#retaining tech talent

[thelawandmore]

How to Hire and Retain Tech Talent for Your Law Firm 

How to Hire and Retain Tech Talent for Your Law Firm

If you are a law firm leader, you know how important it is to have a strong and reliable IT team. Technology is essential for your firm’s efficiency, productivity, innovation and competitiveness. However, finding and keeping tech talent is not easy. The demand for IT skills is high across all industries, and the legal sector is no exception. According to a recent survey by Briefing/HSBC, talent…

[sprintrecruiting]

What are the longterm impacts of the layoffs in tech?

Introduction: In recent years, tech layoffs have become an unfortunately common sight across many industries with some companies predicting more job losses as soon as 2023. This has left many tech firms wondering what this means for their talent and how they should move forward. In this blog, we will be unpacking the impact that tech layoffs have had on the industry, exploring predictions of…

[attollogame]

hi! i went to look for physical descriptions of the ROs but the link isn’t working. is there an alternative link?

No but I can help you here!

Pariah

Pariah is 5’5” with an athletic build to their body, mostly honed from all of the physical exertion their night job requires. Most often they wear riding gear (leather jacket, cargo pants, biker boots; basically attire appropriate for someone who rides high-speeds on a motorcycle) with a black motorcycle helmet that has red lights within it. The helmet is modified to allow Pariah to discern things at night, and also to withstand Pariah’s own powered abilities. Pariah also carries two sickles strapped at their waist. Their powered ability is shadow manipulation.

Without the helmet, they have short cut curly brown hair, tanned skin, brown eyes, and a scar on their chin. Here’s an excellent visual of them drawn by the talented @phanosis !

Vasilisa

Vasilisa stands at about 5’11” with another athletic build to her body, again honed by her career as a detective for the C.A.P.D. She usually wears a white dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves, black jeans, timberland boots (closest I can describe them) and on occasion will have a black blazer on. Very often seen with a coffee in hand because her sleep schedule is as atrocious as anyone’s in Attollo. Her powered ability is emotion manipulation. 

Vasilisa has blonde hair she keeps tied back, pale skin, and blue eyes. She has a beauty spot under her one eye. Here’s an excellent visual of her drawn by the talented @exotic-inquiry !

Suha

Suha stands at 5’8” with a softer build. Her employment as a judge for the Crowes Court and her role in her own fashion business often keeps her quite preoccupied and on the go. Suha is a Muslim, and therefore wears a hijab. Her role in fashion means she dresses incredibly well, often preferring higher-brand clothes lines that are both comfortable and befitting of her personality. She prefers lighter colored clothes, as it contrasts the gloom of Attollo, even though her personality itself is quite serious. Suha’s powered ability is botakinesis, or plant manipulation. 

Suha wears cat-eyed glasses and has dark skin and brown eyes. Here’s a stunning drawing of her done by the talented @artsyaprilmr !

Operator

Operator stands at 5’7” and has a very lean build coming from his amazing ability to forget to eat half the time. He’s rarely seen without his black face mask and blue tech glasses, which enable him to see the ongoing of the city even when mobile. He usually wears a black turtleneck and black jeans, as well as sneakers that should really be changed in at some point. He does wear gloves as well when outside of his dwelling in the Under City. Operator’s powered ability is tech manipulation… among other things.

He has auburn curly hair and blue eyes beneath the glasses, as well as pale skin. @exotic-inquiry also did some lovely art of him (he is a little guy) !

Sysba

Because Sysba is gender selectable, their appearance does tend to change depending on which you select, although not by much. Overall, though, Sysba is a very flamboyant being that dresses in a way they feel expresses themself best. They stand at 6’ all forms, with a toned form they somehow managed to retain despite their disastrous eating habits. They prefer colours like red, black, or white for what they wear, and they prefer fabrics like satin, velvet, or silk. Sysba often wears heels for the benefit of standing an extra few inches above everyone else. They also indulge with a lot of jewellery, including necklaces, earrings, nose rings, etc. Because they are an entity, their powers extend far beyond what most do; shape shifting, manipulation, and power absorption are a few of their abilities. If they could get out of Attollo, they would be travelling quite swiftly too. 

In all forms, their hair is black, their eyes are black, and their skin is a very sickly pale color. In male form, Sysba has short cut hair, in female form it comes in the form of a bob cut, and in the non binary form it’s short cut as well. The very talented @retconomics has art of them here, @phanosis was generous enough to draw them in their more ‘natural’ form, and @redjack even kindly made a 3d model!

DW

Standing at 6’4” with a more built tone, one could say, due to his line of work (you don’t run a criminal organization without some intimidation on the side). Dreamwalker dresses very business-like in all aspects of his arrival, including in the dreams (although he did play dress up for those because it was fun for him). He prefers dark dress shirts, dress pants, and well-polished dress shoes. He wears a signet ring on his right hand. His powered ability includes dream manipulation and an ability to directly harm a sleeping individual through their dream, as seen with MC. He usually warps his features in dreams to make him indiscernible. On occasion, he wears a red scarf when not wearing a high collared shirt. 

Dreamwalker has dark brown, almost black hair with a slight curl to it. His eyes are a glowing gold with no discernible pupil unless you’re very close, in which case you will see it as a darker yellow color. He has a notable scar on his neck from a knife wound, and dark skin. The talented @bleruh drew art of him here (check out their operator as well!), as did @retconomics here and @/kill-a13 here among many others :)

[sunshinesmebdy]

Asteroid Wage Enters Gemini: Tips for Thriving in the Whirlwind

Brace yourselves for a celestial shift that’s set to shake up the market: asteroid Wage is setting foot in the nimble, ever-curious sign of Gemini. Buckle up, because the next year promises volatility, adaptability, and yes, even potential financial gains for those who navigate this transit wisely.

What is Asteroid Wage in Gemini?

Think of Wage as the cosmic paymaster, highlighting areas of earning potential and value exchange. In Gemini, the realm of communication, information, and versatility, Wage gets supercharged. Expect dynamic shifts in labor markets, evolving payment models, and a renewed focus on skills and flexibility over tenure.

Impacts for Businesses:

Embrace the gig economy: The Gemini Wage favors agile operations and independent contractors. Consider outsourcing tasks and diversifying your workforce to adapt to changing demands.

Ditch the nine-to-five and hello, dynamic duo! Gemini Wage thrives on adaptability and short-burst projects, so tap into the gig economy to fuel your flexibility. Outsource tasks, embrace a diverse team of independent contractors, and watch your business pirouette through changing demands with the grace of a celestial ballerina. This isn’t just cost-effective, it’s a cosmic recipe for agility and growth.

Invest in communication: Clear communication is key to attracting and retaining talent. Streamline internal processes, refine your marketing message, and invest in technology that facilitates collaboration.

Make your message a megaphone under Gemini Wage! Crystal-clear communication is your golden key to talent, both attracting new stars and keeping your current team in orbit. Polish your internal processes to gleaming, hone your marketing message to a razor-sharp point, and invest in tech that fosters collaboration like a cosmic chatroom. Remember, in this whirlwind transit, the loudest, clearest voices soar highest.

Upskill your team: Be prepared for rapid changes in technology and market trends. Encourage continuous learning and invest in retraining programs to keep your employees relevant.

Equip your team for the cosmic roller coaster! Gemini Wage craves adaptability, so prioritize continuous learning and upskilling programs. Encourage tech-savvy side hustles, invest in retraining that flexes with market trends, and watch your employees morph from cogs in the machine to versatile, innovative problem-solvers. Remember, in this whirlwind, the sharpest minds reap the richest rewards.

Rethink traditional compensation: Bonus structures, profit-sharing models, and performance-based incentives become more attractive under Gemini Wage. Consider adopting alternative salary structures to motivate and retain talent.

Toss out the dusty old salary spreadsheets and embrace the dynamic dance of Gemini Wage! This transit demands agility, and that extends to how you compensate your team. Think beyond the rigid monthly wage. Bonus structures that reward quick wins and innovative ideas become gold under this celestial influence. Consider profit-sharing models, where your team’s success directly translates to their pockets, fostering a culture of ownership and shared goals. Performance-based incentives, tailored to individual strengths and contributions, light a fire under even the most seasoned employee. Remember, in the whirlwind of Gemini Wage, a little creative compensation can go a long way in attracting and retaining top talent. So, ditch the one-size-fits-all approach and get ready to tango with a compensation system that’s as adaptable and exciting as the cosmic twins themselves!

