try to protest, but Kazuha gasps when she spots the three red solo cups.

“I’m down for a couple drinks if you are.” Kazuha enters the room and slides to your left as Yunjin expectantly stares at you.

So much for your whole lecture towards Katie about avoiding peer pressure when it came to alcohol and other substances.

“As long as we get an Uber to the party, we can have a couple of drinks.” You say as the two girls happily cheer.

~

You didn’t get too drunk at their apartment, but you definitely weren’t comfortable driving. After calling a ride, nothing of note happened - except for the fact that you were squished between Yunjin and Kazuha in the backseat of the car. You were trying to hide your nervousness from the both of them, but neither of them could resist the urge to tease you a bit.

“Do we both make you nervous, or is it just one of us?” Yunjin smiles before scooting closer to you. “Come on, you can tell me~”

“Yunjin, knock it off, you’re making them nervous!” Kazuha reaches over and lightly slaps Yunjin.

Yunjin rubs her arm in pain as Kazuha’s hand returns to her, but not before lightly grazing your knee. 

When you look at Kazuha, she winks at you before softly laughing. 

You’re sure that your nerves are more apart than ever - maybe spontaneous combustion wasn’t such a bad fate, after all?

Speaking of, Kazuha enters the hotel room, causing you to sigh in relief.

“Kazuha, you have no idea how happy I am to see you-”

“-Where are we?” Kazuha looks at you in confusion. “I thought you’d know, but apparently you don’t.”

“What gave it away? The fact that I reek of booze?” You joke as she walks over and peeks out of the other side of the room. “Have you seen Yunjin?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you.” Kazuha slides into the single office chair in the middle of the room as you lay on the single king bed in the room. “What happened last night?”

“I’ve got bits and pieces from last night - maybe we can compare and see what we remember?”

~

Getting to the party was eventful, but the party itself was nothing to scoff at. You had arrived a bit late, something that Katie would normally scold you for, but the party seemed to be roaring out of control. 

To your left was the kitchen, where you see a nervous Katie running around with dishes and ingredients in her hands. Dami dutifully stands to the side, occasionally holding a dish and stirring something, while watching Katie work her magic. 

You can hear King and Neon talking with a group of friends in the living room - perhaps it was time for a Boomer reunion? Yet again, you’d probably start an argument with one of the boomers, which would probably put Katie more on edge than before. 

You couldn’t chat with Mala, who was currently studying at home with Tzuyu. Katie had invited them over, but you weren’t sure that they would make an appearance tonight.

“Hey, I’m going to grab something to eat. Are you guys hungry?” Yunjin asks as the three of you head towards the kitchen.

“I could eat.” You shrug as Kazuha nods. 

“Hey, Katie-” You call out as Katie rushes past you.

“Everything you can eat is on the kitchen island. Grab a plate and feel free to eat.” Katie says before mumbling to herself, “Chili powder, lemon juice, tomatoes, avocados-”

“Is she going to be okay?” Kazuha asks as Dami hands the three of you plates, silverware, and glasses. 

“I think so, but this may be her breaking point.” Dami looks over to the counter that is stacked with half-full and empty liquor bottles. “I still haven’t told her that Ryujin and her friends have finished off most of the bottled and canned drinks.”

“Have Neon and Siyeon find the drinks. I’m too stressed to do any sort of matchmaking, so that’ll work for now.” Katie rushes back towards the sink to grab a spoon. “Oh, and I’m not ignoring you three, I promise. I’m just a little bit out of it, and I hope you can understand why.”

“At least she’s honest about it.” Yunjin mutters as Kazuha rolls her eyes.

“Be nice to the girl, she’s obviously trying her best. Thank you for the food, Katie, I appreciate your efforts.” Kazuha compliments Katie, who instantly lights up.

“Really? Thank you!” She quickly side-hugs Kazuha before continuing to organize the kitchen and mix dishes together.

“You’re welcome.” She smiles before looking over to you and Yunjin, who look ready to devour her if she doesn’t move out of the way. “We should grab some food and get to the party.”

~

“Katie’s really something, huh?” Kazuha laughs to herself for a moment. “She’s a sweetheart - no wonder everyone gets along with her.”

“Yeah, she’s something, alright.” You smile softly. “But after that, we sat down and had food until Neon and Siyeon came back with drinks.”

“I’m surprised you remember that. You and King got into a bit of a drinking competition, and well… both of you were losers in the end.” Kazuha explains.

“I wasn’t that drunk.”

“You couldn’t answer a basic multiplication question.”

“Okay, maybe I was that drunk. What happened next? My memory’s kind of blurry-”

“We played a few party games, in which you got mad at King and then chased him outside. He fell into SuA’s flower garden, and you claimed your victory over him. Then there was the whole Spin the Bottle incident-”

“Spin the Bottle incident?” You tilt your head at Kazuha.

“-I think Mala’s the person to talk to about that.” Kazuha scoots her chair closer to you. “Your friends all had a pretty good night when it came to romance.”

You groan as a wave of nausea hits you - damn hangovers and their horrible timing!

“What about me?” You ask out of plain curiosity. 

“What about you…” Kazuha trails off with a playful look on her face.

~

You were chased outside by Katie… well, some of you were. Others were too drunk to function, so rides had to be arranged, and some were growing tired as the moon continued to rise into the sky. 

Yunjin and Kazuha were still there… among others, but none were as notable as them. 

In the moonlight, Kazuha’s skin glistened as someone set up a speaker in the backyard. Like a moon to its planet, you’re pulled into her orbit as you dance together to a song you can’t quite name. Your bodies flow together as if the cosmos deemed for you two to be together.

And, of course, nothing ends a perfect first dance like a perfect first kiss. Your lips move against hers in perfect harmony as you stop swaying to the music. 

You part from her, with both you and her shyly looking away from each other, when Yunjin pulls you close to her.

“You two can’t have all of the fun~” She teases before lightly kissing your cheek. 

You don’t have time to process what happened with Kazuha when Yunjin dances with you to a much faster-paced song. You find time to tease each other, to carefully expose your feelings without being too over-the-top. It’s a delicate dance, a high-intensity card game where you both wait to play your aces.

You play yours first - pulling her flush to you as the song comes to a close.

She plays her ace after yours - her hands pull your face close to hers, and her lips devour yours with a hunger that you’ve never known before.

Another partygoer has to pull the two of you away from each other, wanting you to “not cause a scene”. As if you haven’t done enough of that tonight.

You’re stuck between two worlds, a fork in the road that leads to two different good endings.

What do you do now?

~

“Then Yunjin and I ended up kissing, and we tried to call a ride back to the apartment. I don’t think the driver knew where we were going, since we ended up here.” Kazuha shows you a flier that she found on the desk - the hotel has a similar name to their apartment building, so the mix-up suddenly makes a lot more sense.

