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bigskydreaming · 5 years ago

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What kind of house/apt do adult successful Scanny have?

I think it would be something smallish and unassuming on the outside, very approachable. Maybe even like, a townhome or a duplex or something like that, depending on what city Scott ultimately settles in with whatever pack he builds up around him there vs whomever stays in Beacon Hills.

I don’t have any specific headcanons for where Scott relocates to, its just very important to me that he does, because like. He deserves to get far, far away from Beacon Hills. There are too many bad memories there. Its where he died. Its where Allison died, Boyd, Erica. Like, all the bad things that linger with Scott came from Beacon Hills and that damn evil attention-seeking tree stump, and all the good things that linger with Scott are one hundred percent the product of his own actions and the relationships he fostered with the people that became important to him.

There’s nothing in Beacon Hills that gives Scott anything he doesn’t already have by this point, no reason for him to stay other than his mother, who can literally just move as well. But not with Chris Argent. On account of like, well he died too. It was very sad and tragic, I don’t want to talk about it. Tears were shed, its all still really fresh and raw, we should probably just move on. Its what he would want. Probably. Also who cares, ding dong he’s dead and Melissa’s married to some nice doctor who’s never pulled a gun on her son, as well as possessing other qualities that meet somewhat higher standards, I’m sure.

Anyway. We were talking about Scott saying hasta la vista baby to Beacon Hills followed then by a slow motion dramatic walkaway shot before he gets on his motorcycle, adjusts his mirrors, revs the throttle all action movie star-esque, and also sexily - look, they’re not always automatically the same thing - and then he drives away forever from that toxic cesspit of a homicidal zipcode where square footage is calculated in terms of dead bodies. Leaving behind all the like, million and one reasons for him to say Bye Beacon Hills, see you never, try not to become a central locus for evil, but also, I don’t care if you do, it is hashtag NotMyResponsibilityAnymore. But also, I mean. It never was. Just FYI.

And then he flips the town off and accelerates off into the sunset while the town eats his dust, and admittedly Scott isn’t really the type to throw around middle fingers even where deserved, but fuck it, I’m projecting onto him and its my headcanon and I say that pile of excrement in real estate form needs to be flipped off and also, like. Its just an aesthetic thing. For the visuals. Its the whole dramatic end scene, roll credits, “I came, I saw and I blew shit up and now I’m off to reunite with my love interest and have vigorous victory sex” vibe. You get it.

So they relocate somewhere, wherever that is. I honestly don’t care, so long as its nice and doesn’t murder them or inflict gratuitous bodily harm every week and the nearest Satanic foliage is at least two statelines away. Preferably with a thriving supernatural community where Scott and his pack can all feel welcome and like they belong, rather than outsiders eternally hiding in plain sight among potential enemies. Like, somewhere where their neighbors are all vampires and Fae and other supernaturals, but only so long as like, the only reason they ever come over is to borrow a cup of sugar. Never to betray them to randomly resurrected enemies or guilt trip them into solving someone else’s centuries old and completely pointless grudgematch of Unnecessary Drama and Also Doom.

And wherever it is, the pack have their own dwellings and much needed privacy. Far enough apart that even supernatural hearing and smell don’t have them all playing Peeping Tom whether they like it or not, every time a couple wants to get frisky, but close enough together that they’re all still together, and know that more pack, more community, is always just a short walk away.

Scott and Danny’s place is some sort of small but cozy townhome or duplex or something like that, as I said. Scott’s always very aware of his presence and reputation and the power he both commands and also is afforded by peoples’ embellished expectations regarding him. So it was really important to Scott, and thus important to Danny, that their home be unpretentious. Inviting and approachable and not ‘above’ anyone else, or trying to be. Somewhere that when you got to their street and checked the address if you’re new in town and looking for an audience with True Alpha Scott McCall, you stop and do a double take and almost have to revise whatever preconceptions you have, or at least put them on hold, because like…this is where the famous True Alpha lives? Its so…ordinary.

But that’s the point after all….because the more he was looked at as standing apart from all others, the more ‘ordinary’ became the only thing Scott’s really ever aspired to be.

So its not poor, by any means. They do well for themselves, the whole pack, like you said, Scott and Danny are successful in this future. They have jobs that afford them both a sense of purpose and fulfillment of longheld interests, as well as the potential for discovering more, rather than getting locked into things that grow stale overtime as they outgrow fantasy careers that seemed more validating when they were kids dreaming of the future.

Also their jobs, whatever they might be, make them at least successful enough that it allows them both a large degree of autonomy. They can pick their own schedules, more or less. They have finances, but none that will be massively disrupted or stress-inducing if Scott has to take time off for a couple weeks to help a neighboring pack relocate somewhere new after they flee from hunters. Something where Scott’s never forced to choose between his job and keeping him and his pack financially afloat, versus someone needing his help and it not immediately apparent how long that might take resolve. The dream is stability and comfort, and enough personal agency for Scott in how and where he gets both of those, that he never feels like he’s letting down either his pack or innocents asking for his help, because the demands of his job or finances make him feel like it has to be one or the other, he can’t possibly do both.

Ideally, that flexible schedule means that when Scott isn’t helping others, something he now does by choice and simply because he wants to and he can, not because he’s made to feel he has to, like its his responsibility and his alone, because certain boundary-blind best friends have decided they want to play Peter Parker but are gonna need Scott to step up and play the actual Spider-Man part and lend his power even when someone else gets to decide for him when its his responsibility. Oopsie, I tripped and fell and my Bitter Resentment and Still Not Over It slipped out. Oh no. How terrible. Much woe.