Investing and Finance:

Focus on agility and diversification: Gemini favors short-term, high-growth investments and sectors like tech, media, and communication. Don’t be afraid to experiment and spread your bets.

Ditch the tortoise, embrace the hummingbird! Under Gemini Wage, agility reigns supreme. Invest in short-term, high-growth ventures, particularly in the tech, media, and communication galaxies. Spread your bets like cosmic confetti, experimenting with diverse projects and sectors. Don’t be afraid to pivot and adapt, for in this whirlwind market, nimbleness is your golden ticket to stratospheric returns. Remember, diversification is the secret sauce, so keep your portfolio a constellation of possibilities, ready to catch the next supernova of opportunity.

Stay informed and adaptable: Be nimble enough to react to sudden market shifts. Embrace news apps, financial forecasts, and astrological timing (yes, even!) to make informed decisions.

Become a cosmic chameleon under Gemini Wage! Stay nimbler than a celestial ninja, ready to dodge and weave through sudden market shifts. Embrace financial forecasts and news apps like your personal oracle, but don’t underestimate the whispers of the stars. Align your investments with astrological timing, tuning into energy shifts for informed decisions. Remember, under this whirlwind transit, knowledge is power, and a sprinkle of celestial awareness can be the secret weapon that sets you apart from the herd. So, keep your ear to the ground, your eyes on the charts, and your mind open to the whispers of the cosmos — it’s the recipe for navigating the financial galaxy with grace and prosperity.

Look for the hidden value: Gemini’s sharp eye can uncover undervalued assets and innovative opportunities. Think outside the box and explore emerging markets and disruptive technologies.

This transit sharpens your eye to spot undervalued assets lurking in plain sight, like diamonds in the rough. Think beyond the obvious, explore emerging markets where innovation ripples like a sonic boom, and embrace disruptive technologies that could rewrite the financial rulebook. Remember, under Gemini’s curious gaze, the unconventional can become your goldmine. So, ditch the herd mentality, channel your inner maverick, and unearth the treasures waiting just beyond the edge of the financial map. The rewards for the adventurous investor are written in the stars!

Tips for Thriving with Gemini Wage:

Sharpen your communication skills: The more effectively you communicate your value, the more opportunities you attract. Honing your negotiation and presentation skills will pay off.

Network like a pro: Gemini thrives on connections. Build relationships with potential partners, clients, and collaborators. Your network is your net worth under this transit.

Embrace change and flexibility: Don’t get stuck in outdated models. Be open to new ideas, explore diverse perspectives, and adapt quickly to market shifts.

Focus on learning and adaptability: Invest in personal and professional development. Hone your skills, upgrade your knowledge, and stay ahead of the curve in your field.

So, entrepreneurs and financiers, are you ready to dance with the whirlwind? Let’s see what fortunes await under the sign of the twins!

[arizonaconservativegal]

As you work in government, and think the government should be dramatically reduced, I was wondering where you think such cuts ought to start and how would you get enough people to agree with you? From where I stand, as someone who gained political consciousness in 2018(?) and has been leaning right libertarian ever since, it seems no one can agree even though we all see the same issue.

Well if I were dictator for a day, I'd eliminate the federal Department of Education because they pretty much do nothing of value.

But the real answer is that I wouldn't start by cutting any programs at all.

Sure I'm a libertarian who has a philosophical problem with pretty much every government program, and if I were building the system from the ground up, I wouldn't ever include most of what we ended up with, but since it's already there, that's not an option.

Besides, even as bloated as they are, most government offices/agencies/departments do have a handful of very necessary positions and good employees in them. They just also have an awful lot of jobs that no one would ever miss and a lot of employees who do nothing but take up space. You need to go through all of them with a fine tooth comb to figure out which ones should be kept, what can be consolidated, and what can be eliminated with no impact on services. And then you'd need to hang around long enough to figure out which individual people to keep (either in their existing roles or reassign them to more useful positions) and which ones are just dedicated to being useless.

The problem is that doing that properly takes a tremendous amount of time and you really can't leave it up to the bureaucrats within the departments. If you tell them to just cut staffing levels by a certain percentage, half of them will just go by last hired, first fired and the other half will deliberately cut critical and public facing positions to create political demand for their funding to be restored.

If I were really going to go through all that, I'd start by identifying the positions to cut and then let attrition do its thing. Useless positions do not need to be replaced when vacated. Not actually firing anyone gets you around civil service protections and if you do your targeting well, the only people who will really squawk will be union bosses upset about dwindling membership numbers. The two tricks here are a) you still have to replace the positions that are necessary and start consolidating responsibilities so you can't skip that first step of figuring out what those are and b) you cannot let politics determine which positions are cut. All services levels must be maintained, even in programs that we disagree with politically.

The next thing I would do - which would be much harder - is reform those civil service and union protections. We need to be able to fire people who do not do their jobs adequately or who are no longer needed. Right now that's pretty much impossible so instead of firing them, we shuffle them off to another position - and usually that comes with a promotion and raise so they can't claim they're being treated unfairly. Or we just hire a second person to do the job the first one won't or can't do but instead of replacing the first person with the second person, we just pay two people to do one job at the same time.

The trade I would make is to eliminate or drastically increase pay caps for high performing employees and for positions that we have trouble hiring/retaining qualified employees. Too often we lose highly effective employees because the only thing we can do to reward them is to promote them out of their area of skill. And we simply cannot hire a talented lawyer or tech worker for $75k when they could be making two or three or ten times that in the private sector. Sorry, I know no one wants to pay government employees more but when we have a team of ten shitty employees getting paid $50k each, that's a lot more expensive than getting one good one who will actually do the job for $200k.

(If I could, I'd also put new employees on a 401k style retirement plan - I'd even offer a very generous match - and never put them in the pension system. It would save us a ton of money and frankly, those employees would be better off in the long run for having control of their retirement funds. But that's a separate issue and possibly a bigger hurdle than cutting jobs.)

Only when all that was done, and after several years had gone by so the public would see that the reductions in workforce really didn't hamper the service they received, that's when I'd think about starting to cut actual programs.

And then I would start with the Department of Education.

[fearfulachilles]

9. wunderkind.

chapter nine to buop (nanami kento x reader jjk medical au.) .

full contents here.

summary: working with dr. geto proves to be more difficult than you thought, but you have an enjoyable lunch break.

tw: american healthcare.

Satoru Gojo was a wunderkind. He graduated high school early, finished pre-med in half as much of time than normal, and aced his way through med school at an incredibly young age. He was a medicine prodigy. He was sought out by many hospitals for his neurosurgery fellowship, but decided to accept a fellowship at Jujutsu Metropolitan Hospital.

During his fellowship, he created and developed a new technique that is still used by nearly all neurosurgeons across the country, even years later. Up until a year ago, it had been known as the Gojo technique.

During and after Satoru's fellowship, he quickly noticed that he hated how the hospital was managing things. The owners of the hospital were old men who didn't work with patients anymore, instead they worked closely with insurance companies to milk money out of patients looking for care.

Satoru had to constantly turn away sick patients in need of surgery, and even the ones who needed simpler treatments such as medication and routine examinations, all because the patients couldn't afford to pay for it, and pro-bono services were forbidden. Patients waited months for post-operative visits and some had to hold off on returning after surgery completely, all due to money. He saw how the staff around him, nurses and scrub techs, were always shorthanded and overworked because the higher ups refused to hire more people, just to save themselves money.

Eventually, it all came crumbling down on the members of the hospital board. Patients were seeking care elsewhere, strung out employees were quitting, and the Jujutsu Hospital reputation was going to shit. Money doesn't last forever, but they were in need of it. That's when an anonymous buyer came in with a generous offer, in exchange for the board to be changed immediately, of course.

It didn't take long for senior hospital board member, Dr. Yoshinobu Gakuganji, to trace the money back to the one and only, medicine prodigy, Satoru Gojo. He wished he never did find out where the buy-out offer came from, because he had no choice but to take the offer. So, now he stood in an office room located in one of the higher floors of the hospital building with the young white haired physician.

“I'll accept the buy-out under one exception,” Gakuganji started, wrinkling fingers tapping against one another.

Satoru only scoffed, his arms crossed on his chest. His voice is smug, laced with his usual know-it-all attitude, “you have no room to bargain, you're out of options. No one wants you bail you out of your shitty hospital but me.”

