#as a messanger or as a message itself

[spotlightstudios]

I'm alive when I shouldn't be. Not that I've been revived or someone took the bullet tor me. I just... shouldn't have survived a specific event, and now it follows me everywhere I go.

[yanderefairyangel]

So about those new FEH ocs.

We know that FEH stands out as being unapolegitically influence by Norse mythology.

However, there is a lot of peculairity that distinguish Norse mythology from the other.

Ratatoskr

It's a squirrell that lives on one of Yggdrasil's branch. They run up and down the tree and play the role of messanger between the eagle Veðrfölnir who live above, and the snake Níðhöggr.

Most notably mentionned in the Poem of Edda

According to the several etymology brough up, Ratatoskr means "tusk the traveller" or "the climber tusk.

It is usually linked to the idea of repeating the circle of ever- destruction and rebirth. It is in short a messanger character.

It also serves the role of messanger between the gods however OG Ratatosk is a bit of a mischievious character who will often transmit between the eagle and the snake gossip to push them in destroying Yggdrasil to bring chaos, especially in the mythos of Ragnarok.

So how does it link to Book 8 ? Well.

Ratatoskr can turn into a squirrel however, she in a way is the one carrying the role of messanger as she tells Alfonse about the plan that her father planned against Askr and Embla.

Her introduction in heroes begin by showing Ratatoskr running like a squirell down the tree of Yggdrasil, before falling down the branch.

Her sisters, Hræsvelgr and Níðhöggr are a reference to the eagle and snake OG Ratatoskr would deliver message and what do they hold in hands ?

Yeah...exactly.

The opening is a clear reference to the OG myth.

She is linked to Yggdrasil's specifically

Hræsvelgr

It is the name of a Jotung aka a Giant that can turn into a Great Eagle that is considered responsible for brining the cold wind from the north.

Most notably mentionned in the Lay of Vafþrúðnir 

It's name means "corpse swallower. Whereas Ratasokr is linked to Yggdrasil, Hræsvelgr is linked to Jötnar, the realms of the Giant/Jotun.

Hræsvelgr is in reality unrelated to the myth of Ratasokr however, teh Eagle to whom Ratasokr would deliver message's name is Veðrfölnir.

Veðrfölnir either refer to the name of an haw who sit between the eyes of the eagle receving Ratatoskr's messages (don't ask) or the eagle itself.

It's likely they took the Jotgun's name because of the Eagle being nameless in the first place.

Hræsvelgr has demonstrated that she would actually target Alfonse and try to kill him using her hands.

Níðhöggr

It's a weird animal describes a being a dragon, a snake or even a worm.

According to the etymology reported of its name, "níð" refers to the name given to some individual in Viking society as a marker of social stigma, implying the loss of honor.

It lives under the long and deep roots of Yggdrasil, in Náströnd, one of the place in Hel. Níðhöggr feast upon the body of the people send there, those guilty of muder, oath breaking and adultery.

Because of the message Ratatoskr transmit, he is lead to eat slowly the root of the world-tree to cause it to fall. Its arrival is hence considered a sign of Ragnarok. Its name means Malice striker.

In game Níðhöggr is presented as always getting intoxicated from eating some special "apples". However, in Norse mythology, apples are guarded in Asgard and eaten by the gods to not age, yes, in Norse mythology gods are NOT immortal nor eternally young. Not only can they be killed but they can grow old hence why they need the Golden apple kept in a garden in Asgard.

That constant state of intoxication might be a play of word. The FE wiki remarks her design is remensicent of a doctor, the same way Ratatoskr and Hræsvelgr are based on a nurse and a surgeon respectively. Snakes are used to represent the ambiguity of the greek word "pharmakon" which means both poison and medicine. The fruit she is eating from can be both a way to heal or a way to kill. The fact she is trying to poison Veronica is a reference to that considering her constant state of intoxication is poisonning her own body, but being linked to the snake, she is probably immune to that.

Eikþyrnir

It's a stag standing upon Vahalla that feast over the tree Læraðr.

It's name means "throny oak" and he is linked to Valhalla

Heiðrún 

A goat by the side of Eikþyrnir who grazes upon Læraðr's branch. She produces mead for einherjar in Vahalla.

Her name would mean "she who bring the rest"

Læraðr

It's a tree often identified with Yggdrasil, standing at the top of Vahalla. Its name is ambiguous as it can be read as either arranger of betrayal or giver of protection.

Læraðr's ambuiguous name is most likely the key of this book's theme. We have a group of Divine beast called the Healer Hands that are now trying to kill Alfonse and Veronica.

Like I mentionned earlier, medicine have this ambuguous nature of being able to heal you but can also be a deadly poison. Likewise, the incapacity to establish the proper meaning of Læraðr's name means that he is either one who protects, either one who kill, who plot, who will make other rise up against one another. After all, the book open up right with Alfonse and the Askt Guardians pondering on whether or not Embla is trying to attack them yet again, making believe that the kingdom are trying to destroy each other and plotting to kill all the remainin rulers, Alfronse, Veronica and Queen Henriette being the main target.

However Læraðr share this common trait with OG Ratatoskr who had to carry out message to the Eagle and Níðhöggr to create discord between each other and push Níðhöggr to eat the roots of Yggradisl to make it fall.

Hence this Læraðr's who used to protect other by sending his "children" to heal other all across the realms become a Læraðr plotting the ruins of the kingdoms by creating discord, like Ratatoskr did in the original myth.

Moreover, Læraðr being occasionally associated to Yggdrasil as the same being and the Divine beast being all inspired by the myth collected in the Prose of Edda, it's likely that this connection is waht inspired the choice to have Læraðr being the father of the Divine Beast and the Divine Beast being siblings to each other.

We are at book 8, each one based on the story of different kingdom however Yggdrasil bears 9 kingdoms.

This one myth is particular because it's one of the legends that lead to the event of Ragnarok or if you prefer, the end of the world.

Is it a sign that we will soon approach the end of the main story in FEH ? Or another big conflict to come.

heh, we'll see when we got the next chapter

[bonnieappleteeth]

OKAY SO genesis is a walking bible reference, every aspect of his character. his name, loveless representing the bible itself, even the connect to apples following the forbidden fruit motif. thats why when offering for sephiroth to join his side he handed him the apple.

then theres sephiroth, which fits into this narritive amazingly. he represents the tree of life, following the path of god. the forbidden fruit is grown from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, with gaining that knowledge adam and even were kicked out of the garden of eden and became mortal. so with sephiroth rejecting genesis' offer, its him rejecting mortality as a whole in a way.

sephiroth itself as a name is a play on sefirot (the 10 atteibutes surrounding infinite represented as spheres on the tree of life), so sephiroth saying "you will rot" to genesis as he rejects the fruit is likely a reference to that. a bit of a pun lmao

angeal representing an angel is more obvious. always delivering messages (the literary meaning of angel is messanger lmfao) to zack as well as being a guardian to him. thats also why his wings white while genesis and sephiroths arent. and why he never shuts up abt dreams or honor.

[wakestoriespod]

Long, long ago, in a time so distant that the oldest of us have lost its memory, there was a man, a great king who had a son. His son Elnai, was a gentle man. He spent his days in learning, music and craft and history, the statecraft of his father's rule.

When Elnai was of age to be a man, his father asked him how he would begin learning the duties of a king. The young man thought for many days on this, and finally returned to his father with an answer.

"I would see this kingdom in its whole, my father, not simply as it shows itself to a prince. I would walk its roads and meet its people without them knowing me." His voice was quiet and sure. The king nodded, pleased with his son's answer.

"Then you will do so, and you will learn what it is to be a man instead of a prince. Do you still have your old harp, the one you put aside a few years ago.?" When the prince nodded, his father continued. "Then go, my son, and take that harp with you. Clothe yourself as a humble harper, and you will know welcome anywhere within the kingdon."

Elnai smiled and bowed deeply to his father. "I will return to you, my lord, when I have seen what I need to see." He left the king's rooms and returned to his own, gathering together his harp and traveling packs. He went quickly to the marketplace and bought some clothing, well made and warm, but not as fine as his princely garb. By morning, he was ready, and with the harp and pack upon his back, he set off to see the kingdom.

Spring and summer passed quickly as the harper, calling himself Lennas, wandered the roads. Every town and village he passed called to him for news and songs and tales, and he passed nearly every evening inside an inn or tavern, surrounded by the people of his father's kingdom. When his voice was tired, he would ask one of the local storytellers to give him tales from the town, and by the end of the evening, he was one of them, a friend in the tavern.

Now it was the middle of autumn, and the wind had turned cold. Lennas found himself very far from his home city, and thinking of the coming winter. His wanderings took him to the manor house of a noble lord, where he asked humbly for a place for the winter. So distant was he from the castle that his news from there was still new, and his stories fresh. The lord welcomed him greatly, giving him a guest's place at table, and comfortable, warm rooms.

The winter began with harsh snow and wind as the harper entertained the lord, his lady, and their daughter. He wove story and tale and song each evening for them, and all their household, but soon enough it was only the daughter his thoughts were on when he sang. In his eyes, his harpstrings became her honey brown hair, the smooth wood of the instrument the smoothness of her cheek, and as his heart filled with love for her, his songs filled with magic.

Ilithe smiled on the harper, feeling the magic of his songs twine around her spirit. She spoke to her father about him, and the lord thought long and hard about the match his daughter and the harper might make. Then a message came from the king's palace that changed everything.

The harper hid while the messanger was within the manor, fearing anyone sent by the king might recognize the young prince even in disguise. He smiled, seated with his harp near the fire, making plans for when he would bring Ilithe home, to be married. His fingers drifted lovingly over the strings as he planned the day he would ask her, the day he would tell her his true name and nature, but still, he was silent on it when she entered the room. Playing harper was too comfortable, and there would be time enough later to be a prince.

There was not. Some few days after the messanger had returned to the palace, Ilithe came to him. Her face was drawn and pale as she faced the young harper and told him of her betrothal. "A great lord has asked my father for my hand, in marriage to his son." she said softly as the whisper of harpsong stilled. "It is a match none with sense would refuse.. and my parents are sensible people. It is.. a great honor." She tried to smile, but her voice was flat, her eyes filled with unshed tears. She looked for a long moment at the harper, and then sat on the stool next to him. "I would rather.."

He cut her words off with a shake of his head. "Let me sing for you, my lady, and ease the pain away. Very few of noble birth have the luxury of choosing their marriage, but.. you will find love in it. You could do naught else." His voice was hoarse as he began the singing, but soon grew warm and strong again. With his music, he stilled her twisting thoughts, and his own, and for an evening, there was peace in that small room. When the singing was done, she rose quietly, seeming calmer. He almost told her then, but any talk of marriage would have shattered the peace. "There will be time enough tomorrow." he said to himself, banking the fire and climbing into bed.