Ahem. Anyway. As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted by myself, Scott’s flexible schedule means that when he’s not using it to help others, he has enough left over that he can afford (and justify to himself) using it for himself and his own personal enjoyment and interests, actually prioritize and commit to his own self-care, because a healthy, happy Alpha is a healthy, happy Pack. Someone said that once, probably. Probably not Hobbes. Definitely heard that somewhere though. Trust me, I’m a doctor.

So with the aid of this newfangled invention produced by cutting edge technology, this quote unquote “Free Time…” Scott explores other interests. His own. Le gasp, le shocking, le about the fuck time. He explores the novelty of being able to even have hobbies, because depressingly (why am I like this, science side of tumblr), there was once a time when Scott stopped bothering trying to figure out what all he was interested in, because he kinda assumed he’d be long dead before it ever had a chance to matter.

But by the power invested in me by Fuck You, Jeff Davis, in this future, none of that comes to pass. So free time and personal passions for Scott. He has them, in abundance. So like. He gardens, for sure. That’s why I specified a duplex or townhouse instead of an apartment in a complex or building….they live somewhere where they at least have their own garden or yard. Scott designs and implements it personally, something like his own personal Zen garden on a scale commensurate with What He Deserves. He goes outside whenever he’s starting to feel stressed about some obligation or commitment or another, and just….plays.

That’s what it is to him. He just plants things. Prunes things. Adds fountains or bird feeders or statuary, little personalized touches here and there that make his own personal territory uniquely his and his alone. Gardening in his yard is His Time in His Space, and all the pack know better than to interrupt him when he’s out in his yard working away, unless its an absolute emergency.

Danny enforces this with an iron fist and an ability to tank your credit score and spread all your most embarrassing pictures internet-wide with just a single keystroke. And Danny is the enforcer Scott doesn’t have to be. People forget that everyone loves Danny….but in no small part due to his usual proximity to Jackson. Next to Jackson, everyone looks like an angel. But Danny, on his own? Can be mean. Will be mean, if you touch or hurt or threaten or even just inconvenience his man, because like, who the fuck do you think you are and also it doesn’t even matter because he just replaced your whole identity online and if you’re nice and apologize and kiss ass without Scott ever having to know What You Almost Did, maybe Danny will have mercy on you and actually let you know what your new identity is, so you can use it to like, make a new life with the details he made up to replace your old personal info that no longer gets you anywhere.

Danny - that’s Miss Nasty if you mess with his husband - is chaotic neutral with an exception for “this is my list of special people. Touch any of them and my alignment is Chaotic Evil for however long as until I have personally escorted you to your Doom and physically kicked you into a bottomless pit where you will suffer for eternity.”

But then he smiles and charms everyone into only remembering lol oh yeah, everybody likes Danny, so that once again, everyone forgets that’s at least partially self-preservation because if you don’t love Danny and everyone Danny loves, like, you’re dumb and also screwed. Why are you bad at making good choices.

Don’t feel bad though. Danny’s very good at making people forget this part, t least until the next time he reminds people of that little piece of trivia. Have you seen him smile? Its like that flashing bulb thing Will Smith uses in Men in Black to make people forget what they just saw or were doing. Except without any supervision and/or morality because fuck your ethics, its Danny’s bewitching smile, he’ll use it however he wants. Get your own.

(The thing is, any best friend of Jackson has to have at least a little capacity for Evil. Danny just hides it well, thanks to the cloaking camouflage of Actually Having a Soul in Addition, and like, being a people person who actually understands how people work and how not to alienate them by being a total uncaring jackass 24/7. Its a fine line, except its really not, and Danny is very talented at all things and possesses an abundance of charm. Plus he’s just hot, and like. Let’s face it. That always helps. I mean, definitely never hurts).

The end result of all this tangent-having, is that Scott has enough him time and enough of a barrier from people constantly distracting him, that the exterior of Scott and Danny’s place, for all its otherwise ordinary appearance, Scott has over time turned into his own personal slice of paradise, and is exactly what that looks like to him.

See, the thing about Scott is no matter how hard he tries to be ordinary and value being just like everyone else and get lost in the crowd…..he never will quite manage it, because Scott just isn’t like anyone else. He’s good, in a way that too few people even aspire to be, because so many people just think its not possible. Especially not after having lived through the kinds of traumas Scott has, been dealt an especially unlucky hand. But Scott manages it anyway, in spite of everything, spiting every thing that tries to make him be anything lesser….and because of that, he’ll always stand at least a little apart from the crowd, be a little distinct from the rest, impossible to ever fully be lost or muted by any crowd of any size.

And the little slice of the world Scott makes just his and Danny’s, no one else’s. He doesn’t even need to share it with his pack without it being any less inviting to his pack for all that. It reflects this understated aspect of Scott, this impossible to quantify essence of him that he himself is too unassuming to ever fully realize is there, and everyone else just accepts without questioning…because they’ve learned by now when you’re given a gift, just accept it and appreciate it.

So in structure and layout, their home is nothing special, but amidst a neighborhood of similar structures, it pops all the same. It draws the eye without dominating your vision. It makes you want to look at it, want to come closer, want to be around it, much like the man who designed it. Who made it, cares for it, and never neglects it or takes it for granted. Its always green, year round, and filled with a variety of flowers that come from all over the world but can all complement each other and coexist without endangering any of the neighboring plants. None of them overgrowing the garden or in any way being at any of the other plants’ expense.

They’re like Scott’s pack in that way….of all shapes and sizes, coming from all around the world, of all kinds of types, not even just limited to werewolves. All beautiful, all unique, all existing in harmony. Even though Scott’s never shared this with anyone else, in his mind, each flower or plant he adds to his garden represents one specific member of his pack. Its Theirs, its what he associates with them. In this way, they’re all represented, it reminds him whatever conflict arises internally, its nothing they can’t ultimately all work out without compromising any single individual. And with each plant needing its own special attention and time devoted to cultivating it and caring for it, they serve as proxies for the pack members they represent.