“For this, it's worth the risk. No surgery for four years.”

How evil. Brain surgery was Satoru's passion. He worked hard, studied long nights, developed his own technique for his surgeries. His eyes widened and he bared his teeth, slamming his hand down on the old man's desk.

“Fuck no, you can't do that!” Satoru had always been out of line as a subordinate, but he was well aware that his brain and talent were too prestigious to reprimand or hold accountable so he got away with a lot, much to Gakuganji's disliking. It explained why Gakuganji was always looking for reasons to get rid of him.

“I can have the hospital’s lawyer on retainer add it into the contract. You want to turn this hospital around? Time to make some sacrifices, Gojo.”

Satoru grunts, chewing on the inside of his cheek, his fingertips digging into the palm of his hand in a shaking fist. Gakuganji can't be serious.

“One more thing...”

“You’ve asked for enough.” Satoru rolls his eyes.

“The Gojo technique, it's brilliant. Forfeit your name to it.”

Gakuganji was going for the jugular. The Gojo technique was pretty much flawless and it had never failed to save a life in surgery. It was Satoru's creation, his baby. He had traveled the country to teach this technique to other neurosurgeons, articles were published about it, it was his.

“To what, your name? The Gakuganji technique is a mouth full and an eye sore.” Satoru spat. Though surgery was his life, he was willing to step down for a short amount of time, if it was for his vision of this hospital he had, then four years wasn't too long.

“Preferably, but as long as it's out of your name, I'll be satisfied. Make a public announcement about forfeiting the ownership of your technique, and we can move forward this deal.” Gakuganji said, stroking his thin-haired beard, it always creeped Satoru out.

Satoru glared daggers at the old man. He was wrinkly, fragilely thin, shaking like a leaf in the cold air conditioning of the the office. He could croak at any time and Satoru wished it'd happen now more than ever.

“You're acting like a man with nothing to lose.” Satoru’s eyes sized up the shrinking old man.

“I don't anymore.”

The deal closed the day after Satoru made a public announcement, giving titleship and credit to Dr. Geto for his the technique.

He walked into work like nothing had happened, as if he hadn't just become the owner of Jujutsu Hospital, as if he hadn't just agreed to sacrifice the next four years. He struck a deal with Dr. Geto to take over his surgical cases from now because he'll be “too busy with paperwork” for a while.

He hires back the old chief of surgery, Dr. Masamichi Yaga, who had been forced to retire by the old hospital board members, despite them hitting critical ages themselves. He confides in his old mentor that he has no clue what he's doing with this hospital he had just bought, but he may know where to start.

“I'm sick and tired of insurances denying everything. I'm the doctor, I know what my patients needs, not them.” Satoru complains, resting his cheek on his palm.

“It is a pain dealing with them.” Dr. Yaga agreed.

They sat in Satoru's new office, a place he was told to get used to; he'll be spending most of his time in there, rather than the operating room.

The young physician had a vision for the future of medicine: no red tape from insurance companies, no gouged up prices for medicine that patients need, fair wages and generous personal time off for employees.

Satoru sighed, blowing the air out of pursed lips. His eyes fall on to a pile of rejected proposals by the last hospital head. He finds an old one he had proposed—the free clinic. He had brought this idea up during his fellowship, the idea of offering free medical care for post-op patients, and once established, expand to offer free care for all patients.

His long fingers flip through his old proposal, a smile creeping on his lips as he comes to realization that he can approve this with a simple sign of his signature.

“I've got four years of free time, anyways.” Satoru tells himself.

More than half the employees who quit due to an unfair working environment had been rehired the first month of Satoru taking over, and new employees were hired to share the workload. He opened the hospital for med school students to come there for their clinical rotations and for residents to come work for their residency, and he found room in the budget for medical scribes to be hired.

_________

Your first day working with Dr. Geto couldn't have gone worse.

Dr. Geto requested to start work in the clinic two hours earlier than when it usually opens, so you have to show up two hours earlier than normal.

You wake up with exactly 10 minutes left before you have to leave. You rush through brushing your hair and tying it back, brushing your teeth, and you change into a pair of scrubs. Then you spill your homemade coffee on yourself by accident. Changing again makes you five minutes late to the clinic, and your gas tank is nearly on empty, so you'll have to pump more after work.

Dr. Geto is already standing and waiting at the nurse station when you walk in. You run to grab a scribing laptop from the supply closet at the back of the clinic, frantically opening it and logging into the electronic health system the clinic and hospital use.

You finally catch your breath as you wait near Dr. Geto for the first patient to be ready for him. You lose your breath again when Dr. Geto addresses you directly.

“Satoru told me you're interested in neurosurgery.” His voice is silk smooth, almost hypnotizing. He's prettier than the images you saw of him when you Googled the surgeon. His hair is so dark and shiny, it's long enough to go down his back, and he has half of it tied up. He takes care of it, you can tell.

You can't seem to find your voice, so you just nod. You're not necessarily interested in neurosurgery solely, but you're really open to it. You're not going to tell that to Dr. Geto, a neurosurgeon, though.

Dr. Geto works differently than Satoru or Kento. He likes to move quickly, even wasting less time than Kento does. He moves so swiftly, almost like he's gliding across the floor. You're barely able to keep up with his pace, once he's done with one patient, he moves on to the next room. He doesn't look back, he doesn't ask if you have any questions, he doesn't check your notes, you have no idea how he prefers them. You try stopping him, but it does no good.

“Dr. Geto, if I can just ask—” Your words don't reach him, he's already stepped into the next available exam room and began exanimating his patient.

You take your lunch break earlier than everyone else, since Dr. Geto had you start work earlier today.

“Goddamn it,” you curse to yourself as you realize you've gotten lost on the way to the hospital cafeteria again. You don't think you'll ever learn where it is. The hallways are so identical, other than different variations of some CPR posters pinned up in certain hallways.

“Need help?” You hear in a very familiar deep tone.

You turn your head to the direction of the voice and see Kento walking towards you. He looks handsome in the scrub cap he's wearing. He still lacks the white doctor coat so his muscular forearms are out for all to see, like usual. You can't help but stare at them, tracing each vein you see with your eyes. You remember how he held you with those arms as he fucked you four times.

Your gurgling stomach brings your focus back to him. “Uh, yeah, I always get lost on my way to the cafeteria.”

Kento chuckles, he thinks that's cute. “I was just heading there myself. I can show you.”

He really tries to continue a conversation with you, but it's awkward at first. You feel nervous, like you want to throw up, but despite not feeling any bile come up, the fluttering sensation stays in your stomach.

Kento opens each door at the end of the hallways for you like it's natural instinct. You tried opening one for him, but he gently replaced your hand on the steel doorknob with his own. His hands are so much bigger than yours, he can almost engulf your hand in just his palm alone.

He asks you how your day is going, and you respond by automatically pouting and dropping your head down. He laughs briefly as he watches your sulking. He opens one of the double doors that finally belongs to the cafeteria entrance, placing his large hand on the small of your back and guiding you inside as you continue pouting with your head down.

You pick up your head, and whine. “It's going horrible! I can't keep up with Dr. Geto, he's impossible to stop once he's started, it's like he can't hear me, I have no idea how he likes his notes, it's like he expects to know how he wants it—”

Kento nods, he's aware of how... difficult Suguru can be to work with. He expects everyone to be on his level from the get-go; he wants his scrub techs to know what instruments he's going to ask for during surgery before he needs to ask for it, he likes his nurses to write their supervision notes in a particular format so he can learn the most information without needing to ask the patient more questions himself. He has high expectations from everyone he works with, with little remorse or thought to new employees around him.

“—I like working with you way more.” You say quietly, finishing your rant.

The corners of Kento's lips turn up slightly, a small smile appearing at your confession. He notes how your cheeks turn pink, so he decides to not respond to it. You're thankful, thinking he hadn't heard you.

The hospital cafeteria is almost nearly empty, a few family members of patients eat, but there weren't many staff members there, most likely because you're taking an earlier lunch than normal. You and Kento grab food and he pays for your portion without exchanging words and without a second thought. You want to hate how he does that because you can take care of yourself, but you can't.

“About my parking ticket—” you begin, both of you moving to an empty table in a private corner of the cafeteria. He carries his food, a chicken sandwich with wheat bread, in one hand and pulls out a chair for you with his other.