When morning came, Lennas rose and dressed quickly in his finest clothing, slipping on the signet ring he had left off for so long. He made his way quickly to the study the manor's lord spent most of his days in. Where usually there was peace, he found disarray. Lord Noral was questioning his servants urgently, and guards ran off quickly in every direction.

"My lord?" he asked quickly. Noral didn't even take the time to look at the harper before speaking.

"She's gone, Lennas. She left a letter for me, saying she wouldn't stay to marry some strange lord. Ilithe has run away."

The harper's breath caught. His heart stilled, thinking of Ilithe out alone in the wind and snow."

"If I'd only know how she'd react to being betrothed, I would never have accepted. Better to lose her to a humble harper than to the snow." Lord Noral's hands shook as he waited for word to return to him. He and the harper both paced the floor, and Lennas found himself drifting away, barely listening to Noral's words, until-

"She wouldn't even let me speak to her of Elnai. I'm told he's a gentle, good man."

The harper stopped his pacing and turned to face Noral completely. "It was Elnai who she was asked for, the prince?" When the lord nodded, he closed his eyes and drew a breath. "Bring her back, my lord. Bring her home and all will be well." He opened his eyes again, turning quickly away and going to his rooms. No music echoed in the hallway.

Days passed, and all of the guards returned from their search empty handed. Lord Noral went out to search himself, with the silent harper at his side. Together they combed the base of the winter touched mountains, one calling out her name, the other simply watching, trying as if his eyes could see through the stone. Long past where the others had given up, this pair searched together.

It was dusk when they saw her. Any darker and they would have missed the shadow against the snow. The harper, silent for days suddenly cried out and fell to his knees. He dug into the snow, freeing Ilithe's still form and lifting her up into his arms. Noral stood beside him, eyes shut against the wind. As Lennas cradled her against him, he began to sing again, a solemn, wordless cry sent out to the heavens themselves. Perhaps the heavens heard him, but Ilithe drew no breath.

Both men were silent as they returned with her body to the manor.

The harper sang at her funeral, song speaking grief that others had no way to voice. His voice was rough from the cold, choked with tears, but it drifted clearly over the snowy plains. When the singing was done, and the funeral pyre lit, only those closest heard his whispered words. "Is this what it means to be a man instead of a prince?"

The next day, Lennas the harper went to lord Noral's study once more. The mountain passes were clear, and spring was coming to the land. He stood silent before the nobleman for a moment before Noral looked up to see him. "What am I going to tell the king, and his son?" Noral asked. His face was further lined with grief, but as always, his mind was on duty.

"You need not worry my lord. I will speak to the king upon my return. It is the least I owe you." The harper's voice was quiet, tinged with an edge of bitterness Noral had never before heard it carry. He searched the young man with his eyes, shaking his head.

"What do you owe me?"

"The truth at least, for if she or you had only known it sooner, you would still have a daughter, and I a wife." Slowly, the harper drew the signet ring from his finger and placed it on the desk between them.

Noral drew the ring to him, turning it over in his hands. As recognition dawned in his eyes, so did anger. "You.. YOU are the high prince? You are the very man my daughter would die to keep from losing, and die to avoid?" His voice rose sharply. "Why did you not tell me?"

"It was a promise between myself and my father, though he had no way of knowing I would end up in this place. When Ilithe came to me, I knew not which lord she had been betrothed to. I thought.. I didn't know she would run. I thought I has time to speak." Elnai's voice was a husky whisper. "If I had known.."

"The games of princes and kings!" Noral roared, crossing the room to where the young prince stood. "Harper, be gone from my home at once. You will not pack, you will simply go from the door. If you live to see your father, tell him what this game has cost."

"My harp.." the prince began.

"Will die here, where you should. Were you any other man I would have your life for my daughter's. Instead, you will live, knowing what has been lost." Noral turned cold eyes to the harper turned prince's face for a moment more, then turned his back to him. "Go, before I call the guards."

Elnai took the ring from the desk and slipped it into a pocket. Harper he came, and harper he would go, though when he left the manor, he didn't rest or tarry, but walked until he could walk no more, then after a short rest, began again.

He reached his father's castle in a matter of weeks, worn to exhaustion from travel and cold. Soon enough, he told his father the story, and the fate of his betrothed, Ilithe. The king said nothing for a long time, simply nodding and watching his son. Finally, he rested his hand on Elnai's shoulder and sighed. "You have learned more of being a man than I ever wished. Remember her, my son, and love her for as long as you breathe. She will live in you."

The king died several years later, and his solemn son took the throne. In time he married, and his queen bore him children. All the tales of him spoke of a good king, thoughtful and caring, generous without being foolish, a king who had learned the ways of ruling well. They also spoke of the gentle king who now never sang, and rarely spoke unless he had to.

In time, age took its toll on him. His wife passed many years before him, and his son was long past old enough to take the throne. The ceremony that made his son king was brief, and quiet as ceremonies go. In the midst of the celebration, after a tender farewell, the harper Lennas again took to the roads.

Few travelled to this part of the land in winter. The manor house within the valley was all but cut off by the mountains around it. Bent with age and wind, Lennas made his way to the plains before the manor and stopped. Not far from where he stood was the outcropping of stone by which he'd found Ilithe. His steps were slow as he found the spot, then knealt on the packed snow.

Someone in the manor house, out on a winter hunt, heard the singing. The hunt was called over, several well wrapped men and their shivering dogs making their cautious way toward the source of the sound. They couldn't make out the words until they were very close... but several times, they heard the song repeated. When they finally found the old harper, he was still singing, but ice had frozen his eyes closed, and his words were slurring. The cold had long since stiffened his fingers.

"Who do you hear on the wind and who do you wait for on the ridge in the snow, in the cold of long and longer night

Your breath, a white puff in the sky Your tears, clear water frozen dry In the snow, as you watch the rising light.

I hear the whisper of my love. She calls my name. I wait to see her crossing over the snowy plain. I hear the echo of the only song our voices ever shared. I wait for her. She will melt the snow. I wait for her. She will melt the snow. I wait for her. She will melt the snow.

Come my love to your home again. Come my love and shed the ice and rain Let me sing to you beside the rising flame.

Your hands, untangling your hair. Drinking my words in with care. Let me sing to you of what our love became.

We wed in summertime, the flowers fell around us. We walked together, hand in hand under the trees. Our children played in falling leaves and we made angels in the snow. We grew old together, and you never left me. We grew old together, and you never left me. Grew old together, and you never left me.”

When the song was done this time, his voice fell still, and winter took him.

The hunters never forgot him, nor did their children, or their children's children. And if you find the manor house today, tucked away in its snowy valley, there will still be those who swear they can hear the old man, king and harper, singing his simple, final song into the wind.

[ghostly-wisteria-tea]

Alchemy have it's roots in Ancient Egypt. Heck the name itself is derived from the old Egyptian world of kmt, or Keme. Which was then passed down to become Alchemy.

So yes, I am making MCU Khonshu an expert Alchemist. Why? He is an Egyptian God and once fused with Thoth in the Heliopolis mythos. Each state tends to have their own creation story. In Thebes, Khonshu is the child god of Youth. But in the Heliopolis state where Thoth is the more central role, the two end up being so closely associated that in one story, both are the written as one god but in different forms. With Thoth transforming to Khonshu when he travels.

And in Alchemy, it is a central topic in Hermetic philoaphy that sprung up later in Roman-Egypt. The philosophy also have it's own myth god, Hermes trismegistus, a fusion of Thoth and Hermes.

Why? At that time, Egypt end up being a colony of Rome so many Roman and Greeks go there to study, and was exposed to the Thoth cult. Rome and Greeks have this habit of appropriating other gods and finding some counterpart with their own god. Like how one writer end up calling Odin as Hermes.

Hermes Trismegistus, is more Thoth than Hermes since most of Thoth's associations end up getting rehashed and used. Down to being the founder of alchemy, knowledge and have the title "Thrice Great".

So back to Khonsu and Thoth.

Thoth is the one who is very much associated with being the founder of alchemy, so I used the myth above as an inspiration to explaining how Khonshu knows Alchemy. Because of Thoth.

Khonshu was associated with Thoth already. So I used that as the inspiration for the idea that Khonshu used to live with Thoth whenever he stayed in Heliopolis, or Thoth's house.

And Thoth would make Khonshu his assistant and messanger boy. Picking up and delivering important papers, or doing errands in general Khonshu is a falcon god, and falcon can be used to send messages. The bird speed is very well known and Khonshu's name means to travel. So it just makes sense.

Khonshu is also known as the Child God, so he would be the younger of the two Moon Gods. Like a little brother.

So Khonshu end up living with Thoth enough to be familiar with the alchemical process and science by pure association and exposure. Enough that he learned it, when Thoth would try to explain and teach everything he is reading so that Khonshu won't end up clueless while the younger god was living in Thoth's house.

And it stuck for years, Khonshu have an amazing memory, proven when he remembers how the stars look centuries ago. He already knows Alchemy and won't forget the science. He is just very, very lazy and chooses not to use said knowledge unless he is stuck in a situation that needs it.

And with his divine nature, he can practically use Alchemy in highly unrealistic and fantastical ways. Like in Fullmetal alchemist where it's just borderline magic. Even successfully turn a piece of rock to a precious stones and gold but chooses not to out of pride, and it will just make people target him.

[h-a-y-a-r-a]

So, I've seen many tiktoks about how Dazai no longer has the same vibes as he used to (Ever since Chapter 101 was uploaded) But you know, I don't think that's true. If you really try to see it, then you'll realize, that Dazai has always had this manipulative traitorous (I'm pretty sure that's not how you spell that word) side to him. In the very first episode, he showed absolutely no empathy to Atsushi, even though he played around and saved him before, seemingly out of empathy/pitty.

In the second episode he manipulates Atsushi into agreeing to joind the Ada, because he would not be welcome or acceptet anywhere else, instead of telling him, they were gonna accept him and teach him what he needed to know.

In episode 5 he conveniently shows up at the crime scene, 'by accident', causes Ranpo to get the job, gives just the right hints about the port mafia and later on explains the entire crime, as if he hadn't figured it out the minute he had gotten there to Atsushi and explains to him how Ranpo is infact not gifted, because he had risked the entire job and reputation Ranpo had had, simply to figure something out he had known since he first joined (entrance exam novel).

In episode 6 he sends a message to the agency claiming to be a the Azure messanger and threatens the agency with the bomb, instead of just telling them, that it was that way

In episode 7 he conveniently gets Rokuzo to read the email he sent to the azure messanger and gets two people killed without gicing a second shit about it, while Kunikida is pretty much freaking out about it.

