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[andypantsx3]

some barbarian bakugou thing idk | sfw | gn reader | 1.3k words

It's cold.

The fire crackles at your back, sending warm licks of heat up and over your spine, but it's not enough. You shiver, trying to settle deeper into the hard ground, drawing your cloak up over your nose where it's beginning to grow cold.

Normally, you'd be snuggled deep in your bedroll by now, but you'd stupidly tied it too insecurely to your pack this morning. It had come loose just as your group had forded the river on Kirishima's back, the redhead wearily but gamely shifting into his dragon form to get you safely across the rushing water.

As he plodded across, splashing loudly, your bedroll had tumbled into the icy water, and you'd watched mournfully as it had been immediately dragged under and carried downriver.

It was another day from the nearest town, another day before you could replace it.

When you settled into camp, Midoriya had chivalrously offered his own bedroll—which you had declined, as the loss of yours had been your own fault—and Uraraka had offered a warming spell—but you could see the exhaustion around her eyes and mouth since the battle yesterday, and she still looked pale and peaky. You thought another spell might finish her off for good.

But now you almost wish you'd taken either of them up on it, their discomfort be damned.

Almost.

Suffering the consequences of your own mess was the least you could do for them, really. You owe them everything for saving your life time and time again, starting when they'd first happened upon your village under a bandit raid, you the only survivor.

You've tried your hardest to repay them, stitching up wounds and mending torn clothes, taking over the cooking and fire tending whenever you make camp. Once you'd even talked a merchant down from chopping off Kiri's hand when he'd gotten a little too me dragon, must hoard over a ruby necklace at market.

You won't put everyone out over something as stupid as a lost bedroll, not when you owe them more than you could possibly ever give.

A cool wind whispers through the trees, and you can't suppress another violent shiver. You inch loser to the fire, barely caring if the sparks catch on your clothes and light you up in the night if it means you can be warm now.

You roll onto your side, facing the flames, and shudder again when the cold creeps under your cloak at the movement.

The heat feels good on your face, dry and blistering. But your back is suddenly freezing, and you fight down a groan of frustration.

You'll never get to sleep at this rate.

As soon as this thought occurs, there's the barest whisper of a bootstep behind you. Before you can turn, a hand claps over your mouth, and a hard body slides up against your back, an arm hooking decisively around your middle to pull you back against your assailant. The scent of ash and the sweet, floral oil he uses on his leathers gives away his identity immediately.

"Don't fuckin' scream it's just me," Bakugou growls low in your ear.

You blink dumbly, mouth pursing against his rough palm. "Fwuuh?" you say.

Bakugou Katsuki is notoriously standoffish, the member of your party you'd learned the least about in your weeks with them. A barbarian from the steppes, he's got little time or patience for your people's mannerisms. He seems to like very few things—his dragon Kirishima, his broadsword Hearteater, and the opportunity for a good fight being the exceptions—and you seem to be one of the things he tolerates the least.

He'd been the one who'd run his sword right through the bandit about to kill you, but since then he's acted like it was a mistake. He barely looks at you when you clean his wounds, he never accepts any of your rations when you offer them, and he's recently taken to combat training you, maintaining a harsh commentary on all of your best efforts.

It's a shame he's also so handsome and charismatic, as it makes it difficult for you to discount him entirely.

"Could hear your fucking teeth chattering from the other side of the campsite," Bakugou growls, his hand lifting off your mouth. Something heavy settles over you, and you realize he's arranging his cloak over you both, the fur trim tickling your nose. It's heavy and velvety and soft, and so nice and warm.

You know you need to protest but the heat of him at your back is so deliciously good, you want to relax into him like a warm bath.

"Bakugou—what is this?" you splutter out quietly.

"What, you wanna freeze your ass off?" he demands, his words a harsh breath into your ear. His arm shifts over you, pulling you tighter as if daring you to attempt to escape.

"No," you say, trying to scrape your thoughts in order. "No. But you—is this okay for you?"

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Bakugou growls into the side of your head.

"Well you don't exactly like me," you tell him, too exhausted to be circumspect about it. You know he doesn't like it when you talk around things either. "I didn't think you were cuddling type, exactly."

Bakugou huffs a dismissive laugh into your hair. "You always fucking decide shit on your own," he mutters. "You decide you owe us shit, you decide what's best for Deku and Uraraka to do with their magic and shit, you decide you think you fucking know everything. 'S fucking annoying."

You start, not realizing he'd cottoned on to your thinking process.

"Well I've also decided that you don't much like me," you say. "And I...I do owe you guys. You've saved my life countless times these past couple of weeks."

Bakugou makes a snorting noise behind you. "You fucking village people always think that's how the world works. Owing. A favor for a favor. Trading and bartering and stupid shit. That's not how it works out here, brat. There's no equal exchange. You stay alive if you're strong enough, or if someone likes you enough to keep you alive, and that's it."

His voice is even raspier than usual, you notice. He's tired. You can hear the impatience in the clipped sound of his words, and you know his exhaustion is why you're even getting this much out of him.

You're tired, too, the heat of the fire at your front and Bakugou's hard body at your back both lulling you into a lightheaded sleepiness.

"And you like me enough to keep me alive?" You can't help but ask dubiously.

"I like you well enough even though you're fucking annoying," Bakugou says, his breath stirring the hair at the base of your neck. "But I won't if you keep fuckin' talking."

You can't help but smile at that, a little tired grin touching your mouth.

"It'll be another thing I owe you for," you say, settling back into him at last. You know you will have other thoughts about this in the morning, but for now you can't help yourself. If he's fine with it then there's not much to protest.

"Y' can repay me by shutting the fuck up," he says, before he lets out a heavy exhale, as if he too is being lured into sleep by the warmth of your own body.

You decide to leave your questions about this for the morning. It's too much to contemplate what this means for your relationship to Bakugou. Too much to contemplate that he wants, for some reason, to keep you alive.

His hand presses to your abdomen, securing you even more firmly against him, and you close your eyes again. His breathing evens out, his grip growing slack, and you can feel your own body mirroring him.

Too easily, and without another thought on the debts you're accumulating to him, you slip down into sleep.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lorie Konish at CNBC:

The Social Security Administration is set to implement new rules to make it easier for beneficiaries to access certain benefits and increase the payments some may receive. The new changes affect Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, which provides more than 7 million Americans with monthly benefit checks. Those benefits are for seniors ages 65 and up, or adults and children who are disabled or blind, and who have little or no income or resources. “We already know that the benefit amounts that are available to people receiving SSI are incredibly low,” said Lydia Brown, director of public policy at the National Disability Institute. “They’re not as high as perhaps they could be to fully account for the needs that people have,” Brown said. The maximum federal monthly SSI benefit is currently $943 per eligible individual and $1,415 for an eligible individual and eligible spouse. The changes, which are slated to go into effect Sept. 30, are a “positive move in the right direction,” Brown said.

Updates to definition of public-assistance household

The agency on Thursday announced a new rule to expand the definition of a public-assistance household. Now, households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, payments and those where not all members receive public assistance will be included. With the change, more people may qualify for SSI, current beneficiaries may see higher payments and individuals who live in public-assistance households may have fewer reporting requirements, according to the Social Security Administration. The previous policy required all household members to receive public assistance. A public-assistance household will be defined as one with both an SSI applicant or beneficiary, as well as at least one other member who receives one or more forms of means-tested public income maintenance payments.

[...]

Other rule changes to help beneficiaries

The Social Security Administration is also working to address outdated practices through two other rules that are set to go into effect on Sept. 30. One change will expand the SSI rental subsidy policy to make it less likely that renting at a discounted rate or other rental assistance will affect a beneficiary’s SSI eligibility or monthly payment amount. That policy, which was already available in seven states, will apply nationally. Another change will make it so the SSA no longer counts food assistance toward support beneficiaries receive from other parties that may reduce their SSI benefit amounts.

The Social Security Administration keeps track of the resources SSI beneficiaries receive outside of their federal benefits, formally known as in-kind support and maintenance, or ISM. The purpose of ISM is to reduce SSI benefits if a recipient receives support from family and friends by treating that as unearned income, Milburn said.

Effective September 30th, Social Security Administration (SSA)’s changes to loosen Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility will take effect.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How monopoly enshittified Amazon

In Bezos’s original plan, the company called “Amazon” was called “Relentless,” due to its ambition to be “Earth’s most customer-centric company.” Today, Amazon is an enshittified endless scroll of paid results, where winning depends on ad budgets, not quality.

Writing in Jeff Bezos’s newspaper The Washington Post, veteran tech reporter Geoffrey Fowler reports on the state of his boss’s “relentless” commitment to customer service. The state is grim.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2022/amazon-shopping-ads/

Search Amazon for “cat beds” and the entire first screen is ads. One of them is an ad for a dog carrier, which Amazon itself manufactures and sells, competing with the other sellers who bought that placement.

Scroll down one screen and you get some “organic” results — that is, results that represent Amazon’s best guess at the best products for your query. Scroll once more and yup, another entire screen of ads, these ones labeled “Highly rated.” One more scroll, and another screenful of ads, one for a dog product.

Keep scrolling, you’ll keep seeing ads, including ads you’ve already scrolled past. “On these first five screens, more than 50 percent of the space was dedicated to ads and Amazon touting its own products.” Amazon is a cesspit of ads: twice as many as Target, four times as many as Walmart.

How did we get here? We always knew that Amazon didn’t care about its suppliers, but being an Amazon customer has historically been a great deal — lots of selection, low prices, and a generous returns policy. How could “Earth’s most customer-centric” company become such a bad place to shop?

The answer is in Amazon’s $31b “ad” business. Amazon touts this widely, and analysts repeat it without any critical interrogation, proclaiming that Amazon is catching up with the Googbook ad-tech duopoly. But nearly all of that “ad” business isn’t ads at all — it’s payola.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/27/not-an-ad/#shakedowns

Amazon charges its sellers billions of dollars a year through a gladiatorial combat where they compete to outspend each other to see who’ll get to the top of the search results. May the most margin-immolating, deep-pocketed spender win!

Why would sellers be willing to light billions of dollars on fire to get to the top of the Amazon search results?

Prime.

Most of us have Amazon Prime. Seriously — 82% of American households! Prime users only shop on Amazon. Seriously. More than 90% of Prime members start their search on Amazon, and if they find what they’re looking for, they stop there, too.

If you are a seller, you have to be on Amazon, otherwise no one will find your stuff and that means they won’t buy it. This is called a monopsony, the obscure inverse of monopoly, where a buyer has power over sellers.

But monopoly and monopsony are closely related phenomena. Monopsonies use control over buyers — the fact that we all have Prime — to exert control over sellers. This lets them force unfavorable terms onto sellers, like deeper discounts. In theory, this is good for use consumers, because prices go down. In practice, though…

Back in June 2021, DC Attorney General Karl Racine filed an antitrust suit against Amazon, because the company had used its monopoly over customers to force such unfavorable terms on sellers that prices were being driven up everywhere, not just on Amazon:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/01/you-are-here/#prime-facie

Here’s how that works: one of the unfavorable terms Amazon forces on sellers is “most favored nation” status (MFN), which means that Amazon sellers have to offer their lowest price on Amazon — they can’t sell more cheaply anywhere else.