“Already paid.” Kento replies, quickly shutting you down on it. He's smiling, smugly if you squint hard enough to see.

“You didn't have to do that.” You insisted. You take a seat in the chair he's pulled out for you, and he sits beside you.

“I know.” His voice is kind, traced with unwavering certainty. How odd. You're not used to that: someone doing something like that for you because they wanted to. It sends a chill down your spine, ringing an alarm in your head. Kento causes it, but he also helps dull out the noise of it.

You didn't think you'd really talk to Kento again after having dirty, hot sex at his home—other than having to talk to him during work. But you're not working with him today and you're here talking to him. It feels like it did in the bar, now that you've gotten over the one-sided awkwardness you were feeling.

Kento had your full attention and you had his. Your legs brush against one another's underneath the table and it makes you aware of how close he was. You remember how you brushed shoulders at the bar and how your bodies felt pressed together in his bed. You have to bring yourself back to reality.

Your lunch break breezes by a lot faster than you'd like it to. You have to return to Dr. Geto's service and the thought of it makes you dread it. Kento chuckles to himself as you pout and drag yourself up from the table you both shared and then joins you in doing so. He has a couple more surgeries to do before he's done for the day, some routine procedures that won't take long.

Kento had enjoyed spending his break with you. He didn't want to return to wondering when he'd be able to talk to you again or wait until his days in the clinic to see you. As you both walk out of the cafeteria with brushing shoulders, he finds it in himself to ask you for your numbers.

“I was wondering if I could have your phone number,” Kento's cringing at himself, he sounds old and out of sync with this hook-up dating culture that people your age are doing. “So it'd be easier to...”

To what? Bootycall you? He almost wants to say never mind, and go back to bland coffee and tasteless foods. No, he knows that's not enough for him anymore. He wants more of your touch, your body, you.

Thankfully, you don't make him say it. “Sure, yeah.” You sound cool, nearly aloof, but you're anything but that. Kento hands you his phone for you to input your number. Just as you finish saving the contact, you realize the time at the top of his screen—you're gonna be late at returning from your lunch break.

“Shit, I gotta go.” You push his phone back to him and quickly leave, fast on your feet as you walk away.

“Talk to you later.” Kento says, though you're gone already. He stares at his phone screen.

_________

The second portion of the day goes by a lot slower than you would have preferred. You feel like you can finally catch your breath after keeping up with Dr. Geto the whole day. You close your work laptop slowly, sighing out tiredly.

“Good job today.” You hear Dr. Geto's smooth voice day to you. You perk up and look at him. If you were a dog, your tail would be wagging.

“Oh—thank you!” You reply brightly. “I really enjoyed working with you.”

That's a lie. Dr. Geto didn't slow down for a second after lunch, if anything, he had started working faster. He also didn't take time to go the extra mile to talk or teach you about neurosurgery, like Satoru and Kento had. He wasn't required to, but it would have been appreciated on your part. Still, there's no denying Dr. Geto was a genius at what he does for a living. He had a lot more complex post-operative patients today, so you still had the opportunity to learn about his surgical cases and their treatment plans by being in the room and listening as you scribed.

Dr. Geto isn't much of a talker if he doesn't need to be, so he nods at your words in acknowledgement before leaving for the day.

You take a look around as you come from down that people-pleasing high you just experienced and see Yuji grimly working with Dr. Ieiri, the surgical oncologist, in one part of the clinic. You spot Nobara's eye twitching with near annoyance as she works with Dr. Haibara, the OBGYN, in the other part of the clinic. They would be better suited if they switched physicians.

Your roommates still have some time left in their workday, while you were able to go home now since you had started earlier today. You wave at them, Yuji brightly smiles at you and waves back, Nobara scrunches her nose in friendly envy that you're able to leave now, but waves back too.

You make it home after leaving work and stopping at a gas station for your car. Your phone had been more silent the entire time despite turning on your ringer for the first time in a long time—you always preferred your phone on vibrate. Not a peep from an unknown number you were hoping to hear from.

What's gotten into you? Looking forward to Kento hitting you up? Get a grip.

You shower when you get home and change into some loungewear. You finally feel your body relaxing as you lay in bed freshly showered and in clean clothes. You try to scroll mindlessly on your phone, but you feel your eyes getting heavier and tired until you finally give into the sinking feeling. You've sunk too deep into a quiet nap when your phone finally does ring.

xxx-xxx-xxxx

This is Kento. I hope your day improved.

sticky note:

i didn't want to specify where this au takes place or what specific ages the characters are because i wanted to give readers free reign on that, if that makes sense. though, since i am from america then most of my writing may be american-based (like the insurance part of this fic lol), but i'm am trying to stay unspecific in those areas. but even tho an age gap is intentional, i may never specify what ages everyone is because that way anyone reading can imagine an age gap they're comfortable with, if that makes sense too.

ps. when i worked as a scribe i saw an insurance company deny cancer treatment for a patient with prostate cancer bc the insurance company believed “it was not necessary” :O 

[aruanimess]

Hello! Do you have any random headcanons for Annie, Armin or other AOT characters that you like? Have a lovely day!

Hello, anon! (Sorry for taking my time with answering, I had a lot of thoughts)

Such a lovely question! I do indeed have many headcanons about AruAni and other characters I enjoy. I've shared some modern hcs about Armin and Annie specifically here too, if you wanna check them out.

Since you're giving me the opportunity to share some more though, let's do post-canon hcs instead. I think it'd be a nice change.

Armin cooks, Annie eats.

I know Armin is a busy man, but I'm positive he likes to take a break from his packed schedule to make a treat for his girl. Sure, he's not the best cook ever, but he tries and every dish is created with care and love poured into it. Annie enjoys the attention (and the cooking) quite a lot, too, so it's not like she's planning to stop him any time soon.

Armin's curiosity reaches unprecedented highs.

With the whole world at his disposal (well, what's left of it), Armin is finally free to go wild. He wants to learn it all and learn it all NOW! At first he turns to Annie for trivia regarding the outside world, and it's a sweet moment of bonding for them, sharing information about the world as they get to know more and more of each other as well. Soon, however, Annie is no longer enough. She's a surprisingly patient teacher, but she simply can't keep up with the level of detail Armin wants to go into, and frankly she doesn't care enough. So she urges him to find another tutor.

And Armin doesn't find one. He finds fifty.

Turns out, no one is an expert in everything, and Armin wants to know E V E R Y T H I N G. From exotic animals to foreign policy, to current tech, to theology, he's curious about it all!

Of course, a sane person cannot retain this much information, so what ends up happening is Armin going from one hyper specific interest to the next at an alarming rate. Jean and Connie worry about him initially (surely their friend is finally losing it), but when they eventually confront him about it, he confirms that he just enjoys the ride more so than the actual knowledge. "Most people have learnt bits and pieces while they were growing up," he says, "I have a lot to catch up to, but I'm not beating myself up about remembering it all." Jean and Connie are appeased. As long as he takes care of himself and he's happy, there's nothing else to fret over.

Annie takes up a sport.

Listen, martial arts are well and good, but there's only so much effort you can put in them when you're not in active danger. Annie maintains her training regimen for a while, but without a purpose it turns stale and repetitive. Still, she enjoys the physical activity and the challenge, so she's pretty bummed about it, until someone (probably Pieck) suggests she start playing a sport.

I'm not sure what exactly would fit her best. A solitary sport is more in line with her personality, but perhaps a team sport would help her build relationships and come out of her shell a little. I kinda want to say badminton, but I might be thinking that because I'm partial to it myself.

Mikasa is living her best cottagecore life.

After her return to Paradis, Mikasa would be in mourning, so I think that in order to heal mentally she'd choose to live somewhere relatively secluded. In my opinion, a cottage much like the one she shared with Eren in the paths and the one she lived in with her parents would be preferable to her than living in a city, where everyone would demand her attention.

During her time living alone, she takes up every hands-on hobby imaginable: fishing, hunting, crocheting, knitting, foraging, cooking, making preserves, making yarn (and yes she has sheep in this scenario), chopping wood, whittling etc. She goes to the town every week to sell her creations and buy what she can't make and everyone is in awe of her talent and dedication. It's a great way to keep her mind from drifting to a dark place and, as an added benefit, it's quite the conversation starter, so she ends up forming bonds with her neighbors as well.

