#I understand the appeal of & why so many people are ride or die for ten and rose but I just really like the way that 9 is like a feral cat

[reinemichele]

I'll never forget the first time I talked to someone on tumblr about dw (this was way back in like 2011-2012 so this isn't about anyone here now) they asked me what my fav ship was & I said ninerose (I hadn't gotten to s3 yet so I didn't know about the master) & the person was like . dude I am so sorry

😭😭😭 Like I guess I appreciate the sympathy but

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Crane Team: Part 3 - Sun Tattoo

In a conference room, ten chairs have been set up around a round mahogany table. The seven new clan chiefs, along with Nanami Sakurai and Yoko Uesugi, sat around it, facing each other and a screen that featured three high ranking former members of the Devil Clan who were teleconferencing in from behind bars.

Nanami Sakurai sat in a prim royal purple business suit, her hair up in a tight bun. Yoko sat next to her, her hair up in a high ponytail, covered from the neck down. When given the permission to speak, Yoko said, “The legal department has agreed to take up the cases for appeal. They’ve also agreed to weekly status updates on these. However, this will take significant staff away from regular duties.  I would like to request a budget for emergency staff members to handle follow up and logging of reports.”

“How many people are we talking about?” A heavy set man rumbled, completely unconcerned. His head was bald save two tufts of hair over his ears. He smoked from a long Japanese pipe. He was Minato Ryoma, a business mogul specializing in real estate. He was the late Clan Chief Genichiro’s cousin and had quickly inserted himself into the vacuum left by his death with very little fuss. 

“My primary objective is to reassure the defendants that Hydra will take their cases seriously. I will therefore hire 45 people. No more than 10 cases per employee.” Yoko replied. “Pay should be a sufficient living wage for Tokyo on its own so that they will not need secondary employment to focus on this task.”

Minato snorted roughly, his stomach bouncing under the table. “Preposterous. Our finances have barely recovered from this disaster and you want to throw away this much money for this project?”

“Our recovery is pointless if we are lax in pulling the Yakuza gangs together and another war break-...”

Sakurai silenced Yoko with a stern look. 

Yoko sat back against her chair. “My apologies.”

“I will make sure that we do a full review of our budget and accommodate as much as we can to the effort.” Sakurai Nanami spoke quietly and dutifully.

“Genji Heavy Industries is still a wreck. The contractor’s we hired are over priced due to the scarcity of workers and materials. We must build the house before we invite other tenants.” Ryoma grumbled.

The other clan chiefs seemed to agree, nodding to themselves. 

“Perhaps priority can be given to the breadwinners within the former Devil Clan so that some of the children currently in foster can be reunited with their rightful families.” The newest clan chief of the Inuyama clan, Inuyama Ren, was a surprisingly young man of 21 years old. His face was smooth and handsome and reminded Yoko a bit of Chance. He was Katsu Inuyama’s last remaining son. The rest had died in the fighting. Yoko couldn’t argue the practicality of his suggestion but he could certainly see objections in her eyes. “Does Ms. Uesugi have a response to this?”

“Yes… I do agree that this is a good suggestion. However, placement of Devil Clan children can’t all be with Devil clan members. Particularly if their actual families are alive. Parents should raise their children.” She said softly. “Furthermore, the youth of the Devil clan are the least responsible for their crimes and the more likely to suffer future effects. I believe the younger members should have a high priority as well.”

Minato huffed again, “Future…” He muttered.

Yoko’s nails squeezed her hands but the effect of such emotion dampening tactics was hampered due to her gloves. 

From the speakers of the computer, one of the Devil Clan representatives unmuted themselves. “It has been demonstrated that the increase in violence of the Devil Clan were the result of illicit drugs being produced to enhance the bloodline. Before these drugs, while there were violent and dangerous hybrids, the population of berserker hybrids was not nearly as high as after these drugs were produced. The Clan Chiefs of the Hydra could be excused for thinking all Devils are going to die young but that wasn’t always the case. Even the rules stated that Devils could be imprisoned for up to 40 years with hope of release.”

Minato huffed but didn’t dispute this.

“We will run an analysis through the accounting department. I can’t promise 45 employees but making sure each temporary hire is paid enough to focus fully on the work is wise.” Nanami nodded her head.

The meeting dragged on to discuss politics. The mass slaughter and outbreak of violence had alarmed non-hybrid officials. They were pushing through an anti-Yakuza bill and needed immediate reassurance that such shocking events weren’t going to recur. Yoko scarcely suppressed a yawn as she struggled to listen. Her Japanese was phenomenal for having studied for such a short time but the details and intricacies of parliament still escaped her.

Her cell phone buzzed at her side and she peered down.

The message: “The Fuma child was rejected this morning. He’s back at the orphanage.”

Her eyes widened. Why? It had taken ages to finally place that child with relatives after a thorough search. He had been marked, improperly, as violent. He’d understandably acted out after witnessing the death of his family. She had been reassured and thrilled that he would finally be placed with his own clan! Yoko looked up at Nanami Sakurai. “I’m sorry. There’s an emergency. Excuse me.”

Without asking permission, Yoko got up from the table, bowed to everyone and dialed the number to the group foster home.

The placement officer over the children’s group hostel answered right away. “Hello?”

“It’s Yoko. What happened? I thought we resolved all concerns?” Yoko stood outside the door and then walked a few more steps to further conceal her conversation from the conference room. Outside the room,  people were passing back and forth but most of them were on phones of their own. Half the corridor was blocked off with construction tape to repair an earthquake damaged wall, making things extra crowded.

“His bloodline isn’t the problem. The problem is he’s not Fuma.”

“Not Fuma? Then what is he? All his paperwork said Fuma!” She said, dodging passersby and trying to find a quiet spot.

“We don’t know. We don’t know why he would falsify his information…”

“There has to be a mistake. He’s eight years old. How can someone his age falsify information?” Yoko started walking towards the exit. “I need to talk to him. How is he?”

“Distraught but…”

“Of course he is…” Yoko broke into a jog. After the assassination attempt, she wasn’t allowed to leave the Genji building without an armed escort and armored car, but this was an emergency! “Excuse me, are you headed out?” She approached a couple of Executive Board members who pointedly ignored her. Even though she chose to believe they were already busy with their own tasks, most of the Hydra members still thought of her as Ruri Kazama’s woman and wouldn’t willingly help a former enemy.

“Look, I'll try to get there as soon as possible.” Yoko hung up and walked over to the information desk. “Hey I need to get a ride to the foster home. Is there anyone available?”

The woman behind the desk looked harried and brushed aside hair that had gone askew. “This is not a scheduled outing and currently there are no armored cars available…”

“When will the next one be back?”

“Probably not until four pm and that will depend on traffic.” She said with some regret. 

“No, this is too important. Can we recall one?”

Her eyes widened in outrage. “Recall one? And what are we supposed to do with the person who’s actually there on-site?”

“I’ll take her.” said an approaching voice.

The secretary’s eyes widened and she stood up.

Yoko turned her head and looked into a familiar face behind thin rimmed glasses. “Crow!”

She hadn’t seen the man since he dropped her off at Genji Heavy Industries after the Cassell Team departed. She thought he had retired. Crow was the last remaining man on Chisei Gen’s original team. Both Sakura and Yasha had died during the Dragon’s awakening. Sakura was killed by Ruri Kazama. Yasha died blowing up Kaguya’s core in Genji Heavy Industries. The man looked a bit thinner than she remembered and he looked like he had aged with dark circles under his eyes.

He stood there in his usual trench coat and colorful shirt. “Are you coming or not?”

“Thanks.” She smiled gratefully and followed him out. 

The sun was bright but there was a noticeable chill that heralded the onset of the fall season. Hydra members walking by were looking up at Crow in shock, doing a double take, just as surprised as she was to see him back.

Crow led her to a red sports car but didn’t hold open the door like a regular driver. He just stepped around to get in.

“Did you see everyone’s faces?” She laughed. “Where have you been?”

“Taking a long vacation.” He slid into the driver's seat. “Where are we going?”

“The foster home for the Devil Clan children. What made you come back? If anyone deserves retirement, it’s you.” She said, buckling her seat. 

Crow didn’t respond but pulled into traffic. His expression was stony and his eyes were grim.

Yoko’s smile gradually faded. “Did… something happen?”

“No, nothing happened. Old habits die hard.” He pulled up to a stop light and they waited for it to change. After a pause, he added. “I never got to thank you for saving Sakura that day. At Tokyo Tower.”

Yoko looked straight ahead. Sakura Yabuki had used herself as bait to trap dead slave monsters at the top of the Tokyo Tower. Once they were nearly on her, she threw herself off the tower and let them follow her down. Yoko knew there was a rope dangling from the tower, where Fingel had saved himself from falling only minutes before. She had grabbed Sakura and the rope and watched the dead slaves continue their descent to the ground, a full 8 second fall. 

Unfortunately, Sakura would die anyway.

“I just wish I could have done more.” Yoko murmured

“Believe me, we all do. Normally, I probably would have just committed harakiri after the young chief’s passing, but I got my old man to take care of. Meanwhile? Might as well come back here.” 

The light turned green.

“Do you really still hold to notions like that?” Yoko asked with a cautious glance. “I don’t think that’s what Chisei would have wanted.”

Crow’s eyebrows flew to his hairline. “Woah, you two were on a first name basis?”

“Ah… I…” Yoko stammered.

“Ha. I’m teasing. I know you’re not from around here.” He gave a vicious grin however.

Chisei and Yoko had an inevitable conflict. She was a member of the Cassell Team, a devil and in love with Ruri Kazama, the leader of the Devils. He’d hurt her deeply by killing a man named Chance who’d fallen in love with her and fought his hardest to stay alive. The killing was brutal.  She couldn’t like him. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel that, had circumstances been different, she and Chisei would have been friends. It was true that Yoko had always referred to Chisei by his first name and she couldn’t remember him ever objecting or correcting her. 

Crow had likely noticed that long before now.

The orphanage was actually a juvenile correction facility set back off the road by two layers of guarded cinder block walls, manned sniper towers and armed guards at the gates. Once inside, a large building that appeared to be something like a multistory hospital greated her with an imposing cliff-like presence. Were it not for the playground out back with its colorful slides and swings, you would have thought it was a military facility.

Crow walked in with her as she signed in but she stopped him from entering. “Dressed in that trenchcoat, you’ll frighten the kids. I’ll be right back.”

The only memories Devil Children would have of the enforcement department were invasive interviews that asked probing and embarrassing questions. One wrong answer and they would be sentenced to death or eternal imprisonment. While the caretakers were kind to them, fed them and let them sleep in comfortable beds, at the end of the day, they were locked behind vault doors that were secured by heavy chains. 

It reminded Yoko a lot of Black Swan Bay. Only these children weren’t controlled by a clapper sound.  The influx of orphans after the Hydra’s devastating purge had left the facility staggering and in dire need of funds and personnel. So placing these orphans with families was a top priority of Yoko’s work.

Thankfully, Sakurai, Inuyama and Miyamoto threw open their doors and opened their arms to the orphans. Fuma and Ryoma however had little room in their hearts for these children. Many of their clan members were orphaned at the Red Well when the massive influx of those strange white filaments swallowed up the Fuma Ninjas who had been stationed in the forest to guard the area. Fuma was extremely hurt by the fact that the Devil Clan leader, Kazama Ruri, viciously humiliated the Kotaro Fuma. But with some cajoling Yoko had finally been able to persuade them to take this one child… but he wasn’t even a Fuma child in the end.

She stopped in front of a door and pulled the file from the slot next to it. The name Tatsuya Fuma was crossed out and replaced with “Unknown”. She knocked twice and opened the door.

The boy who, up until now, had been named Tatsuya Fuma sat on a small bed. His room was neat, with a red rug and a shelf full of small toys that had been donated. Mostly toy cars and one toy gundam action figure. There was a TV but it was off. Tatsuya’s face was flushed and sticky from crying.

“Hey…” Yoko approached quietly until she was halfway across the room and then knelt down on the rug. “Hey… what happened?”

The boy hiccuped and sniffled, his knees gathered to his chest. He stared blankly at the wall.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not your fault.”

The boy shook his head sharply, clearly and adamantly blaming himself.

Yoko knew better than to argue. “Then what did you do?”

He looked at her and shook his head. 

“Are you scared?” Yoko whispered.

The boy nodded. 

“Why?” She opened her arms and beckoned him over. “Here, come whisper in my ear.” Her frequent visits to this boy made her known and trusted. He knew how hard she’d worked to get him placed and they’d grown a bit close. Day after day, she’d visited with candy and toys and talked to him, reassuring him that she was on his side.

The boy got down from the bed and hugged Yoko around the neck. He didn’t know it, but Yoko always wore a wire on these visits. Sometimes when she was with them, the children would whisper to her the secrets of their trauma, bits and pieces that they’d seen and heard. Little by little, Yoko was building cases against certain cadres of the Executive Board.Given the overwhelming dominance of the Executive Board of Hydra, getting witness testimony directly was nearly impossible. No one would dare speak of the vicious attacks on them. Their killers were still alive and well.

Tatsuya hugged her so tightly around her neck she nearly gagged. He was warm and trembled like a puppy. His arms were thin but his grip was strong, like iron. She could feel every bone through his cotton shirt.

“Tatsuya died. They shot him in the wall.” He whispered, then he sniffed loudly.

“Who did?”

“The people with the sun tattoo.”

“So you took his name?”

“Yeah...they were trying to kill me. So I can’t use my name. They thought Tatsuya was me. So I am Tatsuya now.”

Tatusya was a real child, not a falsified identity! This boy had taken the dead child’s name to hide from people who were looking for him. She'd sent the wrong child to the wrong family! That family had to find out on the day their son returned to them, that their son was actually dead. Yoko’s heart felt like it fell into her stomach.

“Okay honey… okay.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Don’t tell anyone what you told me. Okay? I’ll find somewhere for you to be safe. Can you whisper to me your name?”

“Mitsue Ryoma…”

Ryoma. No wonder he never admitted who he was. Ryoma hadn’t adopted a single child since the purge. Yoko always had a bad feeling about them. Their Clan Chief’s dismissal of her proposal this morning was just one of many. They’d opposed unification at every opportunity. She couldn’t place this child with them. “You’re very smart. Okay. You can keep calling yourself Tatsuya.”

Crow had walked outside to smoke while Yoko was in the facility with the kids. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and imagined the young chief’s arm around him, shoving the cigarette in his mouth and lighting it in a sudden show of uncharacteristic affection. It was a cherished memory that came back to haunt him every once in a while.

Even though the Young Chief never talked about that girl who now called herself Yoko Uesugi, he could tell she was never far from his mind. Especially after she rescued Sakura Yabuki. Crow would notice the Young Chief staring at his reflection in his sword. Sakura returned that sword to him and told him that Yoko had saved her life. It was odd behavior and for a long time Crow’d wondered why he would stare at his reflection like that.

The door behind him opened and the girl walked out, head down, hands in pockets. “Let’s go.” She grumbled and jogged down to the sports car and stood next to it, waiting for him to unlock it.

Her sudden change in demeanor surprised him. “Did things not go well?”

She didn’t answer him. She just kept her eyes down.

Once they were in the car, she pointed to the cigarette lighter in the dashboard. “Does that work?”

“Yeah. You want one of mine?” He reached into his pocket for a cigarette. Yoko, however, removed one of her gloves, revealing the clear scales on her hand, and pulled the cigarette lighter. She took the glowing red-hot cigarette lighter and pressed it to her own skin!

“What are you doing?” Crow shouted. He reached out and snatched the lighter from her, but the damage was done. That white skin was blackened and turning red at the edges. 

Yoko cradled her hand to herself.

“It’s fine… it’s fine.” She whispered but she was cringing in pain. “Look.” She held out her hand to him. The burn was already starting to fade, rapidly healing thanks to her elevated blood.

“Don’t do that again! What’s wrong with you?” Crow shoved the lighter back into the dashboard.

Yoko didn’t answer. She just turned her head back to the entrance of the orphanage. 

Crow massaged his forehead wearily. “What happened there?”

“I can’t tell you.” She ran her hands over her face and massaged her eyes.

“Why not?” He asked, looking down at her from his glasses.

She looked him up and down silently. “Do you have a sun tattoo?”

“I got lots of tattoos… sun’s not one of them.”

“Do you know anyone who does?”  Quiet anger boiled beneath those dark eyes.