Due to this, Scott can tell himself with just a glance at his garden - reassure himself, whenever his self-doubts get the better of him and he starts to beat himself up for not being there enough for someone or neglecting someone or not doing better - but with his garden, just going outside and checking it over can remind Scott that he’s not neglecting anyone. Because every time he tends to the plant that represents a pack member, Scott reflects on that pack member as he does so. Just going over what they’ve been up to, mentally checking in on them, casting about to see if he’s noticed any sign something’s been bothering them, making sure to spend one on one time with them.

He can’t tend to a plant without associating it with their linked pack member….and in this way, as long as he can look around and take in with a glance the sight of his garden, all carefully tended to, no plant neglected, all watered and pruned and harmonious and appreciated….and it serves as a visual reminder with which to reassure himself….he’s not forgetting anyone, overlooking anyone. Nobody’s being neglected, he’s always thinking about his pack and keeping their best interests at heart and if any problems do pop to mind while he’s tending to one of his plants or flowers, of course that would be the first thing he’d make a plan to go check in on and address personally, once he’s making his rounds later and having a little face time and conversation with his various packmates.

Of all the flowers and various plant types in his garden, there’s only one fruit….a single eye catching and lovingly attended orange tree. That’s Danny. They’re his favorite, and orange is his favorite color. There’s just something unique about it. Especially in the midst of so much green.

The flowers nearest the front door and around the external structures of the building, a pillar underneath the small, roofed-in entrance way, perhaps, a gate at the front of the property, next to the driveway, maybe a trellis along the wall just next to the door…..the flowers adorning and framing the entrance to their home are a carefully arranged spray of seven different hues.

A literal rainbow, advertising this House and All Who Live Here Be Gaaaaaaay.

Scott’s always had a sly, understated sense of humor. Mischievous, but not usually at anyone’s expense, and subtle enough that most people don’t tend to credit him with having much of a sense of humor. He does though….he’s just never needed words to express it.

Advertising himself and his personal pride with a literal year round rainbow that’s still subtle enough that most people don’t clue into its layered meaning or implications without being told. Later in life, stable and safe and more centered, Scott gets a pretty big kick out of how often people fail to see what’s right in front of them. Him living his best life on his own terms and not even being shy about it….and if other people can’t connect the dots on their own….its a pity, Scott muses with a mostly internalized laugh, that most people are just in too big a hurry or too eager to take things at face value to truly see what their surroundings look like and are full of.

Danny gets the joke, and thinks its hilarious how few other people figure it out. But that’s mostly just because Danny can be kind of a dick. He’s sorry not sorry. Its not his fault people are dumb. RIP to 90% of humanity, but he has braincells.

He and Scott complement each other well.

Similarly, just as Scott’s personal space is outdoors, natural, and helps him feel part of the world, feel part of nature, connected to it and in harmony with the natural order of things and not something completely separate….Danny’s personal space is indoors, the extra room converted entirely into his personal office or Batcave. Filled with monitors and screens and hard drives, a Hacker’s Paradise that keeps Danny plugged into the grid, manmade tools and his own cultivated expertise giving him the world at his fingertips. Any needed information or a satellite view of something happening with allies on the other side of the world is just a few clicks of a mouse away.

He’s also got every video game console known to man, because Danny’s Me Time is kicking ass on whatever game the latest redditor or twitterbaiting bigot to catch his ire is high-ranking on.

And if he also happens to use his gameplay as an opportunity to backdoor into said Wankstain’s systems and do whatever needs doing to make his life and those of all his enabling social circle’s a living hell and a lesson in empathy that comes too late cuz nobody has any for them because they suck and are Satan….

Well. Sucks to be them, and also, what kind of moron makes enemies while online gaming without first erecting even a nominal defense against Superior Intellects who might feel like retaliating against his jokes, that aren’t really jokes so much as the synaptic misfiring of racist braincells and proof that sometimes, evolution shits out a turd?

“That sounds like victim blaming,” Scott notes in an absent kind of tone when watching over his husband’s shoulder one day. Not really judgmental so much as just something to say.

“You say victim blaming, I say pest control,” Danny hums unapologetically. “Sides, can’t be victim blamed if you’re not a victim, and you can’t be a victim if you’re really just a human-shaped mistake who has no redeeming qualities, an online presence that’s the virtual equivalent of bad BO with no medical cause for an excuse, and a social media history that makes a strong case for your best possible contribution to society being a qualifier for a Darwin Award. Would you blame a cockroach for getting itself stepped on by stepping out into the light? I mean, you could, I guess. Just doesn’t seem terribly productive if you ask me.”

“Why do you hate cockroaches? They’re living creatures who never did anything to you, why would hurt them by comparing one to this guy?” Scott asks, because that’s really the more important part of the conversation.

“Dunno,” Danny shrugs. “I’m sure I could find some way to blame it on childhood trauma if you really need an answer.”

“No, just wondering if you’re gonna be done in time for dinner. I’m making tortellini.”

“I’ll be done in ten minutes, I swear. And ready to eat like a metaphor that’s more appropriate to you. Righteous vengeance really works up an appetite.”

“Uh-huh. Just out of curiosity, who exactly are you righteously avenging at the moment?”

“Humanity? Good taste? God, who couldn’t possibly have foreseen this free will thing would go so very wrong? That poor defunct condom that tried its best but in the end, just wasn’t up to the task of keeping this shithead from being unleashed unto the Earth? I dunno. Do I have to pick just one?”