Then he lets himself get kidnapped by a fourteen year old girl with an ability, as if it wouldn't have been the as if they had called him asked him to come, because he wants to find out who placed the bounty, along the way he conveniently threatens the entire mafia.

Then dark era, that speeks for itself. Though I have a hard time believing Dazai followed Odas advice, because he thought of him as a friend. I think Dazai thought he might learn the meaning of existing, if he kept following Oda around, because he had such strong ideals. I think, that's the reason he initinally left the pm, because he thought, maybe following the advice would get him a reason to live. (Or he really thought of Odasaku as friend, but after his death and Angos betrayal, he realized, there was no reason in trusting and getting attach, if everything would be ripped away eventually anyways, since it had happened to him countless times before, so he decided to leave all his attachements behind, that might just be more likely)

Him dissapearing, while the whole armed detective agency is fighting against the guild and conveniently showing up to save the day.

Slapping Atsushi, manipulating Kyouka into joining, the conversation with Mori (how he didn't just somewhere along the way spill one of the main reasons Mori was keeping him alive and threatened the port mafia boss), how he and Chuuya fought against the guild, the nurse after he got shot.

I could drag this list on for probably 10.000 more words, but what I'm trying to say is. From the very beginning, Dazais morals were different, than those from the rest, even the port mafia had more sane morals than Dazai did. So, whether Chuuya and Fyodor really will be dead in the next Chapter or not, he does believe he's drowining them, no rather, he is taking the risk, that they drown, because it is a possible way to kill them.

[gemsofthegalaxy]

I have made significant progress fall-ifying my phone with a pack I downloaded from etsy for like $10 (it comes with tonnnnsss of regular colours and a selection of handdrawn icons (( the firefox, camera, etc)) for both fall and winter)

However, i have come to the realization that uhhh if i use widgets/shortcuts to change the look of my icon (sadly i cant change the icon of the app itself) then i Dont Get Notifications

Thus, i have put back my email icon, tumblr, discord, skip, and messanger.

Thankfully, i was able to find a free brown icon theme from the actual Samsung Theme Store, which will change all the default icons ( messages and whatnot), so at least I get to keep the aesthetic on my nav bar.

Any icon i dont need notifs for is getting switched tho !

[nightkarmaqueen]

It Was Love

----- It Was Love || Nokto Klein x M. Adam (OC) (ft. Licht Klein)

Summary : His war with destiny finally see the end, but at the same time, his love story must reach its end as well. Being cautious when making physical contact. And recognizing the person you love in a glance. They will be reunited, at the promised land where they can love each other to no end.

WC : 2314 words.

Warning : Grammar errors, pure angst w/o comfort, major character spoiler, major death, mention of cigarettes, using form of Original Character, Honkai Impact references, Genshin Impact references, Your Throne references, etc.

A/N : How shameless am I, dissapearing then came back with something. Nah, I missed this couple so much, really. I wrote this in the middle of my chaotic college schedule. I wrote this as my THR for @devonares​. I wrote this before I read your post a couple days ago, so I’m sorry. But please ENJOY~!

     TWINS. A symbol of bad luck. They say it was the sign of devil and an evil omen itself. A symbol of the first and final phase of human; life and death.

     If that was indeed the case, then Nokto Klein would happily take himself on as the symbol of the last phase of human; death. And he wasn't joking about his choice.

     “Message from the front-lines. Lord Kain made it! The enemy troops retreated from the southwest border!”

     Sariel nodded as he took the report paper from the messanger. “Lord Kain just sent us the report. He will be returning to the capital in 8 hours after he settle everything down at the border and his tribe. He—”

     Seven pairs of eyes stared at the Sixth Prince of Rhodolite who suddenly stood up from his seat. "Licht, what's wrong?" Yves asked.

     Licht glanced at the empty seat beside him. “I need to go. I need—”

     "Licht, you need to calm down." Leon reminded his brother. “You must want to tell him about this news yourself.”

     Licht was silent for a moment. But without holding him back, they let him go to see his brother. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the hall, making the his ears ring painfully.

     “Nokto!” Licht almost slammed the door of his twin room. “Adam made it! You'll get to see him again once he gets back to the capital!”

     Nokto Klein sat weakly on his bed. The color and light in his crimson eyes began to fade. His breath was shaking and sounded so heavy.

     "Good. He kept himself alive … But I'm afraid, Licht, mother seems to have missed me a lot.” Nokto stared at Licht blankly. He chuckled in a hoarse voice. "Well, I think mother will get what she wanted now."

     Nokto's hand rose, searching for Licht who was kneeling beside his bed. Licht automatically grabbed his brother's hand. Nokto whispered, weak smile on his face, "I'm afraid I won't be here to see him again."

     Licht’s blood-colored eyes widened, not expecting what Nokto had just said. He frowned, actually trying to shook his fear away. "What are you saying?! Let me get the court phy—”

     But before Licht could stand up, Nokto grabbed his hand, holding the sixth prince back. "You don't have to. That won't work to me anymore."

     “Nokto… The illness…” Now Licht realized why Nokto's gaze wasn't straight on him. He also realized why Nokto's hand seemed to be searching for him earlier.

     “Licht, I'm… dying.” Still with a weak smile, Nokto tried to reach Licht's face and rub it gently. “My eyes are already failing me. I can't even see your face…”

     They found a chronic illness in Nokto's body which was most likely passed down from his mother. Unlike Licht, the epigenome in Nokto's DNA has very low tolerance for an illness like this. This makes Nokto have to suffer from the deadly pain.

     Licht's grip on Nokto's hand grew tighter. Nokto noticed how Licht was clenched his jaw as if he was holding something back. "Don't blame yourself, Licht. Although, I should also say that to Adam. He will smoke more cigarettes and destroy his lungs faster.”

     “I left three letters along with my will in Sariel's hands. One for you, one for Adam, and the other one is for King Highness," Nokto continued.

     “Why did you write to Chevalier too?” Licht asked, his hand still stroking Nokto's hand.

     And Nokto whispered with a weak smile, “I had to make sure Cainhorus remained a part of Rhodolite. I wanted to make sure Rhodolite could become a home for Adam and his family, and his tribe.”

     “At the letter I sent him these past few days, I told him that I was getting better, but I lied. He will now be all alone, Licht. I wanted to be reunited with him in the place he always believed in after someone died,” he continued.

     Tears fell from Nokto's beautiful eyes. The seventh prince took a deep breath. “Promise me this, Licht. You must always make sure he doesn't regret a single thing about my death. He still has a lot of people to take care of before he can destroy himself.”

     Realizing Nokto's hand were getting stiff and heavy, Licht immediately strengthened his grip. "You don't have to worry about that. Adam is a friend of mine as well. I promise to always look out for him.”

     Hearing that, a pained smile touched Nokto’s lips. “Thank you, Licht, for being a brother of mine, for everything.” Nokto took a deep breath and closed his ruby-colored eyes, hiding those beautiful gems eyes from the rest of the world. The world didn’t know that those crimson eyes will never be found again.

     “For Rhodolite, secure Cainhorus, and… Adam.”

     Nokto’s hand fell from Licht’s face. For a moment Licht felt his breath stop, so do his heart’s beating. His telepathy and intuition as Nokto's twin are very strong. Instantly his chest felt so tight, Licht was having a hard time breathing.

     “Nokto…?”

     Noticing the silence that answered him, Licht stood up from his kneeling position. He laid Nokto down on his bed. His hands trembled and tears silently trickled down his face. But in a calm and steady voice, Licht announced, “Spread the words, that His Highness the Seventh Prince of Rhodolite, Nokto Klein, has passed away.”

∘◦ ✂ ————–✂ ◦∘

Cainhorus, Southwest Border of Rhodolite…

     Adam sat cross-legged in front of an elder of Yasph. After stopping the conflict at the border, Adam had to make sure his tribe was okay. An old woman served Adam a cup of tea. The Marquis of Cainhorus thanked the woman.

     Just as Adam about to lift the cup, a cracking sound was heard. The voice was small, but to his ears, it sounded very clear and deafening. Cracks appeared to damage the beautiful marble glass.

     "Truly, we belong to the God," said the elder as he took a sip of his tea. "You have to repent more, young lad."

     Adam's heart was already filled with a bad feeling. He became so restless for no reason. “God, I ask for Your forgiveness,” Adam whispered as he clenched the front of his clothes.

     “Brother.”

     Adam turned towards the door, to find the youngest Lord of Kain standing at the door. Adam couldn't read his brother's expression, but the frown on his face made Adam even more worried. Adam noticed how his youngest brother had a hard time getting what he wanted to say—something very important it seemed.

     "Elijah, What's wrong?" Adam took the initiative to ask.

     Elijah narrowed at Adam straight in the eye. “Words from palace.”

     Realizing what the elder meant before, Adam's eyes opened wide. Without a second thought, Adam immediately stood up and rushed out, shouldering Elijah who was stand still at the door.

     “Truly, we belong to the God,” Elijah sighed, knowing exactly what will happen to his brother after that.

∘◦ ✂ ————–✂ ◦∘

     If he had more time, Adam would have told him everything that even if Nokto had changed bodies and souls, he was still the only one Adam would sacrifice his life to protect. Adam thought he was away for a little while. Now he regrets it that he didn’t keep his eyes on Nokto during his painful days.

     All white. Everything he saw before him was all white. White roses, pale white skin, and suddenly everything around Adam was an infinite white. Everything was colorless, as if it was the reflection of his heart. Empty.

     "Oh." Adam noticed a child with his back to him. The boy wore an all-white outfit and his hands seemed to be playing with the roses in Nokto's casket.

     Once again Adam stopped. He felt there was something familiar about the young lad. The boy just had to turn around and Adam would have all the answers he needed.

     "It can't be him. He's far too short and young to be Prince Nokto." The boy seemed very close, but Adam had difficulty reaching him. “Even if that child's hair matches Prince Nokto's…”

     Seeing the boy pulling a rose from the coffin, Adam tried to stop him. "Wait, you can't—"

     But before Adam could reach the boy, a woman stopped him. The woman seemed to be protecting the boy who was still playing with roses around Nokto's body.

     The woman was clad in pure white cloth. Her skin was very pale compared to other women Adam had met. Her dusty-blond hair looked very distinctive and her ruby-colored eyes shone like gems.

     "You are..." Adam widened his eyes when he realized who the woman in front of him was. “Lady Anita…” As if struck by a déja vu, Adam's gaze immediately turned to the boy behind Lady Anita's back. “Then, that young lad must be… Prince Nokto…?”

     The boy finally turned around, showing his face to Adam. The curiosity that kept swirling in Adam's mind was finally answered. However, Adam was even more confused with himself. What kind of situation is he in right now?