Then Amazon hits sellers with fees. Lots of fees:

Fees to be listed on Prime (without which, your search result is buried at the bottom of an endless scroll):

Fees for Amazon warehouse fulfillment (without which, your search result is buried at the bottom of an endless scroll)

And finally, there’s payola — the “ads” you have to buy to outcompete the other people who are buying ads to outcompete you.

All told, these fees add up to 45% of the price you pay Amazon — sometimes more. Companies just don’t have 45% margins, because they exist in competitive markets. If I’m selling a bottle of detergent at a 45% markup, my rival will sell it at 40%, and then I have to drop to 35%, and so on.

But everyone has to sell on Amazon, and Amazon takes their 45% cut, which means that all these sellers have to raise prices. And, thanks to MFN, the sellers then have to charge the same price at Walmart, Target, and your local mom-and-pop shop.

Amazon’s monopoly (control over buyers) gives it a monopsony (control over sellers), which lets it raise prices everywhere, at Amazon and at every other retailer, even as it drives the companies that supply it into bankruptcy.

Amazon is no longer a place where a scrappy independent seller can find an audience for its products. In order to navigate the minefield Amazon lays for its sellers (who have no choice but to sell there), these indie companies are forced to sell out to gators (aggregators), which are now multi-billion-dollar businesses in their own right:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/10/monopoly-begets-monopoly/#gator-ade

This brings me back to the enshittification of Amazon search, AKA late-stage (platform) capitalism. Amazon’s dominance means that many products are now solely available on the platform. With the collapse of both physical and online retail, Prime isn’t so much a choice as a necessity.

Amazon has produced a planned economy run as capriciously as a Soviet smelting plant, but Party Secretary Bezos doesn’t even pretend to be a servant of the people. From his lordly seat aboard his penis-rocket, Bezos decides which products live and which ones die.

Remember that one of those search-results for a cat-bed was a product for dogs? Remember that Amazon made that dog product? How did that end up there? Well, if you’re a seller trying to make a living from cat-beds, your ad-spending is limited by your profit margin. Guess how much it costs Amazon to advertise on Amazon? Amazon is playing with its own chips, and it can always outbid the other players at the table.

Those Amazon own-brand products? They didn’t come out of a vacuum. Amazon monitors its own sellers’ performance, and creams off the best of them, cloning them and then putting its knockoffs above of the original product in search results (Bezos lied to Congress about this, then admitted it was true):

https://nypost.com/2021/10/18/jeff-bezos-may-have-lied-to-congress-about-amazon-practices-reps/

If you’ve read Chokepoint Capitalism, Rebecca Giblin’s and my new book about market concentration in the entertainment industry, this story will be a familiar one. You’ll recall that Amazon actually boasts about this process, calling it “the flywheel”:

https://twitter.com/rgibli/status/1561761732108107777

Everything that Amazon is doing to platform sellers, other platforms are doing to creators. You know how Amazon knocks off its sellers’ best products and then replaces them with its clones? That’s exactly what Spotify does to the ambient artists in its most popular playlists, replacing them with work-for-hire soundalikes who aren’t entitled to royalties.

You can learn more about how Spotify rips off its performers in the Chokepoint Capitalism chapter on Spotify; we made the audiobook version of that chapter a Spotify exclusive (it’s the only part of the book you can get on Spotify):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/12/streaming-doesnt-pay/#stunt-publishing

Entertainment and tech companies all want to be the only game in town for their creative labor force, because that lets them turn the screws to those workers, moving value from labor to shareholders.

Amazon is also the poster-child for this dynamic. For example, its Audible audiobook monopoly means that audiobook creators must sell on Audible, even though the #AudibleGate scandal revealed that the company has stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from these creators. (Our chapter on Audiblegate is the only part of our audiobook on Audible!)

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/07/audible-exclusive/#audiblegate

Then there’s its Twitch division, where the company just admitted that it had been secretly paying its A-listers 70% of the total take for their streams. The company declared this to be unfair when the plebs were having half their wages clawed back by Amazon, so they fixed it by cutting the A-listers’ pay.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/22/amazon-vs-amazon/#pray-i-dont-alter-it-further

Twitch blamed the cut on the high cost of bandwidth for streaming. If that sounds reasonable to you, remember: Twitch buys its bandwidth from Amazon. As Sam Biddle wrote, “Amazon is charging Amazon so much money to run the business via Amazon that it has no choice but to take more money from streamers.”

https://twitter.com/samfbiddle/status/1572667269284777984

As Bezos suns himself aboard his yacht-so-big-it-has-a-smaller-yacht, we ask him to referee a game where he also owns one of the teams. Over and over again, he proves that he is not up to the task. Either his “relentless” customer focus was a sham, or the benefits of cheating are too tempting to ignore.

Historically, we understood that businesses couldn’t be trusted to be on both sides of a transaction. The “structural separation” doctrine is one of the vital pieces of policy we’ve lost over 40 years of antitrust neglect. It says that important platforms can’t compete with their users.

https://locusmag.com/2022/03/cory-doctorow-vertically-challenged/

For example, banks couldn’t own businesses that competed with their commercial borrowers. If you own Joe’s Pizza and your competitor is Citibank Pizza and you both have a hard month and can’t make your payment, will you trust that Citi called in your loan but not Citibank Pizza’s because they had a more promising business?

Today, all kinds of businesses have been credibly accused of self-preferencing: Google and Apple via their App Stores, Spotify via its playlists, consoles via their game stores, etc. Legislators have decided that the best way to fix this isn’t structural separation, but rather, rules against self-preferencing.

Under these rules, companies will have to put “the best” results at the top of their listings. This is doomed. When Apple says it put its own ebook store ahead of Bookshop.org’s app because it sincerely believes Apple Books is “better,” how will we argue with this? Maybe Apple really does believe that. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it does, but only because of motivated reasoning (“It is difficult to get a product manager to understand something, when their bonus depends on them not understanding it”).

The irony here is that these companies’ own lawyers know that a sincere promise of fairness is no assurance that your counterparty will act honorably. If the judge in Apple v. Epic was a major shareholder in Epic, or the brother-in-law of Epic’s CEO, Apple’s lawyers would bring down the roof demanding a new judge — even if the judge promised really sincerely to be neutral.

https://marker.medium.com/moral-hazard-and-monopoly-42e30eb159a8

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if Amazon’s enshittification is because Bezos was a cynic or because he sold out. Once Amazon could make more money by screwing its customers, that screw-job became a fait accompli. That’s why it’s so important that the FTC win its bid to block the Activision-Microsoft merger:

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/23/exclusive-feds-likely-to-challenge-microsofts-69-billion-activision-takeover-00070787

The best time to prevent monopoly formation was 40 years ago. The second best time is now.

Anti-monopoly measures are slow and ponderous tools, but when it comes to tech companies, we have faster, more nimble ones. If we want to make it easy to compete with Amazon, we could — for example — use Adversarial Interoperability to turn it into a dumb pipe:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/01/dumb-pipes/#original-asin

That is, we could let local merchants use Amazon’s ASIN system to tag their own inventory and produce a realtime database. Customers could browse Amazon to find the things they wanted, with a browser plugin that turned “Buy It Now” into “Buy It Now at Joe’s Hardware”:

https://doctorow.medium.com/view-a-sku-32721d623aee

But this only works to the extent that Amazon’s search isn’t totally enshittified. To that end, Fowler has a few modest proposals of his own, like requiring that at least 50% of the first six screens be given over to real results, not ads.

“Perhaps 50 percent sounds like a lot to you? But even that rule would force Amazon to show us at least some of the most-relevant results on the first screen of our device…Amazon wouldn’t comment on this suggestion.”

[cintasfics]

Hear Santa Barbara, I swear it's calling me

pairing: carlton lassiter x oc

summary: a private case leads the three members of psych detective agency to a nightclub, where marley goes undercover as a dancer to find out more information. the head detective at sbpd enters the same club one night following a tip called into the station and is taken aback by what he sees.

wc: 3.6k

warnings: mentions of drugs and gun violence

a/n: bruh. this is the longest thing i've ever written and i smashed it out in a couple of days. this show has sunk it's claws into me big time. also please forgive the details of the case if it makes no sense, it was the thing i struggled with the most lol

Things had been slow going at the Psych detective agency lately. The residents of Santa Barbara seemingly on their best behaviour for the past two weeks, and while one would normally appreciate a low crime rate, fake psychics with unmedicated ADHD and nothing else to keep them occupied did not share the sentiment. The lack of crime meant a lack of cases, with Chief Vick responding to all his inquiries for work with a blanket ‘if we need you, we’ll call you. Goodbye Mr. Spencer.’

But things started looking up when a young woman came by the office seeking his services, explaining that she worked at a local nightclub as a dancer but was recently blacklisted after overhearing a tense conversation between the club manager and one of the bartenders. Not only that, but she had the feeling some of her fellow dancers were involved in something sketchy. She was sure it was something illegal, but she didn’t want to go to the police out of fear of facing repercussions and getting her friends in trouble.

During a busier week, Shawn would’ve dismissed the case outright as it initially appeared to be nothing more than an employment dispute, but she was insistent that there was more to it and it piqued his interest. The allure of the club and its dancers certainly helped sway him too, and so he called a staff meeting to discuss the plan.

‘If we’re going to find out more about what’s going on in this place, we need a man on the inside.’

Though she was suspicious of where this was going, Marley conceded to his point, ‘makes sense.’

‘And because we here at Psych detective agency believe in equal opportunity employment, I’ve decided that the best man for the job, as is in many such cases, is a woman,’ this attempt at ass-kissing was accompanied by a serene smile and clasped hands, an admittedly good impression of a CEO giving a press release.

And while this would’ve been received well by investors, Marley wasn’t buying it, ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Aww come on, Marls! It’ll be fun! And I’ve seen that stripper pole in your apartment, I know you’ll do great!’

‘My unquestionable talent isn’t the issue here, there’s a reason I only dance in the privacy of my own home. No way in hell I’m getting up on a stage in front of a club full of people!’

‘Don’t be like that, I’ve seen you let loose during nights out before!’

‘When I’m more than a few drinks deep sure! But I don’t think management would appreciate me showing up to work drunk, nor would it help me effectively gather information.’

‘I don’t know,’ Gus piped up from his desk, ‘you’re a lot more charismatic and chatty when you drink, so it could work in our favour.'

‘This is true, good point, Gus! Plus I'm sure the dancers indulge at least a little, employee discounts and all that.'

Still not convinced and feeling like she was being ganged up on, she went on the offensive, ‘why do I have to do this anyway? Why can’t you guys pretend to be a bartender or a DJ or something?’

Shawn seemed to mull this idea over for a second before his eyes lit up, ‘hey that’s not a bad idea, gives us something fun- I mean, productive to do while we check the place out.’

A fanciful expression slowly came over Gus’ face, followed by a smug smirk, ‘yeah. Yeah! That could work, I was known in high school for my killer playlists so I bet I could rock a DJ gig.’

‘Dude what? No,’ came Shawn's indignant reply, like the mere idea had insulted him, ‘people loved my playlists in high school, if anyone’s going to be the DJ it’s going to be me!’

‘You’re dreaming, Shawn! It’s not just high school either, my Spotify playlists get a ton of views and likes! Not to mention all the followers I have because they just can’t get enough of me!’

‘That’s only because I use your account so all my playlists are under your name, they’re all there for me not you!’

‘What do you mean you use my account? I’m the only one paying for it!’