Not really. As stated, Scott’s not actually judging anymore than Danny’s trying to hide this from him. They’re both in total agreement about the kind of people Danny cyber-vigilantes. They just have different approaches about how they should be handled. Scott, while not violent by choice for the most part, does tend to favor the direct approach. He just feels its right that a person know why exactly he thinks they’re a terrible person who deserves what they get. So he tends more towards the approach of: punch a bigot in the face, wait for a second for a whiff of remorse or sign someone might be suddenly reevaluating life choices, because he’s Scott and hope springs eternal, but when no such revelation comes, just shrugging and walking away. Oh well. He tried. Sorta. Well, kinda.

Danny, in contrast, prefers to go for the jugular and leave no hint of who or what might have been behind the all-encompassing full frontal assault that hits every online trace of his target’s miserable and miserly existence. It keeps them paranoid and this keeps him sated. Plus, his stance is when they don’t know what exactly earned them an enemy of his caliber, it forces them to reflect or at least call to mind every thing they can think of doing wrong to someone that might result in that someone hating them this much.

The ironic thing of course is Danny doesn’t even really hate them, because that implies a level of giving a shit he can’t ever quite seem to muster. He mostly just thinks they suck and should suffer for that. And he gets bored a lot.

Look, his husband and fellow werewolves are off saving the world every other week and being all kinds of kick-ass and action adventure movie-star types in the process. A guy sitting behind at home all the time has to get his jollies somehow. Also, he’s compiled a very engaging soundtrack to accompany his personal heroic undertakings, and it does wonderful things for his self image. Danny’s all about that self-care.

Plus, the first time he and Scott had something of a disagreement on their approaches, Danny unapologetically stated that loving him meant loving his vindictive side, because he personally was quite fond of it and thought it was really something of a Look. Also, making that Look into a Thing might be something of a dealbreaker for him, because he really didn’t want to undersell his capacity to be petty, and how little shame he felt about having said capacity. His essential life philosophy boils down to sometimes people just suck and somebody needs to say so. Maybe by draining their bank account and redirecting the funds to an ironically relevant charity.

“Fine,” Scott had conceded with a sigh. “Just be careful about making enemies like this, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

(That was really his only real concern all along. He’s a Nurturing Nelly. Scott can’t help but be a worry wart when his husband roams the internet highways under a masked IP address, taking on bandits and bigots all willy nilly, with not a bit of concern for himself. Its their biggest common ground, and Danny doesn’t have claws or a killer bite to protect himself with. A bite fetish, maybe, but that’s not quite the same thing, and also neither here nor there, and also also, he would like to plead the fifth while reminding you he can access and pull up your full porn-browsing history if you’d like to press that line of conversation further. Pervert).

Anyway, alls well that ends well, and thus Danny couldn’t help but be charmed at the reminder that his hubby is a man with clear priorities and his biggest is always gonna be the safety of his loved ones. Aww, sweetums.

“Aww, sweetums,” he said, just to see Scott squirm, because the more unexpected the endearment, the more Scott doesn’t know how to take it. And a squirmy Scott is an adorable Scott, Danny has always felt, and he is a man who appreciates his eye candy, as well as a go-getter who knows what he likes and goes and gets it, even if that means playing dirty. Especially if that means playing dirty. Danny likes dirty.

After all, dirty men need to shower, and showering together conserves water, and having sex while showering together is just a solid application of having eyes, a hot husband, and a healthy libido. It just makes good sense. He’s goal-oriented and a linear thinker, what do you want, leave him alone. He’s valid and you’re just jealous.

Still, exotic endearment applied, he’d then followed up with:

“How dare you accuse me of being so bad at the thing that I am most skilled at that you imply I’m even capable of ever leaving digital tracks like a total N00b. What do I look like to you? A 4chan poster who just figured out how to spoof their GPS for the first time?”

Danny rolled his eyes, exaggerating his wounded pride. It was the principle of the matter, and he was very principled. Sometimes. Kinda. If principles mean whimsy and whimsy means shh, don’t interrupt me, I’m doing bad things to bad people and this is very important work that must be savored or you really don’t get the full oomph of the revenge-gasm. Yes, he said revenge-gasm and he meant it. No he will not elaborate. Imagination is free.

“Ten points from Gryffindor for your low opinion of me, your valued and valuable life partner. Also, no sex for you, until…..okay maybe that’s too far. You seem like you’ve learned your lesson.”

“You’re too merciful,” Scott had said drily.

“Nobody’s perfect,” Danny had said lackadaisically. “Also, not to disrespect your tortellini-making expertise, but any chance we can put a pin in dinner until after we go have wild, passionate sex? This pending revenge-gasm is making me horny and I really hate to waste a good head of moral crusading.”

“That was a terrible pun.”

“I have never made a pun in my life, how dare you, my sense of humor is sophisticated. I’m not a peasant, Scott. And where did we land on the sex.”

“Didn’t we just do it this morning?”

“I have needs, Scott.”

“You’re insatiable.”

“And water is wet. I don’t see the relevance. Also, if you don’t want me jumping you 24/7, you have no business being so hot. Its your own damn fault, deal with it.”

“There you go with the victim-blaming again.”

“I’ll do five Hail Marys after I finish doing sinful things to you and racking up another five. Its more efficient to tackle them all at once.”

“Not sure that’s how that works, babe.”

“Eh, guess I’ll just go to hell then. Still worth it. Still your fault. Oh look, I’m naked all of a sudden, how did that happen?”

Scott sighs. “What am I going to do with you?”

“R is for Ravish me, if you’re really looking for suggestions. I can probably do the whole alphabet if you need. Or just do me. Whichever.”

Scott cut off further melodramatic peacocking with a kiss.