     “Being cautious when making physical contact. And recognizing the person you love in a glance.” Lady Anita murmured softly. “Do you love Prince Nokto, Lord Kain?”

     Seeing little Nokto playing with the white rose he pulled from the casket, Adam sighed. A painful smile appeared on his face. "Strange, is it?" he murmured. “I don't even know what kind of feelings I had for His Highness all this time.”

     Adam never thought he would feel such a warm and disgusting feeling. All just because a prince he met, suddenly came to test his loyalty, then disappeared when he had got all the loyalty he wanted. Not only for Rhodolite, Adam set aside a place in his heart for that man.

     “What you asked me, Lady Anita, was indeed a vague question.” Adam looked away. "I don't even know what this feeling is all about."

     Because of that, Adam didn't notice the movements of the boy who had previously played with the rose in Nokto's coffin. The boy put down the rose he was playing with and walked over to Adam.

     The boy's steps seemed to float above the void until he leveled his height with Adam's gaze. The boy smiled. "It was love."

     Hearing that, Adam snapped and turned his eyes to the young lad. Adam found the boy smiling very familiarly. Once again he muttered in a surprisingly soft tone, "It was love, Adam."

     It was then that Adam noticed the warmth on his forehead. The boy kissed Adam's forehead, causing him to freeze on the spot. “It was… love?” Adam questioned himself.

     The boy pulled himself up and cupped Adam's cheeks with his tiny hands. His crimson eyes looked at Adam with tenderness. He nodded, confirming the answer Adam had just found from him.

     Not long after, the boy released his contact with Adam and returned to his feet on the colorless ground. The boy grabbed Lady Anita's hand with his tiny ones. He smiled at her as if he was asking her to go somewhere.

     But before that, the boy stopped like he had just remembered something. He looked back at Adam and smiled. "Let us meet again in the promised land, Adam."

     Before Adam knew it, his hand was trying to reach the boy again. “Please, wait a second! I—”

     “Brothers!”

     Adam flinched. He was thrown back to reality. The entire white room around him faded, bringing back the sadness atmosphere around. Adam stared at the man lying in the casket quietly, as if he were asleep.

     “Brother, what’s wrong with you?!”

     Adam turned his head to find his youngest sister with a worried expression. Behind his sister, the Sixth Prince of Rhodolite stood in clothes that were quite darker than the outfit he usually wore. Licht looked at the youngest Lady of Kain with an equally worried look. “What are you thinking? Your sister has repeatedly called you."

     Adam's dark eyes stared at the young woman before him. "I'm sorry," he whispered, fixing the black brocade veil that covered his sister’s head. “It seems I was too absorbed into my own world.”

     After finishing the business with his sister, Adam and Licht found themselves standing in front of Nokto's casket again. In his hands, Adam held several pieces of paper along with the envelope. A comfortable silence enveloped the two of them.

     “You were there with him when he uttered his last words. What did he say to you?” Adam took the initiative to break the silence.

     For a moment Licht was silent, not trying to remember what Nokto said at the end of his life, but trying to get rid of all the pain he felt at that time. If Licht had to admit it, all the horrors from that day still haunted him.

     Licht looked up at the stained glass panels rising high above. "He said something about securing Cainhorus for Rhodolite's sake, and you." Once again Licht was silent before he continued, “I asked your sister about this earlier, and I was met with an understanding. He wants to be reunited with you in the afterlife or something.”

     Adam could only chuckle weakly and painfully. "How persistent," he muttered. The marquis turned on his heels and walked away. “One day, I think I can make those words come true.”

     “Where do you think you’re going?” Licht asked the man.

     Adam reached into his pocket and lifted the cigarette case and lighter, showing those items to Licht without turning to him. “I need to smoke away my pain. Don't bother yourself by searching for me.”

     Licht stared at the man until he disappeared around the corner of the hall. The seventh prince sighed before he looked back at Nokto. "Look at that lover of yours, Nokto. How could that even possibly to stop him?”

See you at the next works! Have a nice day/night!

[novaviis]

Snaibsel Renaissance Fair AU

Part One. 

@ghost-in-the-stalls briefly mentioned snaibsel going to renfairs like months ago in my inbox and my dumb gay brain latched onto it like a corvid to a shiny piece of tinfoil, and now it’s a full-on au. 

Artemis is a former high school dropout, got her GED, troubled past, the whole deal. She's on the mend, trying to earn money to go to college. Doing really well for herself. She just got a job at the local Renn Fair for the summer. Not thrilled about it at first, but it's something, right? She’s decent on horseback, so she’s got that under her belt already (her Dad was obsessed with training her and her sister in every sport on fucking Earth, along with some more… nonconventional ones.) She’s been hired to ride in the jousting tournaments and give snot-nosed little kids horse rides around a little circle, shit like that. She’ll give it a trial run for a week or two, at least until she finds something better.

Zee is a bit of a veteran at the Fair already as a Sorceress. This absolute powerhouse of a woman in full renaissance garb, like Morticia Addams and Morgan le Fay were mixed together in one 5’5” bombshell. She runs the magic show, held every weekend on the jousting field for the crowd of wide-eyed spectators in the stands. She’s no amateur magician, that’s for sure. She’s not pulling bunnies out of hats or pulling off cheap illusions.

Artemis stays behind from her orientation on her first day to watch the show – mostly because he brother in law isn’t picking her up until later and she needs to kill time. She’s heard of this “Sorceress Zatanna” show, but hasn’t really seen her yet. She’s sitting in the front row, amused enough opening act of musicians and the Fair Jester to not be completely bored, but she’d definitely checking her phone for the whole show to be over.

And then Zatanna comes on. She owns the stage set up on the patchy grass immediately. In the torchlights she really sells the whole medieval vibe (the extra florescent lights and the microphone kind take points away from authenticity but they’re easy enough to ignore). Zatanna starts off small. She pulls a crow out of her sleeve and releasing it, having it swoop at the crowd for some thrills before perching on her shoulder. She takes a broomstick and makes it levitate several feet off the ground, even sitting on it and raising it higher. At one point, Artemis looks down at her phone and sees Roy texting that he’ll be there in 20 minutes. As she’s putting her phone back into her sweater though, she looks up and Zatanna is right there. In front of her, at the edge of the stand, grinning back at her. Claims that since someone is obviously not satisfied enough with her show, she’ll make it a little more emersive. Before Artemis can say now, Zatanna is taking her hand and guiding her out into the centre of the field and the rickety wooden stage. Artemis can barely see the faces of the crowd anymore, but she can feel them all watching her and it’s more than a little unnerving.

Zatanna pulls out a deck of cards that Artemis vaguely identify as Tarot. She announces to the audience that she’s going to give her new friend here a reading. Artemis picks four cards out of the deck and Zatanna spreads them out on the table, and turns the first three over.

Judgement, Ace of Cups reversed, and The Star.

There’s a bit of a pause on Zatanna’s face as she reads the cards, before she smiles fleetingly and looks up at Artemis – for a half second too long, if only because Artemis can’t breathe through it. Finally, though, Zatanna announces her reading. “Your past has been clouded by harsh Judgement, from others, from those close to you, and mostly from yourself. You’ve been binding to what people have expected of you. Your present, however, reveals a new sense of self-love and intuition. Though you still struggle with repressed emotions, this card shows progress….” Zatanna stops there, and looks up at Artemis. “Hitting the mark?”

“Yeah,” Artemis shrugs a little nervously, echoed by the laugher of the crowd. “A little too close.”

Zatanna raises her hands. “Don’t shoot the messanger. I only read the cards,” she smiles. “Your third card predicts the future, with the path you are on right now. The Star represents renewal – in hope, in faith, and in purpose. So, at least you know you’re on the right track. This last card, however…” She picks up the card and shows it face out to Artemis without looking at it herself. “Is a message directly to you, and overall look at who you are at heart. And,” with a grin, she flicks her fingers and the card vanishes in a puff of violet smoke, “it will only reveal itself to you.”

The crowd applauds the slight of hand, and Artemis is left a little perplexed as Zatanna calls for more applause for her assistant, before allowing her to go back to her seat. Artemis does slink back to the stands, but not without a few glances back over her shoulder, still wondering what just happened.

After that, Zatanna is done with the small tricks. Evidently, the tarot reading was a bit of a halftime show. She pulls out the grander illusions, vanishing from the stand only to reappear in the balcony reserved for the “King and Queen” of the Fair, who play along in delight as Zatanna steals a bottle of mead and reappears in another burst of smoke back on the stage. She chants in a strange tongue, that almost sounds like backwards English, before each trick. Artemis is completely entranced. Zatanna finishes the show by telling a story of an ancient witch who was so powerful and feared that it took a King’s entire army to take her down. Before she was burnt at the stake she put a curse on the King’s most valued treasure – the very Chalise that the Knights fought for at the Fair every summer. The King’s soul was bound to the Chalise, and the curse would only be lifted once one she deemed worthy won it.

To prove to any “doubters” that the story was true, she has the Chalise itself appear on the clothed table in the centre of the stage. Then, with all the fanfare of a grand finale, she chants a spell that causes all of the torches and electric lights to go out in one burst. Once the thrilled shrieks of the crowd have died down, a glowing figure remerges out of the Chalise from the pitch darkness, taking the form of an undead King. The figure rises into the air and flies over the crowd, until Zatanna “seals” it back into the Chalise. Cue all the torches reigniting and the lights coming on, to the standing ovation of the crowd. Artemis remains seated, honestly still blown away by the show.

She hadn’t thought that this place had that big of a budget for special effects, damn.

With the rest of the crowd on their feet and slowly beginning to shuffle out of the Fairgrounds, Zatanna takes her bow and makes her exit – but not before looking back to Artemis and giving her a little wink. Artemis, still confused as ever, doesn’t think much of it beyond wow. She joines the rest of the crowd in heading out of the grounds, through a long forest path to the parking lot were Roy was waiting to get her.

An hour later, as she’s taking her clothes off to get into her pajamas, she sits on her bed and pulls her socks off – only for something to fall out and slip under her bed. She hadn’t even felt it there. Artemis reaches under her bed for it, expecting a leaf or something from the stable where she’d been getting acquainted with the horses.

It’s a tarot card.

Artemis sits there, on her bedroom floor, holding the little card in her hand. The gold foil catches the light of her bedside lamp. She’s too dumbfounded to really react at first, but as she turns it over to see the Queen of Swords, her mind absolutely spins with every possible way Zatanna could have pulled off that trick without her noticing.

Artemis can barely sleep that night. She spends an hour sitting in bed just staring at the card like it’s going to give her the answers. How the hell did she do that?