[dreamsclock]

the mechanic timeline, where 'keep inventory' was toggled on at the very start.

in the style of spiderverse multiverse, send me iterations of the dream smp!

YES. YEEEESSSS. for some reason this immediately put me in mind of like a steampunk-esque timeline?? let me brainrot further on this:

dream didn’t actually make this server — he found it! whereas admins usually make servers brand-new, this one was the site of some kind of war. but it’s peaceful, weary, and so is dream from manhunts. the dream team settle down here, and here begins the birth of the smp.

there’s loads of left over scraps from whatever happened before dream arrived, and so technology is easier!! bombs and airplanes and the like become ingrained in the foundation of the smp, and it means war / advancement is a lot more dangerous.

keep inventory makes the disk war interesting: both sides have to resort to sneakier methods to get the disks from the other. as a result, the server grows distrustful and wary of each other VERY early on.

tubbo is a successful president, and is wilbur’s vice because of his talent in building. it’s why he’s sought after by schlatt in the election / manberg arc. he actually retains presidency of new l’manberg after doomsday!! they rebuild a metal city in the sky protected by nukes and constantly terrified by the rest of the server.

tommy’s exile was on a nuclear wasteland. he got sick a lot. so did dream. neither fully recovered.

their chats appear in the form of sentient robots !! armour was steampunk-y and tech-y and meant that ghosts - wilbur, schlatt, Etc — weren’t ghosts, but instead suits with a lingering memory of their owners (think the suits in that one doctor who episode, silence in the library)

the prison is terrifying. it’s a fully daedalus-esque maze of horrific robots roaming halls and gleaming reinforced obsidian. when dream is thrown inside, he’s stripped of his steampunk armour for the first time in months.

he’d attached loads of terrifying advancements / attachments to it, so seeing him stripped from it is… weird. he’s smaller. less scary. tommy doesn’t kill him twice in the mountain bunker. dream bargains with him before then.

i like to imagine this is one of the universes tommy visits after realising pandora is fucking insane — maybe this dream is still alive and helps him :] i’m attached to this dream already LMAO

[mariacallous]

Facing an increasingly suspicious research climate, a growing number of Chinese scientists are leaving the United States for positions abroad, the latest indicator of how worsening U.S.-China relations are complicating academic collaboration and could hamstring Washington’s tech ambitions. 

Chinese scientists living in the United States have for decades contributed to research efforts driving developments in advanced technology and science. But a growing number of them may now be looking elsewhere for work, as deteriorating geopolitical relations fuel extra scrutiny of Chinese researchers and Beijing ramps up efforts to recruit and retain talent. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of Chinese scientists leaving the United States has steadily increased, according to new research published last month. If the trend continues, experts warn that the brain drain could deal a major blow to U.S. research efforts in the long run. 

“It’s absolutely devastating,” said David Bier, the associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. “So many of the researchers that the United States depends on in [the] advanced technology field are from China, or are foreign students, and this phenomenon is certainly going to negatively impact U.S. firms and U.S. research going forward.”

From semiconductor chips to artificial intelligence, technology has been at the forefront of U.S.-China competition, with both Washington and Beijing maneuvering to strangle each other’s sectors. Cooperation, even in key sectors like combating climate change, has been rare.

From 2010 to 2021, the number of scientists of Chinese descent who left the United States for another country has surged from 900 to 2,621, with scientists leaving at an expedited rate between 2018 and 2021, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Nearly half of this group moved to China and Hong Kong in 2010, the study said, and a growing percentage of Chinese scientists have relocated to China over the years. 

While this number represents a small fraction of the Chinese scientists in the United States, the uptick reflects researchers’ growing concerns and broader apprehension amid a tense geopolitical climate. After surveying 1,304 Chinese American researchers, the report found that 89 percent of respondents wanted to contribute to U.S. science and technology leadership. Yet 72 percent also reported feeling unsafe as researchers in the United States, while 61 percent had previously considered seeking opportunities outside of the country. 

“Scientists of Chinese descent in the United States now face higher incentives to leave the United States and lower incentives to apply for federal grants,” the report said. There are “general feelings of fear and anxiety that lead them to consider leaving the United States and/or stop applying for federal grants.” 

The incentives to leave are twofold. Beijing has funneled resources into research and development programs and has long attempted to recruit scientists, even its own, from around the world. For one of its initiatives, the Thousand Talents Plan, Beijing harnessed at least 600 recruitment stations worldwide to acquire new talent. “China has been really trying to lure back scientists for a long time,” said Eric Fish, the author of China’s Millennials. 

But this latest outflow of Chinese scientists accelerated in 2018, the same year that then-U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled the China Initiative, a controversial program that was aimed at countering IP theft—and cast a chill over researchers of Chinese descent and collaborations with Chinese institutions. In 2020, he also issued a proclamation denying visas for graduate students and researchers affiliated with Chinese universities associated with the military. 

Although the Biden administration shut down the China Initiative, experts warn that its shadow still looms over Chinese scientists. More than one-third of respondents in the PNAS survey reported feeling unwelcome in the United States, while nearly two-thirds expressed concerns about research collaboration with China. 

“There is this chilling effect that we’re still witnessing now, where there is a stigma attached to collaboration with China,” said Jenny Lee, a professor at the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. 

The challenges are emblematic of how the breakdown in U.S.-China relations has thrown universities into a geopolitical firestorm, particularly as some states’ lawmakers pressure them to sever ties with Chinese counterparts. On the U.S. side, interest in Mandarin language studies and study abroad has plummeted over the years, largely the result of worsening ties, Beijing’s growing repression, and the coronavirus pandemic. Today, while there are roughly 300,000 Chinese students in America, only 350 Americans studied in China in the most recent academic year. If interest continues to recede, experts warn of spillover effects that could hamper Washington’s understanding of Beijing. 

“We’re losing a generation of people who are knowledgeable about China,” said Daniel Murphy, the former director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. “I’m concerned that the United States is going about this issue in a way that excessively focuses on risks of the academic relationship, without due consideration for the benefits. And I think we see this in a whole host of arenas, and that it’s bipartisan.”

At the same time as a growing number of Chinese scientists exit the United States, new students appear to be facing higher barriers to entry as student visa denials and backlogs reach record high levels. According to a blog post by the Cato Institute, student visa denials peaked at about 35 percent in 2022—the highest rate recorded in two decades. 

Student visa denial data is not available by nationality, but Bier, the Cato Institute expert who wrote the piece, said that there is a high degree of correlation between denial rates for B-visas, or tourist visas, and student visas. “Having reviewed the B-visa denials in China, it’s pretty clear that the Chinese overall visa denial rate has increased significantly over the last few years and is at a level now where it’s the highest it’s been in decades,” he said. 

Just as some Chinese scientists are looking abroad, these challenges are pushing a growing number of international students to turn elsewhere for academic opportunities. Students are increasingly heading to countries like Canada, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom, all of which are opening their doors to high-skilled workers and researchers. To attract more talent, the United Kingdom has issued “Global Talent” and “High Potential Individual” visas, which allow scholars from top universities to work there for 2-3 years and 1-5 years, respectively.

Universities are being impacted “by geopolitical tensions, by political agendas, and so it’s certainly inhibiting U.S. universities’ ability to attract the best and brightest,” Lee said.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Nancy Gryspeerdt: On my second day earwigging for Michael Gambon, I found myself lying under the bed in which the legend of stage and screen was portraying Winston Churchill. It was 2015, and we were on the set of Churchill’s Secret. Hidden this way, I was out of view for the camera, but not out of earshot, so I could shout out his lines for him to repeat. The idea was we’d cut my bellowing out of the scene afterwards. Earwigging is the process of reading an actor’s lines into a microphone. These are then fed into a tiny earpiece in the actor’s ear. The tech is imperfect and sometimes it fails, as it had that day when I was forced to improvise by hiding under the bed. Certain movie stars are said to opt for an earpiece purely to save the time and effort of learning lines, but I find that hard to believe. Line-by-line feeding is tricky. It can cause random pauses and actors often look distracted as they listen. The frustration Michael felt about the whole process was profound.