Things proceeded to a total media black out from there. Further voyeuristic attempts at seeing the Alpha and his mate get down, get down, would necessitate the invocation of the cautionary tale of the last pack member to not properly respect the sanctity of the inner sanctum of the Vindictive Master of Digital Identities and Other Important Details. His name is Chester, middle initial A., surname with a phonetic similarity to certain orifices. That wasn’t always his name, but it was once Danny got done with him, and that was only after Scott gave him the Pointed Stare of One Who Will Look More Benevolently On Those Who Demonstrate Both Mercy and Restraint.

Tis very much a tale of woe, as Chester is 6′5″, 260 lbs of visually intimidating werewolf muscle, and facial features that when accompanied by choice words and phrases, rather does call to mind certain similarities to certain orifices.

Like I said. Danny is very good at what he does. And everybody loves Danny.

….Aside from all other motivating reasons, its just a good idea in general.

Y’know.

Practically speaking.

#scanny #future fic not fic #idk #look call it whatever you want just dont quote me #like I ever know how to describe half the stuff that comes out of my head #lol as ifffff

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chasholidays · 7 years ago

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bellarke last man on earth au please!

Before the virus hits, Clarke can count on one hand the number of patients she’s seen die. Death happens, of course, at the hospital, but she doesn’t witness it often. She’s a gynecologist who doesn’t deal with births, and if she finds a life-threatening problem with one of her patients, she refers them to someone else.

Specialties don’t really matter, once the virus hits. It’s all hands on deck, and it’s still not enough. It’s a horror movie played in fast forward, quarantines breaking down, patients dying before they make it to the hospital, doctors becoming patients in spite of every precaution. And Clarke working endlessly, shifts bleeding together as she tries to save just one person, as she waits for the sickness to hit her.

It never does, and while she doesn’t take credit for Madi surviving, she knows neither of them would have made it alone. She couldn’t watch the whole world die. She has this one girl, just the two of them left in the entire city, from what she can tell. Maybe the entire world.

“What do we do?” Madi asks. “Why did we–”

“We won the genetic lottery,” says Clarke, although it doesn’t really feel like that. Being the last two people alive isn’t exactly a prize she wants to win.

But if they survived, other people must have too. The mortality rate is high, but it’s not everyone. They can find other survivors, and they can rebuild.

“We just have to figure out where the other people are,” she decides. “We should check the other hospitals in the city, look around, see what we can find. Maybe get a radio? And if there’s no one in town, well–I assume gas is free. We’ll find the other survivors.”

“What if there aren’t any?”

Clarke doesn’t know Madi, not really. She was in the hospital because her foster parents were mistreating her, and she was still there when the virus hit. Clarke had heard she wasn’t getting sick from one of the other doctors, and as everything else got worse, Clarke looked out for her.

“Then we have each other,” she says, because that’s it.

That’s all they know for sure.

Once they’ve searched the city and found no one, they get Clarke’s car and go on the road. They find a dog on the way to New York, but aside from that, there’s nothing, just empty roads and empty towns, a whole world left without anyone in it. It’s slow going, because they want to be sure, not to miss anyone, but it seems as if anyone who survived would be looking for them too. It doesn’t seem as if it would be hard.

They’re in Virginia when Madi says, “Maybe we should stop.”

“Stop?”

“Maybe there isn’t anyone else. We should find a good place to live. We can put out notices on the radio, but–”

But it’s hard, moving around. It’s so fucking hard, coming into a new place to find everyone dead, to drive through another ghost city. They can’t keep on doing it without getting beaten down.

“Where do you want to go?” Clarke asks, and then slams on the breaks.

There’s a piece of plywood with a message on it by the side of the road, the type they’ve seen tons of. Most of them say things like fresh peaches or tomatoes for sale next exit, but this one says, Alive in DC.

“Do you think–” Madi asks, voice so soft she can barely hear it.

There’s a date in the corner; the sign is only a week old.

“I don’t know. Let’s find out.”

The signs continue as they get closer to DC, always the same style, apparently painted by the same person. Once they get close enough, the message changes to, Okay, technically I’m alive in Arlington, I figured DC would be easier to navigate to, and they follow the signs into a suburb, Clarke’s nerves getting worse and worse the closer they get.

It’s not as if she doesn’t want more survivors. But with so few of them, it feels dangerous. She and Madi get along, but what if this third person is awful? Cruel or difficult or just–annoying? Beggars can’t be choosers, and Clarke knows they need to work with whomever they can find.

But still. She can’t just be excited like Madi is. She can’t help worrying.

Madi is bouncing. “Where do you think they are? Do you think there’s a lot of them?”

“No idea,” says Clarke. “But they’ll probably hear us coming. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s hit the grocery store. Find some supplies, and then we’ll see if we can find the survivors. They’re putting up signs, so they might not even be here right now. They might be out looking for survivors too.”

“Do you think it’s safe?”

Clarke has to smile. “Honestly? I don’t know. But we don’t have a choice. Hopefully anyone who lived through that is more interested in survival than–” She shakes her head. “Anything else. We don’t have enough survivors we can just throw allies away.”

“But we’re going to be careful.”

“Yeah. And if we don’t like them, we’ll leave.”

“But then we’ll be alone again,” Madi says, soft, and Clarke smiles.

“We’re not alone. We have each other. And Milo,” she adds, smiling at the dog in the backseat. “And if one person survived, there are more. We’ll find the good ones.”

“I still hope this one is a good one.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They grab some nonperishable food, get batteries and medicine too, just to be safe. Electricity is spotty at best, and Clarke’s not good enough with technology to figure out alternate power sources for anything. Once they’re settled somewhere, they’ll need to figure out how they’re going to live, on a daily basis, but for now they’re getting by taking food from abandoned stores and using the car for power.

It’s only been a few weeks, and the future already feels endless.