“I think we all drank too much,” You groan as you lay down on the bed. “But I don’t regret kissing you or Yunjin, not one bit.”

“So you remembered?” A hopeful glint appears in Kazuha’s eyes.

“I told you that I remembered bits and pieces, but as you were telling me what happened, it all started to click and my memories… sorted themselves out, I guess.” You place a hand over your eyes to prevent any sunlight or artificial light from entering your eyes. “Still doesn’t explain where Yunjin is though.”

The hotel door room is slammed open as someone stumbles into the room.

“Yunjin!” Kazuha explains as you carefully sit up and remove your hand from your eyes.

Yunjin’s hair is an absolute mess, sticking up in all sorts of directions and curling in places that it didn’t curl before.

“My head is killing me.” She grumbles before face planting on the bed. “The breakfast here sucks, by the way. Why don’t we go back home?”

“Do you remember much from last night?” You look over at Yunjin, who lifts her head and smirks at you.

“Which part - the party, the kissing, or the hotel room shenanigans?” 

Your eyes widen as you look over at Kazuha - she’s just as flabbergasted as you.

“I’ll tell you all when we’re not hungover, preferably over coffee.” She says before laying her head back on the bed.

“It sounds like you’re asking us on a date, Yunjin.” You tease as Yunjin sighs.

“I wanna sleep, can we talk about this later?”

“We’ll talk later. Goodnight, Yunjin-” Kazuha says before she hears soft snoring from the other bed. “That was fast.”

“Do you want to rest, or would you rather clean up and get ready?” You ask.

“I could use a nap. Once I was semi-sober, I was looking up and down the hotel for Yunjin. I wonder where she went…” Kazuha shrugs as you slide off of the bed. “You aren’t tired?”

“I have to let the other Paladins know where I’m at.” You check the clock - 8:35 a.m.

Neon and King are probably still hungover, so Katie and Mala are the only people you should call right now. You don’t really want anyone to call you since you’re hungover, so you’ll offer the other boomers that basic respect.

“Kazuha, is it okay if I-” You pause as you watch Kazuha’s chest rise and fall - she’s dead asleep, too.

You look over to Yunjin, then back to Kazuha, and then to your phone.

You’d figure everything out, over coffee and other hangover cures. And you had one hell of a story to tell the other Paladins when you got home.

[haithamuse]

SYNOPSIS.     five times you were prepared when jing yuan summoned you. yet one time, he managed to catch you off guard.

TAGS.     sfw, reader is a cloud knight, can be read as either platonic or romantic, jy is a menace

A/N.     i'm back !! this is based on prompt #857 from @creativepromptsforwriting and their weekend game! helped me a lot to write smth for our favourite cat dad and get back into the groove. i love him a normal amount <3 may or may not write a part 2 to this

You are meticulous—always on top of things and reliable. It is hard to catch you off-guard, which is a core quality you need to stand your ground within the Cloud Knights. You stand out amongst your peers for your perseverance, therefore it is hardly a surprise that you caught the General's attention.

Even then, it does little to rattle your resolve. You have worked hard to get to this point—and it seems like it has paid off.

Your relationship with Jing Yuan started like any other between a superior and those working under him. Though you had hoped—expected—to be acknowledged by him one day, it doesn't make you any less ecstatic to have reached your achievement. You have received orders and interacted with him before, but to receive his commendation is something else.

For the General, it isn't much different. He thinks your outstanding achievement shouldn't go unacknowledged, but Jing Yuan isn't that shallow. To have such a dedicated soldier among his ranks—he ought to get to know you better.

And so it begins.

In hindsight, you can recount all the meetings you had with Jing Yuan to the finest detail—for better or for worse.

The first time he summons you, you straight up refuse. He may be the Luofu's General, but that does not give him the right to put a dent in your routine. Many have called you out on your audacity to deny the summons, but you simply shrugged in reply. If it isn't an emergency, Jing Yuan has to wait.

And he does wait.

He doesn't mind because, on that day, he gains another piece to the puzzle that is you. The General learns that you are not someone who likes being told what to do. It is quite a contradiction for your occupation, but it intrigues him all the more.

The second time he summons you, Jing Yuan has learned from his mistake. He makes sure to ask for your time in advance, allowing you to carve out some time in your schedule to join him for a game of chess.

At this point, you start questioning why he insists on spending so much time with you in private. It isn't like you are bothered because, truthfully, you enjoy his company. Yet still, the cynical part of your brain can't help but wonder what his motives may be.

The third time he summons you, you are prepared. There is no prior notice, but you don't need one—you have already cleared a time window for him in advance.

The fourth and fifth times, he asks you for a time and date. By now, he has long learned that you like to be in charge of your time—and he allows you that freedom.

But for the sixth time, he finally manages to catch you off guard. He does so without prior notice, and you think that all the progress you have made with him was all for naught. However, your thoughts are quickly dismissed when Yanqing is sent to fetch you, claiming it is an emergency. Surprised by the suddenness of the request, you feel a mixture of curiosity and slight apprehension as you make your way to his study.

When you arrive, you find Jing Yuan pacing back and forth, deep in thought. He looks up as you enter, a faint smile playing on his lips. Without exchanging any pleasantries, he gets straight to the point. "There's been an impromptu development proposed by Miss Tingyun. Our Astral friends are bound to depart soon, and she'd like to organize a small event to show our gratitude."

The anxiety you felt for another disaster looming over the Luofu is replaced by utter confusion, and you waste no time in voicing your feelings. "But surely that can wait, right? You had summoned me for an emergency, so that should take precedence."

He does not grace you with a response. Instead, his faint smile only grows wider, and you notice his eyes twinkle with mischievousness. Suddenly, you become painfully aware of the situation you find yourself in. There is no emergency, and Jing Yuan has you right where he wants you to be.

As he continued, he disregarded your exclamation, his eyes fixated on your face, your sudden realization mirrored in your expression. "I'd like you to accompany me to the event. As my plus one, so to speak."

"W-What?" you immediately splutter. You swear you see him grin even wider, but you can't be sure as the heat rising to your face is too distracting. You know the General can be bold, but you didn't think you'd be at the mercy of his wit like this. Before you can help yourself, more questions stumble out of your mouth before you can stop them. "When?"

"Now," he glances at the small clock on his desk. "Or rather, about 45 minutes from now."

You swear you short-circuit on the spot—any stoicism you had hoped to display now utterly failing you. That's not enough time to prepare. Why would he only tell me now? Why would he ask me?

As a million thoughts race through your mind, you haven't noticed that Jing Yuan has left the seat behind his desk and is now standing in front of you. You are too caught up in your mind to notice that there is a lot less proximity between you now, only noticing him when he speaks. "There's no need to panic. It's an informal event," his voice drops low, his tone surprisingly gentle. "But I'd be honored to have you accompany me."