Realising that this was going nowhere and they could be here all day if she didn’t intervene, Marley begrudgingly conceded to the plan.

‘Ugh! Fine! But if I’m doing this, I get a bigger commission because I’m doing a lot of legwork here!’

Pleased to hear this, not only because she agreed to his plan but also because her loud concession distracted Gus from his treachery, Shawn immediately turned his attention back to her.

‘Not to mention armwork, you know, because of the pole-‘

‘Shut up, Shawn.’

~}i{~

In order to prepare for going undercover, Marley met up with the client to get some advice and background information on the club and its staff. She wasn’t a real nightclub person so it took a bit of coaching to be able to act the part and maintain it for the duration of her shift, but the clients help was invaluable and with the added bonus of a fake resume, she quickly got the job.

The mid-morning peace of the Psych office the morning after her club debut was disturbed by the sound of the front door opening. The two men sitting inside raised their heads from their phones to see Marley enter the room nursing a cup of coffee with her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses.

‘Well, if it isn’t our own little Dita Von Tease! We were wondering when you’d roll in!’

Shawn’s boisterous greeting was met with a wince and a hiss that made Gus think of a vampire braving the light of day after a deep sleep, though he knew better than to voice that comparison. Marley could be downright scary when irritated.

‘Please lower your voice, I’m still waking up,’ Marley hissed, hoping for some grace.

‘Sorry,’ Shawn, having the same fear instilled in him, lowered his voice, ‘I’m just excited to hear how your first night went.’

She took a moment to situate herself on the couch by the window before responding.

'It went alright, the other girls were welcoming enough but I didn't get a chance to really talk to any of them,’ she paused to take a sip of her coffee, ‘but I did overhear one of the girls, Amber, having a pretty intense phone call. I asked another girl if she knew anything about it out of ‘concern’ and she said that Amber had a knack for getting herself in to trouble, always managing to find the wrong crowd, but that this was the worse she’d seen her.’

Gus, feeling it was safe to speak up now she had comfortably situated herself, asked the next question, ‘What was the phone call about?’

‘From what I could gather it sounded like she had some bad debts but that she had a plan to pay them back.’

Shawn and Gus shared a knowing nod and a pensive look, ‘they always do, but it rarely works out well.’

‘Kasey, one of the bottle girls, also let it slip that the relationship between Amber and Cole, one of the bartenders, is less than strictly professional.'

‘Oooh, scandalous~’ chimed in Shawn with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

‘But it’s still sounding like a case of a toxic work environment and personal dramas, which isn’t great but it’s not a crime,’ came Gus’ assessment.

‘Hmm, I don’t know,’ part of her agreed with Gus, but she just had a funny feeling about it all, ‘I mean that’s probably the case, but I think I’m gonna stick around for a bit longer, something doesn’t feel right. Maybe having you guys there as an extra set of eyes would help too.’

‘Hey, Marley, it’s okay,’ she turned to Shawn, drawn in by his serious tone, ‘if you’re really liking this job there’s no shame in admitting it. I’m sure you could cut back on your hours at the hospital, or split your night shifts between there and the club if you really wanted to.’

Tired from the late night and lacking the energy to berate him, Marley simply grabbed one of the throw pillows off the couch and spiked it at his head.

~}i{~

‘God I hate places like this.’

‘Are there any places you do like? And remember to keep a low profile, the chief isn’t sure if there’s anything to this tip suggesting suspicious activity but we’re better off just hanging back and seeing what we can find.'

‘I don’t need you telling me how to do my job, O’Hara.’

‘I’m not telling you how to do your job I’m just- Listen. Why don’t we just go over to the bar and see what we can get off the bartender?’

‘Fine by me.’

Juliet led the way to the bar, with Lassiter following close behind her trying to avoid the sea of dancers around them.

‘You’d think a place like this would be a fire hazard with the amount of people-‘ Lassiter’s tirade was cut short when Juliet came to a sudden stop in front of him, causing him to crash into her.

His demand to know what the hold-up was died in his throat at Juliet's bewildered words.

‘Is that Marley?’

‘Huh? Where?’

Lassiter quickly looked around, trying to spot the woman who had recently taken up a sizeable piece of real estate in his brain, though it would take an immense amount of torture to get him to admit it.

‘Over there, on the raised platform!’ she shouted over her shoulder, raising her voice both to be heard over the music and in disbelief.

Lassiter followed her direction and his mouth went dry.

There, on the raised platform just as his partner had said, was Marley. Though it took a second for his brain to process it was really her as she had just dipped into an inverted position on the chrome pole in the centre of the platform.

As she spun around and returned to an upright position, he was able to appreciate the sparkly little number she had on, the black fringe mesmerising and the glossy platform heels making her legs appear to go on forever, maybe even making them an equal height for once. Not that he minds her short stature, if he gave it more than a moments thought he might even realise that he found it cute. And though it would be nice to be a bit closer to her lips (just the thought of leaning down to reach is enough to make his back ache), the smile that graces them as she looks up at him from beneath her eyelashes makes the phantom pain truly non-existent. Plus, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have thoughts of sweeping her up off her feet, a small thing like her would probably fit in his pocket, his to protect, to cherish and keep to himself-

‘Carlton!’

He was pulled from his train of thought by his first name, which is used sparingly enough to succeed in getting his attention when Juliet's repeated calls of ‘Lassiter’ failed.

He blinked a few times in quick succession to clear his mind and pursed his lips to try and regain some composure before responding, unsure if his mouth had been hanging open like some simpleton.

‘Yes?’

He was so focused on appearing composed that he didn’t notice the knowing smile on his partners lips.

‘I was just saying that knowing our track record, if one of the three musketeers is here then the other two can’t be far behind. I’m sure it’s no coincidence we’re both at a place of interest, and I doubt Marley would work at a place like this otherwise,’ her words were tinged with amusement, both at Lassiter’s reaction to seeing their friend/colleague dancing on the small stage, and at the feeling that once they ran into her accomplices the night would become a lot more interesting.

Her words made perfect sense to Lassiter, but he couldn’t help but think she belonged up there. Maybe in another life, if nursing didn't work out. Or is this how she paid off her student debt? He knew she worked while she attended university but he would've remembered if she ever mentioned that this was what she did. This plus the fact that if he’d never seen her here, the thought never would have crossed his mind because it seemed so out of character for the usually reserved woman.

Feeling he was beginning to get lost in his thoughts again, he shook his head and turned his back to the stage (as much as it pained him) to gather them.

‘You’re right, the tweedles have to be here somewhere sticking their noses where they don’t belong.'

Keeping an eye out for the troublesome duo (and as much as one on Marley as he could afford to without failing back into his previous train of thought), the detectives continued on their way to the bar. Though their search for the psychic and his assistant didn’t take long when they finally flagged down the bartender and were met with Gus’ friendly face.

‘Evening, what can I get y’all?’

His smile was so disarming and he played the part of a stranger so well that it took them both a second to react.

‘Gus?’

‘Guster?!’

The joint exclamations of his name seemed to snap Gus out of character and he immediately started fidgeting with a glass, knowing the jig was up, ‘uhh, h-hey guys! Fancy seeing you here, small world huh?’

Feeling a headache coming on the closer he got to Spencer, Lassiter rubbed his eyes and ground out ‘yeah, tiny.’

Torn between exasperation and amusement, not expecting to run into one of the guys so quickly, Juliet took the lead, ‘what are you doing here, Gus?’

‘Well, I figured with the rising cost of living it wouldn’t hurt to get a second job- third job, really- hard to believe the state of the economy nowadays, huh? Anyway, you two have fun and I’ll see you at the station the next time we get called in,’ trying his best not to act suspicious or give up the real reason he was here, Gus turned away intending to serve a club-goer on the other side of the bar where the duties of his job would keep him safe from the detectives’ questions.

‘Hold it!’

If only he could be so lucky.

The emotional rollercoaster this night was turning out to be relieved Lassiter of the last thread of his patience, ‘you expect us to believe that? That you and Marley just happen to both suddenly be working at a nightclub with reports of suspicious activity? Fat chance! Now where the hell is Spencer, I know he’s here somewhere!’

Gus tried one last Hail Mary, the ever-reliable act of playing dumb.

‘Wait, Marley’s here too?’

The glare he received from Lassiter was enough to change his tune.

‘Right, sorry. Last I saw Shawn he was leaving the DJ booth, in the middle of his set I might add, which if I got to be the DJ like I wanted to I would never do,’ the last part was laced with bitterness and the smug assurance that he would’ve remained professional where Shawn did not, but Juliet chose to ignore it, focusing on the matter at hand.

‘Which way did he go?’

‘Off to the left, through the employee only door, he might’ve been following someone but I’m not sure.’

‘Right, thanks Gus.’

Leaving the pseudo-bartender to his devices, Lassiter led the way to the door off to the side of the large room marked ‘employees only’, determined to figure out just what the hell was going on here.

~}i{~

The club was evacuated following some gunshots coming from the backrooms, with police cars arriving quickly outside. Having been a few days since the trio were first given the case, tensions within the club had finally risen enough to come to a head.

Not long after the two detectives made their way into the employee only section, they came across Shawn in the middle of a confrontation involving Amber, Cole, the manager, and a local drug supplier.

In his usual dramatic fashion, Shawn explained the situation to the detectives, telling them how Amber had fallen into some bad debts and went to her manager, a close friend of hers, for help. Having romantic feelings for the girl, the manager was quick to do whatever she asked, and with his connections from his time at the club, he worked out a deal to move some product through the place in order to ease her debts.

Cole, the bartender and Amber’s boyfriend, started catching on to the fact that something was up between the two, and feeling scorned, he called in a tip to the police station, hoping the cops would take care of the situation for him by punishing the both of them. The couples bad luck continued though, with the supplier becoming unhappy with the small amount of drugs being sold and coming down himself to see what the issue was. He, like the detectives, entered upon a tense situation, with the three employees having a shouting match.

The gunshots came when Cole lost his temper, blaming their manager for the trouble Amber was in, as well as the jealousy he felt, and attacked him. Not being in his right mind, the bullets missed their target and he was quickly subdued and all four of them taken into custody.

~}i{~

Having been corralled outside with the crowd, Marley missed the excitement and the big resolution of the case. She was standing on the sidewalk hugging her arms to her chest, trying to fight off the chill in the air while waiting to hear from the others, when she suddenly felt a piece of fabric fall over her shoulders. She clutched at the warm material to find a large suit jacket, a familiar scent filling her nose and its owner moving to stand beside her.

'Here. Don't want you to catch a cold,' he tried to play it cool, but there was an undeniable softness in the detective’s voice.

Though she shouldn’t be considering the situation, she was surprised by Lassiter’s sudden presence.

'Thanks, Lassie,' the small act of kindness as well as his close proximity warmed her better than the jacket ever could, 'my clothes are in the dressing room but I wasn't sure if I was good to go back inside yet.’

‘Well, we’ve apprehended the shooter and the three other people involved, but the rest of the staff will need to be questioned.’

‘Me included?’

‘The more information the better, but I can take your statement while you get your stuff.’

‘Thanks, Lassie,’ she thanked him again, knowing that the sooner she got her stuff the sooner she could leave and head home, ‘I appreciate it.’