Michael had lost the ability to learn lines several years before. He would often recount how he’d been rehearsing Alan Bennett’s play The Habit of Art at the National Theatre in 2010 and suddenly collapsed, in fear. Memory decline was what he was afraid of, a slippery slope he would indeed begin to slide down. He was replaced in The Habit of Art and only returned to theatre once more in a one-man play, Krapp’s Last Tape, that relied upon his recorded voice more than live monologue. Developing a method for memorising and recalling lines is part of every actor’s practice. For all but the most demanding jobs, it’s a basic requirement before the real work begins, not a proof of acting talent. Occasional lapses happen, like an ill-timed cramp might for an athlete. But when an actor loses the ability to learn lines, it’s a career-ending injury. If you don’t have your lines, it is all you can think about.

Becoming an earwig hadn’t been my plan. Before stepping in to cover for Michael’s regular earwig in her absence, I was a director’s assistant and budding script editor. I got the gig because the director saw how much I loved watching actors work. It is a very well-paid role, partly, I think, because everyone involved feels reassured by the extortionate fees, as they might by paying a Harley Street doctor. The plot of Churchill’s Secret centred on the ailing prime minister being brought back from the brink after a stroke by the tough love and care of a young nurse. It’s possible that at the time of my peculiar meet-cute with Michael, the part of the nurse rubbed off on me. It was Michael’s last leading role, and the fact that Churchill’s situation spoke to his own paid off. He was proud of his performance. I continued to work with him until he fully retired in 2018, my work becoming palliative. The jobs ranged from a high-budget period drama (Victoria and Abdul), to indie projects done on a shoestring, to an almost walk-on part in Renée Zellweger’s Judy Garland biopic.

Though it was never properly defined, my job included telling Michael what the script was about and how he fitted into it. Then, we would run his lines over and over, in the back of cars and hotel lobbies, in an attempt to allay his massive anxieties. Despite this exhaustive prep, he was unable to retain much. And when we stepped on the set, we were starting virtually afresh. I would usually take my place in some cupboard within radio range and, watching him on a handheld monitor, I’d cue him, using exaggerated emphasis to suggest where we were in a sentence, while trying to keep my meaning somehow neutral.

Sometimes he’d find my intonation inoffensive; he would have less trouble interpreting the sentence and could make it his own. Sometimes he’d contort my emphasis, resulting in unusable takes for which we’d both feel guilty. He often said he wanted me to read lines “straight, like a machine”, willing me to be less of an encumbrance to his expression. But when we experimented with less signposting, he couldn’t gain sense from my sounds. Ever the precision engineer he had trained to be, he was insistent that if he had the use of his younger brain he could build the contraption he needed to compensate for its gradual decay.

Michael’s desire for autonomy was based on what he’d achieved, an incredible career characterised by versatility and power. Of his TV work, he was best known for The Singing Detective; of his films, for his role as Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts in Harry Potter (a film that “changed everything”, not necessarily for the better). But his humane presence enriched movies as various as The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover; Gosford Park; Layer Cake; The Wings of the Dove; The Life Aquatic and Quartet. In the 1960s, his work on TV series The Borderers led to him being sized up as a candidate to play James Bond. But he thought of himself as a stage actor first. Over the decades, he’d interspersed Shakespeare with Brecht, Pinter, Ayckbourn and Caryl Churchill, at the Birmingham Rep, then the Royal Shakespeare Company, then everywhere else that mattered.

[Financial Times]

[jamiesfootball]

Hiiiii i saw your doing the ask game and the Leverage au??? Ooooo I would like to know more please!!!

also I hope you’re having a nice dayyy :)

Hullo!

The leverage au is the thing I'm not writing except that I have, in fact, written a smidgen of already (see 'leverage au' in the tags below for more). The gist of it being that Ted, in an effort to save Henry, did some hinky stuff and fled the States with Beard at his side.

Once in England, they set up shop as a sort of consulting group. The kind that finds the right people and brings them together to fix problems for people who just need a little extra help. From the other side of the law.

Ted and Beard - sort of duo/split the mastermind role between them, with Beard originally doubling as tech support with code scripts he got from less-than-savory contacts

Rebecca - Grifter. Former Mrs. Manion but she assures everyone that once she's on the grift, no one will recognize her (she is correct)

Roy - the hitter. Old. He's been looking for a way out for a while, and since his niece was born he's shifted into mostly doing retrieval work

Keeley - Jewel thief, mostly, but she'll steal anything. She'll nick the wallet from your back pocket, then send you flowers and chocolate at the hospital after she's tased you and stolen your Rembrandt.

Jamie - originally brought in to act as extra muscle, and ended up being trained under Roy - though with strict supervision. Most of the team (except Keeley) were wary about whether or not he was a good fit for the team.

So my idea for the fic is that the story opens with The First Second Job, which is the original team gets together / they kill it job. From there the new talent - Keeley, Rebecca, Roy, and Jamie - make a loose agreement with Ted and Beard that they'd be okay staying on retainer for other jobs he might have lined up.

Unlike the OG Leverage team, there are a few snags along the way:

There is no big score that ends up paying for the whole team. There is a reasonable score on the first job, which lends to decent retainer that Ted can use to keep these four going along with them. Beard cautions him about using the same people every time, but ultimately goes with it.

This also leads to the awkward 'invoicing-of-clients' thing, which becomes more of an issue the longer they work together, as each of them is secretly a bleeding heart.

Jamie and Roy. Having two hitters on the team sounds good in theory, but in practice is a struggle, especially when they come from two different schools of thought. Roy is a threaten first and the last resort is that you hit them fast and you hit them accurately - you don't prolong the fight. Except Roy isn't that fast anymore. Jamie is, but Jamie....has issues. It's clear that wherever he's been practicing his craft, it's been a 'hit fast hit hard and fuck not getting hit back, just mow them down' sort of lesson.

(He learned from his dad. If that wasn't clear.)

The lack of a hacker on this team gradually becomes a bigger and bigger obstacle going forward.

Nate is this universe's Sterling, of a sort, and starts sniffing them out.

Rebecca, it turns out, does have a sort of secret agenda going, mostly involving her ex-husband Rupert.

Ted, it turns out, also has a secret agenda, mostly to do with why he left the States in the first place, and these people are essential to that part of his plan.

Keeley doesn't have a secret agenda, but she's also not really believing that this is all going to last and she's ready to bail at a moment's notice.

Roy can sense that something fishy is going on in the air. He doesn't know what, and his senses can't tell who it's coming from. He's. Really disappointed in these people.

Jamie had no agenda. He is the last to know that everyone else saw this coming : (

Now that is not to say this will be a bummer! There are lots of found family moments and bonding and people caring about each other and general seriousness! But the more I plot this out, the more the tone shifts to a more realistic-feeling world than the one OG Leverage resides in.

Right now the overarching plot would be a sort of extended version of Leverage season one, building towards the reveal that both Ted and Rebecca have conspired to create a scenario in which the team helps them achieve their goals. Then everything goes to hell in a hand basket.

Then they work as a team to get out of trouble. Together.

Even in my head this feels like it's going to be a loooooong plot. I'm already writing another loooooong thing. Which is why I tell people I'm not writing it.

Except for the parts I've written.

[talktomeinclexa]

The Royal Guard

By: TalktomeinClexa

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Mild violence

Status: WIP

Summary: Princess Clarke of Arkadia is kidnapped by mercenaries while on a visit to one of the kingdom's cities. Her abductors treat her well enough, but everything becomes more complicated when their client orders them to execute her. Lexa thought this was just another job. High risk, high pay. But when push comes to shove, will she betray her orders or her heart?

***

Chapter 1: Kidnapping

The rain fell on the windows with lazy regularity, drawing random patterns on the glass. Her Royal Highness Princess Clarke, the oldest daughter of King Jacob and Queen Abigail, stood behind it, face turned toward the outside to admire the old city’s architecture.

Contrary to the capital, a modern and fast-paced urban center peppered with prestigious hotels and tech companies, Reim offered a quieter, more human-sized environment. Several parks invited families and young couples to relax during the warmer months, and cruises on the canal traversing the city from west to east delighted both locals and tourists. However, the Princess’s favorite attraction remained the Art Museum, an imposing neo-Gothic building hosting the largest collection of paintings and sculptures in Arkadia.

Freeing two hours between her speech at a newly opened hospital in the morning and her visit to the orphanage in the afternoon had required some juggling and careful planning. But the “Nature” exhibit alone — soon set to leave for the Louvre — was well worth the trouble. It was merely unfortunate the rain started while she admired the earthy-toned pieces and that the museum’s parking lot was located outside.

“Would you like to remain here longer, Your Highness? The rain might yet abate.”