[un-kn-own-blogs]

Me, myself and I - Ch. 2

< Previous | Next >

Your eyes shot open in and instant. Strong, heavy breaths escaped you. Scanning the back of your head with your hand like you were looking for something. An injury. Hair loss. But there was nothing. It wasn't clear as to why, but you could have sworn someone had just shot you. Your ears were still ringing, and your stomach felt like it was twisting and turning. You felt sick. About to burst into tears even. Frantically you turned your gaze around, crowds of people were there, some catching a glimpse of you, their faces told you they must have thought you were some kind of freak. Nothing unusual. You looked into your hands.

 In a matter of seconds you threw the oh so familiar object away. Panic was rising up inside of you. You were drained with sweat, your heavy breaths sounding like you just ran a marathon. All of this seemed like a déjà vu to you. The phone, the people, your fear. For a few moments you just stood there, your feet fixated into the ground. Nothing is what you heard. Maybe something similar to white noise. A woman then picked up and offered you the phone back. Her voice echoed through your ears as she brought you back to reality. "Excuse me miss, you dropped your phone." She smiled, friendly but nervous. She must have had seen you had very much slammed it into the ground, but decided to still try and be nice about it.

You had to hold your hand back from slapping it out of the other female's hands. Instead, you took it gratefully with shaky hands and thanked the woman. As soon as you took the phone back into your care you slapped yourself inwardly. You could have just said it didn't belong to you. Why were you so stupid. You glanced at the small device in your hands. It now had lots of tiny scratches, as well as a crack that dragged itself through the screen. It still turned on though.

You didn't know what to expect. You had a bad feeling about keeping it, but the same was with leaving it. Fiddling with it for a few more moments you decided to turn it on. It had no lock, no security measures. You weren't sure if that was normal, you never owned a phone to care about it after all.

The phone barely had anything on it. No social media, no games, not even a camera. No information to the owner of the phone. You searched around for a few more minutes until a certain app caught your attention. 

RFA Messenger.

You had never heard of that. Was it a game? It sounded a bit sketchy, but this wasn't your phone anyways, so you decided to open it. The screen started to display a bunch of numbers, words and symbols you didn't understand quickly moving across it, before you knew it a chatroom appeared. Unknown has entered the chatroom. No username. The person didn't even have an icon either. Was this a bot or an actual person?

Unknown: Can you see this?

What a weird question.

_____: Yes, I can.

It startled you a bit, that the app had your name and a picture, although you didn't remember putting anything in. You just shook it off without another thought and continued your conversation with the stranger.

He told you he had found a lost phone, just like you did. And-- he wanted you to go to an address and leave a note for the owner. Yeah... Not happening. You turned his request down in the most friendly way possible. You didn't want to do it, even after he sent you a picture of him, he was cute, but you didn't agree. You weren't going to let some person you've talked to for ten minutes over a messanger app lead you into some random persons apartment. There was nothing you could gain from it either, so why even do it in the first place? To be a good person? Totally.

_____: Sorry, but I can't do that right now.

He didn't lose his persistence. He almost begged you to do it. It was ridiculous. 

After another short while of trying to convince you, you finally gave in. It was just a small note that needed to be left behind. You'd be done in a second. Maybe a last good deed wasn't such a bad idea.

_____: Alright. Send me the address.

 The place looked incredibly fancy. At least to you- You were used to a standard much below this one. The owner of the phone was probably a lot wealthier than you. 

As you took the elevator up the establishment you felt a bad feeling starting to form in your gut. It seemed surreal to you. Why was all of this so strange to you? You ignored the signs and looked forward on your way. Stepping out into the hallway you looked at the phone again. It was the right floor, you were able to find the apartment quickly as well. Before continuing any further you contacted Unknown again, who seemed to have already grown impatient.

Unknown: Are you there? ^^ See. Nothing strange.

Unknown: Is there a password lock on the door?

A password lock? You glanced at the door. He was right. There was one. But, how did he know that? You felt the bad feeling from before rising up again. Maybe you really shouldn't have come here.

_____: Hmm. Don't see one.

Was this the right choice to do? Lie your way out of there? 

Unknown: Are you sure? ^^;; Try looking again.

Although you didn’t like this guy, it felt like it wasn’t a good choice to mess with him. Who knew what he could do? Or who he really was? Maybe he really just wanted to find the owner of the lost phone, but you couldn't know.

_____: JK. It's here. 

It would be done before you knew it. It's not like there was a bomb in that apartment.

Unknown: Haha, you're pretty funny. Here's the code.

You slowly typed in the digits of the code Unknown had sent you. At the last number you stopped in your tracks, your finger hovering over the button. Dread filled you. Finally, you remembered why all of this looked so incredibly strange to you. 

The lost phone. Unknown. The apartment. RFA.

You had lived through this day once already. Or was it a dream? You heard something about psychic dreams, but you usually thought of them as complete nonsense. Despite your former beliefs on the topic though, this felt too real to ignore. You froze in this position a few more seconds before the phone in your hand made a short sound, notifying you about a new message from Unknown.

Unknown: And? Did you get inside?

He was awfully... Impatient.

_____: Give me a minute.

A quiet clicking sound echoed through the hall as you pushed down the last button for the code. The door was unlocked. You slowly made your way inside. As soon as you stood there, in the middle of the apartment you could see the screen of the phone changing drastically, a somewhat disorted ringing bringing up the memory of all this. This. You were getting redirected to the real RFA chatroom. Just a few seconds later you could observe Yoosung, Seven, Zen, Jumin and Jaehee all in one chatroom. Everyone was there. Well, almost everyone.

You felt bad for Yoosung when he talked about his college experience, which was kind of weird. You were sure you didn't care, but somehow, the blonde had caught your attention with it.

After a few more exchanging of messages between them they realized a stranger had entered their chatroom you decided to go with the innocent way. Act like you're just as confused as them. But this time, you weren't. It felt strange to you, they all introduced themselves, and you still knew perfectly who they were. Zen, the uprising musical actor, Yoosung, the game addicted college student, cat-loving Jumin Han and his overworked assistant Jaehee Kang- and of course, the mysterious hacker 707, also called Luciel Choi. You had almost forgotten about V, but the memory of him came back to you eventually as well.

Everyone left the chatroom a while later, you were now officially a member of the RFA, at least, that's what you thought. You laid down on the bed in the back of the apartment, frowning up into the ceiling. You had such a horrible headache- You desperately needed to sort out your thoughts. 

All of this was like a life you've already lived before, but that was impossible, right? Maybe you really had a psychic dream, there was no other explanation to it. Still though, you didn't want to stay there. You just wanted to leave. There was not even a little spark of interest inside your mind, to invite some people to a charity party. You didn't care. 

The sudden short sound from earlier tore you out of your thoughts. A new chatroom opened. Yoosung was online. You smiled when you saw the familiar name pop up. A warm feeling starting to form in your gut.

Yoosung has entered the chatroom.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

“I’ve been in this field for 48 years and there are a couple of things I’ve never changed my mind about.  As human beings, we have a great deal more ability to change ourselves from the inside out than anyone ever taught us when we were kids.  It is my fond hope that all the work that has developed in the field of bodywork and massage therapy and somatics [because I really identify myself with a much larger field, which is the study of the body, of the psycho-emotional system - the study of the interconnectedness of everything about us being alive and our ability to change ourselves] will continue to demonstrate that as long as we have sufficient information [and I really see the body waiting for new information with which to reconstruct itself] - as long as you are alive your body is capable of adapting.  If you give the body positive information it will adapt in a positive direction. 

I have developed this piece of work called Neuromuscular Reprogramming.  It’s not just about function although it reprograms coordination, but it’s about the whole integration of the system and how you can’t really teach a body new tricks until you resolve the trauma effect that is in the neurologic messange-ing that is interacting with our brains.

So if you start bodywork there and clear out that effect [and it doesn’t really that that long, depending on the severity of the trauma] you can then begin the job of reprogramming the actual coordination system.

My friend Mark C. sent me a text message out in the middle of the Nevada desert at Burning Man.  There I was in this magnificent temple where everybody’s sadness is brought to be offered up - The Deep Sadness Of the World - that I feel every time I put my hands on someone’s body that is vastly disorganized that’s costing them some of the joy, some of the energy with which they could be living their life and I am grateful to my friend Mark C. for offering me up the opportunity to be in the bodywork Hall of Fame.  

I am very honored to be part of that.  I was very touched when I got that message.  I burst into tears.

So - let me say a message about one of the things I discovered on my path.  Everything I undertook to do there was nobody or nothing obstructing me.  There was only the whole Universe contributing to making that outcome happen.  And whatever you dream that you can do, go for it.

Jocelyn Olivier - Founder of Neuromuscular Reprogramming                     Massage Therapy Hall of Fame Induction Cherokee N.C. May 7, 2019

[edenial]

I've fallen behind... what the heck is going in with twenty one pilots?? Did something new happen? I know about the tower and basically all about the first update whenever that happened, can't remember, but I know nothing about the newest stuff

okay you need to catch up on a lot, let me tell you and link you everthing you need to know

so, first thing you need to know is that the eye closed in 7 pictures, and that in each update there is something corallating to the lyrics in those pictures.

we have now had 6 updates. the pictures of the eye closing were published on the 6th of july last year, and since music releases by fueled by ramen tend to be on fridays (and would you look at that this friday is the 6th of july what a coincidence right) i just went ahead and assumed that we’re gonna get the seventh update this friday.

the first was finding the site : you’ll have to come and find me

the second was the clancy letter “you’re still sleeping” : my pretty sleeper

the third was a cheetah gif: the eye pic was a slowtown lyric, and the song also has the lyrics “we’re going too fast” i mean you see where im going with this

the forth clue was the title of the photo of 21 men “not my only friend”: the lyrics were from truce

the fifth one was the gif of a vulture (not actually blinking): nobody dreams when they blink

the sixth is associated with the first sentence in clancys double-sided poem “a lifeless light surrounds us each night” : remember the morning is when night it dead

the seventh being and now i just sit in silence, i assume silence is gonna be the name for a single or the album itself because of the reasons i wrote on my post.

I’m gonna put the keep reading thing here because this post will be a bitch to scroll past. so many things to talk about, so buckle tf up.

so yeah, this is the basic structure of these hints and updates. between these main hints we got a lot of cryptic clues, huge dog-bones and reward-treats.

you already know about the first clue which was finding the site.

after that we got an update on the site with the letter from clancy. some words had letters that were missing, which spelled out “you’re still sleeping”, hence the my pretty sleeper lyric. this basically means the eyes still closed i guess, no biggie.

the third was this wonderful cheetah gif code-named 3lurr

people have found that in 2012 the TOP twitter posted this:

so obviously the cheetah has a meaning here. as people tried to find out what this gif was about they also figured out where its from. It’s from a movie called “Duma”. Yeah, Duma, like Dema. mind. blown. i know.  and it’s about this boy that finds a baby cheetah. Turns out Duma is also a Russian council set up by Nicholas II. (*ahem* Nico). Isn’t it amazing when things fit in like a pre-planned puzzle?

names are very central here since you probably know the 9 names in the middle of the dema map from the first update. the next person we’ll talk about is andré weil.