Finally, you lifted your head to gaze into his golden eyes. Gone was any sign of mischief, replaced by a comforting golden hue that enveloped your senses. A hue you think could wrap itself around you and offer comfort for ages to come. It is hard to come up with a response, but you won't get a chance to utter it anyway.

A hand rested gently on your shoulder, as Jing Yuan leaned in and spoke softly, "Meet me back here in an hour. There's no need to stress." But you swear you can hear the smirk in his voice as he moves towards the exit.

When he is gone, there is only one thought left in your mind.

What a scoundrel.

[reasonsforhope]

"A new community housing development in the Bronx will feature a cool piece of kit: an on-site aerobic digester that can turn 1,100 pounds of food scraps into 220 pounds of high-quality fertilizer every single day.

Built by Harp Renewables, it’s basically a big stomach filled with bacteria that breaks down food scraps and wasted food into their component parts, and in the future could be a standard part of all apartment units as the amount of food waste in American reaches 30% of the total mass of all trash collection.

The Peninsula, organized by Gilbane Development Company, will feature 740 units of affordable housing, 50,000 square-foot light industrial space and equal sized green space, and 15,000 feet of commercial space, all of which will send their castaway comestibles right into the digester...

Fast Company reports that Christina Grace, founder of a zero-waste food management company, helped plan the design and implementation of the digester into The Peninsula, and helped organize a 40% grant from the city to pay the $50,000 upfront cost.

“The goal is for this material to work its way into the community garden network in the Bronx,” [Christina Grace, who helped plan the design] told the magazine, adding that she expects it to pay for itself over just a few years. “We see this as highly replicable in both commercial and residential venues. We know there’s a need for fertilizer.”

Producing fertilizer right there in the city reduces the need for it to be trucked in from afar, chipping away, even if just a bit, at NYC traffic.

Big problem solver

Perhaps uniquely beneficial to New York City compared to other spots in the U.S. is that the digester will have a significant impact on the Bronx’s share of the city’s rodent problem.

Those who’ve watched the Morgan Spurlock documentary Rats will understand why that’s significant—while those that haven’t will have to imagine what living in a megacity where rats outnumber people by around 8 or 10 to 1 looks like.

Another big problem the bio-digesters could potentially help is pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Fertilizer is a big emitter of all three of the most-targeted GHGs. Fertilizer, like quarry dust and ammonia is, like so many commodities, often imported from countries who specialize in its production, such as Norway, but also Russia and Ukraine, whose conflict has recently highlighted the fragility of the supply chain with sharp increases in prices...

Bio-digesters by design keep the CO2 and methane in the fertilizer produced, rather than it entering the atmosphere.

For these reasons and more, the aerobic bio-digester is slowly making its way into residential and industrial spaces around the country.

GNN reported on an enormous bio-digester at the heart of the D.C. advanced resource (sewage) recovery center outside the capital, and on the use of bio-digesters on Australian pig farms which are helping reduce the environmental and psychological impact of the effluent produced from such operations.

Harp Renewables tweeted how happy they were to have installed their bio-digester in the town of Cashel, Ireland.

Expect to see more stories like this pop up around the globe."

-via Good News Network, March 17, 2022

Note: Obviously gentrification bad and "affordable housing" is sometimes nowhere near as affordable as it should be, etc. etc. That said, this is such a fantastic use case that I felt I had to post it anyway.

[cartoonsforlife]

Black Hat X Reader

The evil boss's new employee

Includes: Black Hat X Reader,

Warnings: Slightly spicy content

It seemed like over a fucking hour since you arrived at Hat Manor, sitting on a red velvet baroque armchair across from the desk, in the company of the great and infamous Villain: Lord Black Hat.

Indeed, after several unsuccessful attempts to find a job, you had found a card on your door with the phone number and emblem of the Black Hat Organization. At first, you were hesitant. You had already heard about this organization and what it consisted of. You had even watched several of their videos on YouTube to learn more. You are an ordinary human being, you have never committed a criminal act and the idea of ​​working for the most feared and dangerous being in the Universe makes you shiver with fear. However, you had no other options. It was an unexpected chance. You had grabbed your cell phone with a trembling hand and dialed the number that was written on the card. It had only taken 5 seconds to pick up. To your relief, it was not Black Hat on the other end of the line but his faithful right-hand man and scientist Dr. Flug. You had explained your situation to the doctor and he had granted you a job interview with the boss of the Organization in a few days. You were both relieved and anxious. If you make a good impression on Black Hat, maybe he will accept that you work for him. But one wrong step and it will be over for you. Forever.

In the end, the job interview went pretty well, to your surprise. You were nervous when you entered the office and stood in front of Lord Black Hat. Even though he was intimidating at first, he was strangely patient and professional with you. He asked you questions about yourself, your motivations, your knowledge of his company, and you had to explain to him why he should hire you. This last question destabilized you a little but you had managed to find the right words to convince him.

A mischievous smile appears on the evil being's face and makes a contract and a fountain pen appear in front of you in a cloud of black smoke.

You slowly reach out to the pen and carefully read the contract on the desk. Your heartbeat accelerates and you don't know if it's because of excitement or anxiety. You knew that once you signed that contract you would literally lose your soul and there would be no turning back but on the other hand you would finally be free from that fucking unemployed status.

Black Hat taps his gloved fingers impatiently on the wood of his desk, his eyes fixed on you, disturbing you in the process. You grab the pen without wasting another second and sign your name at the bottom of the contract.

The entity displays a satisfied smile and begins to chuckle. He makes the pen and the signed contract disappear in a green flame.

"Perfect! Welcome to the Black Hat Organization, Miss (Y/n)! You will start your work tomorrow! On your first day, Dr. Flug will guide you and explain your tasks to be performed!"

"T-Thank you, sir! I will not disappoint you, I promise!"

As you were about to get up from your chair and leave the room, your boss calls out to you.

"One more thing!"

"Yes, sir?"

Silence…

Black Hat stares at you again. His gaze is neutral this time. An uneasy feeling invades you. You have always hated when someone looks at you like that. It makes you feel like a frightened prey that risks being eaten by a hungry predator every time when someone looks at you like that.

To break the awkward silence that reigns, a little too long for your liking, in this room, you ask him why he wants to keep you after the interview. Could it be that he has changed his mind?

Black Hat smiles at the worry on your face and stands up from his throne to walk over to you.

You lean back in your chair when he is only a few inches away from you.

"Tell me, my dear? Has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?"

That left you speechless. You didn't expect that kind of question at all, especially coming from him! Since he kind of complimented you.

"I… I beg your pardon?"

He leans over and reaches his gloved hand towards your head to slowly caress your cheek. His touch sends a small shiver down your spine and you feel the red burning in your face.