There’s someone waiting for them when they leave the store, and Clarke finds herself moving between the stranger and Madi without even thinking about it. It’s man, a few years older than Clarke, probably, with curly black hair and a pair of hipster glasses. His arms are crossed over his chest, which emphasizes his muscular build, and he’s frowning like they aren’t exactly what he expected. Or maybe not what he was hoping for.

Then his face clears. “Holy fuck, you’re real.”

Clarke has to laugh. “We’re real, yeah. You put up the signs?”

“It was that or steal a car, yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Thanks for showing up. I thought I might be the last person left in the country.”

“In the country?”

“Maybe the continent. I’m hoping it didn’t make it across the ocean.”

Clarke bites the corner of her mouth. “I think it started in Europe.”

All the color drains from the man’s face, but his expression stays hard. “What makes you think that?”

“I’m a doctor. I was at the hospital when the first case came in. The first case for us. We’d been hearing–it moved so fast we didn’t get much warning, but–”

“Fuck. My sister is in Germany,” he adds. “I was hoping–”

“If it’s a genetic resistance, she might have it too,” Clarke offers. “She could be alive.”

“Yeah, she could.” He looks between them. “Are you two–”

“We’re not related,” says Clarke. She doesn’t want to give him false hope. “She was in the hospital for something else, and–we were the only survivors.”

“Where’s the hospital?”

“Boston. You’re the first person we’ve met.”

“Jesus.” He nods, once. “Well, uh–if you want cooked food, I’ve got my stuff mostly working. You two are welcome.”

“Three,” says Madi. “We found a dog.”

He smiles. “You three, sorry.”

“Should we leave the car here?”

“Up to you. It’s not far to my place, but if you want it close in case I’m a psycho, I don’t blame you.”

“So now if I bring the car, I’m admitting I think you might be a psycho.”

“I think you might be a psycho, if it helps.”

She has to smile. “Yeah, I feel a lot better. I’m Clarke, by the way. This is Madi and Milo.”

“Bellamy,” he says. “It’s just a couple blocks.”

“My landlord was really into solar energy,” Bellamy explains, unlocking the door of a duplex. “Which is lucky for me, I guess. All my stuff is still running. I’m still going to be in trouble once I run out of food, but–” He shrugs. “That was always going to be bad.”

“You’ve just been staying here?”

“I don’t have a car, and I haven’t driven in years. DC seemed like a pretty good place to stay. It’s the capital, so if someone comes looking–”

“Yeah,” says Clarke, looking around his place. It’s fairly tidy, almost eerily normal. The kind of place she would have visited before. “We didn’t really have a plan for where to go.”

“It’s a little weird,” he admits. “Being just–here. But it’s not like going somewhere else would help.”

“It’s weird everywhere, if it makes you feel better. We were just talking about how we need to stop moving. It was too hard going from town to town, finding nobody.”

Bellamy smiles with half his mouth. “So I came along at the right time, huh?”

“We came to you.”

“Same difference.” He looks between them. “I don’t want to brag, but my shower still works, if you guys want to get cleaned up.”

“A real shower?” Madi asks.

“I assume the water’s going out eventually, but it hasn’t yet. There’s shampoo and stuff in there.”

“Can I?” she asks Clarke, and Clarke smiles. It is, admittedly, a little weird to be basically a parental figure, but Madi’s a good kid, and she needs someone. Clarke’s just glad neither of them is alone.

And now Bellamy isn’t either.

“Go ahead,” she says. “I’ll wait.”

By unspoken agreement, she and Bellamy wait until Madi’s in the bathroom with the water running before they move. Bellamy rubs the back of his neck, offers Clarke a smile.

“I have alcohol in the kitchen.”

“That would be great.”

“I did everything I could,” Bellamy explains as he prepares drinks. “They said to stay inside if you weren’t experiencing symptoms, so I did. And then–I tried to follow the news on Twitter, post about it using the hashtag, try to get some attention. But the internet went down when the panic and looting started, and it never came back.”

“So here you are.”

“Here I am. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”

“We are?”

“You’re the first humans I’ve seen in a month. For all I know, we’re the last people left alive in the world. If you guys were angry cannibals I’d probably still want you to stay.”

She has to smile. “Yeah, I get that. We were looking for a place.”

“And now you’ve got one.”

“We do.”

Survivors trickle in slowly. First comes Raven Reyes, a tech genius who found them by tracking energy usage somehow. She gets their a radio signal working, and that brings in Monty, and then Miller, and others. By six months after the virus, they have a community, albeit a very small, very sad one, and it’s starting to feel like they’ve figured out how it’s going to be.

Which is probably why Roan brings up repopulation.

“I’m not saying we have to do it now,” he says, “but it’s something we should be thinking about. This is our gene pool. We should be thinking about expanding and maximizing it.”

“Maximizing it?” Bellamy asks, wary.

“We should be thinking about genetic diversity, making the most of our limited resources. We have to assume we’re the only people left alive, and if that’s the case, it’s on us to continue the human race.”

“Are we in a hurry?” Clarke asks. “If anyone wants to get pregnant, they can, but I don’t think we need to start telling people to have more sex.”

“I think plenty of people are already having sex,” Bellamy adds. “If they get pregnant, they get pregnant.”

“We could be encouraging it.”

“Or you could just tell Raven you want to hook up,” says Clarke. “That would be a lot faster.”

“It’s not just about me and Raven. I think this is a conversation we need to be having generally. Our romantic relationships aren’t just our own business anymore. The future of the species is at stake.”

“So you want to fuck a lot of girls,” says Bellamy. “Got it.”

“Genetic diversity. Romance is all well and good, but we have other concerns now too.”

“Consensual pregnancy with willing partners,” says Bellamy. “That’s all we ask. If you want to bring this up as a group concern, knock yourself out, but if anyone says you’re pressuring them–”

“Give me some credit. I want to be logical, not non-consensual. I’m not going to start forcing anyone into unwanted relationships.”