He held out his arm for her to take, and seeing her raised eyebrow and silent question, explained the gesture, ‘the last thing we need is you tripping over in those heels and eating pavement on the way to the dressing room. I don’t really want to have to call for a medic on top of everything else,’ he gave the heeled boots in question a pointed look, appreciating her bare legs as his gaze travelled downwards.

He was right, by the way. The heels did bring them closer together in height. But what he didn’t anticipate with the change in height was the new details of her face it revealed to him. Her eyes weren’t just a deep brown, but contained different shades, like the bark of a strong tree that was hidden deep inside a forest, with sunlight shifting through the trees to highlight the different grooves and hidden shades. He also noticed for the first time the faint freckles smattered across her nose and cheeks.

Her airy laughter and warm grip on his forearm brought him back from another rogue train of thought, managing to catch it before it went completely off the rails.

‘God what is going on with me tonight?’

He cleared his throat and started to lead her back inside the club, hoping that his sanity would return once she was out of his coat, into her own clothes, and on her way home.

‘I don’t even know how you manage to dance in those things.’

His comment brought a blush to her cheeks, turning her gaze to the ground under the guise of watching where she was stepping, her words coming out with a shy laugh, ‘you saw that did you?’

‘Only a bit of it,’ he tried to hide how taken he was by the display by faking a tone of nonchalance, ‘my attention quickly turned to Guster behind the bar.’

‘Oh God, don’t even start on that,’ her embarrassment was quickly forgotten as she rolled her eyes at the mention of her friend and his assigned role, ‘who got to do what was a big fight between the two, I gave up trying to mediate as soon as it started getting physical. Honestly, it was like watching two children have a slap fight.’

The charged air between them cleared as Marley recounted the childish squabble between Gus and Shawn over who got to play the coveted role of DJ, her fondness for the two idiots evident in her voice.

A smile made it’s way onto the detectives face as he listened to her talk, and he spent the rest of the night basking in the faint scent she had left on his jacket.

[jellycrusher]

Fangirl pt. 1

INITIALLY POSTED ON MY FORMER PAGE: bts-teaspoonff

Genre: Romance, Slow Burn, Idol A/U

Pairing: BTS OT7 x reader

Rating: PG

Summary: Y/N, being a huge fangirl, finally got her chance to work alongside her favorite idol group as a backup dancer. She gets to know each member personally and realizes that her feelings may be more than fangirl-idol attraction.

Word Count: 3K

PARTS: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | …. masterlist

“It’s finally here!” I shouted as I bolted from my room towards the front door to greet the delivery man carrying my package. Even without looking at the mirror, I could feel my smile going up to my ears and my heartbeat furiously echoing through my chest. The delivery man handed me a medium sized box and stared at me as I reach out for the box with a huge smile plastered on my face. I signed the delivery form, closed the door and ran back inside my unit.

I ran to the living room and placed the box on the floor. I turned to my left and hurriedly rummaged for my cutter inside the drawer beside the sofa. I also took my phone on top of the said drawer and placed it on my lap. I swiftly sat down on the floor in front of my package with the cutter ready in my hand when I remembered something. I unlocked my phone and proceeded to video call my brother who’s at work. My brother’s name and his photo appeared on the screen as I wait for him to answer the call.

“Hey Y/N…” His face popped up on my screen. I silently giggled at the angle of his front camera when he answered the call. Not really flattering despite him being good looking. He must have placed the phone on a table directly below his face. “You know I’m at work right? Why did you call? Emergency?” I could hear keyboard sounds in the background. He must be busy typing on the computer as he didn’t bat an eye on his phone while talking to me.

“Yeah I know. I just wanted to share some good news” My camera is facing towards me with just my eyes peeking through screen. I was worried that maybe he’s with some people at work that might see me when he answers the video call and I’m not decent looking right now. “My package has arrived!” I low-key squealed as I pressed the ‘rotate camera’ button on the screen and directed the camera at the package. I could see my brother looking now at the phone. He placed his phone in front of him and leaned it on a stable surface for him to see me properly. He continued to type slowly on his keyboard as he steal glances on his phone screen.

“Don’t tell me…. You bought another merch?” He giggled as he looked at his phone screen and continued to type on his keyboard. He looked back at his computer screen after a second, with a smile on his face. I opened the package with my cutter on one hand and my phone on the other. Tearing through the tape, I can’t contain my excitement as i shrieked when my cutter got through the end of the tape. I released the cutter from my hand and pushed it aside.

“BTS Merch! Oh my god, I have been waiting for these for weeks. I got the latest album, more Tiny Tan figurines, and some concert goods from last tour.” I proceeded to open the box and showed my brother the contents. I felt accomplishment as I look at all the merchandise that has just arrived at home. My ARMY heart couldn’t contain the joy that I have right now. I shot my eyes back on the phone screen and saw my brother smiling as he looked at me through the phone screen.

“Hey, I’m happy you are happy but you know I work in Big Hit right? I work for them?” He stopped typing, took the phone back in his hands and brought the phone close to his face. “I could just easily buy these things for you with my employee discount.” And now his whole face is occupying my phone screen. 

“Jiyong, I know but where’s the fun in that? I want to buy these items using my own money. Well, an employee discount is nice but I don’t want to abuse your privilege as I buy too much of their merchandise.” I snorted at the fact that I really do buy too much of their merchandise. Besides, when I use his employee discount, the items are delivered directly to him as he works inside the Big Hit Building. With the amount of merchandise that I buy, I don’t want to embarrass him and label him as a big fanboy especially with him working so close to the boys.

“If you weren’t my twin sister, I would totally laugh at you. Not that I think you’re crazy but you’re…. loyal” He puts emphasis on the last word. He respects my deep profound respect for the 7 boys but he thinks that maybe I have gone too far with the purchases. He placed his phone back in front of him, leaning on a surface. “Oh before I forget, did you read my email?” I was taken aback with topic change but I’m used to it as he does this all the time. I pressed the ‘rotate camera’ button once again for him to see my face. 

“No, I haven’t opened my email yet. I went home so late last night. My last client in the gym arrived late so we finished late as well. A bummer.” I scoffed as I remembered the fatigue that enveloped my body yesterday. I work as a gym trainer/physical therapist full time and a dance teacher/choreographer as my sideline. I work at my friend’s gym located in the heart of Seoul as a gym trainer. I currently handle 7 clients, some who I have worked with for a few years already. I also teach dance classes at a small dance studio just a few blocks from where I live. Mainly, I handle BTS dance classes because duh, I am a full-blooded ARMY. I really tried to make my passion as a source of income and it warms my heart to see people having fun when I teach them those dances.

“Check it. Anyways, I gotta go. I still have a lot to do. As you know, the company is busy since BTS will be releasing another album sometime this year.” My brother currently works as a Recording Engineer in Big Hit. He used to brag to me that he’ll spend hours with BTS and TXT. I was jealous of course but I am so proud he’s working for them. Whenever I listen to songs from Big Hit artists, I try to think that he has contributed to a lot of songs despite not knowing what exact songs he has worked on. Another reason why I listen and support them.

We both said our farewells and dropped the call. As I took out all the contents of the package unto the floor, I used my phone on the other hand. I opened my mail and saw few unread emails. Some of them were from my subscriptions on Netflix and Spotify, which I barely read. On top of the list was my brother’s mail. I saw the subject “READ THIS FANGIRL!” and I laughed. Here I thought he sent me something urgent or important that needs my utmost attention. Must be another event or merchandise that they’ve yet to announce to the public.

I opened the mail and my eyes were glued to the first line of the message body.

“Big Hit is hiring backup dancers. See the forwarded email below, sis. I think they’re meaning to assign whoever they’ll hire as part of BTS dance team.” Did I just receive this email? It came from my brother so it must be true. He won’t prank me like that. If I apply, there’s no guarantee that I’ll be hired right? That’s too bad if I won’t be hired but there’s nothing to lose if I try to apply.

I left my package scattered throughout my floor and ran towards my laptop lying on my bed. I sat down on the floor beside my bed and opened my laptop. I felt like a kid but here I am, rushing to find my resume to apply for a new job that might eventually change my life.

….

It’s been a week since I applied as a backup dancer for Big Hit. I sent in my resume and a few videos of me dancing to some of their artists’ songs. I’m lucky to have known a lot of BTS’ songs and choreographies by heart and I might have tried to study some of their label mates’ songs as well. I haven’t received a reply back from them and I’m worried that I may not receive any response ever.

Apparently, BTS is known for having only male backup dancers as far as I know so it’s news to me that they’re hiring female backup dancers now. It got me thinking that this might also attract fellow fangirls like me to apply but knowing Big Hit, they wouldn’t want anything scandalous to happen just because they hired female backup dancers. I’m not saying that female dancers lack professionalism but how the boys are the top rank boy group in the country, female fans would be green with jealousy if they see female dancers dancing with them. Some Armies are really protective when it comes to the boys so it’s really shocking to hear that the company is finally considering this. 

The day that I got the mail from my brother, I spent half of my day planning what dances to shoot and submit. I chose BTS’ Idol and Singularity, TXT’s Crown and a freestyle dance to Beyonce’s Yonce. I wanted to showcase my range in dancing by carefully choosing a variety of songs. I admit that the reason I may have applied to this job is partly because I’m a fangirl but nonetheless, my passion for dancing is bigger. I have been dancing since I was a kid but I was not this confident at the start. It’s hard to convince me to perform in front of a bigger audience, let alone a stadium full of fans. I slowly got over my fear little by little when I started teaching dance classes at the dance studio. The fear is still there and you may wonder why I am applying for this job when I’m scared shit in performing for a large audience. BTS taught me to love myself and I am really trying my best to go out of my comfort zone. I figured that this may be my best chance in doing so. Also, I get the benefit of working alongside them which is a big plus.

I couldn’t really focus on my job for the whole week. I find myself regularly checking my mail in the hopes of getting a response from Big Hit. 5 days and there’s still no mail. Maybe my email just went to their spam folder or maybe I typed in the wrong mail. On the 7th day while I was pulling out my clothes in the dryer, I heard a ping from my phone from across the hall. I left my phone on my bed and the laundry room is right beside my room. I noticed that the ping was my assigned tone for mails. I hurriedly took out all my warm dry clothes and unto the basket, closed the door of the dryer and turned the lights off in the laundry room.

“New Mail. Subject: Dance Team Application” I saw the notification banner and my heart just jumped out of my chest. I felt my forehead sweating profusely, fingers shaking and my throat closing up as I try to open my phone and check my mail. I silently and swiftly read the contents of the mail. After two seconds, I shrieked at the top of my lungs and threw my phone across my bed. I ran out of my room and in circles around the living room. Good thing I live alone so that I could just celebrate and make loud noises like this. I jumped up and down on the sofa while etching the image of the mail into my head. I buried my head on my pillows and shouted once more, emptying all the air out of my lungs.

I ran back into my room and read the mail again. 

“Good day, Miss Y/N.

We have received your application and we are glad to say that we are impressed with your resume and skillset. We would like you to come in our office tomorrow so we can meet and talk personally with our dance team. We are glad to have you join our current dance team. Details of our meeting are expressed below.

Time: 10 am

Address: 42 Teheran-ro 108-gil, Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Attire: Comfortable Casual

Please look for Mina at the front desk to escort you. Thank you.”

I still can’t believe what I’m seeing. Did I just got accepted? As a backup dancer? For Big Hit? Maybe for BTS? I’m such a lucky fangirl. I can’t wait for tomorrow.