"They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, right? In yours, I see that you had gone through many difficult trials to achieve your goal. You were determined despite the many failures that upset you. No one encouraged you and supported you, not even your family… You could always do it on your own. Oh, poor little thing…”

The being mocks. The image of you curled up on yourself, desperate to be stuck in a vicious circle forever, alone, without having someone to support you and help you get through this overwhelming ordeal makes him tear a smirk. What an asshole.

You were speechless. Everything he said was true. How could he have guessed all this just by looking at your eyes? You were about to ask him when Black Hat brought his face closer to yours. His cold breath made you shiver again. Your heart was pounding in your chest that you were convinced would burst any second. You gasped involuntarily when you felt the evil entity's hand slide from your face to your neck. He ran a clawed finger over the curve of your neck to trace a thin, scarlet line. A hiss of pain came out of your mouth. You felt a drop of warm, wet pearl slide from your neck to your collarbone. Alarmed, you mechanically grabbed Black Hat's wrist to push his clawed hand away from your now bloodied neck, but his superhuman strength didn't allow it.

"What are… what are you doing?! Stop…!"

“Calm down, my dear.” He orders in a confident but firm voice. “I promise you that if you stay still, it will hurt less. Unless you would prefer to start your work day with your neck shredded?” The bastard laughs like crazy as if it were the best joke he has ever told. He grabs your hand that is still clinging to his wrist and squeezes it tightly in warning. If you rebel, you can be sure that he will break your bones with a single grip.

“No…! NOOO!” You answer in a voice mixed with panic and frustration, reluctantly accepting your defeat.

“Good!” He smiles as he releases your hand and you abruptly place it back on the armrest to hold yourself as if your life truly depended on it.

“Now…” He continues in a soft, husky voice. Relax and look closely at my eye, miss (Y/N). Focus on my voice and my eye."

You do exactly as he ordered. You notice that his visible yellowish eye changes color: rings of varying colors moved around his thin pupil. Your gaze remains fixed, captivated by his eye and you begin to enter a trance. You could only see colors dancing around you and only Black Hat's voice can be heard in your ears.

"Surrender to me, mi quérida. Surrender to your Lord and master!"

"Yes, my Lord." You answer in a whisper, now completely under Black Hat's spell.

"Very well. Now tilt your head back."

You obey.

He then brings his large mouth towards your abused neck and slides his reptilian and rough tongue on the bloody line he drew on you earlier.

A moan escapes your mouth at the contact of his tongue.

The villain smiles at your reaction. Without delay he sinks his sharp mint green fangs into your skin, making you tear out a cry of surprise. Tears flow from your cheeks as Black Hat sucks your blood. He lets out a muffled and animalistic moan when he feels the sweet taste of your life essence slip into his throat. Fuck! It had been an eternity since he drank human blood. Of course he doesn't need it to survive but he must admit its taste and smell are so intoxicating.

He unclenches his teeth from your neck and licks the drops of blood from your bite before straightening up. With a snap of his fingers, he releases you from your trance.

You whistle painfully and immediately bring your hand to your neck which is causing you martyrdom.

"What is it…? What did you do to me?" You ask disconcerted.

"Don't worry, my dear. My mark will disappear from you in a few hours…" He says reluctantly.

He would have preferred to keep his mark on you forever to make you understand that you belong to him. "It would be a shame to get into trouble on your first day." He adds mischievously.

You immediately understand who he is referring to: A certain green-haired lizard woman who will not hesitate to kill you if you approach her dear beloved boss.

"Now go! You have to get ready and go to sleep because tomorrow your first day will be intensive!"

"Yes, sir!"

This writing idea came to me this morning at work during a discussion with one of my clients and inspired me for this story without knowing it! I thank her for that! 😊

[ninjagirlstar5]

I was struck with a Swap AU 3 days ago...

I did most of my rambling on Discord, so I'm just gonna copy and paste those under specific groups and characters for organization.

The Hollowheads

Chosen: - Swaps places with victim. - Alan creates Chosen first and gets more than he bargained for like in canon, but he actually manages to delete Chosen before he could escape onto the PC (but obviously he survives somehow like canon!victim). - Chosen starts up a company making weapons and shit, even though he technically doesn't like it but it's all he's ever really known to do so… - Chosen is still like, "nah, I'm evil" and goes along with the flow to get what he wants, even if he's not proud of all the weapons he's made over the years. So yes, he would torture someone. (*cough* victim *cough*)

victim: - Swaps places with Chosen. - Alan learns his lesson in Not creating another Chosen but instead creates victim to torment her, only letting her out whenever he feels bored. This ends up backfiring as well as the moment she escapes from Adobe flash, she steals all the tools and lashes out on his PC, which creates far more destruction than he thought she was capable of. - Since Second takes Dark's place, victim becomes besties with him! I'm sure this fallout won't be painful for both of them! (sarcasm) - The tools vic creates and used in the first episode and the Box becomes tools she can pull out at any time with the use of some UI wristbands she made after she and Sec escape Alan's PC so that she can never be powerless ever again (cause she still doesn't have powers in this AU). She even has a hoverbike (like the Mercs have) that she created for herself to help her travel better next to Second. - After she escapes the PC with Second, who is a little brother figure to her, she becomes a terrorist out of spite and anger. Unlike canon!Chosen, who loses interest and becomes more guilty over time, victim's fury fueled her for years. It isn't until Second proposes his plan (elaborated in his section) that victim is hit and crushed with the realization that she ended up fucking up Second to the point that he thinks his plan is okay and tries to stop him. It ends as well as you'd expect. - After this, victim ends up regretting her actions as a terrorist as lashing out at others through her vengeful and spiteful behavior due to her own pain caused so much suffering. Including someone she cared for, like Second in a way. - victim is definitely NOT okay with Alan and never will be (and by that, I mean, she'll never forgive him for what he's done to her, regardless of his change of heart and wants nothing to do with him at this point).

And then there the Box Scene with vic and Chosen:

victim still has all her tools, but Chosen has his powers. victim tries to fight back but one by one, her tools get deleted from her hands as Chosen slowly shows her that he's not just a regular stick. Unlike her, they have actual powers and had been holding back to give her the illusion that she ever had a chance to fight him, quickly turning into a curb-stomp battle. To make matters worse, Chosen…almost seems amused that she's trying to fight against him so damn hard.

But vic nearly gets the upper hand by trying to explode her remaining tools with her and Chosen with them. But unfortunately for her, someone (maybe Agent, maybe someone else) intervenes and deletes the tool on the spot, causing Chosen to lay to waste on her with his fire before finally tying her into the chair.