And that seems to be true, but once the topic is out there, it’ suddenly all anyone can talk about. Clarke has been deliberately Not Thinking about romance, and even if this isn’t romance, it’s uncomfortably close.

Especially when Bellamy suddenly becomes everyone’s most desired potential partner. Not that Clarke’s surprised–he’s young and attractive and intelligent, and he’s certainly her first choice to father a child.

If she was having a child. And he was–

“I’m going to kill Roan.”

Clarke smiles as Bellamy collapses next to her. “It’s hard being popular.”

“I’m all for survival, but if I’m parenting half the kids in the entire world, it’s not great for genetic diversity.”

“So pick your favorite co-parent and go with it.”

He clears his throat, looking awkward. “She hasn’t asked.”

It’s not as if Clarke can be sure everyone else has asked. But they don’t have so many women, and he probably wouldn’t be so awkward if he wasn’t thinking–

“Not all of us are ready to start repopulating the Earth just yet,” she says, careful.

“I’m not either,” he says. “It just feels a little–trivial. To worry about romance, with everything else going on.”

“We could probably use some triviality. And babies, eventually. So you should tell her.”

He looks pained. “Clarke, please tell me you don’t–”

“I just want to hear it,” she says, and that makes him laugh, lean in, bump his nose against hers.

“Do you want to help me repopulate the Earth?” he asks.

“Not right now,” she says. “But I bet we can figure out something else to do.”

“Yeah,” he says. “I bet we can.”

It’s not how Clarke would have chosen to meet her husband and the father of her children, not even close, but, well. There’s no one else she’d rather have by her side at the end of the world.

And that’s something to celebrate.

#zombee

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nellieakponinesblog · 4 years ago

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mirchideveloper · 5 months ago

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jayanthmirchidevelopers · 6 months ago

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sloujba · 4 years ago

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France Télévisions mobilise ses antennes linéaires et numériques tout au long de la journée du 1er octobre 2020 pour venir en aide au peuple libanais, suite à l’explosion qui a dévasté Beyrouth le 4 août.

Point d’orgue de cette mobilisation d’envergure des antennes, des programmes et de l’information, une soirée spéciale présentée par Nagui proposée en direct sur France 2 et sur France Inter.

La soirée commencera par la diffusion d’un reportage de la rédaction d'Envoyé Spécial lancé par Elise Lucet, qui reviendra sur cette page dramatique de l’histoire du Liban. Place ensuite, sur la scène de L’Olympia, à un grand concert de soutien et d’appel aux dons, dont la direction artistique a été confiée à Ibrahim Maalouf. De nombreux artistes français, libanais et internationaux seront réunis pour exprimer leur fraternité avec le peuple libanais, tandis que Léa Salamé interviendra depuis Beyrouth à plusieurs reprises pendant la soirée.

Pour cette grande journée, France Télévisions et Radio France s’engagent aux côtés de La Croix-Rouge française. Cette dernière reversera l’intégralité des dons ainsi recueillis à La Croix-Rouge libanaise.

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Le grand concert Unis Pour Le Liban : parrainé par le célèbre trompettiste Ibrahim Maalouf, ce grand concert caritatif aura lieu en direct de la mythique salle de L'Olympia.

De nombreux artistes ont répondu présents pour cet événement exceptionnel: Vianney, Florent Pagny, Clara Luciani, Hiba Tawaji, Ycare, Pascal Obispo, Bernard Lavilliers, Matthieu Chedid, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Astrig Siranossian, Salvatore Adamo, Yannick Noah, Cyril Mokaiesh, Patrick Bruel, Melody Gardot, Tryo, Daniel Levi, Madame Monsieur …

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Enfin, cette mobilisation sera largement accompagnée et relayée sur les réseaux sociaux de France Télévisions, et ce tout au long de la journée.

Un événement à partager et à commenter avec le hashtag #UnisPourLeLiban

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americanfreighttrucking · 6 years ago

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kipspropertinestconsulting · 2 years ago

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clarencenicholsonata · 6 years ago

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6 Marketing Trends You Should Actually Follow in 2019

New year, new marketing trends. And the buzz in 2019 is all about using technology to deliver more personalized and powerful marketing.

2019 is continuing to see the trend of marketing and technology becoming intertwined. Marketing automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will continue to be used by businesses of all sizes to deliver more personalized messaging.

The Marriage of Marketing and Technology

2018, marketing and technology experts witnessed the ubiquity of AI, chatbots, and Augmented Reality (AR) technology. AR apps such as “Zombies Go” allowed you to enter a zombie nation where you fight against the zombie apocalypse, all while still seeing personalized advertisements.

Chatbots exploded, providing marketing and customer service across websites and Facebook pages.

At Google I/O, the multibillion-dollar company’s annual developer conference, Google Duplex stole the show. The new AI assistant booked a hair appointment in front of millions of viewers all the while mimicking the idiosyncrasies of human speech.

Gone are the days when traditional marketing tools such as ad copy were enough to reach the global market. Today, global marketing strategies and technology marry to form a union that is not expected to end anytime soon.

Here are the top 6 marketing trends you should consider implementing in 2019.

1. AI and Chatbots to Generate Revenue

While 2018 saw good adoption of chatbots, 2019 will see the usage explode beyond just Facebook messages or Twitter responses.

In fact, Oracle reports that 80% of businesses want chatbots by 2020.

While customer service has been the primary domain of chatbots in years past, 2019 will see a rise in the application of chatbots for sales and marketing. Companies like Hubspot are leveraging Facebook Messanger chatbot platforms like ManyChat for lead generation through Facebook advertising.