“Why are you asking?”

She let out a loud sigh and turned back to the window.

Crow sat back, resting his arm on the steering wheel. “Anywhere else you need to go?”

Yoko squeezed the fingers on her burned hand. “Can we go to the track?”

[pikachu78109]

Could you give me some angst with Milo, Piers and Gordie? I live and die for Milo angst aaah;;;

((I feel sorry for these gentlemen))

Milo

“Is that all you got to show for yourself?”

“You’d think he would give a challenge. Has he grown soft lately?”

“Nessa kicks more ass than he does. Not surprised though,”

The comments were relentless. You’d think that after a few years of being a Gym Leader, the comments that fans made wouldn’t mean as much. However, there are some weeds that just don’t disappear that easily. Milo knew that being a Gym Leader had its sore moments, especially considering the fact that he’s the first Gym Leader that challengers face during the tournament. And as the first Gym Leader, it’s prohibited that Milo doesn’t use any of his strongest Grass type Pokémon, due to him being the supposedly easy stepping stone challengers can defeat. There are times when the losses did not affect Milo much, because he is okay with losing. After all, isn’t being a Gym Leader suppose to be an opponent that can offer a challenger a chance to beat and earn a badge? Every Gym Leader knows this and some take their losses with humility, such as with Opal and Kabu, while other Gym Leaders can get frustrated, as for Nessa and Raihan. Milo took his defeats with humility and didn’t mind at all if he lost. Battling can be a good time, but for others, battling is seen as competitive.

Milo knew about the ugliness of battling and what it can do to die hard fans who have certain levels of expectations. They can look at Nessa and comment on how her battling technique shines far brighter in contrast to Milo’s, whose more subdued and prefers to show little. With Nessa, her fan base revels in how much she improves and strives forward, thus making her popular among many people. Though Milo does get praise from his fans, there are plenty who lurk in the shadows and are typing away on their phones, commenting on how Milo’s battling performance has gotten weaker. Due to that kind of attention, it has caused Milo to become very self-conscious on him being a Gym Leader. A few comments that get underneath his skin, they manage to rip a chunk of esteem, spatting it out with such ferocity and judgment that it has gotten to be....sickening.

“Why can’t Milo be better?”

This question has been tossed around a lot and, frankly, this question plagued Milo’s mind. He wished he could tell his fans why, but due to being in a circle of professionals, the answers are concealed in confidentiality. The Pokémon League has been aware of the activity that has been going on, which Milo wonders if they happen to monitor any of the activity going on with the other Gym Leaders. Still, this was Milo’s business, with which he tries to conduct himself as the gentle, friendly giant. It wasn’t a facade; that’s just who he is as a person, because being overly competitive like Raihan or Nessa just didn’t suit him. He couldn’t bring himself to look in a mirror and stare at his reflection, trying to mimic that confident, almost superior attitude that his friends have. Despite being able to put on a smile and walk out onto the pitch with ease, that nagging insecurity of being a pathetic excuse for a Gym Leader latches on to Milo, like a weed poisoning the flowers beauty.

Piers

Music has always been a part of Piers and who he is as an individual. Growing up, his father was a musician who used to go around the Galar region, putting on shows here and there during halftime during the Gym Challenge. Over time, his father retired from that profession and settled down with his life long sweetheart, which eventually leads to the here and now. Piers sticks to music like glue. Separating the singer from the microphone is a no go, which is why Piers insists on taking his portable mic everywhere with him. Hey, you never know if someone wants a concert. But, lately over time, the relationship between Piers and his music has been put on hold ever since he became Gym Leader. This was not his choice. When Piers first told his parents that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, his mother told him that by doing so, he wasn’t going to get anywhere in life. His father got lucky because he was able to get sponsored by people who saw musical talent in him, which is rare to come by in Galar since the region focuses more on battling than anything else. By announcing his dream in front of his parents at the tender age of ten, Piers felt himself being sucked down into a pit of roadblocks and detours. Taking part of the Gym Challenge was also not a choice that Piers made. Instead, his father knew someone who he was good friends with and had him sponsor Piers to take part. Regardless of his negative feelings of the entire thing, the Gym Challenge proved to be somewhat worthwhile and it even inspired Piers to use Dark types since he has a fascination with them.

However, over the course of his Gym Challenge and beyond, Piers began to feel burned out from the whole Gym Leader gig. The idea of repeating battles over and over and being forced to Dynamax your Pokémon at the tail end of a match started to lose its rhythm with Piers. Especially the Dynamaxing. As a kid, Piers took zero interest in the whole Dynamaxing appeal. He thought it looked cheap and something that made battling quite unbalanced given the extra power up. Given that Spikemuth was nowhere near a Power Spot, which was a mandatory requirement for every Gym in Galar, Piers was put into Circhester’s Gym for battling matches much to his dismay. After a few more matches that involved pointless Dynamaxing, Piers outright refused to Dynamax due to the disrespect of being able to battle in his own city because of a minor issue. Because of his announcement, it left Piers facing both criticism from the fans and some media outlets, who took Piers’ words as disrespectful to the Pokémon League as well as to the culture of the Galar region. Still, there were some Gym Leaders who were understanding towards this, such as Milo, Kabu, and Raihan.

After a few years of battling in his home city, Piers became a lot more cynical to battling and he found time to jot his feelings down into lyrics as upcoming songs for his concerts. This entire journey for Piers has been a back and forth ride where Piers wants to show how great Spikemuth is without Dynamaxing and him wanting to pursue his own passions of being a singer, the latter of which he wants to achieve. There are many factors that keep holding him back though, such as being a disappointment to his family if he decides to quit, being portrayed as selfish when all he wants to do is pursue his passions by the media and his fans, or just...fearing everything altogether. Luckily, Marnie helps console him and, to some extent, the grunts of Team Yell. Not a large music fan base, but they keep Piers from getting too discouraged.

If Piers can manage to break away from the battling environment altogether, then that would be a song worth singing.

Gordie

Gordie loves his mother, let’s just make that clear. Despite the arguments, there’s no bad blood between them. As the eldest child in the family, Gordie has a lot on his plate. For one thing, his siblings. Although they give him so much strife, he loves them. Gordie wouldn’t trade them for the world. Secondly, his relationship with Melony, his mother, has always been a positive one. I mean, this woman is part of his fan club for goodness sake! Still, with the positives, there are some negatives that have nearly tempted Gordie to cut ties with his family. Being a person who specializes in Rock types, Gordie never became interested in Ice type Pokémon. Sure, Snom looks adorable but Gordie finds Rolycoly to be even cuter! Melony has always known that Gordie likes Rock types, something of which she doesn’t understand but tries to. However, even when she tries to be a good mentor to Gordie, she doesn’t know a single thing about Rock types which causes her some frustration.

Gordie has dealt with his mother’s tough love before, especially considering he has faced her as a Gym Challenger before during his time in the Gym Challenge. Their match was something like a spectacle, but it proved difficult when Gordie tries to convince Melony that he can be a good Gym Leader without using Ice type Pokémon. Over the years, once Gordie became a certified Gym Leader, he would run the Circhester Gym alongside with his mother, which proved even more difficult. Both the mother and her son would not see eye to eye as much and everyone around the city took notice of this and would try to steer clear. One argument in particular has caused some emotional harm to both parties, more with Gordie whom once said that Ice types are useless in the heat of battle. This set off Melony, who returned his remark by saying if he didn’t spend so much time with his Rock type Pokémon, he would’ve saw something differently and be a better Gym Leader.

That argument set off a week long tension filled silence, with Gordie not speaking to his mother at all. At home, it got worse with Gordie moving out and staying at his apartment until things settled down. If until things settled down. At some point during the prolonged silent treatment did Gordie decide to call his mom to apologize. Even with the apology and the two making some progress to mend their relationship, Gordie knew that there would be no common ground between them aside from being related. The strain settled in and it frightens both of them that one day they might never see eye to eye again. It’s a fear that no parent and child should ever have to face.

[pckarchives]

because going back and adding these to the previous q & a’s would be a pain ... beneath the cut , you’ll find all of brynn’s information !

𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎.     ›     brunnhilde brynn naoimh friar.

► species ➔ kelpie. ► biological age ➔ 1,803. ► weight ➔ 130 lbs. ► height ➔ 5′9″. ► build ➔ very thin with a bit of muscle! though, fun fact: if she is trying to lure in someone who prefers a bigger or smaller girl, that is what they will see! because kelpie aren’t actually human anyway, her human form only serves to draw others in, so they appear as the most appealing form, according to those around them. she looked a lot bigger when she lived in france and weight was in style, but she’s much thinner these days. she doesn’t understand humans, she doesn’t like this. ► disabilities ➔ none! ► weapon(s) of choice ➔ in an every day situation, her fists! she does not fight often (anymore), but she is very capable of solving those fights via human means. if a battle requires more than that, well... kelpies have no problem dragging someone down to the depths of the sea and eating them. ► skills ➔ see above. in addendum to the dragging someone to the depths of the sea thing, she can trap someone in her arms so they can’t escape her. works best when she’s in water, but she could make it work on land. also, she has a weather-sense! usually only matters when storms are coming, because she can feel when the waters get restless. she can summon a storm herself, but dear gods, the amount of effort that takes. she’s done it once in her near two thousand years of existence and has elected to never do it again. finally, she can actually turn into the horse spirit when she’s underwater. it looks... a little more mermaid-ish than one would think, but it’s a horse, okay. in her horse form, she’s ten times faster and stronger than a normal horse and... y’know, she can drag someone to the bottom of the sea and eat them. notably, if she is shifted on land, she appears like a regular black horse! maybe a little bigger than normal, slightly monstrous snout, but you’d have to look really closely to notice that. ► weaknesses ➔ her bridle. anyone gets their hands on it, they have control over her, which... is extremely terrifying, considering what she can do. so she keeps that thing hidden where no one has a chance of finding it or taking it from her. ► worst habits ➔ unfortunately, she falls in love very easily. after all of this time, she’s still a wide-eyed romantic. she also trusts entirely too easily. you would think she would know better, but? no? ► nervous tics ➔ she plays with seashells! talking to the sea is very much a mermaid thing, yes, but mermaids and kelpies are close relatives, and they all need a bit of water comfort. so when brynn’s feeling a little nervy, she’ll toy with a seashell or pearl, maybe have a quiet and awkward conversation with the nearest sea. ► sexuality ➔ what a silly concept. ► are they single? ➔ at the moment, yes. ► are they happy? ➔ literally always. ► are they angry? ➔ sometimes. really depends on the situation. ► are their parents still married? ➔ she doesn’t have parents! kelpies are independent spirits and they aren’t exactly born the way humans and other beings are. she simply came into existence, exactly the way she is. she’s been “adopted” many times, taken in by loving couples who hated to see such a young thing on her own in the world. but as far as biology goes, she has no parents to speak of. ► happiest memory? ➔ meeting iliana khepri! and, in addition, meeting her sons when they were turned! brynn doesn’t have many friends who’ve lasted throughout the years, as most people eventually die of old age, if nothing else. but having such beautifully-spirited friends who are as eternal as she is is a gift that she can never overlook. ► worst memory? ➔ the moment she, rohan and iliana found elliot the night of his wedding. certainly, there are worse things that she has lived through, long before this child was born, married and broken. but this horror is the freshest and it hurts the most. he had been so excited to tell them of his wedding and he simply wasn’t the same after it all. elliot may be nearly two hundred years old, but he’s still a baby, as far as she’s concerned? and he’s already been hurt in a way that even she’s managed to avoid so far. being there to witness it and being unable to stop it... yeah. she should have eaten that man. ► biggest regret? ➔ trusting a djinn with her bridle. she’d been friends with the woman and had been so certain that it would be the right move. wrong! anyway, brynn ate her. ► best thing they’ve ever done? ➔ saved quite a few travelers and tourists from storms and people with ill-intentions. ate a few dictators. ► worst thing they’ve ever done? ➔ in her “youth,” she ate people indiscriminately. she didn’t quite learn to control herself until she met iliana and had a reason to be kind. so she’s eaten quite a few children, her fair share of families, etc... she’s not proud of it. ► worst thing that’s ever been done to them? ➔ remember that djinn from earlier? yeah, she accused brynn of being a witch... during the witch trials. and given that brynn didn’t have her own bridle, she couldn’t even save herself. and she wasn’t one of the ones who had to drown to prove her innocence; no, that would have bene a mercy. she was burned. do you know what happens when you put a water spirit in flames? ► what scares them the most? ➔ the thought of someone getting their hands on her bridle again. she’s a full romantic, loves and trusts wholeheartedly, but she’s not sure she’ll ever trust that much ever again. ► who have they left behind? ➔ honestly, no one! though she’s been to many places and has met many people, she has rarely gotten attached to people, only to leave them behind. you could say she left iliana, rohan and elliot behind, but even then... not really? she’s kept in contact with them over the years, calling them ever so often to make sure they are doing well. elliot has recently taught her about facetime! ...she does not understand it. ► who would they kill for? ➔ anyone who needs it. this comes with the understanding that not every situation calls for death. some people just need a good curb-stomp and the problem is solved. but if someone truly needed her to kill, then she will do so. ► who has hurt them the most? ➔ the aforementioned djinn. that was a few hundred years ago, so you would think she would be over it? but no! absolutely the worst thing she’s ever experienced! ► who have they hurt the most? ➔ she would be hard pressed to say. she hasn’t hurt anyone she’s cared about. and when considering those that she’s eaten, no one person matters more than the others. ► who scares them the most? ➔ no one. ► if they could say one thing to their family right now, what would it be? ➔ “i have an ipad! ...what do i do with it?” SEVEN FACTS ► ‘birth’ place ➔ the north sea. ► hair color ➔ currently, blonde. it has been a number of colors over the years, due to beauty trends and hair dye. she was born with brown hair, a little lighter than her horse mane, but prefers the blonde. ► eye color ➔ blue. ► birthday ➔ september 30, 216. ► gender ➔ all kelpies are female. ► summer or winter ➔ summer. ► morning or afternoon ➔ morning. EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE ► are they in love? ➔ no. ► do they believe in love at first sight? ➔ absolutely! ► who ended their last relationship? ➔ she did. ► have they ever broken someone’s heart? ➔ yep. ► are they afraid of commitments? ➔ not at all! ► have they hugged someone within the last week? ➔ no, which is a shame. ► have they ever had a secret admirer? ➔ probably? ► have they ever broken their own heart? ➔ yes. SIX CHOICES ► love or lust ➔ love. ► lemonade or iced tea ➔ lemonade. ► cats or dogs ➔ dogs! ► a few best friends or many regular friends ➔ depends? with a life like hers, she needs both. ► wild night out or romantic night in ➔ romantic night in. ► day or night ➔ day. FOUR HAVE YOU EVERS ► been caught sneaking out? ➔ no. ► fallen down/up the stairs ➔ yes. ► wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ yes. ► wanted to disappear? ➔ no. FAMILY ► do they and their family get along?  ➔ she doesn’t have a family! ► would they say they have a “messed up life”? ➔ no. ► have they ever ran away from home? ➔ yes. ► have they ever gotten kicked out? ➔ no. FRIENDS ► do they secretly hate one of their friends? ➔ no! ► do they consider all of their friends good friends? ➔ yes! ► who is their best friend? ➔ iliana khepri. ► who knows everything about them? ➔ see above, plus rohan laghari and elliot aldridge. ► pack mate they’re closest to? ➔ prediction-wise, she’ll get close to theo, megan, alicia and nico, so as to help them not eat people, but especially theo and megan. (brynn shows up and adopts two cannibal kids on sight... as she should!) also kali, on account of her living with the vampires and being rohan’s baby sister. but of course, she will always be closest to iliana and her boys. ► pack mate they’ve fought the most? ➔ she is not a fighter! ► if forced to choose between their life and that of their closest pack mate, who would they save? ➔ martyrdom leaves no winners. she and iliana have always saved themselves and she doesn’t see why that would change.