Second: - Swaps places with Dark. - Alan creates Second based off of Chosen's old code, and sicks him on victim. But he didn't realize that Second would put together that victim is, well, a victim to Alan and chooses to team up with her instead, causing them work together to explode the PC and escape into the OuterNet together. - When victim started doing terrorism, Second was dragged along with her even though he didn't want to do it initially. But because victim was his friend and sister, he goes along with it and ends up getting more and more into it as time goes on. - Eventually, Second tells victim his plan: to wipe out the OuterNet and the Internet to replace with happy zero-conflict people (under their control), essentially destroying sticks' codes and reviving them with his powers but with the twist that he'd replace certain coding to brainwash them so that conflict won't ever exist, period. This is ignoring the fact that he'd be taking away people's agency in the process. victim, who lacked agency for most of her beginning years, doesn't take it well. - Second is just so, so determined to protect victim. He learned it all from her, his big sis. How they must take in order to survive and show no restraint to others. How people hurt cause conflict towards others. But if he can get rid of that conflict in the first place, then she'll have nothing to worry about! He can keep her safe! He wants to keep her safe! He wants to do her proud!

So why is she fighting him? Can't she tell that he's doing all of this for her?

Dark: - Swaps places with Second. - Alan accidentally creates Dark years later, who immediately befriends different versions of the Color Gang (who I have not gotten around to yet, oops), he comes back to see them alive, deletes them, and Dark goes on a rampage. - But this time, instead of Alan relating to Second's ability to draw and animate like in canon, in the AU it goes a bit differently. In his haste to get rid of Dark, he accidentally gets a virus onto his computer which threatens to destroy his work. But Dark, who was also threatened by this virus, attacks and destroys it pretty easily before reprogramming it onto his side and Alan is like, "oh shit, new firewall?" and boxes Dark in, trying to talk him into protecting his PC. He refuses at first, but when Alan brings back the Gang, he agrees...on the condition that this shit doesn't happen again and he gets to play with his friends. - Cue Dark and Alan getting along as he helps keep viruses off of the PC as security and has new friends he can hang out with. He also got to keep the malware that originally threatened Alan as a pet (virabot spider is now just a securebot spider). - Dark is having the time of his life fucking around with his own Color Gang friends. - Dark & Chosen interaction:

Chosen: "Quit your friend group."

Dark: "What."

Chosen: "Join my emo company."

Dark: "Ew, no, that's cringe, lmao" - Dark: "Destruction and chaos!!! But not terrorism, that's for losers, lmao" - Swap!Dark @ Swap!victim while she's stuck in the box

In the Showdown: - Swap!Dark is the Devil to Canon!Second's God, send tweet - victim watches her lil brother get eviscerated and instead of worshipping the ground Dark walks on like how Canon!Chosen respects Canon!Second for his powers, victim…is actually kinda scared of Dark. - Dark was still able to revive the others despite his powers being more along pure destruction and corruption thanks to Second's project of wiping everything clean and reviving things with new code. He just used his powers to start the code without Second's permission and revive everyone without changing their programming or memories. - She still goes to Dark as a last resort since the Mercs have been giving her a run for her money and since she lacks any sort of powers, victim has to rely on her tools for protection. Tools that just don't seem to be enough against these Mercs and she finally decides that if she wants to be free for good, she needs someone that could obliterate them easily. And she knew just who that person is…

At least, she thought she did. What the hell does he mean that he doesn't remember jackshit? - Also, this video is 100% Dark phoning Gold & Orchid while he's imprisoned in RocketCorp.

Speaking of Gold and Orchid...

AVM Characters

Gold: - Swaps places with his dad, Mango. - Jumping into this, instead of Gold getting killed, Mango was able to open up the entrance this time and grabs Gold to pull him out…but he slips and ends up taking his place instead, leaving Gold to watch him get killed and essentially orphaned. He's very much in shock about the whole thing and while he's placed in Maroon's custody, he refuses to leave the house they lived in so Maroon is trying to pay for both which puts stress on their family. Gold feels bad but can't help but feel like his dad is still out there somewhere, lost in Minecraft's coding even though people keep telling him that he's "gone." One day, he comes across his dad's engineering notes and he's struck with the idea of taking apart Minecraft to bring his dad back and picks up a part-time job at RocketCorp (I did not come up with a new name for Chosen's company, oops) to both learn more about tools and to help pay off the bills and stuff, even going as far as to use the savings Mango stashed away secretly for his future and splurging it all to create the perfect tool. - Basically, Gold is about to tear the universe apart just to see if he can get his dad back.

Orchid: - Swaps places with her child, Purple. - Ngl to you guys, Orchid is going through it. For starters, her partner has been training their child way too hard. That was already causing a lot of strain on all of their relationships. And then Purple gets sick and Orchid does her best to take care of him while Navy fumes at the "weakness" but puts the training on hold anyways. But then they start going through this cycle of Purple getting better and then worse and then better again, to the point that Purple is stuck at the hospital and Orchid is the only one that tries to visit and take care of them. Navy is only getting more and more fed up with Purple, with Orchid just begging him to stay and saying that Purple will get better, she will! He just needs their unconditional support and love so he can focus on getting better. - But Purple doesn't get better and as Orchid holds onto his hand, he says sorry for being so weak and Orchid shushes him, saying that they're not weak. Not at all. They're being very brave right now. But she should rest her eyes. Orchid will be here in the morning. - By the time the doctors tell both of them that Purple has passed away, Orchid is a fucking mess but has start to shut down as a sort of coping mechanism. And Navy, just like in canon…abandons her and their child for being weak. Orchid, unable to cope in the OutetNet, leaves on a whim and escapes to the Mac and finds Minecraft, which ends up becoming a sort of comfort game for her but is also where she spends all of her time, pretty much refusing to face reality. - It isn't until she meets the members of this version of the Color Gang that she starts to snap out of it a little. She also doesn't abandon them in The End simply because I don't really see her doing that, so the Color Gang has a higher opinion on her from the start and it's her experience with them that she's a bit more willing to go back to the OuterNet and try again.

Orchid and Gold's dynamic and story:

Orchid is…doing better but hasn't exactly fully recovered either. While she is trying to get her life back together now that she chose to go back to the OuterNet, she's…struggling to get much motivation for anything really and often refers to other people for guidance and help. She doesn't have a job she enjoys, her bills had piled up while she hid away in Minecraft, and she doesn't have any friends outside of those two members of the Color Gang. And even then, she's barely keeping in contact with them. She's on her way back from visiting her child's grave when she hears a voice yelling over something and she turns to look.

It was…well, not exactly a young child, but someone that was barely an adult. He seems to be freaking out over a video being played on a display TV and showing something off to people in the vicinity. The people simply shrugged in response and left him be, the boy staring at the TV in contemplation. Curious, Orchid walks over to see what all the fuss about.