….

It’s a good thing that my schedule is free today. I don’t have any clients in the gym scheduled for today and the dance studio is closed for today. I was so nervous and excited at the same time. I woke up at 6 am as I feel my jitters bothering my sleep. I tried to go back to sleep but I trashed the bed and rolled side to side for about 30 mins so I decided to go for a run. I turned on my Spotify and played my ‘Intense Run Playlist’ which mostly consists of high bpm BTS songs. There’s a jogging path near where I live and the scenery is filled with trees. Very calming, which I really need right now.

I arrived in front of the Big Hit Building around 8:30 am. I made sure to arrive early as I don’t want to be late for the meeting. I’m so anxious right now if I’m allowed to go up as early as 9 am or should I just arrived on time. I lingered outside and paced back and forth at a nearby shade. I wondered if I could visit my brother and stay with him for the mean time.

“Is she a stalker?” I heard whispers coming from my right as I slumped back at the pole where I’m taking shade just across the building. “That’s scary.” Three schoolgirls were standing a few meters away from me. They were staring and smirking at me. I wondered why they would think of me as such then I realized that I wore my hoodie up to cover half of my face.

“I’m not…”

“Good luck stalker-nim. You won’t get a glimpse of the boys.” They giggled and ogled me with judgmental looks with their arms across the chests. “Can you get away from the boys? We don’t want stalker armies like you.”

“As I said, I’m not a stalker and I’m older than you. Why are you talking to me in an informal tone?” I pull my hoodie off my head and slowly tread towards them. They laughed and ran away at the sight of me making my way to them. Sheesh, do I really look like a stalker?

I looked at my watch and it’s still 9:10 am. I guess I could try and visit my brother. The fresh morning air blew gently in my face, as if to welcome me, and be my merry playmate, and the sun looked at me with a warm and tender smile. What a nice start to my day, I thought. I put up my hoodie again and I was comfortable once more with the warmth my mere hoodie gave me.

“I have a meeting in your building today. Do you want to meet up? I’m not due until 10 am. – your adorable look alike” I texted my brother and inserted my phone back in my pocket. I breathed in the fresh breeze and not a second later, my phone pinged. I pulled out my phone to see my brother’s name on the screen.

“Lucky, I’m on a coffee break. I’ll be down in a sec.” he replied. A grin was present on my face as I stood up from where I was leaning. I skipped from across the street towards the building. I looked above at the sky and towards the top of the Big Hit Building and when I returned my gaze back in front of me, I was met by a dark haired man in his mid-twenties. I bumped into him and was knocked down at the side of the street. I exclaimed in pain as I rub my backside.

“Hey look where you’re go…” I looked up and immediately recognized the face. The man was wearing a grey Fear of God shirt paired with black baggy pants. His face was half covered by a black mask and his hair was kept away from his face with a black headband almost occupying his whole forehead. 

“You should be the one watching you’re going. Crossing the street while prancing around like that.” He scoffed and continued to make his way towards the building. He didn’t even help me up. I sneered back.

“I’m sorry. I assure you that he’s not usually like this. He’s in a bad mood.” Two hands were suddenly around my elbows, propping me up from the ground. I turned my head and saw a woman around mid-twenties as well. She was carrying an opened big black bag propped on her right shoulder with filled with piles of unruly papers stuck inside. When I finally was able to stand up properly, she took off her hands from me and bowed in apology. She swiftly followed the man and shouted, “Yoongi, wait. I can explain.” 

So I was right. It was Suga. All the images of a funny and loving Min Yoongi ran through my mind. Just like a scary movie, it was replaced by a disgusted look he shot at me a while ago. Did he…. Maybe he thought I was a stalker or something? I guess if I really looked like one then I don’t blame him for shooting those looks at me. However, a decent person would help anyone up in that situation.

I beat the dust off my hoodie and slowly treaded towards the building’s entrance. Not a really good way to start my first interaction with anyone from BTS, I thought.

Next part: 2

[bullet-prooflove]

Choices!Series Part Seven: Partners in Crime - Nestor Oceteva x Reader (feat: Johnny 'Coco' Cruz & Marcus Alvarez)

Tagging: @annetje @anime-weeb-4-life @danzer8705 @drabbles-mc @alwaysachorusgirl @witches-unruly-heart @mysoulisasunflower @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @est1887 @the-wandering-lunatic

Part One: First Date (NSFW) - Nester and you have an unusual first date.

Part Two: Familia - (Feat: Marcus Alvarez) - Marcus discovers your relationship.

Part Three: Fair Trade - Miguel makes a proposal.

Part Four: Slaughterhouse Rules - Nestor has to watch the show.

Part Five: Stay With Me - Nestor deals with the aftermath.

It’s warm as fuck and Coco’s smoking a cigarette on the porch of the clubhouse when Marcus appears alongside of him. It’s been a while since the two of them have crossed paths, not since Marcus left the club to ride with the cartel. Coco can’t say he gets it, but Marcus is his own man and Coco respects that. There’s always a place here if he wants it.

“Padrino.” He greets, taking a drag of his cigarette. He holds it for a second before exhaling.

“Coco.” Marcus nods as his elbows come to rest upon the white wooden railing. “Have you heard from her?”

Coco frowns, tilting his head towards Marcus as he taps the ash from the cigarette.

“Nah, not for a couple of months.” He tells the other man quietly. “Not since she was last in San Padre.”

They both know who he’s talking about.

The world knows you as El Cuchillo but to Coco you’re just the girl he shoots guns in the desert with. Someone he’s spent nights under the stars, sharing war stories and a spliff. The girl who’d got shot in the ass because she’d partnered up with a shitty sniper and ended up with a better one.

You’d worked with the club before, when they needed something more covert, someone less visible. It didn’t hurt that you were easy on the eye, men tended to let their guard down when they had the attention of a pretty girl. You had assets their members didn’t.

You took pride in your work and Coco could appreciate that. It’s why he enjoyed working with you, that and the 25% you paid him when you needed someone to watch your back. The deal was you kicked 10% to the club when you required his services. It was a discounted rate compared to what they charged others. Your father had been the Secretary of the club before he’d been taken out by a drunk.

He remembered the first time the two of you decided to partner up. You bent over a table in his girl Stitch’s clinic, glaring at him as she pulled a bullet out of your ass.

“You get what you pay for.” He’d smirked as he spun in the office chair. “You pay a shitty rate you get a shitty sniper, one that apparently shoots his own partner in the ass. Where the fuck did you find him? Craig’s List?”

“Well he’s on the shit list now, nobody will ever be using him again.” You tell him, hissing as Stitches pried the bullet out. “Fuck.”

“Sorry.” Stitches murmured, her voice low and soothing. “It’s embedded in the muscle so I’m gonna have to poke around. The upside though you get a badass scar, pun intended.”

“I hate you so much right now.” You huffed, your chin coming to rest upon your arms.

“You’re gonna hate me even more in five minutes.”

You groaned out loud as Coco rose to his feet before removing the spliff from his pocket and lighting it. The sweet, earthy scent flooded the makeshift clinic.

“Here.” Coco said, handing it over to you. “Something for the pain.”

You took the joint from his fingers before placing it between your lips and taking a toke and returning it to him.

“You know I need a new sniper.” You mentioned casually, wincing as Stitches sought out the bullet. “Or at least someone I can trust to have my back and not shoot me in the fucking ass.”

“You asking me for real?” He asked, blowing out a stream of smoke as he sat at the opposite side of the table.

“Trust me I would rather put up with your philosophical bullshit than go through this again.” You informed him. “No offense Stitches.”

You heard the clatter of metal on metal as the bullet hit the inside of the metal dish.

“None taken.” Stitches responded before picking up a bottle of medicinal grade alcohol. “You know what comes next right?”

“I hope you know I don’t mean any of the words that are going to be coming out of my mouth in the next two minutes.” You told her, taking the joint back from Coco and taking a long pull.

“Trust me, I hear a lot worse from these assholes.” Stitches told you before resuming her task.

There’s silence between the two of them while Coco tries to recount the last time he’d had any communication from you. It had been a while, he realises, usually he gets a text every few weeks when you’re away, telling him about some stupid shit that’s happened, or a picture of something weird. In the past three months he’s had nothing, it’s like you’ve dropped off the radar completely.

“She in trouble or something?” he asks Marcus, gesturing with his cigarette.

Marcus gives him a look before rubbing his hands together, a clear sign of agitation.

“I guess you haven’t seen the news this morning.”

Coco shakes his head.

“She hit Reno last night, killed Eddie, burned down his snuff studio.” Marcus informs him, crossing his arms over this chest.

Coco tilts his head back towards the sky, exhaling the word ‘Fuck’ because he knows what that means. Reno was a death sentence for you both and undertaking it again would have been a suicide mission. That was the real reason Marcus was here, he didn’t know if you were alive or dead, he’s lost contact the same way Coco had.

“Why?” Coco asked, his brain stumbling over the implications. “Why would she do that now? On her own?”

“Something happened with Galindo a little while ago.” Marcus confided as he stared out across the scrapyard. “I’m afraid it unbalanced her; she took off without a word and hasn’t been back since.”

“What kinda something?” Coco asks, because despite the work you do, you’re probably one of the most balanced people he knows. You own your shit, you don’t let it consume you, you don’t linger on the regrets. That’s some excellent compartmentalisation right there.

“The kinda something that brings back a lot of personal shit.” Marcus told him, his hands coming to rest on the wooden railing once more. His knuckles whitened as he gripped it tightly, the splintered wood digging into his fingertips.

“The Major?”

“His brother.”

Coco dropped the cigarette butt to the floor before crushing it underneath the heel of his boot. He pulled the remaining packet out of his pocket before offering one to Marcus. The other man took one, setting it between his lips before Coco provided the light.

“She kill him?”

“Nestor.” Marcus summarised as Coco withdrew his own smoke and tapped it against the cardboard carton in his hand.

“Fucking good on him.” He said before placing the cigarette between his lips and lighting it.

“You know, don’t you?” Marcus said, his voice lowering an octave as he took a drag. “She told you.”

Coco blew a smoke ring out of his mouth, watching as it evaporated into the air.

“Knew she was sticking around for someone and it wasn’t anybody from the club, none of these assholes would be able to keep their mouth shut about something like that.” He shrugged, waving his cigarette in the direction of the club house. “She’d been doing a lot of work for the cartel and he’s the one without the biggest stick up his ass.”

“He’s in love with her.” Marcus told him, inhaling deeply and allowing the nicotine to fill up his lungs. “The thing with Galindo’s been tearing him up inside.”

“That doesn’t bode well for Galindo.” Coco remarked, thinking back to the last time he’s laid eyes on you. You’d looked healthier, happier. Your smile was brighter, and you laughed a lot more. He knew what it was to fall in love, he knew how it looked and he could see it inside of you when the two of you shot targets under the desert sun. “She was settled last time I saw her, at peace.” He said tapping he place where his heart resided.

It struck Coco hard to know that you may be suffering. He knew a thing or two about PTSD, about the intensity of it, the hypervigilance, the nightmares, the intrusive thoughts. He thought you’d want to get away from the place that had instilled those memories, take control once again and what better place to do that then Reno. Somewhere you were forbidden to return to, a place where you could prove to yourself that you still held some form of power, that you could still do the job.