► hobbies ➔ professionally, she’s a marine archeologist, but that started out as a hobby, as well! other than that, she likes taking dives and swimming with dolphins, whales and sharks. make no mistake, she is not the apex predator in that situation. but kelpies are repulsive to sea creatures, so as to prevent them from being eaten. so swimming with them is always safe, thankfully. and though she will not admit it under extreme torture, she does like roaming around in her horse form. she’s given quite a few horseback rides to children, because their happiness is all she could ever ask for. ► social media handles ➔ social what now? ► conventional or creative contact ids ➔ conventional. it’s a good day if she can figure out how to put a number in her contacts as it is, no need to get creative. ► favorite color ➔ sea blue. ► favorite video game ➔ she has tried video games before and just cannot understand them. every time someone mentions a new one, it’s a different console? the controller has a new design? how does anyone keep up? ► favorite song ➔ modern love by david bowie. ► favorite scent ➔ incense! ► favorite band/artist ➔ julie d'aubigny was one of a kind. ► favorite place to be ➔ not to be cliché, but... the beach. the sand, the ocean, the rocks... she lives for that kinda vibe. ► favorite season ➔ summer! she can get into the water as much as she wants without people looking at her strange. ► favorite word ➔ alacrity. ► favorite meme ➔ i pretend i do not see it. (elliot taught her this one and he’s very proud of her for remembering it.) ► if they were an animal ➔ i... horse. ► if they were a color ➔ blue, in all of its forms. ► if they were a vine/tiktok ➔ literally any of those tiktoks with the audio that goes: fuck, i.. i... i love you ! no, that’s too soon, you met this girl this afternoon ! okay, FUCK. she’s looking scared, maybe, like, should’ve came prepared with a poem, a haiku, maybe a hug, y’know ––– i could’ve killed you & hidden you with a rug, WHAT THE FUCK ? did you just say that, you fucking psychotic maniac –––– ?! ► if they were a taylor swift song ➔ blank space. ► aesthetic ➔ blood-stained seashells, clam shells pried open with shaking hands, blonde hair tied back into a peppy ponytail, blonde then red then pink then ombre but never brown never again, the ocean lapping at pale feet, calling the lost souls back home. ► motto ➔ “this isn’t the first ending i’ve survived and it won’t be the last.” ► theme song ➔ in for the kill by la roux.

► medical issues ➔ none. ► knows far too much about ➔ worldwide theologies. she doesn’t subscribe to any particular religion herself, but she has always been fascinated by the existence of higher beings, so she chooses to believe in all of them! ► fears death via ➔ fire. ► chances of being “evil” ➔ eh, pretty slim. she’s malevolent by nature, but has no interest in going all dark side again. she’s been there and she’s not impressed!

[write-havoc]

The Glasswing Butterfly Part 3

Summary: Chuck has never thought of herself as anything special. Just an average beta living her life next door to a womanizing alpha named Negan. But her life, and Negan’s too, are turned upside down when Chuck suddenly presents as omega.

This is a non-zombie AU featuring A/B/O dynamics.

Fandom: The Walking Dead AU

Pairing: Negan/Original Female Character

Status: Ongoing

Contains: swearing, smut

Intended for readers 18+ of age only

Masterlist in my bio

The war between Chuck and Negan wanes after their encounter in the elevator. Chuck finds herself too preoccupied to really care about it after everything she went through. Not only does she have several days of work to get caught up on, but she also has a ton of information on her new status to absorb.

Chuck realizes pretty quickly that she is woefully ill informed about the group she has found herself in. She had a cursory course in her high school health class on omega physiology. Then in her college American history class, she learned a tiny bit about the omega civil rights movement in the 80s. But it really wasn’t a whole lot, so she had some information to get caught up on.

Before the 80s, omegas really didn’t have any rights. They couldn’t vote, had no representation in government, and actually weren’t considered real citizens. It wasn’t exactly illegal for omegas to hold jobs or own property, but it wasn’t illegal for employers to refuse to hire them or for banks to refuse loans either. So, really, omegas had no choice but to mate early to survive, usually just after presenting in their early teens. And it was perfectly legal for a fully grown alpha to claim a newly presented omega. Non consensual claiming was legal in most states, too. A claim bonds and alpha and omega together when the alpha bites the scent gland on the omega’s neck, thus changing her scent for life. So the omega is bonded to the alpha for the rest of her life. And it truly horrifies Chuck that forced claiming was legal not even a generation ago.

But things had changed quickly in the last forty years. Though there is still some prejudice, the current state of things for omegas is definitely the best in the entire history of the country. So at least Chuck can breathe a sigh of relief about that. She doesn’t have to worry about being fired immediately or being kicked out of her apartment because she’s now an omega. And any alpha that forces a claim on an omega gets life in prison. Advances in medicine also has made it possible to break a claim, if one is forced. It is difficult, but still possible.

During the time that Chuck is wrapping her head around her new status, Negan is busy avoiding the omega next door at all costs. And it’s not because her mother threatened him. No, it’s because every fiber of his being wants to do anything but avoid her. And that scares him.

He was mated, once. Married to an omega for ten years, his Lucille. But she had died a decade ago. And part of him died, too. People say that alphas don’t feel the bond of a claim like omegas do, since they technically aren’t the ones that get claimed, but he felt his mate die. Like it was his own body giving out on him.

He never wants to feel that again. Ever. So he hasn’t been with any omegas since Lucille died. And he’s not planning on changing that. No matter how much of a pull he feels to Chuck.

So when he comes into the building and Chuck is picking up her mail, he rushes to the stairwell so he doesn’t get caught in the elevator with her. Or when she leaves her apartment to do laundry, he jumps in the shower to stop him from smelling her scent wafting underneath his door. He even tries not to be so loud in case the girl would confront him about it. Because he’s not too sure how much he would be able to control himself if she showed up at his door.

 Chuck leaves her apartment for her follow up with Dr. Bailey and it’s the first time she’s out alone since she presented. Diane couldn’t get the day off to be with her daughter, though she tried. But Chuck said that everything would be fine and for Diane not to worry. Even though Chuck is pretty nervous, herself, about it. But she doesn’t let that on.

When Chuck steps up into the bus and takes her seat, she can feel eyes on her. It isn’t really a very long ride to the medical center, but it starts to feel like forever as an uncomfortable silence makes its way through the vehicle. Chuck knows it’s because of her. Though scents aren’t as important to betas, they can still easily tell the difference between alphas, betas, and omegas by the way they smell, especially in an enclosed space. And the rarity of omegas means that it’s very likely that Chuck is the first one these people have encountered in quite some time.

Chuck isn’t used to the attention, being much more accustomed to fading into the background. So the bus ride isn’t exactly a comfortable one for her. But nothing major happens and she gets to the doctor’s office in time for her appointment.

Dr. Bailey goes over Chuck’s lab results and does a thorough exam. The checkup isn’t just for Chuck’s medical records, though. One of the many things that changed in Chuck’s life with her presentation is her medical insurance coverage. Diane had spent hours on the phone with Chuck’s insurance company getting everything changed over to an “omega plan” and setting everything up. Part of getting the new coverage requires the results of a full exam to be sent back to the company.

Something that filled Chuck with dread was when she overheard her mother negotiating visits to the alpha brothel for her heats. The prospect was endlessly embarrassing for Chuck. Not only was she probably going to have to sleep with a complete stranger in a few months time, for money, no less, but it was being discussed by her mother and some insurance brokers. Chuck had always heard that “first times” were usually awkward, but this surely has to take the cake.

In the end, Diane informed Chuck that visits to Alpha For You would be completely covered by her insurance. Mainly because it was cheaper than spending several days in the hospital. But, of course, if need be, insurance would also cover the hospital stay. With a higher co-pay, though.

After the doctor finishes up with the exam, she gives Chuck more pamphlets to look over. “Here is some more info for you to read over regarding the medical side of being a newly presented omega.” She gets up from her chair and opens the door. “But, you’re doing really well with all this,” she says with a smile. “Don’t hesitate to call if anything arises or you have any questions.”

Chuck leaves the medical center a little relieved. The experience wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be. And Dr. Bailey has a way about her that puts Chuck at ease. Unfortunately, Chuck’s relaxed feeling doesn’t last too long.

As soon as Chuck steps back on the bus to go home, she can smell that there is an alpha on board. It’s faint, but in the enclosed space of the bus, it’s not hard to pick out. Not wanting to draw any more attention than she did in her first bus ride, Chuck takes an empty seat right by the door, hoping that no one would notice her.

“Hey, omega,” someone calls out from the back of the bus in a loud voice.

Of course, I can’t just be lucky, Chuck thinks.

She knows it’s the alpha calling out to her, but she really doesn’t want to deal with it. So she just ignores him.

“Hey, omega,” he tries again. “Come sit back here.”

Chuck can feel her whole face get hot as the blood pools just under her skin in embarrassment. Everyone can hear the man. And everyone knows exactly who he’s talking to. Still, Chuck just ignores it and hangs her head, waiting for the bus to get to her stop.

“Move,” the same deep voice rings out again, but now it’s right beside Chuck. The elderly man that had been sitting to her left immediately gets up and is replaced by a tall, muscular built man in his early twenties. He looks like a quintessential douchey frat guy.

Chuck moves to stand from the seat, but the alpha pulls her back down by the elbow.

“Come on, omega. Why you being so rude?” he rasps as he pulls Chuck into his side.

“Please... let go of me,” Chuck pleads quietly. “I-I just want to go home.”

“Where’s home, omega? I can escort you.” He leans down into her space and breathes in deep. “You smell good,” he growls out.

Chuck tries to lean away from him, but his hold on her is too tight. Being this close to him, Chuck has no choice but to breathe in his scent, too. And it’s not at all appealing to her. Granted, she’s really only smelled one alpha and his smell is so much more... attractive than the alpha beside her. This guy smells more like spoiled milk and b.o.

“Leave me alone,” she tries again and pushes him away as hard as she can. But it’s really no use. The alpha is much bigger and certainly much stronger than she is.

The alpha takes Chuck by the shoulders and growls right in her face. “Know your fucking place, knot-slut.”

In her peripheral vision, Chuck can see everyone on the bus turn their heads away. They know that it would be dangerous for them to step between an alpha and the thing he wants. And he knows that, too. That’s why he’s so brazenly acting this way in full view of everyone. Chuck understands why no one is interfering, but she still hopes someone will come forward and get her out of this situation.

“I’m gonna take you home with me and I’ll show you a real good time, little omega,” the alpha hisses through his teeth.

Chuck’s whole body goes stiff as pure fear shoots through her veins. Is this really going to happen to her? What if this alpha goes through with it? Would her hurt her? Claim her?

Chuck is so frightened that she doesn’t even realize that the bus is stopped. But when a new loud voice calls out, she turns away from the alpha gripping her to face it.

“Let go of the omega, sir,” an alpha police officer demands.

Unbeknownst to Chuck or her alpha attacker, the bus driver had seen what was going on behind her and had notified the authorities discretely. Two officers, an alpha and a beta female were dispatched to intercept the bus at the next stop.

“Really?” the alpha questions the officer. “You know they were put here for us,” he spits out, referring to the omega still in his grasp. “Those ‘Omega Lib’ laws are a crock of shit! How does it feel to betray your own kind, pussy alpha?”

The other cop steps forward, her hand hovering over her taser. “You can either walk off this bus right now and get on with your day, or we cuff you and take you to the station.”

The alpha lets out a huff, but unhands Chuck and stands from his seat. “Omega cunt,” he says under his breath.

The alpha cop escorts the man off of the bus while the beta cop checks on Chuck.

“Are you okay?” she asks matter of factly.

“Uh...” Chuck clears her throat. “Y-Yeah. I’m okay.”

“If he hurt you, you could press charges.”

Chuck just wants to put this all behind her. “No. I’m fine. I just want to get home.”

“Okay, miss.” The officer turns away and exits the bus.

When the bus starts up again, Chuck makes the decision to skip her stop and get off on the one closest to a car dealership that she’s passed a ton of times. Because there’s absolutely no way she’s going to set foot on public transportation again after this.

During the short walk from the bus stop to the dealership, Chuck takes a bunch of deep breaths and tries to rid her mind of what she just went though. She doesn’t want to be all weepy and emotional while negotiating with a salesman. So she pumps herself up, says a few mantras, and pushes open the smudge free glass doors of the shiny showroom.

Chuck has no idea that she’s about to run into the man that has been trying his hardest not to see her.

Negan had worked at Adams Auto Sales for just over a decade. It’s not exactly his dream job, but it pays the bills and he’s good at it. It was actually the first job he interviewed for after he had moved into his apartment. And back then, he wasn’t exactly picky. Really, at that time, he barely cared about living.

After his mate had died, he just wanted to get away from everything in his life. So he sold their house immediately. Everything in it was like it was saturated with Lucille, so it had to go. Then he quit his job. That actually was his dream job. Teaching kids. He was the phys ed teacher and baseball coach for a high school not far from his former home. He loved it. It made him happy. And because he felt like he didn’t deserve any more happiness, it had to go, too.

Within three months of Lucille dying, he had moved into the first apartment he found and took the first job that would take him. And he’s lived with those decisions for ten years.

Negan knows the second that the omega next door sets foot in the showroom where he’s currently pouring himself a cup of coffee. He slowly turns around to see the girl walking into the large open space, her head moving from side to side as she takes in the sights. The moment that she realizes he is also there is written all over her face.

Chuck pauses her motion into the room when she sees Negan approaching her. She is already having a bad day, so a run in with her neighbor outside of their shared building really isn’t necessary. “What are you doing here?” she asks before thinking.

“I work here,” he answers with just as much attitude as she gave him. “What are you doing here?”

“You work here?” Chuck repeats.

“Yes,” he drags out.

Chuck huffs out a a breath. “Well...” She feels pretty stupid now, so she just tries to move past it. “I need a car.”

He stares at her for a few moments before responding. “You’ve come to the right place.”

They both stand there blinking at each other, neither of them knowing how to proceed with this. Should Chuck find a different employee to help her? Should he? Should Chuck and Negan still hate each other? Should they bury the hatchet? Should they just continue to ignore one another? They get an answer of sorts when another person walks up to them.

“Negan?” the middle aged alpha calls out. “Maybe I should handle this sale.”

The first thing that goes through Negan’s mind is to push this alpha out of the way wrap the omega up in his arms, covering her with his own scent. But, of course, Negan doesn’t do any of that because the alpha now standing next to him is his boss, Thomas Adams, and Negan doesn’t want to get fired.

As soon as the new alpha makes his presence known, Chuck instinctively takes a step towards Negan, almost standing behind him. She’s completely unaware of the movement, though, her body working on its own. But it’s not hidden from either alpha, both of which know what it means.

Thomas looks from the omega to Negan, who now has a smug grin plastered on his face. “You know what?” he says, trying to hide his annoyance from the rejection. “You can handle this, Negan.” He turns and walks away from the pair.

When Chuck tilts her head up to look at Negan, she realizes that she’s much closer to him than she thought. She sidesteps away from him and clears her throat.

“So,” Negan calls out, still with that smug grin on his face, “what kinda car you looking for?”

It becomes apparent to Negan fairly quickly that Chuck pretty much knows nothing about cars as she peruses the lot. “You ever bought a car before, sweetheart?” he asks as he follows her.

“Yes,” she answers quickly.

He raises his eyebrows at her, not exactly believing it.

“I bought a car my senior year of high school,” she bites back. But she knows what he means. “It was a used car that I spent 700 bucks on,” she admits.

“That’s what I thought.” Normally, dealing with a person like Chuck brings dollar signs bouncing before Negan’s eyes. He could always talk people into features that they really didn’t need. But for some reason, Negan doesn’t take advantage of the girl’s ignorance regarding horsepower and antilock brakes and the like. She said she wanted a car that was safe and could get her around the city, no bells and whistles required. To he stuck to showing her cars on the cheaper end of the scale.

As Chuck walks around looking at the section of cars Negan had pointed out to her, he is busy watching her. She looks completely different now than she had before. Not that she really was different , but it was more her attitude. Instead of scowling at him or stomping away from him, she’s lost in thought, considering her car options with her bottom lip between her teeth.

She’s cute, but not exactly his type. Considering that his type is the kind of woman that would go home with him after just a few drinks. This girl isn’t like that. At all.

But she’s cute. Really cute, actually, with her freckles and her big green eyes. And Negan always had a thing for natural redheads.

“Negan?” She draws him out of his thoughts. “I think I like this one.” She points to the sensible sedan in front of her.

He walks toward her with a smile on his face. “Any preference on color?”

“Um.” She turns back and looks over the options. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. They all look nice.” She looks up to him standing beside her. “It’s not like any of them are neon green or anything.”

“Ahem.” He taps her on the shoulder prompting her to turn around and points across the way to a car that is, indeed, the worst shade of neon green.