This is a highly effective strategy where brands can run Facebook ads to their targeted audiences, but instead of the click-through fall-off that occurs between webpage transition, ManyChat Messenger Bot engages with the user natively in Facebook to sign them up for a webinar. This seamless experience dramatically increases conversions and decreases CPA.

Here are a couple more ways you can implement chatbots to increase sales for your business:

Upselling: Right after a customer buys, they are 33% more likely to make a purchase again. This is a prime time to have a chatbot engage with the customer. Shopify and Facebook Messenger have an existing integration that allows store owners to provide anything from order confirmation messages to products related to what the customer just purchased.

Cart Abandonment: Your potential customers will abandon shopping carts 69.98% of the time. While an optimized card abandonment email sequence can win back 10%-15% of those customers, Messenger chatbots have been shown to generate 619% more engagement than email.

2. Personalization and Automation

The rise of technology has provided extreme personalization in everything from the ads you are shown to the stories you see in your news feed. Marketers must leverage technology to personalize their communications with prospective clients.

But personalization doesn’t have to mean tons of one-off work. Automation can help personalize your marketing at scale. For example, email automation tools like Mixmax can help automate emails based on prospective customer’s needs. By hooking up to a CRM like Salesforce, and then building email templates specific to a group of customers, you can build email rules that will send personalized emails to any contact in your CRM in a specific industry.

Using these personalized emails, you can create content that speaks to their industry and uses specific examples that make sense for them. Automating this process will have big gains to sales while reducing the time it takes to reach out to each individual prospect or customer.

3. Voice Searches

It’s no surprise that alongside AI technology, voice searches are important marketing trends to take note of this year.

‘Smart speaker’ devices such as Amazon’s Echo, Google Home, and Apple’s HomePod will be on the rise and find their way into your marketing strategy. These devices are expected to play a major role in customer service inquiries as industry experts are tweaking them to tackle longer, more complex questions.

For digital marketers in 2019, providing the answer to your customers’ questions has never been so important. Position zero, or the Google featured snippet, is where voice assistants look to provide answers to your questions. The majority of the time reading these snippets as the answer.

Marketers need to start thinking about how they create content that answers questions in a conversational tone rather than creating content based on a keyword. It’s the difference between “dehumidifier uses” versus “Should I have a Dehumidifier in my house?”

Considering that mobile searches which include “do I need” have grown by over 65% in the past two years, the time is now to jump in head first.

4. Content with a Cause

All this technology is great at delivering your message in a new and innovative way, but content is still king. The content that you present your customers is still the lifeblood of any marketing strategy. According to the 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by the Social Media Examiner, over 81% of marketers aim to increase their content output.

With information in abundance at just the click of the “Search” button, Generation Z consumers want to be informed about products and services before, during, and after purchase. They also want to feel good about the work each business is doing. This makes conveying social responsibility more important than ever before.

Many of the most popular direct to consumer brands like Harry's, Toms Shoes, and Warby Parker create content not only around their business, but around the social benefits of doing good.

These brands share how many shoes they donate, non-profits they support or free eye-exams they provide with a highly engaged audience. This socially responsible business model conveyed through amazing content is how these brands have seen exponential growth in a short amount of time.

For example, footwear brand Toms runs a social media campaign where they ask their digital community to post pictures of their bear feed with the hashtag #WithoutShoes. For every post, they will don’t a pair of shoes. They amplify this message by sponsoring an independent festival in London and using original content to share via social media.

The campaign engages more than 3.5 million people on social media channels and results in almost 30,000 shoes donates.

While 2019 will continue to see high-quality content being produced by brands of all sizes, businesses need to use that content to engage their audiences in unique ways. Communicate you and your employees’ work in the community with your customer base to create stronger loyalty.

5. Marketing and PR Will Overlap

It used to be that marketing efforts, and PR efforts were two different beasts. Today, those two efforts overlap and the lines continue to get blurry.

As content marketing has continued to grow, many marketers and PR teams are now one. PR, which was once an effort to get high-quality placements, is now focused on providing content.

Why is that?

It used to be that it was the job of PR to shout the loudest in order to be recognized and trusted by the consumer. Now consumers have all the information at their fingertips making them more informed than ever. Simply being the loudest brand on the block isn’t enough. You need to connect with your audience and provide value.

Personalized content delivered where the consumer naturally consumes it is now the holy grail of both PR and marketing.

6. Find Shared Interests with Influencers

Influencers have contributed to the growth phase of countless businesses in the past few years. 2019 will be no different although the space is maturing.

Up to this point, influencer marketing has been very transactional. Most larger brands connect with influencers via an influencer platform like GrapeVine and TapInfluence. These engagements are per campaign where brands provide influencers with instructions of what to share and when. This is simply a traffic arbitrage model where creative is passed through the influencer in order to reach the audience.

At its core, this is always the end goal, but it’s not leveraging the influencer’s creativity that made them an influencer in the first place. Brands are starting to recognize this, leading to more partnerships.

As Steve Ellis, CEO of WhoSay.com, explains, “you really need to look at it as a creative extension to match up with your ideas as an advertiser." Ellis continued, “look at it as a creative execution, leveraging the talents and their creative skills to match with your idea or your message as an advertiser.”

Marketing is Still About People

Even with the fascinating technology that marries well with traditional marketing, at its core, the latest marketing trends show that marketing is still about people. There truly is no reason to be sending generic messages out to the masses, rather, customers expect brands to leverage technology to personalize their marketing and products no matter the medium.

Whether you’re touching the hearts of people with a compelling story, or solving their most intimate problems, marketing is about showing people how they can improve their daily experience and their life.

About the Author

Matt Shealy is the President of ChamberofCommerce.com. Chamber specializes in helping small businesses grow their business on the web while facilitating the connectivity between businesses and more than 7,000 local Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

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