“I’ll reach out.” Coco said finally, feeling a twist of anxiety in his chest. “See if I can’t find out where she’s at.”

He just hoped to Christ it wasn’t the morgue.

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[vulpesevanidum]

Furries: Mentioned!

"Finally, and with a sense of utter defeat, he did what he knew others had done, and created a website touting his own editorial skills as the author of two well-received literary novels and a longtime faculty member at one of the country's best low-residency MFA programs. And then he waited. Slowly, came the nibbles. What was Jake's "success rate"? (Jake responded with a lengthy exploration of what the term "success" might mean to an artist. He never heard back from that particular correspondent.) Did Mr. Bonner work with Indie Authors? (He immediately wrote: Yes! After which that correspondent also disappeared.) What were his feelings on anthropomorphism in fiction? (They were positive! Jake emailed back. What else was he going to say?) Would he be willing to do a "sample edit" of fifty pages of a work-in-progress, so the writer could judge whether there was value in continuing? (Jake took a deep breath and wrote: No. But he would agree to a special fee discount of fifty percent for the first two hours, which ought to be enough for each of them to make a decision on whether or not to work together.)" -The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz

[legrandefungus]

Fungus writes more of his EoS AU.

After this, I might wind up posting a bit out of order. But! This is where a few things get set up! This is also where I introduce some music! It's just something I think fits the scene.

It's been a few weeks! Bidoof, expectedly, is trying to be as friendly and helpful as possible.

Yes, weeks. Looks like the timeline's going a bit slower. Thank goodness for that. I'd hate having a month, give or take, to prepare for the dark future.

Shalvy, too. Does having someone who treats him like a normal person is surprising? I guess my brand of baseline respect for all people is effective. It's too bad I have to hide so much from you.

Though... Something's concerning. I bumped into Drowzee and nothing happened. Was it because I already know about i-

"Ah! Sorry, Mr. Chatot!"

He was annoyed. First off, how casually the vulpix acted! But at the same time, the child was running himself ragged. One expedition a day? Sometimes two if they line up? The exploration notice board's been seeing a lot of use from the little one! But... that pace wasn't enthusiasm. Ennil looked horrified at the very concept of a break.

"Ack! Please watch yourself, Ennil! It would reflect badly on us if..."

I didn't hear what he said after that, I was instead thrust into something.

"You... Never trusted me?"

It was cold. Damnably cold. I could see the heartbreak all over him. What happened?

"..."

I couldn't make out the other voice. The blowing wind obscured it from me.

"But I-"

"..."

"!"

Who are you? What's going to change? I should warn Chatot, but he doesn't see me as someone to acknowledge yet. Blast, the future's already going to be screwed up, what's ne-

"ENNIL!"

"Wh-huh!?"

"Are you alright? You fell over."

"Oh, sorry! I did some training with Bidoof earlier today. I must be more tired than I thought!"

"Well, glad to see you're so enthusiastic! But don't overdo yourself, either! You have to know your limits."

If only. If something's going to change, I have to prepare as much as I can. Me reaching the end of my endurance is the baseline of where I need to be.

"Apologies, I need to do as much as I can. Then the other members won't have to worry as much!"

Preparation is key, I need to learn this desperation to survive the future.

That's a lie. He spoke very rigidly, and what kid uses the word 'apologies!?' Still, it looks like how he's acting has lined up roughly with Chatot's first impression.

"Still, you should leave some low-ranked missions for the others. And your partner's been looking exhausted lately, too!"

"A-ah, right. Sorry, Mr. Chatot."

This kid's not sorry at all! He should be taught a lesson before he hurts himself!

"No! For the rest of today and tomorrow, you're to be barred from taking any missions or going on expeditions! You can clean and help around the town in the meantime. Shalvy will be reassigned to do some expeditions with Bidoof."

For a single moment, Chatot saw it. Terror, plain and simple. Not the look of a chastised kid, or one scared of punishment, that's for sure.

"...Yes sir." Well. That puts a bit of a wrench in my plans. How annoying.

What are you running from, Ennil? If anyone, he should at least be able to tell the vice-guildmaster. Everyone's willing to help, if only he opened up.

...

Turns out, doing work for the Kecleon Brothers was pretty easy! And a bit relaxing, too. It was nice getting to let loose and actually use some of my old skills.

They kept an eye on him just a bit to start. Give the kid some simple jobs for the shop, make him happier, maybe a slight discount on their next purchase over 1000 poke too! Then the little bastard went and started doing things that were definitely not childlike.

That's another Gravelyrock. A few quick jots here and there cleared that up.

"What's the tax rate again?"

...

"I think there might be an error in the pricing here. Are you doing a markdown?"

"Oh, that's a sale we're doing! Draws in the thrifty types."

"Makes sense! Gotta have some way to get the stingy folks to make a purchase."

...

"Hey, you think we could hire this one in the future?"

"He's strange, that's for sure."

Strange was an understatement. He was already on par with some of the newer Kecleons in the business, and it still looked like he was holding something back.

Still, the brothers were quite happy to have him working for the day. Most ADULT pokemon would have gotten a headache by noon with all the numbers floating around. The vulpix hardly complained and stayed even to the closing times.

"Say, Ennil. What might be your thoughts on working with us?"

"Oh! I could do some work from ti-"

"Genuine thoughts, please. You're good, but we can smell a performance from a mile away."

"..."

"Blight, am I really that obvious?"

"Pfft-!"

The whiplash going from hopeful, somewhat happy kid to the tone of someone who tripped and lost newly bought reviver seeds proved too much for the younger brother, who burst into laughter.

"Keheh! No, we're just good at sniffing out con artists and folks putting on a show. Too many of them try to get discounts for some reason or another."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Children also aren't supposed to know about the concept of a tax well. Especially not the one involved with merchants."

"...Right. Forgot about that."

"So, thoughts?"

"I'd have to ask Chatot, but that sounds good."

"Khhheeh... Ahem, sorry, sorry! Please do! It's wonderful to have someone who knows enough to keep up."

"Oh, and before you go..."

They kept an eye on him a bit earlier, too. So, a bit of an investment now might mean a much bigger payoff later!

"WHA-AKC-"

I'm a bit glad my voice brought me into a coughing fit. A lot more talking today than I was used to. Definitely terrified that they knew I was wanting a stronger fire move. But Flamethrower? That might just be what I'll be needing.

...

"I force you to take a break, and you find a way to do more work."

"..."

"I already heard it from them earlier in the day. The two were very enthusiastic about your help. Just-" Chatot sighs. By Arceus, this kid's going to make him retire early. "We'll figure something out. Klefki should almost be done with dinner."

"Alright!"

Strange Journal, page 2.

𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙, 𝐼'𝑚 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙/𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑜. 𝐴 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙. 𝐼𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑤𝑠, 𝑡𝑜𝑜. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦, 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑜 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒.

𝑆𝑜, 𝐼'𝑚 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘. 𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝑆𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒-𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒, 𝐼 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑜 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚! ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑑, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑛. 𝐴𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑠 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦, 𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑. 𝐷𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠, 𝐼 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠, 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑍𝐼 𝑜𝑟 𝐷𝑇. 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦, 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙, 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑓-𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒.

𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑢𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦, 𝑡𝑜𝑜. 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛, 100% 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒; 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 170%. 𝐼𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝐼 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑠. 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ. 𝑆𝑜 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑓𝑓.

𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑣𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡-𝑏𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑆𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑖𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑦-ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑡 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝐻𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑡𝑜𝑜. 𝑆𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙, 𝐼'𝑚 𝑜𝑛-𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑜 𝑓𝑎𝑟. 𝐻𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑠.

[smarterbiznetwork]

SMART(ER) BUSINESS NETWORK OVERVIEW – EPISODE 3 – MEMBER RESOURCE SHOP

SMART(ER) Business Network Overview – Episode 3 – Member Resource Shop

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WELCOME! PLEASE WATCH EPISODE 3: MEMBER RESOURCE SHOP

Table of Contents

For Your Reference:

Here are the main links referenced throughout the introduction and overview sessions in this series:

SMARTER BUSINESS ACADEMY: https://smarterbizacademy.com

 

SMARTER MONTHLY RECRUITING CONTEST: https://smarterbizacademy.com/smarter-academy-ai-staff-recruiting-contest/

 

SMARTER AFFILIATE REQUEST PAGE/LOGIN PAGE:  https://smarterbizacademy.com/affiliate-area/

 

SMARTER BUSINESS RESOURCE SHOP (FOR MEMBERS): https://resourceshop.smarterbizacademy.com/

 

SMARTER BUSINESS COMMUNITY: https://smartbiz.tribeplatform.com

 

 Now for a word from our fearless leader! : )

—

FROM COACH DAVE

“Welcome, SMART(ER) Business Network members! We understand that navigating a vast array of features and resources can be overwhelming.

That’s why we’ve created this series of videos to help you understand what you have access to and how to leverage these powerful tools for your business efforts.

In each episode, we’ll dive deep into specific areas, guiding you through the features step-by-step. And don’t worry, we’ll be continually adding more features to meet your evolving needs.

So, you can always come back and check what’s new and make sure you’re not missing out on any game-changing opportunities.

We know that as a new member, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the wealth of information and possibilities within the network. But fear not!

Our series is designed to address things that overwhelm you and provide you with a clear roadmap to success.

Here you are, visiting the third episode of the series, with a total of twenty episodes published so far. And guess what?

We’re always open to adding more as we discover new features and innovative ways to support your growth.

Our goal is to ensure you have a comprehensive guide to follow, empowering you to make the most of your membership.

So, get ready to unlock the full potential of the SMART(ER) Business Network. We’re here to support you every step of the way, offering guidance, feedback, and insights to help you achieve your business goals.

See you inside!”

—

Session 3: Unleash Your Business Potential with Our Resource Shop!

Welcome to the heart of the SMART(ER) Business Network! As a member, you’ll find yourself coming back to this section time and again, as it holds the key to planning, launching, and building your work-from-home or anywhere business.

Imagine a shop that brings together a multitude of online stores, all at your fingertips. That’s exactly what our resource shop does for you. Whether you’re a member or not, you’ll discover an incredible array of products and services right here.

Just take a peek inside: Lead Magnet Kits, Business Checklists, Business Planners and Journals, Video & Blog Templates, AI Prompt Engineer Sets, Email Swipe Files, and even PLR materials. It’s a treasure trove of resources!

But that’s not all. On the tool side, we have over 1000 options, including WordPress Premium tools and plugins. These tools are designed to boost the efficiency of your organization, focusing on productivity, marketing, and content creation and publishing.

Now here’s the exciting part: as a member of the SMART(ER) Business Network, you not only enjoy lower prices, but you also receive a permanent 10% discount on all your purchases. That means incredible savings for you!

But wait, there’s more. When your referrals make purchases to support their businesses, you’ll earn affiliate commissions. It’s a win-win situation that helps you start earning as fast as possible while ensuring we take care of our members through low prices and discounts.

Our core values revolve around providing massive value, overdelivering, and offering support in the best manner possible. We’re here to help you succeed without draining your bank accounts. That’s our promise to you!

—

Episode Wrap Up

To join now, go to the offer pages at https://smarterbizacademy.com under the shop menu tab. There you will see the various offers and can register to get started.

While there on the home page, you will also note the banners on the top and bottom of the page. The top one will take you to the latest sales offer (often the best offer too, by the way!), while the bottom banner will take you to the recruiting contest.