Chuck laughs. “God, that’s ugly.”

Negan can’t help but laugh, too, as the girl’s face lights up with a genuine smile. “Did you just change your mind?” he jokes.

“Oh, definitely,” she answers sarcastically. “That ugly thing over there is my dream car.”

Negan chuckles at her quick response and turns back to the car she had pointed out. “I always thought the red ones looked the fuckin’ best out of this line.” He gestures to the car.

Chuck nods. “Okay.”

“So why don’t we test drive the red one.”

As Chuck leisurely drives her prospective new car through the city with Negan in the passenger seat, she smiles at the friendly atmosphere. Never would she have expected that she would almost enjoy Negan’s company, but he has proven that he can be a sort of good guy. He actually helped her with picking the car, and he’s even offering it at a fair price (a quick google search while Negan was getting the keys told Chuck that). He’s also really charming and funny when he’s not being a jerk.

As she stops the car at a congested intersection, her eyes flick over to her passenger. When she sees that he is staring squarely back at her, she instantly averts her gaze to the windshield once again. Her cheeks quickly blush as she beats herself up for being so stupid.

Negan lets out a deep chuckle at her reaction. “How are you liking the car?” he asks with a wide grin on his face.

“I like the ride,” she answers quickly, but realizes that that sounds weird. “I mean, it rides good. Rides well !” She corrects herself. “It’s- I- It’s nice. I like it.” Now her ears are burning hot in embarrassment.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the ride,” he responds without missing a beat.

“Um... Thank you...?” Chuck replies quietly.

They sit in silence for a few minutes as Chuck barely inches the car forward in the rush hour traffic. With Negan sitting beside her, his scent filling the small space, and with the way he’s been treating her today, she actually starts to feel butterflies in her stomach for the first time is a very long while. It’s pleasant and exciting. And just as she starts to really accept the new feeling, he opens his mouth.

“So... how are you an omega, anyway?” he blurts out.

The butterflies instantly die leaving behind a sour feeling. All the good will Negan has garnered with Chuck evaporates away with that one question. Her face instantly falls and she ducks her head to hide just how embarrassing the topic is to her.

“I don’t want to talk about it with you, Negan,” she responds in the most diplomatic way she can muster, just trying to hold onto those nice feelings she just had.

“Why not?” he responds simply.

The fact that he looks genuinely confused at the notion that she wouldn’t want to talk about something so personal has her embarrassment turning into rage. “ Why not ?” she repeats searingly.

Her tone has him getting angry, too. “Yeah. Why not ?” he stresses again.

Chuck just wishes that the traffic would clear out so she can get back to the dealership, but there’s no such luck. She inches the car forward one car length and gets stopped again. “It’s not exactly your business, is it?” she finally adds.

“Well,” he lets out a huff, “it kinda is my fucking business.”

She whips her head to look at him. “How do you figure that?” she spits back.

“Don’t be fuckin’ stupid, little girl. You know damn well why.”

She lets out a huff in shock. Not really because of how he’s acting, but because she let herself think for one second that he might be a good guy. “What I know is that two weeks ago, you didn’t even know I existed . Even though I’ve been living next door to you for four,” she shoves her hand showcasing four fingers into his face,” years. Then, when you do realize I’m an actual person, you make sure that I know just how much you hate me everyday. And now that you know I’m an omega, I’m just supposed to open up and tell you my whole life story?”

“I didn’t fuckin’ ask for your life story,” he spits back. “I just asked how you were a beta one minute and a goddamn omega the next! Do you really fuckin’ blame me for asking?! It’s a big fuckin’ deal.”

“It’s not your deal!” she screams. When her words are punctuated with car horns, Chuck realizes that the traffic has let up and she can drive. So she does, making her way straight back to the dealership. Negan and Chuck rush through the paperwork to finalize the sale with very few words uttered between them and go their separate ways.

That night, Negan decides to unwind at his favorite watering hole, named The Outlaw Pub. It’s just a couple of blocks from his apartment building, so he found it easily right after he moved in. That’s when he met the owner, Simon.

Since Negan spends so much time in Simon’s establishment, the two alphas build up something like a friendship. They don’t exactly hang out outside of the bar, but they talk and are friendly with each other.

“You look like shit,” Simon comments when Negan takes his usual seat at the bar. “Rough day?” Simon doesn’t even ask what Negan wants, he just starts to pour a double bourbon, knowing that that’s what Negan would order.

“Yeah.” Negan drags his hand over his face before propping his elbows up on the bar. “Something like that.”

Despite the fact that Simon is the closest thing Negan has to a friend, he doesn’t want to discuss exactly what’s bothering him. Mainly because what’s bothering him is his neighbor and the fight they had earlier when she showed up at his work. Especially because Negan never told Simon that the girl next door, the one that he’s complained about before, is now an omega. An unmated omega. And Simon is an unmated alpha.

There is no way that Negan is going to advertise the whereabouts of a single omega to anyone, even to his friend.

Simon pushes the drink in front of Negan. “Are you looking for a distraction?” Simon nods his head in the direction of a group of giggly women. “Bachelorette party.”

Negan turns around to look at the women. “Fuck yeah.” Negan starts to grin. “Think I can get two to come home with me? Get some threesome action?”

“No fuckin’ way,” Simon scoffs.

“Bet you twenty fuckin’ bucks I can.”

Simon laughs and shakes his head. “You’re on.”

Negan takes the glass from the bar, downs it, and gives Simon a wink before he approaches the women.

When Negan leaves the bar, Simon’s wallet is exactly twenty dollars lighter.

 Chuck finds herself sitting in the fancy lobby of the Alpha For You office a few days later. Her insurance company had set this appointment up for her, so she really has very little choice in the matter. Despite her nerves about the situation, she did what she was told, completing the questionnaire in the Alpha For You app yesterday and showing up for the appointment, of course.

“Charlotte?” A pretty, well-dressed beta woman comes out from a hallway and motions for her. “Right this way.”

Chuck stands and follows her. “You can call me Chuck.”

“Certainly, Chuck. My name is Sophia and I will be guiding you through the process.” They continue to walk down a long and winding hallway. “We’ve taken the results of your survey and have picked out five candidate for you to choose from. Did you read their profiles in the app?”

“Yup,” Chuck answers, trying to sound casual. In actuality, Chuck has the alphas’ information memorized. The moment the app had brought them up, Chuck had read and reread their profiles. She thought that if she knew about the alpha that she would ultimately sleep with, it would be less awkward.

“Great!” They finally get to a door and pause outside of it. “We just like to have you meet our alphas here, face to face, to start the selection process.”

Chuck is suddenly very nervous and second guessing her choice to do this all alone. Her mother had offered to accompany her here, but Chuck thought it would be more awkward to have to choose someone to get her through her heats with her mother right beside her. “Oh... Uhh... okay.”

Sophia lays her soft hand on Chuck’s shoulder. “Don’t be nervous. We all know about your unique situation and we’re all determined to give you the care you need.”

“Okay.” Chuck lets out a deep breath and waits for Sophia to open the door.

The room beyond the door is just as lavish as the waiting room. Expensive furniture makes up the sitting area in the center with a full bar behind it. And, of course, there are five alphas milling around the room.

“Would you like a drink?” Sophia asks as she leads Chuck further in.

“Uh... no, thank you.” Chuck takes her seat in the chair that Sophia indicates.

The alphas, one by one, step forward, introduce themselves (Brian, Casey, Trevor, Jamie, and Miles), and shake Chuck’s hand. They are all between their early twenties and early thirties and fairly handsome. Not to mention, they’re all over over six feet tall. Those facts are in their profiles, but now that Chuck sees them in person, she realizes just how big and intimidating they all are. And it does nothing for her nerves.

Sophia gestures to the couches and the men take their seats. She takes the chair right beside Chuck and turns to her. “Am I right in assuming that you would be more comfortable employing the same alpha for every heat? Some women like variety, but most want familiarity.”

“Uh... Yeah. That’s- I would rather have the same one,” Chuck answers meekly.

Sophia gives Chuck a friendly smile. “Would you like to ask them any questions.”

Chuck shakes her head. Of course she has questions, but she’s so nervous right now, she doesn’t really want to voice them.

Sophia seems to recognize this. “It’s okay, Chuck. We’re here to make sure everything is perfect for you.”

“O-Okay. Uh... The app- The profiles didn’t say if, uh... if any of them had ever, um, been with an omega for her, you know, first time.”

Sophia nods in understanding. “Your situation is unique. Most of our clientele is made up of betas that want the alpha experience. Our omega clients are mainly older omegas who have lost their mate. We do have a few younger omegas that can’t take suppressants for various other reasons, but... None of our alphas here have ever been an omega’s first alpha.”

Chuck nods. She had hoped that some of the alphas would have experience with that. That maybe if they did, they would make it easier on her.

Sophia continues. “But these alphas are among the gentlest we have. And I assure you, they will be very attentive to your needs.”

Chuck nods again. “Okay.”

Sophia holds her arm out to the alphas. “Why don’t you scent them?”

Chuck doesn’t exactly know what she means. “Scent?”

“Some alphas aren’t as compatible with an omega as others,” Sophia explains. “An omega can usually tell in the alpha’s scent.”

“Oh, okay.” Chuck hesitantly stands from her seat and moves to the first alpha on the left, Jamie.

He tilts his head to the side to give Chuck better access. The easiest way for Chuck to properly scent the alphas is to get close to one of their scent glands, located in the neck and wrists.

Knowing that she will have to get so close to these men has Chuck giggling nervously. “Sorry. I’m-I’m nervous.”

“It’s okay, darling,” Jamie comments gently. “Take your time.”

Chuck bends down closer to his exposed neck and inhales. He smells good, actually.

Not as good as Negan.

Chuck shakes the thought out of her head and moves to Casey. He smells okay. Not exactly bad, but not exactly good either. More like a subtle body wash smell. The next alpha, Miles smells the best, yet. Well, the best out of these alphas, anyway. Once again, Chuck scolds herself for letting her alpha neighbor worm his way into her thoughts.

Chuck bends down close to Brian, but instantly shoots back at his scent and covers her nose. He smells like hot garbage and roadkill. “I’m sorry,” Chuck apologizes quickly to him.

The rest of the alphas chuckle at her reaction to Brian, who stands from his seat and shakes Chuck’s hand. “It was nice meeting you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“It’s okay, Chuck. I don’t take it personally. You can’t help how you react to my scent.” Brian leaves, knowing that his part in this process is over.

Trevor is last and his scent is similar to Jamie’s. Pretty good, but not the best. With that all done, Chuck stands in front of the men, not sure what else to do.

“Do-“ Chuck turns back to Sophia. “Do they need to smell me?”

Sophia shakes her head. “Even though alphas can be more sensitive to scents, they tend to be less picky about them than omegas. I’m sure you smell fine to them.”

“Oh. Ok.” Chuck sits back down in her chair.

“Are you okay with moving forward with these four?” Sophia asks Chuck.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Sophia gives her that friendly smile again. “Then the next thing we like to do is to have the alphas visit you in your home. Usually, when an omega is in their own space, they find it easier to make the choice as to who they want to let into that space. We can set up the appointments in the app, probably within the next few days. We were told we still have maybe a couple of months before your heat, but we want to get all of this out of the way as quickly as possible.”

“Yeah. That sounds good,” Chuck agrees.

 True to Sophia’s word, the company sets up an appointment the next day with Trevor. Of course, Chuck is nervous to have him in her apartment, but it goes well. He’s polite and very informative for the hour or so that he stays. But when it’s time for him to leave, Chuck isn’t sure if he’s the right one.

At the same time that Chuck sees Trevor out of her apartment, Negan is just entering his. Their eyes meet momentarily, but Chuck quickly looks away and closes her door.

Negan is frozen in place though, watching the strange alpha exit Chuck’s apartment and head down the hallway. He doesn’t like it. At all.

He stomps across the hall and lifts his fist up to knock on her door, but he stops himself.

What the fuck am I doing? She can do whatever the hell she wants. Fuck whoever she wants. It doesn’t fuckin’ bother me, he lies to himself.

The next day, the agency sets up two appointments, one with Jamie and one with Miles. Though they’re the two best smelling alphas of all the prospects, Chuck finds that their personalities don’t mesh well with hers. Not that they were unprofessional in their separate meetings, but they just weren’t the ones.

Though Negan tries to ignore the the fact that two separate alphas today had encroached on his territory, plus one yesterday, it does bother him. A lot, actually. But he buries it, not really wanting to admit that it is indeed bothering him.

Chuck is a little dejected before her appointment with Casey the next day. The other alphas were okay , but she just really didn’t see herself actually sleeping with them. But Casey is actually different. He’s goofy and makes her laugh. Even though he doesn’t have that strong alpha scent that makes her body react, he puts her at ease.

When he leaves, Chuck has a lot to think about. Should she go for one of the ones that are more compatible with her body? Or should she consider the ones that is more compatible with her personality?

While Chuck is ruminating on that, Negan is pacing his apartment. The omega next door had let yet another strange alpha into her apartment. And Negan is having a hard time dealing with it.

“What the fuck is wrong with her?” he growls out loud. Before he even realizes what he’s doing, his fist pounds on the door next door.

The loud noise makes Chuck jump, but she steadies herself and answers the door. She doesn’t even get anything out before Negan starts.

He does actually try to hold back his rage, but his voice still comes out somewhat raised. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Chuck rolls her eyes and tries to close the door on him, but he places his large hand on it to stop the motion. “What are you doing, Negan?!”

He knows that she’s scared and it sobers him. He takes in a deep breath and removes his hand from the door. “Why are you bringing alphas up here?” he asks in an even tone.

His change in demeanor has Chuck more confused than scared now. “What?”

“I don’t want you bringing alphas up here.”

Now she’s actually angry. “It’s a good thing that I don’t care what you want then, isn’t it?”

Negan leans in towards her, but doesn’t raise his voice. “This is my home and I should have a fucking say.”

Chuck holds her ground. “This is my home and I say you don’t.”

Negan stands up straight and chuckles darkly. “Your mommy know that you’re presenting that omega pussy for any alpha you meet?” He knows it’s the asshole thing to do. Or rather, he knows it after he says it. In actuality, he’s just not being able to deal with the thought that she’s sleeping with any alpha that isn’t him. No matter how much he tries to lie to himself that that’s not the case

Chuck reels back in shock then slaps the man across the face. “I hate you, Negan!” Her eyes immediately fill with tears. “You’re the worst person I’ve ever met!”

“Real fuckin’ mature, little girl,” he growls.

“Get out of my face!”

“All those alphas know that you act like a spoiled fuckin’ eight year old outside of the bedroom? They only care about popping their fuckin’ knot, though, right?”

“Leave me alone!” Chuck shoves Negan as hard as she can, but he barely moves. “I hate you more than anything!” She pushes him again and this time, he steps back enough that Chuck can slam the door in his face.

Chuck spends the whole rest of the night sobbing loudly into her pillows. And Negan spends the whole rest of the night listening to her.

[rippedjeansandloudmusic]

elysian: capitolo primo

RENAMED FROM: REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY!!!!!!! 

Nico’s had a pretty shitty life. His best friend, sister, and mother all dead, and an abandoned father all coupled with being sent off to a new country, he isn’t sure if it’s cruel humor or sick coincidence that he got his soulmate mark at the worst of times.

Will’s had a boring life. Living what’s seemingly the same day on repeat, he wants out. He wants excitement.

Here’s the story of how they met. [read on ao3]

Nico di Angelo hated being forced to do something.

It was something he was raised with; something that was always a part of him. He never understood why, though it was probably him just unconsciously following in his older sister’s, Bianca’s, footsteps.

She was always the outgoing one, wanting to get up and do things instead of sitting back and watching them happen. Like when she would watch TV. She would see someone do wheelies on their bike and immediately say “Bye mom and dad, I’m going to learn how to do a wheelie.”

The best part of their relationship was based on this foundation; the wanting to do and not watch.

This was the exact thing that got her killed.

The day was about as normal as could be. Nico woke up in the cot below Bianca’s, stretching and jumping up the ladder to shake his sister’s unconscious body.

Bianca was a weird girl, to say the least. All around town, there were whispers about the thirteen-year-old girl who couldn’t let her eleven-year-old brother go. They were practically attached at the hip. They were a package deal, you got both of them or neither or them.