Clarke turned toward Major Byrne, the head of her bodyguards, and shook her head. “No. We have already postponed the arrival at the orphanage so that I could enjoy this visit. I will not have the children wait any longer because I did not want to get wet. Let’s go.”

The older woman nodded, knowing she had a better chance of altering the weather with her mind than convincing the princess to reconsider. They would have to stride to cross the 50 meters separating them from the two reinforced cars.

Dante Wallace, the curator and an old friend of the royal family, walked them back toward the entrance, chatting amicably with Clarke as they went. He had been kind enough to give her a tour while the museum was closed to the public for the day, a favor she would not soon forget.

For a man well into his sixties, he retained a light gait and a juvenile enthusiasm that made his pale blue eyes twinkle. It was no wonder the princess — a talented artist and art aficionado herself — appreciated his company.

“Thank you for the invitation today, Mr. Wallace,” Clarke said with a smile as they walked through the 20th century exhibit leading to the staircase. “I had a marvelous time and would have been chagrined to miss this exhibit.”

The man bowed low, his pale skin reddening. “The pleasure was all mine, Your Highness. It isn’t every day that I have the chance to discuss those masterpieces in such enjoyable company. I hope you will visit us again soon.”

“Me too, Mr. Wallace. Me too.”

As a member of the royal family and heiress to the throne of a small European country, the young woman’s schedule left little room for personal interests and downtime. Inaugurations, visits to hospitals and other charitable works, local and international trips… Since her 21st birthday, her parents had taken to delegate more obligations to her — officially so she could prepare for the day she would rule. Five years later, she wondered if they didn’t also appreciate the extra help. There was only so much two — or even three — people could do. Clarke looked forward to the day her sister Madison would take on some responsibilities too, which would hopefully free some of her afternoons for museum visits and painting.

Despite her resolve to resume her official program of the day, Clarke couldn’t help but stop before one last painting. A 48″ X 70″ portrait of her paternal grandparents on their wedding day immortalized 60 years before. The artist had managed to capture Queen Rose’s kind and shy nature, the white of her dress making her blond hair look golden. Sitting, she stared at her new husband with the devotion befitting a wife. King Conrad, on the other hand, looked stern in his royal uniform, standing ramrod straight, a sword at his side.

Keep reading

[tobiasdrake]

Black Panther and Okoye vs. Namor and Attuma.

These fights are a reflection of one another. As mentioned before, Okoye becoming a Midnight Angel and Shuri becoming the Black Panther was, in their own ways, a step towards one another. Shuri embracing the value of tradition and Okoye embracing the value of progression.

That brings them to their respective rematches against their rivals. Now armed with the power of the Midnight Angel combined with her own talents and well-honed skills, Okoye is able to even the odds against Attuma. The Talokanil who humiliated her before is laid low by the Midnight Angel's power.

Riri also fights Namora at the same time but they don't have any specific rivalry. Riri already got her moment when she fought Namor. Now she's just picking off the spare named Talokanil.

Meanwhile, Shuri's tech is able to bring her and Namor to the desert, but he destroys the ship and damages her weapons. She gets Namor where she needs him to be but she's left stranded, with none of her super-weapons to back her up.

The only option left to her is to fully submerge into the role of the Panther. To entirely become her people's sacred traditional guardian, and fight with just the armor, claws, and Herb strength of her heritage.

That, and the rage she shared with Killmonger.

But accepting these things does not require them to sacrifice their selves, either. Though the Midnight Angel evens the odds, Okoye still fights Attuma with a spear, putting to work the skills she's honed. And while the Panther allows Shuri to carry the fight when her weapons are taken from her, it's a clever ambush utilizing the ship's engines that ultimately bring an end to her fight with Namor.

These women have both seen the value in each other's way of being. They've made concessions. But they retain their selves all the same.

[bestgiftsforyou]

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[internetgiraffekid1673]

Who's your fave oc at the moment?? Tell me about them!

Hoo boy, here we go. Get ready for BACKSTORY!

The short answer is a pair of girls named CJ and Ren otherwise known as Cleric and Watchdog who are college students in a universe with superheroes and started freelancing for those superheroes as a way to make some extra cash. Have a picture of both their regular identities and their alter egos. Designs are still being workshopped. Also, I've been experimenting with different pens on my drawing app, so the artstyle'a a bit all over the place. I'm also bad at character proportions, but their heights are closest to correct in the alter ego picture.

The long answer? Is long. So I'll put it below a cut. :)

So, I have OCs for specific fandoms, but my current favorite OCs aren't actually attached to anything. They just live in a generic superhero verse that could honestly be anything from DC to Powerpuff girls. It wouldn't change much, but I do have some light worldbuilding around the city they live in.

Chorustown is your pretty par for the course comic book city with superheroes and supervillains and a new upstart team of anti-heroes that are basically violent robin hood (steal from the rich, give to the poor). Suffice it to say that whenever all these factions fight each other, it breaks shit, so renter's insurance ain't cheap. Also, suffice it to say that the heroes involved are constantly getting injured, as well as needing information on the ever-shifting threats.

Enter our protagonists: Serenity "Ren" Summers and Cory "CJ" Jack are a pair of college students with a lot of skills and not a lot of money, who are willing to do some questionable shit for income! Also, they're childhood besties turned girlfriends.

During their sophomore year, CJ and Ren realized that while nobody in the civilian sphere would be willing to hire undergrads and actually PAY them, superheroes must have much more limited options, what with the need to keep their identities secret and not have people ask questions. This is also a 'verse where superheroes aren't on great terms with regular law enforcement, so getting caught doing something illegal, even if it helps a lot of people, is a very real threat. It leaves superheroes without a whole lot of options when they need an expert for something in their superhero work. And CJ and Ren both happen to be notable experts.

Ren is an engineering major with a split focus in software and mechanical engineering, as well as some dabbling into social engineering. She's got tech chops and computer knowledge out the wazoo. She's also lived in Chorustown her whole life and knows the city like the back of her hand. Throw in the fact that she's an avid artist who spent (and still does spend) a lot of time sneaking around to make graffiti murals, and you have someone who is basically a surveillance GOD. She can hack anything she wants, follow people around without them ever noticing, and she's capable of designing tech like trackers and bugs (and posseses the skill to plant those). Ren is also a habitually nosy person who has always kept track of significant going ons, for superheroes and villains, major political players, celebrities, and her personal life. She is so uniquely qualified to gather information on people that it isn't even funny. And it goes both ways. She can help someone hide from surveillance just as easily as she can snoop out a hider because she knows exactly where nobody will look.

CJ is a very, very talented med student. She's been into medicine and biology her whole life, with a particular interest in the physiological differences between superheroes and regular people. This includes aliens, animal based powers, meta-humans, mutants---you name it, and she's probably hyperfixated on its biology for at least a month and retained that information. This means she's also dabbled in a lot of other weird disciplines like vet med and astrobiology (which would absolutely be a scientific discipline in a universe where aliens invade on a monthly basis). Add in her medical skills and her technologically inclined girlfriend, and she's got the skills and the tools to treat anything from a bloody nose to a broken appendage to a physiologically based power defect to a species specific disease for just about anybody.

The two of them decided that if they can't get stable income like normal people, they'll get it from superheroes, who will be forced to come to them because there are no other options! But obviously, they can't just publicly be helping out superheroes. That puts soooo many targets on their backs. They'd have villains, law enforcement, and even other superheroes after them (CJ and Ren don't really make a distinction between heroes and anti-heroes; as long as you're helping people, they're chill with you. That would make the more self-righteous folks of both categories pretty pissed to know that their confidants were helping people on the other side of the debate). So they'll need alter egos, and they'll need to be secretive about their base of operations.

And thus, Watchdog and Cleric were born! But the thing is, these two are REALLY paranoid about getting caught because they don't have supet powers to protect themselves from villains or even social power to protect themselves from the legal system. Remember, these two are broke undergrads who lowkey stole all their equipment from their university (it's technically all available for student use, but not in the quantities or for the purposes they use it for).