André Weil is the guy cropped out of the photo of the little kid. He’s a french  mathematician. He basically invented the Ø with 9 people. 9 bishops, 9 circles, 9 mathematicians.. you see what I’m digging into here? Also, the null sign (null means Zero) means absence, empty (aka silence? no?)

P.S: this dude also claimed that he “mathematically proved that God is real”. and as if all of this was planned for years, he worked on the concept of uniform space (SILENCE GIVES YOU SPACE) and stuff with a dude named Nicholas Bourbaki. yep, another Nico.

Something about this guy named Nico, (which then turned out to also be in a song title: Nico and the Niners - remember those 9 guys i just mentioned?) keeps appearing everywhere. In the cheetah gif 3lurr we talked about there have been letters literally moving too fast. when someone slowed it down they found it said “You still don’t know his name do you?” and “Nico Nico” (Nicholas II. remember?). Idk what other people think but i think this might be about the narrator of this album (clancy) and his adversary (nico) maybe? Like tyler and blurry where Nico is our winner and Clancy the dying man? Or maybe Nico is the leader of the nine and Clancy is an ally? not enough hints to understand it yet, at least for me. maybe Clancy is not his only friend? idk

Quick side-note: Nico (Niko) means victory of the people, basically a war hero in greek. Thats very interesting isn’t it. I thought so too.

The other song title leaked is Jumpsuit. Nico and The Niners and Jumpsuit were both found on the PPL Repertoire List, which lists all copyrighted songs for artists. (It’s been removed now, probably to protect song leaks.) The new Panic! at the Disco song titles had also been on here i think abt 2 weeks before the Say Amen video got posted. So in our case it would mean that we get a new Single around the 13th of July. Since they are both Fueled by Ramen bands, it could be that they have this protocol with every single they release.

Then we got 2 major updates, major because we finally literally heard from Tyler.

The thing is now it seems we are going back to where it all started, to the play, the war in it, 1939 (also the number of likes on their twitter, just saying). in the site dmaorg.info we now have a new picture of 21 people (who look a lot like those textbook soldiers looking over graves in the trenches that you see in WW2 might i add) in the same position the vultures are. it really feels like this is gonna be a going back to the origins, to the slow and deep self-titled times. to remember where the name came from, and to honor it. there are so many nodds to the play its impossible not to think about self-titled.

i saw an interview where tyler said he wanted to focus more on lyrics and make something less fun and dancey, and more like the self-titled album. with much better production of course. maybe thats why i have all of this in my mind.

Now, since we know that even image names are important clues, and that the photo has the title“__n_ot_myo_nly_fri_en d” under it, we took the image name of this photo of 21 men and entered it into the website just like we did with the violation code. and jackpot. bulls-eye. it led to a video. it doesn’t sound like anything remotely transcribable. i know. so, of course, it needs to be sped up and reversed.

some people heard “we are perdidos” which means “we are lost”, but in a minute you’ll see why this is not the case.

PS: the code, 2018_514_3_8 also spells out TRENCH which ties in with the whole war theme that I mentioned above.

next two updates are the vulture gif (named i as in eye -  look at it not blinking)

and the second clancy letter (named reverse in reverse i mean come on)

clancy’s letter is scarily depressing and sad. but more importantly it starts with the line “a lifeless light surrounds us each night”. like the sixth clue suggests, ‘remember the morning is when night is dead.’ dead light, and dead night.

if you obey tyler and reverse the letter sentence by sentence, it still makes absolute sense and changes its meaning. and its kinda insane that they actually did this.

Another thing we got was this image with just a yellow strip and some numbers.

If you put that yellow strip over the double-sided poem you get the words “we are banditos”, portuguese for ‘we are bandits’. now the reverse message actually makes some fucking sense because its exactly what tyler said. told you you’d get it in a minute.

the numbers create 2018_514_3_8, meaning tylers message was in fact this sentence.

the sixth being lyrics from message man, i have a feeling clancy is the message man. the message man being the messanger between dema and the people outside? and nico is maybe a name for silence? the nine bishops maybe being 9 helpers of blurry and silence being an ally for blurry? blurry being dema? i really have no idea i really dont know.

this is it as far as i remember. i hope you are fully uodated now. welcome back to hiatus hell!

[katemcgarry]

Junior Messanger - 17/02/22

Junior Messanger: https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2021/12/10/junior-messenger/

Directed By: Azeem Bhati

Duration: 7 minutes

Junior Messager depicts the struggle of a junior doctor at the height of the covid-19 pandemic calling the relatives of patients.

The pandemic has occupied our lives for almost two years, and it is hard not to view the situation on a global scale, with news outlets bombarding us with large amounts of statistics and updates from across the world.

Junior Messanger does a compelling job of bringing the pandemic back down to an individual perspective.

The film is straightforward in tone and aesthetics; we see one side of a conversation as the doctor calls the husband of a patient. But it is this simplicity and restraint used in the depiction of the pandemic which provides such a devastating emotional punch. There is no overwhelming statics here; it is just pure human connection.

At times the film rides the line of cliche and indulgent sentiment, but Hussania Raja's performance gives the film a very grounded feel. Her performance is subtle and yet powerful, as we can see the weight of her responsibility. The conversation with the husband begins confrontational as Hussania struggles against the husband's fear and frustration. Still, the flow of the dialogue naturally ends in a place of understanding and compassion.

The film is simple in its execution; there are 12 shots in the film, and this is the true testament to the director letting the work speak for itself.

[cladust]

আমি তো আগেই বলেছি, #হোয়াটস‌অ্যাপ, #টেলিগ্রামের মত মেসেঞ্জার #প্রাইভেসির নামে জোক ছাড়া কিছু নয়। হোয়াটস্‌অ্যাপের এন্ড-টু-এন্ড এনক্রিপশন আসল #এনক্রিপশনের নামে একটা শ্যাম আর জোক, কারণ যেখানে এন্ড-টু-এন্ড এনক্রিপশনে লোকাল ডিভাইসেই কোন সার্ভারের ইনফ্লুয়েন্স ছাড়াই ডিক্রিপশন করা সম্ভব সেখানে হোয়াটস‌অ্যাপ সুরক্ষার মিথ্যা কথা বলে নিজেদের সার্ভার আর সিস্টেম ইন্টেলিজেন্সে ডিক্রিপশন কি স্টোর করে রাখে আর যে যাকে যা মেসেজ পাঠায় তা মাঝ রাস্তায় হোয়াটসঅ্যাপ পড়ে ও লগ মানে স্টোর করে। আর সেইসব তথ্য হোয়াটসঅ্যাপ টেলিগ্রামের মত কম্পানি অন্যান্য কম্পানিকে ও সরকার প্রশাসনের কাছে বিক্রি করে। এটাই বাস্তব আর এটা আজ আরো একবার প্রমাণ কনফার্মড হয়ে গ্যাল। 🤔

এভাবেই জামাল খাশোগির মত সাংবাদিকদের পরিকল্পিতভাবে খুন করা হয়।

I told you before messangers like #Whatsapp and #Telegram are jokes in the name of #privacy. Whatsapp's End-To-End encryption is a sham and a joke on #encryption itself, because when it's absolutely possible and right way for an app to decrypt messages and information in local system and local device without influence of an outside server.. in this case whatsapp servers.. whatsapp deliberately lies and by showing false excuse of 'security' keeps your all decryption keys to it's internal servers and in system intelligence. And using those keys whatsapp eavesdrops, reads and logs every message that every single of it's users sends to each other.. every single message that goes through them! And then companies like Whatsapp an Telegram sells those information to other companies and government administrations. Again this has been confirmed and proved today.

This is how journalistists like Jamal Khashoggi got murdered. pre-planned.

https://youtu.be/4ieCCkcT-JI

[mycove01]

Chatfuel Alternative

Chatbots have been establishing themselves as an indispensable business optimization tool. They are able to solve complex customer service issues, improve tech support, create effective sales channels, and provide solutions to automate various internal and external processes. Chatfuel is a pioneer in chatbot building and customization for enterprises of all scales and industries. With all its popularity and distinctions, is it all it’s cracked up to be? In this post, we review its key features and suggest three trustworthy Chatfuel alternatives to take your business to a whole new level.

📑 Chatfuel Alternative Table of Contents:

What are Facebook Messenger Chatbots? Why Do You Need Chatbots?      a. Automated Website Support     b. Virtual Sales Assistant     c. High Engagement     d. User Segmentation Tips For Using Chatbots      1. Determine the Goal     2. Analyze Interactions with Previous Customers     3. Make Your Bot Sound Human     4. Provide Simple Interaction      5. Use Delays Between Messages     6. Don’t Pretend to Be Human     7. Provide Real Communication Also     8. Make it Simple to Unsubscribe     9. Write a Welcome Message What Is Chatfuel?The Top 3 Chatfuel Alternatives      1. MobileMonkey         a. MobileMonkey Pros & Cons     2. ManyChat         a. ManyChat Pros & Cons     3. SmartEngage         a. SmartEngage Pros & Cons Are There Any Chatfuel Alternatives That Are Free? What About Cheaper Chatfuel Alternatives? What is The Best Chatfuel Alternative?

What Are Facebook Messenger Chatbots?

Chatbot for Facebook Messenger is an application that makes it possible to autonomously maintain a dialogue with a person for solving certain marketing tasks. These can include automatic answers to popular questions or more complex actions including displaying product catalogs or sending out messages (including photos, videos, and attachments).

Communication with customers is an important aspect of any business. The success of this interaction determines whether or not a person purchases your products or services. Usually, a Facebook page administrator answers users’ questions. This gives a dialog with prospects a personal touch but takes a lot of time and effort. To free admins from routine work and use their skills to solve more challenging tasks, you can employ an AI-powered virtual conversationalist, that is, a chatbot. You are able to train and configure a bot to respond to your subscribers single-handedly. Some chatbots are so skillful at communication that users simply don’t have a clue that they actually talk to artificial intelligence instead of a real person.

Why Do You Need Chatbots?

Chatbots help businesses automate communication with users and accomplish a variety of goals ranging from efficient customer support to effortless lead generation. With this simple app, you can significantly reduce expenditure since you don’t need many employers to talk to prospects. At the same time, a bot is able to engage a real person to a chat if it is not able to handle users’ requests on its own.