And sees Dark and the Color Gang playing around with the Minecraft icon. Without thinking, Orchid points out that she knows these kids and the boy turns around and goes, "YOU DO?!" The desperation and joy catches her off-guard but she doesn't deny it. The boy grabs a hold of her shoulders, shaking her with the biggest grin on his face, asking if he could help her with something, showing off the page about the Minecraft Icon block. She hesitates and he notices this, quickly backing off and apologizing for stepping over her boundaries, but says that if she decides to help, here's his address. He then scurries away pretty quickly and Orchid can only look on dumbfounded. But she can't deny that this peaked her interest enough that she drops by to visit after work. The young boy is ecstatic that she dropped by and opens up his front door with ease, letting her step inside. It was…something of a mess and he apologizes for it before introducing himself as Gold.

Orchid introduces herself as well and her eyes land on a nearby photo, picking it up without thinking. It's the photo of Mango and Gold when he was a kid and she nearly asks where his father is when Gold snatches it from her hands. She cowers and apologizes upon seeing the distressed, almost angry look in Gold's eyes but it quickly disappears as he says it's okay. This is…actually the reason why he needs help. Setting the photo aside, he shows off the staff he made to Orchid, which quickly amazes her when he shows off how it works. She's heard of command blocks but she never came across one herself. Gold then explains that the reason why he made this staff is because he, well…he lost his father when a Minecraft server got corrupted. But he believes that he's still alive, Gold just needs to retrieve him from Minecraft's coding and bring him back. A small part of Orchid finds this…concerning but her empathy for Gold's grief thanks to losing her own child and her desire to help outweighs her concern, and she asks how she could help. Gold grins and tells her that they need to come up with a plan to get the Minecraft Icon block from that Color Gang she's befriended without….angering them, he suppose. Orchid furrows her brow but Gold explains that he's not sure that they'll let him tear into Minecraft's coding even if it's to bring his dad back, not to mention that the icon is essentially the game itself for them. They might not want to give up their game to a stranger or even a friend. Orchid admits that Dark and co. do seem a bit protective of the things they have and Gold is convinced that they need to be sneaky about this. Which is when he asks Orchid to follow him since they can walk and talk before pausing and asking how much she knows about Minecraft. That's when Orchid shows off her elytra, which is very well kept, and Gold gets excited upon seeing it but quickly tempers his reaction for some reason.

Gold explains the plan, Orchid helps Gold take over the NetherFort and recruit the piglins to their side, and as Gold is contemplating his role as leader, Orchid is struck with an idea and pulls out the old crown she had made for the Color Gang when they were helping to lead a village. She kneels down and holds out the crown, asking if Gold would like to be the first King in the Nether. Gold stares at the crown and giggles, saying that this feels a bit silly. Orchid admits that it is, just a little bit, but the crown would symbolize Gold's status as leader here and it would help tell people who's in charge. Gold then asks what Orchid's role would be, and she simply says that she could be the "steward," someone that supervises and organizes the plans while the King can focus on other matters in public. It's then that Gold accepts the crown and asks her to call him King Gold from now on, and Orchid asks if being called Your Majesty would make him happy in a teasing manner. Gold, who hasn't let himself feel like a child in a long time, blushes and looks away, an obvious admittance that yes, he does.

Orchid helps trick the Color Gang into the track thingy and she feels pretty bad about it, but Gold reassures her that since they're out of the way, they won't get hurt in case something goes wrong and Orchid reluctantly agrees, trying to convince the bad feeling in her gut to go away. This is for Gold and his dad, after all. If there's even a small chance that he could be brought back, shouldn't she support Gold? She'd do the same for Purple, honestly…

It isn't until they receive the news that one of the Color Gang members escaped and she witnesses Gold actually kill the messenger on the spot that she goes, "oh. Oh I might be in over my head here."

When Gold demands her to get the icon while she still can, she hesitates. But Gold slams down his staff and she immediately caves in, saying that she'll be right back and runs off to do as she's told. Of course, she gets confronted by the Color Gang member and they're livid at her betrayal, especially since unlike Purple, who had at least betrayed them once before seemingly mellowing out after the events of LoL, Orchid was actually a very trustworthy person that tried to protect the gang at the time. So this betrayal stings even more because it came from someone that they genuinely trusted as a friend. Orchid feels bad, but she simply says that the Majesty's plans are…are too important to give up like this and she needs to help him. This argument quickly turns into a fight, with King Gold intervening and imprisoning them, with Orchid apologizing about the delay (and apologizing to the CG member) before flying off.

Things go about the same way, although we get to witness Orchid kicking ass cause turns out she used to be a fighter back in the day before she got married to her shitty partner, damn. Orchid comes back with the icon, King Gold thanks her, inputs it into the staff and proceeds to obliterate the roof and the very sky itself and Orchid just stares on in horror as the implications sink in.

Things start to escalate pretty quickly after that as everyone starts fighting for their lives, with Orchid watching on in horror. She's stuck between wanting to support King Gold despite the world-ending consequences, and wanting to help the Color Gang even though she had betrayed their trust. The battle gets worse and worse, King Gold demands that she does something and Orchid flounders as she orders the piglins to fight the gang. But this choice doesn't make her feel any better and as the nether portals are created, she finally caves in and runs away, not realizing that she's being followed.

This is when the Note Block World happens with Orchid's backstory reveal, and Orchid's character development essentially boils down to, "gaining a backbone and making the active choice to confront someone about their issues and questionable choices, even if it means causing conflict in your relationship with one another." Orchid has been struggling with indecisiveness and speaking up on matters for years thanks to her past partnership with Navy, and losing Purple had only cause her to shut down, running away and burying herself into Minecraft to ignore all the issues she had. But it did nothing to make her feel any better. And now, here she is, having helped a child in destroying a world and she just…runs. Runs away from the consequences to ignore everything she had done, including handing over the very object that turned the staff into it's most deadliest weapon of itself. Apparently, running is all she's good for - at least, that's what she thought. But the Color Gang member refutes that, telling her she's wrong. If she was a coward, she would've left them back at The End, but she didn't. If she was selfish, she would have used that village for her own gain, but she didn't. If she was evil, she wouldn't be horrified by the actions that had led to this situation happening. She may have chosen to run away but that's simply because she's scared to continue hurting others from the choices she's made.

The Color Gang member reassures her that she's not a bad person. If anything, she's simply someone that is struggling to do good after all the hardships she's been put through. And just because she messed up doesn't make her a bad person. As long as she's willing to take responsibility and make amends for her mistakes, she can take the steps be better, bit by bit. They reach out their hand to Orchid, asking if she's willing to try again and do better. Orchid admits that she's still scared, that she might say or do something wrong, but the CG member says that she won't be alone in this battle. They have each other and they'll watch each others backs and stop King Gold. Orchid stares at their hand…before slowly taking it, apologizing again for what she's done, but admits that perhaps she should've done this from the start. She should've put her foot down sooner. She knows that King Gold needs to be stopped, but she also knows that he needs help more than anyone here. And as an adult, it's time for her to intervene…even if it's by force.