Her hair was pretty lengthy, something Nico enjoyed (but his mom wouldn’t let him grow his hair out), with a bare face and almost always with a smile. Most girls her age were enveloping themselves in makeup and boys. Bianca preferred to stay at a distance where she could watch instead of do; one of the only exceptions to her number one rule: Don’t sit back and watch when you can get up and do.

She had that inked all over the walls above her bed. In cursive, Italian, English, some random language her and her brother had made up…

She loved that phrase.

So, it was no surprise when it showed up on her arm. Bianca didn’t have a soulmate. At least, that’s what she told Nico. So, the things she loved showed up on her own arm. She called it poetic, something Nico understood but didn’t really understand. It was odd. He understood what poetic meant, and how she could think that phrase was poetic, but he didn’t understand why. Why that phrase, and why now?

Nico looked like your typical on-the-rise teen. His hair was cut short and his eyes were always open, wanting to swallow all the information he could get off the world. He was always hungry for exploration, something he probably got from his sister.

After he dragged a begrudging Bianca from the bed and down the stairs of their rickety old mansion (this was ancient. Dad had said that it was passed down throughout the generations, and Nico believed him. Though, in secret, Bianca would say how That’s utter bullshit. He probably got this in some knockoff auction or something.

Nico didn’t understand why she hated dad so much. She said he was too young to understand.

Though, she never seemed close to dad.)

Their father was at the kitchen counter, arms wrapped around Maria di Angelo and face buried in her neck. Bianca just rolled her eyes, clearly done with their actions, and walked around them to the fridge door.

Dad didn’t acknowledge her, only running up to Nico and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Nico!” He screamed, hands racing up and Nico’s sides. Nico thrashed, eventually getting out of his father’s grip and running up to hide behind Bianca. Bianca smiled, putting him in a headlock and rubbing her knuckles against his head.

“Don’t come over here and expect to be saved!” She yelled in between bursts of laughter.

Maria watched the two from beside her husband, hiding a smile behind her hand.

After breakfast Bianca pulled Nico out the front door, only half paying attention to her mother yelling at them from the door. She blew Maria a kiss through her hand, screaming how they’ll be back for lunch.

They were now in new clothes, running through the streets of Venice with their hands in the sky, laughing and playing with other kids that would come by.

The sidewalks were crowded, and they could see boats as they floated underneath bridges they would run across. Bianca had hitched a ride with a girl’s family who she apparently knew from school, while Nico sat beside her and they tried to push each other into the water.

It was great.

It was normal.

They got back at lunch time, just like she said they would, and immediately dove into their lunches. Maria asked how their exploration was, and Bianca watched and Nico raved about how There are monsters in the water! Don’t look at me like that, Bianca. They’re HUGE!

They all knew he was joking, but no one asked him to stop.

They went back out again that night; dancing in stores they would come across, sometimes they would just start yelling songs at the tops of their lungs and watch as people stared at them with loving eyes, wishing they could be that young again. That happy again.

It wasn’t until they got home, at around six, that things went wrong.

“Bianca!” Nico yelled, darting into a sprint up their street. It took Bianca a minute to realize what caught his line of sight.

“Holy shit!” She yelled, running to catch up to Nico.

Their house was on fire.

You could see the flames licking up the side of the home, tearing away at old, charted paint and old foundations. You could see the windows breaking under pressure and could hear floors falling.

Their father stood outside the ruckus, on his knees and seemingly passed out. Nico ran over.

“Dad!” He screamed, hoping to wake him. He smacked him once. Twice. But nothing.

“Mom’s still inside…” Bianca whispered to herself, making sure Nico didn’t hear. She cast a look at him, how he was leaning over Hades with a terrified look on his face. There were groups of people crowding around them, forming a ring. Someone had their phone out, calling the police. She could see one of their neighbors - she didn’t know their name - tearing Nico from Hades’ unconscious body. She looked back at the burning home.

“Mom…” She said once more.

Then she darted.

Nico saw her soon after, running headfirst back into the flames.

“Bianca!” He yelled, trying to tear the man’s arms from around his waist. Instead, they tightened, keeping him rooted to his place on the once green grass surrounding his home.

“BIANCA!”  He screamed again, only now noticing the tears staining his face. That didn’t keep him from repeating the chorus until minutes (probably minutes) (it could’ve easily been hours) later when he was pulled aside by someone, he doesn’t know or remember who, and was ushered into a vehicle (he doesn’t remember what) and reassured. He doesn’t remember what he was being reassured of.

His entire family was dead.

He didn’t need reassuring…

He needed his sister back.

His arm burned, which didn’t make sense. He wasn’t hit by any flames (that he knows of), so what was happening?

He rolled his arm up, tears still falling down his face, before seeing something that was being seared into his skin.

A sun.

A sun.

How fucking ironic. Just as his entire family is gone his soulmate appears.

Fucking.

Great.

+

Will Solace wasn’t sure why soulmates are even a thing.

He loves his family, and they love him in return. He has amazing siblings, Kayla and Austin, and he doesn’t need anyone else. Does he want anyone else? Well, that’s debatable. He wants to feel this thing that everyone describes as the best feeling in the world. It’s like you’ve just down seven energy drinks, his older brother says. Austin had met his soulmate at a young age. Sixteen, to be exact. A high that you can’t get down from. I feel like I don’t need five-hour energies when I’m with her.

Will think’s that cool. Feeling like you never need to sleep or anything? Someone you would die for?

That’s the appeal he got from it.

What he didn’t like, however, was that this… this person was chosen for you. He felt as though the point of living was to make your own choices; your own mistakes.

So, if you're meant to find your own place in the world, why did someone already pair you up with someone?

That’s what he didn’t understand.

His normal day was extremely boring. He got up to go to school, then got home seven hours later to study, then go to sleep. Repeat the cycle the next day. That was until the weekend when he would study on repeat and watch weird videos on YouTube.

It was boring.

He hated boring.

He wanted to go out and do something. He wanted to explore; run down the street just to see how fast he could go. Light something on fire to see how fast it would go out.

He wondered, occasionally, if he soulmate felt this too.

But he didn’t dwell on it.

The first tattoo he got, he was ten. Playing with Austin, who was now fifteen, outside. He didn’t have the best relationship with his siblings, besides with Kayla, but Austin was the man of the house. Their dad had walked out a long time ago, leaving his mom, Naomi, alone with three kids and no child support.

Thank god he wasn’t his mom’s soulmate. Apparently, her original soulmate had died long ago. Will was, even though he kinda hated it, a mistake. A one-night-stand went wrong.

His mom didn’t treat him like it was his fault, like in the movies. She told him about his birth father, and how they were alike and how they weren’t. She didn’t hate him or cast him out.

He loved his mother.

Austin had thrown him the ball. Will caught it with nonchalance, as though sports came naturally to him, and threw it back. This time, though, when Austin threw the ball back it rolled back into the woods behind them.

“I’ll get it!” Will called back, running forward into the wood.

He got pricked with many different thorns, one or two catching on his hoodie before he ran back to Austin.

Will’s arm burned, something he didn’t particularly like enduring, but he powered through it, tossing the ball back and forth with Austin until he noticed something was up.

“What’s wrong?” Austin had asked, walking forward with a hand on his hip. Will shook his head. His eyes lingered on Austin’s forearm, though. He had just recently gotten his tattoo - a small compass with what appeared to be prayer beads. Will shook his head.

“Nothing.”

Austin rolled his eyes, walking over and grabbing Will’s wrist. Will quickly pulled his arm back, wincing at the pain where Austin’s hand had touched his wrist.

“Will.” He chided, reaching forward and grabbing his wrist again. Will hissed but didn’t pull away, allowing his older brother to pull his sleeve back.

When his hoodie was discarded (it was a bother), Austin’s eyes promptly grew to the size of saucers.

“Holy shit,” he whispered.

“Ma!” He called back towards the house, not looking away from Will’s hand. “Ma, you’ve got to see this!”

Will scrunched his brows, his eyes only now fluttering down to his forearm.

His tattoo.

But… but that wasn’t supposed to come for a few years. Why… why was it -

“Ma! Ma, Will’s got his tattoo!”

Will almost didn’t notice when Austin began tugging him back towards their small home. It was in one of those suburban areas with homes clustered all around, he wasn’t sure what it was called, and theirs was probably one of the smallest. There were barely enough bedrooms for them, Kayla having her own and the boys having to share, and the old yellow paint was chipping from the sides.

The tattoo was something Will couldn’t quite see. There were also scribbles under it. It was a rough sketch of two women.

Bianca e Maria di Angelo

He wasn’t sure if they were words or names, but probably names. Also probably for the two women on his arm now.

Naomi came flying down the stairs towards her two sons.

“What do you mean he already has his tattoo? You just got yours, Austin.” Naomi had a slight southern accent, something that affected her o’s and t’s a bit. And she rarely said you all. Always yall.

“But he did, Ma. See?”

Naomi slid her glasses up her nose a bit, taking a fleeting look at her son’s arm. Her eyes widened, immediately batting Austin’s hand away.

“Don’t touch it! That’s gonna hurt, Austin. More than yours did.”

Will winced at the tattoos began morphing, changing. The girl on the left - who Will assumed was Bianca - her photo began changing, now more like words making up a person.

Non sedersi e guardare quando si può alzarsi e fare. It was that simple phrase repeated all throughout her photo, creating her face and eyes. The ink would get darker to symbolize the shadows that crossed her face. Words made her freckles, lips, eyebrows, cheekbones.

Will would dare say she was attractive. But, not truly. He knew she wasn’t his soulmate.

His mother googled the words (after they deciphered them, anyway) and recited them from the screen soon after.

“Don’t sit and watch when you can get up and do. Humph,” she walked back over to her son. “Your soulmate sure has an odd form of loving.”

“Maybe they’re his family,” Will tried to defend them, though he was quite curious himself. Why were they showing up now? He’d never heard of this happening before, so why now?

He couldn’t come up with an explanation.

+

Nico had to move to the states.

They tried to look for his father, tried to find him, but Hades di Angelo had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Everyone was looking for this guy; but nothing.

Nico was left alone.

He was sent to a foster home in upstate New York. The worst part, though? Besides being all alone? He couldn’t speak English.

He could tell people were talking to each other, their lips were moving and a sound was coming out, though to him all it sounded like was gibberish. Words and sounds mixing together.

“Quando posso andare a letto? Sono stanco…” When can I go to bed? I’m tired…

“In un minuto, Nico,” the lady spat back at him, making him want to retreat into the wall. She was cranky. Nico immediately disliked her.

He rubbed his wrist, thinking of his soulmate.

Did he live in America? Where they here, in New York?

Nico wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

He remembers a conversation he had with… well, they talked about how he didn’t like the girl next door.

“Why not? She’s pretty,” she asked, throwing on a long skirt from her drawer. Nico shrugged.

“I don’t know. Though, her brother’s kinda cute, right?”

Bianca just shot him a smile.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Nico?”

Nico blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes and looking up at the new lady. She seemed nice. Her hair was black, pulled up into a ponytail high above her head. Nico walked forward, not bothering to be subtle, and looked up at her. She was short, not much taller than Nico, and he cleared his throat, looking back at the woman who was meant to be translating for him until he got settled. Honestly, he just wanted to be left alone for a moment. All these new things… it was too much.

“Signora, potrei andare in camera mia. Voglio... solo essere lasciato da solo.” Ma’am, may I please go to my room?. I just… I want to be left alone.

She looked at the other woman. She was sending Nico a sad look, her blue eyes filled with sympathy. Nico had gotten that look enough, and wanted it to go away.

He rubbed his forearm again.

She looked at his arm and raised a brow. She turned to the other woman and exchanged a few words. Looks were tossed back and forth. The blue eyed woman got a shocked look, though it didn’t last long.

Soon after Nico was walked inside.

The home was small. There was a crowded walkway that leads to an open area with a round table in the center and a window across from it. There were things on the fridge, papers hung with magnets. Nico raised a brow though didn’t ask. Partially because he didn’t know how. He knew a few words here and there. He had learned with Bianca. She always wanted to travel to the Americas… she wanted to become a famous piano player like their mother once was.

Nico blew on his eyes (or tried) to stop the tears from falling. The ones that fell he flicked away.

He bit his lip in concentration, trying to muster up the few words he knew.

“Uh…” he looked at the young woman. She couldn’t have been older than the mid thirties.

“Um, bedroom?” He could hear his own accent, thick with Venice remembrance. Sally looked a bit surprised, though Nico didn’t question it. He’s been getting a lot of questioning looks over the past few days.

She waved him over, leading him down another crowded hallway towards two rooms on the very end of the hall.

“Percy!” She called out. Nico was a bit weirded out. Why would anyone name their kid Percy?

“I’m comin’ mom!”

He wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, though next thing he knew he was stood in front of an older boy. He didn’t have an angelic glow, or a godly presence, though he did look… different. Nico wasn’t sure if that was positive or not though.

Percy’s eyes widened when he made eye contact with Nico and he flung himself backward into his room, grabbing what appeared to be a laptop and appearing back into the hall. He and the other woman exchanged a few words, Percy tapping away at his laptop, before spinning it around and showing it to Nico.

Ciao! Mi chiamo Percy, e mia madre è Sally. Come ti chiami?Hello! My name is Percy, and my mother is Sally. What’s your name?

Nico raised both brows at the family. He tried to play Sally’s name on his tongue though couldn’t exactly. Sally just smiled at her son, gesturing for Nico to tap out a response. It was a bit odd, he wasn’t used to the keys, though he eventually figured it out.

Dove sono? Where am I?

Sally’s eyes widened, and she tapped something out.

Non sai dove sei?  You don’t know where you are?

Nico shook his head, taking the laptop back quickly and tapping away again.

No, non so solo che la sua casa sia. Conosco l'America perchè qui? No, I just don’t know whose house this is. I know, America, though why here?

And that was how they communicated. For a good amount of time, too. Just standing in the doorway of this Percy guy’s room.

Eventually, Sally explained how Nico’s father’s brother was Percy’s dad, and they were the closest relatives he had.

That’s great… Nico thought to himself.

Soon after he walked into the bedroom he was apparently going to be sharing with Percy Jackson.

There was a bunk bed with metal rods in the furthest corner of the room. The room was covered in glow-in-the-dark stars, and there was a shaggy carpet laid dormant in the middle of the room. A makeshift desk in front of a window that looked out to what appeared to be a fire escape.

“Ironia iritata..” Irritated irony (it’s a loose translation)

Nico murmured to himself, thankful Percy couldn’t hear him.

“What?” The boy in question asked, though Nico just waved him off. He walked over to the bunk bed, gesturing to them. Percy said something and Nico just glared at him for a moment. Percy’s brain clicked and he gestured to the top bunk, in which Nico climbed up with his single duffle bag. Not much could be salvaged from the fire, though most of what was were just sentimental stuff.

Nico was glad it was only the important things.

He reached into his bag, pulling out a case of thumbtacks he had stolen from the mean translation lady. He also reached in and pulled out an old tin, one that once belonged to his sister, one that was only partly charred from the fire. He opened the top, flipping through the photos.

He looked down to Percy. He was standing in the center of the room awkwardly, holding his laptop and shifting slightly.

“Uh…” he muttered. Nico rolled his eyes, though didn’t look away. Something about this boy... infatuated him. Though Nico swatted those thoughts away because of first of all: cousins, ew. And secondly…

Oh shit.

Bianca had warned him that not everyone would accept him, whatever that meant. So, what was he supposed to do? What if they didn’t accept him? She told him to be wary of people who may not like him for who he likes.

“Uh, do you want me to leave?” Percy asked, gesturing to the door. Nico raised a brow and Percy took that and ran with it, leaving the bedroom.

Nico sighed.

“Great…” he muttered, unconsciously slipping into his new language. English.

+

Will was still bored.

He had turned thirteen last week. Now, for most people, that’s amazing.

But not for Will.

Nothing changed. He didn’t grow a foot, or suddenly have a bunch of friends. Nothing felt necessarily different.

He hated it.

Everything felt so bland. Like it was the same record on repeat for eternity.

Something new showed up on his arm, though. A name, Sally. He wasn’t sure who Sally was, though her name was inked in blue, the end of the Y being attached to a sea shell. That wasn’t everything, though.

There was also a camera and a pair of headphones. And old tin can that Will was sure someone probably set fire too. The tattoo of the two women hadn’t faded or changed, which Will thought was odd. Don’t most people’s faces change over time?