Below are four tasks that chatbots can do for your business:

a. Automated Website Support

Thanks to a chatbot, you can collect frequently asked questions and add auto-answers to each of them. Thus, your support team will have more time to solve critical and complex issues. The other advantage of a FAQ chatbot is that it is available 24/7.

b. Virtual Sales Assistant

You can teach bots to ask questions and prepare answer-based personal offers. For example, a bot can talk to a client to find out what he/she is looking for and then suggest relevant products. After a client has made his/her choice, a bot is able to ask for contact information and delivery address.

c. High Engagement

Unlike email marketing campaigns, messaging via Facebook Messenger boasts unmatched user involvement. With the Open Rate and Click-Through Rate of around 90% and 60% respectively, respondents are likely to read all your messages. Your Facebook Messenger bots can provide follow-up materials and information to any user who has previously contacted your Facebook page. For example, you can use a chatbot app to send out promotional newsletters, notifications, updates, etc.

d. User Segmentation

Chatbots help segment the audience, determine its needs and recommend relevant deals. Moreover, you can prepare personalized propositions to customers based on their age, location, previous experience with your company, and other parameters.

Tips For Using Chatbots

Chatbots are pretty straightforward marketing tools yet you need to know certain hacks to maximize their potential. Here are a few useful tips to make your bot a valuable addition to your marketing team:

1. Determine the Goal

To start with, focus on the most important services you are going to provide your users with via a chatbot (customer support, sales consultant, etc.). When you see a clear goal, you can more easily come up with a list of functions a bot ought to perform.

2. Analyze Interactions with Previous Customers

Before creating a chatbot for Facebook Messenger, you need to analyze dozens of previous dialogues with your subscribers. You should be able to see what questions they usually ask, how they react, what additional data they require after receiving an answer, etc. Make sure to review the entire chain of conversation to provide a bot with comprehensive information and user behavior details.

3. Make Your Bot Sound Human

The best way to engage a person in a dialog is to create a relaxed atmosphere. That’s why chatbots should sound like a friend rather than a soulless autoresponder. To create an illusion that your bot is a real person, it’s best to dilute plain text with emoticons, images, and GIF-animation. On top of that, make sure your messages are simple, easy to understand, and on point.

4. Provide Simple Interaction

The main task of a chatbot is to save clients time and ensure fast interaction with your brand. It makes sense to use Call-to-Action elements to deliver users to specific product categories, website pages, or checkouts. Thanks to Call-to-Action, clients will receive only useful information and move faster through the marketing funnel. To speed up the interaction process, you need to ensure clients don’t have to make more than 5 clicks. Also, don’t write long texts – normally, two short sentences per message are more than enough.

5. Use Delays Between Messages

Users need time to read a message and make a decision. Therefore, do not swamp recipients with several messages at once. The best strategy is to make 3-5 second pauses between consecutive posts.

6. Don’t Pretend to be Human

If you tell your subscribers that they are served by AI, you can avoid frustration and negative feelings towards your brand caused by a bot’s limited capabilities or off the mark replies. Along with that, don’t forget to inform users when a real person takes over.

7. Provide Real Communication Also

Despite artificial intelligence technology, chatbots are not almighty. Therefore, you should envision the option to contact a rep or a support team member.

8. Make it Simple to Unsubscribe

Make sure to add an unsubscribe button or link. These options can be found in the bot settings menu.

9. Write a Welcome Message

You know what your chatbot is for but your subscribers may not be aware of it. To engage them in a conversation, create a welcome message to describe what your bot is capable of and how it can be useful.

What is Chatfuel?

Chatfuel allows building chatbots without any programming skills under your belt. According to the developers, it only takes 7 minutes to create your own conversational interface for Facebook Messanger. The platform provides a set of templates fully customizable according to your needs. If required, you can integrate Chatfuel with other services, such as Twitter, YouTube, JSON, Instagram, etc.

The app is completely free if you have no more than 1000 subscribers. The trial version, however, has a watermark, which can be removed only with a paid plan. Paid subscriptions start at $15 per month and are based on the number of users you plan to contact. Chatfuel prides itself on helping create about 360,000 bots that serve more than 17 million users worldwide.

Chatfuel is a simple and intuitive tool for building personalized interactive agents with extensive functionality. Despite the fact that this is one of the most popular Facebook Messanger apps, it is not without its flaws. In particular,

– it is difficult to build elaborate non-linear bots;

– poor support for branching, subroutines, and variable operations;

– limited and hard-to-set-up Neuro-Linguistic Programming features;

– insufficient tech support.

If you are not ready to put up with these shortcomings, you may want to look for other chatbot solutions. Below, we singled out 3 worthy alternatives to Chatfuel.

The Top 3 Chatfuel Alternatives

1. MobileMonkey

The platform makes it possible to create bots for marketing, lead generation, and customer support. With MobileMonkey, you can design bots from scratch or customize the available templates. In addition to Facebook Messanger, you are able to install the app on your website to engage, command interest, and convert visitors to customers. MobileMonkey is a breeze to use even despite the lack of bot visualization scheme feature.

The free version is available without restrictions on the number of bots and subscribers. A paid subscription starts from $19 / month for personal use and from $ 149 / month for corporate clients.

a. MobileMonkey Pros & Cons

👍Pros: *Easy to create advanced bots *Robust Functionality

👎Cons: *Plans are a bit pricey *Limited Reporting *Not many integrations *no visual builder for sequences

2. ManyChat

ManyChat is designed to create knowledge script bots. Its goal is to automate the process of communication with clients through greetings, product demonstrations, notifications, and support. The app is very similar to ChatFuel in terms of functionality but it gains the upper hand thanks to the useful Flow Builder feature. This mode lets you see your bot as a chart of interlinked messages.

ManyChat has a free version with certain restrictions, which, however, supports an unlimited number of users. Paid rates start from $10 per month.

a. ManyChat Pros & Cons

👍Pros: *Good visual editor *Simple bot builder *Lots of helpful articles

👎Cons: *Free plan is very limited *Frequently has downtime issues *Difficult to properly integrate email

3. SmartEngage

SmartEngage is the only app that utilizes the cross-platform feature to the max. It is not just a tool to create Facebook chatbots but also a solution to provide integration among the messenger, email provider, and push notifications. The software is a snap to use even if you have no programming skills at all. Thanks to the drag and drop interface, you can add text, audio-video files, galleries, and other elements to make your messages user-friendly and easy on the eye. With IF conditionals, you are able to fine-tune automated messages to reach the right person at the right time. Besides that, SmartEngage boasts integrated Lead Ads feature that allows collecting leads right from Facebook. If you have a small follower base (up to 100 subscribers) you can make use of the free plan with limited yet decent functionality. If you are going to reach out to more subscribers, paid plans start from $40 per month.

a. SmartEngage Pros & Cons

👍Pros: *Really nice Dag n’ Drop visual builder *Cross-channel communication includes email *Great reviews *Great customer support

👎Cons: *Slight learning curve *Free version is good but has limitations

Are There Any Chatfuel Alternatives That Are Free?

In fact, most of the chatbot apps have a free version. If you are a marketer on a shoestring budget, you will have plenty of options to choose from. However, you should keep in mind that these free plans are inferior to premium subscriptions in terms of functionality and the number of conversations and/or followers supported per month. Besides that, with free Facebook Messanger chatbots, every message you send to the other party will feature a branded element, for instance ‘Powered by (the name of Chatbot software)’.

When it comes to free Chatfuel subscription, you will get basic functionality and support of up to 1000 users. The following chatbot builders are also available with free plans:

SmartEngage allows creating an unlimited number of conversation within a subscription base of up to 100 people;

With ManyChat free plan, you can contact the unlimited number of users but its functionality leaves much to be desired;

MobileMonkey sets no contact limits in its free plan but the available functions are limited. Plus, your messages will feature MobileMonkey branding;

ActiveChat permits you to create two bots and send maximum 1000 messages a month to 500 users;

With Flow Xo free subscriptions, you can create 5 chatbots and send up to 500 messages a month.

What About Cheaper Chatfuel Alternatives?

Chatfuel is a budget-friendly app that starts from $15 per month for the Pro version. Although this subscription option provides full functionality and an unlimited number of messages, all your interactions with users happen only within Facebook Messenger. However, your target audience spreads far beyond Facebook, so you may need to add more tools to your marketing arsenal to embrace users on other platforms. Besides extra cost, you will have to rack your brain to establish interaction with disparate applications or even hire a programmer. If you look at Chatfuel from an integration perspective, its price is no longer reasonable.

Instead of purchasing several apps for various lines of work, you can get a single solution that delivers all necessary functions. For as low as $40 per month, you can benefit from multiplatform lead magnets, push notifications, Facebook lead Ads, Email automated newsletters, and many other useful features. Provided how many tools SmartEngage accommodates, it is a cheaper alternative not only to Chatfuel but also the majority of marketing apps that perform a single function.

What is The Best Chatfuel Alternative?

Chatfuel is a sought-after chatbot constructor with ample functionality and intuitive interface but it has its downsides. In this day and age, when companies require integration among various business processes, Chatfuel is simply missing this opportunity. Instead of focusing on Facebook Messenger exclusively, you can have cross-platform interaction provided by SmartEngage. Its powerful features enable you to embrace a wider audience via Facebook, Email newsletter, and push notifications. The bottom line is that SmartEngage is the best Chatfuel alternative for marketers who want to have it all.

Let us know what you think about SmartEngage below 👇

The post Chatfuel Alternative appeared first on Alternative HQ | Finding The Best Alternatives To What’s Available.

source https://alternativehq.com/chatfuel/ source https://astelspirals.tumblr.com/post/186289597475

[becauselemon]

Chatfuel Alternative

Chatbots have been establishing themselves as an indispensable business optimization tool. They are able to solve complex customer service issues, improve tech support, create effective sales channels, and provide solutions to automate various internal and external processes. Chatfuel is a pioneer in chatbot building and customization for enterprises of all scales and industries. With all its popularity and distinctions, is it all it’s cracked up to be? In this post, we review its key features and suggest three trustworthy Chatfuel alternatives to take your business to a whole new level.

📑 Chatfuel Alternative Table of Contents:

What are Facebook Messenger Chatbots? Why Do You Need Chatbots?      a. Automated Website Support     b. Virtual Sales Assistant     c. High Engagement     d. User Segmentation Tips For Using Chatbots      1. Determine the Goal     2. Analyze Interactions with Previous Customers     3. Make Your Bot Sound Human     4. Provide Simple Interaction      5. Use Delays Between Messages     6. Don’t Pretend to Be Human     7. Provide Real Communication Also     8. Make it Simple to Unsubscribe     9. Write a Welcome Message What Is Chatfuel?The Top 3 Chatfuel Alternatives      1. MobileMonkey         a. MobileMonkey Pros & Cons     2. ManyChat         a. ManyChat Pros & Cons     3. SmartEngage         a. SmartEngage Pros & Cons Are There Any Chatfuel Alternatives That Are Free? What About Cheaper Chatfuel Alternatives? What is The Best Chatfuel Alternative?