So they have a lot of fun measures in place. First off, you probably noticed, but their costumes cover their whole bodies and faces and are loose enough on their frames that you can't really tell anything about their body types beyond their height. Secondly, they're both utilizing voice filters that both pitch their voices low enough to sound like dudes and make them sound somewhat robotic so their tone doesn't come through. The settings on the filter can be adjusted as needed (CJ can turn off the tone modulator if she needs to sound soothing, or Ren can change the pitch if she needs to sound a specific age or gender as a distraction). So nobody knows what they look like or what they sound like, and most people assume they're men. Thirdly, Ren has designed some gadgets that disable trackers or bugs planted on their person. Nobody can follow them either.

Their biggest security measure, though, was how they revealed themselves to the super community. Instead of some big announcement, they just stalked the local Chorustown superheroes until opportunity arose. For Ren, it even functioned as advertising her skills since she's basically selling her stalking capability.

In the first fight that a hero got badly injured, CJ basically popped out of the woodwork in her Cleric getup, dragged them into a safe and hidden spot, delivered immediate and effective field first aid, and left the coordinates of an abandoned apartment complex that they've turned into her clinic, as well as a short letter offering her services.

Ren literally listened in on the resident supers conversations until they expressed frustration at not having a particular piece of information, at which point she helpfully left them an anonymous tip as well as a burner phone number, a ghost email account, and some coords if they ever needed info again. Both instances were basically a free trial, since their letters of introduction also specified that payment in some form would be required for later assistance.

Also, because Ren is a damn good stalker and because CJ will have personally treated many heroes wounds and logged their identifying physical and medical traits, it doesn't take them long before they put together, like, everybody's secret identities. Heroes and villains. With a couple of exceptions on the villainous side, since they don't directly interact with them. But there's basically no hiding from them.

Most people also don't know they exist! Other heroes that the Chorustown protectors interact with do question where they're getting treated for injuries after really big fights, and villains know that SOMEONE keeps giving heroes information that foils their plans, but they don't really come to the conclusion that it's an independent party. They always make incorrect assumptions. Like "Oh, they must have a family member or non-combat teammate that fixes them up after fights!" or "Oh, clearly we have a mole who's being bribed or threatened," or "The Chorustown heroes have more powers than they're letting on." Outside heroes only really learn of these two when the Chorustown regulars talk about them, and only really believe it when Ren and CJ see fit to contact them for whatever reason. It's honestly hilarious.

Everybody who has been contacted by CJ and Ren knows where Watchdog's dropspots are and where Cleric's clinic is, but have no idea what they do otherwise. The clinic and the dropspots are nowhere near the university or where their apartment, so people have no reason to assume it's them. They have ghost emails and burner phones, but they're regularly replaced, and Ren is good at cybersecurity, so there's no tracking it that way.

Most people guess that they're associated in some way, since two freelance vigilantes appearing at similar times operating out of the same city with similar technology would be a bit weird otherwise, but it's also assumed to be strictly professional. Nobody would ever guess that they know each other in their civilian lives, much less that they're girlfriends.

People also realize Watchdog and Cleric know their secret identities (and probably other secret stuff, too) since they've been contacted as civilians, but they also aren't overly threatened by it. The two of them are clearly working for money, but they aren't selling any of the heroes' secrets and are honestly very trustworthy and confidential about it. There was paranoia for the first little bit, but it quickly just became a fact of life.

That's pretty much the whole backstory unless you want to know

Other interesting things about them that don't have a whole lot to do with their whole second job shtick!

Ren:

Ren loves art in all forms, but especially painting. She'll paint on anything she can get her hands on. Her notes, random walls and floors, parts of the school, and any of her possessions. The skirt pictured in her drawing is her own handiwork, and most of her other articles of clothing look similar. Most of their dishes have been custom painted with food safe paint. And as previously mentioned, she's a vandal who puts gorgeous murals and fun zany tags in places that they really shouldn't be.

She's rather anti-social. Ren is aggressively introverted and doesn't have a whole lot of patience for stupid people. She's got a pretty quick temper on her and can be very moody. She recognizes that all traits make her just as unpleasant for other people to be around her as it is for her to be around other people. So she mostly just avoids others. She has like 5 people in her social circle, and she's happy to mooch off CJ if she needs anybody else.

Ren has a lovely voice but has no technical knowledge of music. She just likes to sing.

Ren's a major bookworm, but she mostly reads on her phone. People think she's addicted to social media, but she's usually just reading a book. And she'll read literally anything. With enthusiasm. Sure she can argue classics with the best of them, but she reads so much that she also: can get deep into the mechanics of a 1980s space opera you've never heard of; happily engages in ship wars over the generic YA dystopia that's a disguise for a generic YA love triangle; keeps a running list of every perfectly mapped out hero's journey fantasy story she's read; has consumed an entire encyclopedia and REMEMBERS it; spent one memorable week reading nothing but foreign cookbooks; accidentally befriended her computer science professor over a shared love for tragic westerns; and has a categorized list of historical romances with metrics including historical accuracy, how smutty it is, plot outside the romance, time period, location, and social class of the characters, how healthy the romance is, and how compelling.

Her favorite snacks are plain baby carrots and straight honey. She enjoys traumatizing people at parties by drizzling honey straight into her mouth like whipped cream, and she eats so many carrots that multiple have questioned how she hasn't turned orange.

CJ:

CJ is into fashion, but not like trends or anything. She likes to look good while still having her stuff ethically sourced and affordable. She does a lot of thrift shopping and still manages to dress really good (or at least I think so). Her default and favorite style is punk-inspired bad bitch that, for lack of a better term, is a bit on the slutty side, but she does like to experiment. One of these days I'll probably draw lots of different civilian outfits for both of them.

CJ is the opposite of Ren in that she is a total social butterfly. Not only is she suuuuuper extroverted, she also isn't even a little shy, will strike up a conversation with anybody, and knows basically everyone. This also means she has friends from all walks of life, which gets really useful when Watchdog needs informants. The little old Mexican lady next door, the corner store butcher, the chronic smoker at the homeless shelter, the thrift shop owner they both pretend isn't selling drugs, the local town council member, the perpetually sleep deprived culinary arts student who likes to "experiment" in the school kitchens at 3 a.m., the league of legends nerds who always seem to be online, the manic party girls who keep inviting her to a night on the town---all of them get more information than people would expect, and CJ knows and is on good terms with all of them. And not for an ulterior motive, she just genuinely likes people.

CJ has extreme ADHD. She's lucky Ren has a scary good memory and would never let her forget her Adderall, otherwise she's be in trouble. As it stands, she still is rather hyperactive and has a. . .not short, but definitely jumpy attention span.

She's a plant mom. Their apartment has a ton of plants. She really likes ferns and shrubs, but they also have flowers, succulents, grasses, and literally everything else.

CJ plays the violin, but only in fiddle, bluegrass, and trad contexts, so she can barely read sheet music and learns almost everything by ear.

She hates wearing the color purple but has deliberately bought purple clothing solely for Ren to steal.

Both

Are self-proclaimed socialists who participate in a lot of fundraising, activism, and volunteer work.

Have another childhood best friend named Eli, who is a self-proclaimed anarchist and a business major at their rival university. They still get together all the time. He also knows everything about their double life. There's no secrets in this circle. They're all super close, but they have their favorite ways of hanging out. He and Ren bond by going on vandalism field trips where he puts up politically motivated rants, and she makes it look pretty. He and CJ bond by regularly forsaking civilization and going hiking or camping or just chilling in the woods. They all bond by drinking cheap wine mixed with Dr. Pepper while playing video games and doing their homework and drunkenly going on tirades about rich assholes.

He's also shipped them since middle school when he realized they liked each other, but he didn't want to meddle. He got increasingly frustrated by the mutual pining throughout their high school years and finally engineered a situation at their graduation party where they were locked in a closet together for an hour and warned them that if they didn't confess he was going to drug them and write it in permanent marker on their foreheads. They literally came out of the closet after sharing their first kiss and are willing to kill God for him in thanks.

They're both really messy, but in an organized chaos kind of way. Everything in their home does have a place, it's just not always the place that you'd expect. The place for dirty socks, for example, is "on the living room floor in a haphazard pile," and the place for tissue boxes is "three in every room in easily accessible places at all times."

Both of them can cook but prefer to just eat whatever unprepared food is lying around, and will try any combination if it means they don't have to cook. An average dinner in the Jack-Summers household is a bowl of uncooked pasta dipped in peanut butter like it's nacho cheese with a side of bananas.

They really really like cats. They are both allergic to cats.

They're not practicing any religion, but kind of both passively believe that there's probably a capital-G God and also that other lowercase-g gods exist.