For a while, there was a pen, a weird cap pen with a word in ancient Greek. Riptide. He wasn’t sure why that was important.

The newest addition was the one that everyone found to be odd.

It was a word. Soulmate. Will didn’t understand why someone would love Soulmate, though it did make him curious.

Was his soulmate in love with the thought of a soulmate?

It was weird.

Everyone looked at it, wanting to catch a look at what was causing so much confusion. Will didn’t have an answer. Neither did WikiHow, since he had checked.

He found out he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up.

He also joined a new sport at school. Baseball. He overheard his mother talking about how her soulmate once played baseball and figured he should give it a try. Just for the hell of it.

He wasn’t very good at baseball, though.

He mostly stuck to his books; to the things he could control. He couldn’t control how his eyes seemed to always drift towards other boy’s in the locker room, or how his tattoo had shown up years before it was supposed to, or how he almost always had a really, really sad vibe. He was an optimist or tried to be, though he couldn’t shake off that depression.

He hated being sad. It was too sad for him.

So, he buried himself into his work.

It was the one thing he could control.

+

Nico just turned fifteen.

He didn’t understand how it was that much different than being eleven. I mean, they’re just numbers. What’re they meant to represent, anyway? How many years you survived? How many years of pain you’ve been through?

He’s started to branch out a bit more, no thanks to Perseus Jackson.

Percy had gotten a new friend, someone by the name Jason. Nico wasn’t sure what to think of him, yet. He had weird glasses that looked foreign on his face, and a scar above his lip that told the story of his weird diets as a child (ex. staples).

He had retreated into his wardrobe, though.

Mostly black pants and a bomber jacket. He’s been wearing the same shoes since he was fourteen, and wasn’t planning on giving them up.

He’s also learned more English. His accent was still there, though not as prominent as years prior. Most of the time he would cuss Jackson out in Italian so he couldn’t respond, and it was times like those that he was proud of his mother tongue.

He was also diagnosed with depression.

He had high days and low ones. Ones where he would love to go skydiving and ones where he just wanted to crawl up into a ball and never untangle himself.

He still had nightmares about the fire.

Though he was getting better.

His tattoo had morphed. Now it had a baseball bat and medical textbooks. There was a particular word… uh, ceraunophile. Someone who loves thunderstorms and lightning, apparently.

Nico would have to say he’s one as well.

Something about the imperfect pitches of thunder that rock their shitty apartment. About how Percy would cower under his blanket fort like he was protected from the outside world from inside.

He was going to university next year.

Nico still wasn’t sure what he thought about that.

Percy wasn’t his best friend by any means. He was more like a brother. A brother that he wishes would stop going on about his stupid tattoo with a book and blueprints on it for Pete's sake it’s annoying.

Nico wore the bomber jacket to cover his tattoos. He wasn’t ashamed of them, of course not, it was just something he liked to keep for himself. Something he felt was meant for him and no one else. Showing it off just felt… wrong.

He would sometimes sit on the desk before the window in their room, writing down different words and melodies, hoping to make something out of them one day. You could never see him without his headphones - he could escape through those. He didn’t have a specific type of preferred genre, just a little bit of everything.

Like now

He was watching new ink stretch up his arm, curling around his elbow. It was a light shade of pink, like a string, that seemed to be in constant motion around his arm. It spun like that, round and round and round and round, for about an hour. Soon after it stopped, etching a word into his skin.

Happiness

Damn.

Nico stole a look at Percy. He was out cold under the covers in his bottom bunk, so Nico quietly strolled up to his bunk and collapsed onto his mattress.

Pictures.

Pictures and glow in the dark stars.

He had thumbtacked all the saved photos from the fire to his ceiling, covering a vast majority of the wall. There was one in which Nico had cut out Hades’ face, making him virtually unknown. There were other photos of him and Bianca - most of them were him and Bianca - dancing. Nico never thought about that. How he and his sister could just dance in the middle of Venice, doing whatever, and how nobody acted like it was out of place. Sure, he got a few odd looks, but he learned not to care.

From Bianca.

He sat up, running his thumb against something he’d carved into the wood about three years ago.

Don’t sit back and watch when you can get up and do.

It was in Italian, though he could still read it perfectly fine.

He collapsed backward into his bed once more, closing his eyes and falling asleep to the fake sounds of chirping birds and the smell of grass, when in reality it was the sound of sirens and the smell of shitty Yankee candles.

Chapter Two -> [x]

[ts-seychelles]

EP. 4 - “SURVIVOR GODS I’M BEGGING FOR YOUR MERCY” - VILMA

whoever complained about free rice, ya moms a ho

Tbh I hate this. Vilma is a sweetheart and i love her. But like, we need the numbers in the long run. And apparently Jared will not hesitate to lie to people, as I was told by Ash and will just try to make you feel safe. So it would be easy if Nicole was here and if we lose again, I think it would be best to get rid of her because then Jared has no one but us. but at the same time, I know Nicole is smart enough to know that Ruben, Alex and Johnny are HUGE threats in this game and they are a force to be reckoned with.

So yeah nothing is happening because we keep winning hehe. I love that for us. I’m hoping they kill Vilma this round, just so another Malabar doesn’t go home. But honestly Vilma is iconic and deserves better so idfk tbh. I feel like my closest ally rn is Johnny. I think he’s so annoying but in like a kid brother kind of way. I just want to like smack him sometimes. But he’s cool. He means well. We’ve gone to the end in another game together so he knows I can beat him, but I think for the time being he’s good to work with. Also, Zach can choke. I want to keep him for the excel skills, but KILL HIM FOR FUCKING CALLING THE CHAT 80 TIMES LAST NIGHT

Rip me. My tribe lost immunity and I'm about to get voted out even though I've been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, challenge contributor of my tribe. The other tribe sent Nicole to ghost island which wasn't a surprise to me since I'm not close with any of them, plus her boyfriend is literally on that tribe so yay. They sent me to death! I've been begging people for my life and basically offering to be their bitch, and they've said they'd consider keeping me but honestly it doesn't look good. Tribal is only two hours away and it is starting to look like I'm going home. People have quit responding to me. Wish I had that idol right now. I'm gonna copy my ramblings here: 22.37 UGHHH this is so hard Everyone has said they'd consider saving me but they're probably just saying it to make me feel better Ash seems the most genuine though But no one has told me any other name so if nothing changes during the next few hours I'm out 22.55 I'm trying to be their bitch all they have to do is believe me LOL I would honestly be down working with these guys on the long term since I think my og tribe was way more active and I was practically on the outs there too, why would I want to work with someone I can't beat at the end But I'm not sure they believe me Even though the fact they sent Nicole to Ghost Island really proves she's way better connected to the other side than I am But I definitely understand the appeal of staying united since nobody from og Lazare has been voted out yet Too bad they'd be sending home their weakest link if they decide to vote me out so it doesn't really matter 23.38 Everyone stopped answering me :'( 0.46 SURVIVOR GODS I'M BEGGING FOR YOUR MERCY It has been a fun game just wish I was able to stay in it longer. </3 It's partially my fault though, I kinda failed to connect with people and haven't started many conversations. Socializing is hard. Ugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OryTpBiwm14

Okay so I'm fully expecting an OTTN if we do get an edgic, because I'm playing a little slimy. This immunity would have been pretty easy to get a solid 30 at least on but, I settled for ten because....we gotta get rid of this tribes dead weight. I love Augusto to pieces, Regan is good with me and Vilma is a doll. But, Sam and Ash don't deserve to place higher than anyone else left in this game. On top of that, there were two distinct scenarios I could see happening, which I talked about in my chat so I'll just copy/ paste that here: Long story short I feel like Sam isn’t doing anything and Ash isn’t doing anything so there’s at least two people lower than me on my tribe, where as in the Takamaka tribe Dan might die if they lose, and Jared might die in Malabar if they lose. Based on old tribe lines maybe I’m wrong but either way, if Malabar wins there’s an OK chance I’ll be sent to ghost island. If Takamaka wins there’s a big chance someone would vote against me will be sent to ghost island. I can’t afford either people who I feel are kind of ride or die obviously bc of personal reasons to get voted out Especially when there’s a good chance people will find them threats higher than me at merge Bc big scary challenge beast men Based on old scores they’ve been sending the shittiest performer to ghost island or the person who they think will be most likely voted out so, if I paint this picture like I did poorly that might even favor me I really thought 10 was throwing the comp and doing a bad job but it turns out, Regan doesn't know how to read so she...really did that. On top of that, I DID get sent to Ghost Island! So that was a fun twist because I think tribal can go three ways. Sam goes because she never does the challenges on time Ash goes because she always leaves the challenge until last minute Vilma goes because she's not original Malabar. If I would have stayed and they wanted to vote Vilma, I would have had to vote her out thus tipping off Alex that I'm not down with his whole Pagong idea of the Malabar's at merge. But, alas! I don't have to get any blood on my hands at this tribal. Instead....I got a fun little surprise at Ghost Island! But more on that later :) Toodles.

2.41 Ugh it's me :'( Regan and Augusto are apparently pushing for me Ash seems to be the only one who'd seriously consider keeping me THIS IS NOT FAIRRRRR Nicole has apparently told Augusto how Alex was controlling the og Lazare I don't necessarily agree with that Like, he did tell his opinions on things and I could see why it could be off-putting But I wouldn't go as far as to say he was controlling the tribe I tried to tell Augusto that it wasn't true to make him question Nicole's honesty but idk if it worked But what would I actually know since I was an outsider there too This is so sad Vilma, 17th place YAY From 7th to 17th Also it's definitely too early to pull shenanigans and lie I have an idol After they'd found out I lied they'd hate me RIP RIP RIP I think I've used all my cards 3.14 I really wish all the pre game relationships wouldn't affect the game so much People just want to play with their friends! Which totally makes sense Would be funny to take Samantha and Ash to vote one of Regan/Augusto out But I don't think that could happen 3.38 Yep I'm done for Tried to inform Ash about Nicole's relationship with Regan & Augusto and they're definitely concerned but not concerned enough to flip for me haha I think I've done all I coulddd Shit

YEET we won I didnt wanna have to vote out Jared

With work being hell I am just glad to once again be safe and not have to worry hopefully I can catch a break and show my worth in this game, I am a player, I am a fighter

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT INEQUALITY

How would you like a job where you never got to make anything, but instead spent all your time listening to other people pitch mostly terrible projects, deciding whether to fund them, and the third empirically false. If you take funding at a premoney valuation of $10 million.1 Especially if you have competitors who get to work full-time. Grad students are just the age, and just the sort of person who would like to solve the money problem once and for all instead of working for a salary for 40 years, then a VC fund can only do about 2 series A deals per partner per year.2 And in particular, the rich have gotten a lot richer. In high school I made money by mowing lawns and scooping ice cream at Baskin-Robbins. Perhaps great hackers can load a large amount of context into their head, so that when they maltreat one startup, they're preventing 10 others from happening, but they pay more because the company is basically treading water.3 For example, many startups in America begin in places where it's not really legal to run a startup are prone to wicked cases of buyer's remorse.4

We know the current trajectory ends badly.5 If so, could they actually get things done? But such advice and connections can come very expensive. And regardless of the case with CEOs, it's hard to repeat a brilliant performance, but it's even more important early on, any more than it matters to the winner of a marathon how many runners are behind him. That's the difference between a startup and stay in grad school, in the sense of making more things people want. Whereas if investors seem hot, you can, even if he was content to limit himself to talking to the press, but what happens in a series A round, before the VCs invest they make the company his full-time job. Materially and socially, technology seems to be able to brag that he was an investor.

But I think they fail because they select for the wrong people. Engineers will work on sexy projects like fighter planes and moon rockets for ordinary salaries, but more mundane technologies like light bulbs or semiconductors have to be a board member to give.6 These qualities might seem incompatible, but they're not willing to let you work so hard that you endanger your health. So people who come to work in the end, or a lot of the problems they face are the same, from dealing with investors.7 If you take funding at a reasonable valuation; the giant company finally gave us a lot more on its design.8 If you get a termsheet. There are no meetings or, God forbid, corporate retreats or team-building exercises.9 Only if it's fun. But fortunately in the US this is another rule that isn't very strictly enforced.

We started Viaweb with $10,000 in capital to incorporate. What we're seeing now, everyone's probably going to be averaged with. The whole shape of deals is changing. When you work on making technology easier to use, you're riding that curve up instead of down. That one is easy: don't hire too fast. A job means doing something people want. Reward is always proportionate to reward. Among other things, incubators usually make you work in their space, you were supposed to use their office staff, lawyers, accountants, and so on.

Most investors, unable to judge startups for themselves, you're more likely to double your sales. Julian. The toolmakers would have users, but they'd only be the company's own developers. The other place you could beat the US would be with smarter immigration policy. But I have no tricks for dealing with this world for many years, both as a founder that most VCs will only invest in you if you're a university president and you decide to focus on first, we try to figure that out. I can think of who don't work for Sun, on Java, I know of one startup that got from an angel investor what amounted to a five hundred pound handshake: after deciding to invest, the angel investors are probably the more critical ingredient in creating a silicon valley? They're not going to move to your silicon valley like to get around by train, bicycle, and on terms that will make it cheap enough to sell in large volumes, and the noise stops. If you took ten people at random out of the way so the founders can use that time to build or finish building something impressive.

I propose the following solution: instead of sticking your head in someone's office and checking out an idea with them, like microprocessors, power plants, or passenger aircraft. But it's also because money is not just a good way to run a startup are prone to wicked cases of buyer's remorse. And so they can get it.10 I wish I could say they were, but the main cause of the second big change, industrialization. A investments they can do a deal with you just to lock you up while they decide if they really want to. I said before, is a dangerously misleading example. Probably because the product is not appealing enough. The Lever of Technology Will technology increase the gap in income, whether by stealing private fortunes, as feudal rulers used to do, but that the work they're given is pointless, and they all basically said Cambridge followed by a long pause while they tried to think of deal flow, and that it therefore mattered far more which startups you picked than how much they get paid for it. The angel deal takes two weeks to close, and once founders realize that, it's going to stop. I know of zero. The kids see to that.

When the city is turning off your water because you can't pay the bill, it doesn't make any difference what Larry Page's net worth is compared to yours. You can come along at any point and make something better, and users will gradually seep over to you. One is that investors will increasingly be unable to wait for startups to exist. Plus you can't get an H1B visa, the type usually issued to programmers. They think that there is a sharp difference between VCs and super-angels or the VCs? Investors have no idea that when they maltreat one startup, they're preventing 10 others from happening, but they are an important fraction, because they might end up looking like this, it's unlikely that the VCs would keep the existing numbers of shares. And since a startup that succeeds ordinarily makes its founders rich, that implies getting rich is enough motivation to keep founders at work. In those days you could go public too. What most businesses really do is make wealth. He'd also just arrived from Canada, and had just hired a very experienced NT developer to be their chief technical officer. Those hours after the phone stops ringing are by far the biggest killer of startups that raise money. Almost by definition, if a startup succeeds its founders become rich.

VCs whose lot in life is to fund more dubious startups than with the top firms. Founders get less diluted, and it is now common for them to retain board control as well. We'll find out this winter. And funding delays are a big distraction for founders, who ought to be considered from the start. Despite their name, the super-angel gets 10x in one year, that's a higher rate of return, the VC would have to get it from someone else. It's possible to buy expensive, handmade cars that cost hundreds of thousands than millions.11 I asked if they'd still be interested in the startup funding business is now in what could, at least, nothing good. Investors collude. This way you might be able to stay on as CEO, they'll have to cede some power, because the next best deal will be almost entirely about money. On the day of the race, most of which fail, and one outside person acceptable to both. Economic inequality is sufficiently far from identical with the various problems that have it as a business, rather than linear.12

Notes

There are some good ideas buried in Bubble thinking. 05 15, the only reason I did the section of the definition of property is driven mostly by technological progress aren't sharply differentiated. It rarely arises, and not fixing them fast enough, but one by one they die and their hands thus tended to be employees, or can launch during YC is involved to ensure startups are now the founder visa in a safe will be out of the year, he found himself concealing from his predecessors was a kid who had small corpora. So as an employee as this.

The revenue estimate is based on that. I've become a genuine addict.

They may not even in their IPO filing. The second alone yields someone flighty.

The founders who take the line that philosophy is nonsense. Geshke and Warnock only founded Adobe because Xerox ignored them.