What Are Facebook Messenger Chatbots?

Chatbot for Facebook Messenger is an application that makes it possible to autonomously maintain a dialogue with a person for solving certain marketing tasks. These can include automatic answers to popular questions or more complex actions including displaying product catalogs or sending out messages (including photos, videos, and attachments).

Communication with customers is an important aspect of any business. The success of this interaction determines whether or not a person purchases your products or services. Usually, a Facebook page administrator answers users’ questions. This gives a dialog with prospects a personal touch but takes a lot of time and effort. To free admins from routine work and use their skills to solve more challenging tasks, you can employ an AI-powered virtual conversationalist, that is, a chatbot. You are able to train and configure a bot to respond to your subscribers single-handedly. Some chatbots are so skillful at communication that users simply don’t have a clue that they actually talk to artificial intelligence instead of a real person.

Why Do You Need Chatbots?

Chatbots help businesses automate communication with users and accomplish a variety of goals ranging from efficient customer support to effortless lead generation. With this simple app, you can significantly reduce expenditure since you don’t need many employers to talk to prospects. At the same time, a bot is able to engage a real person to a chat if it is not able to handle users’ requests on its own.

Below are four tasks that chatbots can do for your business:

a. Automated Website Support

Thanks to a chatbot, you can collect frequently asked questions and add auto-answers to each of them. Thus, your support team will have more time to solve critical and complex issues. The other advantage of a FAQ chatbot is that it is available 24/7.

b. Virtual Sales Assistant

You can teach bots to ask questions and prepare answer-based personal offers. For example, a bot can talk to a client to find out what he/she is looking for and then suggest relevant products. After a client has made his/her choice, a bot is able to ask for contact information and delivery address.

c. High Engagement

Unlike email marketing campaigns, messaging via Facebook Messenger boasts unmatched user involvement. With the Open Rate and Click-Through Rate of around 90% and 60% respectively, respondents are likely to read all your messages. Your Facebook Messenger bots can provide follow-up materials and information to any user who has previously contacted your Facebook page. For example, you can use a chatbot app to send out promotional newsletters, notifications, updates, etc.

d. User Segmentation

Chatbots help segment the audience, determine its needs and recommend relevant deals. Moreover, you can prepare personalized propositions to customers based on their age, location, previous experience with your company, and other parameters.

Tips For Using Chatbots

Chatbots are pretty straightforward marketing tools yet you need to know certain hacks to maximize their potential. Here are a few useful tips to make your bot a valuable addition to your marketing team:

1. Determine the Goal

To start with, focus on the most important services you are going to provide your users with via a chatbot (customer support, sales consultant, etc.). When you see a clear goal, you can more easily come up with a list of functions a bot ought to perform.

2. Analyze Interactions with Previous Customers

Before creating a chatbot for Facebook Messenger, you need to analyze dozens of previous dialogues with your subscribers. You should be able to see what questions they usually ask, how they react, what additional data they require after receiving an answer, etc. Make sure to review the entire chain of conversation to provide a bot with comprehensive information and user behavior details.

3. Make Your Bot Sound Human

The best way to engage a person in a dialog is to create a relaxed atmosphere. That’s why chatbots should sound like a friend rather than a soulless autoresponder. To create an illusion that your bot is a real person, it’s best to dilute plain text with emoticons, images, and GIF-animation. On top of that, make sure your messages are simple, easy to understand, and on point.

4. Provide Simple Interaction

The main task of a chatbot is to save clients time and ensure fast interaction with your brand. It makes sense to use Call-to-Action elements to deliver users to specific product categories, website pages, or checkouts. Thanks to Call-to-Action, clients will receive only useful information and move faster through the marketing funnel. To speed up the interaction process, you need to ensure clients don’t have to make more than 5 clicks. Also, don’t write long texts – normally, two short sentences per message are more than enough.

5. Use Delays Between Messages

Users need time to read a message and make a decision. Therefore, do not swamp recipients with several messages at once. The best strategy is to make 3-5 second pauses between consecutive posts.

6. Don’t Pretend to be Human

If you tell your subscribers that they are served by AI, you can avoid frustration and negative feelings towards your brand caused by a bot’s limited capabilities or off the mark replies. Along with that, don’t forget to inform users when a real person takes over.

7. Provide Real Communication Also

Despite artificial intelligence technology, chatbots are not almighty. Therefore, you should envision the option to contact a rep or a support team member.

8. Make it Simple to Unsubscribe

Make sure to add an unsubscribe button or link. These options can be found in the bot settings menu.

9. Write a Welcome Message

You know what your chatbot is for but your subscribers may not be aware of it. To engage them in a conversation, create a welcome message to describe what your bot is capable of and how it can be useful.

What is Chatfuel?

Chatfuel allows building chatbots without any programming skills under your belt. According to the developers, it only takes 7 minutes to create your own conversational interface for Facebook Messanger. The platform provides a set of templates fully customizable according to your needs. If required, you can integrate Chatfuel with other services, such as Twitter, YouTube, JSON, Instagram, etc.

The app is completely free if you have no more than 1000 subscribers. The trial version, however, has a watermark, which can be removed only with a paid plan. Paid subscriptions start at $15 per month and are based on the number of users you plan to contact. Chatfuel prides itself on helping create about 360,000 bots that serve more than 17 million users worldwide.

Chatfuel is a simple and intuitive tool for building personalized interactive agents with extensive functionality. Despite the fact that this is one of the most popular Facebook Messanger apps, it is not without its flaws. In particular,

– it is difficult to build elaborate non-linear bots;

– poor support for branching, subroutines, and variable operations;

– limited and hard-to-set-up Neuro-Linguistic Programming features;

– insufficient tech support.

If you are not ready to put up with these shortcomings, you may want to look for other chatbot solutions. Below, we singled out 3 worthy alternatives to Chatfuel.

The Top 3 Chatfuel Alternatives

1. MobileMonkey

The platform makes it possible to create bots for marketing, lead generation, and customer support. With MobileMonkey, you can design bots from scratch or customize the available templates. In addition to Facebook Messanger, you are able to install the app on your website to engage, command interest, and convert visitors to customers. MobileMonkey is a breeze to use even despite the lack of bot visualization scheme feature.

The free version is available without restrictions on the number of bots and subscribers. A paid subscription starts from $19 / month for personal use and from $ 149 / month for corporate clients.

a. MobileMonkey Pros & Cons

👍Pros: *Easy to create advanced bots *Robust Functionality

👎Cons: *Plans are a bit pricey *Limited Reporting *Not many integrations *no visual builder for sequences

2. ManyChat

ManyChat is designed to create knowledge script bots. Its goal is to automate the process of communication with clients through greetings, product demonstrations, notifications, and support. The app is very similar to ChatFuel in terms of functionality but it gains the upper hand thanks to the useful Flow Builder feature. This mode lets you see your bot as a chart of interlinked messages.

ManyChat has a free version with certain restrictions, which, however, supports an unlimited number of users. Paid rates start from $10 per month.

a. ManyChat Pros & Cons

👍Pros: *Good visual editor *Simple bot builder *Lots of helpful articles

👎Cons: *Free plan is very limited *Frequently has downtime issues *Difficult to properly integrate email

3. SmartEngage

SmartEngage is the only app that utilizes the cross-platform feature to the max. It is not just a tool to create Facebook chatbots but also a solution to provide integration among the messenger, email provider, and push notifications. The software is a snap to use even if you have no programming skills at all. Thanks to the drag and drop interface, you can add text, audio-video files, galleries, and other elements to make your messages user-friendly and easy on the eye. With IF conditionals, you are able to fine-tune automated messages to reach the right person at the right time. Besides that, SmartEngage boasts integrated Lead Ads feature that allows collecting leads right from Facebook. If you have a small follower base (up to 100 subscribers) you can make use of the free plan with limited yet decent functionality. If you are going to reach out to more subscribers, paid plans start from $40 per month.

a. SmartEngage Pros & Cons

👍Pros: *Really nice Dag n’ Drop visual builder *Cross-channel communication includes email *Great reviews *Great customer support

👎Cons: *Slight learning curve *Free version is good but has limitations

Are There Any Chatfuel Alternatives That Are Free?

In fact, most of the chatbot apps have a free version. If you are a marketer on a shoestring budget, you will have plenty of options to choose from. However, you should keep in mind that these free plans are inferior to premium subscriptions in terms of functionality and the number of conversations and/or followers supported per month. Besides that, with free Facebook Messanger chatbots, every message you send to the other party will feature a branded element, for instance ‘Powered by (the name of Chatbot software)’.

When it comes to free Chatfuel subscription, you will get basic functionality and support of up to 1000 users. The following chatbot builders are also available with free plans:

SmartEngage allows creating an unlimited number of conversation within a subscription base of up to 100 people;

With ManyChat free plan, you can contact the unlimited number of users but its functionality leaves much to be desired;

MobileMonkey sets no contact limits in its free plan but the available functions are limited. Plus, your messages will feature MobileMonkey branding;

ActiveChat permits you to create two bots and send maximum 1000 messages a month to 500 users;

With Flow Xo free subscriptions, you can create 5 chatbots and send up to 500 messages a month.

What About Cheaper Chatfuel Alternatives?

Chatfuel is a budget-friendly app that starts from $15 per month for the Pro version. Although this subscription option provides full functionality and an unlimited number of messages, all your interactions with users happen only within Facebook Messenger. However, your target audience spreads far beyond Facebook, so you may need to add more tools to your marketing arsenal to embrace users on other platforms. Besides extra cost, you will have to rack your brain to establish interaction with disparate applications or even hire a programmer. If you look at Chatfuel from an integration perspective, its price is no longer reasonable.

Instead of purchasing several apps for various lines of work, you can get a single solution that delivers all necessary functions. For as low as $40 per month, you can benefit from multiplatform lead magnets, push notifications, Facebook lead Ads, Email automated newsletters, and many other useful features. Provided how many tools SmartEngage accommodates, it is a cheaper alternative not only to Chatfuel but also the majority of marketing apps that perform a single function.

What is The Best Chatfuel Alternative?

Chatfuel is a sought-after chatbot constructor with ample functionality and intuitive interface but it has its downsides. In this day and age, when companies require integration among various business processes, Chatfuel is simply missing this opportunity. Instead of focusing on Facebook Messenger exclusively, you can have cross-platform interaction provided by SmartEngage. Its powerful features enable you to embrace a wider audience via Facebook, Email newsletter, and push notifications. The bottom line is that SmartEngage is the best Chatfuel alternative for marketers who want to have it all.

Let us know what you think about SmartEngage below 👇

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