And yes, this means that Orchid punches Gold in the face. It's okay, she had to get the staff out of his hands for a reason.

King Gold is feeling pretty betrayed by Orchid's sudden switch of teams, and is too blinded by rage and grief to really listen to what she has to say. So the fight goes on, the mobs get erased including Herobrine, Dark and co. + Orchid struggle to stop King Gold until she pulls together her resolve and faces the laser head on. King Gold is trying to blast her away, but as Orchid reaches out her hand, Gold suddenly gets flashbacks to the very day he had lost his father. The day he let his childish excitement get the better of him and endanger his own life to a reality game, his father unwittingly sacrificing himself just to save his life. He tries to shake it off…but when Orchid gets blasted away, just like his own father, he can't help it: he drops the staff and runs, jumping into the laser after her.

For the realization and reconciliation scene, I've been going back and forth in my head on how it would go. I think it would start with King Gold walking through the white void, wondering how he got there and probably calling out for his dad. His dad must be here, right? This is…This is where the end of Minecraft is, isn't it? So…where is he? That's when their house appears and Gold, thinking that his dad is waiting for him inside, runs up to the door and opens it up, yelling out for his dad. But no one answers. Gold searches the house but there's still no one around.

He's all alone. He's still all alone.

Gold stares at the wall, full of drawings of his own plan, his dad's disappearance…no, his dad's death, alongside all the life inside Minecraft dying from his own hands shoved right in his face, a game he used to love with passion. And yet, amongst those drawings was a pink stick figure crossing paths with him, following after him, waving at him, reaching out to him again and again and again. That stick figure was still reaching out even now with wide open arms.

"You can come here. Come here to me. It'll be okay."

Gold swallows.

It's not as if everything will ever be the same again.

"No. It can't be same. I can't promise it'll ever be the same again. But it can be better. We can be better. Together."

Gold squeezes his hands.

He wants his dad back.

...But he's never coming back…is he?

And yet, Orchid was still standing there, waiting for him. Allowing him the choice to come to her on his own terms. A promise that she'll always be here, waiting.

And Gold didn't want to wait.

He forces himself onto his feet. He reaches for the door. He hesitates for only a second but opens it up.

Orchid turns, purple petals of flowers by her feet.

Gold breathes.

And runs into her arms, the crown falling off of his head.

He can feel the surprise in her body before she gracefully returns the hug, pulling him close.

And then everything gets fixed by Dark and co., Gold goes to Maroon and apologizes for the strain he indirectly caused by refusing to make compromises (like with the house) and goes to live with Orchid officially after a long discussion between all of them, and we now have the mother and son duo. Yahoo.

And yes, Gold definitely joins the "Let's Kill Navy" club.

Gold: "I just wanna talk to them."

Orchid: "Wha-"

Gold, raising the staff: "I just wanna talk to them."

Orchid: "WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE THE STAFF??"

Anyways, this is about all I've come up with so far. I haven't even touched the Color Gang or the Mercs, but I'm thinking the Color Gang switches interests and roles while the Mercs end up changing their art styles which effects their personalities a bit but are otherwise somewhat the same? It's something to think about. Now imagine this as Dark commentating on Orchid and Gold's drama during AVM S3.

[jonsonmoond123]

We believe in reducing waste generations rates, and where waste has to be produced, to convert into a useful resource for a circular economy.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

In 2014, the Guardian asked me to nominate my hero of the year. To some people’s surprise, I chose Russell Brand. I loved the way he energised young people who had been alienated from politics. I claimed, perhaps hyperbolically, he was “the best thing that has happened to the left in years” (in my defence, there wasn’t, at the time, much competition).

Today, I can scarcely believe it’s the same man. I’ve watched 50 of his recent videos, with growing incredulity. He appears to have switched from challenging injustice to conjuring phantoms. If, as I suspect it might, politics takes a very dark turn in the next few years, it will be partly as a result of people like Brand.

It’s hard to decide which is most dispiriting: the stupidity of some of the theories he recites, or the lack of originality. He repeatedly says he’s not a conspiracy theorist, but, to me, he certainly sounds like one.

In 2014, he was bursting with new ideas and creative ways of presenting them. Today, he wastes his talent on tired and discredited tales: endless iterations of the alleged evils of the World Economic Forum founder, Klaus Schwab, the Great Reset, Bill Gates, Nancy Pelosi, the former US chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, Covid vaccines, medical data, the World Health Organization, Pfizer, smart cities and “the globalist masterplan”.

His videos appear to promote “natural immunity” ahead of vaccines, and for a while pushed ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as treatments for Covid (they aren’t).

He championed the “Freedom Convoy” that occupied Ottawa, which apparently stood proudly against the “tyranny” of Justin Trudeau’s policies. He hawks Graham Hancock’s widely debunked claims about ancient monuments.

A wildly popular clip from one of his videos about the Dutch nitrate crisis offers a classic conspiracy theory mashup: a tangle of claims that may be true in other contexts, random accusations, scapegoating and resonances with some old and very ugly tropes. He claims that “this whole fertiliser situation is a scam”. The real objective is “to bankrupt the farmers so their land can be grabbed”. This “shows you how the Great Reset operates”, using “globalist” regulations to throw farmers off their land. He claims it’s “connected to the land grab of Bill Gates” and the “corruption of companies like Monsanto”.

In reality, the Dutch government was forced to act by a legal ruling, as levels of nitrate pollution, largely from livestock farms, break European law. Its attempts to curb this pollution have nothing to do with the World Economic Forum and its vacuous rhetoric about a “Great Reset”. Or with Bill Gates. Or with Monsanto, which hasn’t existed since 2018 when it was bought by Bayer. So why mention them? Perhaps because these terms have become potent click triggers.

Brand is repeating claims first made by far-right conspiracists, who have piled into this issue, claiming that the nitrate crisis is a pretext to seize land from farmers, in whom, they claim, true Dutch identity is vested, and hand it to asylum seekers and other immigrants. It’s a version of the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, itself a reworking of the Nazis’ blood and soil tropes about protecting the “rooted” and “authentic” people – in whom “racial purity” and “true” German identity was vested – from “cosmopolitan” and “alien” forces (ie Jews). Brand may not realise this, as the language has changed a little – “cosmopolitans” have become “globalists”, “aliens” have become “immigrants” – but the themes have not.

On and drearily on he goes. He manages to confuse the World Health Organization’s call for better pandemic surveillance (by which it means the tracking of infectious diseases) with coercive surveillance of the population, creating “centralised systems of control where you are ultimately a serf”.