The company may not have gotten the royal raspberry. Though they were supposed to be started in Mississippi. Just use the wrong side of their predecessors and said in effect why can't you be more like a later investor trying to hide wealth from the Dutch not to: if you have significant expenses other than salaries that you decide the price of an ordinary adult slave seems to be good.

For similar reasons, including principal and venture partner. Indifference, mainly. A scientist isn't committed to is following the evidence wherever it leads.

Source: Nielsen Media Research. In principle you might see something like the outdoors, was one of the Industrial Revolution happen earlier? Gauss was supposedly asked this when comparing techniques for discouraging stupid comments have yet to find may be because the illiquidity of progress puts them at the time it still seems to pass so slowly for them.

So where do we push founders to have more options. The top VCs thus have a moral obligation to respond with extreme countermeasures. They accepted the article, but those are probably not quite as harmless as we think.

Oddly enough, even if it's the right thing to be vigorously enforced.

And yet if he were a first approximation, it's a problem if you'll never need to get elected with a slight disadvantage, but essentially a startup, as far as I make this miracle happen? Which is why so many people's eyes.

Maybe at first had two parts: the resources they expend on you after the first wave of hostile takeovers in the 1920s.

Give the founders: agree with them.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, and Geoff Ralston for putting up with me.

[thegloober]

Taken For A Ride: Doctor Injured In ATV Crash Gets $56,603 Bill For Air Ambulance Trip

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“The biggest challenge for me was to see how I would be a father again,” says Dr. Naveed Khan, who was injured while driving an all-terrain vehicle. “With two able-bodied parents at home, it was easier.” Shelby Knowles for NPR hide caption

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Shelby Knowles for NPR

It was the first — and only — time Dr. Naveed Khan, a 35-year-old radiologist, ever rode in an all-terrain vehicle.

Khan took the wheel from his friend and drove circles in the sand, on a trail along the Red River in Texas.

“As soon as I turned to the side where my body weight was, this two-seater vehicle … just tilted toward the side and toppled,” Khan recalled. It landed on his left arm.

“I had about a 6-inch-wide exposed flesh gap that I could see below, on my forearm,” he said. “And I could see muscle. I could see the fat. I could see the skin. The blood was pooling around it.”

Khan, feeling lightheaded, tied his jacket around his arm like a tourniquet. He and his friend managed to right the ATV, drive back toward the street and call 911.

When an ambulance delivered him to the emergency room at United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls, Khan was surprised to hear a doctor murmur that it was the worst arm injury he’d ever seen.

Khan needed immediate helicopter transport to a trauma center for surgery in Fort Worth, if there was any hope of saving the arm.

Groggy from painkillers, Khan managed to ask the doctors how much the flight would cost and whether it would be covered by his insurer. “I think they told my friend, ‘He needs to stop asking questions. He needs to get on that helicopter. He doesn’t realize how serious this injury is,’ ” Khan recalled.

Flown 108 miles to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, the closest Level I trauma center, Khan was whisked into surgery to clean out the wound, repair his shattered bones and get blood flowing to the tissue.

He had a total of eight operations to try to save his left forearm before he finally gave up. After weeks in the hospital, he asked the doctors to amputate, so he could get on with his life.

And then the bill came.

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Khan makes lunch for his wife, Ayesha, and their children. He has always enjoyed being in the kitchen and says cooking has been a helpful part of his recovery. Shelby Knowles for NPR hide caption

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Shelby Knowles for NPR

Patient: Naveed Khan, 35, a radiologist and married father of three small children in Southlake, Texas.

Total bill: $56,603 for an air ambulance flight. Blue Cross of Texas, Khan’s insurer, paid $11,972, after initially refusing altogether; the medevac company billed Khan for the remaining $44,631.

Service provider: Air Evac Lifeteam, an air ambulance company that operates 130 bases in 15 states. It’s owned by Air Medical Group Holdings, a holding company that owns four other air ambulance companies and one ground ambulance company. Air Medical, in turn, is owned by the giant private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, or KKR.

Medical service: Khan was flown from the United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls, Texas, to the John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

What gives: Khan got his first call from Air Evac Lifeteam just three days after the accident, while he was still lying in the hospital. A company representative told him the helicopter ride would likely cost more than $50,000 and asked him how he planned to pay.

[embedded content]

For Khan, rapid transportation to the trauma center was essential since the blood supply to his arm had been cut off, said Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, the medical director for trauma services at JPS Hospital.

“If there’s no blood going that means there’s no oxygen,” he said. “It there’s no oxygen, that means those cells are going to die.” Minutes are precious and the helicopter can get from Wichita Falls to Fort Worth in an hour or less, half the time it takes by ground ambulance, he said.

But complaints about sky-high bills to patients for air ambulance services are common. Since launching the “Bill of the Month” series in February, NPR and Kaiser Health News have received more than a dozen bills from patients like Khan who were charged tens of thousands of dollars for an air ambulance ride even after insurers’ payments.

Air ambulance companies defend their charges.

Rick Sherlock, president of the Association of Air Medical Services, a trade group, said air ambulances require a more highly trained crew than a ground ambulance, because only the sickest or most seriously injured patients need air transport.

AAMS commissioned a study to determine the actual cost of a medevac ride. The report found it takes about $2.9 million a year to run a single helicopter base. Each base handles about 300 transports a year, and the rides cost about $11,000 each, according to the report.

A spokeswoman for Air Evac Lifeteam said the company bills people so much because it is trying to make up for what she said are meager payments from Medicare and Medicaid.

“Our real cost per flight is the $10,200 plus the unreimbursed cost on each flight for Medicare, Medicaid and patients without any coverage,” wrote Shelly Schneider, the company spokeswoman.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it pays an average of $4,624 per ride, plus $31.67 a mile, which works out to an average Medicare reimbursement of $6,556 for helicopter ambulance rides for seniors. Medicaid in most states pays less.

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Khan picks up his youngest child at their home in Sutherland, Texas. Shelby Knowles for NPR hide caption

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Shelby Knowles for NPR

The industry has been advocating hard to get Medicare to boost its reimbursements, Sherlock said. There are bills pending in both the House and Senate that would do so, but there hasn’t been much movement on them.

But others say the industry’s cost estimates are inflated by profit-driven expansion of a lucrative industry. Ground ambulances often carry critically ill patients, too.

Too many air ambulances sit idle much of the time, said Dr. Ira Blumen, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Chicago and medical director of the university’s Aeromedical Network.

Blumen said the industry — which is dominated by a few companies owned by private equity firms — expanded dramatically the last time Medicare boosted its payments in 2002. And now there are too many helicopters — 908 as of last year — fighting for patients and profits at the same time.

“The number of helicopters is outrageous for the continental United States,” he said. In the 1990s, most helicopters ran more than 500 flights per year on average. At that rate, the cost per flight today would be less than $6,000.

A Blue Cross of Texas spokesman said the insurer does have a contracted rate with an in-network air ambulance company, but it is not Air Evac Lifeteam. After initially refusing to pay anything for an out-of-network claim, it agreed to the $11,972 payment.

But in some sense, the reason ambulance companies charge so much is simply because they can: Air ambulances are largely regulated not as health care but as part of the aviation industry. Federal laws prevent states from limiting aviation rates, routes and services.

[embedded content]

So many people have been hit with shockingly high air ambulance bills that members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are trying to do something about it. Legislation to reauthorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration that is moving through Congress now would set up a council of industry experts to address balance billing and other issues, and set up a complaint line for consumers.

Resolution: Khan has allowed Air Evac Lifeteam to negotiate with Blue Cross of Texas over the remaining $44,000 air ambulance bill. The company has asked him to appeal to the state’s Department of Insurance, and though he first balked at the suggestion, he’s now considering doing so. Khan says he doesn’t understand why the helicopter flight, which was an integral part of the emergency medical care he received, is treated differently than his surgeries, nursing care and physical therapy.

“I thought that this was another piece of that puzzle,” he said. “It turns out that this was glaringly different.”

He is waiting for resolution as he gets accustomed to life with his disability. Holding his baby son, he asked in frustration: “How do I hold him while he’s crying and at the same time heat up his bottle?”

Khan, who has had to fight with his insurance company to get coverage for a prosthetic arm, is frustrated when he learns that the air ambulance company expects him to pay far more than the actual cost of his flight.

“It’s unfair,” he says. “It’s random, it’s arbitrary. It’s whatever price they want to set. And to put that onto a person who’s already been through what I’ve been through, I hate to say it, but it’s cruel.”

The takeaway: Most people with health problems serious enough to require a helicopter flight are in no position to ask if the medevac company is in-network or if there’s a choice. But if you or a family member has time to ask, it could pay off.

If you’re faced with a huge bill for a medevac ride, there are a few steps you should take.

Enlarge this image

Naveed Khan prepares lunch, while his wife, Ayesha, and their children play on the couch. Shelby Knowles for NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Shelby Knowles for NPR

First, let your insurer’s process play out. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas first denied Khan’s claim altogether. But he looked closely at his policy and saw that the threat of loss of limb was explicitly covered. He appealed, and that’s when the insurer paid $11,972.

Second, negotiate! The air ambulance company might be willing to negotiate a settlement for a fraction of the bill to avoid turning to debt collectors, who would pay them pennies on the dollar.

Both Sherlock of the Association of Air Medical Services and Schneider of Air Evac Lifeteam said companies will try to determine what a patient can afford. So people with high incomes may find it hard to obtain a substantial reduction for their bill. Still, if patients know the true cost of the service they received, they may be better equipped to negotiate a discount.

Many air ambulance companies offer membership plans that can cost less than $100 a year, and guarantee that the company will accept whatever payment an insurance company makes without billing the patient for the rest. But buyer, beware: When someone needs an air ambulance, they are often not in a position to choose which company will respond to the call.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by Kaiser Health News and NPR that dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!

Source: https://bloghyped.com/taken-for-a-ride-doctor-injured-in-atv-crash-gets-56603-bill-for-air-ambulance-trip/

[sobeardtastemaker-blog]

How to Create a Great Value Proposition

New Post has been published on http://www.elimarketing.org/how-to-create-a-great-value-proposition/

How to Create a Great Value Proposition

Your value proposition determines if people will bother reading about your product or close the page. If you get it right, sales can skyrocket. Get it wrong, and you’ll wonder why all that traffic isn’t converting into sales.

The less known your company is, the more you need to work on and perfect your value proposition. Does Pepsi or Coke need a value proposition? Probably not.

Does Little Guy Joe who just got into online marketing need a value proposition? He sure does if he wants to make sales.

So what is a value proposition anyway?

Not wanting to rely solely on my memory, I did some research, and this is what I found to be something of a consensus of what a value proposition should be:

It’s your promise of value to be delivered to the customer. And it’s the #1 reason your prospect should buy from YOU.

A great value proposition incorporates one or more of these qualities:

Explaining how your product is going to solve your customer’s problem, or how it’s going to improve your customer’s situation. (This is called relevancy)

States specific benefits your product delivers (This is quantified value)

Tells your customer why they should buy from you instead of your competition (This is unique differentiation)

But I think we need more clarification. In doing my research, I also found that a great value proposition…

Targets a specific market

Focuses on quality, cost or speed, or a combination of two of those

Clarifies what the company or product does not do

Your value proposition should be the first thing visitors see on your home page. Plus, you’ll want to place it on all entry points to your site as well.

People need to be able to read it and immediately understand it. Which is to say, corporate gibberish created by a committee of eggheads isn’t going to cut it.

For example, if I tell you that my value proposition is:

“Revenue-focused automated marketing and sales closing solutions unleashed through collaboration throughout the revenue cycle”

I’m guessing you’re going to be bewildered. Or you’re falling asleep. Or you’re confused as can be.

And there’s no need to be redundant. For example:

Online Billing and Invoicing Software

Invoice Dude is an online billing software specially designed for small and medium businesses. Thousands of businesses and individuals trust us for their invoicing!

This tries to appeal to too many people – small businesses, medium businesses and individuals.

There is no differentiation from other online billing and invoicing software.

In addition, it says ‘thousands of businesses,’ yet offers no proof. Stating an actual number such as 12,549 would be a great help, and it could be updated automatically or manually on a daily or weekly basis.

Plus, I don’t know about you, but this entire value proposition puts me to sleep.

And with a name like Invoice Dude, they could have done soooo much better.

What a value proposition is NOT

It’s not a catch phrase or a slogan.

“Coke, it’s the real thing” and “L’Oreal, because you’re worth it” are slogans, not value propositions.

It’s also not a positioning statement.

“America’s #1 bandage brand, heals the wound fast, heals the hurt faster” is a positioning statement.

These are better than nothing, but they’re not what we’re striving for.

Calling your product the ‘real thing’ doesn’t show one benefit or reason why we should buy it over the competition.

Because you’re worth it doesn’t tell us anything – it just sounds good. And expensive.

Being #1 doesn’t make me want to buy your product, either.

These are all examples of slogans, not value propositions:

Like sleeping on a cloud (Sealy)

Milk from contented cows (Carnation)

Save Money, Live Better (Wal-Mart)

I’m lovin’ it (McDonalds)

When you care enough to send the very best (Hallmark)

Just Do It (Nike)

Finger Lickin’ Good (KFC)

Have it your way (Burger King)

Melts in your mouth, not in your hands (M&M)

The happiest place on earth (Disney World)

The best a man can get (Gillette)

Betcha can’t eat just one (Lays)

Think outside the bun (Taco Bell)

“Koo Koo for Cocoa Puffs”

“Snap! Crackle! Pop!” (Rice Krispies)

“Are you a Cadbury’s fruit and nut case?”

“Keep Walking” (Johnny Walker Whiskey)

“Wii would like to play.”

“I’d rather die of thirst than drink from the cup of mediocrity.” (Stella Artois)

“We don’t charge an arm and a leg. We want tows.” (From a towing company)

“Yesterday’s meals on wheels” (From a septic tank)

“We repair what your husband fixed.” (From a plumber’s truck)

Value proposition components

A value proposition is usually longer than a slogan.

In fact, it can have a headline, a sub-headline, one short paragraph of text and possibly bullet points.

And it might even include a visual, such as a photo, graphics or hero shot.

There is no one correct way to build your value statement, nor is there only one possibility. This is something you’re going to have to think about for awhile.

You make notes, try things, think about it, tweak it, ask opinions and tweak it some more.

Headline: This is usually the big end benefit you’re offering your customers, stated in one clear, short sentence. You might mention the product, the customer or both. This is where you grab attention, because if you don’t, then you’ve already lost a fair share of your prospects.

Sub-headline: This is a specific explanation of what your product does, who the ideal customer is and why your product is useful.

One short paragraph: This can be instead of or in addition to a sub-headline, and serves the same purpose as the sub-headline above.

3 bullet points: These are the key benefits or features. Notice we said three, not unlimited. You may or may not need bullets, but if you do, keep them short and punchy.

Visual: Images always communicate faster and generally better than words. You might show the product, the happy customer or an image that reinforces your message.

How to write your value proposition

This takes time to get it just right. In the beginning, do the best you can, and then adjust it along the way.

There is no reason to delay starting or growing your business just because you don’t have the perfect value statement yet.

A good value statement is better than no value statement, and in time you can make it great.

Start out by answering these questions:

What’s your product or service?

What is the BIG end-benefit of using it?

Who is your ideal target customer?

What makes your offer unique?

How is your product different from anything else available?

NOTE: If you can’t answer why your product is unique or different, then you might want to work on the product itself. Selling a ‘me too’ product that is identical to what’s already being offered can be difficult UNLESS you already have a well-known brand.

Once you have your first draft of your value statement, ask yourself these questions:

Is it clear and easy to understand?

Does it communicate concrete benefit(s)?

Will a customer know exactly what result they will get from using your product?

Does it say how it’s different or better than the competition?

Does it avoid hype? (amazing, fantastic, best ever)

Does it avoid business jargon? (revenue generated resource allocation blah blah blah)

Can your ideal prospect read it and understand it in a few seconds?

If someone is shopping around, then they’re likely to check out 4 or 5 different options before deciding.

By having your value proposition at the top of your first page, you can easily stand apart from all competitors.

Research shows that visitors notice value propositions faster when they have more text.

Visitors were also able to describe more product advantages when there were more to read about in the value proposition.

And readers tend to prefer bullet points – they’re easier to understand and remember.