The recruiting contest runs from month to month and the data collection starts new (old data is purged/destroyed except for winners and reward recipient’s information for network use to track membership).

In Case You Missed Them – For Your Reference:

Here are the main links referenced throughout the introduction and overview sessions in this series again:

SMARTER BUSINESS ACADEMY: https://smarterbizacademy.com

SMARTER MONTHLY RECRUITING CONTEST: https://smarterbizacademy.com/smarter-academy-ai-staff-recruiting-contest/

SMARTER AFFILIATE REQUEST PAGE/LOGIN PAGE:  https://smarterbizacademy.com/affiliate-area/

SMARTER BUSINESS RESOURCE SHOP (FOR MEMBERS): https://resourceshop.smarterbizacademy.com/

SMARTER BUSINESS COMMUNITY: https://smartbiz.tribeplatform.com

Again, see you inside! Please view the video and ask any questions in the comment section! We will get back to you ASAP…There are no dumb questions…We are here to help…

Cheers!

Coach Dave

[coursecreator]

How to improve your course sales rate?

Over the years, online learning has risen dramatically, creating a huge opportunity for people who want to provide online courses and commercialize their knowledge.

Every year, more and more education entrepreneurs launch online courses, but a worrying trend has emerged where most students never complete them.

There are online learning statistics that suggest that the completion rate for online courses averages just about 5%-15% and it is increasing up to 40%  and beyond in some cases.

Although there are some issues with how the course completion rate measure is defined, you should be concerned if your course has a low completion rate.

Besides the fact that you are more likely to receive negative feedback and refund requests, you will also miss out on repeat purchases and word-of-mouth marketing.

It will be impossible for students to achieve success unless they complete your online program, even if we discount all of that.

Let's discuss why students drop out before we discuss strategies to improve your course completion rate:

• Students become preoccupied with other activities and may entirely disregard your course.

• Your students will lose interest if the content is not engaging or the course is too long.

• They become lost along the route and are hesitant or unable to seek help.

• Students are unmotivated and perceive little value in completing the complete curriculum.

• As a result, they had unrealistic expectations about the course and even the level of work involved.

• Students have difficulty accessing course content due to technical difficulties.

• They only require a short portion of your course and are finished with it.

Students drop out for a variety of reasons. Identifying specific blockers for your students is important, and we'll cover that later in this guide.

Now, let's turn our attention to the tactics that can assist you to enhance your course completion rates by addressing these issues.

1. Maintain Consistent Communication with Your Students

This is the most successful and simple interaction method. However, I find that many creators either completely ignore it or underutilize it.

A proper follow-up strategy can address some of the common dropout reasons discussed in the previous section, like students getting busy or losing motivation.

Following are some examples of common engagement emails you can send to your students:

Welcoming  your students

When someone signs up for your online course, you should send them a welcome email with their login information, the course schedule, information on how to join the course community, and contact information.

For example, online school EzyCourse lets you send a welcome message to your new students.

Welcome emails should be used to deliver details on what they should do next.

Reminders should be sent.

Because of how busy and stressful daily life may be, it is very easy for anyone to simply forget about their online commitments. Sending regular reminders can help you capture your students' attention and attract them back to your course.

You can now send reminder emails once a week or only when new content is published. It all depends on how your course is set up.

In terms of what to include in a reminder email, you can begin by reminding them of why they signed up for the course, and then share information about their progress or what to expect in the new module, and so on.

Email may now be used to motivate your learners rather than just deliver reminders and notices.

You can, for example, send a congratulatory email to your students after they complete a module or pass a quiz to encourage them to continue their studies.

Email can be used in a variety of ways to engage your students. Examples include sharing success stories or collecting feedback from them via email.

2. Make an Online Community

Students can use online communities to connect with others, receive comments and support, ask questions, and share their successes.

If a person is a member of a social group, they tend to spend more time on those sites. They can discuss their concerns and gain from the knowledge and experience of others, which keeps pupils from becoming stuck.

Furthermore, making their commitment public on a social platform can help learners be more accountable, increasing goal achievement by 33%.

As a result, there is a compelling reason for you to include a community component in your online course. You can run your community on a social media platform like Facebook or Slack, or you can create a community area on your own website.

3. Provide an Incentive for Completing Your Course

It's kind of nice to get a little more for our efforts. As a result, including an additional reward at the end of your course may encourage more students to complete it.

Certificates are a typical type of incentive. Certificates offer value to students' resumes and serve as a motivator for them to complete their studies.

They are especially effective as an incentive if your course teaches a professional skill.

Online schools like EzyCourse let you issue a certificate for students after every course completion. You can choose different types of certificates and customize them as per your choice. After issuing a certificate students will be able to download it from their dashboard. It will help you to motivate your students even more.

Other forms of incentives might be provided for your course as well. As an example, you might provide anyone who completes your whole course an exclusive discount on your next course or admission to your mastermind group. Or you can provide them coupons for various types of discounts as EzyCourse is providing. With EzyCourse you can set coupons for all courses or specific courses or products. You can also add up to 20 add-on items per product and give unlimited product access to your students. No one has done this ever!

4. Include Small Victories in Your Course

Although having a broader transformation goal for your online courses is fantastic, it's also crucial to reduce that objective into little wins that your students may achieve along the way.

Smaller victories provide pupils with the feeling that they are making progress and keep them from becoming frustrated and quitting. Gamification is an excellent method to add tiny wins to your training.

I recognize that not everyone will have the time or budget to build full-fledged points or badges in their courses.

In that scenario, you may keep it simple by sending congratulations emails to your students after each module or milestone they accomplish, reminding them of what they learned and how they can use it in real life.

If they share their accomplishments with others in the community, you can encourage them.

Regardless of how you accomplish it, what matters is that you understand the value of minor victories and incorporate them into your strategy.

5. Make it simple for students to learn on their mobile devices.

Mobile learning is no more a nice-to-have feature for your courses; it is now a requirement.

Check out the following statistics from the 2019 E-Learning Trends Report:

Apps are downloaded by 89% of smartphone users, 50% of which are used for learning.

Accessing training content from a mobile device is important to 64% of learners.

Smartphone users complete course material at a rate that is 45% faster than computer users.

For example, EzyCourse offers you with your own branded Android and iOS apps.

Hence, while researching online course creation platforms, keep in mind the availability and flexibility of your courses on various devices, including mobile.

Your course should be accessible through a mobile browser at the very least, but it would be even better if you could offer it through a mobile app as well because it results in a far better learning experience with features like offline viewing.

It is also critical that your course content is developed with mobile learners and their preferences in mind.

6. Enhance Your Course Design

The most crucial parameter for user engagement is good content design, which can have a major impact on completion rates. Apart from the quality of the content, the following methods can help you make your course more attractive and engaging:

Make use of visual aids.

Using visuals in your courses makes understanding the concepts a lot easier and more convenient than reading text. The use of visual learning is not only useful for comprehension, but also in improving learning retention and motivating students.

There are other methods to add visuals to your course design, but videos are the greatest (and most popular) medium for visual learning.

Other sorts of visual content, such as infographics, illustrations, animations, and so on can also be utilized, and I strongly advise you to employ several content formats to offer your online course.

Your course should be interactive

Your students may lose interest if your course consists solely of videos or pre-recorded information. In this instance, you should make your course content more interactive.

The simplest method to accomplish this is to use quizzes and tasks throughout your course. It helps students to receive feedback on their learning and keeps them engaged in the course.

To take interaction to the next level, consider hosting live Q&A calls or coaching sessions as part of your online program.

Make modules that are bite-sized.

A normal student's attention span during a lecture is estimated to be around 10-15 minutes. As a result, if your videos or modules are too long, it may be difficult for your students to understand everything at once.

Furthermore, we discussed mobile learning in the previous section, which emphasizes the importance of bite-sized learning modules.

7. Utilize Premium Pricing

Some students enroll in an online course despite having little interest in the course material, and as a result, they do not complete it.

Selling your course at a higher price point is one of the best ways to avoid these non-serious students.

Premium pricing, in addition to weeding out non-serious students, implies a higher investment from your students, which generally leads to a higher commitment to your course.

8. Identify the causes of student dropouts

You won't be able to enhance your completion rates unless you know where and why your students are dropping out of your online course.

Looking at your course analytics will be the first way to find out where your students are getting stuck. You should try to figure out if there are any particular lectures in your course where students are dropping out.

Alternatively, you could examine the video analytics and identify the drop-off points in your course videos.

Asking your students what's causing them to drop out is another effective way to find out the reasons why they're dropping out. Alternatively, you can send a survey to all course participants.

Instead, you might just send an email to people who haven't made much progress, inquiring about their difficulties and how you can assist them.

When you've identified the exact barriers that are driving your students to abandon your online courses, you'll be in a much better position to develop an engagement plan based on the best practices outlined in this article.

There's something very important that I want you to remember before we end. Although it is good to have a bigger goal for your completion rates, you need to remember that student engagement is something that needs to be continually improved.

As a result, you'll need to take small steps to gradually raise your course completion rate and eventually attain your objective over time.

[gagan-dhawan]

5 Proven Ways To Create A Customer-Centric Environment In Your Company

Customer is king, and will always sit on the throne. Retaining the trust and loyalty of your customers is the key to accelerating growth, profitability and sustainability.

Research by Harvard Business Review shows that increasing the customer satisfaction by just 5% can skyrocket profits up to 95%. The study also demonstrated that it can cost more than five times to acquire a new customer as opposed to retaining an existing one.

So how do you create a competitive culture in your company that revolves around the wants and needs of your customers?

1) Think Beyond Deals and Discounts

The first thing that businesses must understand is that times have changed and customer loyalty cannot be bought through deals and discounts anymore. They’re just a short-term fix that only lasts till you wake up tomorrow and watch your competitors undercut your prices and drive you out of business.

For instance, if a brand sells low-quality items at cheaper rates, they might get a boost in sales over a month, but they will eventually lose customers to frequent returns and competitors that value quality over quantity.

2) Comprehensive Training Programs For Employees

You must train your employees to genuinely appreciate and respect the power that customers hold for your business, or any business as a matter of fact. Customer satisfaction through exceptional service should always be the priority for your company, and it cannot be achieved without arming your employees with the right set of skills and motivation. 

Moreover, it is important to always review the working environment for your employees as well to make sure that they are not dissatisfied because that unhappiness will eventually translate to poor service towards customers.

3) Create a Customer-Oriented Experience and Environment

Consumers always appreciate an environment that values them and fulfils their needs. They value it all the more when the help comes from humans instead of automation and AI.

Interactions with staff members can last a long time in a customer’s head and turn window shoppers into loyal purchasers.

It is highly important for a brand to establish and maintain personal connections with their customers if they want lifelong loyalists. Think Rolex and Rolls-Royce!

4) Effective and Multiple Feedback Loops

If your business is not open to suggestions and feedback from customers, the ship is already going underwater. Seek regular feedback from customers about their experience in your store or website as well as what improvements they would like to see in the future. These insights can help you review the culture that your business reflects on the customers and help you go the extra mile to make changes as and when necessary.

Furthermore, when customers see companies actively acting on their feedback, they feel valued and pledge their loyalty to your brand while also bringing in more business through referrals and glowing reviews.