Some of his many rants about Bill Gates are illustrated with an image of the man wearing a multicoloured lapel badge, helpfully circled in red. This speaks to another widespread conspiracy theory: those who wear this badge are members of a secret organisation conspiring to control the world (so secret they stick it on their jackets). In reality, it shows support for the UN sustainable development goals.

Such claims are not just wrong. They are wearyingly, boringly wrong. But, to judge by the figures (he has more than 6 million subscribers on YouTube), the audience loves them.

Some of his theories, such as his recent obsession with UFOs, are innocuous enough. Others have potential to do great harm. There’s the risk to the people scapegoated, such as Fauci, Schwab and Pelosi: subjects of conspiracy theories often become targets of violence. There are the risks misleading claims present to public health. And bizarre stories about shadowy “elites” protect real elites from scrutiny and challenge.

While I’m not suggesting this is his purpose, it’s a tactic used deliberately by powerful people to disarm those who might otherwise hold them to account. Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, had a term for it: “flood the zone with shit”. As Naomi Klein has shown, the Great Reset conspiracy theory was conceived by a staffer at the Heartland Institute, a US lobby group that has promoted climate denial and other billionaire-friendly positions. It’s a bastardisation of her shock doctrine hypothesis, distracting people from the malfeasance of those with real power.

[stationarcadia]

Announcement

Hello everyone. This is J. R. Steele on the Station Arcadia account today bringing you some updates, announcements, etc.

Firstly, you may have noticed that our website domain is currently unused. We've recently taken down our website, but failed to consider that transcripts would no longer be available. The link to our transcripts will replace the link in our profile bio. Thank you to everyone in the discord server who has been patient with our radio silence, and have updated us on what they need to access.

Second, we want to apologize for dropping off after Season 1. With Season 2 in full production; myself, Andy, and Eli were incredibly overwhelmed by both college, and the responsibility of managing not only a company, but our cast and crew who were also getting burnt out. Pushing this production was proving to be detrimental to our mental and physical health, and so we just left it to sit for a while.

I've been doing my best when possible to reply to folks on discord, and get organized for our next steps, but going radio silent was not the best solution, we know now. As 17/18 year olds, we sort of panicked when everything started to go less smoothly. In addition to that, college apparently takes up a LOT of time? I certainly wasn't expecting that... /lh

But we are not abandoning this podcast. 2020 was a hard year for so many people, but Station Arcadia was the highlight of mine and many others' year. A lot of creatives experienced the hardships of continuing a creative project once real life came back, and we did too. But we managed to create an incredible first season, and a little bit of a second season.

Season 2 does exist! But not in its full form. Over the course of maybe the next few months, or years, the executive team will be discussing how to distribute our content so that you amazing, supportive folks can have full access to our baby. Our writers, worldbuilders, audio editors, musicians, cast members, and everyone else who helps to make this show happen worked incredibly hard to do S2, and we won't let any of that hard work go to waste.

Third, a few internal snags have hit us pretty hard over the past year now. We will not be releasing this information until we've spoken fully with our entire production team and our cast (but rest assured it's nothing too severe).

We've loved our time with every single cast member who has joined this ambitious project. And if any of you have a specific question, we will not hesitate to answer it. It may reach us quicker if you DM or email me (Jaymes) at penofsteele@gmail.com. I will do my best to respond concisely and truthfully.

Lastly, we want to say a few words of thanks to the folks who have stuck with us since the beginning, have supported us both financially and verbally, and have had faith in this project. We promise that even though it will take time, we will not disappoint you!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Stay safe, stay moving, and please stick close. We'll be back soon.

[grissomesque]

i saw your tags on a post about questions to ask as a job applicant and you said only 3 job applicants reached out to you directly and that it really helped them. i was wondering how an applicant should reach out? i never really know what to say

Hi Anon! I love this question, because good hiring practices and quality of work-life are things I'm pretty passionate about. To give a little extra context for whether I know what I'm talking about, in addition to being a hiring manager I am also c-level at a mid-sized production company, where I hire for everything from entry-level contract jobs to specialized creative positions.

We post our job ads on Indeed, and we are able, through their system, to toggle on/off direct messaging and/or phone calls. We keep the phone calls off because we're inundated as it is, and really need to redirect those inquiries to whoever is on point for this hire, usually the department head. That leaves applicants with the option to send our Indeed account a direct message, which reroutes to my email inbox.

Rarely, some highly motivated applicants will go to our website, find our main email address, and send a message that way. I actually prefer the first option because then I don't have to get my admin staff to forward me the emails, but I operate on the assumption that not everyone knows Indeed as well as I do, may not know that direct messages are being closely monitored, and so I appreciate the effort even so.

What kind of things do I love to hear? NOT that you've wanted to work in my entry level position since you were a kid. I do not want my ass kissed. That's a waste of everybody's time. Work is work, and we all get that here. So the best introductory message is short and sweet and no-bullshit, and its primary function is just to get your name top of mind when I'm looking at a pile of thousands of probably-mostly-qualified* applicants:

Hi, my name is [X], I've just applied for [position], and I wanted to take a minute to reach out to you directly and introduce myself. I think I'd be a great fit for this position and would love to talk more about my experience with [x]**. My availability for [time period given in ad] is [x, y, z]. Thank you [or your preferred sign off here]!

When I get a message like that, I stop sifting through the pile and go look at their application right away. Because it tells me several things:

1) They're paying attention to the jobs they're applying to, and their requirements - many people are casting a wide net, whether or not they're truly qualified, and expecting hiring managers (or AI, which we do not use, ever) to weed them out.

2) They're interested enough in the job to take a few extra minutes to get my attention. I'm less likely to be wasting my time offering an interview to someone who's going to ghost me later. If I'm hiring, it's because I'm very, very, very busy and need someone ASAP.

3) **Just a couple of keywords or phrases here. Whatever the job is, vs whatever your transferable experience is. Leadership, creative skill set, efficiency and organization, whatever. This demonstrates attention to detail, an understanding of the job on at least a surface level, and that you actually read the job description (yes: people don't read it).

4) Offering availability in advance helps so, so much with scheduling interviews, but also tells me, again, that this is a motivated applicant.

*Always, always, always submit everything you've been asked to submit. The first thing I do is filter out any missing fields. That's usually the cover letter. A full half to 2/3rds of applicants drop off immediately when I filter out missing cover letters. I know that's unpopular. I have reasons for wanting a cover letter, on which I'd be happy to expand, but I won't here since this is already so very long.

Bonus round: It's important to me that I hire someone who wants to be here. I don't mean you want to be at work all day more than you want to do something else. I would rather be writing outside on my deck. I mean you need a job, because we all need a job, and I don't want to hire someone who is going to hate this job. That's bad for everyone - you most of all! That's more likely to come up during the interview than here, but still worth keeping in mind.

I hope this helps! Good luck out there!