Examples of great value propositions

Uber:

Tap the app, get a ride 

Uber is the smartest way to get around. One tap and a car comes directly to you. Your driver knows exactly where to go. And payment is completely cashless.

Unbounce:

Build, Publish and A/B Test Landing Pages Without I.T.

The mobile responsive landing page builder for marketers. 

<button copy>Build a high-converting landing page now.

Build a page

Publish it

Test and optimize

Slack:

A messaging app for teams who put robots on Mars!!

NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory is one of tens of thousands of teams around the world using Slack to make their working lives simpler, more pleasant, and more productive.

Trello:

Trello is the free, flexible and visual way to organize anything with anyone.

Drop the lengthy email threads, out-of-date spreadsheets, no-loner-so-sticky notes, and clunky software for managing your prospects. Trello lets you see everything about your project in a single glance.

iPhone:

Why there’s nothing quite like iPhone

Every iPhone we’ve made – and we mean every single one – was built on the same belief. That a phone should be more than a collection of features. That above all, a phone should be absolutely simple, beautiful and magical to use.

Value proposition boosters

Sometimes it’s difficult to find ways to differentiate yourself from your competition, so you might try adding one or more of these to your offer:

Free shipping

Fast or next day shipping

Free trial

Free setup or installation

Free bonus

No long-term contracts or payments

A very clear money back guarantee

A better than money-back guarantee

A discounted price

Customization

One-on-one personal help

Remember, you don’t need to hit your value proposition out of the park on the first try. But you do need to build one and use it.

Tests show that having the right value proposition can have an immediate effect on your sales, sometimes even doubling or tripling conversions.

Of course, it’s going to depend on your product, your niche, your customers and even your competition.

And most of all, it will depend on how well you craft your value proposition.

One more thing – an added beauty of having a great value proposition is it clarifies in your own mind what it is that you are truly doing for your customers.

It actually makes your job easier, in that you are no longer trying to be a jack of all trades, or trying to make your product fit everyone.

The clarity your value proposition brings can also bring you peace of mind and a better ability to grow your business big, strong and fast.

[stoneevans]

How to Create a Great Value Proposition

New Post has been published on https://www.home-business.com/how-to-create-a-great-value-proposition/

How to Create a Great Value Proposition

Your value proposition determines if people will bother reading about your product or close the page. If you get it right, sales can skyrocket. Get it wrong, and you’ll wonder why all that traffic isn’t converting into sales.

The less known your company is, the more you need to work on and perfect your value proposition. Does Pepsi or Coke need a value proposition? Probably not.

Does Little Guy Joe who just got into online marketing need a value proposition? He sure does if he wants to make sales.

So what is a value proposition anyway?

Not wanting to rely solely on my memory, I did some research, and this is what I found to be something of a consensus of what a value proposition should be:

It’s your promise of value to be delivered to the customer. And it’s the #1 reason your prospect should buy from YOU.

A great value proposition incorporates one or more of these qualities:

Explaining how your product is going to solve your customer’s problem, or how it’s going to improve your customer’s situation. (This is called relevancy)

States specific benefits your product delivers (This is quantified value)

Tells your customer why they should buy from you instead of your competition (This is unique differentiation)

But I think we need more clarification. In doing my research, I also found that a great value proposition…

Targets a specific market

Focuses on quality, cost or speed, or a combination of two of those

Clarifies what the company or product does not do

Your value proposition should be the first thing visitors see on your home page. Plus, you’ll want to place it on all entry points to your site as well.

People need to be able to read it and immediately understand it. Which is to say, corporate gibberish created by a committee of eggheads isn’t going to cut it.

For example, if I tell you that my value proposition is:

“Revenue-focused automated marketing and sales closing solutions unleashed through collaboration throughout the revenue cycle”

I’m guessing you’re going to be bewildered. Or you’re falling asleep. Or you’re confused as can be.

And there’s no need to be redundant. For example:

Online Billing and Invoicing Software

Invoice Dude is an online billing software specially designed for small and medium businesses. Thousands of businesses and individuals trust us for their invoicing!

This tries to appeal to too many people – small businesses, medium businesses and individuals.

There is no differentiation from other online billing and invoicing software.

In addition, it says ‘thousands of businesses,’ yet offers no proof. Stating an actual number such as 12,549 would be a great help, and it could be updated automatically or manually on a daily or weekly basis.

Plus, I don’t know about you, but this entire value proposition puts me to sleep.

And with a name like Invoice Dude, they could have done soooo much better.

What a value proposition is NOT

It’s not a catch phrase or a slogan.

“Coke, it’s the real thing” and “L’Oreal, because you’re worth it” are slogans, not value propositions.

It’s also not a positioning statement.

“America’s #1 bandage brand, heals the wound fast, heals the hurt faster” is a positioning statement.

These are better than nothing, but they’re not what we’re striving for.

Calling your product the ‘real thing’ doesn’t show one benefit or reason why we should buy it over the competition.

Because you’re worth it doesn’t tell us anything – it just sounds good. And expensive.

Being #1 doesn’t make me want to buy your product, either.

These are all examples of slogans, not value propositions:

Like sleeping on a cloud (Sealy)

Milk from contented cows (Carnation)

Save Money, Live Better (Wal-Mart)

I’m lovin’ it (McDonalds)

When you care enough to send the very best (Hallmark)

Just Do It (Nike)

Finger Lickin’ Good (KFC)

Have it your way (Burger King)

Melts in your mouth, not in your hands (M&M)

The happiest place on earth (Disney World)

The best a man can get (Gillette)

Betcha can’t eat just one (Lays)

Think outside the bun (Taco Bell)

“Koo Koo for Cocoa Puffs”

“Snap! Crackle! Pop!” (Rice Krispies)

“Are you a Cadbury’s fruit and nut case?”

“Keep Walking” (Johnny Walker Whiskey)

“Wii would like to play.”

“I’d rather die of thirst than drink from the cup of mediocrity.” (Stella Artois)

“We don’t charge an arm and a leg. We want tows.” (From a towing company)

“Yesterday’s meals on wheels” (From a septic tank)

“We repair what your husband fixed.” (From a plumber’s truck)

Value proposition components

A value proposition is usually longer than a slogan.

In fact, it can have a headline, a sub-headline, one short paragraph of text and possibly bullet points.

And it might even include a visual, such as a photo, graphics or hero shot.

There is no one correct way to build your value statement, nor is there only one possibility. This is something you’re going to have to think about for awhile.

You make notes, try things, think about it, tweak it, ask opinions and tweak it some more.

Headline: This is usually the big end benefit you’re offering your customers, stated in one clear, short sentence. You might mention the product, the customer or both. This is where you grab attention, because if you don’t, then you’ve already lost a fair share of your prospects.

Sub-headline: This is a specific explanation of what your product does, who the ideal customer is and why your product is useful.

One short paragraph: This can be instead of or in addition to a sub-headline, and serves the same purpose as the sub-headline above.

3 bullet points: These are the key benefits or features. Notice we said three, not unlimited. You may or may not need bullets, but if you do, keep them short and punchy.

Visual: Images always communicate faster and generally better than words. You might show the product, the happy customer or an image that reinforces your message.

How to write your value proposition

This takes time to get it just right. In the beginning, do the best you can, and then adjust it along the way.

There is no reason to delay starting or growing your business just because you don’t have the perfect value statement yet.

A good value statement is better than no value statement, and in time you can make it great.

Start out by answering these questions:

What’s your product or service?

What is the BIG end-benefit of using it?

Who is your ideal target customer?

What makes your offer unique?

How is your product different from anything else available?

NOTE: If you can’t answer why your product is unique or different, then you might want to work on the product itself. Selling a ‘me too’ product that is identical to what’s already being offered can be difficult UNLESS you already have a well-known brand.

Once you have your first draft of your value statement, ask yourself these questions:

Is it clear and easy to understand?

Does it communicate concrete benefit(s)?

Will a customer know exactly what result they will get from using your product?

Does it say how it’s different or better than the competition?

Does it avoid hype? (amazing, fantastic, best ever)

Does it avoid business jargon? (revenue generated resource allocation blah blah blah)

Can your ideal prospect read it and understand it in a few seconds?

If someone is shopping around, then they’re likely to check out 4 or 5 different options before deciding.

By having your value proposition at the top of your first page, you can easily stand apart from all competitors.

Research shows that visitors notice value propositions faster when they have more text.

Visitors were also able to describe more product advantages when there were more to read about in the value proposition.

And readers tend to prefer bullet points – they’re easier to understand and remember.

Examples of great value propositions

Uber:

Tap the app, get a ride 

Uber is the smartest way to get around. One tap and a car comes directly to you. Your driver knows exactly where to go. And payment is completely cashless.

Unbounce:

Build, Publish and A/B Test Landing Pages Without I.T.

The mobile responsive landing page builder for marketers. 

<button copy>Build a high-converting landing page now.

Build a page

Publish it

Test and optimize

Slack:

A messaging app for teams who put robots on Mars!!

NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory is one of tens of thousands of teams around the world using Slack to make their working lives simpler, more pleasant, and more productive.

Trello:

Trello is the free, flexible and visual way to organize anything with anyone.

Drop the lengthy email threads, out-of-date spreadsheets, no-loner-so-sticky notes, and clunky software for managing your prospects. Trello lets you see everything about your project in a single glance.

iPhone:

Why there’s nothing quite like iPhone

Every iPhone we’ve made – and we mean every single one – was built on the same belief. That a phone should be more than a collection of features. That above all, a phone should be absolutely simple, beautiful and magical to use.

Value proposition boosters

Sometimes it’s difficult to find ways to differentiate yourself from your competition, so you might try adding one or more of these to your offer:

Free shipping

Fast or next day shipping

Free trial

Free setup or installation

Free bonus

No long-term contracts or payments

A very clear money back guarantee

A better than money-back guarantee

A discounted price

Customization

One-on-one personal help

Remember, you don’t need to hit your value proposition out of the park on the first try. But you do need to build one and use it.

Tests show that having the right value proposition can have an immediate effect on your sales, sometimes even doubling or tripling conversions.

Of course, it’s going to depend on your product, your niche, your customers and even your competition.

And most of all, it will depend on how well you craft your value proposition.

One more thing – an added beauty of having a great value proposition is it clarifies in your own mind what it is that you are truly doing for your customers.

It actually makes your job easier, in that you are no longer trying to be a jack of all trades, or trying to make your product fit everyone.

The clarity your value proposition brings can also bring you peace of mind and a better ability to grow your business big, strong and fast.

[adamcairnsorg-blog]

3 Books Reveal How To Be Amazingly Successful

Three Books By The Heath Brothers 

The Heath brothers, Dan and Chip approach human behaviour from their different perspectives. Chip is a professor at Stanford Graduate School, teaching strategy and organisations.

His brother Dan is a senior fellow at Duke University's CASE center, which supports social entrepreneurs.

Together they've written three books which I thoroughly recommend: Decisive (if you want to make decisions with confidence), Switch (If you want to lead change) and Made To Stick (if you want your ideas to stick).

This post summarises the information that is presented in these three books. To do so I must acknowledge a service called Blinkist. I use this all the time – it's a website which is focused on serving up what they call "Blinks" – summaries of the key points from books. I use this in three ways.

To act as a reference source from books I've already read.

To serve as a menu for books I might want to read next.

With the paid service I can listen to Blinks while commuting to work.

The extracts presented here have been repurposed from Blinkist. 

In each case there's a handy infographic if you prefer a more visual way of accessing the powerful learning points available in these three highly recommended books. 

Decisive: How To Make Better Choices In Life And Work

WRAP-Process

Widen Your Choices

Reality Test Your Assumptions

Attain Distance

Prepare To Be Wrong

Don't limit your choices: Think about the opportunity cost of your decisions and generate more options. Every time you say yes to something, you're also saying no to something else. 

Multitrack different options to find the best solution: By testing more than one possibility, you amplify learning opportunities and will increase your chances of securing this best decision.

Look at solutions someone else has found for the same problems. Look at what other people are doing facing similar situations. Steal with pride.

Shake off bias, play devil's advocate and build a case against your decision. I've written about confirmation bias previously in my review of Thinking Fast and Slow. Make a case for the opposite argument to thouoghly test your assumptions.

Think about how your decision looks from the outside. Use base rates – how other people in similar situations got on to develop a better predictive understanding, but use indicative questions too. "How many similar case to mine were settled" rather than "Will my case be settled?"

Rather than make a plan run a small experiment to see if your idea works. Rather than choosing something because we believe it will work, test it in a small way. This will accelerate learning and prototype your thinking. Think Plan, Do Study, Act.

To get some perspective on your decision shift your focus into the future. Get some emotional distance by imagining the outcomes from a future perspective. Try 10/10/10 (asking yourself how you'll feel ten minutes, ten months, ten years about your decision from now ). Or take the observer's perspective – for example ask yourself what your best friend would do.

When a decision is based on conflicting priorities think about your core purpose. When conflicted, take it back to your most important priorities. 

To prepare for the consequences of your decisions think of the future as a range rather than a a point. We have no way of predicting the future. Include a contingency and a back up plan.

Set a tripwire to shift from autopilot to manual and enforce a decision. Behaviours can creep into habits – which we can become unconscious of over time. Create clear signals to interrupt autopilot behaviour. Deadlines breakdown task into time portions. Partitions break up processes into segments. Labels help to identify wanted or unwanted signals. Pilots are trained to notice the concept of leemers. That's having "the vague feeling that something's not quite right, even if it's not clear why". Having a label helps ensure they don't ignore that feeling.

Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die…

SUCCESS

Simple

Unexpected

Concrete

Credible

Emotional

Story

Every idea can be presented so it sticks. Make the idea memorable so that people will want to pass it on.

A sticky idea must be unexpected. Health campaigners instead of telling customers a bag of popcorn had 37g of saturated fats, said: "a medium sized butter popcorn contains more fat than a bacon and eggs breakfast, a Big Mac with fries for lunch and a steak dinner with all the trimmings – combined!" 

Curiosity gaps help make an idea stick. To get people's attention and hold it, gran their attention by letting them know there's something they don't know – yet."Whodunnit?" stories work this way, our curiosity drives to find out what happened. 

Sticky ideas are concrete and descriptive. Concrete, visually-descriptive expressions aren't just easier to understand, they are stickier too. Paint the picture from the outside as other people will see it.

A sticky idea must be credible. To avoid the idea being immediately dismissed out of hand: remember that stories told by real, trustworthy people will be believed, use realistic facts and figures, or use the audience itself as a reference as Reagan did: "Ask yourself whether you're better off today…"

Emotional appeals inspire people to action because emotions are the main driving force behind behaviour. 

Appeals to action are most effective if there's something in it for the audience. Think about how you would expect people to answer the "what's in it for me question?".

Ideas stick best when they're told as stories. A story is like a flight simulator for the brain. It allows us to get inside the action and anticipate how we would respond. Three story archetypes are useful. The "challenge" – think David and Goliath. "Reaching out"  think Good Samaritan and "Creativity", think the apple falling on Newton's head.

Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard

Implementing change is like riding an elephant choose a direction, give your elephant some peanuts and stick to the path. The metaphor of the elephant and the rider comes from Jonathan Haidt's book The Happiness Hypothesis. You can read my post about that book here.

Find the bright spots, learn from them and spread them around. Build on what's already working to gain momentum. Use appreciative inquiry to identify what's working and why.

The rider hates making decisions so clearly script the critical moves needed for the change. Avoid analysis paralysis by not having too many options and by creating clear directions to follow.

Use a destination postcard that appeals to both the rider and the elephant. Paint a compelling picture of the future which appeal both to reason and emotion

To get the elephant moving in the right direction, evoke strong emotions. The rider will eventually tire and lose control if the elephant is motivated to move in the same direction. Logical arguments are no help here so find strong emotional triggers to keep the elephant on course.

To get the elephant to climb a mountain, lead it up  small hill first. Shrink the change so small steps can be accomplished, making it easy to obtain small gains.

Grow your people by cultivating a change friendly identity and developing a growth mindset to overcome failure. Accept that failure is inevitable and use this as an opportunity to learn. Find a way to establish change as a new form of identity.

To get a free ride in implementing change, build new habits and make the environment enforce them. Set environmental triggers for your new habits that create cues for the desired behaviour. For example use checklists.

Make the path look well trodden– show people they're following the herd. Behaviour is contagious. Help people to get on board by showing them that the majority are rallying to the cause.

Question: Which books about change do you recommend?