5) Collect and Display Testimonials Like There’s No Tomorrow

The first thing a potential customer does upon browsing a product or service is scroll down to read reviews to add a sense of belief. As a rule of thumb, proudly and prominently plaster testimonials and positive feedback over your website and store so that customers browse with a sense of security and proof.

User generated content(UGC) such as photos, videos and shorts during reviews also help establish credibility, authenticity and reliability in the minds of your potential customers.

About Gagan Dhawan

Gagan Dhawan is a first-generation entrepreneur, angel investor and author whose penchant for learning new things and creating revolutionary products has led to the culmination of many successful businesses across diverse domains such as healthcare, education, fashion, printing, devotion and more. He is the Founder of reputed companies like RHI Printographics, The New Me, ServDharm and Flyaway Cycles. He has also invested in and worked as a Mentor for innovative startups such as Einstein Box, IKAROA, Fitoutpros, Evoo, Untwine Me, and SandS Fashion House.

Coming from an Indian Army family background, Gagan Dhawan has pursued education across various schools in India. This opportunity helped him experience and assimilate the cultural ethos of the country. With a rich entrepreneurial experience, Gagan Dhawan has a demonstrated history of working with several successful ventures like RHI Printographics and Aayana Marbles. Before starting The New Me, he founded ServDharm, a devotional gifting startup selling festive gift boxes, holy books, etc.

[bixlerinsurance]

How to Lower Homeowners Insurance Costs in Geneva and Decatur, Indiana

Homeowners insurance is vital in Geneva and Decatur, IN, because it protects property from potential threats, including natural disasters, theft, and accidents. Although it is mandatory, premiums might be costly. Several solutions can be used to reduce these costs.   Bundle Insurance Policies   To prevent paying too much for home insurance in Geneva and Decatur, Indiana, eliminate any other policies and only get homeowners insurance when combined with business insurance in Fort Wayne and Decatur, IN. There is no need to perform several transactions and pay various rates for each policy; instead, pay for one or two insurance policies and optimize efficiency.   Increase Deductibles    It is also a purchasing technique in which premiums can be reduced by selecting high-deductible plans. The deductible is the amount of money that the insured must initially pay before the insurance policy begins to reimburse any expenses. A greater deductible lowers monthly payments, which insurance companies like to promote. This strategy saves a significant amount of money in the long term. However, the deduction amount must be reasonable on the claim.   Enhancing Security Measures   Homes in Geneva and Decatur, Indiana, can further increase their security, resulting in cheaper home insurance costs. Installing alarm systems, security cameras, and smoke detectors can reduce the likelihood of burglary and fires. Most insurers value these upgrades, so houses with more robust security systems are typically less expensive to insure.   Do Not File Claims For This Period    Going a specific period without filing a claim will even lower the premiums. Insurance companies commonly offer such reductions to consumers who do not file claims within a specific time frame. Fewer claim schedules are less dangerous. This track record of no claims can eventually lead to home insurance in Geneva and Decatur, resulting in a cost-effective method.   Update Procedures for Claim Protection   Insurance, like other obligations, may be low owing to various causes, emphasizing the importance of reviewing the coverage scope regularly. Sometimes, the insurance may be worth less than the client policy, such as when some property items are undervalued or losses occur in other coverage. By eliminating unnecessary coverage, policyholders can save money while still receiving enough protection.   Home System Override   Outdated electrical, plumbing, roofing, and other house systems can cause damage and raise rates; upgrading reduces the chance of such hazards, resulting in drastically lower premiums. Insurance companies typically provide cheaper premiums following a home inspection due to the lower chance of fire and water damage occurrences found in enhanced systems. Homes in Decatur, IN, and Geneva that have made these upgrades may be eligible for lower insurance premiums.   Earn discount benefits    Most insurers have programs in place that provide several discounts to help reduce the cost of homeowners insurance. These measures include long-term policyholders, senior people, association members, and other policy-specific income-generating possibilities. Considering these methods lowers the expense.   Homeowners insurance in Geneva and Decatur, Indiana, is vital since it protects properties from unforeseen circumstances. Bundling insurance coverage, hiking deductibles, insuring home systems, and not filing claims are ways to lower insurance costs significantly. Furthermore, checking to see whether policies have been revised and how much the applicable discounts have changed will result in further savings. 

[hammadchauhdary]

Understanding the Importance of Pricing Strategies in Today’s Competitive Retail Market

In the fast-paced world of retail, pricing plays a crucial role in shaping a brand's market presence and success. As consumers grow more informed and competition becomes increasingly fierce, retailers must adopt effective pricing strategies to remain relevant and competitive. With the constant evolution of e-commerce and changing consumer behaviors, traditional pricing approaches may no longer suffice. Understanding the need for dynamic and customer-focused pricing strategies is vital for sustaining growth in 2024 and beyond.

The Role of Pricing in Consumer Perception

Pricing directly influences how customers perceive a brand. While competitive pricing attracts cost-conscious shoppers, premium pricing can enhance the perception of a brand's quality. However, relying on price alone is insufficient. Retailers need to develop strategies that align pricing with value delivery, ensuring that customers feel they are getting their money’s worth.

Shoppers today are more informed, often comparing prices across different platforms before making a purchase. Therefore, retailers must ensure their pricing strategies not only appeal to their target market but also stand out among competitors. This balance requires flexibility, as fixed pricing models may limit a retailer’s ability to adapt to market changes.

Key Factors Influencing Retail Pricing

Several factors come into play when determining a retail pricing strategy. One of the most critical is market demand. Products in high demand allow retailers to leverage higher prices, while low-demand items may require discounts or promotional pricing to drive sales.

Additionally, cost structures—including production, distribution, and marketing costs—must be factored in to ensure that pricing not only covers these expenses but also delivers a reasonable profit margin. Retailers must also remain mindful of competitors' pricing to avoid undercutting or overpricing themselves out of the market.

Innovative Pricing Strategies for 2024

To stay ahead of the competition in 2024, retailers should consider adopting more sophisticated pricing techniques that cater to modern consumer behaviors. One such approach is dynamic pricing, which adjusts prices in real time based on factors such as demand, competitor pricing, and customer preferences. This strategy allows retailers to remain competitive while maximizing profit margins.

Another effective approach is bundling, where retailers offer multiple products at a discounted rate when purchased together. This not only increases sales volume but also provides added value to the consumer. Additionally, psychological pricing—where prices are set just below a round number (e.g., $9.99 instead of $10)—continues to be a tried-and-true method for encouraging purchases.

Discount and loyalty programs also play a significant role in retaining customers while driving repeat sales. By offering exclusive discounts to returning customers or members, retailers can build strong brand loyalty, which is vital in today’s saturated market.

Final Thoughts

In a competitive market, the ability to adapt and implement the right pricing strategies can make or break a business. Retailers must continuously assess market trends, consumer behavior, and competitor actions to ensure their pricing remains both attractive to customers and profitable for the business.

For a detailed exploration of the top retail pricing strategies to stay competitive in 2024, you can check out this comprehensive guide.

[zenithforex]

Get advantage of our exclusive money transfer discount offer when sending money from India. We provide fast, secure, and cost-effective services for transferring funds to help family members, paying for education, and managing overseas costs. Advantages include reasonable exchange rates, low costs, and an easy transfer process. Join the thousands of people who trust us with their international money transfers and save more with each transaction.

[triviopharmacy]

Trivio Pharmacy: Your Trusted Healthcare Partner in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad’s healthcare scene is quickly advancing, & Trivio Pharmacy stands at the bleeding edge as a trusted title among pharmacy chains in the city. Known for its commitment to quality, reasonableness, & client-centric services, Trivio Pharmacy offers an broad extend of healthcare items & administrations, making it a favored select for both people & businesses alike.

Pharmacy Chain in Ahmedabad

Trivio Pharmacy has set up a solid nearness over Ahmedabad, Gujara with numerous outlets deliberately found to give simple get to to medicines & healthcare items. Whether you require over-the-counter medicines, medicine drugs, or wellness basics, Trivio pharmacy broad item catalog guarantees that clients can discover what they require with comfort. The consistent integration of cutting edge innovation with conventional pharmacy services empowers Trivio pharmacy to cater to the developing request for beat- quality healthcare over Ahmedabad, Gujara.

Wholesale Medicine Purchase

At Trivio Pharmacy, businesses & healthcare professionals can benefit from our wholesale medicine purchase option. We offer a wide variety of medicines at competitive prices, ensuring that hospitals, clinics, & medical stores in Ahmedabad have access to Top-quality drugs in bulk. Our wholesale service is designed to meet the needs of medical professionals & businesses who require timely and Low cost-effective solutions for medicine procurement. Trivio’s strong relationships with manufacturers & distributors ensure the authenticity and reliability of every product we supply.

Medicine Distributors in Ahmedabad

As a prominent name in the field of medicine distribution, Trivio Pharmacy takes pride in being a reliable medicine distributor in Ahmedabad. Our network of suppliers allows us to provide a thorough range of pharmaceutical products, including br&ed & generic medicines, to various retail pharmacies, clinics, & healthcare institutions. We focus on building long-term partnerships with our clients, offering them the best rates & ensuring prompt delivery services.

Membership Store Pharmacy

Trivio Pharmacy offers an exclusive membership program that provides several benefits to regular customers. Our membership store pharmacy model ensures that customers can access discounts on medications, personalized healthcare advice, & priority services. Members enjoy savings on regular purchases, access to special offers, & early notifications about new healthcare products & services. This unique approach helps our customers manage their healthcare needs more efficiently & affordably.

Conclusion

Trivio Pharmacy is more than just a pharmacy chain in Gujarat, it is a comprehensive healthcare partner offering wholesale medicine purchase options, reliable medicine distribution services, & a value-added membership store pharmacy. By choosing Trivio Pharmacy, you are ensuring access to high-quality medicines, professional services, and a network that is committed to your health & well-being.

[stridetickets]

How can I get a discount on American Airlines?

Accumulate information to get discount on American Airlines

Traveling to your desired destination with American Airlines is always beneficial as the airline will provide you with different services and facilities. To make travel more convenient, the airlines also provide the option of flight discounts. These discounts will help you save your precious money and receive all the necessary facilities. If you do not have information about getting a discount on American Airlines, you must go through below. 

How can I get a discount on American Airlines?

There are different online and offline modes available through which you can get a discount on American Airlines and book cheap tickets, but if you do not have information about these modes, then go through the below. 

Flyer Program: The best option to get a discount on American Airlines is to become a member of the airline's flyer program. When you make an account on the airline's official website or when you purchase anything, you will redeem certain points or miles, which you can use to make bookings.

Use deals and offers: The airlines provide several vacation offers, festival deals, etc., to travelers. You can use them to make bookings. These deals or offers are available on the airline's official website or on their social media handles. 

Reserve flights well in advance: The most convenient way to get a discount is to make the bookings well in advance. Reservations on American Airlines start 8 to 10 months prior to departure, and in that initial phase, the airline charges low fares. So you can book the flight at that time and get the discount. 

Avoid the weekends: The fares of the flights also vary according to the departure day. If you travel on the weekends or during the long vacation season, the airlines will usually charge high fares, so you will need to avoid that time and book a flight whose departure time is on Tuesday, as Tuesday flights charge the lowest fare. 

Through the help of the above information, you will able to book airline tickets at cheaper rates, still in case if you are looking for more information, then you can also reach to the American Airlines official website